ginny

Thanks so much. So nice that people care. I'm all better. Did I miss interesting stuff. DOUG IS GONE FROM SLOP!!!!

Cathy, hon, sorry. Don't even ask about the past month. No computer was the least of it. Will read stull asap. Gin

Did you take a condescending pill today.

That's my point. No facts to prosecute. Too much doubt. Too many alternate scenarios. And who the heck is dancing.

Love your spirit, babe. Wish Connie had some of it.

Adam, I don't buy that scenario. However, how about the following: Z, upon seeing M.: "Hey, you. What you doin' here? You got no business here.: M. "Mind you own fuckin business." Z., walking toward M. "You being an asshole?" M. "What you want?" Z. "Get off this property, asshole." M gets pissed and punches Z. that fits with the broken nose. Z topples to the ground. Get's small cuts on head. No evidence of gun if they're this close and M is able to punch. M, still pissed, gets down for another punch. Fits with witnesses. Z panics and fumbles for gun. Shoots. Self-defense? Z started the argument. M retaliates with punches. Enough for some jailtime but not death.

Freaken goddam double ditto. Brant, I meant Zimmerman is a civilian with unsupported claim of self-defense.

And Adam's. Michael might move to NY just to vote. Carol, what's she got we don't?

Studio, I went to the website. Good suggestion. There is definitely more to her than pimping out a roll in the hay. I believe and like her libertarian thinking. A pleasant surprise. Personally, I'd like to see her win. I never meant to say otherwise. I'm stating that politics is, unfortunately, mostly smoke and image. The label 'former madam' will kill her. Sexual piccadilos has brought men to their kness; a woman wouldn't survive it. That's reality. I wouldn't mind being proven wrong. BTW, with my quick peak into the site, I didn't see her trafficking stand. That is the ONE issue with which she might get middle class attention. Everybody rallies together for abused kids. That's what she should be pushing to the constituency.

If it would justify a policeman shooting, Zimmerman was justified. --Brant I seem to be arguing with everyone, here. Brant, are you serious with the above? Any citizen has the same right as a civilian to shoot? Even cops need justification for discharge of weapon. We don't even know if it's self-defense. Repeat, IF the kid didn't do anything but give a punch, shooting is not justified. Brant, with the above names you list, there was in all cases pretty demaging evidence (if maybe not conclusive) against the defendants. I agree the bleeping media is turning this into a white/black thing, but the facts still remain. What right did Zimmerman have to stop/hassle Martin in the first place, if tha t's what he did? Too many questions for me. r

Sorry to be argumentative. Adam, I know Skittles are a candy. How do they relate? Martin went to see his father. Nothing wrong with that. He'd taken mj. What kid doesn't? The two skuffled. How did it start? Did zimmerman call him out? Did Martin jump him? We don't know. According to medics, "Paramedic Stacy Livingston, who responded to the shooting scene, testified Zimmerman had a swollen, bleeding nose and two cuts on the back of his head." As far as I know, the medics did NOT treat the superficial cuts. Hell, I could have done more damage than this kid. How can the shooting be justified if no one knows what happened to start the fight. Possible scenario: Zimmerman harassed Martin. Martin got pissed and threw a punch. They ended up on the ground. Nothing here justifies shooting.

Sorry, guys, I can't see votes coming for only legalizing prostitution. What else has she got? i may hate politics, but I know enough that a politian needs to stand for something. Even if you could get past the prostitution thing, it's too emeshed with child prostitution to be any kind of starter. Get a grips, gents. Seriously. This ain't flying in Peoria.

"Paniced at the sight of a teenager." I already said Zimmerman acted badly. Do you really think no one panics at the sight of a black male teen?d t o Hard to say when defense is appropriate. That's why I am for a trained police force. I haven't followed too closely. What is known about the kid's behavior that would warrant defensive action? Adam: What are skittles? Drugs? Do we know he dealt drugs? Should a private person take fatal action without proof or call the police? What does the new medical report say? I heard it last week. I'm ready for more.

Adam, according to CNN, there where no nearby bushes for Trayvon to jump out of, and Zimmerman's so-called wounds didn't even need medical attention. I think he panicked at the sight of a non-white teenager and reacted badly and deadly. A kid should be able to walk the 'fancy' streets. Sorry, but I think Zimmerman was wrong. Zimmerman, unfortunately, may be a good argument against a private, poor trained, police force.

I don't know if I hadn't been introduced to decent theater and music how I would have turned out, so I do credit Rand - and not the dates who took me. Art can inspire the soul. I staged-managed a fabulous Australian play based on Kineally's The Playmaker. Kineally wrote Shindler's List. The Playmaker didn't make it big in the US, but I managed its Boston premiere. It's the true story of a British penal colony in Australia that puts on a play. The play shows how the harened characteres are changed by doing the play.

Thanks, Adam. Your family sounds incredible. I may make occasional fun of Obj., but it was the Objs I dated that introduced me to the theater and music. I had no idea what a play was, and we didn't even have a radio. My first play was Levin's Interlock, and I spent the entire night up thinking about it. It was an unrepeatable experience I'll not forget. I later joined a theater group and acted (poorly) in off-b. plays. At the same time, I also discovered music, which keeps me alive to this day. Guess I owe Ayn more than derision. I owe her a lot.

I agree, Adam. But being a part of those folks turned me into a snob, and I make no apologies for that. I hated the lack of curisiosity about life, the lack of books, the disrepect and loathing for anyone who isn't 'blue,' so much. I deliberately studied vocabulary after moving to the US in order to confuse them, and damn it, I succeeded. You think I'm being mean? Mean is the names I was called for going to college. So, yes, these days, so-called 'common' people are the ones with common sense. I'm the one who needs to hold on to the anti-blue snobbery for survival reasons.

Oh. You mean I'm not blue collar? Yippee.

Aren't the blue collars basically the ones who want a safety net? My family's collars are so blue, they are laden with sapphire. Every single uncle (not aunt, however) was on the dole. Is there a gender difference? Watch your answer. All the uncs lived in bars, btw. Their family crest is a jaundiced liver. I don't think they're your target audience.

How about The Should-Know-but-Doesn't-Want-to-Know Party?

Maybe I'm too cautious, but does anyone want the Libetarian Party associated with prostition and little else?

Daunce, Peik stated at a public lecture that until he's 'got' someone by 18, he will never be able to fully trust him or her.

This is getting scary.

Just every day. Damn, Obj. could have made such an impact with the right person. Binswanger.

Daunce. he repeated several times (I would say over and over, but then Jerry would want the dates cited that even though he studied for 30 years, it took him those years to understand Rand. Now, I'm not commenting on his mental capacity, but considering the above, how can he tell a questioner, who asked how anyone can understand all of this that it was mandatory to alwaysc study. Phyhlosophy was his job, and he studies for 30 some odd years at Rand's feet, and he still doesnt understand. How about the rest of us.