RichmondPhilsFan wrote:

pacino wrote:ridiculous sentence:

Republicans and Democrats are calling on Del. Joseph D. Morrissey (D-Henrico) to resign from the Virginia House of Delegates after his conviction Friday on a charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Morrissey was given a 12-month jail sentence with six months suspended in a case stemming from his connection with a 17-year-old female receptionist.

The terms of his sentence allow Morrissey to continue to serve in the General Assembly while incarcerated. But Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) and the leader of the House Democratic Caucus are urging him not to come back in light of his conviction on what a spokesman for the governor called “disturbing charges.”
Morrissey entered an Alford plea to one misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Alford pleas allow the accused to maintain innocence but acknowledge that there is enough evidence for a conviction.

Prosecutors had accused him of having sex with the receptionist who worked at his law firm and of possessing child pornography — allegedly a photo of the teenager. Morrissey and the girl have both said their cellphones were hacked and incriminating text messages planted by a third party. Their relationship was not sexual, Morrissey has said.

“This is a very troubling case,” House Minority Leader David J. Toscano (D-Charlottesville) said in a statement Saturday, “and disqualifies him from serving in the House.” Toscano added that “we are actively exploring all available options, including removal, if he does not [resign].”

Senate Democrats also called for Morrissey to go.

“Virginians expect and deserve representatives whose conduct — especially towards children — is above reproach,” said Minority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (Fairfax).

The chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, Pat Mullins, likewise called for Morrissey’s resignation, calling him “a disgrace not only to himself, but to the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

he's now found God and is refusing to resign. jesus christ, what an asshat and a criminal piece of crap. and only the powerful get a damn sentence like that.

A few things:

(1) Morrissey is terrible. His antics as a prosecutor and attorney are legendary and led to him losing his bar license for nearly a decade. In fact, he has faced disciplinary actions in multiple countries. For some unfathomable reason our Supreme Court overruled the unanimous decision of the State Bar Committee three years ago and allowed him to be reinstated to practice law. Now they look incredibly dumb. I and many of my coworkers (including my wife) have had personal dealings with him, and he is always an embarassment.

(2) I won't get into his antics in the House except to reference point (1). I will admit that he did have some redeeming qualities as a legislator (the minority party needs a squeaky wheel when it's outnumbered 2-to-1), though it was painful to watch/listen to him speaking during every single floor debate.

(3) He did resign last week, the day after you posted this article. He initially announced his intention to run in the Democratic Primary, but that was quickly quashed.

(4) The terms of his sentence weren't unique. It was work release. The only unique thing was that his occupation is a licensed attorney and a legislator. The moment he resigned his seat and announced his intention to run in the primary, the Henrico Sheriff cancelled the work release to keep Morrissey from abusing his privileges to campaign, which would clearly be a violation.

Werthless wrote:The more liberal a professor is, the more likely they are to discriminate against conservatives (and admit to it in a survey). Yes, not very shocking, unless you consider that liberalism is not generally associated with discrimination.

http://yoelinbar.net/papers/political_diversity.pdf

One in six respondents said that she or he would be somewhat (or more) inclined to discriminate against conservatives in inviting them for symposia or reviewing their work. One in four would discriminate in reviewing their grant applications. More than one in three would discriminate against them when making hiring decisions. Thus, willingness to discriminate is not limited to small decisions. In fact, it is strongest when it comes to the most important decisions, such as grant applications and hiring. This hostile climate offers a simple explanation of why conservatives hide their political opinions from colleagues.

The Crimson Cyclone wrote:fwiw I agree with him

TenuredVulture wrote:

Werthless wrote:The more liberal a professor is, the more likely they are to discriminate against conservatives (and admit to it in a survey). Yes, not very shocking, unless you consider that liberalism is not generally associated with discrimination.

http://yoelinbar.net/papers/political_diversity.pdf

One in six respondents said that she or he would be somewhat (or more) inclined to discriminate against conservatives in inviting them for symposia or reviewing their work. One in four would discriminate in reviewing their grant applications. More than one in three would discriminate against them when making hiring decisions. Thus, willingness to discriminate is not limited to small decisions. In fact, it is strongest when it comes to the most important decisions, such as grant applications and hiring. This hostile climate offers a simple explanation of why conservatives hide their political opinions from colleagues.

The article specifically studied people who teach psychology. I really don't think it's appropriate to generalize from that population. In my experience, people who teach psychology are in general boorish and unpleasant. Also, these are people who for a long time believed we all wanted to kill our fathers and have sex with our mothers. In addition, I think it's funny that in the abstract, they talk about an n size of 800 as a large sample.

Monkeyboy wrote:Christie showing a lack of leadership:

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/c ... p-killings

I can't believe I thought this guy was electable.

TenuredVulture wrote:

Werthless wrote:The more liberal a professor is, the more likely they are to discriminate against conservatives (and admit to it in a survey). Yes, not very shocking, unless you consider that liberalism is not generally associated with discrimination.

http://yoelinbar.net/papers/political_diversity.pdf

One in six respondents said that she or he would be somewhat (or more) inclined to discriminate against conservatives in inviting them for symposia or reviewing their work. One in four would discriminate in reviewing their grant applications. More than one in three would discriminate against them when making hiring decisions. Thus, willingness to discriminate is not limited to small decisions. In fact, it is strongest when it comes to the most important decisions, such as grant applications and hiring. This hostile climate offers a simple explanation of why conservatives hide their political opinions from colleagues.

The article specifically studied people who teach psychology. I really don't think it's appropriate to generalize from that population. In my experience, people who teach psychology are in general boorish and unpleasant. Also, these are people who for a long time believed we all wanted to kill our fathers and have sex with our mothers. In addition, I think it's funny that in the abstract, they talk about an n size of 800 as a large sample.

The Crimson Cyclone wrote:they would have interviewed conservative professors too but couldn't find any

Under an Obama executive order, no person who has lobbied an executive agency can work there for at least two years. But exceptions can be made.

To justify the Paone hire, White House counsel Neil Eggleston wrote that Obama “requires a candidate who possesses deep and long-standing relationships in both parties in order to facilitate productive dialogue between the Senate and the White House …” Therefore, Eggleston reasoned that it was in “the public interest” to grant Paone the waiver.

Mr. Grimm then thanked the judge’s clerks, before crossing the room to the sketch artists who had been busily capturing his image.
“You guys are so talented!” he said.

RichmondPhilsFan wrote:

Monkeyboy wrote:Christie showing a lack of leadership:

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/c ... p-killings

I can't believe I thought this guy was electable.

Is this sarcastic? I can't tell. What Christie said what a reasoned, measured response to an emotionally-charged issue. It is the opposite of what I've grown to expect from him. I'm actually quite impressed, even if the cynic in me thinks he's just trying to duck the issue.

pacino wrote:Strongest GDP growth in 11 years, 5% !!!