This was a big week for news. I have the TV on and they just ran a teaser on the death of Strom Thurmond. Just a quick roundup:



This could be you during your next trip at the airport!



Dumbass speak with forked tongue.

Big conversation topic at job interviews. This will look really cool when he’s 80. I see a trailer in this boy’s future or a potential guest appearance on a future episode of COPs.



Guess that ruins any re-election bid.
Makes you wonder if Congress shouldn’t have a mandatory retirement age. I’m thinking about approaching later life but, there’s obviously a time when one should retire - before senility.



Why are these people smiling?

Is it a coincidence that this happened the same day Strom passed - guess he was serious about the phrase, “over my dead body.” This reminds me of something Lorenz said to me about Republicans (again, which I happen to be one of). Lorenz observed that although Republicans purport to want less government, they are always quick to legislate their ways into people’s personal lives (which was something I had to agree with). Our government should go about changing the world - the one outside of people’s bedrooms - besides, I really don’t need the government looking over my shoulder when I take care of business.

A photo-less story, how the 40-hour work week is rapidly becoming a thing of the past.

Any gains the American Labor Movement may have made in the first half of the last century are rapidly being overcome in the days of a “Global Economy.”



America, start f**kin!

So, have we become a country that just keeps it in their pants? Think this has something to do with how expensive it is just to get by these days?



The first amendment protects us all (and it’s a good thing), unfortunately, it doesn’t protect us from our own stupidity.






Soon to be a plaintiff in a suit against Chevrolet
We live in a society where whatever happens, it’s someone else’s fault.

and thankfully...



Nine Little Indians?

More good news/bad news from the Men (and women) in Black.

On the good side...

or as Justice O’Conner wrote: Effective participation by members of all racial and ethnic groups in the civil life of our nation is essential if the dream of one nation, indivisible, is to be realized. The law school has determined, based on its experience and expertise, that a critical mass of underrepresented minorities is necessary to further its compelling interest in securing the educational benefits of a diverse student body."

...and on the bad side

as Justice O’Connor also wrote, "as properly interpreted, (the Court) should encourage the transition to a society where race no longer matters: a society where integration and color-blindness are not just qualities to be proud of, but are simple facts of life."

States and local governments must redraw district boundaries every 10 years to reflect population changes. Many of Georgia's black leaders supported the state's redistricting plan.

The Bush administration had challenged Georgia's three districts in court, arguing they amounted to the unconstitutional "retrogression" of black voters. Justice Department spokesman Jorge Martinez said the department was reviewing the ruling to determine how it affects department procedures.

Laughlin McDonald, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union who submitted a brief siding with the department, said O'Connor's vision of a "colorblind" society stemming from the ruling is unrealistic.

"All that's marvelous and wonderful, but believe me that is not the reality," McDonald said. "It allows whoever is in the majority to eliminate the black vote."

In a dissent, Justice David H. Souter and the other more liberal members of the court said that the court's new standard would put more politics into redistricting, and "there will simply be greater opportunity to reduce minority voting strength in the guise of obtaining party advantage."

So for every positive, there’s a negative — I guess taking the good with the bad is a consequence of a free society?