Constitutional Rights Issue

How would you feel if a person put away for a sexual offense against a minor child but was allowed to view the pornographic materials he made while committing the crime? Accused sex offender Marc Gilbert, because he is acting as his own attorney, is being allowed to view the footage he allegedly made during his crimes while he prepares his case.

This created a great deal of outrage out here in Washington and State Senator Mike Carrell (R-Lakewood) is planning on introducing legislation that would prevent this from occurring in the future. But this effort might run into some Constitutional issues. A defendant and their attorney have a right to see all materials that are going to be presented in the case. In this particular instance, it is the video Gilbert shot.

While I am personally very disturbed by Gilbert being allowed to view this material, I am having a difficult time with the legality of not allowing the evidence to be viewed by the representation. There has to be smarter people than me running around out there that might be able to somehow prevent a guy like Gilbert from getting his hands on this kind of stuff, while protecting his rights.

If any of you that read my blog have legal experience, your input would be most valuable.

TSA Agent Groped, Doesn't Grope

Here is a case of turn-about-is fair-play. Seems that a 61-year old Colorado woman groped the breast of a Phoenix-based TSA agent while being inspected at a Sky Harbor International Airport security checkpoint. The groper has been charged with felony sexual abuse. No word on why she was the groper rather than the gropee.

Obama Not as Popular as George Bush in the Middle East

I get a real kick out of this one. During President Obama’s campaign for the presidency, he often spoke about how George Bush damaged relations with countries in the Middle East with the wars (wars which Obama has continued of course). Obama even went on an apology tour to the Middle East with stops in Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

It looks like all of that war stopping, and apologies, and bowing to Kings has really done Obama (and the US) some real good. Not!

The President, and linearly the US, have reached an all-time low as far as how favorably the Arab world view him (and us).  He is even lower than George Bush was at the height of two wars with Arab countries.

How’s that Hope and Change working out for you (and us)?

Obama Stretches The Truth

This might qualify as a bit of old news.  However, if you get most of your news from the main stream media, you might not have heard about it.  While Barack Obama was campaigning for president, he often told a story about how his mother had to fight with insurance companies while being treated for cancer.

Turns out President Obama might have been stretching the truth for dramatic effect. It is true that his mother had cancer, and it is true that she had to deal with insurance companies. There were forms to file, and justifications that had to be delivered on the insurance claims. But Obama made it seem like she was without insurance and was a close to destitute as one can get.

Not quite. Obama’s mother did have employer-provided insurance and it covered most of what you would expect insurance to cover. Like the rest of us, she had to cover deductibles and other the usual “stuff”. But to claim that she was without insurance due to the big, bad, heartless insurance companies was nothing more than a story told to get folks believing a universal health care plan was needed. What she was not covered was disability, which her insurance company deemed as preexisting and not coverable under the policy she was given through her employer.

Her situation did stink as she had to cover her living expenses while essential dying from cancer. But for a presidential candidate to make it seem her health coverage was lacking was a fabrication of the first order. And it wasn’t the last time Obama would use this tactic to scare people. He has done it before.

Conservation Groups Concerned About Budget Cuts

It has always been tough to be caught between a rock and hard place and everyone has experienced that feeling at one time or another during their lives. Now it seems that recreational hunters and fishermen are the ones caught in between.

During this latest budget crisis, many programs are being looked at for significant cuts. There are few, if any, sacred cows, as Congressional leaders look to ways to curb the out of control spending that has occurred in recent years, especially under President Obama. Even the defense department has floated the idea of reducing pay, retirement, and other benefits of military members.

Now it seems that conservation programs funded by the federal government are also going to experience the axe. And they are not happy about it.  The linked article is not referring to radical tree-hugger who prays to Mother Earth. The folks that are more than a little concerned are folks who hunt and fish. Contrary to some popular opinions about these folks, they really do care about the condition of the environment. Granted, they want the nice environment so they can hunt and fish, not to be “one with nature” as the radicals can be like. In all the budget cutting talks, programs that improve hunting and fishing grounds are likely to see hits (as well as almost every other program under the sun).

Adirondack Furniture Update

Another update on my Adirondack Furniture page.

Is the NLRB Stonewalling Boeing Investigation?

I have been trying to follow the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) suit brought against Boeing for attempting to move part of the 787 Dreamliner manufacturing process to South Carolina. South Carolina is a right-to-work state, which gives workers the choice whether or not they want to join a union. The NLRB, as an extension of Obama’s pro-union platform, is very much against Boeing building the plane in South Carolina.

Previous Posts:

Boeing, NLRB Update

Turning the Table on the NLRB

PACNW Righty Speaks to the Court (In My Dreams)

NLRB Puts Boeing’s SC Factory in Jeopardy

The NLRB’s actions have garnered attention in the House, with Rep Dan Issa (R-CA) chairing an oversight committee charged with looking into the possibility that the NLRB has over stepped it’s charter and brought the suit not because of any wrongdoing on the part of Boeing, but because the unions ask them.

It looks like the NLRB is stonewalling the oversight committee (big surprise there). Rep Issa has requested documents pertaining to the case and so far it looks like the NLRB has not turned over the all the documents as requested.

Congress Tires to Overturn Incandescent "Ban"

In an attempt to roll back government interference in our daily lives Texas Rep Joe Barton (R) introduced a bill that would basically end the ban on incandescent light bulbs.

Sadly, the bill, which needed a super-majority to pass, was defeated in Congress. As expected, the vote pretty much fell along party lines. Not enough democrats switched sides to make this happen. And the likelihood that it would have passed the Senate fell somewhere between no and a snowballs chance in a hot place.

There is a myth running around that Congress banned the incandescent light bulb. This just isn’t true. What Congress did in 2007 was increase energy efficiency standards to a level that the incandescent light bulb cannot attain. Because the incandescent bulb is inefficient, the increase in energy efficiency standards was a de-facto ban.

Volt Update From CY

Here is another post from Mike over at Confederate Yankee.  He has been blogging often about the Chevy Volt and its complete and utter uselessness. If you have missed any of his posts, he has an archive. Type in “Chevy Volt” in the search and you’ll see other posts that he has done. If you want to read more about my take on the Volt, just click on the Chevy Volt category over on the right of this blog.

Erik Scott Update

I have been highlighting the coverage of the Erik Scott shooting that occurred one year ago ever since Mike over at Confederate Yankee has been covering the story. 10 Jul was the one year anniversary of Erik Scott’s death at the hands of the Las Vegas Police Department.  Mike remembers Scott and provides a summary of events over the past year.