Finally.

Brushing aside the government's arguments that the detainees were enemy combatants being held at a time of war outside the US, the court said they had "the constitutional privilege of habeas corpus".

Justice Anthony Kennedy said: "The laws and constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary times. Liberty and ( Read more... )

"Surveillance efforts will not cease when the law lapses. Administration intelligence officials said agencies would be able to continue eavesdropping on targets that have already been approved for a year after the initial authorization. But they said any new targets would have to go through the more burdensome standards in place before last August ( Read more... )

Alanis Morissette is God. Don't know how in ## years I missed that...

Cardinal Glick: Christ didn't come to Earth to give us the willies... He came to help us out.
***
Nun: You don't believe in God because of Alice in Wonderland?
Loki: No, "Through the Looking Glass". That poem, "The Walrus and the Carpenter" that's an indictment of organized ( Read more... )

I don't know if every local government between Redding and Yreka is bored and hurting for money, but they sure have a ridiculous amount of CHP camping out in the medians with radar. I just want to know if they seriously don't have anything better to do than to slow down the flow of traffic.

In an effort to keep myself awake during my 12-hour ( Read more... )

Child's Mother: "I'm hoping that when Child goes to visit my parents, Child will learn some manners."

As a parent, isn't that your job? Certainly, other input is vital in reinforcing lessons and behavioral patterns taught in the home. But putting the onus on the grandparents? I think not, especially when the child sees them infrequently. Maybe I ( Read more... )

Finland moves to tighten gun laws

I don't disagree with their proposed legislation. Why should a 15-year old be allowed to purchase and license her or his own gun? But if only 14% of all homicide is gun related, and they have the 3rd highest per capita gun ownership in the world (according to a BBC stat, 56 guns per 100 people), they must be ( Read more... )

After Sunday's events, I'm becoming more and more convinced that the root issue isn't the morality of homosexuality. It's how the bible is read.

And to this issue, I can see great arguments on both sides. If the Bible is culturally bound, how do we decide what transcends culture? Which parts are literal, if any, and how do we apply these?

( Read more... )

"In the book of Isaiah the bible tells us to defend the cause of the fatherless. We are committed to doing just that every summer."

You only defend the fatherless during the summer? I suppose that's more than a lot of people.

(I know the source, and he probably has no idea what he really said. But still...

You've got to be kidding me: "The August expedition planted the Russian flag on the seabed below the North Pole." Countries still do this? Seriously?

Starin' down the stars
Jealous of the moon
You wish you could fly
But you're stayin' where you are
There's nothin' you can do
If you're too scared to try

“Jealous of the Moon,” Why Should the Fire Die?, Nickel Creek

I should listen to the lyrics of the music I own more often.

I think my pizza-making skills are improving. My dough was the best it’s ( Read more... )