Don't prosecute assaults, thefts & burglaries?

Last updated on: March 15, 2017 at 7:44 pm By Elizabeth Scalia

Reader misogynist – who is a libertarian sort – sends this along with the note, “this is some scary stuff, right here…” Misdemeanor crimes such as assaults, thefts and burglaries will no longer be prosecuted in Contra Costa County because of budget cuts, the county’s top prosecutor said Tuesday. District Attorney Robert Kochly also said that beginning May 4, his office will no longer prosecute felony drug cases involving smaller amounts of narcotics. That means anyone caught with less than... Read more

Making over Susan Boyle

Last updated on: March 15, 2017 at 7:44 pm By Elizabeth Scalia

Ann Althouse is looking at the “Susan Boyle needs a make-over” crowd, and writes: The idea of keeping her in her original state is sentimental and selfish. Is she supposed to bolster your self esteem? One of her attributes is that she’s never been kissed. (She’s 47.) Should she retain her virginity along with her bushy eyebrows so that TV viewers can feel warm and squishy? Seeing the world talk about Boyle’s virginity makes me uneasy, because pop-culture seems incapable... Read more

Think you're praying much?

Last updated on: March 15, 2017 at 7:44 pm By Elizabeth Scalia

Deacon Greg has found a monk who has got you beat: The story: 70 year-old Buddhist monk Hua Chi has been praying in the same spot at his temple in Tongren, China for over 20 years. His footprints, which are up to 1.2 inches deep in some areas, are the result of performing his prayers up to 3000 times a day. Now that he is 70, he says that he has greatly reduced his quantity of prayers to 1,000 times... Read more

$45,000 – $75,000 per year blogging? – UPDATED

Last updated on: March 15, 2017 at 7:44 pm By Elizabeth Scalia

Whoa, I should look into this blogging gig, it sounds lucrative, doesn’t it? I don’t know where the WSJ is getting its numbers from, or which bloggers it’s talking to, but I clearly ain’t one of them. The best studies we can find say we are a nation of over 20 million bloggers, with 1.7 million profiting from the work, and 452,000 of those using blogging as their primary source of income. That’s almost 2 million Americans getting paid by... Read more

On "feeling less free"

Last updated on: March 15, 2017 at 7:45 pm By Elizabeth Scalia

Yesterday I wrote about a conversation with a cabbie from Afghanistan who loves America but who feels “less free” here than he used to. We were talking about small laws and the encroachment of the state into our personal lives. In response I got an interesting email from an Aussie gent part of whose email I must redact for his own privacy: [Several] months ago I returned home to my home in. . .Australia, from the Middle East, where I... Read more

Separated at birth?

Last updated on: March 15, 2017 at 7:45 pm By Elizabeth Scalia

So, I was over at the Crescat where I like to pop in every coupla days, and I saw this photo of Barack Obama: And – as has happened every time I have ever seen that picture – my brain started nagging, “who does he look like in this picture? I know he looks like someone! This picture reminds me of someone, who is it? For months, it’s been right at the tip of my tongue. Finally, this morning, the... Read more

Heather & Kim and more – UPDATED

Last updated on: March 15, 2017 at 7:45 pm By Elizabeth Scalia

Got an update on Heather, the young pregnant woman who was diagnosed with cancer after learning of her pregnancy. On April 1 we learned that Heather had experienced something of a miraculous healing: The technicians opened her mouth to position the equipment relative to the tumor. Only…this time…there was nothing there. No tumor. No cancer. Nothing anywhere on her tongue, jaw, throat, mouth…nothing. The only evidence that she ever had that cancer was a small cancerous patch on her lymphnode... Read more

Being out of the news loop

Last updated on: March 15, 2017 at 8:08 pm By Elizabeth Scalia

So, basically the last four days have been dedicated to family, and the weather was terrific and I paid zero attention to the news. I highly recommend taking a few days off from news. It’s good for the heart. However, I am a little behind on email and must do some catching up before I have anything worthwhile to post. I will leave you this little bit, though: At one point, my husband and I were strolling through the city... Read more

Can't get enough of Susan Boyle?

Last updated on: March 15, 2017 at 8:08 pm By Elizabeth Scalia

You know, I’ve been unusually busy and out of touch, but I happened to be in front of a TV this evening and saw a CNN report with Blitzer on Susan Boyle. Her hair was shiny and coifed and she looked lovely and sweet. I couldn’t hear much, but from what I am seeing in my email, she’s just taking the world by storm! I mean, heck, I am writing about her for the third time in a week! And... Read more

Blogging will be lightish

Last updated on: March 15, 2017 at 8:08 pm By Elizabeth Scalia

I’ve had lots of emails asking me if I had seen the Obama/Georgetown University story. I had. Actually, I’d seen it the night before and passed it on to many friends, because I knew I would not have a chance to write about it. Family events taking a great deal of time for the next few days and so blogging will be lighter than usual, and email responses sort of catch-as-catch can. Check back, though! :-) Read more