Dechristo

Wow, an homemade cross made of pipes illegally erected in a public reserve. Certainly the defining issue of our day. Loser pays winner's attorney fees is pretty standard in many kinds of cases. They had their day in court. They lost. Sounds like whining to me. It also sounds like the democratic process at work. I would guess that most Americans would not appreciate coming around a switchback in a publicly owned natural reserve and seeing a cheesy homemade islamic flag flying from a used piece of cyclone fencing. Same rules apply. Equal protection, MOFO. You want a cross? Put one up on your own lawn. If someone burns it, the ACLU will be the first ones to come to your aid. of course, you wouldn't let the facts of the case get in the way of your opinion

What? ...and ban divorce?

were you socked by a gay person? phonetic interpretation permissible

you can have my ACLU when you pry my cold, dead, :pagetop:s from it

unless he grinds he teeth

There'll be a storage fee to pay

the "quote" totally, like, fucked-up the wave

whoa... I'm seeing, like, waves in the text. Is "the way of the future", like, also, like, the wave of the future?

I was told the soundtrack for the future would be provided by Wyld Stallions

I'm sure part of the dislike for the ACLU is the perception shared by many (including myself) that their actions and agenda are not apolitical. Also, the argument of altruistic pro bono work is tainted by the profits gleaned from all taxpayers in pursuit of this perceived agenda. Here's an article found explaining, in part, this objection: Legion defends Boy Scouts, fights ACLU By Rees Lloyd American Legion National Commander Thomas Cadmus recently called on government officials to “stand up to the ACLU,” fueling a firestorm of protest against fanatical in terrorem litigation by the American Civil Liberties Union against the Boy Scouts, the Mojave Desert Veterans Memorial and every public expression of America’s religious history and heritage. The call from the Legion’s top official came in a blistering public denunciation of the Defense Department announcement that it would order military units worldwide not to sponsor Boy Scout troops, a partial surrender to an ACLU lawsuit filed in Illinois in 1999. Cadmus asked publicly, “What are the courts doing? ... Where is the outrage?” The public generally does not know the ACLU is profiting in such cases by millions of dollars in taxpayer-paid “attorney fee awards” authorized under the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S. Code Sec. 1988. While the law was paved with good intentions – to ensure legitimate victims of civil-rights violations could obtain representation – it has been exploited by the ACLU in First Amendment “establishment of religion clause” cases in which there are, in fact, no attorney fees incurred by the ACLU or its plaintiffs, who appear to be “mascot plaintiffs” with de minimis claims, like “Ohmigod – I saw a cross!” Elected and appointed officials at the local, state, and federal levels have been literally terrorized from standing up to the ACLU in fear of enormous attorney fees being imposed by unelected judges not answerable to the taxpayers. As far as is known, not a single American judge has had the courage to exercise discretion to deny attorney fees to the ACLU under 42 U.S. Code 1988, which is the sole authority for awarding attorney fees. Delegates at the National Convention 2004 unanimously adopted Resolution 326, “Preservation of the Mojave Desert Veterans Memorial,” which calls on Congress to amend the law and end judges’ authority to award attorney fees in cases brought “to remove or destroy religious symbols.” The Department of California sponsored Resolution 326 after a federal court in Riverside, Calif., for the first time allowed the ACLU to pursue a precedent-setting lawsuit to remove a solitary cross at what is now the Mojave Desert Veterans Memorial. That case, Buono v. Norton, illustrates the ACLU’s fanaticism, disrespect for veterans, and exposes the threat of further legal attacks on veterans’ memorials by the ACLU or others. In 1934, a private citizen strapped two pipes together to form a cross and mounted it on a rock outcrop in a remote, privately owned area of the Mojave Desert. The purpose was to honor the service of World War I veterans. President Clinton, as one of his last acts, issued an executive order incorporating the area in the Mojave National Preserve. The ACLU seized on that fact to file a federal suit to remove the cross in 2000. A district court ruled for the ACLU and awarded it more than $40,000 in attorney fees. Veterans protested, and Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., who represents the area, achieved legislation officially establishing the site as the Mojave Desert Veterans Memorial. The legislation authorized an exchange of the 1-acre site for five acres from a private owner, placing the memorial on private land. However, that did not satisfy the fanatical ACLU. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held the case was “not moot” because the land exchange, although legislatively authorized, was not complete. Further, the court found the lead plaintiff – the first and sole remaining plaintiff – had legal standing to complain of civil-rights injury. The lead plaintiff, Fank Buono, is a retired Forest Service employee who later moved to Oregon, but claims civil-rights violation and injury because he sees the cross when driving back on visits. ACLU’s attorney fee award for representing him was increased to $63,000. Upon such de minimis dross as this is constitutional law being made by judges, and the ACLU is profiting financially, at taxpayer expense. They’re still at it. The ACLU filed a motion in District Court in December to declare the land exchange unconstitutional, claiming it doesn’t comply with the spirit of the injunction. Other examples of ACLU abuse are multiple, nationwide, and glaring:  The ACLU reaped some $940,000 in settlement from the City of San Diego when it surrendered in ACLU’s litigation to kick the Boy Scouts out of Balboa Park. The Boy Scouts are appealing. The American Legion has filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the Scouts.  The ACLU received some $500,000 to drive the Ten Commandments out of the courthouse of Alabama Judge Roy Moore, notwithstanding the fact that the same Ten Commandments are on the massive doors and the wall of the U.S. Supreme Court itself.  Portland Public Schools were ordered to pay the ACLU $108,000 in a case brought for an atheist who objected to the Boy Scouts being allowed to recruit during non-class time. At the time of this writing, Portland is considering a complete ban.  The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, over the vigorous objection of Supervisor Michael Antonovich joined by Supervisor Don Knabe, surrendered on a 3- 2 vote to the ACLU’s demands that it change the county seal because of a tiny cross in one small panel representing the mission period of its history. The ACLU, exposing its hypocrisy as well as fanaticism, did not demand removal of the central religious figure dominating the seal -- “Pomona,”the “Italo-Roman goddess of poma, i.e. fruits. A citizens’ initiative petition is ongoing to place the issue on the ballot and overturn the surrender to the ACLU.  The city council of Redlands, Calif., reluctantly surrendered to the ACLU’s demand that it change its city seal to remove a cross, for fear of court-ordered attorney fees to the ACLU. Simply put, it is clear the ACLU has gone too far, exploiting the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S. Code 1988, to enrich itself and carry out in terrorem litigation to compel surrender to its demands from elected and appointed officials who fear judge-awarded attorney fees. Claims by ACLU’s defenders that the organization once did public good in defending free speech, are vitiated by its fanaticism in self-enriching terroristic litigation and self-appointed social engineering in the present. American Legion National Resolution 326 calls for Congress to reform 42 U.S. Code Sec. 1988 to take the profit out of such terroristic litigation. This can be a powerful weapon in the effort to stop such abuses. It will take a united, determined effort of the American Legion Family, other veterans, an aroused citizenry and courageous elected officials. The legal principles used by the ACLU to sue against the single cross at the Mojave Desert Veterans Memorial are applicable to the 9,000 crosses and Stars of David at Normandy, along with those in every national cemetery. If Congress does not act, nothing in the law will prevent Islamist terrorists in the United States, or their sympathizers, from using the ACLU precedent to sue veterans’ memorials or the Boy Scouts, or anyone else over expressions of America’s religious history and heritage. And nothing stops the ACLU from collecting millions of taxpayer dollars as attorney-fee awards. Commander Cadmus has sounded the tocsin. “We are determined to stand up to the ACLU and, as first step, to demand that Congress end the appalling practice of awarding attorney fees in the millions of dollars to the ACLU at taxpayer expense so they can use the courts to destroy American values.” Rees Lloyd, a longtime civil-rights attorney, is past commander of American Legion San Gorgonio Pass Post 428 in Banning, Calif., and the author of Resolution 326. He was an ACLU of Southern California staff attorney for two years after graduating from law school in 1979. edit: gotta have the civil libertarian

It is now everyone's civil liberty here to do so since you offered

it's a self-image thing

still, it must be done... because it's there.

unlike Paris, Britney, and Lindsay, Madonna was wearing panties.

I've never found Madonna particularly attractive or sexy. I dig some of her jingles/pop tunes and some of her videos are great (especially the one Cunningham did for her), but I've never fantasized about gettin' it on with her. Which made last night's experience particularly perplexing: I was at a party where she was in attendance. There were a lot of the music industry glitterati there with entourages in tow. Intoxicants of all manner were available and flowing. I stayed off to the side, mostly, chit-chatting with that guy and that girl about the latest projects - generally, maintaining and building "the network" that helps to keep all musicians working. The party ebbed slightly and I took a seat on a couch in the auxillary hallway that lead from outside in the back of the house, where the main party was banging, to the interior of the house. I was seated for less than a minute when Madonna and 5-6 of her "friends" (staff/bodyguards) came through the doorway from the party proper and started to walk through the hallway. She stopped in front of me and turned to say something to her staff. When she finished whatever she had to say to them, she turned and sat on the couch I was on; she looked frustrated. I turned from looking at her to face her group; half were talking on cellphones, two were eyeing artwork on the wall, one was looking back out to the party. When I turned to look at Madonna again, she looked up and turned to face me. We smiled a greeting at one another and started to make small-talk about life, music, ...the usual. We started to hit it off. She broke from our conversation long enough to get the attention of her entourage and wave them off, after which, they soon departed. It wasn't long before we were cuddling and kissing. Without going into all the details of the moves and escalation of passion, we ended up getting it on right there on the couch. so, what does this dream mean?

Famous Amos stayed in the spotlight for awhile due to his cookie(s).

nice work, E. you gonna do a fridge or an ice box? and what of the sound system? Did you embed wiring for dat and mebbee a sat dish on da roof?

Oly, Arch, Cobra Commander, DFA, ...it's a long list.

nice Peter Gabrielesque soundtrack

one of the bands I gig with does "The Man Who Sold the World". great tune

I guess it's more like watching a kid who somehow got his mom's car going down the street and is careening through traffic while other cars' horns blare, vehicles are side-swiped, and bystanders look on in amazement. All the while, the kid has a huge smile on his face, thinks he's driving better anyone else, flips-off everyone who tells him to slow down and stop, and is oblivious to his ineptitude in driving. I guess it's morbid curiousity: you know the kid is gonna wreck, what remains to be seen is the severity.

it's more like watching to see if a toddler is gonna pick up a dog turd and stick it in his mouth again, or if he learned his lesson from the last time he did it.

Charlie! Light a match!!!

big fuckin' surprise there

that's cause Euro gear ain't packed chock full o' Freeedom like our gear is!