What amazes me most is the fact a person can be alone in a room with nothing but a pen and a piece of paper and have the ability to commit a crime.
Especially since the judge emphasized they "don't have to resemble humans." You can make a crude drawing of stick figures having sex and be considered a "child pornographer."
Heck, every schoolboy who ever drew naughty pictures would be considered a child pornographer.
A man charged over cartoons showing sex acts involving children modelled on The Simpsons characters has failed to have his child pornography convictions overturned.
In the NSW Supreme Court on Monday, Justice Michael Adams ruled a fictional cartoon character was a "person" within the meaning of the relevant state and Commonwealth laws.
In February, Alan John McEwan was convicted in Parramatta Local Court of possessing child pornography and using his computer to access child pornography.
"The alleged pornography comprised a series of cartoons depicting figures modelled on members of the television animated series The Simpsons," the judge said.
The cartoons showed characters like Bart, Lisa and Maggie Simpson having sex.
The man was convicted and fined $3,000 and placed on a good behaviour bond.
"In my view, the magistrate was correct in determining that, in respect of both the Commonwealth and the NSW offences, the word 'person' included fictional or imaginary characters ...," the judge said.
"... the mere fact that the figure depicted departed from a realistic representation in some respects of a human being did not mean that such a figure was not a 'person'."
In dismissing the appeal, the judge ordered each party to pay its own legal costs as this was the first case dealing with this "difficult" issue.
" Transition advisers to President-elect Barack Obama have compiled a list of about 200 Bush administration actions and executive orders that could be swiftly undone to reverse White House policies on climate change, stem cell research, reproductive rights and other issues, according to congressional Democrats, campaign aides and experts working with the transition team."
I think anti-Americanism among the right is going to become an increasingly important issue. Quote from the Rapture Ready forum:
"Something happened in my heart. I feel disconnected to the nation that spit in God's face tonight. America as I knew and loved it is gone. Gone.
I feel more centered in the Lord Himself, committed to the *remnant* of other Christians who have not bended the knee and knowing where our only true country is...with Jesus. It's never been so clear to me until tonight."
"Amen!! We talked about that at Bible study tonight. We are not citizens of the United States anymore. We are citizens of Heaven with Jesus. I started grieving for this country about six weeks ago and had such a heavy burden on my heart for it. It was like the Lord was showing me and preparing me for what happened tonight. The line in the sand has been drawn. I truly believe that this was a sifting done by the Lord to see who would stand for Him and His values and who wouldn't. The more I think about it, the more I believe that the number of those who are raptured is going to be significantly less than first thought. I am amazed as to how many "Christians" drank the kook-aid and fell for the deception."
"I am just heart broken. May God have mercy on this country. The first thing my daughter asked me on the phone right after Obamanation won was…”Where do you want to move to?” I don’t think she was kidding either! I tell you…this country is headed for hell…very fast.
Has anyone stopped to think at the number of babies that will be murdered now? How many “gays”…and I use that term loosely…they are NOT happy people…are going to just take over this country?! It’s going to be Sodom and Gomorrah all over again! It makes me SICK to think about it.
Sarah Palin endorser Bishop Thomas Muthee, in a speech he gave before blessing and anointing Sarah Palin as a political leader, on October 16, 2005 at the Wasilla Assembly of God, laid out the current agenda of the New Apostolic Reformation - how "God's kingdom" needed to "infiltrate" seven sectors of society. Muthee listed most of them: business and finance, schools and education, media and entertainment, politics and government.
Muthee also stated "The Bible says the wealth of the wicked is stored up for the righteous. Sarah Palin was in the audience. Minutes later, she was anointed, and blessed, with the laying on of hands.
Thomas Muthee is an internationally known celebrity in the New Apostolic Reformation and a personal friend of the movement's head, C. Peter Wagner. In June 2006 Wagner proclaimed that "God has declared through His prophets that the wealth of the wicked will be released to the Kingdom of God," and declared, threateningly, "the enemies' camp will be plundered."
..."I declare that this wealth will be distributed for the extension of the Kingdom of God by the apostles that God has set in the church." Wagner made clear that that human agency would be a part of his wealth transfer scheme, and Wagner specifically singled out the "godless":
Falling behind in her reelection race, Sen. Elizabeth Dole has uncorked one hell of a charge: The Democrat running against me is godless.
Dole's 30-second ad, which is running on television in North Carolina but has not (understandably) been promoted by the GOP, uses a September fundraiser co-hosted by 40 people, including a representative of the Godless America PAC, to falsely accuse Democrat Kay Hagan of being an atheist herself.
The end of the ad features a picture of Hagan with a female voice yelling "there is no God!" -- the clear implication is that the voice is Hagan's. In fact, the Democratic candidate is a Sunday School teacher and an elder at her Presbyterian church.
The Charlotte Observer reported Wednesday morning that Hagan's campaign is seeking a "cease and desist" order against Dole's new attack.
"A leader of the Godless Americans PAC recently held a secret fundraiser in Kay Hagan's honor," the ad begins, showing some ominously blurred footage, ostensibly of the event in question. The ad then quotes the group's Ellen Johnson making atheist claims on two cable news shows. Summing up, the spot asks: "Godless Americans and Kay Hagan. She hid from cameras, took Godless money. What did Hagan promise in return?"
Two weeks ago, when the National Republican Senatorial Committee launched a similar attack, the Fayettville Observer described it as "the nastiest, most misleading, negative ad of the campaign."
Well, to be honest, it's not all that new...for example:
Bill O'Reilly, Michael Savage, Sean Hannity on accused shooter's reading list 4-page letter outlines frustration, hatred of 'liberal movement'
July 28, 2008 - Police found right-wing political books, brass knuckles, empty shotgun shell boxes and a handgun in the Powell home of a man who said he attacked a church in order to kill liberals "who are ruining the country," court records show.
Knoxville police Sunday evening searched the Levy Drive home of Jim David Adkisson after he allegedly entered the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church and killed two people and wounded six others during the presentation of a children's musical. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/jul/28/church-shooting-police-find-manifesto-suspects-car/
Muslim Children Gassed at Dayton Mosque After Obsession DVD Hits Ohio
"Friday, September 26th ended a week in which thousands of copies of Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West -- the fear-mongering, anti-Muslim documentary being distributed by the millions in swing states via DVDs inserted in major newspapers and through the U.S. mail -- were distributed by mail in Ohio. The same day, a "chemical irritant" was sprayed through a window of the Islamic Society of Greater Dayton, where 300 people were gathered for a Ramadan prayer service. The room that the chemical was sprayed into was the room where babies and children were being kept while their mothers were engaged in prayers." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-rodda/muslim-children-gassed-at_b_130076.html
National Security Watch: 60 right-wing terror plots foiled
"In the 10 years since the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing killed 168 people, roughly 60 right-wing terrorist plots have been uncovered in the United States, according to an upcoming report by the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project. The plots, all foiled by law enforcement, reportedly included violent plans by antigovernment militia groups, racist skinhead organizations, and Ku Klux Klan members to use various types of chemical bombs and other weapons." http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/050712/12natsec.htm
It's not as though it actually bears any sort of reflection on McCain or Obama.
Elections have much more social significance than simply voting for a person...it's about voting for a culture, for the Republican or Democratic platform, for the nebulous ideals that surround them. I mean, if a candidate panders to a particular religious or ideological group, because that's part of their base, then they'll continue to pander to them in office. Presidents don't stand on their own...they're made up of their supporters.
I wonder if there'll be any people with backwards J's (for John) on their cheeks in red sharpie marker in the coming weeks, as a small cheeky commentary on this whole Ashley Todd hoax fiasco.
Web site linked to al-Qaida backs McCain: Posting says the network would welcome a pre-election attack on the U.S.
Associated Press, Wed., Oct. 22, 2008
¨WASHINGTON - Al-Qaida supporters suggested in a Web site message this week they would welcome a pre-election terror attack on the U.S. as a way to usher in a McCain presidency.
The message, posted Monday on the password-protected al-Hesbah Web site, said if al-Qaida wants to exhaust the United States militarily and economically, "impetuous" Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain is the better choice because he is more likely to continue the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"This requires presence of an impetuous American leader such as McCain, who pledged to continue the war till the last American soldier," the message said. "Then, al-Qaida will have to support McCain in the coming elections so that he continues the failing march of his predecessor, Bush."¨
TAMPA — The pornographer tried to apologize.
His voice shook. He sounded as if he'd cry.
"I didn't realize I'd made a mistake," Hollywood hardcore producer Paul Little told the judge Friday. "My entire life I've been trying to do the right thing by people and by the law."
Senior U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew interrupted him.
"Mr. Little, I find this almost incredible," she said. "You seem to look at this whole thing as a big joke."
Bucklew sentenced the man known as Max Hardcore to 3 years and 10 months in federal prison for selling and distributing his messy, sometimes violent videos in Tampa. She also made him forfeit three Web sites, fined him $7,500, ordered him to face three years of probation after his prison sentence and fined his company, Max World Entertainment, $75,000.
Tampa jurors convicted Little in June on 10 counts of selling obscene material on the Internet and 10 counts of shipping it to Tampa through the U.S. mail.
They reached that decision after watching 8 1/2 hours of extreme porn on a giant screen in court. At times, they winced as Little performed in sex scenes that included urinating and vomiting.
After nearly two weeks of trial and roughly 12 hours of deliberations, jurors decided that what they had seen went beyond the Tampa Bay region's community standards.
Little's attorneys, who argued his films were protected by the First Amendment, said they plan to appeal.
Little, whose net worth was determined by the government to be near $1.4-million, said his business has suffered since his conviction in June.
"It's cost me just about everything I've made," he said. "All of my money is gone. I've suffered a great deal here."
McCain's new lynch-mob politics sure are hypocritical.
"Just in case cable news isn't aware or doesn't have time to cover the McCain-Palin associations, let's do the list, shall we? We'll start with Palin because she's only been at this for, like, five weeks, gosh darn it you betcha, so who knows who the hell Sarah Palin really is.
What about Sarah Palin's association with the Alaskan Independence Party? The group's stated goal is to secede from the United States -- a treasonous offense. Todd Palin was a member of this party, and Sarah Palin attended at least two of their conventions and -- whoops! -- spoke to their convention as recently as this past Summer. The founder of the party, the late Joe Vogler, once condemned the American flag. Where are the questions about whether Palin loves the American flag?
What about Sarah Palin's association with the witch doctor, Pastor Muthee, who blessed Palin at her church and prayed for her "finances"? Does Sarah Palin believe in witches? Does Sarah Palin support witch hunts? Does she know who Cotton Mather was?
What about Sarah Palin's association with indicted Senator Ted "Tubes" Stevens, whose 527 organization was run by Sarah Palin?
Then there's Senator McCain.
What about Senator McCain's association with convicted Watergate burglar G. Gordon Liddy? This is the guy who, on the public airwaves, instructed his viewers about how to kill a federal agent. This is the guy who boasted that he fired a handgun at a cardboard standee of Senator Hillary Clinton. Yet Senator McCain has appeared on Liddy's radio show numerous times since these statements -- as recently as May, 2008.
What about Senator McCain's relationship with pastor Rod Parsley, who wants to engage in religious warfare?
What about Senator McCain's relationship with anti-Catholic, anti-Semitic pastor John Hagee?
Should I go on?
What about Senator McCain's relationship with his chief campaign advisor Charlie Black who said a terrorist attack would help the campaign?
What about Senator McCain's association with Shelley Shannon who is accused of shooting and wounding an abortion doctor?
What about Senator McCain's association with Charles Keating? What about his association with Freddie Mac lobbyist Rick Davis -- you know, John McCain's campaign manager? What about his association with the U.S. Council for World Freedom, whose board also included a Nazi sympathizer?"
Especially since the judge emphasized they "don't have to resemble humans." You can make a crude drawing of stick figures having sex and be considered a "child pornographer."
Heck, every schoolboy who ever drew naughty pictures would be considered a child pornographer.
In the NSW Supreme Court on Monday, Justice Michael Adams ruled a fictional cartoon character was a "person" within the meaning of the relevant state and Commonwealth laws.
In February, Alan John McEwan was convicted in Parramatta Local Court of possessing child pornography and using his computer to access child pornography.
"The alleged pornography comprised a series of cartoons depicting figures modelled on members of the television animated series The Simpsons," the judge said.
The cartoons showed characters like Bart, Lisa and Maggie Simpson having sex.
The man was convicted and fined $3,000 and placed on a good behaviour bond.
"In my view, the magistrate was correct in determining that, in respect of both the Commonwealth and the NSW offences, the word 'person' included fictional or imaginary characters ...," the judge said.
"... the mere fact that the figure depicted departed from a realistic representation in some respects of a human being did not mean that such a figure was not a 'person'."
In dismissing the appeal, the judge ordered each party to pay its own legal costs as this was the first case dealing with this "difficult" issue.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/5198031/simpsons-sex-toon-child-porn-judge/
Further proof that laws against so called ¨virtual child pornography¨ will lead to nothing but insanity.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/08/AR2008110801856.html?hpid=topnews
Well, this is good news.
"Something happened in my heart. I feel disconnected to the nation that spit in God's face tonight. America as I knew and loved it is gone. Gone.
I feel more centered in the Lord Himself, committed to the *remnant* of other Christians who have not bended the knee and knowing where our only true country is...with Jesus. It's never been so clear to me until tonight."
"Amen!! We talked about that at Bible study tonight. We are not citizens of the United States anymore. We are citizens of Heaven with Jesus. I started grieving for this country about six weeks ago and had such a heavy burden on my heart for it. It was like the Lord was showing me and preparing me for what happened tonight. The line in the sand has been drawn. I truly believe that this was a sifting done by the Lord to see who would stand for Him and His values and who wouldn't. The more I think about it, the more I believe that the number of those who are raptured is going to be significantly less than first thought. I am amazed as to how many "Christians" drank the kook-aid and fell for the deception."
"I am just heart broken. May God have mercy on this country. The first thing my daughter asked me on the phone right after Obamanation won was…”Where do you want to move to?” I don’t think she was kidding either! I tell you…this country is headed for hell…very fast.
Has anyone stopped to think at the number of babies that will be murdered now? How many “gays”…and I use that term loosely…they are NOT happy people…are going to just take over this country?! It’s going to be Sodom and Gomorrah all over again! It makes me SICK to think about it.
Please Jesus…, come quickly."
http://www.rr-bb.com/showthread.php?t=66754&page=14
Palin's Movement Urges 'Godly' To 'Plunder' Wealth of The 'Godless'
Sarah Palin endorser Bishop Thomas Muthee, in a speech he gave before blessing and anointing Sarah Palin as a political leader, on October 16, 2005 at the Wasilla Assembly of God, laid out the current agenda of the New Apostolic Reformation - how "God's kingdom" needed to "infiltrate" seven sectors of society. Muthee listed most of them: business and finance, schools and education, media and entertainment, politics and government.
Muthee also stated "The Bible says the wealth of the wicked is stored up for the righteous. Sarah Palin was in the audience. Minutes later, she was anointed, and blessed, with the laying on of hands.
Thomas Muthee is an internationally known celebrity in the New Apostolic Reformation and a personal friend of the movement's head, C. Peter Wagner. In June 2006 Wagner proclaimed that "God has declared through His prophets that the wealth of the wicked will be released to the Kingdom of God," and declared, threateningly, "the enemies' camp will be plundered."
..."I declare that this wealth will be distributed for the extension of the Kingdom of God by the apostles that God has set in the church." Wagner made clear that that human agency would be a part of his wealth transfer scheme, and Wagner specifically singled out the "godless":
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-wilson/palins-movement-urges-god_b_139987.html
Her opponent (Hagan) is also a woman.
Dole Ad Fabricates Audio Of Opponent Yelling "There Is No God"
Falling behind in her reelection race, Sen. Elizabeth Dole has uncorked one hell of a charge: The Democrat running against me is godless.
Dole's 30-second ad, which is running on television in North Carolina but has not (understandably) been promoted by the GOP, uses a September fundraiser co-hosted by 40 people, including a representative of the Godless America PAC, to falsely accuse Democrat Kay Hagan of being an atheist herself.
The end of the ad features a picture of Hagan with a female voice yelling "there is no God!" -- the clear implication is that the voice is Hagan's. In fact, the Democratic candidate is a Sunday School teacher and an elder at her Presbyterian church.
The Charlotte Observer reported Wednesday morning that Hagan's campaign is seeking a "cease and desist" order against Dole's new attack.
"A leader of the Godless Americans PAC recently held a secret fundraiser in Kay Hagan's honor," the ad begins, showing some ominously blurred footage, ostensibly of the event in question. The ad then quotes the group's Ellen Johnson making atheist claims on two cable news shows. Summing up, the spot asks: "Godless Americans and Kay Hagan. She hid from cameras, took Godless money. What did Hagan promise in return?"
Two weeks ago, when the National Republican Senatorial Committee launched a similar attack, the Fayettville Observer described it as "the nastiest, most misleading, negative ad of the campaign."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/29/dole-ad-fabricates-audio_n_138874.html
Well, to be honest, it's not all that new...for example:
Bill O'Reilly, Michael Savage, Sean Hannity on accused shooter's reading list
4-page letter outlines frustration, hatred of 'liberal movement'
July 28, 2008 - Police found right-wing political books, brass knuckles, empty shotgun shell boxes and a handgun in the Powell home of a man who said he attacked a church in order to kill liberals "who are ruining the country," court records show.
Knoxville police Sunday evening searched the Levy Drive home of Jim David Adkisson after he allegedly entered the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church and killed two people and wounded six others during the presentation of a children's musical.
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/jul/28/church-shooting-police-find-manifesto-suspects-car/
Muslim Children Gassed at Dayton Mosque After Obsession DVD Hits Ohio
"Friday, September 26th ended a week in which thousands of copies of Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West -- the fear-mongering, anti-Muslim documentary being distributed by the millions in swing states via DVDs inserted in major newspapers and through the U.S. mail -- were distributed by mail in Ohio. The same day, a "chemical irritant" was sprayed through a window of the Islamic Society of Greater Dayton, where 300 people were gathered for a Ramadan prayer service. The room that the chemical was sprayed into was the room where babies and children were being kept while their mothers were engaged in prayers."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-rodda/muslim-children-gassed-at_b_130076.html
National Security Watch: 60 right-wing terror plots foiled
"In the 10 years since the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing killed 168 people, roughly 60 right-wing terrorist plots have been uncovered in the United States, according to an upcoming report by the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project. The plots, all foiled by law enforcement, reportedly included violent plans by antigovernment militia groups, racist skinhead organizations, and Ku Klux Klan members to use various types of chemical bombs and other weapons."
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/050712/12natsec.htm
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/10/27/obama.plot/index.html
>killing spree
>beheading
>shot out the window of a church
...and the Republicans complain about Obama "palling around with terrorists?"
McCain supporters are getting more and more dangerously anti-American.
It is on the front page of CNN, MSNB, Fox News, Drudge Report, ABC, and Huffington Post...also,
Elections have much more social significance than simply voting for a person...it's about voting for a culture, for the Republican or Democratic platform, for the nebulous ideals that surround them. I mean, if a candidate panders to a particular religious or ideological group, because that's part of their base, then they'll continue to pander to them in office. Presidents don't stand on their own...they're made up of their supporters.
Associated Press, Wed., Oct. 22, 2008
¨WASHINGTON - Al-Qaida supporters suggested in a Web site message this week they would welcome a pre-election terror attack on the U.S. as a way to usher in a McCain presidency.
The message, posted Monday on the password-protected al-Hesbah Web site, said if al-Qaida wants to exhaust the United States militarily and economically, "impetuous" Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain is the better choice because he is more likely to continue the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"This requires presence of an impetuous American leader such as McCain, who pledged to continue the war till the last American soldier," the message said. "Then, al-Qaida will have to support McCain in the coming elections so that he continues the failing march of his predecessor, Bush."¨
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27316167/
His voice shook. He sounded as if he'd cry.
"I didn't realize I'd made a mistake," Hollywood hardcore producer Paul Little told the judge Friday. "My entire life I've been trying to do the right thing by people and by the law."
Senior U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew interrupted him.
"Mr. Little, I find this almost incredible," she said. "You seem to look at this whole thing as a big joke."
Bucklew sentenced the man known as Max Hardcore to 3 years and 10 months in federal prison for selling and distributing his messy, sometimes violent videos in Tampa. She also made him forfeit three Web sites, fined him $7,500, ordered him to face three years of probation after his prison sentence and fined his company, Max World Entertainment, $75,000.
Tampa jurors convicted Little in June on 10 counts of selling obscene material on the Internet and 10 counts of shipping it to Tampa through the U.S. mail.
They reached that decision after watching 8 1/2 hours of extreme porn on a giant screen in court. At times, they winced as Little performed in sex scenes that included urinating and vomiting.
After nearly two weeks of trial and roughly 12 hours of deliberations, jurors decided that what they had seen went beyond the Tampa Bay region's community standards.
Little's attorneys, who argued his films were protected by the First Amendment, said they plan to appeal.
Little, whose net worth was determined by the government to be near $1.4-million, said his business has suffered since his conviction in June.
"It's cost me just about everything I've made," he said. "All of my money is gone. I've suffered a great deal here."
http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/article838305.ece
Well, I always say that the McCain is the only president actively endorsed by a terrorist organization (the KKK, of course).
Where did you get this "planning to drop it," though? I haven't heard anything about that.
"Just in case cable news isn't aware or doesn't have time to cover the McCain-Palin associations, let's do the list, shall we? We'll start with Palin because she's only been at this for, like, five weeks, gosh darn it you betcha, so who knows who the hell Sarah Palin really is.
What about Sarah Palin's association with the Alaskan Independence Party? The group's stated goal is to secede from the United States -- a treasonous offense. Todd Palin was a member of this party, and Sarah Palin attended at least two of their conventions and -- whoops! -- spoke to their convention as recently as this past Summer. The founder of the party, the late Joe Vogler, once condemned the American flag. Where are the questions about whether Palin loves the American flag?
What about Sarah Palin's association with the witch doctor, Pastor Muthee, who blessed Palin at her church and prayed for her "finances"? Does Sarah Palin believe in witches? Does Sarah Palin support witch hunts? Does she know who Cotton Mather was?
What about Sarah Palin's association with indicted Senator Ted "Tubes" Stevens, whose 527 organization was run by Sarah Palin?
Then there's Senator McCain.
What about Senator McCain's association with convicted Watergate burglar G. Gordon Liddy? This is the guy who, on the public airwaves, instructed his viewers about how to kill a federal agent. This is the guy who boasted that he fired a handgun at a cardboard standee of Senator Hillary Clinton. Yet Senator McCain has appeared on Liddy's radio show numerous times since these statements -- as recently as May, 2008.
What about Senator McCain's relationship with pastor Rod Parsley, who wants to engage in religious warfare?
What about Senator McCain's relationship with anti-Catholic, anti-Semitic pastor John Hagee?
Should I go on?
What about Senator McCain's relationship with his chief campaign advisor Charlie Black who said a terrorist attack would help the campaign?
What about Senator McCain's association with Shelley Shannon who is accused of shooting and wounding an abortion doctor?
What about Senator McCain's association with Charles Keating? What about his association with Freddie Mac lobbyist Rick Davis -- you know, John McCain's campaign manager? What about his association with the U.S. Council for World Freedom, whose board also included a Nazi sympathizer?"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/fake-balance-and-mccains_b_133375.html