The Wacky World of Chris Knight
Life is an adventure. A good life is worth selling the movie rights. These are my story notes.
Sometimes I see, read, hear or think about something that sets me off. If it gets me worked up to the point where I need to write about it this is where I’ll file it.
Car bomb kills more than 50 people in Baghdad
-Chris
p.s. I’m not linking any of the text of the article, since the Associated Press seems to be on a witch-hunt lately against people who quote their articles. They are drafting ‘guidelines’ that they somehow think allows them to set stricter rules than are already permitted by ‘faire use’ provisions of the current copyright laws.
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This particular case has been bugging me since I first heard about it a few weeks ago. As an intelligent person, I would like to think I could do anything I wanted; but apparently I can’t be a cop:
METRO NEWS BRIEFS: CONNECTICUT; Judge Rules That Police Can Bar High I.Q. Scores – New York Times
Published: September 9, 1999A Federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by a man who was barred from the New London police force because he scored too high on an intelligence test.
In a ruling made public on Tuesday, Judge Peter C. Dorsey of the United States District Court in New Haven agreed that the plaintiff, Robert Jordan, was denied an opportunity to interview for a police job because of his high test scores. But he said that that did not mean Mr. Jordan was a victim of discrimination.
Judge Dorsey ruled that Mr. Jordan was not denied equal protection because the city of New London applied the same standard to everyone: anyone who scored too high was rejected.
Mr. Jordan, 48, who has a bachelor’s degree in literature and is an officer with the State Department of Corrections, said he was considering an appeal. ”I was eliminated on the basis of my intellectual makeup,” he said. ”It’s the same as discrimination on the basis of gender or religion or race.”
So, what happens when a profession who is responsible for maintaining law and order refuses to hire ‘smart people’?
Deputies subdue car crash victim who fought rescuers — South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Staff report – June 14, 2008Sheriff’s deputies zapped a car accident victim with a stun gun several times Friday morning after he became violent with emergency workers who tried to put a neck brace on him, authorities said.
The crash occurred about 3:30 a.m. when the man, Mark Holder, 30, of Boynton Beach had a seizure in the Cadillac he was driving along Military Trail and Champion Drive, and his passenger, NeNe Piltoff, 47, of Delray Beach, had to take the wheel, sheriff’s spokeswoman Teri Barbera said.
The car jumped the median heading southbound in the northbound lanes of Military Trail before it swerved off the road and smashed into the Addison Court plaza sign.
As fire-rescue workers tried to put a neck brace on Holder, he fought them, Barbera said.
After he was subdued, he was taken to Delray Medical Center with serious injuries, Barbera said. Piltoff suffered a dislocated elbow.
A smart person would realize that a tazer is not a general purpose tranquilizer gun. It is not a star trek phaser set to stun. In the wrong hands, in stupid hands, it is a potentially lethal weapon. Only a complete fucking moron would use a tazer on a person who had a possible spinal injury and who emergency workers are trying to get into a neck brace…
-Chris
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If you know me, or if you had the misfortune to be checking this blog last year when I really wasn’t doing my best, you may have seen me write something along the lines of “When a person’s words and actions do not match, watch their actions; for that is the true indicator of what they really believe.”
In recent months, Mr McCain has verbally criticized the Bush administration’s response to Katrina. He went to far as to say that if had been President he would have been on the ground at Katrina personally assessing the situation. Of course, it took journalists (traditional media and bloggers alike) a very short time to find footage showing that McCain was in fact with Bush when Katrina hit, eating cake while New Orleans flooded. It was a very Marie-Antoinette moment.
So, what would McCain really do as President if a major national disaster hit? Let’s take a look at what he is doing right now, as the Midwest floods:
ARLINGTON, VA — U.S. Senator John McCain today issued the following statement on the flooding in the Midwest:
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those impacted by the flooding throughout the Midwest. Cindy and I would like to extend our sympathies to all those who have lost loved ones, and stand ready to help those in the Midwest to recover and rebuild.”
Is he in the Midwest, assessing the damage, helping out, anything? Nope. He is ‘standing ready’, which apparently means being somewhere else holding a press conference. If you want to know what McCain will do while he is president, just look at what he is doing right now: flip-flopping on issues and keeping his own ass out of the fire, or water in this case.
As a counterpoint, here is what Obama did when the floods hit:
Mel pointed out to me that its a shame he wasn’t wearing work clothes, because he sorta looks like he dropped by for a photo opportunity dressed liked that. My interpretation is that a natural disaster hit, and he didn’t go home to get ‘the right clothes’, or stop at wal-mart to buy jeans; he stopped what he was doing right then and there and pitched in to help.
UPDATE: I would also like to note that the main story in the ‘sizzle zone’ of Obama’s website is an appeal for help for those affected by the storms and flooding and links to donate to the Red Cross. John McCain has a “Statement by John McCain on the Midwest Floods”. I’ll take actions over words any day.
-Chris
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I use Amazon affiliate links in some of my posts. I think it is fair to say my writing is not influenced by the $0.40 I earned in 2022.