Dearly Beloved

I hate to admit it, but hat tip to Charlie Sykes for this story.

Prosecution of a Douglas County case involving alleged sexual contact with a dead deer may hinge on the legal definition of the word “animal.”

Bryan James Hathaway, 20, of Superior faces a misdemeanor charge of sexual gratification with an animal. He is accused of having sex with a dead deer he saw beside Stinson Avenue on Oct. 11.

A motion filed last week by his attorney, Public Defender Fredric Anderson, argued that since the deer was dead, it was not considered an animal and the charge should be dismissed.

“The statute does not prohibit one from having sex with a carcass,” Anderson wrote.

Add this to the litany of slippery slope issues surrounding gay marriage. I’m sure James Dobson, his carnival sidekick, Pat Robertson and the mutant woman, Ann Coulter, would agree it’s a natural progression.

My favorite part was this comment from the judge, Michael Lucci: “I’m a little surprised this issue hasn’t been tackled before in another case.”

Uh, you know something we don’t judge?

Mindless Automaton and Friends Return

Local pundits share their views on Tom Tomorrow.



















-- Working for Change

Get Off Your Phone

Having dodged two people today who were chatting on their cell phones when they decided to make lane switches without using signal lights, I’m all in favor of this.

Glendale - This city has passed an ordinance, believed to be the first of its kind in the metro area, that will allow police to ticket people who are yakking on their cell phones if they are involved in an accident or stopped for another violation.

It all resulted from a drive to work along Good Hope Road about three weeks ago by Frederick "Rip" McManus, whose wife, Cindy, is a member of the Glendale Common Council.

Within the space of just a couple of blocks, he saw an accident and a near accident involving drivers talking on cell phones.

Joke for the Day

50th Wedding Anniversary

A couple was celebrating their 50th anniversary at their local church's marriage marathon. The minister knew this and asked Brother Ralph to take a few minutes and share some insight into how he managed to live with the same woman all these years.

Brother Ralph replied to the audience:

"Well, I treated her with respect, spent money on her, but mostly I took her traveling on special occasions."

The minister asked where they took trips.

"For our 25th anniversary, I took her to Beijing, China.

"The minister said, "What a terrific example you are to all husbands. Ralph, please tell the audience what you're going to do for your wife on your 50th anniversary?"

Brother Ralph said, "I'm going to go get her."

Aren't You a Little Old to be Playing With Dolls

This is funny … I’m waiting for Jessica McBride: “I don’t care if Muslim kids receive one of these dolls, when was the last time they ever attended church?” Anyway, from Los Angeles:

A company that sells Bible-quoting Jesus dolls said it was surprised and disappointed that the Marine Reserves’ Toys for Tots program turned down its offer to donate 4,000 of the talking dolls.

“I believe as a churchgoing person, anyone can benefit from hearing the words of the Bible,” said Michael La Roe, director of business development for Valencia-based Beverly Hills Teddy Bear Co. and its one2believe division, which makes the line of Bible
character dolls.

Bill Grein, vice president of Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, in Quantico, Va., said the offer was turned down because Toys for Tots doesn’t know anything about the religious affiliations of the children who receive its gifts.

Anne Quimby Mathias was quick to jump into the fray. She says she is not really offended by the donation, but offers this Christmas morning scene:

… some poor little poor kid, excited to open what is likely one of a very few presents. He’s hoping for a Tonka truck, football, maybe a GI Joe or Spiderman action figure…and he gets the One Foot Talking Jesus Doll.

The horror.

Meanwhile, this post title at Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy caught my attention: “Why Do Our Troops Hate Christmas.” Bill O’Reilly was too slow.

I for one have no problem with the doll as long as equal representation is ensured. I have a view gift ideas for the holiday season. For instance, we should not forget those touched by his noodly appendage, the followers of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. His dolly could spout the abridged version of the FSM’s Eight “I’d Really Rather You Didn’ts.”

1. I'd Really Rather You Didn't Act Like a Sanctimonious Holier-Than-Thou Ass When Describing My Noodly Goodness.
2. I'd Really Rather You Didn't Use My Existence As A Means To Oppress, Subjugate, Punish, Eviscerate, And/Or, You Know, Be Mean To Others.
3. I'd Really Rather You Didn't Judge People For The Way They Look, Or How They Dress, Or The Way They Talk, Or, Well, Just Play Nice, Okay?
4. I'd Really Rather You Didn't Indulge In Conduct That Offends Yourself, Or Your Willing, Consenting Partner Of Legal Age AND Mental Maturity.
5. I'd Really Rather You Didn't Challenge The Bigoted, Misogynist, Hateful Ideas Of Others On An Empty Stomach. Eat, Then Go After The B*******.
6. I'd Really Rather You Didn't Build Multimillion-Dollar Churches/Temples/Mosques/Shrines To My Noodly Goodness When The Money Could Be Better Spent (Take Your Pick): Ending Poverty, Curing Diseases, Living In Peace, Loving With Passion, And Lowering The Cost Of Cable.
7. I'd Really Rather You Didn't Go Around Telling People I Talk To You. You're Not That Interesting. Get Over Yourself. And I Told You To Love Your Fellow Man, Can't You Take A Hint?
8. I'd Really Rather You Didn't Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You If You Are Into, Um, Stuff That Uses A Lot of Leather/Lubricant/Las Vegas.

The beloved Buddy Christ could be distributed by Marines to not only tots, but to Iraqis suspected of pissing the Marines off.

Lastly, to celebrate the inevitable third coming of Tom Reynolds into Wisconsin politics, there is the cute “Tom as Jesus” doll. All you have to do to get the doll talk is push a button on the dolls butt. A lawyer pops out and says one of these three timely phrases:

1. Thou shalt not make fun of me.
2. Thou shalt not spake the address of my print shop in vain.
3. Hav you herd the wurd of my campaign manerger, Boob?

Janis Joplin

Some classic Janis. A celebration of what made the difference in the elections, Tuesday. We tried just a little bit harder.

Reliving the Exorcism of November 7th

Exorcism complete. Democrats control Congress (unlike Republicans who tried to own it).

















-- Working for Change

More Sour Grapes

More from Owen Robinson.

I confess that this one makes me the most pessimistic about Wisconsin. When it comes right down to it, I believe that Jim Doyle is fundamentally dishonest. I believe that he is corrupt. And I believe that the evidence of his faulty character is overwhelming. I truly believed that when people were in the ballot box, that they would choose to cleanse their government. Again, I was wrong. I think that the fact that a majority of Wisconsinites were willing to ignore Doyle’s ethical issues speaks poorly about the character of too many Wisconsinites.

This comment seems fairly endemic of conservatives everywhere from what I've read and illustrates what is truly going on here: Conservatives are the ones lacking character. Heck, Tom Reynolds (the most principled guy in the Senate according to Jessica McBride) can't even bring himself to make that concession phone call like well-mannered and gracious opponents do when defeated.

Sour Grapes

From viewing the comments sopping with tears and sour grapes over at conservative websites, I have come away with the belief the defeat of the Republicans had nothing to do with the Democrats being any better (though I hope we have learned our lessons well), but with the ethical lapses and boorish behavior of many conservatives. Oh, did I forget arrogance. Check this comment out from Owen at Boots and Sabers.

Looks like it is over as far as governor goes. I admit, I’m surprised and I’m very disappointed. We get the government that we deserve and Wisconsinites have chosen another four years of corruption, expanded Tribal gambling, higher taxes, selling of state contracts, and an out of control regulatory and litigation climate. I’m pretty ashamed to be a Wisconsinite tonight. I thought that Wisconsinites were sincere about clean government and ethics. I was wrong.

That seems to be a common thread … that the voters are somehow to blame. It apparently doesn’t concern Owen that perhaps he and his own are the ones to blame.

One person couldn’t understand how the “Ban Gay Marriage” amendment could pass (their base?), but conservatives could not get elected. The answer is fear. Opponents of gay marriage used fear and other sanctimonious imagery to get this amendment passed. They succeeded in convincing a substantial number of normally undecided people to vote for the ban. It’s sad, though it does lay bare the Republican agenda which hoped that a vote for the ban would also carry water in the election.

And now, of course, unable to accept defeat, others are turning to the fraud gambit. The Game is saying that Democrat’s victories were all garnered because of voter fraud. They must have won that way he says, because the races were all within two to three percent, which is the amount, of course, of voter fraud that occurs whenever Democrats are involved in lections (I’m paraphrasing).

And finally, my nemesis, Chris, at spotted horse 2 had this to say in a responding comment (to mine) at Boots and Sabers:

I am really torn right now wondering if Wisconsin is worth fighting for anymore its not sour grapes Tim now that the crook has won reelection be honest would you tell you children to use Governor Doyle as a role model?

Between Doyle and Falk how many businesses will be driven out of Wisconsin?

Hey the people of Wisconsin have spoken and unlike our Rat enemies have done since 1994 I will
not say they were dumb or stupid Tim is right the people have spoken if they want Jim Doyle's style of leadership they are welcome to it.

What a night I imagine this was what it felt like in 94 if you were a Rat.

Time to rethink some things and some long term plans

Let the looting begin.

For Chris this is relatively tame. However, it is indicative of conservatives in general. It was never that their candidates may have been flawed, and it was never about the blind eye they turned to the obvious ethical and moral problems of their candidates … nope, the campaign was always about the evils of liberalism. If they had taken more time to right their own ship instead of being power-hungry, boorish and arrogant, the Republicans might still be in power.

Face it guys … You blew it. You had your opportunity. I hope this is the beginning of another 40 years of Democratic rule, because the 12 years the Republicans held power nearly tore this country apart.

God Will Be Angry

Psst. Don’t tell Jessica McBride.

MINNEAPOLIS - Voters elected a black Democrat as the first Muslim in Congress on Tuesday after a race in which he advocated quick U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and made little mention of his faith.

Keith Ellison, a 43-year-old defense attorney and state representative, was projected to defeat two rivals to succeed retiring Democrat Martin Sabo in a seat that has been held by Democrats since 1963.

Ellison, who converted to Islam as a 19-year-old college student in his native Detroit, won with the help of Muslims among a coalition of liberal, anti-war voters. "We were able to bring in Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists," he said. "We brought in everybody."

Goes to show that there aren’t so many bigots like McBride. Thankfully!

Voter Intimidation by Right-Wingers?

It figures.

RICHMOND, Va. - The FBI is investigating complaints that phony callers tried to intimidate Virginia voters amid the hard-fought race between GOP Sen. George Allen and Democratic challenger Jim Webb, officials said Tuesday. State Board of Elections Secretary Jean Jensen said her office had forwarded several reports to the FBI of phone calls to voters apparently aimed at misleading them into not voting or directing them to the wrong polling place. “If something is going on that worries and alarms voters enough that I’m contacted to look into it, I have a responsibility to do that,” Jensen said.

The reason Republicans rant and rave about voter fraud is because they want to deflect attention from what is really going on: Republican voter intimidation. How much you want to bet that bomb threat prank in Madison was sent by some hillbilly conservative hoping to derail liberals in Madison from voting?

More Republican Malfeasance?

This is too good.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Conservative columnist Ann Coulter has refused to cooperate in an investigation into whether she voted in the wrong precinct, so the case will probably be turned over to prosecutors, Palm Beach County’s elections chief said Wednesday.

One can only hope this goes badly for her.

Wigderson Predictions

The hardly feckless writer James Wigderson, the patron saint of right-wing humor and proud owner of Wigderson Library & Pub (but does he do his chores?), has come out with his fearless election predictions (was he on medication when he made them). We at the Other Side will compare his with the final results and have a good laugh, or in the unlikely event his are fairly accurate, we will provide congratulations. Here are a few of his predictions.

Mark Green 51% Jim Doyle 48%
John Gard wins handily
F. James Sensenbrenner wins big
Dave Magnum does better than expected but still loses to Tammy Baldwin
Republicans lose control by 2-5 seats

And more …

We'll see!

UPDATE!
It's the next day and it's time to compare. How did James do with his fearless predictions.

Mark Green over Jim Doyle of 51% to 48%.
Reality sucks. Doyle clobbers Green 52.7% to 45.4%.

Steve Kagen’s self destruction will be complete.
Hmmm. Kagen defeats John Gard 51.2% to 48.8%.

Bryan Kennedy loses big.
He did. Fat Slob Sensenbrenner 61.8% to 35.7%.

Van Hollen will defeat Falk.
He did, but it was close. Van Hollen 50.2% to 49.8%.

On the national level, Republicans lose control [of the House] by just 2-5 seats.
Whoa. Just a little off. Latest projections now have Democrats leading in House 234-201.

Burns in Montana, Allen in Virginia and Corker in Tennessee all win.
One out of three ain’t bad (though to be fair, the Montana and Virginia races are not yet done, but Dems lead).

Talent loses in Missouri …
Right on. McCaskill wins 49.45% to Talent 47.43%.

Republicans will lose one Senate seat, State Senator Tom Reynolds.
Just a little off. Sullivan wins and the Senate could switch to 18-15 Democratic. Who would have thought.

Republican McReynolds in Racine County will win handily.
Oops. John Lehman 53.1% to McReynolds 46.9%.

Correct on the Waukesha County races.


This was all done in fun and to be fair, James is not the only one missing big on this election. Some serious prognosticators did not see this wave happening. I certainly didn’t. But … Woo Hoo!

The Day Before

It was a rainy grey day, followed by a cold, wet night. I was not very inspired today ... I think it's called election burnout. Tomorrow is the day ... I will get up nice and early and vote ... prbably sometime around 10:30 or so.

I had a dream that Tom Reynolds supporters accosted me outside the polling place and asked for whom I would be voting. They were all women. They wore dresses that completely covered their legs, and they all wore those Amish-type bonnets. When I answered that I could not vote for their candidate, they chased me into the building and waited for me after I was done voting. I swear J.J. Blonien and Bob Dohnal were hiding amongst the gaggle of god-fearing womenfolk.

It was a weird dream.

I spent the day learning how to do a little plumbing. The drain lever broke off and I had to remove the offending part underneath the vanity top and replace it with a brand new healthy piece. I managed to complete the task in four hours ... hey, I never did this before and the first visit to Home Depot for repair parts was a waste as I was directed to purchase the wrong part.

But the new stopper is now in place and working better than the old, corroded one ... and it doesn't leak. Woo hoo!

He's So Christian

Hypocrites! This guy has been one of the leaders of the marriage amendment (read: anti-gay) push across the nation.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Rev. Ted Haggard, who stepped down as head of the 30 million-member National Association of Evangelicals on Thursday after allegations that include having gay sex, has confessed to some of the allegations, a fellow pastor said in an e-mail to church members.

"It is important for you to know that he confessed to the overseers that some of the accusations against him are true,” Ross Parsley, the acting senior pastor at New Life Church stated. Haggard on Thursday also stepped aside as leader of the 14,000-member New Life Church, based in Colorado Springs.

Gee, I wonder what other skeletons might be found in the closets of the most hard-line of the right-wingers pushing for passage of this abomination. Ever wonder why the tenets of the Bible these people hold so dear to their hearts never apply to themselves?

Guns People Play IV

Another fine reason for conceal and carry.

TEMPE - Police have arrested a man who fired a gun while running after a group of people he mistakenly thought were trying to steal his car. Police arrested Daniel Serrato, 22, Tuesday in the 1800 block of East Broadway Road after he reportedly thought he saw four people trying to break into his car, parked in his apartment complex, police said. Serrato chased the four on foot and when he got about 80 yards of them, fired a .40-caliber pistol in the air while he was running, police said.

No one was reported injured and nothing was damaged, police said. Serrato was arrested on suspicion of unlawful discharge of a weapon, police said.

Well, Hello!

How could she not know she was pregnant? My wife knew almost within 3 weeks. And, she's very obviously pregnant after seven months. In any case, it's a weird tale ...

BELLEVUE, Wash. - Amanda Brisendine attributed the 30 pounds she gained in the past year to an abandoned smoking habit and rich food. So when she went to the hospital with sharp stomach pain, she wasn’t expecting to leave with a newborn son. “I don’t know how I didn’t know. I just didn’t know,” Brisendine said Tuesday from her bed at Overlake Medical Center’s Birthing Center, where she delivered Alexander Joseph Britt by Caesarean section.

The Computer Did It

Going to bed in a moment, but thought I would pass along this bit from my mom. Yes, my mom again!

Actually, though most of the pieces I am sent have probably been cruising the Internet for years, it's still fun to receive them and especially gratifying when one of them makes me laugh ... like this one.

So without further adieu ... from my recently turned 70-year young mother ...

The Computer Swallowed Grandma

The computer swallowed grandma.
Yes, honestly its true.
She pressed 'control' and 'enter'
And disappeared from view.
It devoured her completely,
The thought just makes me squirm.
She must have caught a virus
Or been eaten by a worm.
I've searched through the recycle bin
And files of every kind;
I've even used the Internet,
But nothing did I find.
In desperation, I asked Jeeves
My searches to refine.
The reply from him was negative,
Not a thing was found 'online.'
So, if inside your 'Inbox,'
My Grandma you should see,
Please 'Copy,''Scan' and 'Paste' her
And send her back to me!


This is a tribute to all the Grandmas who have been fearless andlearned to use the computer!!

They Certainly Are Characters

I have to leave in a few minutes to go and help chaperone my daughter's kindergarten class. They are having a Halloween party. I hope I did not need to dress for the occasion.

Anyway, I'm surfing a little and find this tidbit by Molly Ivins. The last paragraph is especially telling. Read it ... here's a link to the entire article.

I realize it is difficult to keep up with the degree of Republican sleaze around these days, but I did like President Bush's celebration of National Character Counts Week. He went to Pennsylvania to support Rep. Don Sherwood, who was sued by his mistress last year for repeatedly beating her. He settled the case out of court for $5.5 million.

Oh, before I go, I wanted to comment on a favorite tactic of late by conservative bloggers, especially in regards to the marriage amendment. Paraphrasing: "I was going to vote for this, but because you nasty liberals were so mean to me, I'm not going to now."

Why does this not strike me as odd behavior for these adults? Perhaps the reason is because the conservative bloggers using this tactic were probably the same ones who took their football home because they didn't get their way on the playground. I remember these kids. They were also the ones who enjoyed bullying those smaller than themselves. It's playground logic.

Time to grow up and make decisions on your own, kiddies.

The Dynamic Duo

-- Working for Change