["My story is based on fiction," said Poole, who faces a second-degree felony terrorist threatening charge. "It's a fake story. I made it up. I've been working on one of my short stories, (and) the short story they found was about zombies. Yes, it did say a high school. It was about a high school over ran by zombies."]
[Even so, police say the nature of the story makes it a felony. "Anytime you make any threat or possess matter involving a school or function it's a felony in the state of Kentucky," said Winchester Police detective Steven Caudill.]
[On Thursday, a judge raised Poole's bond from one to five thousand dollars after prosecutors requested it, citing the seriousness of the charge.]
[Poole is being held at the Clark County Detention Center.]
28.2.05
Kentucky Is Not Prepared For The Zombie Holocaust
I have to admit that sometimes I run across news articles that just leave me speechless and desperately needing to leave the States. The following is a set of excerpts from an online article from a Kentucky-based local TV station:
24.2.05
Me, Myself, and Liberal Theory
I wrote this up for a debate and discussion thread on personal beliefs on a forum I frequent. The idea was to answer a series of topic prompts, and I figured I would crosspost it here. Oh, and a friend just came in and said it smelled like baseball season and that turned him on. I thought that might be important too.
Crime & Violence :: I believe in a system that focuses on inmate rehabilitation and reintroduction into society. I view criminal tendencies as a disease that should be cured, and the current system seems to be doing exactly the opposite. Vengeance-oriented criminal justice only perpetuates the cycle, and no one is helped. What is the point of spending millions of dollars on prisons if they just forestall the problem? I do not support the death penalty, though I do believe that less humane solutions (mindwipe, hypnotic suggestion) are appropriate when rehabilitation is impossible. I do not think that this can be determined simply from the nature of the crime. The current system desparately needs a revamping, and punitive sentences need to be done away with, for they are absolutely immoral. If you cannot rehabilitate them within a normal sentence then there is no reason to believe imprisoning them longer will help.
Taxes :: The current tax system is far too complex to continue. It needs to be simplified, if only to return the faith of the citizenry in the government. However, it could be done successfully in many ways. Overall, several groups need to work it over to create a system that encourages economic growth without abandoning the poor. I believe that as the wealthy benefit the most from our society they are also the most fiscally responsible, and this is not punishment for being rich but a sense of fairness and equality that needs to be returned to our society. I believe that estate taxes should be done away with and general taxes should be raised in compensation. I believe that both income and sales taxes are important parts of our tax system, but income tax more so.
Social Security :: Social welfare is a highly important part of our society. Doing away with it is incredibly dangerous both in terms of economic growth and general societal welfare. Privatization of social security is ridiculously stupid, you may as well not have it all if you privatize it. I believe social security can be maintained with a small degree of changes, principally a retraction of excessive medical benefits that enables old people to spend thousands of public dollars in order to perpetuate their self-aggrandizement. Our society needs to remember how to age gracefully, and paying to over-medicate oldsters is the exact opposite of that.
Censorship, the FCC, and Freedom of Speech :: Current levels of censorship are far in excess of what should occur. While I agree that media outlets need to adequately inform viewers of the degrees of violence, sex, or language extant in their productions, this can be better done via optional protective channels rather than censoring all media. However, I would agree with the courts that there are some types of speech which the state has a responsibility to prohibit, namely "fighting words" and unneccesarily offensive speech in certain mediums (like someone promoting the lynching of blacks in front of an MLK march, or screaming obscenities at children).
The Border :: Anyone should have the opportunity to gain American citizenship, and visas should be easier to get also. However, I believe that illegal border crossing should be prohibited, preferably in a nonviolent way. States have a right to police their borders.
Abortion :: Women have a right to choose. There is no more ethical reason to prohibit abortions than to prohibit any other kind of surgery. It is their body, their life, the state has no place in it. The anti-abortion rationale is horribly immoral, and stems from crappy religious nonsense. A fetus is not a human any more than a cheek swab is. Abortions should be allowed until the fetus can be assured a healthy life with the merest of medical attention, this means up to a few weeks prior to birth. Before you start going off about baby killing remember that delivering a child into the arms of a poor single mother with no way to support it is only guaranteeing it a miserable existence.
The Foreign Policy :: The US needs to become far more multilateral, and go back to supporting the UN. Let the US fight for all of its economic and political extras just like the rest of the world does, one vote at a time. The US has no right to impose its will on the rest of the world unilaterally, but it has a responsibility to help others in need. If the UN persists in shutting down US interests then become more isolationistic, creating wars is just going to bite us in the ass.
Poverty and Welfare :: Poverty is the inevitable result of capitalism. Taxation and welfare is the only just response so long as we continue using a system which profits on the backs of the poor and disenfranchised. While doing away with poverty is impossible, I believe that putting money into welfare systems will help generate growth far more so than corporate tax breaks and lowering the minimum wage. We need to stop letting our government only respond to corporate interests.
Birth Control :: The state has no place forcing families to have children or to abort them. On the other hand, overpopulation is a real concern. We need to promote a stable population through education and taxation if neccessary. Forcing it would never work.
Gun Laws :: I don't have a problem with people using guns. I do have a problem with people using guns to commit crimes and terrorize the community. Until someone makes a gun that can only shoot people legally I'm going to support gun laws. There is no reason to allow citizens to own assault shotguns or whathaveyou just because they think it's fun to play with, just like there is no reason to allow people to commit murder just because they think it's fun to do. Ban the private ownership of guns and replace them with effective nonlethal handguns and strictly monitored shooting-ranges and hunting preserves.
The War on Drugs :: Legalize and normalize. The war on drugs will never ever work. Furthermore, there seems to be little reason to ban most of these drugs than religious puritanism. If you legalize the private use of these drugs (not in public areas) as well as monitored distribution and education then the criminal elements will disperse and the problems with drugs will go away. If drugs were sold in servings then overdosing would also subside.
Religion :: I hate the stuff. If it weren't for my beliefs in the importance of free speech I would ban all forms of organized religion because I see it as being so destructive to a healthy free society. However, I am willing to tolerate their existence so long as they stay out of the government and stop recieving all those tax breaks and government funding for "faith-based initiatives" (read: organized conversion attempts). In other news I'm an antitheist.
Gay Marriage / Homosexuals :: The concept of marriage should be abandoned and replaced with civil unions that are open to everybody. Marriage is a purely religious phenomenon that has no place in law. Civil unions should not be limited by race, sexual orientation, or the number of those included. Only informed legal consent. The rights engendered by that union should be diminished, however, and bestowed upon all people regardless of marital status.
Animal Rights :: As the most developed species on this planet we have an ethical responsibilty to care for less developed species. This is no different from an adult caring for a child. Additionally, there is the matter of the environmental damages accrued by special extinction, which will eventually cause us significant problems. While I can accept the slaughter of animals in order to feed humans, I believe vegetarianism is the better answer, both ecologically and morally, and the state should support this opinion. Finally, said slaughter needs to be done in far more humane conditions than that now, and the state needs to ensure that this occurs.
The War on Terror :: This war is wrong on so many levels, it is hard to even know where to begin. There appears to be little ethical or rational reason to have begun this war in Iraq in the first place. At this point I believe that the best course is to finish what we have begun, and then take a long hard look at the vast number of mistakes made along the way, specifically regarding our policies of unilateralism and misinforming the citizenry. I believe that the current administration should be impeached for their misconduct regarding this war.
Me :: I consider myself liberal.
Crime & Violence :: I believe in a system that focuses on inmate rehabilitation and reintroduction into society. I view criminal tendencies as a disease that should be cured, and the current system seems to be doing exactly the opposite. Vengeance-oriented criminal justice only perpetuates the cycle, and no one is helped. What is the point of spending millions of dollars on prisons if they just forestall the problem? I do not support the death penalty, though I do believe that less humane solutions (mindwipe, hypnotic suggestion) are appropriate when rehabilitation is impossible. I do not think that this can be determined simply from the nature of the crime. The current system desparately needs a revamping, and punitive sentences need to be done away with, for they are absolutely immoral. If you cannot rehabilitate them within a normal sentence then there is no reason to believe imprisoning them longer will help.
Taxes :: The current tax system is far too complex to continue. It needs to be simplified, if only to return the faith of the citizenry in the government. However, it could be done successfully in many ways. Overall, several groups need to work it over to create a system that encourages economic growth without abandoning the poor. I believe that as the wealthy benefit the most from our society they are also the most fiscally responsible, and this is not punishment for being rich but a sense of fairness and equality that needs to be returned to our society. I believe that estate taxes should be done away with and general taxes should be raised in compensation. I believe that both income and sales taxes are important parts of our tax system, but income tax more so.
Social Security :: Social welfare is a highly important part of our society. Doing away with it is incredibly dangerous both in terms of economic growth and general societal welfare. Privatization of social security is ridiculously stupid, you may as well not have it all if you privatize it. I believe social security can be maintained with a small degree of changes, principally a retraction of excessive medical benefits that enables old people to spend thousands of public dollars in order to perpetuate their self-aggrandizement. Our society needs to remember how to age gracefully, and paying to over-medicate oldsters is the exact opposite of that.
Censorship, the FCC, and Freedom of Speech :: Current levels of censorship are far in excess of what should occur. While I agree that media outlets need to adequately inform viewers of the degrees of violence, sex, or language extant in their productions, this can be better done via optional protective channels rather than censoring all media. However, I would agree with the courts that there are some types of speech which the state has a responsibility to prohibit, namely "fighting words" and unneccesarily offensive speech in certain mediums (like someone promoting the lynching of blacks in front of an MLK march, or screaming obscenities at children).
The Border :: Anyone should have the opportunity to gain American citizenship, and visas should be easier to get also. However, I believe that illegal border crossing should be prohibited, preferably in a nonviolent way. States have a right to police their borders.
Abortion :: Women have a right to choose. There is no more ethical reason to prohibit abortions than to prohibit any other kind of surgery. It is their body, their life, the state has no place in it. The anti-abortion rationale is horribly immoral, and stems from crappy religious nonsense. A fetus is not a human any more than a cheek swab is. Abortions should be allowed until the fetus can be assured a healthy life with the merest of medical attention, this means up to a few weeks prior to birth. Before you start going off about baby killing remember that delivering a child into the arms of a poor single mother with no way to support it is only guaranteeing it a miserable existence.
The Foreign Policy :: The US needs to become far more multilateral, and go back to supporting the UN. Let the US fight for all of its economic and political extras just like the rest of the world does, one vote at a time. The US has no right to impose its will on the rest of the world unilaterally, but it has a responsibility to help others in need. If the UN persists in shutting down US interests then become more isolationistic, creating wars is just going to bite us in the ass.
Poverty and Welfare :: Poverty is the inevitable result of capitalism. Taxation and welfare is the only just response so long as we continue using a system which profits on the backs of the poor and disenfranchised. While doing away with poverty is impossible, I believe that putting money into welfare systems will help generate growth far more so than corporate tax breaks and lowering the minimum wage. We need to stop letting our government only respond to corporate interests.
Birth Control :: The state has no place forcing families to have children or to abort them. On the other hand, overpopulation is a real concern. We need to promote a stable population through education and taxation if neccessary. Forcing it would never work.
Gun Laws :: I don't have a problem with people using guns. I do have a problem with people using guns to commit crimes and terrorize the community. Until someone makes a gun that can only shoot people legally I'm going to support gun laws. There is no reason to allow citizens to own assault shotguns or whathaveyou just because they think it's fun to play with, just like there is no reason to allow people to commit murder just because they think it's fun to do. Ban the private ownership of guns and replace them with effective nonlethal handguns and strictly monitored shooting-ranges and hunting preserves.
The War on Drugs :: Legalize and normalize. The war on drugs will never ever work. Furthermore, there seems to be little reason to ban most of these drugs than religious puritanism. If you legalize the private use of these drugs (not in public areas) as well as monitored distribution and education then the criminal elements will disperse and the problems with drugs will go away. If drugs were sold in servings then overdosing would also subside.
Religion :: I hate the stuff. If it weren't for my beliefs in the importance of free speech I would ban all forms of organized religion because I see it as being so destructive to a healthy free society. However, I am willing to tolerate their existence so long as they stay out of the government and stop recieving all those tax breaks and government funding for "faith-based initiatives" (read: organized conversion attempts). In other news I'm an antitheist.
Gay Marriage / Homosexuals :: The concept of marriage should be abandoned and replaced with civil unions that are open to everybody. Marriage is a purely religious phenomenon that has no place in law. Civil unions should not be limited by race, sexual orientation, or the number of those included. Only informed legal consent. The rights engendered by that union should be diminished, however, and bestowed upon all people regardless of marital status.
Animal Rights :: As the most developed species on this planet we have an ethical responsibilty to care for less developed species. This is no different from an adult caring for a child. Additionally, there is the matter of the environmental damages accrued by special extinction, which will eventually cause us significant problems. While I can accept the slaughter of animals in order to feed humans, I believe vegetarianism is the better answer, both ecologically and morally, and the state should support this opinion. Finally, said slaughter needs to be done in far more humane conditions than that now, and the state needs to ensure that this occurs.
The War on Terror :: This war is wrong on so many levels, it is hard to even know where to begin. There appears to be little ethical or rational reason to have begun this war in Iraq in the first place. At this point I believe that the best course is to finish what we have begun, and then take a long hard look at the vast number of mistakes made along the way, specifically regarding our policies of unilateralism and misinforming the citizenry. I believe that the current administration should be impeached for their misconduct regarding this war.
Me :: I consider myself liberal.
22.2.05
Free Mojtaba and Arash Day
They said all I had to do was write "Free Mojtaba and Arash Day", so I figured I'd do a little extra.
I'm still waiting for my cookie.
I'm still waiting for my cookie.
18.2.05
Pot Kettle Black
I dunno if anyone has been following the story of the crazy mormon woman who sued two teenagers for leaving her cookies on her doorstep, but it sounds like it got a happy ending despite the court decision. For those of you not in the right cookie gossip circles the story was that these two junior mormon girls decided to bake a bunch of cookies for their neighbors and then deliver them at about 10:30 at night. They delivered them to about 8 people, as well as leaving one on her doorstep with a note "Love, The T & L Club" (their initials). While the other neighbors enjoyed delicious cookies the crazy woman decided that she was being attacked by the same neighbors who had attacked her 15 years prior, and called the police. She then went to the hospital in the morning because she thought she had a heart attack and racked up a bunch of bills, of which $900 was not covered by insurance. She then demanded compensation from the girls' families. The families offered to pay for the medical bills not covered by insurance so long as the woman signed a litigation waiver and provided proof of medical fees (on the advice of their lawyer). She declined and proceeded to take them to court "to teach them a lesson" and was awarded the $900 in question, which did not include the nearly $3000 in punitive damages she had asked for. It was quite a depressing story when I first heard about it, but apparently there is a bit of good in the world. People throughout their community and the rest of the nation have been calling their house non-stop in order to tell them what they think of her "lesson", as well as sending her boxes of cookie crumbs and the like. Finally she changed her number and has apparently been shunned by several members of her town. She blames the uproar on the girls for talking about the case and creating popular support, and hopes that people will stop leaving lovely little messages like "You are what is wrong with society." In other news the girls' families are getting a restraining order on Young's family for making harassing phone calls to their phones. The irony of which makes my mind explode. Talk about a litigious society.
2.2.05
Revival
Well, while this blog was originally created to enable me to expound upon my various opinions of this and that, I've decided to open it up to other types of writing just to get a bit more use out of it, as well as to have somewhere to publish stuff. For starters is a poem I wrote today while I should have been studying for a political science midterm. It's not that great, but then I've never been that great a poet:
untitled
I realized I lost today; but not yet, not yet.
I saw a little death today; but not yet, not yet.
I watched a dream collide today; but not yet, not yet.
I felt a heart collapse today; but not yet, not yet.
I held a shell together today; but not yet, not yet.
I tasted a sea of tears today; but not yet, not yet.
I could only fail a friend today; but not yet, not yet.
For today, tommorow only got a little closer.
untitled
I realized I lost today; but not yet, not yet.
I saw a little death today; but not yet, not yet.
I watched a dream collide today; but not yet, not yet.
I felt a heart collapse today; but not yet, not yet.
I held a shell together today; but not yet, not yet.
I tasted a sea of tears today; but not yet, not yet.
I could only fail a friend today; but not yet, not yet.
For today, tommorow only got a little closer.
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