Auburn University freshman Caleb Moore, two University of Wisconsin freshmen, and a Purdue University freshman are facing felony charges of disorderly conduct and criminal damage to property as hate crimes.

The students allegedly vandalized the dorm room door of a UW student and LGBT liaison in Ogg Hall Dec. 21, according to court documents. Moore and the Purdue freshman were visiting high school friends at UW.

If convicted, Chamberlain, Cochacki and Moore could each face up to three years in prison and $20,000 in fines. Riha faces an additional charge of obstructing an officer. This charge came from repeated changes to his story to UWPD Detective Carol Ann Glassmaker, the criminal complaint states.

What did they do? Spit on a door, yelled profanities, tore down gay poster. In Wisconsin, that’s a felony.

(more…)

“It was a small thing really, barely bigger than a credit card, tucked unpretentiously in a small black case. For each of the 52 American hostages who bounded off the plane, free at last, the ticket stuffed inside the box was another of the trinkets that piled up around them. A modest reward for the cold, metal muzzle of a shotgun pressed against their faces.

For 444 days they had been tied and blindfolded, held hostage in the U.S. Embassy in Iran by student revolutionaries incensed at the United States’ decision to admit Iran’s ailing and deposed shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, for medical treatment. Long before 9/11, Afghanistan and Iraq, there were the Iran hostages. Their plight paralyzed a country unaccustomed to such an affront and likely cost President Jimmy Carter reelection in 1980. Then, 25 years ago today, they were released the moment Ronald Reagan took the oath of office.

They returned to an adoring nation that gave them a ticker-tape parade and welcomed them as heroes. They were besieged with flags, yellow ribbons and countless gifts, among them the tiny box from Major League Baseball. Inside was a lifetime pass to any major or minor league game.

What each did with the pass says something about the group of 52 diplomats and military personnel. Some embraced it, using it often. Others tucked it away, rarely, if ever, pulling it out. The response was as varied as the ways they approached their notoriety and fame, back then and in the quarter-century that has passed, a quarter-century that has seen the number of living former hostages dwindle to 42.”

By Les Carpenter / Washington Post Staff Writer

Continue reading from Washington Post.com

“I am loving Google’s new search service based in China. It’s faster and brings up only the most relevant results without having to be some kind of search engine algorithm enthusiast.

To see the new Communist regime friendly tools in action calls for a bit of compare and contrast. For example, lets search for the word Tianamen using the liberty ridden, freedom-of-speech-top-heavy American version against China’s lean, ultra fast and filled with only the most relevant results that censors can provide — each and every result reminding us that living under communist rule is clean, comfortable, and good for business.

The American version is filled with the same picture of some strange person admiring a group of parked tanks (I found similar results using Google for other NATO member nations and others, bah). While the Chinese version displays fewer results, all of the images are of happy and healthy Chinese people posing together, smiling and having fun in front of the Imperial Palace Grounds.

Now I ask you, which search engine results would you prefer? The one that results in hundreds of redundant and silly images of a military armor enthusiast looking at tanks, or pictures of happy people having a good time in the ole’ People’s Republic?

I’ve heard rumor that upon using Chinese Google, the great Shahs of Iran have asked the search engine giant to come and index their Internet too. They are tired of searching with the word Jews and being bombarded with thousands of results about a “Holocaust” in the 1940’s.”

Via airbag

Tamra Eason and Linda Falls. Linda looks awesome.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Some women in Springfield are regretting their decision last week to get a tattoo from a door-to-door tattoo salesman. At least one person had to be hospitalized and the others face serious health risks.

Friday night, a man knocked on doors holding a tattoo gun and offering his services. Tamra Eason described the tool as homemade, but still agreed to pay for a tattoo. So did two other women in her apartment complex.

“It was wrapped with black tape, had a pin underneath it, had fishing wire going through it, you could tell it was a homemade gun,” Eason said.

The next day, Linda Falls passed out and had to be hospitalized.

“We just wanted tattoos, and now we’re paying for it,” Eason said.

Story

Ron Mexico spoke to reporters during halftime Wednesday night of the Atlanta Hawks’ game about his brother Marcus “New Mexico” Vick.

Turns out, the two Mexicos are actually living together right now as New Mexico prepares for the NFL Draft, and Ron says he has his brother’s back.

Michael said he believes Marcus will be exonerated…

“No, I ain’t mad,” Michael Vick said. “He didn’t do anything wrong. The world will all know when the truth comes out.”

SI story

Chris Garnett, a 19-year-old member of PETA, is dedicated to his cause. He has legally changed his name to KentuckyFriedCrueltyDotCom to protest Kentucky Fried Chicken’s treatment of birds at a processing plant.

TUCKER CARLSON, HOST, ‘SITUATION’: What do you go by?

KENTUCKYFRIEDCRUELTYDOTCOM, PETA STAFFER LEGALLY CHANGED NAME TO PROTEST KFC: Pretty much everyone still calls me Chris, some of the people at the office call me Ken or Tuck. But the funny thing about the name change is, regardless of what people call me, every time I go to pay for something, I show someone my ID, I’m able to tell them about how KFC is, you know, cutting the beaks off baby birds and how their workers are slamming chickens in a wall, kicking them like footballs and laughing about it. And people are pretty shocked to hear about this sort of thing.

CARLSON: Well, that sounds like a fun conversation starter.

Full interview

You’ve heard about the controversy about NBC’s The Book of Daniel. It was cancelled this week. The cancellation is effective immediately, with no more of an announcement than an entry on an NBC blog by creator Jack Kenny.

According to media reports, the show was written by Kenny, a practicing homosexual, who described himself as being “in Catholic recovery,” interested in Buddhist teachings about reincarnation, and not sure exactly how he defined God and/or Jesus. “I don’t necessarily know that all the myth surrounding him (Jesus) is true,” he said.

Here’s what Kenny had to say:

“Ordinarily, I would never ask anyone to do this, but the AFA and bullies like them are hard at work to try and prevent you from seeing these beautiful shows, and that is censorship—pure and simple. And that is both un-Christian and un-American,”

Kenny currently splits his time between New York and Los Angeles. He lives with his life partner of 23 years, Michael Goodell.

Refs had to end the last game of Saturday’s Youth Football Classic at Dolphins Stadium early — after a fight broke out. Rap stars Luther Campbell & Snoop Dog joined other rappers-turned-coaches to raise money for charity.

Unfortunately, Snoop’s team & Luke’s team started skirmishing on the field. Refs were forced to break up the fight & they eventually decided call to the game.

Story

What is ATI? The Advanced Training Institute International is a Biblically centered home education program for families. The Duggar family of 16 kids is a member.

ATI was founded by Bill Gothard in 1984. There are critics of Gothard. Bill Gothard has never married. Some say the real problem is that his ministry has become a family ministry and he has never had a family. He is the coach who never played the game.

“Gothard operates what appears to be a paramilitary-like training school for teenagers on a 2,200-acre former college campus in Big Sandy, Texas, as part of his ALERT program (Air Land Emergency Resource Team) — purportedly for domestic missions work via the providing of disaster relief and humanitarian aid ” You can read an extensive article here about Gothard. And another article on Gothard’s teachings.

ATI has an interesting application. You can view the 2 pager here. Some of the sample questions are these…
- On the married status: One option is “Rebuilder”, whatever that means.
- Are any of your children resistant to enrolling in ATI?
- How has God led you to enroll in ATI?
- Please check any of the following damaging influences in your home: (Video/computer games (hours per week:_____), Sensual reading/viewing material, If any of these harmful influences are in your home, please explain on a separate sheet.
- Do you have a TV monitor in your home? (Hours viewed per week: _____ For the sake of achieving spiritual maturity and academic excellence, are you willing to limit your TV viewing or remove the TV from your home?
- Do you have Internet access in your home? (Hours used per week:)
- To the father: How many hours per week do you work? Hours

So what are some of the things ATI offers to it’s members?

Hair Design Workshop
Jan 26–27, 2006
Cost:
Phase One—$225 (Kit additional)
Phase Two—$800

Ladies attending the Hair Design Workshop can become competent and experienced in the skill of enhancing the outward appearance to the glory of God. This ministry may be used in the home to meet the needs of family members, friends, church members, and the elderly.

Phase One of the Hair Design Workshop will include two days of instruction on the attributes of hair, blunt and under cuts, advanced techniques in layers, tapers, stacking, male clipper cuts, and much more.

“I took the hair design course in order to learn a skill that would meet a universal need and also allow for investing quality time in others. It was exciting to realize that in just three days I had learned a skill that I can use to help my family and friends and that I can put to use during a variety of ministry opportunities.” —Kristen Hoopes

http://ati.iblp.org/ati/students/opportunities/hairdesign/

Ron Vergerio doesn’t have a ritual that he goes through before Steelers games.
“I’m afraid I’d go over the top,” said Vergerio, whose torso and arms are covered in tattoos of his favorite Steelers players.

A bus driver who lives in Springdale Township, Vergerio, 52, has spent more than 200 hours in the chair of tattoo artist Chris Blick of American Tattoo in Verona. He’s lost track of the cost. “It’s pretty much,” he said.

His home on Williams Street is a shrine to the Black and Gold. He has more than 1,000 collectibles and the house is decorated in all things Steelers year-round, he said. His photos of Steelers past and present number between 700 and 800.

Vergerio’s wife, Violet, is a Steelers fan, but not like her husband. “I don’t breathe it like he does. He is definitely above and beyond,” she said. The outside of their house will be repainted soon. “White with black and gold trim,” she said.

Vergerio recently added Jerome Bettis, Troy Polamalu and Hines Ward to his left arm. Blick said Vergerio is definitely the biggest Steelers fan he knows.

“He takes draft day off,” Blick said. “He goes into his room and you don’t disturb him while he’s analyzing the picks.” Vergerio said there are four “sacred” days on his calendar: draft day, the start of training camp, the first day of the football season and the start of the playoffs.

PittsburghLive.com