Careful where you congregate

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  • Post category:Politics

Amendment 1, Bill of Rights:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Apparently, the above is no longer valid:

DES MOINES, Iowa — In what may be the first subpoena of its kind in decades, a federal judge has ordered a university to turn over records about a gathering of anti-war activists.
In addition to the subpoena of Drake University, subpoenas were served this past week on four of the activists who attended a Nov. 15 forum at the school, ordering them to appear before a grand jury Tuesday, the protesters said.
Federal prosecutors refuse to comment on the subpoenas.
In addition to records about who attended the forum, the subpoena orders the university to divulge all records relating to the local chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, a New York-based legal activist organization that sponsored the forum.

And more on this:

Yesterday, February 3, Detective Jeff Warford of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office-FBI-Joint Terrorism Task Force came to Catholic Peace Ministry’s office here in Des Moines with a subpoena for me to testify before a Federal Grand Jury next Tuesday, February 10. �Mr. Warford also served papers on Elton Davis at the Catholic Worker House and Patti McKee, who was coordinator of Iowa Peace Network until last month. The Grand Jury process is shrouded in secrecy. We do not know who or what the object of this investigation may be, beyond “possible violations of federal criminal law in the Southern District of Iowa.”
The proceeding will be behind closed doors. We may not have an attorney present. We have the right to plead the Fifth Amendment, refusing the answer questions that might incriminate us. �The government, then, can offer us immunity from prosecution, in which case we will obliged to answer under threat of contempt of court and could be imprisoned for the length of the Grand Jury session, 18 months, should we continue to refuse to answer. This immunity would be limited to our own testimony and anything any of us say could be used against the others.
Whatever is going on, this is definitely an escalation on the part of the government’s war on dissent and clamp down on civil liberties. �The fact that anything that we three and the peacemaking communities we represent could possibly attract the notice of a “Terrorism Task Force” is reprehensible. Please spread the word, express concerns you have with Federal and Polk County authorities. Keep us in mind and prayer.
Brian Terrell
Executive Director
Catholic Peace Ministry

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FUH2.com

Courtesy my friend Lori, I found this link to a site that’s just plain fun: FUH2.com. That’s F U, Hummer 2, a gallery of pics from people flipping off the hummer. Sweet. Look at the stats and try to tell me anyone can justify owning one of these.

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Crap, I’m behind

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  • Post category:Memes

This past Friday’s Friday Five:
1. What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done?
Took a big photography road trip by myself. In a Geo Metro. Yeah, I’m looking back on that in disbelief, too.
2. What one thing would you like to try that your mother/friend/significant other would never approve of?
I got nothin’. I can’t think of a thing that I would actually do that my mom wouldn’t say was a cool thing. That’s sad, isn’t it?
3. On a scale of 1-10, what’s your risk factor? (1=never take risks, 10=it’s a lifestyle)
5. I’ve got a lot to lose, these days. I have three cats and a dog depending on me, and boy that’ll keep you sober. Can’t let down the pets.
4. What’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you as a result of being bold/risky?
I dated some really cool women.
5. … and what’s the worst?
I dated some really strange women.

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University of Arizona gay student stabbed in apparent hate crime

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  • Post category:GLBT Issues

I’ve been to this Cafe; I was there when I helped Laurie and Twyla move to Tucson.

Arizona Daily Star, February 8, 2000

By Stephanie Innes, The Arizona Daily Star

In an attack that police call a hate crime, a man stabbed a 20-year-old University of Arizona student in the back Sunday as he stood outside a cafe that caters to gay and lesbian customers. People can check out hiring a lawyer for criminal mischief if they need the best criminal attorneys. Hiring an experienced criminal defense lawyer from Tampa will also be a good idea. Witnesses said the attacker yelled slurs about homosexuals before and after stabbing the victim. About two hours later and a block away, Tucson police arrested 37-year-old Gary Grayson.

The stabbing occurred after 9 p.m. at the Rainbow Planet Cafe, 606 N. Fourth Ave. The victim, an active member of the UA’s Pride Alliance, was standing on the sidewalk. Pride Alliance is made up of the student government’s representatives on gay issues.

“It’s not OK for anyone to be at a cafe and to be stabbed,” said Fritz Petrasovits, a Rainbow Cafe employee. The victim, Petrasovits said,”was randomly picked. He didn’t say anything at all.” Witnesses told police that Grayson said, “Let this be a warning to the gay community” as he fled the scene. The Arizona Daily Star is withholding the name of the victim, who was at home recovering yesterday. The knife hit one of the victim’s ribs, said a man who identified himself as the victim’s roommate, J. Davis. One can find defense lawyers from The Law Office of Brian Jones to get help with legal trouble.

Police arrested Grayson about 11 p.m. on Fourth Avenue near Seventh Street. He was charged with aggravated assault and remained in the Pima County Jail last night in lieu of a $10,000 bond.
If convicted, Grayson could receive a tougher penalty under provisions of Arizona’s hate crimes statute. The law, passed by the Legislature in 1997, allows judges to impose harsher sentences if a crime victim was targeted because of race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender or disability. It is best to hire disability lawyer from here!

Brandon Holmes, a 26-year-old state worker who witnessed the attack, said the attacker stabbed the victim in the back, then shoved the knife into a flower pot on the street. “He was bleeding so badly,” Holmes said. “And it was so unprovoked. I mean, we get yells from people but that’s usually about it.”
Jim Luiz, 42, who also witnessed the stabbing, said Grayson made statements to other customers at the cafe about Jesus hating homosexuals. “One thing about being a gay man is that you know there’s violence,” Luiz said. “I think the intolerance is becoming more dramatic, but very few gay men would come forward and talk about it.”

The crime angered members of UA’s Pride Alliance, who yesterday kicked off their annual Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Awareness Week. “Up until Matthew Shepard, hate crimes didn’t get the press they deserved and it’s really scary, especially in a liberal town like Tucson,” said Jonna Lopez, a 24-year-old UA junior and coordinator of the university’s Pride Alliance. Shepard, a 21-year-old gay University of Wyoming student, died Oct. 12, 1998, five days after he was kidnapped, robbed, and beaten. Investigators said robbery was the main motive, but that Shepard’s killers singled him out because he was gay.

In Tucson, the 1976 death of 21-year-old Richard J. Heakin helped change the community’s views about sexual orientation. Heakin was beaten to death outside the Stonewall Tavern, a gay nightclub on North First Avenue. Four teens were charged with first-degree murder, but the charges were reduced and the teens were sentenced to probation. You can learn about The Hogle Law Firm here, who can help you with probation and other cases!

Within a year of Heakin’s death, Tucson became one of the first cities to pass an anti-discrimination ordinance that included sexual orientation.

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Weekend Update 2004-02-09

So, this weekend I learned how to use my miter saw and Kathy helped me cut the baseboards for the living room. Then we went out Saturday night to a open mike concert that was quite fun. We saw DJ and Chi and Tracy and hung out listening to some great music. I ended up buying some CDs. Then Kathy and I went downtown briefly to meet her family. Her mom and mine look a lot a like; it’s very odd.
Sunday I did some trim work around the ceiling in the living room that was not as successful as I would have liked. I’ll have to redo it later, but for now, I’m leaving it, because I was very grumpy about it. Hopefully no one will notice the flaws. I got some of the baseboards stained. More to be done tonight and throughout the week. I’m hoping to nail the baseboards in place by Saturday, and then begin the move into the room. I can’t wait. I saw The Hours, it was very interesting. And, as always, I enjoyed The L-Word.

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Fever Tickets – Blue Half Season

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  • Post category:Indianapolis

Nine home games at Conseco Fieldhouse; I have tickets for Section 3, Row 13, seats 9 & 10. And you’re going with me, yo.
7:00 p.m., Friday, May 21 – New York
7:00 p.m., Saturday, June 5 – Charlotte (This is the day before my birthday).
7:00 p.m., Wednesday, June 16 – Sacramento
7:00 p.m., Saturday, June 19 – New York
7:00 p.m., Thursday, July 8 – Minnesota
5:00 p.m., Sunday, July 11 – Connecticut
7:00 p.m., Friday, July 16 – Detroit
7:00 p.m., Saturday, September 4 – Washington
7:00 p.m., Monday, September 13 – Seattle

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Stuck in my head

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  • Post category:Music

little wisps of song lyrics that drift through my brain and stay there…

hold up, slow up, stop, control
Don’t pull the thang out unless you plan to bang; Don’t even bang unless you plan to hit something
oh I want the way, the way you talk about her, to be the way, the way, the way you talk about me
Goddamn right, it’s a beautiful day, uh huh…
Just get your fingers clicking to the rhythm and the rhyme
You’d better stay away from him; he’ll rip your lungs out, Jim
Come on now, try and understand, The way I feel under your command
The dreams in which I’m dying are the best I’ve ever had
Don’t you understand what I’m trying to say, and can’t you feel the fears that I’m feeling today
I may have been young, but baby, that’s not what I wanted to be.
We can almost hear the echoes from the smoldering meadow; It’s the rapture of the angels and the rage of devil
And if I haver, I know I’m gonna be, I’m gonna be the man that’s havering to you
Like the car crash I can see but I just can’t avoid, like the train I’ve been told I never should board, like the film that’s so bad but I’ve got to stay ’til then end, let me tell you it’s lucky for you that we’re friends
Oh, the towering feeling, just to know, somehow you are near…
When you walk in a dream but you know you’re not dreaming, signore…
the priests and the friars approach me in dread because I still love you my love and you’re dead
now you be careful gotta go, I love you, have a beautiful day, and kiss the happiest girl in the whole USA.
I’d rather die, than give you control
Tearfully, joyfully, burn what is left of me; I don’t want these burdens at hand.
“Then this is a day of independence, for all the munchkins, and their descendants, if any!”
A promise carved in stone, deeper than the sea if you would sever flesh and bone, and offer it to me

Continue ReadingStuck in my head