Blog Posts for Jayne Lyn Stahl

An "Elegant President" in Cracker Country

Jayne Lyn Stahl — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:49:59 -0800

Don't know if you happened to catch Frank Schaeffer last night on Rachel Maddow, but it was a riveting show. Given his own background as the son of a right-wing evangelist who recently converted, it would be wise to listen to Schaeffer pushing the panic button.

I confess, too, that I can't help thinking about what Sean Penn said when he learned that Barack Obama was elected. We have "an ...

A Terrifying Incident

Jayne Lyn Stahl — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:37:39 -0800

On my way home from work today, I stopped in to the local 7-11 to pick up a few things. It was late in the day and, as usual, there was only one cashier at the register.

In line in front of me was a young lady who I observed rushing into the store before I got there. She looked to be in her early 20's, a brunette.

Anyway, she bought a half dozen items or so, and stood at the counter with ...

Double Crossed: War Vets Deported

Jayne Lyn Stahl — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:45:44 -0800

Astonishingly, more than 30,000 foreign born detainees face deportation at some 350 facilities nationwide. Nearly half are legal residents who committed crimes that range from homicide to misdemeanor drug possession, and were turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement after serving their prison terms.

Reportedly, about 10% of those foreign born detainees, or 3,000, have served in the ...

Headline of the Year

Jayne Lyn Stahl — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:04:51 -0800

Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize, but thanks to their recent headline, the Associated Press may be the first news organization to take first prize for headline of the year. About an hour ago, while munching some leftover chicken, a stunning headline streaked across my laptop: "Official: Obama wants his war options changed." At first, I thought --hmmmmm..... at least he isn't asking to have ...

Quote of the Day

Jayne Lyn Stahl — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:26:29 -0800

"There are no eyes harder to catch than a barman's."

Samuel Beckett

The Taking of a Life

Jayne Lyn Stahl — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:46:50 -0800

John Allen Muhammad, the so-called D.C. sniper, is scheduled to be put to death today by the state of Virginia for the mass murders he carried out in our nation's capital. The Supreme Court refused to stay the execution as did Virginia Governor Tim Kaine. No one will argue that Muhammad is innocent, or that what he did was not a heinous act, and one for which he deserves to pay the ultimate ...

Why I Defend Roman Polanski

Jayne Lyn Stahl — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:36:55 -0800

Okay, so here we go.... I swore I'd never write about this, and haven't in the nearly 40 years since it happened, but since there's been so much attention focused on a similar crime committed more than 30 years ago by Roman Polanski, I thought it might be helpful to hear from someone who knows firsthand the difference between statutory rape, and rape as conversion of genitalia into lethal ...

Costco Republicans?

Jayne Lyn Stahl — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:41:19 -0800

After this week's big losses for Democrats in Virginia and New Jersey, one can't help but speculate about the impact the far right, bible belt conservatives will have on the landscape that is the Republican Party over the next eight years. Some see civil war already in the works with faux moderates being tackled by the nouveau neo-conservative movement.

The John Birch Society, which has been ...

Black Ops. and the Massacre at Fort Hood

Jayne Lyn Stahl — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:34:55 -0800

There are lots of places to start looking if we want clues as to what happened today at an Army base at Fort Hood, Texas. One obvious place to start is Virginia Tech. We know that Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hassan, who perpetrated the largest shooting at a military base in U.S. history today, graduated attended the college.

There are striking similarities between the modus operandi in both cases: ...

Text and Drive?

Jayne Lyn Stahl — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:01:20 -0800

Text and drive? If you live in England, and someone dies because you rear end them while texting, you will face jail time. In 2008, Great Briatin issued a directive which clearly states that "prolonged texting" may be prosecuted as inflicting "death by dangerous driving."

Consider the wrenching, horrific case of a young Oxford woman, Victoria McBryde, an aspiring fashion designer who ...