Smashed Frog

Biden Our Time. Tonight's the Night!

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:39 GMT

Family values, Democratic-style.

That's what I'm talking about.

Good evening, I'm Beau Biden. And Joe Biden is my dad.

Many of you know him as a distinguished and accomplished senator. I know him as an incredible father and a loving grandfather. A man who hustled home to Delaware after the last vote so he wouldn't miss me and my brother's games. Who, after returning from some war-torn region of the world, would tiptoe into our room and kiss us goodnight. Who turns down some fancy cocktail party in Washington so he won't miss my daughter Natalie's birthday party.

The truth is, he almost wasn't a senator at all. In 1972, shortly after his improbable victory, but before he took the oath of office, my father went to Washington to look at his new office space. My mom took us to go buy a Christmas tree. On the way home, we were in an automobile accident. My mom, Neilia, and sister, Naomi, were killed. My brother, Hunter, and I were seriously injured and hospitalized for weeks. I was just short of 4 years old. One of my earliest memories was being in that hospital, Dad always at our side. We, not the Senate, were all he cared about.

He decided not to take the oath of office. He said, "Delaware can get another senator, but my boys can't get another father." However, great men like Ted Kennedy, Mike Mansfield, Hubert Humphrey — men who had been tested themselves — convinced him to serve. So he was sworn in, in the hospital, at my bedside. As a single parent, he decided to be there to put us to bed, to be there when we woke from a bad dream, to make us breakfast, so he'd travel to and from Washington, four hours a day.

Five years later, we married my mom, Jill. They together rebuilt our family. And 36 years later, he still makes that trip. So even though Dad worked in Washington, he's never been part of Washington. He always sounded like the kid from Scranton, Pa., he is. And even that is a story of overcoming.

Now some people poke fun at my dad talking too much. What a lot of people don't know is that, when he was young, he had a severe stutter. The kids called him Dash — not because he was fast on the football field, which he was, but like a dash at the end of a sentence you can't finish. But now he speaks with a clear and strong voice. He says what needs to be said. And he does what needs to be done.

When domestic violence was often a dark secret, Dad wrote the Violence Against Women Act, which gave countless women support, protection and a new chance at life. When crime was spiking in our communities, Dad wrote the crime bill that put 100,000 cops on the streets and led to an eight-year drop in crime across the country. When Serbian thugs were committing genocide in the Balkans, Dad didn't hesitate to call Slobodan Milosevic a war criminal to his face, and to convince Congress and our allies to act. He's willing to speak truth to power: to the White House and to world leaders.

I know my father will be a great vice president. As I mentioned, my dad has always been there for me, my brother and my sister, every day. But because of other duties, it won't be possible for me to be here this fall to stand by him the way he stood by me. So I have something to ask of you.

Be there for my dad like he was for me.

Be there for Barack Obama because our country needs him.

Be there for both of them because millions of families need to know that their best days aren't behind them, but ahead of them. Be there for both of them because millions of people are trying to overcome, just like my dad overcame. Be there.

Be there because Barack Obama and Joe Biden will deliver America the change we so desperately need. Please join me in welcoming my friend, my father, my hero and the next vice president of the United States:

Joe Biden.

Tonight's the night.
It's gonna be alright.
Ain't nobody gonna stop us now.

Hillary Released

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:37 GMT

With the release of her delegates, expect a slew of faux "Hillary Voters for McCain" sites.

But don't believe one word.

It's just another dirty GOP attempt to change perception. Your perception.

When the spin begins to sound way too real, remember this.

Hillary moved to suspend the rules and nominate Obama by acclamation.

AYE!

Yes. We. Can.

"...it makes perfect sense that George Bush and John McCain will be together next week in the Twin Cities, because these days they’re awfully hard to tell apart."

--Hillary Clinton
Democratic Convention Speech 2008

"As It Is...As It Should Be"

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 03:56 GMT

"...America should be a place where you can make it if you try.
And Barack stood up that day, and spoke words that have stayed with me ever since. He talked about "The world as it is" and "The world as it should be." And he said that all too often, we accept the distance between the two, and we settle for the world as it is -- even when it doesn't reflect our values and aspirations. But he reminded us that we also know what our world should look like. He said we know what fairness and justice and opportunity look like. And he urged us to believe in ourselves -- to find the strength within ourselves to strive for the world as it should be. And isn't that the great American story?
It's the story of men and women gathered in churches and union halls and high school gyms -- people who stood up and marched and risked everything they had -- refusing to settle, determined to mold our future into the shape of our ideals."

--Michelle Obama
Denver
8/25/2008

Check out the behind the scenes coverage over at Blast Off! and the Florida Progressive Coalition. My Florida friends are hanging out in the Big Tent, blogging live from Denver.

Past the hype and behind the scenes.

Tic-Tac-Joe!

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 09:04 GMT

It's an Obama-Biden ticket!

Let the games begin.

First Thoughts

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro

DENVER -- We confirmed the news after midnight, and then after trying to get a little sleep, this text message at about 3:00 am ET woke us up: “Barack has chosen Senator Joe Biden to be our VP nominee. Watch the first Obama-Biden rally live at 3pm ET on www.BarackObama.com. Spread the word!” A 3:00 am wake-up call, you just can’t make this stuff up. And there were two collective sounds you could hear over the beeping cellphones and the buzzing blackberries.

On the Democratic side, it was a collective "phew." As the days got nearer for the pick, it was hard to find a Democrat -- even savvy Clintonites -- who weren't hoping it would be Biden. Only the most strident Hillary supporters appear to be upset this morning.

On the GOP side, the sound you heard was disappointed silence. Of everyone on the short list, the candidate many Republicans least wanted to see Obama pick was Biden. Sure, they've already trotted out their talking points. And the McCain camp even produced a rapid-response TV ad highlighting some unkind words Biden said about Obama during the primaries. (We assume this now means McCain won’t be picking Romney, right? And doesn't the McCain ad actually send the message to swing voters that Obama's willing to surround himself with critics?)

But there are too many intellectual conservatives (see David Brooks) who believe Biden's the most qualified guy Obama could have realistically picked.

"Barack Obama has decided upon a vice-presidential running mate. And while I don’t know who it is as I write, for the good of the country, I hope he picked Joe Biden.

Biden’s weaknesses are on the surface. He has said a number of idiotic things over the years and, in the days following his selection, those snippets would be aired again and again.

But that won’t hurt all that much because voters are smart enough to forgive the genuine flaws of genuine people. And over the long haul, Biden provides what Obama needs..."

--David Brooks
New York Times
8/22/2008

Hoping It's Biden

The Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk®

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:10 GMT

My mother had warned me not to expect much.

My grandfather had finally slipped away to a place where no one could jump in the car with him and travel along.

He was no stranger to traveling along the back roads of the deep South. Although the establishment of the Interstate highway scissored hours off his regular jaunts, he bypassed the great grey ribbon to drive the tried and true routes of his youth. During summer vacations, we rode right along with him, stopping at the greasiest of spoons and marveling at sites zipped past unseen at 65 miles per hour.

The eventual loss of his driver license had helped hasten his departure from us. After slamming his fist into the car speedometer while driving through moving traffic and nearly causing an accident, the State of Alabama permanently took him off the roads he so loved, stripping away his identity right along with his independence.

We lost him soon after to the travels in his mind.

Having flown from Florida to attend my grandfather’s 94th birthday, I stood last in a line of relatives greeting our absent patriarch, steeling myself against the loss suffered by those Alzheimer’s leaves behind.

My grandfather sat before me in his new set of wheels, his shock of silver white hair a brilliant offset against the green of his L.L. Bean bathrobe. As his pale blue eyes looked up into the vivid blues of my own, a flit of unexpected recognition sparked his features alive. He smiled and folded me close in his embrace.

The traveling man had come home to his first-born granddaughter, if only for the briefest of seconds.

The Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk® is the nation's largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer care, support and research. Volunteers of all ages are called upon to champion the fight against Alzheimer's. Walks are scheduled in more than 600 communities. A typical Memory Walk is a 2-3 mile walk held on a weekend morning in the fall.

By teaming up with the Alzheimer's Association, you can walk with a purpose – and move us closer to a world without Alzheimer's.

Together, we can MOVE a nation.

Together, we can keep memory alive.

Fear-Mongering by Mike and Juliet

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 22:00 GMT

This is what fear-mongering for ratings looks like.

FACT:

The Department of Justice calculated the actual sex offender recidivism rate using 1994 statistical figures (Megan's law era), results showed a small 3.5% of sex offenders released from prison commit another sex offense; other crimes types are 3-10 times that rate and are ignored, even when they affect children.

FACT:

Current Department of Justice statistics show 96+% of all new sex offenses are committed by someone other than a previously convicted sex offender.

Catch up on the FACTS here.

Contact The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet here.

Support Hotline for RSO and Families

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 22:00 GMT

Just a reminder.

The ACLU of Fl Miami Chapter has joined in a challenge in criminal court to the constitutionality of the Miami Dade residency restriction ordinances. The court hearing is set for Sept 3-4, 2008. Read Crashing Down the Julia Tuttle Causeway for background information regarding this landmark case.

For those persons and families who need help now, the Support Hotline is up and running.

And always remember...

You are not alone.

The Support Hotline is now ready for calls and emails!

800-773-4319

hotline@thesupporthotline.org

The Support Hotline is an all volunteer project staffed by private citizens. We are not professionals or lawyers. We are people deeply concerned about the damage being done to our families, our children and our country by the nation's sex offender laws. We are working to change those laws.

The goal of this hotline is to support people affected by those laws with information and ideas – or just listening to what people have to say about what's happening to them. Given how bad the laws and the media are, we may not be able to be of much help. But we will try.

You can call the hotline at 800-773-4319 or email us at hotline@thesupporthotline.org

We will return your call or email within 24 hours. If however, you prefer not to leave a message, you can call during the following hours to speak directly to a volunteer:

Day	Time Zone
Day	Eastern	Central	Mountain	Pacific
Monday	10:30 am to 2:30 pm	9:30 am to 1:30 pm	8:30 am to 12:30 pm	7:30 to 11:30 am
Tuesday	7 am to 11 am	6 to 10 am	5 to 9 am	4 to 8 am
Thursday	3 to 9 pm	2 to 8 pm	1 to 7 pm	12 noon to 6 pm
Friday	12 noon to 6 pm	11 am to 5 pm	10 am to 4 pm	9 am to 3 pm
Saturday	9 pm to 2 am	8 pm to 1 am	7 pm to 12 midnight	6 to 11 pm
Sunday	1 to 5 pm	12 noon to 4 pm	11 am to 3 pm	10 am to 2 pm

A Missourian Tells His Story

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:00 GMT

Please welcome Anonymous from Missouri.

Hear his story.

I have never been in any trouble before, not only being a model citizen, but an exemplary citizen.

I'm now 54 and have spent roughly the last 30 years as a radio DJ living all over the country with my family. I was well respected, looked up to, and spent innumerable hours working with charitable organizations, including Special Olympics (my son, 33, by my first wife, is autistic). I have drawn a 6 figure income & am college educated.

In April 02, I decided to get out of radio and come close to home to be closer to my parents. My first mistake was thinking the grass would be greener by owning my own business. I bought a franchise that turned out to be a disaster, soaking me for every dollar, so much so that I can't even afford help. I have run it 11 hours a day, alone, for 4 years now. To make matters worse, it's in an undesirable part of town--(I didn't know this when I bought it, blame me for not researching it better)--nobody has any money, I have feared for my safety on
average 2 times per month. I actually had a gun chase through the store, and can't get rid of it because nobody wants it.

In the midst of going through this, my wife of 20 years served me divorce papers in September of 04. I was devastated. It hit me out of the blue. She told me she was in love with another man (I hadn't the faintest) and I have not seen her nor my daughter since that day. I spent the next 2 years crying in bed EVERY night. Here I am, alone in a big city, no friends, no family and by myself. Even abandoned by my own 16 yr old daughter.

You must know what the experts say about divorce..that it many cases its worse than death. This was. Quite frankly, I'm not over it yet as I hear she's moved out west & I have no idea where my daughter is. She's getting married & I have not been invited. I have never treated her bad in any way to deserve this. They were the loves of my life.

When I wasn't running my shop 6 days a week, I would spend weekends with my parents 100 miles away. Every weekend.

I will admit to having had an Internet addiction during this time. According to psychologists, this stems from a number of factors including escape from everyday life, depression, anxiety, financial woes, all my problems. But never ONCE did I talk to underage individuals. It was not in my makeup or of interest to me.

In April of 05 I had just returned from a visit to see my son, when I didn't feel like driving over to my parents that weekend--I had just got through with a long 500 mile drive. I'm sitting alone, bored, at home on a Sunday morning when I foolishly & regretfully went on a chat line.

It was a Sunday at 8am, not many people on the chat & I was contacted by a person. A purported 13 year old.

I had talked to this individual sporadically in the previous weeks & being that she was one of the few on, I talked to her out of boredom. Keep in mind, she made contact with me or I probably wouldn't have known she was there...I had no interest in that kind of rendezvous. The talk took on sexual overtones. It was computer fantasy and although I knew she was 13 from her profile, that kinda gets blotted out of your mind when you get wrapped up in other thoughts.

I know, you're probably saying "is this what you do when you get bored"? No it's not, but that day, it was.

At one point, she professed the desire to meet. I still have the actual script of the chat left with me later by the police. In it, I told her NO I WILL NOT MEET YOU and I AM NOT A PEDOPHILE. This is scripted and in my possession to this day.

She kept picking and picking (a cop if you haven't guessed by now) and I finally relented and said 'OK', laughing as I got off the computer. This was now 9am, and I went through my routines of shopping, laundry, fixing lunch and watching TV. Later that afternoon I went to the stadium to get a souvenir for my son and headed to my brothers for a cookout which was 20 miles away, and not my usual route, but since I was downtown I had to take an unusual route to get there.

I swear to you the following is fact: My route took me past the meeting place she set up. It did not even occur to me 'til I was almost to the exit of that meeting place.

I got inquisitive and started asking myself if people really do this. I pulled off just to take a look (my big mistake). The place was a public bowling alley. I told myself, this could be a police setup but I reasoned that if I don't stop, don't roll down the window, don't talk to anyone, what have I done?

I drove in, stopped, thought about it, thought the same thing, what am I doing wrong? Its a public place for God's sake. This was way before TV's "To Catch a Predator" and I wasn't pulling into a private residence half naked, nor had I ever heard the term 'sex offender' before. Also keep in mind, that in the documentation I have of her chat, she requested over and over for 'Mikes Hard Lemonade" which I had none of, and also wanted a description of my vehicle. I told her it was a red Firebird, when in fact it was a silver Jeep. I wanted nothing to do with someone jumping into my car at home when I didn't suspect it.

I saw a figure sitting on the curb. I drove up, kept going and passed her and did a U-turn to leave. Not even eye contact. I thought 'what the hell am i doing?' She got up to go in and I u-turned to leave only to have 7 cops rush out with pointed guns. I guess 'she' identified me by my profile picture on the computer. I was dragged out of the car and charged with 'attempted enticement of a child". The word 'attempted' is in the charge. I consider myself a smart guy (although this story might dispute that) that unless they're mind readers, I just may have entered this bowling alley to go bowling. Isn't that reasonable doubt in and of itself? It was a public lot. Opened for business!!!

After I was booked, they took me to my apartment where they checked all my VCR tapes for porn. They all contained episodes of the 3 Stooges. They confiscated my computer and digital camera and sent them to the FBI. Not one shred of porn. They returned my items in a state of ruin and I had to pitch em out. The cops who took the stuff acted like it was their first time. They had to call headquarters and ask what pieces to take. That all happened on 4/03/05. I spent the entire summer living on edge, even having cops tell me when they find no porn, they'll drop it.

On Labor Day 05, they knocked on my door and rearrested me. I spent the night in jail as my 80 year old parents, on a holiday, tried to come up with bail money & drive to me 100 miles away. All of a sudden I'm a sex offender!! After bringing up an autistic son who I never touched or would even think of doing so and a 16 yr old girl who I don't think I've ever even seen naked.

Six months before all this I had moved in with my brother for about 3 months after my divorce, just for a place to live, and as he & his wife left to teach school, I saw his 15 and 13 year old girls off to school every morning. Never touched them or had a thought of doing so! I have no doubt they would swear to my character.

I hired a lawyer who was a big nightmare. He inspected my charge and told me "good news, not to worry, its the lowest form of felony". I'm thinking it'll be reduced to, oh i dunno, 2nd degree sexual misconduct, a misdemeanor or something. A charge under the circumstances I thought would even be too harsh, but I'd gladly accept it.

The day of court, I knew I was screwed after he talked to the DA and came back to me and said, he's offered you such and such and if you don't plead there'll be a trial and you stand to spend up to 3 years in jail. I was petrified but knew he'd really forsaken me when I tried to explain what I'd done and he said, 'Well, after all you are a 50 yr old man who......and then, quote, told me: "c'mon lets go in and get it over with!!!' I was appalled. He wouldn't even let me tell my side to the judge.

He took my $5000 and ran. He never once told me what I'd be in for or to expect. The only thing he said was 'All I want you to concentrate on is the counseling I'm going to arrange for you", leading me to think that he'd plead with the judge for some kind of slap on the wrist and 1 on 1 with someone to comply.

This idiot even presented the court with the wrong days for my jail time which resulted in them holding me for 24 hours at release time and telling me I'd broken probation. That's because the GPS didn't detect me at home when I was actually spending time in jail as I was supposed to. I was scared to death I'd done something.

My horror show was just starting. I was sentenced to 7 days in jail (real harsh for a dangerous criminal huh?) and 5 years probation and sex offender therapy.

The day I met my probation officer she said to me after looking at my papers, "I'm really surprised..you had a good lawyer". A quote from my probation officer!!!! Two months later she had me evicted from my apartment. I was perfectly within the parameters legally of living there since it was more than 2000 feet from a school, yet she had me evicted because within view of my window was a dilapidated swing set that was never used.

A month later I had mentioned to her that I went to my brothers for dinner. My probation rules say: I may not have unchaperoned contact with anyone 16 or younger. My brother, his wife and my parents were all there and the girls weren't even home!! She claimed then I need to have a 'supervisor' who would be delegated by my sex offender counselor after attending 2- $100 meetings with him. And because I didn't have one, I didn't know anyone here & my brother wouldn't do it, she slapped a GPS on me for 3 months of house arrest to the tune of $15 per week. This, after $125 a month(5 yrs) for sex offender therapy, $30/month to the state for supervision fee and polygraphs of $225 each that I've now been forced to take 5 of.

It gets worse.

During Xmas of 06, I was so sick I called sex therapy to tell them I couldn't be there. I was literally falling down sick and had notes from my Xmas employee and my doctor stating such. She flipped at my absence and put me in individual counseling every week for 3 months at $50 per session. Not caring that I had a business to operate with no employees and had to close every Tuesday from 1-4 for that!

They don't want me to see my son because he has autism and I 'might take advantage of it". They even refrain me from going to church as if I'll rape someone in a pew. I have lost my position as a notary, a big chunk of my business.

I have been thrown into sex offender therapy with men who've spent 8 years in prison for having sex with 4 year olds. Each and everyone of them who have physically violated a minor. A man who fondled a teen on her top & privates who got ONE YEAR probation. And he doesn't even have to register as a SO. A man who took out his penis and got 2 years and no registration. An adult who had sex with a 15 yr old and gets off the list after his 2 years probation!! A man who was arrested for 'conspiracy to commit rape on a 4 year old, with a prostitute, and spent 6 years in prison who does not have to register. I've been called a 'criminal" in there by these sick bastards who've sodomized their own kids. I feel like a fish out of water.

They ask me on my polygraphs if I masturbate to the thoughts of children, I answer 'no' and pass the test...and they continue then to ask it in group. There's no end to it. They ask if I masturbate to thoughts of my probation officer.

If they don't hear it , I'm in denial. It's SICK! I pass all my polygraph questions like 'do you masturbate thinking of kids' and 'have you sought sex through any electronic means'. Yet I'm stuck in there with freaks that admit to walking by their own windows stripped to their shorts, and going out and buying porn while they ARE ON probation.

I still don't get it. In the therapy, we learn about thinking errors. The one that reminds me of them is assuming. They assumed I was there to pick someone up!! They assumed that the roll of electrical tape they took from my vehicle from under 5 years of bank receipts and dirt was to tie up a kid's wrists, not because I kept it in case of a water hose break. If it wouldn't be so utterly ridiculous, it'd all be funny.

It has all ruined my self esteem to the hilt. I met a wonderful woman who I hit it off with until I had to tell her...and she ran for her life. I've just given up because I know that's what this stigma gives you. I can't date women who have kids. Who doesn't have a kid in this world? Oh there's a lot more.

Cops knock on my door every 6 weeks scaring the hell out of me seeing if I live where I say I do. My son can't understand why I can't take him to ballgames which he dearly loves. My car has been vandalized to undrivable conditions because my name and address is on sex offender websites and the landlord says she gets calls everyday wanting to know if 'she knows sex offenders live there'. I have received harassing calls at home and now my business is asking me to explain myself for being a 'molester'.

I'm scared. I can't hardly face my customers or my friends. If I ever got this place sold to get back south to be with my son, he'd never understand why I couldn't come to his old high school basketball games to see him hand out cups of water to the players which he is sooo proud of doing.

Not a great thought of going back either since there they notify every neighbor within 2000 feet of you that you're a sex offender. But its like I'm in prison anyway. If I sold this place today, I'd have to wait 6 months for paperwork to clear to transfer out of state. I'd starve! If I put in the paperwork now, then what happens if this store doesn't sell? I'm damned either way.

Can you see yet why I'm on medication for depression? Anxiety? I am soon to go to a forensic psychologist to take tests to prove I have no interest in kids. Not because I have doubts, but because others do. It's like this, when I met my ex-wife I had to prove through papers I was divorced. If this is what I have to do to prove I'm not a monster lurking behind some tree, then so be it.

I'm scared to death there will be a rape in my neighborhood and they'll come knocking. With me alone in the city with no friends to account for my whereabouts. My P.O. called me the morning of 7/18 and asked where I was. I was at home!! She said a county officer called her and told her I'd been arrested and was in county jail. It scared me into a 500 beat per minute heart rate. I've just about had enough!!

I think the lowest I ever got was last year when I got so sick and tired of it I went into the best defense attorney in this city. A former DA. He read my story and said 'why didn't you come to me? They had NO case. This was only a drive-by". My heart sunk. There isn't a soul that doesn't think this is unfair and I need to clear my name. What woman would want to start a relationship with me and inherit this on an almost daily basis? Under the circumstances, I worry that if I do sell this God-forbidden place I don't stand a chance of even getting a job anywhere. And if for some small reason my ex-wife would ever want to reconcile, this all but blows that chance.

What has become of this country? Let's suppose for a minute that I had evil in my mind. I drove in, I drove out. So. Then, I was arrested for thinking something? If that's the case, put me in jail for thinking of robbing a bank. Put us all behind bars.

When does the punishment fit the crime??? I'm guilty of stupidity & nothing more. When you think about it, how do they know it wasn't my brother on the computer who conversed with her and called me at my other brother's house to tell me somebody wanted to meet me at that specific location. and so I went. Isn't that possible? Wouldn't that raise reasonable doubt? I'm stretching because I had no intent to begin with but I believe this proves the flimsiness of it all.

This is NOT about how I've been treated since this, though I wish it were. It's about what I did to deserve this. Without the liquor, false ID of car, where is the burden of proof??? For all they know, I might have just been lost!

No one through out this whole disaster ever questioned my mental condition, what I was going through, nor did they care. When I get a knock at my door, I wonder if a gunshot will blast through as I approach it. I'm scared, I'm lonely and I'm virtually on my own. And I'm tired of it.

The Supreme Court decision defining 'entrapment" should be case enough.

(Sorrells vs US) "when the governments quest for conviction leads to the apprehension of an otherwise law abiding citizen, who, if left to his own devices, likely would never run afoul of the law, the courts should intervene".

(Sherman vs US) "Entrapment only occurs when criminal conduct was the "product of creative activity of law enforcement".

Life seems not worth living if this is what it will amount for me forever on. I dread thinking about climbing a police stations steps at age 75 to register. I would take any type of relief right now. Serving my last 2 years probation and then getting off the list seems like heaven to me right now. Although compared to what others have received, I feel the words of 100 people I've talked to, that I got shafted.

One of my good friends made through my store here is an investigator for the FBI. He talked my situation over with 6 people in the statehouse and he told me a man said, 'its a shame a DA had to make an example out of him" for his own gain.

If my PO or therapist knew I was writing this, they'd string me up for denial. Then again, they string me up for jumping into a burning building to save a 6 yr old from a fire. I mean that sincerely. Certainly one less 'sex offender' on the list wouldn't endanger society if its righteous.

I'm sorry I rambled on, but 100% of this is the truth. I don't sway it one iota to make me appear differently. I don't want anyone saying 'yeah, but you left this part out".

People found with guns in airports get misdeameanors. For what I did/or did not do, I got a felony!! Several men at nearby state prison beat a guy to within an inch of his life and got misdeameanors. I know myself and if I ever touched a minor, I'd tell em 'don't give me 15 years, give me 45 years". That's how confident I am in myself never resorting to that stuff. The longer this goes on, the more rights are taking away from me because I'm categorized.

Categorized for doing nothing--or one stupid mistake. I have NO doubt I would
pass a plethysmograph if I could find someone who does them. My most fervent wish
is to get outta here and go back to Florida where I was so happy, but that state treats

In my opinion, the most important statement Barack Obama made during the Saddleback Civil Forum was his observation regarding Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

Obama told pastor Rick Warren "... how I've see him (Roberts) operate since he went to the bench, confirms the suspicions that I had and the reasons I voted against him."

The presumptive Democratic nominee went on specifically to say, "One of the most important jobs of I believe--of the Supreme Court is to guard against the encroachment of the executive branch on the... power of the other branches and I think he has been a little bit too willing and eager to give the administration--whether it's mine or George Bush's more power than the Constitution intended."

That statement quite nicely sums up what is wrong with America today.

Check it out yourself, beginning around or about 5:40.

Recreate '68

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 13:00 GMT

As I mentioned earlier this week, six members of the Florida Progressive Coalition are headed out to Denver to attend the Democratic convention as our representatives.

I'm loving it. For the first time as an voter, I anticipate coverage of the real deal instead of the hype broadcast by the mainstream media.

Keeping that in mind, Ken over at FPC wants to know what you want to know.

What would you most like to see us cover on our Denver trip?

Personally, I'd like to hear from those who congregate outside the convention, those Americans behind the fence who feel their voices are not being heard.

Suggestions can be posted at the Frog or feel free to post over at the FPC open thread by clicking here.