Where he belongs

Justice. It happens.

SCRANTON, Pa. — A longtime northeastern Pennsylvania judge was ordered to spend nearly three decades in prison for his role in a massive juvenile justice bribery scandal that prompted the state’s high court to toss thousands of convictions.

Former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella Jr. was sentenced Thursday to 28 years in federal prison for taking $1 million in bribes from the builder of a pair of juvenile detention centers in a case that became known as “kids for cash.”

–WKW

Rick PArry for IowA

The first TV ad from Stephen Colbart’s SuperPac. Vote Rick Parry.

–WKW

From UK Rioters to Tea Party members, the root causes of madness must be understood

The UK riots have been raging for days now, as had the blame. The spectrum of blame ranges from “Criminal, no-good kids being violent and destructive for no good reason” to “Societal and economic inequalities.”

The truth is somewhere in a nebulous area in between that will never be fully understood or clarified. Nonetheless, it would be foolhardy to ignore the societal and economic factors. The police are collecting the criminals. Brits are forming groups to help clean up the mess. What must follow is thought and action to help prevent such breakdowns of civil society.

Political philosophers from Plato to Machiavelli have one thing in common – they sought to avoid violent revolution at all costs. Once the masses reach the stage of revolt, the game of politics becomes one of survival, and few governments survive. As we have seen this year in the Middle East and Africa, the power of the people is not to be ignored.

Which brings us to the United States and the “Tea Party Movement.” Mind you, the whole “movement” is based on a lie. Those in the Tea Party are Republicans who have embraced their most base of ideals. But that is a the political aspect. It would be folly for Liberals to ignore the societal and economic reasoning behind the actions of those who count themselves as “Tea Partiers.” Because while it may be a group created and enabled by rich Republicans, it is a group dealing with the same financial problems as many other groups in the U.S.

The connection between the UK rioters and the Tea Party is essentially this – both groups have given in to unreasonableness and irrationality in order to overcome feelings of powerlessness. For the rioters, it came in the form of free-for-all violence and savagery. For the Tea Party, it comes in the form of clinging to false beliefs and the destruction of the federal government. Neither group has an endgame. It is destruction for the sake of destruction.

It is quite easy to be simply repulsed by the far-right of the United States. It is a group clinging to antiquated ideals, debunked stereotypes and anger. From preaching that Gay males were the cause of the Holocaust to shouts of “keep government away from our Medicare” to the most heinous of racial insults, the Tea Party’s reputation is one of hatred and ignorance.

But much as the UK would be mistaken to ignore the deeper issues of the riots, American liberals would be mistaken to ignore the deeper issues of the Tea Party. Because those deeper issues affect us all. Economic stagnation, wealth inequality and education being chief among them.

There will always be anarchists and fascists amongst us who cannot be reasoned with philosophically. But much as Brits wake up to learn that those they know and love were a part of the riots, American liberals can all point to people they know and love who have been swept away in the fervor of the Far-Right rebellion. What is happening in England is not the result of crazed criminals going bonkers. What is happening in the U.S. is not the result of fascists ripping off their masks to attempt to dominate the political process.

The UK is seeing what a disaffected and angry group can do. Such a revolt in the United States would lead to death and destruction on a much higher level. It is already happening in a political sense.

There is nothing wrong with being repulsed by the actions or words of those on the fringes of society. But a growing fringe cannot be shouted down or ignored. There are no easy answers. But finding a way to stop rampant wealth inequality is certainly a step in the right direction. As is understanding the root causes of such madness.

–WKW

Still giving all

Ten years on, U.S. troop are still dying in Afghanistan. Meet some men who gave all.

–WKW

Solar Flare – X Class

So, I wonder if anyone will get superpowers from this solar flare? Regardless, cool stuff from our local star.

–WKW

The Zombie Apocalypse is Everyone’s Fault

My friends, since those French scientists botched their experiments on a new immortality drug and spread the Zombie virus throughout humanity, things have been kind of crazy. Rarely does a day go by where we are not fleeing the mindless, brain-eating undead. It’s a hassle.

But the fact that many of our loved ones have either become zombies or have been eaten by zombies shouldn’t hamper our intellectual abilities. This is a time when clarity of thought is as important as a nearby Louisville Slugger.

Make no mistake about it, humanity is in chaos, and more than likely will be exterminated soon. But let us avoid the knee-jerk, human-partisan opinions. This is not solely the fault of the zombies. Let’s face it, everyone is to blame.

The zombies are just doing what zombies do. They lurch forward slowly in packs and try to grab regular humans so they can eat their brains. To punish for them acting as God intended is cowardly and simple-minded. Because lest we forget, about half the world’s population spends its days hunting and killing zombies. Where is the outrage over that?

Don’t get me wrong. This is not a pro-zombie rant like the one Jennifer Rubin wrote recently for the Washington Post (“Zombies Want Lower Taxes and a Big Military. They can’t be THAT bad”). Instead, this is a call for common sense. You see, the people actively killing zombies are only adding to the mayhem, lawlessness and job-killing fanaticism that have swept our land.

The people who have fled to the countryside are as much to blame as the zombies, as well. What, things get tough and you run away? This cowardice adds to the flames of the Zombie Apocalypse. In the end, those who fled are as guilty as the zombies, who will get them eventually anyway.

America has stood up to big challenges before. Will we succeed in this effort? Most definitely not. The zombies are relentless and there’s always more of them coming. We’re pretty much doomed as a species. But this does not mean it’s time to point fingers.

So just remember, when a zombie finally gets hold of you and rips you apart, this is not just the fault of the zombie. The Zombie Apocalypse is the fault of everyone, you included.

–WKW

Look at Donald Trump!!

Donald Trump wants to be looked at again. Please take some time out of your day to look at him.

–WKW

Brits don’t riot

“The British public don’t simply resort to violent unrest in the face of challenging economic circumstances. We must have a rational and reasonable debate about policing. Your association has a long and proud history of constructive and sensible contributions to policing policy-making – long may it continue.”

– British Home Secretary Theresa May, Sept. 15, 2010.

Meanwhile …

–WKW

Boxers & MMA Fighters We Never Need To See Again

1. David Haye: After talking more than any fighter in the past three years, Hayes’ performance against Vladimir Klitschko was so bad, so lacking in any type of winning spirit, that he just shouldn’t even be allowed to fight anymore.
2. Nikolai Valuev: Injuries may mercifully end the career of this 7-foot-2-inch Russian heavyweight who makes Primo Carnera look like Willie Pep.
3. Alfonso Gomez: Known for being on The Contender and for beating a shot Arturo Gatti, Gomez is scheduled to fight young Mexican tiger Saul Alverez. Alverez will pummel Gomez, who doesn’t hit hard enough to discourage David Haye. Really a terrible fighter to watch.
4. Tito Ortiz: The man must be given credit for a stellar career as well as for reheating a career that had gone so cold. But unless you want to see Tito go down the same path as Chuck Liddell, now’s the time to call it quits.
5. Shane Mosley: I once trained alongside a young Shane Mosley and have a ton of pride in him. But his last couple efforts show him to be an older fighter who is just not willing to take the punches necessary to get his own punches off. It’s been a Hall of Fame career, Shane. Time to move on, tho.
6. Jorge Rivera: Rivera has made a lot of UFC appearances and money despite never defeating anyone worthwhile or even being in an exciting fight lately. No more, please.
7. Zab Judah: It’s likely you will see Judah in an entertaining fight again before he finally hangs it up. It’s also quite likely you’ll start seeing young contenders knocking Zab out cold. He’s had his turmoil, but Judah was always a fun and talented fighter. Against Amir Khan, however, Judah was a trainwreck. He showed all the signs of being a shot fighter and was literally afraid of Khan, making the young champion look far better than he actually is. Judah’s time at the top is over, what remains if he keeps fighting is controversy and beat downs.
8. Matt Hughes: Some fighters can thrive in their late-30s. Hughes won’t. Scheduled to fight Diego Sanchez in September, Hughes is every bit of his 37 years. The man has had an heroic career, fought the best and was victorious more often than not. And in September, Dana White will let him get knocked out by Sanchez. It’s not something I’m interested in seeing, myself.
9. Fedor Emelianenko: All that’s left for him is paydays in non-important fights that he won’t win. Greatness doesn’t last. Fedor had it, but now it’s gone.
10. Evander Holyfield: Each time Holyfield fights in his endless and fruitless “I will be undisputed champion” again, I’m starting to think that “this will be the fight that kills him.” Evander’s going to get seriously hurt if he’s not hurt already, his time to go was seven years ago.

–WKW

E-Card Goodness

 

–WKW

These are just terrifying people

Rick Perry is a privileged nutjob who uses God as a political ploy. And there are people out there that want him to be the President of the United States. These are some scary, scary people.

–WKW

S&P blames downgrade on Republicans, media doesn’t

 ”We have changed our assumption on this because the majority of Republicans in Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues, a position we believe Congress reinforced by passing the act.”

This was on Page 4 of the paper S&P deciminated after downgrading the U.S. Credit. Thom Hartman wonders why the media is so afraid of reporting this line.

–WKW

 

It’s all been done before

–WKW

Rashad Evans to trounce Tito Ortiz at UFC 133

In his wildest dreams, Rashad Evans couldn’t have hoped for a better opponent than Tito Ortiz at UFC 133. After nearly two years of being out of the game via injuries, Evans will make his comeback in grand style against an aged opponent ripe for a thrashing.

While Ortiz deserves credit for his destruction of Ryan Bader, let us avoid the “Rashad has everything to lose,” line of thought. Prior to his win over Bader, Tito Ortiz showed all the signs of being a shot fighter. One solid right hand and a good finish doesn’t erase that. Faced with the speed of Evans, Ortiz will have no answer offensively.

Add to that the fact that Evans needs a big re-entrance into the fray. A victory means a fight against phenom & former training partner Jon Jones. An overwhelming victory goes far in hyping Jones vs. Evans.

And he’ll get it. Look for Evans to dominate Ortiz and stop or submit him in two rounds.

Update: I believe I have again proven my value.

–WKW

Don’t worry, Madagascar, Neil Bush is here to help

When it comes to getting relations better with a country, no one can make it happen like Neil Bush.

Former US President George W. Bush’s brother Neil has been scouting for business opportunities in Madagascar even as the island nation remains largely ostracised by the international community.

Mr Bush also Monday met with acting President Andriy Rajoelina at the state palace in the capital Antananarivo.

“I am interested in the development of the private sector in Africa. I came for the first time into Madagascar to look for investment opportunities,” Mr Bush told journalists at the end of his meeting with the President.

President Barack Obama’s administration has not been keen on relations with the High Transitional Authority (HAT) which is considered illegitimate by the wider international community.

The Obama government stopped aid to Madagascar after the island’s 2009 coup that precipitated the frosty bilateral relationship.

Oh, yeah. This should work out well for the people of Madagascar. Everything the Bush’s touch turns to gold, after all.

–WKW

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