A Dangerous Precedent.....Sort of

History has shown, whether right or wrong, that judges in the United States often will use foreign law and decisions to help determine their opinion in cases.  There are the more famous cases for which it applies like the Supreme Court case Roper v. Simmons where international opinion played a huge part in the decision on the death penalty for juveniles.  Then, there are the less famous decisions....such as whether or not to allow prosecution of a case or just to throw it out of court.  These decisions are often overlooked when analyzing the US Justice system, but for those involved it makes a huge difference.

The reason I bring this up is because a man was recently convicted of rape in Israel for a consensual encounter. See, what happened was this guy (who was an Arab) told some chick (who was a Jew) that he was Jewish.  So, they went to some building nearby and, uh, banged out their differences.  Apparently though, the lady was none too happy when she found out the guy was not Jewish.  She then pressed rape charges and the man was eventually convicted, even though the judge and jury believed the sexual encounter to be completely consensual.  The charge was "Rape by Deception" and he will serve 18 months in prison. Apparently, the decision was based on the fact that the judges "acknowledged that sex had been consensual but said that although not "a classical rape by force," the woman would not have consented if she had not believed Kashur was Jewish".  Luckily for the guy, the initial charge of "rape and indecent assault" was dropped in a sort of plea deal.

So, there it is.  A man was convicted of rape because he had consensual sex.  This precedent, if it ever shows it's face in the United States, will have a profound effect on millions of young men.  If lying about your religion can get you put in jail, how about lying about your age?  Your income?  Your living at home with your parents?  What if you tell her that you have a "A Doctorate in Awesomeness", but you fail to get in her pants...is that attempted rape? 

Ideally the Justice system in the United States would stop seeking guidance from other nations when it comes to applying our law, but as long as they do it is our responsibility to inject our opinion of foreign decisions since it may soon apply to us. 

Next time some stinky foreigner asks why Americans butt into their country's business, look at them with an endearing smile and tell them, "Well dipshit, it is because we apparently care about your opinion."

It's not a complaint as much as an observation...

2000-2008

2008-2010

It isn't asking too much when you are simply asking for more than just Fred Armisen, is it?

Kagan Exercise

The confirmation hearings for Elena Kagan began today.  The Democrats have enough votes to confirm her to the Supreme Court, but the hearings will go on as a formality.

Last April, I pointed out that President Barack Obama voted against both of President Bush's Supreme Court nominations as a Senator (Alito and Roberts... who were both confirmed, of course).

As Rush Limbaugh lovingly reminded his audience today, Barack Obama in 2008 also said he would've voted against confirming Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court.  Based on what?-- lack of experience, of course:



So, I thought a quick comparison of 2 resumes would prove informative...

Let's make that jobless number fifteen million... and ONE.

Last Monday, General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of all U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, called up Joe Biden and apologized.  He was apologizing for comments his men made in the presence of a Rolling Stones skunk journalist that would be appearing later in the week.  At that time, the Vice President had no clue what Gen. McChrystal was apologizing for... but, today, the General was fired.

Well, if a Rolling Stone article can get the a General fired, it must have had some pretty damning stuff in it, right?
As the Wall Street Journal puts it, General McChrystal and his men "casually mocked the vice president as a nobody, National Security Adviser James Jones as a 'clown' and the president himself as uncomfortable with military leaders and initially unengaged on defense policy."

If you read the article, you'll be surprised by 2 things.  First, almost none of the most salacious quotes are from McChrystal himself, but from men around him.  And, second, the most salacious stuff  reads like this:

"Biden?" suggests a top adviser. "Did you say: Bite Me?"

 According to sources familiar with the meeting, McChrystal thought Obama looked "uncomfortable and intimidated" by the roomful of military brass.

The quotes from the General himself go more like this:

Observing his team. "All these men," he tells me. "I'd die for them. And they'd die for me."

You should really read the article yourself.  I'm sure the writer was disgusted by how men talk, and expected he was exposing something.  But, to service men and women, this will all seem very tame.  Hell, from anybody who spent time in a little league dugout, this will seem pretty tame.  But, I digress...

The World Cup of soccer

I watched the England v. USA soccer game. . . match last Friday. I am trying to get into the whole World Cup thing. I don't have anything against soccer. It is a fine game, it just doesn't hold a candle to football/baseball/(non-NBA) basketball/wrasslin'.

I enjoyed the game, mainly I think, because of the energy of the crowd and the possibility of hooliganism from the players. Also, I respect, with all of the integrity at my command, the fantastic shape each player is in.

I may enjoy the game more if I knew what the shit was going on. I don't get yellow cards, "extra time", "off sides", or a lot of other things that foreign, dirt babies learn before they exit the womb.

Related: The Onion just won the internet.


Soccer Officially Announces It Is Gay

Why is the world so madly in love with "football"? (Earth translation: soccer) It seems all non-Americans would give their first born to be able to play in 1 World Cup match. Their toddlers learn to run before they can successfully manipulate their fingers since they have been playing soccer from the first possible instant. It smacks of Catholicism: people from poor countries are born into it and forced to like it.

Why is America so madly indifferent with soccer? Because we didn't grow up on ant hills. By winning the cosmic lottery, we were born in a land where we can choose to play any sport or any number of sports. Your kid wants to play football? Sign him up for Pop Warner. Your kid wants to shoot clay pigeons? Buy him a shotgun. That kid from Ghana wants to compete in the snowboard half-pipe at the X Games? Too freaking bad. Here is a ball, pretend it is a soccer ball. Here is 1000 acres of undeveloped land, pretend it is a soccer pitch. Here are 3 trash cans and a tiki torch, make them into goals.

Now. . . play soccer.