(sigh)OK, blog readers. This is just so sick and bizarre that I'm not even going to comment. Just read for yourselves. What is it about men and dogs (dead ones, at that) and goats and sheep, etc.?"JUDGE SAYS LOCAL SUSPECT WILL STAND TRIAL
Saturday, February 24, 2007
By Crystal Harmon Times Writer
Bay County Circuit Judge Joseph K. Sheeran ruled Friday that even though Michigan law does not explicitly define sex with a dead dog as a crime, charges against a Saginaw man will stand.
Sheeran set a trial date of May 8 for the trial, when Ronald E. Kuch, 45, of Saginaw will face charges of sodomy, indecent exposure and resisting and obstructing an Animal Control officer. If convicted of either of the first two charges, Kuch will then have a hearing on May 30, at which Sheeran will determine whether Kuch is a ''sexually delinquent person.'' If so, the judge could sentence Kuch to prison for any amount of time, from one day to a year, on top of the sentence from the initial charges, which carry up to 15 years in prison.
Kuch's defense attorney, Kathryn Fehrman, argued that Michigan's statute on sodomy and bestiality is vague and does not outlaw sex with a dead dog. Kuch is accused of sexual contact with the carcass of his girlfriend's dog on Oct. 20, about a week after the animal had been hit by a car. The alleged crime occurred near the Forest Day Care Center, 2169 W. Midland Road, on a school day. The teacher was leading an Animal Control officer to the dead dog so he could dispose of it when the pair discovered Kuch, who allegedly scuffled with the officer before fleeing into the woods. "(sigh)
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I've been reading recently about a subject I've known about for years -- how we sound provides strong first impressions about who we are. Not necessarily ACCURATE impressions, but impressions nonetheless. Instructing us in how to rid ourselves of our twangs, drawls and other regional inflections is evidently the new "service" being offered job hunters. "News anchor diction" is the goal.
Now, I understand that some of us talk with such a regional flair that it can result in a negative first impression -- heavy southern accents may make us sound naive and slow; heavy NY accents may create a sense of street gangs or the Mob; "Valley Girl" chatter may make us sound like ditzies. However, unless we're actually APPLYING for a news anchor position, our accents reflect our heritage and SHOULD be an asset.
Of course, I'm referring to accents where proper grammar is used -- it does no good to have immaculate diction if we can't properly put together a subject and predicate. Being able to converse intelligently means not only being able to make a point concisely but also being able to use the correct part of speech. I guess what I'm trying to say is that our accents can bring flavor to conversation if we're fairly articulate, and those accents can invoke a sense of place to those listening. This can be a GOOD thing.
I love not only the southern drawls but also the vernacular -- "y'all," "God bless her/him," "addled," "trifling," "hissie fit," "got a notion to..." If you're a southerner you know what this all means. It just wouldn't be fittin' to say any of those words or phrases without a long, slow drawl, now would it, darlin'?(sigh)
(sigh)Have you heard that advocates for the blind are opposing a proposed Maryland law that would encourage the use of hybrid cars because they are harder to hear? The National Federation for the Blind is asking that the law be amended to require that hybrids make noise.Continuing in the same inane vein is the news that a Florida theatre changed "The Vagina Monologues" to "The Hoohah Monologues." Go figure.(sigh)
(sigh)Here's another instance of the State of Oregon's educational insanity! Oregon State University has conducted research on the biological cause of homosexual behavior in sheep. Didn't know sheep could be queer???????? Well, now you do. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you view things (oh, a baaaaad pun!) they didn't try to turn them "straight." And, of course, PETA objected to the research.OMG.(sigh)
(sigh)A Medford, Oregon, police officer, responding to reporters after his men discovered a man bound in duct tape in a resident's chest freezer remarked, "We consider this a very suspicious death."OMG.(sigh)
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OMG.
Sitting in a diner in a grungy part of Baltimore recently (don’t EVEN ask me why I was there), I couldn’t help but be struck by the pitiful masses of humanity. These folks are most likely the salt of the earth with a screw loose, but their appearances scream, “I ain’t had no shower in two months and my momma don’t care!”
First of all, I was seated smack dab in the middle of half a dozen families with small, restless, wailing kids – sooooooooooooooooo conducive to digestion, you understand. And some of these folks make you do a quick intake of air (you know – a GASP!) when your eyes land on them. Like the kid with the Mohawk, semi-gothic clothes and a variety of body piercings. Or the 50+ guy with greasy, strangly hair down to his shoulders and more facial hair than the “Caveman” on those Geico commercicals. Or the flannel-clad guy who was about 6’4” and 130 pounds standing waiting to pay the check and getting more agitated by the second. I would have loved to have seen a pathology report on that poor guy’s liver. Or the young couple who were wrapped around each other with their tongues down one another’s throats – while their three young kids sat mesmerized. Or the semi-belligerous blacks about to do a dismount off their high horse. You know the type – loud, sassy, potty-mouthed and with a cell phone glued to one ear so they can continue their inane conversations for all the world to hear.
Sigh. As I said, these folks are probably good people. Their appearances just don’t reflect it. Keep telling me that it takes all kinds.
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