Tulsa Tuesday...

In 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt signed an immigration act which excluded "idiots, imbeciles, feebleminded persons, epileptics, insane persons" from being admitted to the United States.

(Well, sheeee-it...wish my first husband had been around back then. I'd have been a lot better off.)



Ah - Tuesday...back to work after a day-long coma. My internet connection at home is FUBAR, so I guess I'm making up for lost time. First of all, I'm going to try and get in the habit of giving some fellow bloggers shout-outs on this here blog. I hope it's successful...I also hope I don't forget to do it. Here are the first three inaugural daily shoutout folks...

1. Groovygrrl shares her opinions about short hair.
2. Merujo discusses the pluses and minuses of the "Mile High Club".
3. Fauve has a meme to share, with some interesting questions.

So next - another inductee in the "Unlikely Sexy Guys" pantheon, but maybe he's more sexy than I thought. Ladies & Gentlemen - I give you - Cillian Murphy. (See pic at right...)

Drool, drool...yes, I know he's married and I know that I'm old enough to be his babysitter, but dammit, he's still hot! Leave me alone...

Plus, I have to say he puts the "sigh" in psychopath. Rowr...he's got such pretty eyes and lips you could chew on for days...be still, my li'l heart.

BTW...I recommend the films "On The Edge" and "Red Eye" as exemplary films that capture the Cillian mystique. However, he was also good in "Batman Begins" and the little I saw of "Breakfast on Pluto".

OK - I almost Frenched my monitor - not good. On to another subject!

Next, I'm bringin' this bad boy out of mothballs, because there are two folks who deserve this.


First Recipient: James Rutherford Mell, 32 years of age, of Farmington Hills, Michigan
Reason: Well, gee...the article says it best:

A federal judge has sentenced a suburban Detroit man to six months probation after he placed a 6-foot boa constrictor inside his mailbox to scare his letter carrier.

Yep - for whatever reason, Mr. Mell seemed to think it was OK to scare his mail carrier out of her wits. She found him, per the article, in his driveway laughing when the incident took place last July 7.

Double plus bonus: According to Mr. Mell, the carrier wouldn't have been in danger because the boa constrictor wasn't poisonous.

Judge's comments: Oh my...I have SO many things to say about this.

1. This dude was so lucky my mom wasn't the one he played the trick on. If it was her, he'd better hope that he's deaf and can run fast, because my mother would scream her head off PLUS grab him by the neck in a stranglehold.
   
2. Gee...that's nice that the boa constrictor wasn't poisonous - that means the only means of injury/death is if the snake squeezes so hard that you're strangled or bones are broken. And MAYBE you'll luck out if the snake is not hungry. Their jaws unhinge to accommodate the size of the meal, you know.
3. Is it just me or does the sentence seem skimpy to you? If I were that carrier, I'd sue the guy for mental anguish. It seems fair. Right?

Second Recipient: Jessica Hall, 25, of Jacksonville, N.C
Reason: The McMissile incident. In a fit of "road rage", Ms. Hall did the following (to quote the article):

She veers onto the shoulder and speeds up. Wham! She tosses a large McDonald's cup filled with ice into the other car.

OH, and don't forget...her six-month pregnant sister is in front and three squirmy kids throughout the vehicle. Nobody thought anything of it, but in the end:

Jessica Hall, 25, of Jacksonville, N.C., was charged and convicted by a Stafford County jury of maliciously throwing a missile into an occupied vehicle, a felony in Virginia.The instructions given to the jury said that "any physical object can be considered a missile. A missile can be propelled by any force, including throwing."

So ya got your angry driver, your large cup of ice from McD's, and a felony charge. Ms. Hall has already served a month of the charge, and the father of her children is...serving his third tour of duty in Iraq.

Judge's comments:

Well, first of all, it was not a good choice to make by ANY stretch of the imagination. However, when I look at this case versus the "snake in the mailbox" guy above, I really don't think this case should have a stricter sentence (2 years in jail) than Mr. "Snake in the Box" (six months probation).

Yes, it was a case of emotions running high, and she could have really hurt someone by chucking the glass of ice. However...it was done in a fit of anger - NOT PREMEDITATED. That makes a difference to me. She could have hurt someone, yes, but she would not have done so in calmer circumstances. She should go through probation, a "road rage" class, counseling, etc.

Let's look at the other case. Mr. Brain Trust of Farmington Hills was planning out his li'l feat of derring do. He was playing a practical joke, and God only knows why. He planned this with the purpose of scaring his mail carrier.

Let's look at what might have happened...

She could have reached in and gotten squeezed or bitten. Even if the snake wasn't poisonous, snake bites still hurt, and they have bacteria in their mouths that can infect the bloodstream.

She could have epilepsy or some condition that severe starts could cause a seizure.

She could have been so upset that she might have fainted and struck her head on the pavement.

Why in the name of all that's holy is this doofus given a six month sentence of probation, and this woman get two years?

Could someone explain this to me?

With that, I'm going byebye until tomorrow.

Smooches!