The Weekly Poll
Results
The 'Mercy, Me' Edition
Manson Family member Leslie Van Houten, sentenced to Life in prison for her role in the LaBianca murders, is eligible to apply for parole later this month. She has been denied parole 17 times. Many people, including film maker John Waters (
John Waters: Leslie Van Houten: A Friendship, Part 1 of 5 ), are advocating for her release. She reportedly has been a model prisoner completing all available prison programs and assisting other inmates with these programs. She has earned two college degrees and has maintained a clean disciplinary record. She has accepted full responsibility for her actions...
Should Van Houten be paroled?
vb minces no words as the only naysayer...
She should be paroled if she can bring the people she helped to kill back to life. Otherwise, she should rot in jail.
Jane in Boston says yes...
If she stays off drugs, yes, parole her. I think people are mostly outraged at Manson himself, and the women he duped, who did their crimes while brainwashed and on LSD, are a different story.
Margaret in St. Paul does too...
Leslie Van Houten should be granted parole. She should have been freed years ago. Ms. Van Houten has more than met the criteria for parole. She has played by the rules of the system, but the state of California has not. Leslie Van Houten has not been paroled solely because of the high profile nature of the Manson "family" and the infamy of the Tate-LaBianca murders in California.
I daresay that a search of convicted murderers granted parole in California over the past few decades would turn up many whose crimes were even more heinous than Ms. Van Houten's, and whose prison behavior, number of years behind bars, rehabilitation and real remorse were far less than hers. Leslie Van Houten poses no threat to society.
I realize that some people do not believe that anyone convicted of murder should ever get out of prison. They are of course entitled to their opinion, but that is not the law. California has a parole system which cites specific criteria which an inmate must meet in order to be eligible. If Ms. Van Houten meets those standards, she merits release.
SallyP(al) agrees...
This week your poll question is: Should Leslie Van Houten (of the famous Manson Family) be paroled after having been denied parole 17 times. As I recall, the murder in which she participated occurred back on the 1970s.
What kind of a Liberal would I be were I not to give a rousing YES, release her now! Jail should rehabilitate, and apparently she has done just that, as well as having been punished by the incarceration and loss of her youth!
Hello, JAIL WILL NOT BRING BACK THE PERSON SHE KILLED!
She has to live with that which she has done - for the rest of her life! That alone would be intolerable for me...
Oh, the crime in which the woman participated was dastardly all right, and by rights she would have received the death penalty were the mood of the country not just coming out of Peace, Justice for all, and Love back then. The death penalty was dropped and the entire Manson family spared - if living for over 40 years in JAIL (minus the few months she was out before being retried) is "spared..." Actually, being out probably made it worse to return - realizing what she had really given up in her drug-fueled crime spree. But what's the bigger picture here, Hummmmm, I wonder.
The Right is SCREAMING about the national debt: How much is it costing to keep this woman incarcerated for starters? How many other criminals are going free because of the lack of space - not to mention the cost of the total care being spent for Leslie's imprisonment?
OTOH - Leslie encourages schadenfreude! You know, that secret pleasure we all experience when the guilty are caught and punished... Leslie, et al., are SO easy to hate.
I love the line by John Waters, "'The Manson Family' were the hippies all our parents were scared we'd turn into if we didn't stop taking drugs..." God, if that ain't the truth!
That was a different time in history, let me tell you! The country was probably more culturally divided than it is today - can you believe that? Integration, several political assassinations, forced school bussing, rampant antiwar sentiment, woman's lib, the mobility of the country, and family values falling like domino's.
Sex, drugs and rock 'n roll - those were the days my friend.
I think Leslie would have quite a time adjusting - much less finding employment - if she is released - which I doubt will be allowed nowadays. But, it's worth the shot (pardon my pun).
(Rosemary LaBianca wasn't shot. Van Houten stabbed her 16 times)
PS:
I wonder what happened to the other two girls anyway??
(Here's yer answer... The Manson Family Today)
joe continues the majority opinion...
I feel that Leslie should be pardoned, but I'm afraid it will never happen. The families are rich and powerful and will do everything in their power to stop her release. She was definitely under the influence of Manson.
Charlie (no, not that Charlie!) makes it a landslide...
I think she should be paroled based on her prison record as described. How she fell in with a crowd like Manson's in her youth is hard for me to understand, but it happened, seemingly based on her prior personal history. The biggest concern here is the possibility of some kind of nasty recidivism (c.f. Jack Henry Abbott), so I think the parole board should examine that carefully. But also, since she is pushing 60 and has served 38 years or so in prison, I think she should be, with the aforementioned reservation, granted an opportunity to do some positive things with the rest of her life under less onerous circumstances.
Well, Poll-fans, this is a tough one fer me... I don't buy the under the influence of drugs/alcohol bullshit. That certainly isn't a defense these days for alcoholics who kill people in car accidents. And as far as 'being under the influence of Manson', well, that didn't help the Nazis who claimed that they were 'just following orders', did it? Nor should it... That said, Van Houten HAS met the criteria for parole in California. If she was here in Michigan it would be a moot point. First degree Murder is Life with no possibility of parole... But, she should be paroled under very stringent restrictive conditions along with a goodly dose of community service. The parole should be a life-long term, if that's legal... I have read that she has completed drug and alcohol rehab and lives her life by the '12 steps' according to her attorney. My question concerning that is Step 9 says 'made direct amends whenever possible...'. How could she ever make 'direct amends' to the LaBianca family for what she did? Somehow, I'm sorry, would not be enough, and that's what I'm talkin' about!
Thanks, Poll-fans!... As always, Yer the Best!
BadToTheBoneBob
New Question
The "History's Mysteries' Edition
If you could find out the answers to three of the many historical mysteries that have puzzled and perplexed the world, what would they be?
1. ) ______________________
2. ) ______________________
3. ) ______________________
Send your response to
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: The Swiss Menace (nytimes.com)
The Democratic health care reform plan most resembles the system in Switzerland, despite comparisons to the approaches taken in Britain and Canada.
Exorcising the US national debt (bbc.co.uk; from the year 1999)
It is not so long ago, that economists and politicians on both sides of the Atlantic fretted about the US government's escalating budget deficit and the ballooning size of public debt. The days of gloom are over.
Marilynn Preston: "Blue Zones: Red Hot Tips for Living Longer" (creators.com)
LESSON ONE: MOVE NATURALLY: Be active without having to think about it.
"Longevity all stars don't run marathons or compete in triathlons; they don't transform themselves into weekend warriors on Saturday morning. Instead they engage in regular, low-intensity physical activity, often as part of a daily work routine."
Marilynn Preston: "Blue Zones II: How To Live Longer, Better, Sharper" (creators.com)
LESSON FOUR: GRAPES OF LIFE. Drink red wine (in moderation).
A serving or two of red wine per day is the most you need to take advantage of the health benefits. And the health benefits are pretty impressive: Red wine is good for the heart and eases stress, and sharing a drink with friends nourishes your spirit in a way that promotes long life. I'll drink to that.
"Flotsametrics and the Floating World: How One Man's Obsession with Runaway Sneakers and Rubber Ducks Revolutionized Ocean Science" by Curtis Ebbesmeyer and Eric Scigliano: A review by Katie Schneider
You may have heard the saga of the seafaring Nikes. On May 27, 1990, a cargo vessel en route to Los Angeles hit a sudden storm. Five containers of Nike shoes washed overboard. The next winter, shoes showed up on Vancouver Island beaches. As winds shifted, so did the path of the Nikes, until thousands landed on the Oregon coast.
PAUL CONSTANT: F**k the Man (thestranger.com)
Two New Anticorporate Books.
7 steps to instant happiness (guardian.co.uk)
Bravery? Pessimism? Meditation? Hannah Booth shares happiness experts' top tips.
Question time: Culture Show presenter Lauren Laverne (guardian.co.uk)
Lauren Laverne tells Hannah Pool why snobbery in the arts world doesn't bother her,
George Varga: Man of ('British') steel (creators.com)
Rob Halford left in 1992 to launch a solo career and to form his own bands: Fight, the industrial-oriented 2wo and, finally, Halford. After a hiatus, Judas Priest resumed operations in 1996 with a young American singer, Tim "Ripper" Owens (who had previously fronted an American Judas Priest cover band). In 1998, Halford became the first heavy-metal star in memory to disclose that he was gay.
So Much to Say (advocate.com)
Gays may ridicule him about his fascination with the Dave Matthews Band, but author and journalist Benoit Denizet-Lewis loves the group's front man and is not afraid to admit it.
George Varga: Rock Artists Find it's a Fine Line Between Borrowing and Stealing (creators.com)
If you want to accuse Coldplay of musical plagiarism over its 2008 hit song "Viva La Vida," get in line. The top English pop-rock band was sued late last year by veteran San Francisco guitarist Joe Satriani, who alleged that "Viva La Vida" brazenly took from his 2004 song, "If I Could Fly."
Michael Jensen: Kathy Griffin is on the D-List no matter what you effing say! (afterelton.com)
The red-headed comedian shows her AfterElton.com gays some love!
wrote:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Reader Contribution
funny pic
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Still cooler than seasonal and quite pleasant.
Joins 'Good Morning America'
Steve Harvey
ABC says comedian Steve Harvey is joining "Good Morning America" for reports on family and relationship topics.
Harvey's first segment is scheduled for Wednesday's broadcast.
The 52-year-old Harvey is author of the best-selling book "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man," and he previously starred in his self-titled sitcom for seven seasons on the WB network.
Steve Harvey
Russian Punk Rockers Rage Against Putin
PTVP
Brashly shouting out his lyrics in crowded, smoky clubs, Alexei Nikonov zeroes in on provocative themes that most musicians here ignore -- authoritarianism and injustice in today's Russia.
Nikonov, the outspoken singer of Saint Petersburg-based punk rock band PTVP, saves much of his venom for Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, referring to him as a "pig" in one of his most strident songs.
"We live in a feudal society," Nikonov fumed in a backstage interview before a recent concert. "Everything is decided by one person, the dictator. The dictator decides everything."
This is not the sort of opinion one can find anymore on Russian television channels or most radio stations, where criticism of the government faded away after Putin became president in 2000.
PTVP
Christie's To Sell Collection
Ismail Merchant
Christie's will offer art and furniture belonging to the late Indian-born film producer Ismail Merchant at a London sale on October 7, the auctioneer said on Friday.
Merchant, who died in 2005 aged 68, was best known for his collaboration with U.S. director James Ivory, and they made a string of critically-acclaimed movies including "A Room With a View," "Howards End" and "The Remains of the Day."
The auction will include works of art from Merchant's properties in London, Paris and upstate New York, as well as a small selection from his New York apartment.
Estimates range from $830 (503 pounds)-166,000 and the sale overall is expected to raise around 500,000 pounds.
Ismail Merchant
$50M Expansion
Goldeneye
The luxurious Goldeneye retreat, where British author Ian Fleming created the literary and cinematic super spy James Bond, will undergo a $50 million expansion, the estate's owner said Sunday.
Music and hotel mogul Chris Blackwell said in a statement that 11 beachfront cottages and a restaurant will be built at the sprawling property, which overlooks a harbor in St. Mary parish in eastern Jamaica.
Blackwell - who founded the Island Records label that launched Bob Marley to international stardom and who also owns luxury hotelier Island Outpost - said the work should be completed by 2013.
Fleming bought Goldeneye in the mid-1940s and wrote several books there, including "Casino Royale," the first Bond novel. Fleming died in 1964, and some of his memorabilia are kept at the expanded site.
Goldeneye
New Cast Announced
'Dancing With the Stars'
Former Republican Majority Leader Tom DeLay will join 15 celebrities from the worlds of entertainment and sports in kicking up their heels on the new season of "Dancing With the Stars.
Other hopefuls include entertainer Donny Osmond; singers Mya, Macy Gray and Aaron Carter; actors Melissa Joan Hart, Debi Mazar and Ashley Hamilton (son of George); models Joanna Krupa and Kathy Ireland; reality stars Kelly Osbourne and Mark Dacascos ("the Chairman" on Food Network's "Iron Chef America"); mixed martial artist Chuck Liddell; professional snowboarder Louie Vito; Olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin; former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin and the 62-year-old former congressman from Texas.
The contestants were announced on Monday's "Good Morning America" by "Dancing" host Tom Bergeron.
Samantha Harris returns as co-host, with the panel of judges including ballroom judge Len Goodman and dancer-choreographers Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba.
'Dancing With the Stars'
Drops Blame-Rape-Victim Defense
Marriott
The Marriott hotel chain on Monday abandoned its legal claim that a Connecticut woman raped at gunpoint in a hotel parking garage, in front of her young children, had been careless and was partly at fault.
The withdrawal followed days of backlash against Bethesda, Md.-based Marriott International Inc., which had claimed in its defense of a lawsuit by the woman that she had "failed to exercise due care for her own safety and the safety of her children and proper use of her senses and facilities."
Her attacker is serving a 20-year prison term for the 2006 attack at the Stamford hotel.
The woman also accused Marriott in June of indirectly disclosing her and her children's identities by seeking subpoenas for her pilates instructor, friends and tennis partners, a house cleaner, and a baby sitter.
Defenses that blame the victim to some extent are not uncommon, as insurance companies try to minimize their losses. But Jim Nugent, chairman of the litigation section of the Connecticut Bar Association, said doing so in this case would be odd, given the especially horrific nature of a rape witnessed by the victim's children.
Marriott
Gay Marriage Fight
`Kiss-Ins'
The Mormon church's vigorous, well-heeled support for Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in California last year, has turned the Utah-based faith into a lightning rod for gay rights activism, including a nationwide "kiss-in" Saturday.
The event comes after gay couples here and in San Antonio and El Paso, Texas, were arrested, cited for trespassing or harassed by police for publicly kissing. In Utah, the July 9 trespassing incident occurred after a couple were observed by security guards on a downtown park-like plaza owned by the 13 million-member Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The court case was dismissed, but the kiss sparked a community backlash and criticism of the church.
"I don't think that kiss would have turned out to be the kiss heard round the world if it were not for Proposition 8," said Ash Johnsdottir, organizer of the Salt Lake City Kiss-In.
`Kiss-Ins'
Files Chapter 11
Reader's Digest
The publisher of Reader's Digest, the country's most popular general interest magazine, said Monday it will file for Chapter 11 protection with a plan to swap a portion of its debt for ownership of the company.
Reader's Digest Association Inc., owned by the New York private equity firm Ripplewood Holdings since 2007, said Monday it has reached an agreement in principle with a majority of secured lenders to erase a portion of the $1.6 billion they hold in senior secured notes. The lenders will get ownership in return.
The planned filing, which does not include operations outside the United States, comes amid declining circulation, an industrywide advertising slump and large debts.
Reader's Digest, the monthly magazine founded in 1922 as a collection of condensed articles from other publications, has been searching for a niche as the Internet upends the magazine industry's traditional business models.
Reader's Digest
Legal In English
Nazi Slogan
Nazis slogans banned in Germany may be legal if they are translated from German into English, one of the country's highest courts has ruled.
The Federal Court of Justice said it had rescinded a conviction against a man fined 4,200 euros ($5,993) for possessing 100 T-shirts due for sale emblazoned with the words "Blood & Honor" -- a translation of the Hitler Youth slogan "Blut und Ehre."
The display of Nazi symbols is forbidden in Germany, but the court said the context of the original phrase had been sufficiently distorted to render its usage legal.
"By translation into another language, the Nazi slogan, which is characterized not just by its meaning but also by the German language, is fundamentally transformed," it said.
Nazi Slogan
19th Century 'Birthers'
Chester Arthur
Finding the "birthplace" of President Chester A. Arthur is easy: Turn left at Town Hall and its Chester A. Arthur Conference Room, go past Chester's Bakery and turn right on Chester A. Arthur Road.
Nearly five miles up the winding two-lane country road, past rolling hills and dairy farms, is the tiny Chester A. Arthur Historic Site, proclaiming the spot where the nation's 21st president was born in a cottage.
Or was he?
Nearly 123 years after his death, doubts about his U.S. citizenship linger, thanks to lack of documentation and a political foe's claim that Arthur was really born in Canada - and was therefore ineligible for the White House, where he served from 1881 to 1885.
"It's an old rumor that won't die, political slander," said John Dumville, who runs Vermont's historic sites and knows well the legend. "There's no way to prove he was not born in Vermont. It's a little boosterism for Vermont, having a U.S. president born here," Dumville said.
Chester Arthur
Nepenthes attenboroughii
Audrey 3
A real-life version of the man-eating plant featured in Little Shop Of Horrors has been named after Sir David Attenborough.
The carnivorous plant - discovered in the central Philippines and similar to the man-eating plant Audrey created by nerdy florist Seymour Krelborn in the 1986 film - is so big it can catch rats as well as insects in its traps.
Botanists named the remarkable plant Nepenthes attenboroughii in honour of natural history expert Sir David.
It is one of 13 new species the team has discovered during three years of expeditions in south-east Asia.
Audrey 3
In Memory
Virginia Davis
Virginia Davis, who appeared in Walt Disney's pioneering "Alice" films, has died at age 90.
Davis was hired by Disney in 1923 when he was a struggling filmmaker in Kansas City, Mo., and later worked with him in Hollywood. She was the first of several girls to have the title role in the series of "Alice" comedies that ran from 1923 to 1927. Her moving image was photographed and combined with animated cartoons, predating Mickey Mouse.
Davis was 4 years old in 1923 when Walt Disney began creating the "Alice" series, which debuted when Disney and his Laugh-O-gram company were still based in Kansas City, Mo. Davis was filmed in front of a white cloth draped over a billboard in a vacant lot. Animated characters were later added alongside Davis.
Davis appeared in 13 "Alice" films, including "Alice's Day at Sea," "Alice the Peacemaker" and "Alice's Wild West Show," which she cited as a favorite because she got to play a tomboy who beats up the bully. Eventually, Davis' contract was not renewed. Three other young actresses went on to play the character of Alice over the next three years.
Davis later sang, danced, and acted in such films as "Three on a Match," "The Harvey Girls" and "Weekend in Havana." She also occasionally worked for Disney, providing supporting voices for "Pinocchio" and working in the studio's ink-and-paint department.
Later in life, Davis became an interior decorator, magazine editor and real estate agent before retiring. She frequently participated in Disney fan celebrations, including a recent historical gathering in Kansas City, Mo., in May and at an event honoring Disney legends in Anaheim, Calif., in July.
Virginia Davis
In Memory
Ed Reimers
Ed Reimers, the actor who told television viewers "you're in good hands with Allstate" for decades, died Sunday in upstate New York, a relative said. He was 96.
With his white hair and resonant voice, Reimers was best known for delivering the Allstate Corp.'s famous slogan. He was the insurance giant's TV spokesman for 22 years, starting in 1957, according to the Northbrook, Ill.-based company's Web site.
Meanwhile, Reimers was an announcer for programs ranging from the popular Western "Maverick" to the game show "Do You Trust Your Wife?", later known as "Who Do You Trust?" and hosted for much of its run by Johnny Carson. Reimers also appeared in episodes of several shows, including "Star Trek" and the 1950s hit "The Millionaire."
His movie credits included the 1965 comedy "The Loved One," starring Robert Morse.
Edwin W. Reimers was born Oct. 26, 1912, in Moline, Ill. After early jobs at radio stations in cities including Des Moines, Iowa, he lived in Los Angeles for most of his life. He moved to Saratoga Springs after his wife's death in 2007.
Survivors include his daughter, Kathryn, two grandsons and a niece.
Ed Reimers
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