Leaderboard

Charles Durning. 3 purple hearts. Did his part. http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2012/12/25/charles-durning-dies-actor/1790203/ "He was among the first wave of U.S. soldiers to land at Normandy during the D-Day invasion and the only member of his Army unit to survive. He killed several Germans and was wounded in the leg. Later he was bayoneted by a young German soldier whom he killed with a rock. He was captured in the Battle of the Bulge and survived a massacre of prisoners."

The comment from the plantiffs' lawyer in the first case implied that there was a dispute over whether the pavilion was public or private property. Not sure if the 2nd case is really an instance of government overreach, either: if the Church wants to buy and sell assets in the public market, they're susceptible to laws that come with it (unless there isn't a law preventing them from discriminating on who they sell to).

Still a socialist's kid...

There is a much deeper problem here. This is getting into basic freedoms. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion etc. Do individuals and churches have to declare at their inception everything that they believe in and can't change that? I also think that we are well past the point to where the government is legislating morality and deciding what churches can and cannot believe in. There are many churches that have had a stand against birth control ever since it became available and now they are expected to suddenly change that belief because the government says they are wrong? Yes, conservatives like to play the slippery slope card but it is also fairly accurate and the government is always known for taking more and more power but seldom ever gives it up.

I love when we get people debating the value of guns who have clearly never fired, used, been trained on or even touched a pistol or rifle. The latest from FoxNews. I've checked and I still can't get 40mm HE at my local Wal Mart, and Cheaper than Dirt is always out. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/12/24/history-gives-mixed-grade-to-impact-assault-weapons-ban/

Just another day in the life of a journalist.

Just finished Blind Man's Bluff - about US Submarine intelligence operations during the cold war. Recovering missiles off the bottom of the ocean, recording soviet communication lines etc... Worthwhile read.