bullets13

he would've been better served to separate himself from bush by playing on his reputation as a moderate, rather than suddenly changing stances on several key issues to appease the conservative vote. i think his first fatal mistake was going from a "maverick" to suddenly waffling on many of his policies and ending up looking like Bush, part two. His second fatal mistake was choosing Sarah Palin as a running mate, as it came off appearing as a gimmick pick, especially as her lack of knowledge and abundance of questionable decisions in Alaska began to come to light. I'm a liberal democrat, but when McCain originally threw his name into the hat, I felt like he would be a reasonable option if he won, as he was fairly moderate. As the campaign went on, he seemed more worried about keeping the far-right conservative vote than winning voters that were on the fence.

race is not an issue in this case. it amazes me how some folks try to make EVERY issue a racial issue. if anything, had he been a black officer, he may never have been fired so that the department could avoid possible allegations of racism.

can you imagine if they hadn't traded Chris Young (2-1 for the padres), Andres Gallaraga (3-1, 3.07 ERA for Detroit), Edison Volquez (4-2, 3.27 ERA for Cincy), and there's another i can't think of right now. they've also traded Adrian Gonzalez and Carlos Pena over the last couple of years, or their offense would be even more explosive.

i wasn't real impressed with the refs last night. i'm also curious to see if Kobe gets suspended. I'm betting he doesn't, although we all know that if artest had thrown the same elbow at kobe he'd be sitting out the next game.

i guess you should've pulled the trigger last week...

A Beaumont police officer indefinitely suspended for his role in an undercover prostitution sting will be returned to his job in as little as two weeks after an arbitrator ruled he should be reinstated. Arbitrator Milden J. Fox, who released his 79-page report on Wednesday, said that officer Keith Breiner should be suspended without pay for 90 days, receive back pay going to back to November and be placed in a position comparable to the one he had. However, Fox stipulated that it should not be "one in which he will be acting as an undercover officer in any prostitution-related operation." Breiner said Wednesday he hadn't had a chance to read the decision. He learned about the overall decision from attorney Mitch Adams, who represented him through the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas. "I'm happy that it went in my direction," Breiner said. "I'm ecstatic that I am going back to work." Breiner was required to notify the city within two weeks of his intent to return, and the city would have two weeks to reinstate him, according to the arbitrator's ruling. Breiner said Adams notified the city of his intent to return and he said he would follow up today. The Enterprise tried to contact City Manager Kyle Hayes, but an administrative aide in his office said that he was out of the office. Messages were left at his office and on his cell phone. The Enterprise had no after-hours number for the police Chief Frank Coffin and could not reach him through other means. Coffin testified that Breiner's behavior cast the department in a negative light and that he used poor judgment. A message requesting comment was left on Mayor Becky Ames' cell phone. Breiner was not the only one disciplined as a result of the sting. Lt. David Kiker, who joined the sting after being asked several times, also received an indefinite suspension for engaging in sex acts during the investigation. Sgt. Robert Roberts and Lt. Curtis Breaux each received a five-day suspension for failing to properly supervise the undercover operation. Breaux, who then was the supervisor of the narcotics unit, did not handle the day-to-day operations of the investigation. Fox made reference to the varying degrees of discipline meted out. "It is known that Lt. Breaux recanted his (internal affairs division) affidavit position to the chief and eventually received his discipline," Fox wrote. "There is indication from (Coffin's) testimony that had (Breiner) recanted his (internal affairs division) affidavit position, his discipline could have been different. "It is not known for certain why the other three officers received the discipline stated above. Simply put, there was discrimination between the actions the Chief took among the officers." Roberts appealed his discipline; Breaux did not. Officers Randall Moss and Scott Apple each received a letter of reprimand for their roles, which isn't considered a form of discipline under the collective bargaining agreement between the police union and the city. Kiker, who was also suspended indefinitely, had been scheduled to have his case heard before arbitrator Raymond L. Britton. That hearing was postponed pending the outcome of Breiner's case. There is no word yet on whether Kiker or Roberts will still face an arbitrator. The investigation of possible prostitution at two Beaumont spas began in late April 2008 after the police department received anonymous information. In the initial stages of the investigation, Officer Bryan Baker entered the establishment where a woman allegedly told him to disrobe and began hinting at engaging in sex acts that would cost an extra $100. But the woman recognized boots he was wearing as those worn by officers, according to Fox's report. Later, detective Randall Moss visited the VIP Spa for a massage. Once there, a woman allegedly lifted her miniskirt, revealing that she wasn't wearing any panties. Several times she tried to climb on the officer, who eventually left, according to Fox's report. When Breiner and Kiker were brought into the undercover investigation, they received manual stimulation, vaginal sex and oral sex on several trips to the spas from mid-April to early May, according to testimony. Both Breiner and Kiker testified that they engaged in sex acts because they were told by the supervising officer Breaux that that was required to pursue a felony prostitution case that could lead to a human trafficking case. Breaux denied in court testimony he told them that they had to have sex. But he said the two officers would have to do more than a normal prostitution sting to bring charges. Officers Apple and Moss, both assigned to the Narcotics and Vice Unit, which handles undercover cases involving prostitution, testified they had refused to participate in additional activities that Breaux said would be necessary beyond a normal prostitution sting. After the May raids, police arrested Su Jun Han, 45, and Li Zhao, 51. Zhao was charged with misdemeanor prostitution and had yet to appear in court to face those charges, according to a December Enterprise report. Han was arrested in Houston in October on a prostitution charge, a Houston police spokeswoman said Wednesday. She had made a $5,000 bond which she has forfeited, according a Feb. 25 Enterprise report.

I'm sure i'm jinxing them, but the rangers have won 5 straight, and are leading the division by a half game!!!

I'm in if someone jumps in with a boat and no partner.

sweet! i hope the rockets keep this up. this is one time i'd actually like to eat a little crow.

Just passing on the information I got a little while ago. Word is they will not be back until a certain Moderator is no longer a Moderator. I also know of others that deleted thier accounts today. They feel they would be on even "Playing Fields" if he was just a posters. Just the messenger................ : are they supported by the union? i've never heard of a poster's strike before. "we want freedom of speech, better benefits, our own moderator, and you have to get rid of this guy, or we aren't coming back!" give me a break. i've got no problem with any of the guys who deleted their accounts, but why would anyone affiliated with the site be concerned about 5 or 10 posters leaving? apart from the softball forum, nobody even knows these guys are gone. why would the site demote a moderator to get them back when there have already been a ton of issues surrounding them?

i was at the boats... it was a very nice night.

What jobs? speaking of gross generalizations...

i'd really like to see the results of the investigation before this man is either martyred or crucified for this deal.

the rockets will have to play well to force a sixth game... if they play poorly, the could easily be swept. i'm not a huge rocket fan, but i'm definitely pulling for them here, but trying to be realistic. i hope they give me a reason to eat some crow!

you turble knucklehead.

man oh man, what a game!

pretty much every decision made by a moderator regarding a softball forum regular is ripped apart on here. if someone gets a ban, we receive PM's, whole threads are started, etc. etc. if a mod asks ya'll to tone it down, we're the scum of the earth. this is the ONLY forum where that regularly happens. so when we have yet ANOTHER thread on here questioning us, we're going to band together, just as the softball posters do when they feel like they've been called out. and weed, i'm glad you like my work.

That is one person!!!!! :D actually, he has a mulitple personality disorder.

flippin' swine flu.

I'm going to throw my opinion into the hat here as well. You all might recognize me from other forums, but i'm not active in the softball forum at all, as i know nobody who plays the game, and have no reason to be involved with it. that being said, i'm not a moderator that comes on here and interferes with what is, in my opinion, the most contentious forum on the site. i don't at all envy the moderators that do in fact have a legitimate reason to spend any amount of time in this particular forum, as they take more heat than probably anyone else involved with the site. but back to being a moderator... the qualifications for being a moderator may not be set in stone, but the requirements of a moderator are. by taking the position, we've agreed to, as best as we can, help uphold the rules that have been set by the site owner. we're given the power to delete and edit posts, as well as to ban users who continually break the rules of the site. different moderators have different styles, and what upsets one might not bother another (not unlike an umpire in a softball game). it is a payless, and often thankless job, but we do it because we love the site, and want to do our best to uphold it's integrity. For posters who insist on breaking rules, they will eventually draw the attention of a moderator, who will then handle the situation as they see fit. we're doing what the owner of the site would do if he had the time to read the thousands of posts made each day on here. to berate us for that, as a FEW posters like to do, is pretty pointless, and will only draw even more attention from us, the dastardly moderators. so, enjoy the site, follow the rules, and keep on posting!

i bet we don't have to worry about school being closed here in BISD. it's going to take a major outbreak, at least.

this seems like a gross overreaction. 36,000 people die every year from regular flu, which amounts to about 100 a day. 65 die over a few weeks in mexico from the swine flu, and we're cancelling events, stockpiling vaccines, and just generally freaking out. i wonder how the stories on the news would look if the media didn't make so much money selling fear.

this seems like a gross overreaction. 36,000 people die every year from regular flu, which amounts to about 100 a day. 65 die over a few weeks in mexico from the swine flu, and we're cancelling events, stockpiling vaccines, and just generally freaking out. i wonder how the stories on the news would look if the media didn't make so much money selling fear.

OU still sucks slightly more than the spurs.