This may be a first: Busted and jailed for texting while judging. 

A Salem man who decided texting his buddies was more important than listening to crucial evidence during a trial has been found in contempt of court and jailed.

26 year old Benjamin Kohler answered the call of jury duty in the morning and by the afternoon was himself sitting in a jial cell for persisting in texting while jurying. 

When a key piece of evidence was –a video of the defendant’s statement to the cops–was played for the jury, the bailiffs dimmed the lights.

The Marion County Sheriff’s Department takes it from here:

It was at this time that Judge Graves noticed a light reflecting on Juror Kohler’s chest.  It was obvious to the Court that Mr. Kohler was texting on his cell phone.

Judge Graves immediately called for a recess, cleared the courtroom and excused all of the jurors except Mr. Kohler.  Kohler had no explanation for his actions.  Judge Grave instructed Court Security Deputy Jeremy Schwab to take Mr. Kohler into custody for contempt of court.  Kohler was arrested and transported to the Marion County Jail, charged with contempt of court; ORS 33.015 (2) (a). There is no bail for this charge.

An alternate juror was brought in and the defendant was found guilty.

Kohler was put in the slammer Tuesday and let out on Wednesday night.

Judge Graves commented, “The duty to serve as a juror must be taken very seriously.  Every juror has the responsibility to devote his entire attention to the witnesses and evidence being presented.  In this case, Mr. Kohler failed to meet his obligations and failed to honor the direction of this court.  My hope is that he will use his time in jail to reflect upon his behavior.” Judge Graves also hoped that his decision to hold Kohler in contempt will serve as a lesson to all future jurors.  

Being a juror is one of the  most important and fulfilling things you can do as an American citizen. Most people try to get out of it. I can’t imagine this will help make the prospect that much more attractive, but, oh well…

Question: Did the judge do the right thing? 

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Who are these men who cavalierly planted bombs which dismembered and bloodied and murdered happy spectators and participants of the Boston Marathon? 

And, for the record, these don’t match up with the folks Alex Jones and his conspiracy crew have singled out as the perps. In their news conference today (see below) they specifically asked the American people to disregard any other pictures of people held out as the bombers. 

And the FBI news conference:

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Oregon Firearms Federation Chief Kevin Starrett says Arnie Roblan just folded and the gun bills will now be passed out of committee and head to the Senate floor. If passed they would then go to the house. Let’s recap, shall we, what’s at stake here:

SB 347, the “no guns in schools” bill has had its language changed but will still ban concealed carry in virtually all schools. No has provided a single example of a crime committed by a CHL holder in a school in Oregon…ever.

SB 699 now requires that CHL holders keep their firearms “concealed from view” while in public buildings. The only apparent explanation for why this should be required is that some people are “offended” by or “distressed” at the sight of a firearm in civilian hands. Ironically , we don’t require licenses for open carry, only for concealed carry. Now, because some people have phobias and irrational fears, we are forcing people give up their rights so no one’s “feelings are hurt. There are many things that offend many people. Are we going to outlaw everything anyone objects to?

SB 700 still requires that you get police permission before giving a gun to your best friend or many family members. It also requires that you obtain forms from the State Police and keep them for 5 years if you transfer a firearm. The fact is, the background check system is already failing on a regular basis and people are delayed sometimes for months because of its regular errors. Expanding this system is a terrible idea.

Finally, SB 796 has been amended to outlaw online firearms classes. Why? No one seems to know. Ivy League Universities offer online course and college degrees are offered for them. Oregon has a charter school that is completely online. Online education is the wave of the future, it provides a far greater range of instructors than in-person teaching can and there have been exactly zero problems with people who have learned gun safety online. This bill is another idea whose time has clearly not come.

And as I discuss here the bills are wholly beside the point.

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On April 16^th, 2013, shortly after the atrocity at the Boston Marathon took place this appeared on twitter. It was a brief report of rejoicing at the terror attack among the Arabs who call themselves Palestinians. Most folks ignored this report of the Palestinians’ grotesque delight at the death and maiming of so many American and other civilians in the United States; or what they call the Great Satan.

 Just as happened when the planes, hijacked by Saudi Arabian terrorists  were deliberately flown into the World Trade Center and the Twin Towers fell on 9/11, Palestinians were in the streets celebrating, handing out candies and gleefully dancing in Gaza and Ramallah.  

 Now here is a another report below, corroborating the previous one.

ARI LIEBERMAN: AMERICA MOURNS AND PALARABS CHEER

http://frontpagemag.com/2013/ari-lieberman/palestinians-cheer-while-america-mourns/

“It is time for those in the West who sanctimoniously clamor for the creation of a Palestinian state, to take a closer look at the people they are advocating for. People who cheer when civilians are butchered deserve their own asylum, not statehood.”

On April 16, Palestinians in Gaza cheered. They danced in the streets and handed out candy and sweets to motorists and pedestrians alike. They were not however celebrating the inauguration of a new school or the completion of a hospital. Instead, they were celebrating death. On April 16, Palestinians of Gaza celebrated the Boston marathon atrocity. While our first responders were picking up severed limbs and tending to the wounded, Palestinians reveled in Boston’s misery.

The Palestinian reaction to the horrific events in Boston was unsurprising and was in fact quite predictable. After the 9-11 attacks that killed 3,000 people, the Palestinian response was quite similar. Old women were seen shrieking in jubilation while children passed out sweets and men cheered approvingly.

These are Israel’s so-called “peace partners.” These are the people who are demanding that Israel relinquish all the land liberated during the Six-Day War of 1967. And these are the people who want to establish a twenty-third dysfunctional Arab state called “Palestine” alongside Israel’s most vulnerable and populated areas.

April 17, 2013 marks the seventh anniversary of the Rosh Ha’ir suicide bombing in Tel-Aviv that claimed the lives of 11 civilians including Florida resident, 16-year-old Daniel Wultz. Then as now, civilians were targeted and murdered simply because they believed in freedom. Then as now, those who prepared the bombs made sure to pack them with an assortment of shrapnel to inflict maximum bloodletting. And then as now, Palestinian Arabs cheered as they witnessed mothers looking for their missing children and men unable to get up off the floor because of severed limbs. Their perverted culture – a culture that revels in death and destruction – encourages this type of aberrant reaction to the sufferings of others.

The Boston massacre and Rosh Ha’ir Arab homicide attack underscore the fact that the U.S. and Israel are inexorably bound by shared moral values and principles and it is precisely these principles – those which extol freedom and democracy – that infuriate our enemies. The Arab world, deeply suspicious, distrustful, misogynistic and xenophobic, is mired in medieval backwardness. Their hatred of the West, judging by their deviant reaction to the killing of innocents in Boston, New York and Tel-Aviv, is palpable.

It is time for those in the West who sanctimoniously clamor for the creation of a Palestinian state, to take a closer look at the people they are advocating for. People who cheer when civilians are butchered deserve their own asylum, not statehood.

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H/T Jolleen

As we’ve mentioned several times before, Washington State’s new legalized pot law has opened many doors to growers! This is exciting news in the world of pot horticulture and in, uh, higher education. For instance, Washington is looking for a Pot Coordinator. The state is also looking for a person who will act as the overseer of the production of all pot grown and sold in the state.These supposed fighters for freedom to smoke dope have put the state in complete control of all means of production.  Ironic, no?

But the best news ever may be that Cannabis University (yes, it exists) will now be able to place it’s, 

uh, graduates in Washington State pot jobs. There is a win-win! For instance, these people will now have no excuse not to work AND this could help Oregon’s rate of higher education matriculation.

Here’s one that has just appeared on Craig’s List.

Wake Island Farms (a Hydroponic Farm) in Washington is looking for a part time, botanist, plant geneticist, master gardener, breeder or other plant science graduate with an interest in and hands on position legally growing Cannabis in Washington State

“Wake Island”? Knee slapper. Pretty soon pot farms will rival doggie day cares for double entendre names.

But now here’s a potential problem for Cannabis U grads as we see here in the job description:

Must have verifiable experience in dealing with the specific crop and hydrophonic rearing of this or other similar agricultural crops. Some Knowledge of Medical Marijuana and Washington State 502 legislation is desirable. 

“Verifiable experience”?  Well, perhaps a rap sheet will do in lieu of a cv.

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He’s a man of many talents…terrorist AND Prince impersonator!

From Georgia Public Radio

Paul Kevin Curtis, the 45-year-old Mississippi man arrested Wednesday in connection with the possibly ricin-tainted envelopes sent to President Obama and Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., is “better known to some as a celebrity impersonator,” The Clarion-Ledger writes.

The Jackson, Miss., newspaper adds:

“According to GigSalad.com, a website dedicated to booking live entertainers, Curtis does impersonations of ’70 of the biggest names in music history,’ including Elvis, Johnny Cash, Prince, Bon Jovi and Kenny Chesney.”

On the suspect’s “Kevin Curtis Live” Facebook pages, he’s posted photos of his performances as “Elvis,” “Hank Williams Jr.” and others. He has also posted a certificate that purports to show he’s a member of Mensa, the high-IQ society.

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The scenes are horrible, the actual devastation is worse. As many as four people are still missing, many more feared dead among them  fire fighters who came out to fight a fire but confronted an exploding inferno instead.

Conspiracy theorists will be out in droves following this horrible explosion that flattened a portion of the small West Texas town near Waco.

First, it’s the same week as the Boston Marathon Bombings. Then it’s the week of April when the feds incinerated the Branch Davidians –including the same children Janet Reno purportedly went in to save–in the seige on the religious group in Waco. The federal government’s activity in the Branch Davidian incineration was done by some of the same people who went after Randy Weaver’s family, killing his wife, son and dog in Idaho. It’s the latter two attacks which Timothy McVeigh used as an excuse to blow up the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City with a truck stuffed with a —fertilizer bomb.

Please, when Alex Jones and his ilk begin calling this explosion and the Boston Marathon bombing an inside job (which he’s already started to do) it is these tenuous threads that he’s using to weave a conspiracy. Respond accordingly.

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