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July 28, 2005 Here I go again, discussing things that pique my interest and anger... Cary Verse is the most ostracized parolee in California since Charles Singleton. After completing a sexual offender rehabilitation program in 2004, Mr. Verse was paroled and literally chased out of motels in San Rafael, Oakland and Martinez before being reassigned by the courts to the unincorporated, and thereby powerless, burg of Bay Point. Verse was sentenced to prison for six sexually related offenses—including three involving minors. He now resides in a town that doesn’t want him and deeper still, his residence is within a quarter-mile of an elementary school. Protestors believe this is like giving an armed robber a job at the bank and despite his being electronically monitored, it is only a matter of time before he strikes again. But the 33-year old man is doing his best to stay with his rehabilitation program. Would I like to have Mr. Verse for a neighbor? Not really, but I do believe in a man having a second chance—not a third, fourth or eleventh. I sincerely hope Mr. Verse’s attempts to get right with society are successful. The Boy Scout Jamboree is attended by thousands of boys between the ages of 12 and 18. The boys spend 10 days camping in tents and participating in various activities. Since 1981 this event has been held at Fort A.P. Hill. But because of a lawsuit a federal judge ruled that the Pentagon, who usually sponsored the event, had to withdraw its support. Who filed this suit? None other than the American Civil Liberties Union, which argued that the DOD’s sponsorship violated the First Amendment. All this because of the Scouts oath to: "…do (my) best to honor God and my country…" Talk about a frivolous suit! You’d think these professional jesters would find more legitimate issues to clog our court system with. What will the ACLU argue next, that the practice of boy scouts helping elderly women cross the street must end because it discriminates against younger women? Come on ACLU, find some legitimate battles to wage… Here’s some serious food for thought: Blacks make up 12% of the population, but 33% of all death row cases. In 80% of all capital cases, the victim is white. This is not to imply that blacks are killing whites in record numbers. Most killings are intra-racial, that is, both murderer and victim are of the same race. However, 22% of all death row cases are black men sentenced for killing whites. Inversely 1.4% of state executions are of whites whose victims were black. The telling statistic in all of this is that 1 in 5 blacks awaiting execution were convicted by all-white juries. (This data was e-mailed to me from Amnesty International). Be careful when offering your date that nightcap. According to bureau of Justice statistics, "Two-thirds of victims who suffered violence by an intimate (a current or former spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend) reported that alcohol had been a factor." Even before he won his seventh consecutive Tour De France, I considered Lance Armstrong as one of the greatest athletes ever. I’d put him up there with Ali, Jim Brown, Carl Lewis, Mark Spitz, Jim Brown, Wayne Gretsky and Jim Thorpe. However, cycling is not a major sport and over time I think Lance will fade from the memories of most sports fans. The bible consists of 66 books written by 40 different men over 1500 years. The book discusses the spherical shape of earth (Isaiah 40:22) and the paths of the seas (Psalms 8:8) nearly fifteen hundred years before Columbus sailed and 2000 years before the Matthew Maury began his research in oceanography. Some of our atheists and agnostic counterparts embrace evolution, which asks us to believe that one cell created this cornucopia of human, plant and animal life. It asks us to believe that random mutations—with no fossilized evidence of the links between these mutations—produced all life as we know it. Now THAT’S one helluva stretch. He’s known by the monikers; "Hardest Working Man In Show Business", "Mr. Please, Please, Please", and "The Godfather of Soul." The influence of James Brown spans black music en toto—from rap to funk—even in the works of some of the newer secular artists. He has influenced artists as diverse as Rick James, Michael Jackson, Bootsy Collins, George Clinton, Dr. Dre, Teddy Riley, Prince, D’Angelo and Kirk Franklin. James is currently undergoing treatment for prostate cancer. We wish him well, for he’s our King; he’s to black music what Elvis is to rock ‘n roll. Okay, now for some anger mismanagement. Here are a few people, places and things that chap my flaps, starting with self-proclaimed fashion guru Mr. Blackwell. Here’s a guy quick to denigrate women’s fashion sense, yet I never heard anyone at an awards show say that they were wearing a "Blackwell." His obsession with women’s clothing makes me wonder… NASA wants to go back to the moon—assuming they ever went the first time. My question is ‘why’? NASA wants to go to Mars as well. Sounds to me like "moonies" are running the agency. In my view, the space agency is wasting our money. NASA should be privatized by cutting it’s budget to zero over a five year span. Let them do what our Congressmen do—pander to big business for funding. By the way, I think space exploration should be an international effort… ...the same with AMTRAK, which due to its high ticket prices, must stand for 'A Method of Travel Reserved for A King'. Tax dollars in the form of government subsidies are wasted because of management's unmatched level of ineptitude. Time to do your thing or get off the pot, pilgrim... The White House is doing battle with Democrats over which papers should be released for examination. I say all of them. Either Roberts is afraid of what the Demos might find, or he’s just a bright guy with a different opinion (particularly on abortion), which shouldn’t disqualify him for a seat on the bench… Dr. Phil. He’s a likable guy, but he comes off as if he has a monopoly on the truth. Furthermore, I’m leery about TV "professionals" who convince people twenty years of problems can be cured in 44 minutes… Women who appear on Maury Povich’s "Iz U My Baby’s Daddy?" segments illustrate how much debauchery has filtered into the mainstream. The women come before the country and swear that the man they’ve accused is the father of her child. The accused labels the woman a "skank" and a "freak", then closes his diatribe with "And when you find out I’m not the father of that little, snot-nosed bastard, leave me the hell alone!" There’s roughly a 50% chance of the woman being right, but the main point of the show escapes both viewers and the shows producers: The women in question are whores—period… Toronto sucks for no other reason than the city’s red light district lies within a stone’s throw of the police station; yet, when more than thirty hookers wound up dead or missing, it took nearly a decade for the police to solve the case… Bogus advertisement of the month: The city of Modesto, California. The motto of the city is "Water, Wealth, Contentment, Health." Recently 96 of the cities water wells were found to contain low levels of uranium. Attention, Modesto: Two out of four ain’t good… A recent study indicates that California’s high housing prices are fueling an increase in apartment rents. Duhhhhh. Imagine what will happen when the real estate bubble bursts. It will make the high-tech industry’s falter look merry. The state, already teetering on bankruptcy, will see an exodus that will rival that of Moses’ day. This will cause real estate prices in neighboring states to skyrocket as well. Can you say "Californication"? Skyrocketing gas prices are a sad reality of American life. But the high prices of diesel will be felt not only at the pump, but also in the grocery stores, hardware centers, department outlets, etc. This is because at some point 85% of the goods shipped in the U.S. must be moved from the airports, harbors and rail lines to stores—via truck. Trucking companies and independent drivers will have to pass the high price of fuel on to the retailer. Guess who they’ll pass their rising costs onto? Uh-huh, higher prices for consumers, then downsizing and fewer benefits for employees… How many great movies have you seen in the last two years? Not just good, or a blockbuster laden with special effects—but a gripping story with great acting and cinematography? I can think of but two: "Saw" and "Mystic River." Speaking of which, Hollywood is in a quandary. They remake some films that were mediocre to begin with ("Willard"), or they remake a classic ("Psycho", "Death Takes A Holiday") and botch it completely. (Brad Pitt as ‘Death’? Sheesh). There are some movies Hollywood needs to keep their hands off. God forbid someone should attempt a remake of "The Grapes of Wrath", "Cool Hand Luke", "Rebecca" or "Imitation of Life." Can you imagine David Cronenberg remaking "Gone With the Wind", or Kevin Costner butchering "Lawrence of Arabia"? (But for laughs I would like to see Quentin Tarantino remake ‘The Wizard of Oz’). ------------ About the author: Timothy Stelly is the 46-year old author of "Tempest In The Stone" and the soon to be released, "The Malice of Cain". His third novel, "Darker Than Blue" is under consideration for publication. Mr. Stelly currently resides in Pittsburg, California with his three youngest children Dante, Kimberly and Lawrence. Excerpts from The first two books and the first two chapters of his anthology, "Frankenigga--And Other Urban Tales" can be viewed at: stellbread0.tripod.com Email: stellbread@sbcglobal.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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