The Off Topic Topic

[The Brain]

Note to self: don't read Warhammer 40k books before bed.


NIGHTMARE FUEL.

That bad?

[Ed Anger]

Note to self: don't read Warhammer 40k books before bed.


NIGHTMARE FUEL.

That bad?

The medication is part of the problem.

[Sheilbh]

Just found out the K in GK Chesterton stands for Keith. Which I find very funny.

[CountDeMoney]

Cops to Distribute Bags of Chips at Hempfest (Really!)
Labels Will Educate Potheads About Limits of Legalization Law

by Ben Livingston

As thousands of stoners prepare to convene at the world's largest pot rally this weekend, the Seattle Police Department is planning to distribute information to Hempfest attendees about the state's new legalization law—on stickers attached to bags of chips.

Seriously.

Because while stoners have no problem ignoring a leaflet, police recognize that it's nearly impossible to turn down a bag of Doritos.

"Distributing salty snacks at a festival celebrating hemp, I think, is deliberately ironic enough that people will accept them in good humor," says police department spokesman Sergeant Sean Whitcomb. "We want to make sure people learn the rules and that they respect the vote."

The labels on the snack-sized bags will direct festival attendees to the SPD's post-legalization FAQ titled "Marijwhatnow?" which went viral last November, reminding citizens that possessing up to an ounce of pot is allowed, but selling and growing the stuff remains illegal (until licenses are issued later this year by the state).

With funding for the project coming entirely from the privately run Seattle Police Foundation, police say they plan to distribute about 1,000 bags of Doritos over the weekend.

The SPD isn't just being progressive by national political standards—the cops in Seattle are more progressive than the rest of city government. The city council and city attorney are currently focused on crafting a new municipal citation for public pot smoking, despite the fact that cops can already cite people for public consumption under state law. But instead of issuing tickets, the SPD has been warning people getting high in public that they can be ticketed—the state has a form officers can use—but has only been asking violators to extinguish their pot. Police say this has remedied the situation without handing out citations.

In that vein, Whitcomb confirms that the "spirit of Initiative 502" will govern enforcement at Hempfest this year, and police will not issue tickets for public toking.

"We've said all along that this is a momentous period in our history. We only get to do it once," says Whitcomb. "Our department has taken a leadership role in public education, and it's a responsibility we are taking very seriously. We are not looking to have a heavy hand when it comes to enforcement. That said, the rules are the rules, and we want people to voluntarily comply with them."

Will cops give out tickets instead of snacks at next year's Hempfest? Whitcomb doubts it, saying the department is guided by a voter-enacted city ordinance from 2003 that deprioritized marijuana enforcement, adding, "It's not as if we get a lot of complaints about it."

[Ed Anger]

That makes my old man blood boil. WHERE IS MY FREE BAG OF CHIPS? Get off my lawn.

[Eddie Teach]

You really ought to consider putting up a fence. 

[CountDeMoney]

Damned activist judges.

A West Virginia judge is accused of having an affair with his secretary and trying to frame her husband for several crimes over five years, including drug possession, larceny and assault.

Authorities said none of the schemes panned out for Mingo County Circuit Court Judge Michael Thornsbury, and he was charged Thursday with two counts of conspiracy.

A second county official was charged with extortion in an unrelated case in yet another blow to an area still reeling from the assassination of its sheriff in April.

Mingo County, a coalfields community of about 27,000 people on the state's southern border with Kentucky, has a long history of violence and government corruption.

It's the home of the legendary feud between the Hatfield and McCoy families, and was dubbed "Bloody Mingo" when unionizing miners battled security agents hired by coal companies in the early 20th century.

In 1988, former sheriff Johnie Owens was convicted of selling his office for $100,000, and in February, a woman was charged with tipping people off about pending indictments while she served on the grand jury.

On the courthouse steps in Williamson, resident Angie Combs took the latest allegations in stride.

"I'm not surprised -- too much corruption," she said. "This is embarrassing. It's the same old, same old."

But restaurant owner Peirce Whitt said the charges against his friend the judge were about a person, not a place.

"It has nothing to do with Mingo County or the people in Mingo County. We're still the good people that we are," he said.

"I'm sure if you go anyplace, you could find a bad person," Whitt said. "And that's not to say Judge Thornsbury is a bad person, because he hasn't been proven guilty yet."

Thornsbury, 57, faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. His attorney, Steve Jory, declined comment.

The indictment said the judge wanted a friend to plant a magnetic metal box in 2008 containing drugs on a vehicle belonging to the secretary's husband, Robert Woodruff. The judge's friend didn't go through with it.

When that failed, prosecutors said the judge got a state trooper to file a false complaint against Woodruff for larceny. The judge wanted the trooper to pursue a case against Woodruff, an employee of H. Coal Co., for salvaging mine-roof drill bits and scrap from his employer, even though he had permission to do so.

Thornsbury befriended the trooper and "purposely cultivated a relationship" to influence the way he carried out his law enforcement duties, the indictment said.

The officer, who was named trooper of the year in 2009, was placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation, said State Police spokesman Sgt. Michael Baylous.

County Prosecutor Michael Sparks intervened in the larceny case. He knew of the affair and "recognized that the criminal charges against Woodruff were improper," the indictment said.

The late sheriff, Eugene Crum, was working as magistrate at the time and dismissed the larceny case.

Thornsbury also tapped a friend, the county's emergency services director, to become the grand jury foreman, according to the indictment. The judge allegedly wrote subpoenas and had the grand jury issue them to help get private information about Woodruff.

The scheme was exposed when one of the businesses refused to cooperate.

When Robert Woodruff became the victim of an assault outside a convenience store last year by two men -- one of whom brandished a handgun -- the judge arranged for Woodruff to be identified as the perpetrator so he would receive "an exceptionally harsh sentence."

The county prosecutor dismissed the charges against Woodruff.

Attorney Mike Callaghan represents the secretary, Kim Woodruff, and her husband. He said they had been through a very rough time and were shocked. Callaghan represented handled the cases when Robert was accused of crimes.

"As a lawyer, I knew something was wrong," Callaghan said. "But never in my wildest dreams did I fathom the reason for the prosecution."

U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin said none of the men accused of helping Thornsbury in his "campaign to persecute" Robert Woodruff will be charged. However, "the investigation into Mingo County corruption is ongoing," he said.

Thornsbury has served as a circuit judge since January 1997. The state Supreme Court suspended him without pay late Thursday and suspended his law license. A replacement judge is set to report to the courthouse Friday.

Goodwin, however, is not seeking to hold Thornsbury in jail before his trial.

Thornsbury was also an assistant Mingo County prosecutor from 1981 to 1983.

Meanwhile, county commissioner and purchasing officer Dave Baisden was accused of trying to buy tires for his personal vehicle at a government discount, then terminating the county's contract with Appalachian Tire when it refused to cooperate.

Baisden, 66, was released on $10,000 bond and ordered not to discuss the case with any witnesses, including his two fellow commissioners.

In April, Mingo County's sheriff was shot twice in the head while parked in his cruiser, in a spot in downtown Williamson where Crum frequently had lunch. The suspect, Tennis Melvin Maynard, fled and pulled a gun on a pursuing deputy, authorities said.

Maynard was wounded by the deputy, and he's now facing first-degree murder charges. His trial is set for October.

The motive for the slaying has not been revealed.

[Ed Anger]

Weak. In Harlan county, somebody would have gotten shot.

[MadImmortalMan]

Beautiful homeless girl. - m4w - 34 (Sparks)
I was on my lunch break from work when I saw you on the off-ramp from the I-80 on McCarran by the Denny's. Something about those sky-blue, yellow stained overalls got my attention. Your hair was in a style I've never seen before. Like two birds fought for a worm in it. Your obvious custom dental work, probably brought on by either a brief hockey career, or a meth habit had me stop in my tracks. Also, because it was a red light. When I threw my handful of change I had in my cup holder at you, I must admit I thought it was sexy when you picked it up, and said, "Thank you," in that rugged, raspy voice. But when those teenager's behind me threw that large blue slurpee at your broken leg, and it splashed all over, I felt like I should take you home, and bathe you in my personal commode. I will come back at the same time, hoping, praying that you are there, and this time, I hope you will get in my big Red Excursion with me, and I will be your ultimate hero! I need some help with simple chores around the house, and I will make a great lover. Forever missed.

[CountDeMoney]

It's "teenagers", not "teenager's".  Amateur.

And too goddamned many comma splices.

[Ed Anger]

A Romanian princess was caught in Oregon for running a cockfighting ring.

[Archy]

A Romanian princess was caught in Oregon for running a cockfighting ring.

That`s so gay!

[Tonitrus]

Bored at the hotel, and stumbled across one of those hunting shows on the Outdoor channel...

It had some hot chick all done up in realtree camo, having just blown away a deer with a high powered rifle...

I am not against hunting in the slightest...but when you're cooing over how beautiful the deer is, and what a wonderful an animal it is, all the while caressing it's dead carcass like a kitten...makes me think a lot of the hunting "culture" is pretty fucked up.

[CountDeMoney]

E.L. James, of 50 Shades of Bad Adjectives fame, was listed by Forbes as the best earning author for 2013, earning $95M.  Wow.

[garbon]

Yeah it is pretty depressing.