BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - Back in the day of chain gangs, Alabama passed a law that gave sheriffs $1.75 a day to feed each prisoner in their jails, and the sheriffs got to pocket anything that was left over. More than 80 years later, most Alabama counties still operate under this system, with the same $1.75-a-day allowance, and some sheriffs are actually making money on top of their salaries.

But exactly how much is something of a mystery because state auditors do not have access to sheriffs’ private accounts.

How could anyone turn a profit feeding men and women for an entire day on less than the price of a Coke and a bag of Fritos? Sheriffs practice Depression-style frugality and rely on such things as day-old bread, cut-rate vegetables and cheap inmate labor.

Critics charge that Alabama is, in effect, paying law enforcement to skimp on food and may be rewarding sheriffs for mistreating prisoners.

“It’s a bad system, and it ought not be that way,” said Buddy Sharpless, executive director of the Association of County Commissions of Alabama.

A prisoner advocate said he constantly hears complaints about jail food.

I have a serious suggestion for the inmates, if you don’t like the food, don’t do anything that will get your sorry ass locked up, how simple can it be??

Complaints about ‘jailhouse cuisine’?? I am shocked, shocked that anyone would actually give a damn about the food and the guys eating it…

When I was a kid raised in Louisiana we had ‘road gangs’ and the Parish jail was called a ‘P-Farm’, short for penal farm and the prisoners had to work if they wanted to eat, and by golly they ate pretty good, they raised their own beef, pork, chickens, and they farmed their fields raising vegetables, and anything they didn’t use in the mess hall was sold to the public and the convicts actually made some money…

Then some bleeding heart SOB from the ACLU or some similar trash decided that the cons needed color TV, air conditioning and so forth, and that working in the fields was some sort of ‘cruel and unusual’ punishment, and then the state and parish had to start picking up the bill to feed the cons…

Needless to say, that bunch of bleeding heart libbers messed up a good thing, the food went to hell and the cons got some shyster to sue over it, taxes went up and the cons had a better life than a lot of citizens did…

“Most of it is like powdered food, and the portions are minimal in the county jails,” said the Rev. Kenneth Glasgow, who visits Alabama jails to register prisoners to vote.

Anyone want to take a bet on this?? I say the vast majority of the cons that register, do so as Democrats, just sayin’…

Inmate William Howell said state prisons offer more food than Blakely’s jail. But he said the food in state prison isn’t nearly as good.

It’s a pretty sad state of affairs when an inmate can be a food critic on the local, county and state level, I am guessing that’s maybe a ‘career criminal’??

I have heard these stories before, cons that knew who had the cleanest jail, the best beds, the best and most food, the most lenient guards, all of it, and it is in the pipeline, they KNOW, it’s like a registry of hotels, 3 hots and a cot, a shower and a warm place in the winter, my Dad told me that back during the depression that the hobo’s had a network very similar…

Maybe it’s because I have never seen the inside of a jail when I couldn’t walk out, maybe that’s why, but I can’t understand the mentality that drive these guys to become lifetime cons, maybe it’s like the homeless people, ya offer them a place to stay and they tell you how much they prefer the street, gotta be the same thing…

Full Story Here:
Alabama sheriffs feed inmates on $1.75 a day

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John McCain has had a rocky relationship with the National Rifle Association over the years, with his support for closing the gun show loophole at the top of the organization’s list of grievances and his shepherding of campaign finance reform a close second.

On Friday McCain addresses the NRA’s annual convention in Louisville. Perhaps the NRA is ready to kiss and make up in order to rally around the Republican nominee?

NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre told the AP said his organization and McCain will “agree to disagree” on some issues. “We’re not foolish enough to ignore the vast areas of agreement in which John McCain has been a friend to gun owners.”

McCain will get a less warm greeting from the American Hunters and Shooters Association, who have taken out an ad in the Louisville Courier-Journal calling on McCain to “come clean once and for all on the critical issue of background checks at gun shows.”

Full Story Here:
McCain Faces the NRA

A couple of weeks ago Sen. Barack Obama claimed that many Midwestern voters “cling” to guns and religion to placate themselves for their loss of jobs and economic prosperity. SOURCE

Anyone can understand the NRA not wanting Obama there after the bum made such ridiculous statements but the didn’t invite Hillary?? She’s into guns too ya know, she said so…

“You know, some people now continue to teach their children and their grandchildren. It’s part of culture. It’s part of a way of life. People enjoy hunting and shooting because it’s an important part of who they are. Not because they are bitter. As I told you, my dad taught me how to shoot behind our cottage. I have gone hunting. I am not a hunter. But I have gone hunting.” SOURCE

Yeah, well, I’m not a pilot but I’ve been up in a lot of airplanes, and I stayed at a few Holiday Inn’s in my day too, does that instill a sense of confidence in you??

If there is anyone out there that truly believes Hillary and her impassioned pandering to the gun owners of America, well, I have some bridge properties you may be interested in owning…

Now, on to Sen. John McCain and guns, McCain, the apparent darling of the once great Republican party, and the leader of a bunch of ankle biting little lapdogs that I like to affectionately call McCainiacs…

Sen. McCain is basically a pandering politico and will say and/or do anything it takes to get elected to the presidency, including, but not limited to pandering to gun owners in an attempt to gain their support and the support of the Conservative voting base, a base that he all but turned his back on in 2000 and 2004…

John McCain tried running for president in 2000 as an anti-gunner. This year it appears he is seeking to “come home” to the pro-gun community, but the wounds are deep and memories long. John McCain - GOA 2008

As if there wasn’t already plenty of evidence that Senator John McCain is the wrong choice for pro-gun Republicans in the Presidential primary, the Columbus Dispatch has added one more item to the list: Buckeye Firearms Association

Nowhere is McCain’s chicanery and duplicity more jeopardous than in the area of the right to keep and bear arms. On issues relating to the Second Amendment, John McCain is a disaster! For example, the highly respected Gun Owners of America (GOA) rates McCain with a grade of F-. McCain’s failing grade is well deserved. John McCain Is A Liberal Gun Grabber

I could go on and on but you get the idea, McCain is sucking up to the NRA and will turn his back on the gun owners of America as soon as he’s sworn in and any way this thing goes, gun owners will become the target…

McCain may be a bit better president than Hillary and Hillary would be infinitely better than Obama but let’s face the facts, if these 3 are the best that the parties have to offer and if we are so complacent that we’re willing to accept these candidates, then come November we’re going to get exactly what we deserve…

I just hope the NRA has a long memory too and doesn’t fall for this BS from Sen. John McCain, RINO…

Later tonight I am looking forward to a blog post at An Ol’ Broads Ramblings, she and her hubby are there right now, at the convention, and she has promised to write a coverage post, I hope she can bring out some information that will change my mind in regards to McCain, and maybe change the minds of a lot of other Conservatives as well…

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AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - A Dutch political cartoonist was arrested this week on suspicion of insulting people because of their race or religion through his work, authorities said Friday.

The cartoonist, who works under the pseudonym Gregorius Nekschot, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of violating hate speech laws and held overnight before being released, a spokeswoman for his publisher Uitgeverij Xtra said.

“He was arrested with a great show of force, by around 10 policemen,” the spokeswoman said.

She asked that her name not be used, and declined to give Nekschot’s real name, because the cartoonist and publisher have both received death threats.

Nekschot is known primarily for cartoons mocking Muslims and leftists, though the spokeswoman said he is a satirist who targets “any strong ideology.”

Amsterdam public prosecutor spokeswoman Sanne van Meteren said Nekschot remains a suspect in a criminal investigation.

“We suspect him of insulting people on the basis of their race or belief, and possibly also of inciting hate,” she said.

Full Story Here:
Cartoonist arrested for ‘insulting people’

We may have a lot of problems here in the USA but there is one thing that we do have that many other nations of the world doesn’t have, and that is FREEDOM of speech, at least we have that right for now…

The Netherlands is a founding member of the EU and Americans have become painfully aware of the dangers that the EU, and their obvious appeasement of radical Islam have brought on the world, this story illustrates what an overly PC nation and laws can do to the citizens OF that nation…

Hate speech, while a childish and likely useless effort, is still nothing more than speech, when an article or cartoon can be perceived as insulting, and that insult being a punishable offense, well, that’s taking PCness a bit too far in MY opinion…

Once in a while a deliberate insult is in order too, and that’s mostly because you just can’t reach through the screen and bitch-slap some asshat that truly deserves it…

If folks that post on the ‘net and read on the ‘net are so easily insulted, or so immature that they allow those perceived insults to bother them, maybe they need to read some 17th and 18th century literature and novels, might be a mind expanding and non-insulting experience for the weak-minded little twits…

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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - President Bush is appealing to oil-rich Saudi Arabia to increase production just as oil prices have hit another record high.

As U.S. consumers cope with rising prices at the gas pump, Bush is on a one-day visit to Saudi Arabia for another burst of diplomacy with King Abdullah.

When the two met here in mid-January, the president asked Saudi Arabia to raise production to ease high prices at the pump. Bush got a chilly response to his plea. The kingdom said it would increase production only when the market justified it, and that production levels appeared normal.

Oil prices climbed to a new high Friday, above $127 a barrel. At the pump, gas prices rose to a national average of $3.78 per gallon, according to a survey of stations by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service.

When Air Force One landed in the Saudi capital on Friday, the president got a red carpet welcome on the tarmac and was warmly greeted by Saudi leaders as a military band played the U.S. national anthem, slightly off-key.

Full Story Here:
Bush asks Saudis to increase oil production

EDIT TO ADD:
Saudi Arabia Refuses to Increase Oil Production

Of course he got a red carpet welcome, Bush and the Saudis are big buddies, even if it was Saudis that carried out the attacks of 9-11 and NOT Iraqis, but that is a fact that seems to slip the minds of many people…

The American president goes to Saudi Arabia, hat in hand, asking them, much like the Dickens character Oliver Twist, “Please, sir, can I have some more?” and I don’t know about you but I find that to be a despicable act…

We should OWN Iraq, otherwise, all of our efforts there have been in vain, and before anyone gets the wrong idea, let me spell it out for you…

I never thought that Iraq was where we needed to go, there have been far too many disclosures that back up the opinions many of us hold, Iraq wasn’t part of the attacks on 9-11, our own DoD, CIA and Congress have said so, but the Saudis were very much involved, perhaps in an indirect manner, but involved nonetheless and so, here we are, sitting on top of HUGE reserves of oil here in America that we can’t drill for, sitting on top of huge oil reserves in Iraq that by right of victory should be ours for the taking, to the victor go the spoils, but we won’t even do that…

But our president can go to Saudi Arabia, kiss-up to King Abdullah and beg them to save our economy by producing more oil, thus giving the Saudis BILLIONS more of American dollars…

I am firmly convinced, we are just about down the tubes, and it’s people like George Bush that have taken us there with his globalism ideals and what I believe is a hidden agenda for a ‘One World Government’…

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - California’s Supreme Court declared gay couples in the nation’s biggest state can marry - a monumental but perhaps short-lived victory for the gay rights movement Thursday that was greeted with tears, hugs, kisses and at least one instant proposal of matrimony.

Same-sex couples could tie the knot in as little as a month. But the window could close soon after - religious and social conservatives are pressing to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November that would undo the Supreme Court ruling and ban gay marriage.

“Essentially, this boils down to love. We love each other. We now have equal rights under the law,” declared a jubilant Robin Tyler, a plaintiff in the case along with her partner. She added: “We’re going to get married. No Tupperware, please.”

A crowd of people raised their fists in triumph inside City Hall, and people wrapped themselves in the rainbow-colored gay-pride flag outside the courthouse. In the Castro, the historic center of the gay community in San Francisco, Tim Oviatt wept as he watched the news on TV.

Full Story Here:
California’s top court legalizes gay marriage

I have very little to say in regards to this atrocious ruling from the California Supreme Court, I am not a big Bible thumper but I know what the Bible says about homosexuality and the Bible is God’s word, and as far as I am concerned, God has spoken…

Lev 18:22-23 “You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.”

Lev 20:13 “If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death.”

1 Cor 6:9 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals”

1 Tim 1:9-10 “realizing the fact that (civil) law is not made for a righteous man, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers”

Rom 1:26-27 “For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.”

I know there are some good and decent people in California, and it’s a real shame that their wishes have been ignored by their judges, and it’s an even bigger shame that they have to suffer through the indignation that this law will bring to the people of California…

Don’t be surprised if the wrath of God is brought down on California either, and if you have a problem with this posting, take it up with God, it’s HIS law, I’m just quoting from His word…

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Republican John McCain declared for the first time Thursday he believes the Iraq war can be won by 2013, although he rejected suggestions that his talk of a timetable put him on the same side as Democrats clamoring for full-scale troop withdrawals.

The Republican presidential contender, in a mystical speech that also envisioned Osama bin Laden dead or captured, and Americans with the choice of paying a simple flat tax or following their standard 1040 form, said only a small number of troops would remain in Iraq by the end of a prospective first term because al-Qaida will have been defeated and Iraq’s government will be functioning on its own.

“By January 2013, America has welcomed home most of the servicemen and women who have sacrificed terribly so that America might be secure in her freedom. The Iraq War has been won,” McCain told an audience of several hundred here in the capital city of a general election battleground state.

Later, as the Arizona senator drove to the airport on his “Straight Talk Express” campaign bus, McCain was peppered by reporters with questions about the timetable. He and his aides insisted there was a difference between ending the war and bringing troops home and, as they criticize the Democrats, announcing a withdrawal upfront without regard for the military endgame.

“It’s not a timetable; it’s victory. It’s victory, which I have always predicted. I didn’t know when we were going to win World War II; I just knew we were going to win,” McCain said.

Full Story Here:
McCain outlines vision of Iraq victory

If there’s anyone out there that’s still not convinced that a McCain presidency will be nothing more than the 3rd coming of George Bush, this oughta do it, all McCain needs is a catchy little slogan like ’stay the course’…

Sen. McCain, I wasn’t going to use this reference again but since YOU brought it up, yes, we did win WWII, and we did it in 3 years and 9 months, a WORLD WAR, not a pissing contest in Iraq, a real live WORLD WAR, and we did it by fighting the fight, not by taking a holding position as we spent even more BILLIONS in rebuilding the nations that were decimated by the war while the war was still in progress…

I seriously thought you were a bit more on the ball Sir, but I guess not, maybe you really are as addled brained as 1st thought, the American people don’t understand why it’s already taken us 5 years to get to the point we are in Iraq and then you tack on another 5 years, just for good measure?? For victory?? For VICTORY??

We already achieved a victory in Iraq, our troops delivered that victory within the 1st month of the Iraqi war, no big deal, the Iraqis were a pushover for the most part, then Bush and Company, and I include you in that group Sen. McCain, you guys blew the victory and have lost the peace, our troops didn’t botch the job, you and the rest of the pandering politicos did…

I want the McCainiacs to answer this, how is it that your angry little old man, the one that you call a war hero, tell me how he can be so stupid, can you do that??

Sen. McCain, if the U.S. military can’t in your opinion, WIN a war and achieve victory in a piss-ant place like Iraq, a nation that is approximately the same size as Texas, if they aren’t allowed to achieve a stunning victory in a hell of a lot less than the 5 years they’ve had under George Bush, and the additional 5 years that you predict as necessary, why should we want YOU as the Commander in Chief??

According to your own words you will be no better at leading this nation to victory than Bush has been…

Once upon a time you may have been a brave warfighter, but today you’re no better than Bush, you’re a PC pacifist and you’re kissing ass for votes…

You call yourself Conservative and Republican?? If in reality you are either, then I am going to declare MY intentions to become something else, you are tainting the good name of Conservatives everywhere and the Republicans shot themselves in the foot a long time ago, you played a big part in that one too Mr. RINO, maybe you guys need to take a head shot next time…

McCain might be better than Clinton or Obama, but if he is, it won’t be by very much, Americans should be ashamed of themselves, I mean totally ashamed, we have become so filled with apathy and complacency that we accept McCain as being the best man for the job, when all he really is, is the lesser of the evils, and not that much lesser if the truth were told…

If this is the best the Republican have to offer, I suggest it’s time for the Conservatives to pull completely away from the Republican party and form their own party and present viable and truly Conservative candidates and not the wannabes we’re having forced upon us by the RNC and the media…

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