Special Last Meals: Texas Prisons End Special Last Meals For Inmates Facing Execution
September 23, 2011 No Comment
MICHAEL GRACZYK, Associated Press HOUSTON (Associated Press) — Texas inmates who are set to be executed will no longer get their choice of last meals, a change prison officials made Thursday after a prominent state senator became miffed over an expansive request from a man condemned for a notorious dragging death. Lawrence Russell Brewer, who was executed Wednesday for the hate crime slaying of James Byrd Jr. more than a decade ago, asked for two chicken fried steaks, a triple-meat bacon cheeseburger, fried okra, a pound of barbecue, three fajitas, a meat lover’s pizza, a pint of ice cream and a slab of peanut butter fudge with crushed peanuts. Prison officials said Brewer didn’t eat any of it. “It is extremely inappropriate to give a person sentenced to death such a privilege,” Sen. John Whitmire, chairman of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, wrote in a letter Thursday to Brad Livingston, the executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Within hours, Livingston said the senator’s concerns were valid and the practice of allowing death row offenders to choose their final meal was history. “Effective immediately, no such accommodations will be made,” Livingston said. “They will receive the same meal served to other offenders on the unit.” That had been the suggestion from Whitmire, who called the traditional request “ridiculous.” “It’s long overdue,” the Houston Democrat told The Associated Press. “This old boy last night, enough is enough. We’re fixing to execute the guy and maybe it makes the system feel good about what they’re fixing to do. Kind of hypocritical, you reckon? “Mr. Byrd didn’t get to choose his last meal. The whole deal is so illogical.” Brewer, a white supremacist gang member, was convicted of chaining Byrd, 49, to the back of a pickup truck and dragging him to his death along a bumpy road in a case that shocked the nation for its brutality. Whitmire warned in his letter that if the “last meal of choice” practice wasn’t stopped immediately, he’d seek a state statute to end it when lawmakers convene in the next legislative session. It was not immediately clear whether other states have made similar moves. Some limit the final meal cost – Florida’s ceiling is $40, according to the Department of Corrections website, with food to be purchased locally. Others, like Texas, which never had a designated dollar limit, mandate meals be prison-made. Some states don’t acknowledge final meals, and others will disclose the information only if the inmate agrees, said K. William Hayes, a Florida-based death penalty historian. Some states require the meal within a specific time period, allow multiple “final” meals, restrict it to one or impose “a vast number of conditions,” he said. Historical references to a condemned person’s last meal go as far back as ancient Greece, China and Rome, Hayes said. Some of it is apparently rooted in superstition about meals warding off possible haunting by condemned people once they are put to death. The Death Penalty Information Center, a Washington-based anti-capital punishment organization that collects execution statistics, said it had no data on final meals. Since Texas resumed carrying out executions in 1982, the state correction agency’s practice has been to fill a condemned inmate’s request as long as the items, or food similar to what was requested, were readily available from the prison kitchen supplies. While extensive, Brewer’s request was far from the largest or most bizarre among the 475 Texas inmates put to death. On Tuesday, prisoner Cleve Foster’s request included two fried chickens, French fries and a five-gallon bucket of peaches. He received a reprieve from the U.S. Supreme Court but none of his requested meal. He was on his way back to death row, at a prison about 45 miles east of Huntsville, at the time when his feast would have been served. Last week, inmate Steven Woods’ request included two pounds of bacon, a large four-meat pizza, four fried chicken breasts, two drinks each of Mountain Dew, Pepsi, root beer and sweet tea, two pints of ice cream, five chicken fried steaks, two hamburgers with bacon, fries and a dozen garlic bread sticks with marinara on the side. Two hours later, he was executed. Years ago, a Texas inmate even requested dirt for his final meal. Until 2003, the Texas prison system listed final meals of each prisoner as part of its death row website. That stopped at 313 final meals after officials said they received complaints from people who found it offensive. A former inmate cook who made the last meals for prisoners at the Huntsville Unit, where Texas executions are carried out, wrote a cookbook several years ago after he was released. Among his recipes were Gallows Gravy, Rice Rigor Mortis and Old Sparky’s Genuine Convict Chili, a nod to the electric chair that once served as the execution method. The book was called “Meals to Die For.” Death’s Chaplain
Continue reading …Special Last Meals: Texas Prisons End Special Last Meals For Inmates Facing Execution
September 23, 2011 No CommentMICHAEL GRACZYK, Associated Press HOUSTON (Associated Press) — Texas inmates who are set to be executed will no longer get their choice of last meals, a change prison officials made Thursday after a prominent state senator became miffed over an expansive request from a man condemned for a notorious dragging death. Lawrence Russell Brewer, who was executed Wednesday for the hate crime slaying of James Byrd Jr. more than a decade ago, asked for two chicken fried steaks, a triple-meat bacon cheeseburger, fried okra, a pound of barbecue, three fajitas, a meat lover’s pizza, a pint of ice cream and a slab of peanut butter fudge with crushed peanuts. Prison officials said Brewer didn’t eat any of it. “It is extremely inappropriate to give a person sentenced to death such a privilege,” Sen. John Whitmire, chairman of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, wrote in a letter Thursday to Brad Livingston, the executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Within hours, Livingston said the senator’s concerns were valid and the practice of allowing death row offenders to choose their final meal was history. “Effective immediately, no such accommodations will be made,” Livingston said. “They will receive the same meal served to other offenders on the unit.” That had been the suggestion from Whitmire, who called the traditional request “ridiculous.” “It’s long overdue,” the Houston Democrat told The Associated Press. “This old boy last night, enough is enough. We’re fixing to execute the guy and maybe it makes the system feel good about what they’re fixing to do. Kind of hypocritical, you reckon? “Mr. Byrd didn’t get to choose his last meal. The whole deal is so illogical.” Brewer, a white supremacist gang member, was convicted of chaining Byrd, 49, to the back of a pickup truck and dragging him to his death along a bumpy road in a case that shocked the nation for its brutality. Whitmire warned in his letter that if the “last meal of choice” practice wasn’t stopped immediately, he’d seek a state statute to end it when lawmakers convene in the next legislative session. It was not immediately clear whether other states have made similar moves. Some limit the final meal cost – Florida’s ceiling is $40, according to the Department of Corrections website, with food to be purchased locally. Others, like Texas, which never had a designated dollar limit, mandate meals be prison-made. Some states don’t acknowledge final meals, and others will disclose the information only if the inmate agrees, said K. William Hayes, a Florida-based death penalty historian. Some states require the meal within a specific time period, allow multiple “final” meals, restrict it to one or impose “a vast number of conditions,” he said. Historical references to a condemned person’s last meal go as far back as ancient Greece, China and Rome, Hayes said. Some of it is apparently rooted in superstition about meals warding off possible haunting by condemned people once they are put to death. The Death Penalty Information Center, a Washington-based anti-capital punishment organization that collects execution statistics, said it had no data on final meals. Since Texas resumed carrying out executions in 1982, the state correction agency’s practice has been to fill a condemned inmate’s request as long as the items, or food similar to what was requested, were readily available from the prison kitchen supplies. While extensive, Brewer’s request was far from the largest or most bizarre among the 475 Texas inmates put to death. On Tuesday, prisoner Cleve Foster’s request included two fried chickens, French fries and a five-gallon bucket of peaches. He received a reprieve from the U.S. Supreme Court but none of his requested meal. He was on his way back to death row, at a prison about 45 miles east of Huntsville, at the time when his feast would have been served. Last week, inmate Steven Woods’ request included two pounds of bacon, a large four-meat pizza, four fried chicken breasts, two drinks each of Mountain Dew, Pepsi, root beer and sweet tea, two pints of ice cream, five chicken fried steaks, two hamburgers with bacon, fries and a dozen garlic bread sticks with marinara on the side. Two hours later, he was executed. Years ago, a Texas inmate even requested dirt for his final meal. Until 2003, the Texas prison system listed final meals of each prisoner as part of its death row website. That stopped at 313 final meals after officials said they received complaints from people who found it offensive. A former inmate cook who made the last meals for prisoners at the Huntsville Unit, where Texas executions are carried out, wrote a cookbook several years ago after he was released. Among his recipes were Gallows Gravy, Rice Rigor Mortis and Old Sparky’s Genuine Convict Chili, a nod to the electric chair that once served as the execution method. The book was called “Meals to Die For.” Death’s Chaplain
Continue reading …Special Last Meals: Texas Prisons End Special Last Meals For Inmates Facing Execution
September 23, 2011 No CommentMICHAEL GRACZYK, Associated Press HOUSTON (Associated Press) — Texas inmates who are set to be executed will no longer get their choice of last meals, a change prison officials made Thursday after a prominent state senator became miffed over an expansive request from a man condemned for a notorious dragging death. Lawrence Russell Brewer, who was executed Wednesday for the hate crime slaying of James Byrd Jr. more than a decade ago, asked for two chicken fried steaks, a triple-meat bacon cheeseburger, fried okra, a pound of barbecue, three fajitas, a meat lover’s pizza, a pint of ice cream and a slab of peanut butter fudge with crushed peanuts. Prison officials said Brewer didn’t eat any of it. “It is extremely inappropriate to give a person sentenced to death such a privilege,” Sen. John Whitmire, chairman of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, wrote in a letter Thursday to Brad Livingston, the executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Within hours, Livingston said the senator’s concerns were valid and the practice of allowing death row offenders to choose their final meal was history. “Effective immediately, no such accommodations will be made,” Livingston said. “They will receive the same meal served to other offenders on the unit.” That had been the suggestion from Whitmire, who called the traditional request “ridiculous.” “It’s long overdue,” the Houston Democrat told The Associated Press. “This old boy last night, enough is enough. We’re fixing to execute the guy and maybe it makes the system feel good about what they’re fixing to do. Kind of hypocritical, you reckon? “Mr. Byrd didn’t get to choose his last meal. The whole deal is so illogical.” Brewer, a white supremacist gang member, was convicted of chaining Byrd, 49, to the back of a pickup truck and dragging him to his death along a bumpy road in a case that shocked the nation for its brutality. Whitmire warned in his letter that if the “last meal of choice” practice wasn’t stopped immediately, he’d seek a state statute to end it when lawmakers convene in the next legislative session. It was not immediately clear whether other states have made similar moves. Some limit the final meal cost – Florida’s ceiling is $40, according to the Department of Corrections website, with food to be purchased locally. Others, like Texas, which never had a designated dollar limit, mandate meals be prison-made. Some states don’t acknowledge final meals, and others will disclose the information only if the inmate agrees, said K. William Hayes, a Florida-based death penalty historian. Some states require the meal within a specific time period, allow multiple “final” meals, restrict it to one or impose “a vast number of conditions,” he said. Historical references to a condemned person’s last meal go as far back as ancient Greece, China and Rome, Hayes said. Some of it is apparently rooted in superstition about meals warding off possible haunting by condemned people once they are put to death. The Death Penalty Information Center, a Washington-based anti-capital punishment organization that collects execution statistics, said it had no data on final meals. Since Texas resumed carrying out executions in 1982, the state correction agency’s practice has been to fill a condemned inmate’s request as long as the items, or food similar to what was requested, were readily available from the prison kitchen supplies. While extensive, Brewer’s request was far from the largest or most bizarre among the 475 Texas inmates put to death. On Tuesday, prisoner Cleve Foster’s request included two fried chickens, French fries and a five-gallon bucket of peaches. He received a reprieve from the U.S. Supreme Court but none of his requested meal. He was on his way back to death row, at a prison about 45 miles east of Huntsville, at the time when his feast would have been served. Last week, inmate Steven Woods’ request included two pounds of bacon, a large four-meat pizza, four fried chicken breasts, two drinks each of Mountain Dew, Pepsi, root beer and sweet tea, two pints of ice cream, five chicken fried steaks, two hamburgers with bacon, fries and a dozen garlic bread sticks with marinara on the side. Two hours later, he was executed. Years ago, a Texas inmate even requested dirt for his final meal. Until 2003, the Texas prison system listed final meals of each prisoner as part of its death row website. That stopped at 313 final meals after officials said they received complaints from people who found it offensive. A former inmate cook who made the last meals for prisoners at the Huntsville Unit, where Texas executions are carried out, wrote a cookbook several years ago after he was released. Among his recipes were Gallows Gravy, Rice Rigor Mortis and Old Sparky’s Genuine Convict Chili, a nod to the electric chair that once served as the execution method. The book was called “Meals to Die For.” Death’s Chaplain
Continue reading …Special Last Meals: Texas Prisons End Special Last Meals For Inmates Facing Execution
September 23, 2011 No CommentMICHAEL GRACZYK, Associated Press HOUSTON (Associated Press) — Texas inmates who are set to be executed will no longer get their choice of last meals, a change prison officials made Thursday after a prominent state senator became miffed over an expansive request from a man condemned for a notorious dragging death. Lawrence Russell Brewer, who was executed Wednesday for the hate crime slaying of James Byrd Jr. more than a decade ago, asked for two chicken fried steaks, a triple-meat bacon cheeseburger, fried okra, a pound of barbecue, three fajitas, a meat lover’s pizza, a pint of ice cream and a slab of peanut butter fudge with crushed peanuts. Prison officials said Brewer didn’t eat any of it. “It is extremely inappropriate to give a person sentenced to death such a privilege,” Sen. John Whitmire, chairman of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, wrote in a letter Thursday to Brad Livingston, the executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Within hours, Livingston said the senator’s concerns were valid and the practice of allowing death row offenders to choose their final meal was history. “Effective immediately, no such accommodations will be made,” Livingston said. “They will receive the same meal served to other offenders on the unit.” That had been the suggestion from Whitmire, who called the traditional request “ridiculous.” “It’s long overdue,” the Houston Democrat told The Associated Press. “This old boy last night, enough is enough. We’re fixing to execute the guy and maybe it makes the system feel good about what they’re fixing to do. Kind of hypocritical, you reckon? “Mr. Byrd didn’t get to choose his last meal. The whole deal is so illogical.” Brewer, a white supremacist gang member, was convicted of chaining Byrd, 49, to the back of a pickup truck and dragging him to his death along a bumpy road in a case that shocked the nation for its brutality. Whitmire warned in his letter that if the “last meal of choice” practice wasn’t stopped immediately, he’d seek a state statute to end it when lawmakers convene in the next legislative session. It was not immediately clear whether other states have made similar moves. Some limit the final meal cost – Florida’s ceiling is $40, according to the Department of Corrections website, with food to be purchased locally. Others, like Texas, which never had a designated dollar limit, mandate meals be prison-made. Some states don’t acknowledge final meals, and others will disclose the information only if the inmate agrees, said K. William Hayes, a Florida-based death penalty historian. Some states require the meal within a specific time period, allow multiple “final” meals, restrict it to one or impose “a vast number of conditions,” he said. Historical references to a condemned person’s last meal go as far back as ancient Greece, China and Rome, Hayes said. Some of it is apparently rooted in superstition about meals warding off possible haunting by condemned people once they are put to death. The Death Penalty Information Center, a Washington-based anti-capital punishment organization that collects execution statistics, said it had no data on final meals. Since Texas resumed carrying out executions in 1982, the state correction agency’s practice has been to fill a condemned inmate’s request as long as the items, or food similar to what was requested, were readily available from the prison kitchen supplies. While extensive, Brewer’s request was far from the largest or most bizarre among the 475 Texas inmates put to death. On Tuesday, prisoner Cleve Foster’s request included two fried chickens, French fries and a five-gallon bucket of peaches. He received a reprieve from the U.S. Supreme Court but none of his requested meal. He was on his way back to death row, at a prison about 45 miles east of Huntsville, at the time when his feast would have been served. Last week, inmate Steven Woods’ request included two pounds of bacon, a large four-meat pizza, four fried chicken breasts, two drinks each of Mountain Dew, Pepsi, root beer and sweet tea, two pints of ice cream, five chicken fried steaks, two hamburgers with bacon, fries and a dozen garlic bread sticks with marinara on the side. Two hours later, he was executed. Years ago, a Texas inmate even requested dirt for his final meal. Until 2003, the Texas prison system listed final meals of each prisoner as part of its death row website. That stopped at 313 final meals after officials said they received complaints from people who found it offensive. A former inmate cook who made the last meals for prisoners at the Huntsville Unit, where Texas executions are carried out, wrote a cookbook several years ago after he was released. Among his recipes were Gallows Gravy, Rice Rigor Mortis and Old Sparky’s Genuine Convict Chili, a nod to the electric chair that once served as the execution method. The book was called “Meals to Die For.” Death’s Chaplain
Continue reading …The Engadget Show – 025: We ride an electric bike, check out the new Keepon and get serenaded by Jonathan Coulton
September 23, 2011 No Comment
We’ve got a whole lot of show coming at you this month! Tim and Brian start things off by unveiling Distro , Engadget’s new weekly greatest hits magazine for the iPad. We also take a look at Sony’s new 3D-enabled video headset and the purse-friendly HTC Rhyme . Next up, Tim takes a spin around New York City on the Grace One electric bicycle , and we try to figure out whether it’s worth the rather steep price tag. Brian pays a visit to the folks at Frog to discuss the company’s long history and take a look at some of its industry shaping designs. Keepon co-creator Marek Michalowski stops by the studio to discuss the creation of his little yellow robot and explain how the dancing ‘bot made the journey from research tool to retail toy . We swing by the Maker Faire in New York to check out 3D printers, a life-size game of Mouse Trap and get stuck in the (Polaroid) Matrix. And Make: Live co-hosts Becky Stern and Matt Richardson join us in the studio to talk about some of their own favorite DIY projects. We close the show with an interview and a few songs from Jonathan Coulton . (Spoiler: he plays the song from Portal .) Hosts: Tim Stevens, Brian Heater Special guests: Becky Stern, Matt Richardson, Marek Michalowski Producer: Guy Streit Director : Michelle Stahl Executive Producers: Joshua Fruhlinger, Brian Heater and Michael Rubens Music by: Jonathan Coulton Download the Show: The Engadget Show – 025 (HD) / The Engadget Show – 025 (iPod / iPhone / Zune formatted) / The Engadget Show – 025 (Small) Subscribe to the Show: [ iTunes ] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (MP4). [ Zune ] Subscribe to the Show directly in the Zune Marketplace (MP4). [ RSS MP4 ] Add the Engadget Show feed (MP4) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically. [ HD RSS ] Get the Engadget Show delivered automatically in HD. [ iPad RSS ] Get the Engadget Show in iPad-friendly adaptive format. The Engadget Show – 025: We ride an electric bike, check out the new Keepon and get serenaded by Jonathan Coulton originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Sep 2011 15:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts: GOP Wants to Go Back to When No Women Voted, ‘Slavery Was Cool’
September 23, 2011 No CommentOpenly gay MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts is aggressively using his daily soapbox for gay activism. On Friday morning, Roberts was outraged with the rest of the left that the Republican candidates did not denounce the boos after openly gay soldier Thomas Hill asked on video if the Republicans would “circumvent the progress that has been made” for gays if elected. No one seems to question why Fox News and Megyn Kelly would pluck this question out of thousands of submissions and throw it directly at Rick Santorum. It seems like they were wearing a bracelet asking “What Would CNN Do?” Roberts, speaking very calmly, said something very wild. These Republican candidates would like to build a time machine and go back to when women couldn't vote and slavery was cool: THOMAS ROBERTS: And the [Santorum] phrase of “social experimentation.” I get out of all of these things that many of these candidates would rather take legislation to build a time machine and go back in time to where, uh, we had, you know, no women voting, slavery was cool. I mean, it's just kind of ridiculous. CHRIS HAYES: Well — I also thought was interesting about the response, he seemed to imply there is no sex in the armed forces. Basically saying, this is — everybody should be — ROBERTS: Nothing happens on shore leave. HAYES: Nothing happens in the armed forces. And it was like, really? Have you talked to to any members who served? ROBERTS: Been to Fleet Week in New York? Notice how Hayes tried not to agree with the crazy talk and changed the subject. Roberts began the segment by disdaining the trend of “strange crowd reactions and candidate responses” in GOP debates: ROBERTS: So, boos from the crowd, the debate crowd last night after hearing from a service member protecting our nation, followed by that response. Well, everybody really failing to thank him for serving our country. It’s just the latest in the series of strange crowd reactions and candidate responses in these Republican debates. Let's bring in Chris Hayes….What is your reaction? The audience response, especially last night. We’re on the heels of the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Bravely, courageously, this person fighting in Iraq submits that question, publicly asks it of the panelists, you know, the GOP hopefuls, and Santorum — that’s his response. Hayes agreed, and then expressed admiration for how the soldier was “jacked.” Roberts returned to his point: ROBERTS: But It was a missed opportunity for a lot of people to stand up because they love to stand and wave their military support all the time and funding for our military. This was a missed opportunity. Hayes agreed, and said the Republican base is still “very hung up on cultural issues.” As if MSNBC and Thomas Roberts are not.
Continue reading …MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts: GOP Wants to Go Back to When No Women Voted, ‘Slavery Was Cool’
September 23, 2011 No CommentOpenly gay MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts is aggressively using his daily soapbox for gay activism. On Friday morning, Roberts was outraged with the rest of the left that the Republican candidates did not denounce the boos after openly gay soldier Thomas Hill asked on video if the Republicans would “circumvent the progress that has been made” for gays if elected. No one seems to question why Fox News and Megyn Kelly would pluck this question out of thousands of submissions and throw it directly at Rick Santorum. It seems like they were wearing a bracelet asking “What Would CNN Do?” Roberts, speaking very calmly, said something very wild. These Republican candidates would like to build a time machine and go back to when women couldn't vote and slavery was cool: THOMAS ROBERTS: And the [Santorum] phrase of “social experimentation.” I get out of all of these things that many of these candidates would rather take legislation to build a time machine and go back in time to where, uh, we had, you know, no women voting, slavery was cool. I mean, it's just kind of ridiculous. CHRIS HAYES: Well — I also thought was interesting about the response, he seemed to imply there is no sex in the armed forces. Basically saying, this is — everybody should be — ROBERTS: Nothing happens on shore leave. HAYES: Nothing happens in the armed forces. And it was like, really? Have you talked to to any members who served? ROBERTS: Been to Fleet Week in New York? Notice how Hayes tried not to agree with the crazy talk and changed the subject. Roberts began the segment by disdaining the trend of “strange crowd reactions and candidate responses” in GOP debates: ROBERTS: So, boos from the crowd, the debate crowd last night after hearing from a service member protecting our nation, followed by that response. Well, everybody really failing to thank him for serving our country. It’s just the latest in the series of strange crowd reactions and candidate responses in these Republican debates. Let's bring in Chris Hayes….What is your reaction? The audience response, especially last night. We’re on the heels of the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Bravely, courageously, this person fighting in Iraq submits that question, publicly asks it of the panelists, you know, the GOP hopefuls, and Santorum — that’s his response. Hayes agreed, and then expressed admiration for how the soldier was “jacked.” Roberts returned to his point: ROBERTS: But It was a missed opportunity for a lot of people to stand up because they love to stand and wave their military support all the time and funding for our military. This was a missed opportunity. Hayes agreed, and said the Republican base is still “very hung up on cultural issues.” As if MSNBC and Thomas Roberts are not.
Continue reading …MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts: GOP Wants to Go Back to When No Women Voted, ‘Slavery Was Cool’
September 23, 2011 No CommentOpenly gay MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts is aggressively using his daily soapbox for gay activism. On Friday morning, Roberts was outraged with the rest of the left that the Republican candidates did not denounce the boos after openly gay soldier Thomas Hill asked on video if the Republicans would “circumvent the progress that has been made” for gays if elected. No one seems to question why Fox News and Megyn Kelly would pluck this question out of thousands of submissions and throw it directly at Rick Santorum. It seems like they were wearing a bracelet asking “What Would CNN Do?” Roberts, speaking very calmly, said something very wild. These Republican candidates would like to build a time machine and go back to when women couldn't vote and slavery was cool: THOMAS ROBERTS: And the [Santorum] phrase of “social experimentation.” I get out of all of these things that many of these candidates would rather take legislation to build a time machine and go back in time to where, uh, we had, you know, no women voting, slavery was cool. I mean, it's just kind of ridiculous. CHRIS HAYES: Well — I also thought was interesting about the response, he seemed to imply there is no sex in the armed forces. Basically saying, this is — everybody should be — ROBERTS: Nothing happens on shore leave. HAYES: Nothing happens in the armed forces. And it was like, really? Have you talked to to any members who served? ROBERTS: Been to Fleet Week in New York? Notice how Hayes tried not to agree with the crazy talk and changed the subject. Roberts began the segment by disdaining the trend of “strange crowd reactions and candidate responses” in GOP debates: ROBERTS: So, boos from the crowd, the debate crowd last night after hearing from a service member protecting our nation, followed by that response. Well, everybody really failing to thank him for serving our country. It’s just the latest in the series of strange crowd reactions and candidate responses in these Republican debates. Let's bring in Chris Hayes….What is your reaction? The audience response, especially last night. We’re on the heels of the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Bravely, courageously, this person fighting in Iraq submits that question, publicly asks it of the panelists, you know, the GOP hopefuls, and Santorum — that’s his response. Hayes agreed, and then expressed admiration for how the soldier was “jacked.” Roberts returned to his point: ROBERTS: But It was a missed opportunity for a lot of people to stand up because they love to stand and wave their military support all the time and funding for our military. This was a missed opportunity. Hayes agreed, and said the Republican base is still “very hung up on cultural issues.” As if MSNBC and Thomas Roberts are not.
Continue reading …MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts: GOP Wants to Go Back to When No Women Voted, ‘Slavery Was Cool’
September 23, 2011 No CommentOpenly gay MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts is aggressively using his daily soapbox for gay activism. On Friday morning, Roberts was outraged with the rest of the left that the Republican candidates did not denounce the boos after openly gay soldier Thomas Hill asked on video if the Republicans would “circumvent the progress that has been made” for gays if elected. No one seems to question why Fox News and Megyn Kelly would pluck this question out of thousands of submissions and throw it directly at Rick Santorum. It seems like they were wearing a bracelet asking “What Would CNN Do?” Roberts, speaking very calmly, said something very wild. These Republican candidates would like to build a time machine and go back to when women couldn't vote and slavery was cool: THOMAS ROBERTS: And the [Santorum] phrase of “social experimentation.” I get out of all of these things that many of these candidates would rather take legislation to build a time machine and go back in time to where, uh, we had, you know, no women voting, slavery was cool. I mean, it's just kind of ridiculous. CHRIS HAYES: Well — I also thought was interesting about the response, he seemed to imply there is no sex in the armed forces. Basically saying, this is — everybody should be — ROBERTS: Nothing happens on shore leave. HAYES: Nothing happens in the armed forces. And it was like, really? Have you talked to to any members who served? ROBERTS: Been to Fleet Week in New York? Notice how Hayes tried not to agree with the crazy talk and changed the subject. Roberts began the segment by disdaining the trend of “strange crowd reactions and candidate responses” in GOP debates: ROBERTS: So, boos from the crowd, the debate crowd last night after hearing from a service member protecting our nation, followed by that response. Well, everybody really failing to thank him for serving our country. It’s just the latest in the series of strange crowd reactions and candidate responses in these Republican debates. Let's bring in Chris Hayes….What is your reaction? The audience response, especially last night. We’re on the heels of the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Bravely, courageously, this person fighting in Iraq submits that question, publicly asks it of the panelists, you know, the GOP hopefuls, and Santorum — that’s his response. Hayes agreed, and then expressed admiration for how the soldier was “jacked.” Roberts returned to his point: ROBERTS: But It was a missed opportunity for a lot of people to stand up because they love to stand and wave their military support all the time and funding for our military. This was a missed opportunity. Hayes agreed, and said the Republican base is still “very hung up on cultural issues.” As if MSNBC and Thomas Roberts are not.
Continue reading …MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts: GOP Wants to Go Back to When No Women Voted, ‘Slavery Was Cool’
September 23, 2011 No CommentOpenly gay MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts is aggressively using his daily soapbox for gay activism. On Friday morning, Roberts was outraged with the rest of the left that the Republican candidates did not denounce the boos after openly gay soldier Thomas Hill asked on video if the Republicans would “circumvent the progress that has been made” for gays if elected. No one seems to question why Fox News and Megyn Kelly would pluck this question out of thousands of submissions and throw it directly at Rick Santorum. It seems like they were wearing a bracelet asking “What Would CNN Do?” Roberts, speaking very calmly, said something very wild. These Republican candidates would like to build a time machine and go back to when women couldn't vote and slavery was cool: THOMAS ROBERTS: And the [Santorum] phrase of “social experimentation.” I get out of all of these things that many of these candidates would rather take legislation to build a time machine and go back in time to where, uh, we had, you know, no women voting, slavery was cool. I mean, it's just kind of ridiculous. CHRIS HAYES: Well — I also thought was interesting about the response, he seemed to imply there is no sex in the armed forces. Basically saying, this is — everybody should be — ROBERTS: Nothing happens on shore leave. HAYES: Nothing happens in the armed forces. And it was like, really? Have you talked to to any members who served? ROBERTS: Been to Fleet Week in New York? Notice how Hayes tried not to agree with the crazy talk and changed the subject. Roberts began the segment by disdaining the trend of “strange crowd reactions and candidate responses” in GOP debates: ROBERTS: So, boos from the crowd, the debate crowd last night after hearing from a service member protecting our nation, followed by that response. Well, everybody really failing to thank him for serving our country. It’s just the latest in the series of strange crowd reactions and candidate responses in these Republican debates. Let's bring in Chris Hayes….What is your reaction? The audience response, especially last night. We’re on the heels of the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Bravely, courageously, this person fighting in Iraq submits that question, publicly asks it of the panelists, you know, the GOP hopefuls, and Santorum — that’s his response. Hayes agreed, and then expressed admiration for how the soldier was “jacked.” Roberts returned to his point: ROBERTS: But It was a missed opportunity for a lot of people to stand up because they love to stand and wave their military support all the time and funding for our military. This was a missed opportunity. Hayes agreed, and said the Republican base is still “very hung up on cultural issues.” As if MSNBC and Thomas Roberts are not.
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