Now, That's Justice!

It's about time the courts got serious about protecting people's rights. All rights -- not just the right to free speech.

When you get in someone's face with the intention of causing emotional distress, it's no longer free speech. It's invasion of privacy. It's also assault. Among other things.

The jury was to begin deliberating the size of punitive damages after receiving further instructions, although U.S. District Judge Richard Bennett noted the size of the compensatory award "far exceeds the net worth of the defendants," according to financial statements filed with the court. (emphasis mine)

And that is a good thing. Maybe now, the precedent has been set. Maybe now, homophobic and interfering cretins like the Phelps family and their in-bred church will leave other people alone.

Maybe now, people who are harrassed outside abortion clinics will also have access to the same remedies Albert Snyder had. Those of us who value individual freedoms can only hope so.

This is not the first time a jury has awarded damges to the plaintiff in excess of the defendant's current net worth. OJ Simpson will be paying off his debt until the seventeenth millenium.

Rock on, Justice!

More here. And here.

Cancelling Hallowe'en?

From: The principal of Paris Hilton Country Day School

To: Our esteemed parents

Re: Canceling Halloween forever. And ever.

For Those Who Are Terminally Politically Correct And/Or Those Who Are Fundamentally Opposed To Anything Except Their Own Narrow View Of Simon Says:

It's okay to laugh. It's funny, so go ahead and laugh. Yes, it's supposed to be funny. No, really...it's okay to laugh!

No, not all religions are afraid of humor. Yes, Paganism is a type of religion. Yes it is. I don't care who told you it's not -- it is so!

Okay, let's go over to your place and...hey! Wait! Come back here!

For the rest of you: Please have a happy and safe Hallowe'en. And for those to whom it applies, Blessed Samhain!

Entitled To His Entitlements?

What an interesting and in-depth expose popped up in the local papers today! It seems that one of our federal politicians is very likely to be indicted for fraud and fiscal malfeasance on a grand scale.

If Province reporter Elaine O'Connor has the story straight, Blair Wilson is a career sociopath who happened to choose the political arena in which to play his financial games. And he knows all about how to play the games -- he's a chartered accountant.

He's a member of the Liberal party. I'm not blaming the Liberals for that. He could just as easily have chosen the CPC. He would never have chosen the NDP, though -- they don't have a hope in hell of being in power anytime soon, and it's the power behind the political career that's important to people like Wilson.

I'm gonna be very interested to see what Stephane Dion does about this.

(H/T Backseat Blogger)

Other blogs that are following this story can be found here.

Smile

Bad news/bad weather got ya down? Doctor Chimera has an answer for ya:

Backstreet Bird. Get down. Get funky. Get back up again. Shake a tail feather with Snowball, and learn the new cockatiel (cockatoo?) line dance...

Caturday Morning. No sleepin' in for humnz! Fur child is hungry (and hands up all a youze who know exactly what this feels like), so the world needs to wake up and find the can opener!

Guaranteed relief from whatever ails ya. But it's only temporary. You might need to watch them over and over again...

Thanks to the gang at Cute Overload!

Plane Hits Building

Friday, October 19 - 04:14:35 PM

RICHMOND (NEWS1130) - Richmond RCMP believe two people may have been on board a twin engine plane that has crashed into the Rosario Gardens apartment building in Richmond. At this point there's no report on the extent of the injuries.

Department of Holy Shit! I used to live right next door to this building. I had planned on being in the area today, but I changed my mind. I have to be there tomorrow, instead.

The National Post is on it.

CTV likewise.

Opinions and specualtion are divided between the pilot's trying to fly off extra fuel before landing and the pilot's inability to get the landing gear down and locked.

I wonder how long it's gonna be before someone yells about a terrorist attack (not long)...



UPDATE (Saturday, 20 October): Still no definitive word on what caused the crash. Casualty report -- one dead, two injured.

That's amazing! Only the pilot dead (and that maybe before the crash -- speculation still abounds), and in such a high-density business/residential area in the middle of one of the busiest city cores in the country, only two injured!

The building that was hit is one of several tall buildings in the area, and it's not even as tall as most. It's about a mile from the "button" at the airport, and pretty much on the approach path. The whole area is swollen with people, traffic, businesses, shopping centers, hotels, and construction of more of the same (although maybe someone will now re-think before they continue with more of the same. Ya think? Nah. Me neither).

Talk about dumb goddamn luck!

Of Bores And Fipples

I have a new interest. That, in part, is why I haven't been around my own pages much lately, although I've done some fly-by commenting on other blogs.

No, I'm not getting mired down in politics, despite what the title looks like. The "bore" is the totally tubular thingie with holes, and the "fipple" is the thingie that gets blown. Come to think of it, that does sound rather political, doesn't it?

Nope. It's a pennywhistle.

Gotta go work on my chiff.

Politically Corrected

To all those who were so highly offended by the rev's nomenclature of hyper-sensitive whiners in a cross-post he did at The Galloping Beaver (and who were equally offended by those of us who defended his opinion):

We were all wrong.

This is the definition of a stunned cunt!

*****

UPDATE (12 October): I don't fucking believe it. This is just not happening! Somebody please tell me that asshole columnist John-Henry Westen didn't just try and turn the tables around to make it look like Coulter is the goddamn victim here?

"We Know What We're Fighting For"

Is it really naive to think that a song might have something to do with the thumpin' great majority the Progressive Conservatives won in Newfoundland's recent election?

Maybe.

On the other hand, go listen to it (mp3).

Well done, Danny Williams! Congratulations, Newfoundland and Labrador!

Now...any budding songwriters like Darrell Power (formerly of Great Big Sea) in BC?