AS IT STANDS My name is Dave Stancliff. I'm a retired newspaper editor/publisher; husband/father, Vietnam vet, Laker fan for 63 years. All opinions are mine unless otherwise noted. I also share original short stories.
While our Chimp-in-Charge wraps up his lame duck presidency, he has two more official perks that are full of irony - the pardoning of the traditional Thanksgiving turkey and any criminal he wants.
This photo shows last year's turkey pardoning which was never released to the public for obvious reasons.
AS IT STANDS takes a look at some past pardons that will ruffle your feathers when you read them. There's also some speculation on who Dubya plans to pardon before he slinks away into history.
He's got so many cronies doing illegal things that he may just issue a mass Pardon to anyone that worked for him in the last eight years!
To read today's column CLICK HERE.
A 12-year-old student was arrested earlier this month after he "deliberately passed gas to disrupt the class." The boy was also accused of shutting off the computers of classmates at Stuart Spectrum Jr/Sr High School. He was basically busted for disruption of a school function. "He continually disrupted his classroom environment by breaking wind and shutting off several computers," said the Police report.
Looks like his parents are going to have to make sure the boy doesn't eat beans or other gassy foods or he may not graduate from school! I can imagine the kids in the classroom got a big kick out of his hijinks however.
THIS IS AN UPDATE ON AN EARLIER BLOG
I just posted the Slinky story (below) 48 hours ago, and then I read in the LA TIMES today that she passed away! The timing of the blog seems kinda eerie to me. For more CLICK HERE.
I bet you didn't know that the inventor of the popular children's toy (Richard T. James) the Slinky - had a meltdown and left his wife to join a religious cult in Bolivia. He died in 1974. The old adage - behind ever great man there is a woman - never applied more than to his wife Betty. She took over the company and made it a continuing success story. In 2002, the Slinky was named the official state Toy of Pennsylvania, and Betty James was inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame.
I wonder if all states have official toys?
Anybody have any idea what California's might be?
President-elect Barrack Obama is pushing for a bigger stimulus package to combat what he calls, "A crisis of historical proportions." He's come up with a two-year plan instead of the original one-year proposal and expects lawmakers to back him.
The Los Angeles Times has a good article on the subject this morning. Click here to read more about it.
Sure shot Cheney, along with former U.S Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, were both indicted in a Texas court recently, for engaging in organized criminal activity and neglecting federal prisoners. Willacy County DA Juan Angel Guerra, brought the charges against the two men and also accused Cheney of conflict of interest because of the substantial holdings in the Vanguard Group which invests in private prisons, and using his influence over the county's federal immigration detention center.
Cheney isn't too worried about it and is busy helping a crony raise funds in another state. Don't you just love this guy?
FAMILY MEMBERS of one of the slain state policemen console each other after seeing the pockmarked pickup the officers had been riding in. Ten people were killed in 24 hours in Sinaloe which has become the hub of violence since the federal government launched a crackdown against drug gangs. American visitors to Mexico are being warned that the country is in turmoil and to be cautious while there.
I finally hit the wall today. I can't think of what to say about all of the madness going on in this country right now. I'm a writer...