In case you are following...

...this bizzare case from afar, here is the latest. I'm not sure if this development bolsters or contradicts my early senility theory... it seems to undermine the notion of false allegations, but not totally. The rumor is that there is an email trail, which is only a rumor, but that makes me think even more that this dude's grasp on reality had slipped away. Regardless of his guilt or innocence, I hope he didn't kill himself. Granted, if guilty, public shame is warranted, but at 66, he could've just retired and went away from academia. Plus, it would be much more fascinating (as a "news" consumer) if he staged this whole suicide thing and was somewhere in Central America... Wow, between all of the sexual assaults, alleged football player rapists, and not too long ago, a family murder suicide by an embezzling banker, our little berg's reputation has taken quite a hit. Oh well, I need to get back to national politics, but I'm really tired of it all right now. Don't worry though, now that McCain has hired the same thugs that fucked him over in the 2000 primary, I'm sure I'll be very mad soon enough...

We made The Onion!

If you haven't heard about the Iowa scandal involving a professor who is accused of exchanging good grades for boob flashes and grabs, you can catch up on it here.

I sure hope the guy is guilty, because everyone has pretty much assumed that he is. Am I shocked to hear about sexual impropieties between a prof and students? No. That said, would I be shocked if a student or group of students leveled a false accusation rather than take a final they knew they wouldn't pass? No, particularly considering the its-cool-to-be-a-'ho attitude that pervades so many of the "reality" shows on the teen-oriented TV channels. I'm constantly amazed how easy it has become to get a girl to lift her shirt for a TV camera... not that I'm shielding my eyes. Of course, as an emerging old fart, I'm continually amazed how readily an 18 year old is willing to commit to multiple tattoos...

All things point to this guy being a creep, and if that ends up being true, then have at him, but the notion of innocent until proven guilty is long gone. I've noticed lots of comments (in the chat areas below news articles) implying that this has probably been going on for years and he just now got caught. Maybe that's true, but the math doesn't add up for me. Just how many times could a prof ask girls to flash him without being reported, and reported repeatedly? I was a TA once, and the odds (even back then as a young, strapping dude) that I could have correctly picked the 1 out of 100 girls (hopefully, the odds are slimmer than that) willing to swap sexual favors for grades are woefully bad, and, the consequences of getting caught up in such a scandal make it an even more unlikely scenario for a sane person to try even once, let alone, repeatedly (and only now get caught). This isn't a case of a prof developing a relationship with a student, which I now is common. Rather, this as a seed, overt act that I think would send most young women straight to their parents and then straight to the ombudsperson's (easy for me to say) office.

That brings me to another theory... if it is true that this prof is the creep he is accused of being, perhaps his mental faculties (no pun intended) are not up to snuff. I'm sure many a prof have fantasized about a nubile coed offering herself up for a grade, but societal shame, some personal morals, and perhaps most of all, a fear of getting caught, have all conspired to keep them on the up and up over the years. Then, early dimentia sets in (the guy is 66) and smart decisions give way to a distorted notion that it could all work. Maybe he gets "lucky" a few times and that reinforces a distorted view of reality. I can't imagine, in today's litigious climate, that the process could possibly go on for long. Either way, I want to know more about the case before I make a judgement.

I realize that guilt or innocence in a court does not always reflect actual guilt or innocence, but then again, guilt by accusation has an even spottier history. Consider all of the men that have been exonerated based on DNA evidence (and not surprisingly, the accuser is almost always white and the the accused is black). Consider the case of silent film star Fatty Arbuckle. The list goes on. And so does the list of rape and harrassment victims that will never see justice. Regardless, truth should remain be a desired outcome.

Oh well... at least we made The Onion!

Oh My God!

After my friend Rob alerted me to the Edward G. Robinsonesque jowls that have developed on the once hot Kathleen Turner, I went looking for a photo and found this cruel, yet fun, site (be sure to page back and forward) called Hit da Wall. This photo took the cake, but there are many more contenders... (have you seen Mickey Rourke lately??)

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Grandpa Munster is a hypocritical sack of....



Don't get me wrong, I have no (or at least few) illusions that Obama is the second coming (not that I believe in that biblical horseshit) or that he is not already bought by the corporations, but how can anybody want McCain to be the president over Obama? After 8 years of embarrassment at the international table, we can finally have a guy sit down that is charismatic and intellectually impressive and yet the polls are still somewhat close? I'm mean, come on... I have many a beef with Clinton(s) but I never...EVER... doubted the guy's ability as a politician. McCain is no idiot (like Bush most likely is??), but he has no power to impress other world leaders, nor does he excite much of anyone in his own country. Plus, no matter how much Obama will tack toward the right (which, I hate to say, is necessary in this single-issue voting freakin' country) he will be a smarter choice than McCain for anyone having progressive (see "liberal") leanings. I have a smart friend considering voting for Nader, and he lives in a swing state. All I have to say is... think about those who, when Bush and Gore tacked to the middle, said "Gee, they are pretty much the same guy, so I'll vote for Nader..." Well, would we have been in Iraq if 911 happened on Gore's watch? I'm comfortable saying NO! If you are in a swing state, carefully consider that vote against the two party system, as you may well enjoy a stacked supreme court and way more faith-based shit than Barack ever (schemingly) pandered to...

Hello Hello Hello...

Tyson Homosexual Easily Qualifies

Yup, Tyson Homosexual not only qualified, but Homosexual ran the fastest time ever recorded... Exciting sports news from the AP made even more fascinating when it is filtered through the American Family Association’s OneNewsNow autoreplace function. Yes, Tyson Gay instantly become Tyson Homosexual.

Talk about saving the world. I hear these yahoos also replace the word "democratic" with "democrat." Pretty clever!! Every time I hear an asshole republican refer to the "democrat party," I want to kick in his teeth (at least then he'd have an excuse for screwing up a name)... Check out this google search for a little more history of their fine filtering of stories about Mr. Gay.

These guys also have a history of blocking/redirecting net traffic they don't like. Good thing they are looking out for my evil ass!

Smoked Tuna in the Can...

This article (if you have any trouble getting to page 2, go on to page 3 and you won’t miss anything…), referred to me by Rich, is a pretty entertaining read and it exemplifies how the war on drugs helped shift drug smuggling from pot to cocaine, which lead the formation of the violent drug cartels of the 80s and 90s… way to go drug warriors!

I’ve been off the blog lately. I did make it through the floods relatively unscathed, though many things I like got hit hard. A simple search of the web and you can as many photos as you want, but in case you haven’t kept up with it, here are some youtube videos that show what a mess it all was/is…http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2008-06-19/news/smoked-tuna-in-the-can/1 (if you have any trouble getting to page 2, go on to page 3 and you won’t miss anything…)