Welcome to ...

The place where the world comes together in honesty and mirth.
Windmills Tilted, Scared Cows Butchered, Lies Skewered on the Lance of Reality ... or something to that effect.


Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Time in the Sun: How Much Is Needed for Vitamin D?

Coinciding with the first week of summer, a study published today underscores the importance of getting adequate amounts of sunlight for its vitamin D-boosting benefits. The research, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, shows that those with the lowest vitamin D levels have more than double the risk of dying from heart disease and other causes over an eight-year period compared with those with the highest vitamin D levels. The researchers cite “decreased outdoor activity” as one reason that people may become deficient in vitamin D. Another recent study found an increased risk of heart attacks in those with low vitamin D levels.

Read more from Time in the Sun: How Much Is Needed for Vitamin D?

Judge refuses to block Florida voter law

A federal judge has refused to block a new version of a Florida voter registration law that critics say could keep thousands of people from casting ballots this year.

U.S. District Judge Stephan Mickle issued the ruling Tuesday in Gainesville. Last year, he granted a preliminary injunction against an earlier version of the law. He was reversed on appeal and the Legislature modified the law.

Both versions require elections officials to match Social Security, state identification or driver license numbers listed on voter registration applications with numbers in government databases.

"This ruling puts thousands of real Florida citizens at risk this November based on bureaucratic typos," lawyer Justin Levitt said Wednesday.

Levitt represents the Florida Conference of the National Association of Colored People and other groups challenging the law.

Under the new version, if the state is unable to match a number, an applicant can still register by providing verification of either his or her driver license, identity card or Social Security number regardless of which one was entered on the application.

The old version required that the number on the application had to be verified - no substitutes allowed.

The lawsuit alleges both versions of the law violate citizens' constitutional rights to vote and equal protection under the law.

In rejecting a preliminary injunction against the new law, Mickle wrote that challengers failed to establish a likelihood of prevailing on the constitutional issues that will be decided later. The judge also found that matching up identification is justified "by the state's compelling interest in fair and honest elections."

*****

The judge also found that matching up identification is justified "by the state's compelling interest in fair and honest elections".
And, this is Florida, remember! The state that fucked over the world in the year 2000. So, why do I feel less than confident that 'fair and honest elections' are what is on the minds of those pushing the law through despite the illegality of it.

So, it isn't just me

Some lawmakers angered by death penalty ruling


The efforts of nearly a dozen states to execute child rapists were derailed Wednesday by a Supreme Court decision that incensed supporters of such punishment. Officials in at least two states said they weren't ready to give up.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal called the ruling "a clear abuse of judicial authority" and vowed state officials will "evaluate ways to amend our statute to maintain death as a penalty for this horrific crime." In Oklahoma, state senator Jay Paul Gumm promised similar efforts. "We will certainly look at what options we have," Gumm said. "I think the people of Oklahoma have spoken loudly that this is one of the most heinous of crimes."

Five states have laws that explicitly permit such executions. At issue before the high court was a Louisiana case involving Patrick Kennedy, sentenced to die for raping his 8-year-old stepdaughter in her bed in 1998, an assault so severe she required surgery.

In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled the death penalty a disproportionate punishment for raping children under the age of 12, despite the horrendous nature of such acts.

Justices made a similar ruling in 1977, when they said the death penalty was unconstitutional punishment for a Georgia man convicted of raping a teenager who was an adult under the law.

Louisiana's law, passed in 1995, is the broadest in the country. It also makes first-time offenders eligible for the death penalty, unlike Texas, South Carolina, Oklahoma and Montana - which required at least one previous conviction for child rape. Following Wednesday's ruling, all become unconstitutional.

Nationwide, only two men have been sentenced to death for sexually abusing children - both in Louisiana. The second case involves a man convicted of repeatedly raping a 5-year-old girl.

Several states, including Missouri, Alabama and Colorado had been considering similar laws. Supporters there were incensed by Wednesday's ruling.

"Anybody in the country who cares about children should be outraged that we have a Supreme Court that would issue a decision like this," said Alabama Attorney General Troy King, who represented one of nine states that filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting Louisiana on the grounds that child rape represented "manifest evil."

Justices are "creating a situation where the country is a less safe place to grow up," King said.

Republican Louisiana governor Jindal said he, too, was outraged. "The opinion reflects a clear abuse of judicial authority, trampling the constitutional authority of states to act through the legislative process," Jindal said.

In South Carolina, Attorney General Henry McMaster, who pushed hard in 2006 to get lawmakers to approve such punishment, said states could ultimately fight Wednesday's ruling by waiting for a change in the makeup of the Supreme Court, or by getting legislatures to redo death penalty laws.

Legal experts were divided on the potential success of such tactics.

According to Douglas Berman, a professor at Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law, the justices' ruling appears ironclad. "In the absence of death, the death penalty is off the table," he said. "Instead of a highly contextual and nuanced discussion ... the court asserted that states can only use the death penalty against rapists in the case of death.

"It could have left open the possibility of revamping child rape laws, by age for example, but it did not."

Law professor Deborah Denno of Fordham University wasn't so sure.

"No case is necessarily definitive when you're looking at specific language," she said. "I don't think this is airtight." It could be possible to argue applying the death penalty against attackers who "intended to kill" their victims, but didn't, she said. Or those who assault especially young children, such as toddlers, she said.


(from the AP)

Three LA women plead not guilty to boy's torture

I guess it's not just a Texas thing after all!

Three Los Angeles women have pleaded not guilty to burning, starving and beating the 5-year-old son of one of the women.

A Compton court commissioner accepted the pleas Wednesday in an abuse and torture case against the boy's mother, 24-year-old Starkeisha Brown; her live-in girlfriend and a baby sitter. The mother could face 25 years to life in prison if convicted.

The boy was hospitalized June 9 after being found ill and in the care of a homeless stranger outside a Los Angeles County child services office in Compton.

Prosecutors claim the women beat Brown's son, starved him, burned his genitals with cigarettes and forced him to place his hands on a hot stove.

Typical of the Haters ...

Blackwater owner requests Shari's law to avoid lawsuit damages


Presidential Airways, a division of the private military company Blackwater Worldwide, is being sued for wrongful death by the families of three soldiers killed in a plane crash in Afghanistan.

The company has asked the court to use Shari’a Islamic law to make a ruling on the lawsuit. Why would a right-wing Christian company like Blackwater want to do that?

If the judge agrees, it would essentially end the lawsuit over a botched flight supporting the U.S. military. Shari’a law does not hold a company responsible for the actions of employees performed within the course of their work.

Erik Prince, who owns Blackwater and Presidential Airways, briefly discussed the lawsuit in a meeting today with editors and reporters at The News & Observer. Prince was asked to justify having a case involving an American company working for the U.S. government decided by Afghan law.

“Where did the crash occur?” Prince said. “Afghanistan.”

According to NPR, Blackwater has over $800 million in government contracts.

Blackwater says crash lawsuit governed by Islamic law (via Reason)

Good News for all the heads out there

New research shows that one of the cannabinoid found in marijuana is an anti-inflammatory that doesn't have the side effect of getting you high. THC also combats inflammation, but that's the stuff that gets you high. However, experiments at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology showed that another cannabis compound, (E)-BCP (beta-caryophyllene), is also an anti-inflammatory but doesn't affect the molecular receptor that makes you feel stoned. Instead it activates only the CB2 receptor which plays a key role in alleviating inflammation. From National Geographic:
 News Bigphotos Images 080624-Marijuana BigEssential oils from cannabis plants — whose leaves and flowers are used to make the marijuana drug — contain up to 35 percent (E)-BCP...

"Our interest is to exploit the pharmacological nature of the CB2 receptor," because it does not have psychotropic side effects, (study author Jürg) Gertsch explained in an email.
Pot as anti-inflammatory

Mystery bone photos at Treehugger

200806251423.jpg

Alan says: "So my wife and I were hiking at Multnomah Falls on the AK-Wanee trail...it is a 2 mile hike that is definitely the "less travelled." During the hike we came across this set of bones that looks like it was laid out. Couldn't find a skull. I was wondering if anyone had an idea of what type of animal this might be? This area of the hike is pretty steep either direction off the path, so wondering what animal might inhabit or wander these hills?" Photos of mystery bones

What were they Smoking?

Dumb Laws - North Carolina

The mere possession of a lottery ticket is illegal in North Carolina and may result in a $2,000 fine.
No one may be a professional fortune-teller, and if one wishes to pursue the practice as an amateur, it must be practiced in a school or church.
It’s against the law to sing off key.

Elephants may not be used to plow cotton fields.

While having sex, you must stay in the missionary position and have the shades pulled.

If a man and a woman who aren’t married go to a hotel/motel and register themselves as married then, according to state law, they are legally married.

All couples staying overnight in a hotel must have a room with double beds that are at least two feet apart.

It is illegal to have sex in a churchyard.

Oral sex is considered a crime against nature.

A marriage can be declared void if either of the two persons is physically impotent.
Persons in possession of illegal substances must pay taxes on them.
A three dollar tax must be paid on all white goods sold.
Organizations may not hold their meetings while the members present are in costume.
Bingo games may not last over 5 hours unless it is held at a fair.
Serving alcohol at a bingo game is not allowed.


Dumb Laws - South Carolina

It is illegal to display a confederate flag on a courthouse.

By law, if a man promises to marry an unmarried woman, the marriage must take place.
Railroad companies may be held liable in some instances for scaring horses.
A railroad may not remove itself from a town of more than five hundred people.
Fortune tellers are required to obtain a special permit from the state.
Dance halls may not operate on Sundays.
An exception to the above law is that light bulbs may be sold.
No work may be done on Sunday.
Musical instruments may not be sold on Sunday.
Performing a U-turn within 1,000 feet of an intersection is illegal.

It is considered an offense to get a tattoo.

Horses may not be kept in bathtubs.

It is illegal to sell any alcoholic beverages on Sunday, unless you own a private club.

A permit must be obtained to fire a missile.
It is illegal to give or receive oral sex in South Carolina.

When approaching a four way or blind intersection in a non-horse driven vehicle you must stop 100 ft from the intersection and discharge a firearm into the air to warn horse traffic.

It is perfectly legal to beat your wife on the court house steps on Sundays.

Every adult male must bring a rifle to church on Sunday in order to ward off Indian attacks.

It is a capital offense to inadvertently kill someone while attempting suicide.

A person must be eighteen years old to play a pinball machine.

Check out the Dumb Laws in your area.

Bachelorhood Dreaming

Got the Mrs., home from the hospital today so no more "Bachelorhood" for me.
Now, it is 'nursemaid' for the next two weeks.
Glad the farm can run itself with all the help I've hired over the last year.
And of course her dog is totally ignoring the fact I exist, now that she is home.

It ought to be interesting to say the least ...

Former tough-guy actor sets sights on US Senate

Sonny Landham carved out a tough-guy reputation in a series of big-screen roles, from roughing up Sylvester Stallone to getting tossed out a window by Carl Weathers. He pulls no punches in his newest role: Libertarian challenger to a man known for political toughness, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Now 67 and living in northeastern Kentucky, the man who played Billy Bear in "48 Hours" and was killed by an alien in "Predator" admits his action-movie days are behind him. "I think I'm having wild action when I take two aspirin with my hot chocolate at night," he quipped.

The actor known for his powerful physique, booming voice and his American Indian heritage says he's serious about his longshot bid, because too many politicians are indifferent to voters' problems.

"I am running to win," Landham said at a news conference Wednesday at the Kentucky Capitol in Frankfort.

He promised to keep his campaign simple and direct: "It's about the economy, which nobody in this whole election year is truly speaking about."

Landham refers to McConnell, a four-term Republican, as "Boss Hogg" after the corrupt politician from "The Dukes of Hazzard" TV show. He bluntly called Democratic candidate and millionaire businessman Bruce Lunsford an "elitist."

Even President Bush is a target: "He took us into a war on lies," Landham said in an earlier interview, claiming the actual intent was "to put 'Big Oil' back into Iraq."

To qualify for the November ballot, Landham must collect at least 5,000 valid petition signatures by Aug. 12. State Libertarian Party Chairman Ken Moellman said the petition drive began recently and he believes Landham will make it.

But the bid includes some campaign baggage that seems scripted for Hollywood, instead of socially conservative Kentucky. Early in his acting career in the 1970s, Landham bared it all in adult films.

Asked whether that could hurt him politically, Landham replied, "What can I do? That was a part of my life you cannot call back."

But he does express regrets.

"If I was going to do it now - knowing that I'm going to have four children, knowing that I was going to run for office - no, I wouldn't make that choice," he told The Associated Press in an interview. "But at the time I made the choice of getting a paycheck, staying alive for your big break."

Landham also served more than 2 1/2 years in federal prison after being convicted of making threatening and obscene phone calls to his ex-wife. The conviction was thrown out by a federal appeals court that found he committed no crime.

Libertarians, with their "live and let live" philosophy, look past his history.

"We look at the character of the man today, not what he did 30 years ago," Moellman said, noting the actor "asked his Maker for forgiveness, and that's all you can ask a man to do."

He said Landham lives "a better lifestyle" today, residing in Ashland with his fifth wife and three of his children.

Landham's family joined him for his campaign launch Wednesday, including an infant son he toted from the parking lot to the Kentucky Capitol in a car seat.

The cast of 1987's "Predator" featured two future state governors: Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jesse Ventura. But the prospects of winning office seem far more remote for Landham.

Political scientist Michael Baranowski, of Northern Kentucky University, predicted minimal impact on the Senate race, though Landham could take some votes from McConnell.

"I'm not sure which is more of a hurdle for Landham, being a former porn actor or being a Libertarian Party candidate," he said. "But if the race between McConnell and Lunsford is tight enough, the votes Landham pulls from McConnell might be critical."

McConnell campaign adviser Scott Jennings said Landham won't push the Republican incumbent off his message of how he has "delivered for the commonwealth time and again."

This isn't the first dabbling in politics for Landham, who struggled to get odd jobs after being released from prison. Now he still dabbles in acting, but Social Security checks and an acting pension are his main income.

He flirted with running for governor as a Republican in 2003, left the GOP and promised an independent run. He ultimately stayed out and backed Republican Ernie Fletcher, who won.

Landham is as blunt on issues as he is skewering rivals. He equates abortion with murder. He supports scrapping the North American Free Trade Agreement. As for political correctness, he said, "PC is BS. Say what you mean, mean what you say."

Moellman said such unscripted frankness will grab voter attention.

"Sonny is very upfront," he said. "You ask Sonny a question, he'll tell you the answer. He isn't going to pull any punches, which is why I know this race is going to be a lot of fun."

Daily Funny

Who says men don't remember anniversaries!

A wife awakened one night to find her husband missing from the bed Throwing on her robe she went downstairs looking for him.

Seeing him alone, in the dark, sitting at the kitchen table she flipped on the light to see he was staring at the wall with a tear running down his eye.

She went to him, touched his shoulder tenderly and asked, "Honey, what's wrong?"

He replied, "Do you remember that night, exactly twenty-years ago, you were sixteen, and we were in the back seat of my car, and..."

Reaching out she grasped his hand with her heart fluttering that he remembered the exact date she interrupted, "Oh yes, my love, I remem..."

Without pause, he continued, "And your dad came out and caught us, and shoved a shotgun in my face and said I'd have to marry you or he'd have me put in jail."

With tears running down her face and all choked up she looked at him silently with utter love and devotion.

He said, "I'd be getting out today!"

They're Back!

Beaver dam built in England after long absence

Beavers are back, doing what they do best.

The native beaver population in England was hunted into extinction in the 13th century, but a pair of 2-year-old beavers brought over from Germany have in the last 10 days built a dam in southwest England. It is believed to be the first time in centuries that has happened.

Conservationist John-Michael Kennaway, from the Escot Estate in Devon, said the construction of the dam is a welcome milestone in the plan to reintroduce beavers to England.

He said the dam is now about seven feet wide and three feet deep, made of dead wood, branches, mud and stones.

Beavers have been reintroduced over the past few years to Britain, but the other 15 pairs live on lakes where they do not build dams.

The two beavers live in a 2-acre enclosure that includes ponds, where the beavers have built their lodges, and part of a stream, where they are building their dam. Because it is illegal to release them into the wild in Britain, the beavers must be kept in the enclosure, Kennaway said.

"The hope is to have British stock born in Devon that could then be relocated if that was appropriate," he said.

Kennaway is confident the beavers are already doing their part to make this happen. He's seen the two beavers carrying what he called "maternity materials," softer rushes than would normally be used for construction. A maternity lodge has been built to accompany the larger family lodge and sparse "bachelor lodge" that already existed.

"We're fairly hopeful they actually have young in the lodge," Kennaway said, explaining they will know for sure if young beavers, or kits, emerge from the underwater lodge entrance later this summer, possibly in mid-July.

The two beavers were brought over from Bavaria. They were caught in the wild as part of ongoing maintenance of the beaver population in Germany, Kennaway said.

*****

Just a little fluff piece that if you think about it really isn't fluff at all but actually a stern commentary on the world condition and what we humans have done to it. Then again on the lighter side ... a beaver dam makes a wonderful 'swimmin' hole'!

Child rapists can't be executed, Supreme Court rules

Not that I ever going to 'side' with the stacked court we suffer under today - with this decision I say ... Why Not!?

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Wednesday that child rapists cannot be executed, concluding that capital punishment can be applied only against murderers.

The ruling stemmed from the case of Patrick Kennedy, who appealed the 2003 death sentence he received in Louisiana after being convicted of raping his 8-year-old stepdaughter.

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the majority opinion that execution in this case would violate the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, citing "evolving standards of decency" in the United States.

Such standards, the justice wrote, forbid capital punishment for any crime other than those that take a life.

"We conclude that, in determining whether the death penalty is excessive, there is a distinction between intentional first-degree murder on the one hand and nonhomicide crimes against individual persons, even including child rape, on the other," wrote Kennedy, who is not related to the convicted rapist.

Patrick Kennedy, 43, would have been the U.S.'s first convicted rapist since 1964 to be executed in a case in which the victim was not killed.

Kennedy was convicted of sexually assaulting his stepdaughter in her bed. The attack caused severe emotional trauma, internal injuries and bleeding to the child, requiring extensive surgery, Louisiana prosecutors said.

In the majority opinion, Anthony Kennedy acknowledged "the victim's fright, the sense of betrayal, and the nature of her injuries caused more prolonged physical and mental suffering than, say, a sudden killing by an unseen assassin."

But the justice -- supported by Justices John Paul Stevens, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer -- wrote that when determining what punishment the Eighth Amendment prohibits, "evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society" must be taken into account.

After a review of the "history of the death penalty for this and other nonhomicide crimes, current state statutes and new enactments ... we conclude there is a national consensus against capital punishment for the crime of child rape," Anthony Kennedy wrote.

Attorneys at the Capital Appeals Project who represent Patrick Kennedy issued a statement applauding the ruling.

"We can only hope that the money that Louisiana has been spending drafting and defending this anomalous and unconstitutional statute will be reallocated to efforts at treatment for victims of sexual abuse and for measures that actually reduce the risk of such abuse in our communities," attorney Ben Cohen said in the statement.

Justice Samuel Alito wrote the dissent, saying, "the harm that is caused to the victims and to society at large by the worst child rapist is grave." He was supported by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.

Alito also wrote that the majority ruled against the death penalty "no matter how young the child, no matter how many times the child is raped, no matter how many children the perpetrator rapes, no matter how sadistic the crime, no matter how much physical or psychological trauma is inflicted and no matter how heinous the perpetrator's criminal record may be."

Wednesday's ruling will affect six states that allow the death penalty for rape, including Louisiana, where Patrick Kennedy was recently joined on death row by another convicted child rapist, Richard Davis.

Because of the ruling, the sentences of Davis and Kennedy will automatically be commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the Capital Appeals Project said.

"Mr. Kennedy, who has consistently maintained his innocence, plans to continue to pursue his appeals in state and federal court," the appeals project said.

Florida, Montana, Oklahoma and South Carolina have death-penalty laws for rape but have not applied them in decades. Texas enacted a version a year ago, but no defendant has been designated death-eligible for child rape in any state but Louisiana.

U.S. Supreme Court rulings in 1976 and 1977 barred capital punishment for rape and, by implication, any other crime except murder. But in 1995, Louisiana passed a law allowing execution for the sexual violation of a child under 12. State lawmakers argued that the earlier high court cases pertained only to "adult women."

Supporters of Louisiana's law say that besides murder, no crime is more deserving of the death penalty than child rape and that the punishment would be used only in the most heinous of circumstances.

"A lot of people think there should not be a death penalty because the child survives," sex crimes prosecutor Kat Bartholomew said. "In my opinion, the rape of a child is more heinous and more hideous than a homicide."

She said a sexual assault on a child "takes away their innocence. It takes away their childhood. It mutilates their spirit. It kills their soul."

Death penalty opponents contend, among other things, that it could give attackers a reason to murder their victims. In Wednesday's ruling, Anthony Kennedy agreed, writing, "A state that punishes child rape by death may remove a strong incentive for the rapist not to kill the victim."

After the ruling, Lynn, a cousin of the victim's, said, "Just knowing the kind of man [Patrick Kennedy] is, we'll never be comfortable."

The high court has in recent years banned execution for the mentally retarded, underage killers and those deemed to have had an inadequate defense at trial.

Other state and federal crimes theoretically eligible for execution include treason, aggravated kidnapping, drug trafficking, aircraft hijacking and espionage. None of these crimes has been prosecuted as a capital offense in decades, if ever.

*****
Nothing is more heinous than a crime against a child ... any crime, let alone rape ... I see no problem with the cessation of the perpetrator's life in such cases as the one lain out in the piece above.

Faster than a fart dissipates in a wind storm.

The Haters are deniers about everything pure and simple.

Their ranting that Global Warming doesn't even exist and human haven't had any impact on it are disjointed to say the least.

They are wrong on both counts: Global warming is a fact and is occurring. Humans have had an impact on it.

This is not a "Liberal Agenda", this is a hard fact and since when is a clean environment to live in a bad thing?!

Luckily for the world the haters are losing what little influence they have left faster than a fart dissipates in a wind storm.

And I Quote

"... I have a very low tolerance for idiotic bullshit!"

~ George Carlin

You and me both, George, you and me both - except I think mine is actually lower.

Queen Elizabeth confers knighthood on Salman Rushdie

Author Salman Rushdie slipped into Buckingham Palace on Wednesday to receive a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II that had angered many parts of the Muslim world when the honor was announced last year.

In a break with normal procedure, the palace did not announce ahead of time that Rushdie would be honored Wednesday.

A spokeswoman for the queen, who asked not to be identified because of the monarch's policy, said Rushdie was not listed among those to be honored because he was a late addition to the investiture. She refused to comment on whether his name had been withheld because of security concerns.

Security has been a major concern for Rushdie since 1989, when Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini pronounced a death sentence on the author, accusing him of blasphemy against the Muslim world in his novel "The Satanic Verses." The edict forced Rushdie to live underground with constant protection for many years until it was finally withdrawn in 1998.

Rushdie, dressed in a formal morning suit and obviously pleased with the honor, told reporters after the ceremony that he was not sorry about writing "The Satanic Verses."

"I really have no regrets about any of my work," he said when asked about his most inflammatory novel.

"This is, as I say, an honor not for any specific book but for a very long career in writing, and I'm happy to see that recognized."

Rushdie, 61, published his first novel, "Grimus," in 1975, but it drew little attention and few readers.

Success came with his next book, "Midnight's Children," which won the prestigious Booker Prize in 1981.

"The Satanic Verses," published in 1988, created a firestorm of controversy, first in Britain and then in Iran, where Khomeini, who had recently come to power after the overthrow of the Shah, pronounced his death sentence on the writer.

The Indian-British writer was forced to accept round-the-clock protection from British special agents and to stay completely out of the public eye. He moved many times and constantly changed his routine in an attempt to throw pursuers off the track.

The Iranian government withdrew the death sentence in 1998, and Rushdie has gradually returned to public life. Recently he has divided his time between New York and London.

"It's been a long time. My first novel was published 33 years ago, but I think the thing you hope to do as a writer is leave behind a shelf of interesting books, and it's great just to have that work recognized," Rushdie said outside the palace as he posed for photos with his medal. "At this stage, you know, it's certainly not a day to talk about controversy. It's a day for myself and my family to celebrate this."

Pressed about which of his books was his favorite, Rushdie said he could not pick one over the others.

"It's difficult to choose between your books," he said. "You wouldn't choose between your children would you?"

Normally cool and composed, Rushdie said he was nervous before the ceremony and appreciated the help with etiquette and protocol provided by palace staff before the ceremony.

"We all get coached in the green room beforehand, and I was very grateful for the coaching because, even though it's a relatively simple set of procedures, it's really easy under the nervousness of the moment to mess them up and I almost did," Rushdie said.

Veteran actor Sir Ian McKellen, best known for his role as Gandalf in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, also was honored by the queen. McKellen, a longtime gay rights activist who was knighted in 1990, was made a Companion of Honor at the investiture for services to drama and equality.

And you thought they actually worked?!

Have you ever wondered why nothing gets done in Congress?!
This video clip explains it quite nicely:
And you know it's a republican without looking at the bottom of the screen. It's that obvious.

Captain Beefheart - Diddy Wah Diddy