You have got to be kidding me.......

Nebraska judge bans the word rape from being used in trial

Last fall, Cheuvront granted a motion by defense attorneys barring theuse of the words rape, sexual assault, victim, assailant, and sexualassault kit from the trial of Pamir Safi—accused of raping Tory Bowenin October 2004.

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Worse, the jury isn't told about the banned language and the only word left to the victim is "sex". The first trial ended with a hung jury and is being repeated with the same restrictions. And this isn't the only court case for this to happen.

(no subject)

NYTimes coverage of Sicko...

This quote I found especially funny:

Health Care America, a group that is financed in part by pharmaceuticaland hospital companies, placed an advertisement in a Capitol Hillnewspaper stating: “In America, you wait in line to see a movie. In government-run health care systems, you wait to see a doctor.”

Ummm, Health Care America, do any of you actually go to a doctor??? Granted, to see a gp or an internist in most places, you don't wait in line....except when you do because there aren't enough doctors in your area and they are refusing to take more patients (especially if you don't have insurance or are on medicaid/medicare). Or if you need to see a specialist, like a dermatologist, and the limits put in place by THE US GOVERNMENT have made it so that there aren't enough practitioners in that specialty, especially since those quotas are made several years in advance and so there's little room to change if demand changes. Like how right now if you find a bad freckle or mole, you get to wait 3-4 months to see anyone because of the botox boom.

Our current system has lines. Some of us are lucky enough to have an insurance plan that gives us freedom of choice for doctors, but the vast majority don't.

Now, that's not to say that I think our constitution actually prescribes a right to "all medicines available". But right now there's a huge problem when even having insurance doesn't guarantee you the treatment you need.....worse, if get sick and take advantage of your insurance, you pay the price in premiums the rest of your life. There's no easy answer, but hopefully Sicko will generate discussion and a better system can be found.

(no subject)

Info on credit triggers and opting out of financial and credit reporting agencies freely sharing your info

(no subject)

NSA does battle with electricity

the current predicament of overloads on the power substations were predicted as far back as 1998. Can I just say that it's not reassuring that those in charge of gathering and interpreting intelligence to predict future global problems can't even manage their own power bill and usage?

*shakes head* I so pity whoever works IT there.

Media misses the bigger picture of the Center for Promise and Opportunity, continued

Collection of sources pointing out stupidity of the NYTimes hit piece on Edwards

And Greg Sargent continues to point out the NYTimes bad reporting in the hit piece, especially in light of an equally poor rebuttal to Sargent's first criticisms.

At issue, and what is made to look hinky by the NYTimes is this:

The money paid Mr. Edwards’s expenses while he walked picket lines andmet with Wall Street executives. He gave speeches, hired consultants,attacked the Bush administration and developed an online following. Heled minimum-wage initiatives in five states, went frequently to Iowa,and appeared on television programs. He traveled to China, India,Brussels, Uganda and Russia, and met with Prime Minister Tony Blair ofBritain and his likely successor, Gordon Brown, at 10 Downing Street.

The real issue is, did Edwards PROFIT from the Center? IE, did he embezzle? That would be hipocrosy, illegal, etc etc republican.

But what it seems from reading up on this that he did is that the Center paid for his efforts to bring attention to poverty and to participate in poverty-ending conferences and the like. Which seems perfectly kosher to me since this means that the TAXPAYERS DID NOT PAY for his travel etc for things having nothing to do with national legislation.

Now, I can see how big media would be flummoxed over this sort of thing since they don't do much reporting any more over lobbyist funded trips etc. But it really looks like that Edwards went out of his way to participate in discussions on ending poverty on the national and global level and do it LEGALLY. Granted, I'm sure he wasn't sad that doing so kept his name in the spotlight and that he had his eyes set on 2008. But both of those things do not mutually exclude that he all did it for a bigger reason: to bring attention to poverty, both before he has the chance to become president and after.

How about we leave discussions of his potential hipocracy until after he swears the oath of office and see if he actually upholds his campaign promises and the ideals of the Center for Promise and Opportunity.

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In other news, Elizabeth Edwards endorses full marriage equality regardless of sexual orientation

Farscape Ficathon pimp...

Just in case you somehow have heard it: kazbaby is running Disney on Acid - Farscape Potluck Ficathon.

Signups end June 28.


*hears the question in the horde's mind* No, and no, and no. *points to icon emphatically*

(no subject)

Ahh, yes, this is why I put doing these revisions off for two days.....IT SUCKS. That and I think my boss purposely makes her handwriting worse for long comments.

Pity me and post inane things and/or links for when I take breaks? Cause otherwise, all I have to look forward to is ironing pants. Especially since you all have been strangely quiet today..out enjoying the weather no doubt.