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RandySF

RandySF's Journal
RandySF's Journal
March 31, 2013

Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland, wife reportedly found dead in home

Kaufman County’s district attorney and his wife were found slain Saturday, raising fears their deaths may be part of a plot that included the slaying of an assistant district attorney in January.

Kaufman Police Chief Chris Albaugh and other officials confirmed the reports that Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, had been shot at their home near Forney. Their deaths follow the Jan. 31 slaying of Kaufman County Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse.

“It is a shock,” Albaugh said late Saturday. “It was a shock with Mark Hasse, and now you can just imagine the double shock and until we know what happened, I really can't confirm that it's related but you always have to assume until it's proven otherwise.”

He said the Texas Rangers were helping with the investigation at the McLellands’ home in an unincorporated part of the county, but that the sheriff’s department will be leading the investigation.


http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20130330-breaking-news-kaufman-county-da-wife-found-dead-in-home.ece

March 31, 2013

Pope’s Foot-Wash a Final Straw for Traditionalist Catholics

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has won over many hearts and minds with his simple style and focus on serving the world’s poorest, but he has devastated traditionalist Catholics who adored his predecessor, Benedict XVI, for restoring much of the traditional pomp to the papacy.

Francis’ decision to disregard church law and wash the feet of two girls — a Serbian Muslim and an Italian Catholic — during a Holy Thursday ritual has become something of the final straw, evidence that Francis has little or no interest in one of the key priorities of Benedict’s papacy: reviving the pre-Vatican II traditions of the Catholic Church.....

The head of the society for South America, the Rev. Christian Bouchacourt, was less than generous in his assessment of Francis.

“He cultivates a militant humility, but can prove humiliating for the church,” Bouchacourt said in a recent article, criticizing the “dilapidated” state of the clergy in Buenos Aires and the “disaster” of its seminary. “With him, we risk to see once again the Masses of Paul VI’s pontificate, a far cry from Benedict XVI’s efforts to restore to their honor the worthy liturgical ceremonies.”


http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/popes-foot-wash-a-final-straw-for-traditionalist-catholics.php

March 28, 2013

Poll: Debbie Dingell a front-runner to potentially replace Carl Levin

WASHINGTON – A new poll of potential replacements for U.S. Sen. Carl Levin shows Debbie Dingell – a Democratic National Committee member and wife of U.S. Rep. John Dingell of Dearborn – with a chance of winning the nomination, scoring no worse than a tie with U.S. Rep. Gary Peters in a head-to-head matchup.

East Lansing pollster Steve Mitchell used an automated poll to talk to likely voters between March 19-21. He found that, in a Democratic primary matchup, Dingell leads Peters (D-Bloomfield Township) 30% to 25% -- but with a large percentage – 45% - undecided.

While others could enter the race and the field as far from decided, Dingell’s and Peters’ names were the only ones tested in Mitchell’s calls to 387 likely Democratic voters. The margin of error was plus or minus 4.98 percentage points. Taking that into account, the matchup could potentially be a tie – though Dingell’s name scored higher.

Peters has said he is seriously considering entering the race following Levin’s announcement early this month that he would not run for a seventh-term in 2014. Dingell has been mentioned as a possible candidate, but has not said whether she is interested in running or not.


http://www.freep.com/article/20130328/NEWS15/130328048/Poll-Debbie-Dingell-front-runner-potentially-replace-Senator-Carl-Levin

March 28, 2013

What mentally got you through your period of unemployment?

I got through by immersing myself in the role of "Mr. Dad" and participating in my son's school. Now I'm going back to work and I feel as mentally sharp as the day I left my old job. How did you get through?

March 28, 2013

Michigan (potential) Dem. senate candidate: Don't demonize the NRA.

From Debbie Dingell's column in December, 2012:

Demonizing the NRA or gun owners in general gets us nowhere. A fresh round of old proposals for gun-control laws won’t work and will be followed by the renewed frustration of different factions going to their respective corners to fight instead of seeking real solutions.

We, as Americans, need to be willing to acknowledge that we have serious social problems and have to get at the root causes for so many of these horrific scenes: mental illness, failing educational systems, lack of job opportunities, the disintegration of families. We need communities more willing to identify behavior problems early on, to express zero tolerance for bullying, to implement processes that protect individual liberties yet flag potential problems.

Most important, we must remove the stigma of mental illness so that those who need help get help. We need law enforcement agencies that understand problems when they are identified, along with systems that support parents, teachers and employers in intervening and getting help to those who need it.



http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/gun-control-fights-wont-solve-the-real-issue/2012/12/20/18e853de-49fe-11e2-b6f0-e851e741d196_story.html

March 26, 2013

A little advice for everyone watching SCOTUS this week.

Don't be too easily led by the Judges' questions and remarks. Sometimes they are nothing more than tools to reach their decisions.

March 26, 2013

Jon Tester Announces Support For Gay Marriage

Newly elected Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) announced his support for same-sex marriage on Tuesday, the day the Supreme Court considered the constitutionaly of Proposition 8, California's gay marriage ban.

“Montanans believe in the right to make a good life for their families," he wrote on his Facebook page. "How they define a family should be their business and their business alone. I’m proud to support marriage equality because no one should be able to tell a Montanan or any American who they can love and who they can marry.”

Democratic Sens. Mark Begich (D-AK), Claire McCaskill (MO), Mark Warner (VA) and Jay Rockefeller (WV) also backed gay marriage this week.

TIME has compiled a list of the last Democratic holdouts, which include Mark Pryor (Ark.), Bob Casey (Pa.), Bill Nelson (Fl.), Tom Carper (Del.), Tim Johnson (S.D.), Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Kay Hagan (N.C.), Mary Landrieu (La.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.) and Joe Donnelly (Ind.).


http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/jon-tester-announces-support-for-gay-marriage?ref=fpblg

March 24, 2013

Rihanna Keeps Kids Waiting Over Four Hours for School Appearance

Rihanna was more than four hours late to an appearance at a suburban Chicago high school on Friday … without a word to explain her extreme tardiness.

Although the event was set to begin at 1 p.m., the 2500 teens sat crammed inside Barrington High School's gymnasium until the "Stay" singer made her grand entrance well after the clock struck 5 p.m. (Around 4:22 p.m., she tweeted that she was stuck in traffic.)

When she finally did show, Rihanna told the kids – winners of a video contest she sponsored – simply "Thank you guys for coming and waiting." She then said some words of gratitude for their charity work, posed for a few photos, and then 16 minutes later, she was back out the door.

Although Rihanna may not have told the kids herself that she was sorry, Principal Steve McWilliams did say that the pop star had called him earlier in the day to apologize for initially planning to come an hour late at 2 p.m. ... but clearly she didn't make it anywhere near that time either.


http://omg.yahoo.com/blogs/celeb-news/rihanna-keeps-kids-waiting-over-four-hours-school-223422656.html

March 22, 2013

How soon can I add new job to resume

I just took a new temporary position after a prolonged period of unemployment. It's generally in my field and could lead to something permanent, but it's farther than I want to commute and of course, no benefits at the moment. Should I go ahead and put the position on the resume or should I wait and get some accomplishments under my belt?

March 21, 2013

Found a job, but what a letdown.

I found a job after a lengthy period of time unemployed. Everybody around me us jumping for joy but man, I feel let down. After all this time, it's the best i can do. Why can't I just look at the positive side? I'm sure I'll get there.

Profile Information

Gender: Male
Hometown: Detroit Area, MI
Home country: USA
Current location: San Francisco, CA
Member since: Wed Oct 29, 2008, 02:53 PM
Number of posts: 58,763

About RandySF

Partner, father and liberal Democrat. I am a native Michigander living in San Francisco who is a citizen of the world.
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