Mike's Noise

The shame of Oklahoma: Judge Donald Thompson

By now you have read the sordid details of the trial of former Creek Co. Judge Donald Thompson, who was accused of indecent exposure and forced to retire.  From an archived Jan. 2005 story at ChannelOklahoma.com (link no longer works):

Thompson is accused of using a device called a "penis pump" (link NSFW) during two murder trials in 2003.      

Jurors in the murder trial of Kurt Vomberg said they heard what sounded like a bicycle pump or blood-pressure pump.

Court reporter Lisa Foster told authorities she saw Thompson attach and use the device almost daily during that trial, and that the sounds can be heard on the audiotape she made, the affidavit states.

Vomberg was charged in a toddler's shaking death. Jurors deadlocked, leading to a mistrial. Vomberg later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and received a 35-year prison term.

Foster told an investigator she made notations when she witnessed Thompson using the penis pump during that trial and another first-degree-murder trial in August 2003 for Paulette Sue Moss, who was convicted of manslaughter for killing a friend and sentenced to four years in prison.

Sapulpa police Sgt. Michael Reed told investigators that he found the device under Thompson's bench during a break in the trial. Minutes earlier, from the witness stand, Reed turned toward the judge after hearing a pumping noise and saw a tube running beneath the judge's robe, the affidavit states.

The third charge stems from Thompson's behavior during a September 2003 trial involving a civil lawsuit against The Oklahoma Publishing Co.

Thompson's court reporter for that trial will testify that she saw Thompson masturbate with his hand, the affidavit states.

The charges come after a four-month investigation by Smothermon's office, which was assigned the case after Creek County District Attorney Max Cook recused himself. Smothermon is district attorney for Pottawatomie and Lincoln counties.

Thompson announced his retirement in August after Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson filed a petition seeking his ouster from office.      

The petition accused Thompson of using the penis pump while presiding over trials and of other improper sexual acts.

One word:  Eeewwww.  There is a time and place for everything, and I would guess that most folks would consider the judicial bench to be *ahem* a HIGHLY INAPPROPRIATE place for this sort of behavior.  Judge Thompson's indecent exposure trial commenced earlier this month in Bristow, Oklahoma.

Barak Obama eyes evangelicals

Barak Obama, the new Golden Boy of the Democrat party, recently criticized Democrats for failing to "acknowledge the power of faith in the lives of the American people."

"It is doubtful that children reciting the Pledge of Allegiance feel oppressed or brainwashed as a consequence of muttering the phrase `under God,'" he said. "Having voluntary student prayer groups using school property to meet should not be a threat, any more than its use by the High School Republicans should threaten Democrats."

He went on to add,

"Nothing is more transparent than inauthentic expressions of faith: the politician who shows up at a black church around election time and claps _ off rhythm _ to the gospel choir."

First Howard Dean shows up on The 700 Club (embarassing himself in the process) and now this.  If anything, it underscores the fact that the Democrats perceive "evangelicals" to be a powerful political force in this country -- which, depending on your point of view, could be either a good or a bad thing.

My advice to Obama -- if you want the Democrats to pick up more "evangelical" voters, then you are going to have to steer the party away from McGovernism and "blame America first" rhetoric.  Those things are particularly offensive to Southern evangelicals who support the US military and who believe that God has a special relationship with America.  (Not that I advocate this idea, but there are plenty who do.)

A round-up of left-wing blog reaction to Obama's speech is here.

Joe Carter's reaction.

Al Mohler's reaction.

SCOTUS ruling on "military tribunals" for captured terrorists

NOTE 7-1-06: I have re-written a large portion of this post.  I would also direct your attention to AllahPundit's excellent analysis of the decision, and in particular the lengthy comment left by "EFG".

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Today, the US Supreme Court handed down a ruling in the case of Hamdan v Rumsfeld.

I haven't read everything thoroughly yet, but the gist of the ruling seems to be that the President does not have the right to order "military tribunals" without authorization from Congress.  The ruling was buttressed by the fact that the Geneva Conventions do not grant government executives the right to place prisoners of war on trial.

The heart of the issue involves the legality of the prison at Guantanamo that the US is using to house captured terrorists.  Ever since the US first sent forces into Afghanistan in the fall of 2001 for the purpose of toppling the Taliban government and destroying al-Qaeda's home base, we have captured hundreds of fighters, either members of the Taliban or members of al-Qaeda.  Our efforts have continued since sending troops into Iraq.  These captured fighters are housed in a special detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Opponents of the Guantanamo prison believe that detaining these captured fighters for an indefinite period of time is a violation of their rights, and that the US should either formally charge the prisoners with crimes and try them in a US criminal court of law or release them.  Supporters of the prison believe that the detainees pose a significant threat to the citizens of America and to our armed forces, and as such we are well within our rights to hold them captive until the "War on Terror" is finished. 

The Bush Administration has taken great pains to ensure that the legal status of the foreign fighters housed at Guantanamo has remained simply "detainees."  The administration has fervently resisted attempts to classify the Guantanamo detainees as "prisoners of war."  There are many compelling reasons for this, and chief among them is that "prisoner of war" is universally recognized as a specific classification spelled out in the Geneva Conventions.  By recognizing members of the Taliban and al-Qaeda as "prisoners of war," we would, by proxy, be recognizing the Taliban and al-Qaeda as legitimate legal entities.  We have always recognized both parties as outlaw organizations.

Thoughts on Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth"

I've been putting off writing about Al Gore's movie An Inconvenient Truth, but this story published by the AP just pushed me over the cliff.

Scientists OK Gore's movie for accuracy

Washington - The nation's top climate scientists are giving "An Inconvenient Truth," Al Gore's documentary on global warming, five stars for accuracy.

The former vice president's movie — replete with the prospect of a flooded New York City, an inundated Florida, more and nastier hurricanes, worsening droughts, retreating glaciers and disappearing ice sheets — mostly got the science right, said all 19 climate scientists who had seen the movie or read the book and answered questions from The Associated Press.

The AP contacted more than 100 top climate researchers by e-mail and phone for their opinion. Among those contacted were vocal skeptics of climate change theory. Most scientists had not seen the movie, which is in limited release, or read the book.

But those who have seen it had the same general impression: Gore conveyed the science correctly; the world is getting hotter and it is a manmade catastrophe-in-the-making caused by the burning of fossil fuels.

This is a news story?  I'd give it five stars as a pure propaganda piece.

Fortunately the US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works issued this scathing rebuttal:

In the interest of full disclosure, the AP should release the names of the “more than 100 top climate researchers” they attempted to contact to review “An Inconvenient Truth.” AP should also name all 19 scientists who gave Gore “five stars for accuracy.” AP claims 19 scientists viewed Gore’s movie, but it only quotes five of them in its article. AP should also release the names of the so-called scientific “skeptics” they claim to have contacted.

They also challenged Gore's over-reliance on the questionable "hockey-stick" climate model as well as several other controversial claims made in the movie.

And those "global warming" skeptics?  There is an abundance of them, and they have been quite vocal:

• Gore's Hot Air (New York Post)

• Scientists Respond To Gore's Warnings of Climate Catastrophe (Canada Free Press)

• Chill Out Over Global Warming (Denver Post)

Then there is the excellent JunkScience.com, which has detailed rebuttals of virtually all the claims made in Gore's movie.

Others blogging:

Big Lizards ("I wish the Associated Press had thought to ask those 19 gushers who they thought had really won the 2000 election.")
Flopping Aces
The Anchoress
Bad Hair Blog
Hang Right Politics

May I brag just a little about Oklahoma City?

Via a link from Dustbury.com, here is a great article about Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area Projects, the $500 million urban renewal project that transformed OKC into one of the most talked-about cities in the US.

As a resident of the city during the days when MAPS was debated, voted-on, and then slowly unfolded before our skeptical eyes, I should point out that the criticisms of MAPS in these early days were withering.  In fact, they were so bad that Tulsa citizens voted down a similar tax-based urban renewal project based on the bad vibes coming from OKC.

Perhaps a lot of the criticism was related to the new "escape-proof" Oklahoma County Jail.  Inmates quickly discovered that its glass block windows contained no rebar reinforcements.  By chisling away the mortar between the glass blocks, inmates were able to simply push the blocks out of the wall and crawl through the holes.   Then the plumbing in the shower stalls went haywire.  Someone wrote a letter to the editor of The Oklahoma Gazette suggesting that the county would have been better off buying $100 million dollars worth of chicken wire and wooden fencing. 

But the county jail had nothing to do with MAPS.  People here finally understood the difference.  And as soon as that beautiful new baseball park opened up, people began to realize that the MAPS project wasn't half bad after all.

I don't think the folks in Tulsa ever figured that out.

"Be ye transformed ..."

Some time ago Christian blogger Dawn Eden befriended a blogger known as The Raving Athiest.  Both had something in common -- they abhorred abortion.

Now Raving Athiest seems to have developed, well, a soft spot for Christianity.  Check out this post.  And this one too.  And note the snarkiness of his commenters who are still "raving athiests."

Dawn thinks all of this has something to do with a mysterious force she calls "The Holy Spirit."  Anyone out there know what the heck she's talking about?  ;-)

Should Christians apologize to African-Americans for slavery?

Read this thought-provoking post -- and especially the comments -- at Stones Cry Out and decide for yourself.

We are 150 years removed from slavery in this nation, yet the black man still sees pain and hurt that the white man cannot understand -- read the statements made by Pastor John Reed at the Race Relations Forum that my church hosted this past January.

I believe this is a subject that the church should openly address.

"Peaceful" Gaza ready to explode

** Please keep Israel and the current hostage standoff in the Gaza Strip area strong in your prayers today.**

UPDATE: It's started - Israeli airstrike and tank movements reported.

Palestinian terrorists linked to Hamas attacked an Israeli checkpoint at the Gaza border Sunday, killing two Israeli soldiers and kidnapping a third, 19 year old Gilad Shalit.

The terrorists want Israel to release 400 Palestinians in exchange for Shalit.  Naturally, the US and others are urging "calm."  But Israel says it will not negotiate, and has threatened an invasion of Gaza if Shalit is not returned unharmed.

JayTea at WizBang: "What if they gave a war and only one side came?"
JayTea again: "Honor the threat"
Caroline Glick says that Israel's previous consessions to the demands of the Palestinians are what led to this incident.
Michelle Malkin has more about Gilad Shalit.

Here is some detailed information about Israel's pull-out from the Gaza Strip.  The pull-out began in August 2005, with the Palestinian Authority taking control of the area in mid-September.  Since that time, the political situation has changed drastically -- Hamas is now the majority party in the Palestinian parliament and former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a stroke which left him in a permanent coma.

It appears that Hamas is testing Israel.  Perhaps they believe that Israel is weak without Ariel Sharon.  Whatever the reasons, let us pray that this incident does not lead to yet another long and bloody series of terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens.

It is also worth remembering that Saddam Hussein attacked Israel without provocation during the 1991 Gulf War.  With Saddam now out of the picture, there will be one less crazy Muslim dictator threatening Israel if she chooses to engage in a military offensive against Hamas.  For that we should be thankful.

More on the NYT banking surveillance scandal

ADDED: Kim Priestap at WizBang reports that the program is probably over.

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Michelle Malkin has more on the NTY banking surveillance scandal, including the angry letter sent by Secretary of the Treasury John Snow to Bill Keller at the NYT.  Particularly damning is the fact that, according to Secretary Snow, the co-chairmen of the bipartisan 9-11 Commission, Governor Tom Kean and Congressman Lee Hamilton, both implored the Times not to run the story.

Michelle also highlights an entry at PowerLine, where an astute reader digs into the NYT archives and mines this gem from a September 24, 2001 NYT editorial, "Finances of Terror":

The Bush administration is preparing new laws to help track terrorists through their money-laundering activity and is readying an executive order freezing the assets of known terrorists. Much more is needed, including stricter regulations, the recruitment of specialized investigators and greater cooperation with foreign banking authorities. There must also must be closer coordination among America's law enforcement, national security and financial regulatory agencies...

As has been proven over and over again, these guys obviously don't read their own paper.

And now that we know that the leaders of the 9/11 Commission supported the bank surveillance program, why aren't Democrats  -- who demanded that the Bush Administration follow the suggestions of the 9/11 Commission to the letter --  speaking out against the Times?

UPDATE: The complete New York Times editiorial, "Finances of Terror," has been located in the Google Cache.  I'm posting a copy of it -- in its entirety -- below the fold:

"Jesus is not a Republican"

Both Mark Daniels and SmartChristian.com recently linked to a lengthy essay by Randall Balmer entitled "Jesus is Not A Republican." 

Unfortunately Balmer seems to have missed the fact that Jesus would be equally unloyal to the Democrat party; the first part of his essay is filled with typical liberal bloviating -- Bush lied us into war, Republicans want to starve children, the "religious right" wants a 'theocracy,' etc. -- complete with a tiresome list of Republicans with tarnished reputations.

But if you can make it past all that, Balmer has some very insightful and timely things to say:

Religion functions best outside the political order, and often as a challenge to the political order. When it identifies too closely with the state, it becomes complacent and ossified, and efforts to coerce piety or to proscribe certain behavior in the interests of moral conformity are unavailing.

Thankfully, the founding fathers recognized that wisdom and codified it into the First Amendment, the best friend that religion has ever had. The First Amendment was a concession to pluralism, and its guarantee of a "free market" of religion has ensured a salubrious religious marketplace unmatched anywhere else in the world.

In his commentary on Balmer's piece, Pastor Daniels recalls the destruction of the German Lutheran church after it became an advocate for policies enacted by the Nazis during the 1930's.  He also notes:

Pols will generally do anything they can to build their coalitions. If the Democrats could win over big-name evangelical Christian leaders and paint themselves as the party of the Christian faith, they would do it without hesitation. The idea for these folks, of either party, is to get votes and have power. Period.

As I have said before on my blog, the "religious right" has done much harm to American Christianity by attempting to link the Gospel to the agenda of a specific political party.

About two years ago, I decided to make a conscious effort to start thinking about social issues as they are addressed in the Bible, rather than through the standard arguments of party-line politics.  As a result I began reading my Bible more, which then fostered a strong desire to better understand what "The Kingdom of God" truly means.

If you are serious about growing spiritually, I would strongly suggest that you do the same.

ADDED 6-29-09: Joe Carter at Evangelical Outpost takes Balmer to task.