Snopes and Obama

I love arguing politics with people...especially with Wayne & Rhonda...especially Rhonda...because she gets so ruffled up!

One thing that particularly gets on my nerves though is when people (especially those who know my political views) forward emails to me defaming political candidates. I have received no less than 27 emails on subjects ranging from Obama's not pledging to the flag, to his values, to his campaign financing, to distorted family photos. The problem is most of these email forwards claim to have checked out on snopes.com, a website dedicated to determining the truthfulness of email forwards and other urban legends. However, when you actually READ the article on snopes.com the forwards are proven wrong...People, people, people...check your sources...nothing makes you look like a donkey's behind more than passing along these things. I like a funny picture, a joke, whatever, as much as the next guy, but please, for the love of Mike, the three of you that may read this, check your sources!

The Morning News: News : Officer Suspended For Shocking Cow

Apparently, this actually happened 2.5 years ago and is now going through the internal affairs but...this is too good not to share. I heard it on the radio the other morning and did not believe it until I googled it myself!

There are several elements to this story. First the mistakes of Lt. David Mitchell (who, incidentally, is running for sheriff).

First,

The city released the findings of the internal investigation Tuesday, and it showed an off-duty Mitchell fired a Taser-brand stun gun at two cows while a friend of Mitchell's videotaped the results.

Why videotape the whole ordeal? What good can happen as a result? I wonder if it is on You Tube? I would search and post an embedded video but my internet is S L O W ! !

Second,

He and the other man, who is not a Rogers police officer, went after church to property Mitchell owned to carry out the plan, the investigation found.

So much about this sounds wrong. Can't you see it. Song, song, prayer, song, Lords Supper, song, offering, song, sermon, song, prayer. What part of that sequence did he and his friend get the bright idea of tasing a heifer? Must have been a great sermon!

Third,The cartridges Mitchell used were defective and had been taken out of service. Mitchell's first attempt to hit a cow failed and he and the other man were shocked instead...The second attempt struck a different cow and it appeared to be mildly affected by the shock. The probes quickly fell out of the animal's skin, Mitchell told the investigator.
Okay, if the cartridges were marked as "defective," why mess with 'em. Use some good ones.

Fourth,

Several people, including Helms (Mitchell's boss), other high-ranking members of the Police Department, a deputy city attorney and a deputy Benton County prosecuting attorney, saw the video in the months following the incident. Mitchell sought out Helms to show him the video. Helms said Tuesday he found the video humorous but it didn't occur to him at the time that Mitchell had broken any law or violated any department policies.

Showed it to his BOSS? I can hear THAT conversation:

Retard Cop: Hey boss man, check out this You Tube video.
Boss Man: Man, that is (expletive) hilarious, where did you get the cartridges?
Retard Cop: From the dumpster.
Boss Man: Why did I promote you to Lt?
Retard Cop: Because we are cousins...and you owed me for that Meth...

Fifth and finally

The incident came to light when the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent a letter to Helms, Womack and City Attorney Ben Lipscomb saying it had learned from a source affiliated with the police department that Mitchell had shocked a cow and videotaped it as a joke.

Helms said defective stun gun cartridges are sometimes used for training, and he will implement new policies to better track the use of cartridges deemed unfit for street-duty use.

Wait, WHAT? When did PETA come into play? Who called those freak shows? Oh, that's right, You Tube! So, according to them it is NOT okay to use defective taser cartridges on COWS but it IS okay to use it on HUMANS? What the crap? Is this not backwards?
And here is the quote that makes the story,

"The joke was on Lt. Mitchell and his friend getting shocked, not the cow being Tased," Helms said.

In other words, man, why didn't he call me so I could see the action?

Oldest man 116; Couple Shoot at Each Other

I have wanted to post about this for two weeks now. It is actually kind of aggravating... At school I cannot post from Blogger. I can use google reader to read all of my RSS feeds but cannot post to blogger. So, I have been forced to use my classroom blog to post most of my stuff. Using that blog kind of limits me though...I am limited by the content that I can post because I have my school hat on when posting there. I have been tossing around the idea of registering my own domain...I can do it for less than $50 per year.

Back to the reason for the post...

Several weeks ago BBC reported about a man who lived to be 116 years old! This is simply amazing. I am not sure that I would even want to live to be that old. Think of what all this man saw in his life time:

• The rise in popularity of the automobile
• The rise in popularity of the air plane
• WWI, WWII, Vietnam
• The space program
• The Titanic
• Carnegie Hall opened the year of his birth
• Etc.
  

Another source that reported on this and asked Nestor why he never married, Nestor said, "If I had had a wife, I would have been in a coffin long ago."

This kind of goes against my good friend Josh's theory but then I found another story where "Couple shoot at each other; wife is killed" is the title. According to authorities, here is the timeline:

• Couple gets in to an argument about a snow blower
• Wife goes inside to get shotgun (12 gauge)
• Wife shoots at husband and misses
• Husband gets pissed and retrieves his handgun from vehicle
• Husband and wife have another altercation near car
• Husband shoots and kills wife
• Husband calls and waits for police to arrive

Wow, what a Sunday afternoon!

Note: Anyone who does not use some kind of reader to bouese your blogs or any other site that is updated often, you should really consider using google for this...it really is wonderful!

Frank Warren In Little Rock

I am super excited about this event!!!!!!

Frank Warren
Saturday, April 21, 2007
10:00–11:00 a.m.
THE WORLD OF ANONYMOUS SECRETS
Frank Warren, The Secret Lives of Men and Women: A PostSecret Book (Culture/Sociology)It started as a community art project, and grew into the third most popular blog on the web. Warren’s postsecret.com has been called “a fascinating public airing of private thoughts.... The range of efforts (meticulous, sloppy, artful, ponderous) will astound you.” Come see what all the buzz is about.

Moderator: Leslie SingerMain Library, Darragh Center

BIO:In 2004, small business owner Frank Warren began asking people to write down a secret and mail it to him anonymously, on a postcard. Postsecret.com, the community art project that resulted from Warren’s request, now attracts over 3 million visitors per month and is ranked as the third most popular blog on the web. Warren’s latest hardcover compilation of postcard secrets is THE SECRET LIVES OF MEN AND WOMEN. Other titles include POSTSECRET and MY SECRET.

This Guy Dosen't Even Deserve to Be Alive!

Man Electrocuted While Trying to Steal Copper

March 11, 2007--Posted at 12:40 pm CST
WIDENER- Authorities say a man trying to steal copper from highline electric poles was electrocuted when he touched a live wire.
36 year-old Terry Padgett of Shell Lake, died overnight Thursday. His body was spotted on U.S. 70 near Widener by a motorist, who alerted St. Francis County authorities.
When deputies arrived, they discovered Padgett had been holding a long pole with a cutter on the end. Investigators said downed wire cut from other poles was found nearby.
Copper theft has been a problem for more than a year because of high prices paid at scrap yards.