Expatriate Owl

A politically-incorrect perspective that does not necessarily tow the party line, on various matters including but not limited to taxation, academia, government and religion.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Not All Terrorists ...

It is not unusual to hear one of the leftist Sob Sisters assert that "Not All Muslims Are Terrorists and Not All Terrorists Are Muslim."

This happens to be true. My two-word proof:

Lori Berenson!


It distresses me to report that terrorist Lori Berenson has been released from a Peruvian prison, along with the Terrorist-In-Training to whom she gave birth while incarcerated, said TIT having been fathered by her lawyer. I don't know what the attorney disciplinary rules are in Peru, but I suspect that if I were to impregnate a prisoner with whom I had a lawyer-client relationship, it would warrant a suspension of my law license if not a disbarment. [Of course, once the Disciplinary Committee got finished with me, my wife would come in and give me some real, heavy, big time consequences.]. Fortunately, I (A) do not cheat on my wife; and (B) do not represent clients in criminal cases.

Lori is confined to Peru, a supervised release of sorts, until some time in 2015. That is good for America, but bad for the people of Peru. Her disingenuous assertions of innocence will not now be glorified through repetition and reposting.

I almost feel bad for Lori. She really never stood much of a chance in life, what with the two enablers she has as parents.

As far as Lori's purported rehabilitation goes, you can count me among the skeptical.

Methinks that a certain Administration currently ensconced at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, soft as it is on terrorism, played a key role in springing Lori. After all, he and his cronies will need all the votes they can garner.

And so, the Sob Sisters are correct. Look at Lori's photo and repeat after me: "Not All Muslims Are Terrorists and Not All Terrorists Are Muslim." Lori Berenson is proof, at least of the latter contention.

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Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Chag Sameach Shavuot

In a few hours, the sun will set and it will be the Festival of Shavuot, commemorating the giving of the Ten Commandments and indeed, the entire Torah at Mt. Sinai, seven weeks after the departure from Egypt.

Though the holiday has fallen into disuse amongst many modern day, secular American Jews, it is one of the most important holidays of the year. That is why my family and I keep the holiday.

Here's wishing everyone a happy and healthy Shavuot!

Chag Sameach to all!

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Res Ipsa Loquitur

Some AP cub reporter, with nothing more newsworthy to report, has written up a "Woody Allen comes out in support of Polanski" release which, no doubt, will be picked up in rags across the country, if not the world.

"Allen said Polanski 'was embarrassed by the whole thing,' 'has suffered' and 'has paid his dues.' He said Polanski is 'an artist and is a nice person' who 'did something wrong and he paid for it.'"

What Woody seems to miss is that Polanski was, and is, a fugitive from justice. Polanski's suffering is of his own making. Though I do empathize with Polanski in his capacity as a victim of the Manson Family's crime spree (he did lose his wife and unborn child to their murderous rampage), that does not, in my book, excuse his contempt for the court by jumping bail before his sentencing hearing.


And so, Roman Polanski, the child rapist, is confined to his luxurious condominium. Maybe he ought to quit while he is ahead. I've never seen either, but I very strongly suspect that Polanski's digs in Gstaad are far superior to the accommodations in San Quentin.


Note that Woody Allen, who married a younger woman who, though technically not his daughter, is effectively the legal sibling of his child, is no better. As usual, Woody just doesn't get it!

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Sunday, May 09, 2010

Rosen Assumes Responsibility

The posting of 8 November 2009 mentions the incident of 7 November 2008 involving a high and soused SUV driver who ran down a pair of joggers, killing one and seriously injuring the other. The surviving jogger, Vincent Saunders, had recovered sufficiently to do a run along the jogging route in memory of Amanda Malloy, his running partner who was killed in the incident.

The driver, Shea Rosen, has pleaded guilty to 2nd degree vehicular manslaughter and 1st degree vehicular assault. He could have faced 2 1/3 to 7 years if convicted, but his attorney has worked out a plea deal for 1 1/3 to 4 years. Rosen will be sentenced in September.

Amanda's mom, who was in the courtroom to witness the guilty plea, had no comments to give the members of the press, but the DA's spokesman indicated that she and other members of Amanda's family acquiesced to the deal in order "to avoid the trauma of a trial."

If full justice for Amanda Malloy and Vincent Saunders were the sole criterion, Rosen would serve the full 7 years of cold, hard jail time he so rightly deserves. But circumstances are not ideal. Without being judgmental, I note that Amanda and Vincent were more than just "jogging partners." Amanda was apparently trying to resolve, one way or the other, a marriage that existed on paper only, and Vincent was apparently the third point of the triangle.

The way I call it, that fact played into Amanda's family's aversion to "the trauma of a trial." The matter of Amanda's personal relationships would not have affected the outcome of a trial, or any sentence (the evidence against Rosen was quite overwhelming), and, more likely than not, would not even have been mentioned at trial. But Amanda's saga with her estranged husband has probably taken its toll on Amanda's family over the years. The plea deal enables them to move forward without adding too much more to the trauma they already have undergone, knowing that Shea Rosen will be paying something in the way of prison time for his irresponsible crime. My congrats to Mike Soshnick, Rosen's attorney, who, in all likelihood, recognized this situation and used it to negotiate a good deal for his client.

In addition to the reduced sentence, Shea Rosen receives another benefit from the plea deal. For at least 16 months, his facilitative parents will not be able to continue coddling him, and he will have to learn to man up and take responsibility for his actions, irrespective of any trust funds his parents may provide or have provided for him. This benefit would inure not only to Rosen, but to society as a whole. If Rosen plays his cards right, he can become successfully rehabilitated.

And so, under the circumstances, the deal was a good one for all parties and for society. Unfortunately, it cannot bring back Amanda Malloy

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