Archive for the Crime/Punishment Category

Men In Pink: Today’s Sensitive New SWAT Togs (August 20, 2012)

Posted in Civil Rights/Civil Liberties, Crime/Punishment, Pogo Plight, Privacy, Society on August 20, 2012 by e-commentary.org

. . .

C1          “Conventions will soon convene in the fashion capitals of Charlotte and Tampa.  Rather than adorning the security and SWAT teams in Darth Vader storm trooper assault gear, they should sport pink outfits.”

C2          “The same level of personal protection without the swagger.  The attire is part of a negative attitude and a threat to those citizens they . . .  serve and protect.”

C1          “The Darth Vader togs are part of the in-kind payment in lieu of higher wages or more leave.”

C2          “Yet they don’t act any kinder in practice.”

C1          “The black gear does not blend into the landscape.  Look around, we are becoming a society of cops and cameras.  And while you are looking around, some camera is recording your retinal image.”

C2          “And rather than beating their breasts or ours, they can show support for those seeking a cure to breast cancer.”

. . .

C_          “Some of the police types ensconced in black Kevlar carapaces are sympathetic types just trying to get through the day.”

. . .

[C1 = Citizen 1; C2 = . . . ]

[See the “e-ssay” titled Occupy America: The “Bonus March/Chicago Police Riot/Kent State” Of 2011? (October 17, 2011).]

Bumper sticker of the week:

Fight more, smile less

Why Johnny And Roger? (April 30, 2012)

Posted in Citizens United Decision, Courts, Crime/Punishment, Judges, Perjury, Song Reference, Supreme Court on April 30, 2012 by e-commentary.org

. . .

1          “And not Jon and Lloyd.”

2          “Because the American legal system is fundamentally corrupt?  Is that the answer.”

1          “The jury selection in the Roger Clemens retrial began a fortnight ago.  Because it was in federal district court, no cameras are allowed in the court room.”

2          “Better to keep everything as hidden from the public eye as possible.”

1          “Roger may have lied under oath, but it is a noble American pursuit pursued by Supreme Court nominees who appear before the Senate.”

2          “The Supreme Court Justices who hurl balls and strikes rather than call balls and strikes.”

1          “Johnny Reid Edwards may have played some games with campaign contributions, but the Five Lobbyists on the Supreme Court basically decreed that anything goes in the campaign arena.”

2          “And Johnny is indicted and Jonny Corzine is running free.”

1          “And Lloyd Blankfein continues to inflict violence on the world.”

2          “And now we learn again that Justice Department officials who were aware that flawed forensic work may have contributed to the convictions of potentially innocent individuals fetched another cup of coffee and counted the days until their retirement.”

1          “Are courts expected to exhibit a modicum of integrity or at some point are they illegitimate.”

. . .

[See http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/convicted-defendants-left-uninformed-of-forensic-flaws-found-by-justice-dept/2012/04/16/gIQAWTcgMT_story.html]

[See the “e-ssays” titled “Perjury, The American Way (February 20, 2006),” “Balls and Strikes and Perjury: America’s Pastimes (August 23, 2010),” and “Losing Faith: MF Global and Kodak (January 9, 2012).”]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Prosecute the prosecutors; prosecute the judges

“Through this world I’ve wandered I’ve seen lots of funny men / Some rob you with a six-gun, and some with a fountain pen.”

“The Ballad of Pretty Boy Floyd” by Woody Guthrie (c) 1958 (renewed) Woody Guthrie Publications, Inc.

At War With The First Amendment (February 27, 2012)

Posted in Civil Rights/Civil Liberties, Congress, Constitution, Courts, Crime/Punishment, First Amendment, Judges, Less Government Regulation Series, Military, Supreme Court on February 27, 2012 by e-commentary.org

. . .

O          “Some guys who spent their days folding diapers at Fort Dix are proclaiming that they single-handedly won World War II.”

P          “And good old Congress comes to the rescue and imposes some more government regulations.  Congress again dictated that the government must decide and provided for more buffoons to be sent to prison at my expense.  The issue is so clear and simple.  We could agree to direct the government to make bumbling efforts to criminalize the goonery or we could vest individuals with the responsibility to determine the truth.”

O          “The Stolen Valor Act of 2005 is a misnomer.  Those in the service fought valorously for the First Amendment of 1791 not some shallow rah-rah legislation.  Curious that the government and business are in business to lie, yet we want the government to come in and prosecute someone who is not telling the truth and then deny that person his or her liberty.”

P          “The government already fulfills its role without the additional legislation and imposition on our First Amendment guarantees.  Look at the Department of Defense Form DD 214 prepared at government expense that provides the actual information about a person’s military service and awards.  The Court should take notice of the fact that little is private today particularly one’s military service from his or her first day as a private.  Perhaps the government could expunge the social security numbers and publish all DD 214s upon retirement.”

O          “Most of these scoundrels and fools are insecure and desperate but not criminal.  What if the Court simply issued a two word decision:  ‘First Amendment.’”

. . .

Bumper stickers of the week:

First Amendment Rules

The Stolen Valor Act – steals honor and denies rights

Proposition H8 And The Enduring Appeal Of Fear And Hate (February 13, 2012)

Posted in Abortion, Antitrust, Bailout/Bribe, Banks and Banking System, Civil Rights/Civil Liberties, Congress, Constitution, Courts, Crime/Punishment, Gay Politics, Judges, Less Government Regulation Series, Miscegenation, Supreme Court on February 13, 2012 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “In the early 1960s, a constitutional law textbook included a lengthy chapter collecting pivotal decisions challenging Jim Crow laws.  A library in this state, a grammar school in that state, a swimming pool in this state, a drinking fountain in that state.  The campaign was undertaken one institution, one jurisdiction, one decision at a time.  There were successes; there were failures; there were more successes than failures.  The Civil Rights Act of 1964 (CRA) changed the ground rules.  These outdated cases are of interest to historians today; they are moot asides for lawyers.  The whole chapter was expunged and a new chapter unfolded to detail the legal dispute du jour.”

J          “The unfolding chapter is reading like the old one.  America is gasping its way through the same spasms regarding gay marriages and gay rights.  The long-run outcome is clear, but the path is rocky.  Gay marriages and gay rights will be the norm and the law in thirty years.”

K          “Gay rights are the civil rights issue of this generation.  Instead of passing laws to protect civil rights such as the CRA, however, Congress passes unconstitutional screeds such as the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 (DoMA).  Perverse group, the gang that legislates congress.”

J          “In thirty years, the kids will dismiss the dispute as ‘weird’ or ‘bizarre’ or whatever the patois is at the time.  Until then, prejudice, hate and fear drives the fight.  The Ninth Circuit decision is another step in the long slog.  And now the outcome likely turns on Kennedy.  Someone observed that Kennedy observed that his gay clerks were . . . human.  He decided that they should be treated that way.”

K          “In Lawrence v. Texas.  Contrast the development of the law regarding gay rights with the development of the law involving abortion.  Last month marked thirty-nine years since the Supreme Court addressed abortion in Roe v. Wade.  Curious circumstances and decision.  The matter was decided not by the Warren Court but by the Burger Court.  Warren retired to go bass fishing or something in 1969.  The seven vote majority opinion was written by a Republican-appointed Justice (Blackmun) and was joined by three Nixon appointees (Burger, Powell, Blackmun), two Eisenhower (Stewart, Brennan), one FDR (Douglas), and one LBJ (Marshall) appointees.  Even with no Democratic-appointed justices at all, Roe would have become the law of the land solely on the votes of Republican-appointed justices.”

J          “Even with a clear precedent, challenges to abortion will still be caroming around the courts in thirty years.  Gay rights will be resolved.”

K          “We would all be better off if the government got out of the bedroom.”

. . .

[See the Ninth Circuit decision in Perry v. Brown at http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2012/02/07/1016696com.pdf.]

[See the “e-ssay” titled Less Government Regulation Series: Love and Marriage (May 19, 2008).]

[See the “e-ssay” titled Fire Your Attorney General (November 7, 2011) and review http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2012/02/mortgage-settlement-as-attorney-general-sellout-deal-is-not-done-and-final-version-guaranteed-to-be-worse-than-advertised.html.  The bankers murdered the body politic (and economic) with malice aforethought and all we could offer them is an overdue book fine.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

“All that Proposition 8 accomplished was to take away from same-sex couples the right to be granted marriage licenses and thus legally to use the designation of ‘marriage,’ which symbolizes state legitimization and societal recognition of their committed relationships.  Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples.  The Constitution simply does not allow for ‘laws of this sort.’”

Let freedom ring; let love rule

Good to have loved and lost; better to have loved and won

Happy Valentine’s Day

Standing Up In America (December 5, 2011)

Posted in "Fiat ______", Bailout/Bribe, Banks and Banking System, Courts, Credit Unions, Crime/Punishment, Housing, Kleptocracy, Law, Locke Gary, Perjury/Dishonesty, Politics on December 5, 2011 by e-commentary.org

. . .

L          “We now learn that while he was Secretary of Treasury, Henry Paulson tipped off some of his hedge fund buddies of the Fannie Mae bailout.  Everyone in power is quick to proclaim that his statements and actions are not illegal and declare that nothing can be done.  His statements and actions are illegal, but those in power refuse to enforce Title 18, the criminal provisions of the United States Code, because they do not want to bring charges against their compatriots in power even their competitors in the other party.”      

O         “They cop out and refuse to send the cops out.  Because otherwise someone could bring charges against them some day.  The Great Ruling Class Truce.  And no one asks any follow-up questions or demands answers.”

L          “However, a federal judge in New York, Jed S. Rakoff, took a stand from his seat on the bench and rejected a settlement between the Big Banks and the SEC that would have let the Big Banks substantially off the hook.” 

O         “I read a blurb that the state attorney general in Massachusetts, Martha Coakley, took a stand and demanded that the Big Banks follow standards.  The lawsuit may put the Big Banks on the hook.”

L          “And in developments overseas, America’s standard-bearer in China, Gary Locke, is America’s stand-up guy in China.”

. . .

[Henry Paulson:  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-29/how-henry-paulson-gave-hedge-funds-advance-word-of-2008-fannie-mae-rescue.html]

[Jed S. Rakoff:  http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/11/28/142856070/judge-blocks-citigroup-sec-settlement]

[Martha Coakley:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/massachusetts-attorney-general-sues-big-banks-over-foreclosure-practices/2011/12/01/gIQAgwnUIO_story.html.  See the “e-ssay” titled Fire Your Attorney General (November 7, 2011)]

[Gary Locke:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/gary-locke-is-star-in-china-as-first-us-ambassador-of-chinese-ancestry/2011/11/28/gIQA703DEO_story.html?hpid=z2.  See the “Category” denoted “Locke, Gary”]

Bumper stickers of the week:

America Is Exceptional / When America’s Exceptional

Take a stand

Take a few fiat dollars out of your credit union and put them in your pocket for safe keeping.

Fire Your Attorney General (November 7, 2011)

Posted in Banks and Banking System, Courts, Crime/Punishment, Health Care, Housing, Kleptocracy, Law, O'Bama, Occupy Movement on November 7, 2011 by e-commentary.org

. . .

U          “A state attorney general represents the people of the state in legal matters.  The attorney general is your attorney representing you as a citizen.  What are all these state attorneys general doing maintaining frivolous litigation against Romney – O’Bama Care?  They are tying up the courts and wasting tax dollars.”

V          “Their acts of commission are matched by their acts of omission.  Too many attorneys general are ready to give immunity to banks for all their crimes and fraud rather than doing their job and taking the banksters to court.  We need to fire the state attorney general before he can do more harm.”

U          “In my state, do we need to fire her or will she do her duty?”

V           “Do we need to fire the Attorney General?”

. . .

[See Gretchen Morgenson, “A Deal That Wouldn’t Sting,” The New York Times, October 29, 2011 at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/30/business/a-foreclosure-settlement-that-wouldnt-sting.html?]

[On Saturday, good citizens withdrew their funds from national banks and deposited them in credit unions and community banks as part of “National Bank Transfer Day.”  See the “e-ssay” titled “Boycott Big Banks (February 1, 2010)” and the “e-ssay” titled “Carefully Courting “Romney – O’Bama Care” Through The Courts (August 15, 2011).”]

[Wall, Berlin – 8-13-1961 – 11-9-1989]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Boycott Big Banks

Divest nationally; invest locally   

Fire your attorney general

Carefully Courting “Romney – O’Bama Care” Through The Courts (August 15, 2011)

Posted in Banks and Banking System, Constitution, Crime/Punishment, Health Care, Kleptocracy, Law, O'Bama, Supreme Court on August 15, 2011 by e-commentary.org

. . .

Y          “I don’t really like it either.  But it is constitutional, isn’t it?”

X          “Yup.  No big deal, really.  The Constitution does not create a likeability test.  The Constitution establishes a constitutional test.  Governments have been requiring individuals to acquire automobile and other insurance and to undertake duties for decades without whining.  No one opts out of fire protection and thus we all pay for it.  If each of us is left to obtain private fire insurance, all of us must be compelled to obtain and pay for fire insurance.  At its core, health insurance policy clearly involves interstate commerce.”

Y          “It really is about personal liberty and property.  If you don’t have health coverage, I must pay for your health coverage because other laws not challenged as unconstitutional mandate that you receive health care.  Making me pay restrains my liberty and deprives me of my property.  And you know me, a proud taxpayer.  Why all the fuss?  And why all the rampant litigation?”

X          “Someone observed that we are dealing with judges trained in American law schools who want to play legislator without running for the legislature.  More judicial arrogance.  More judicial activism.”

. . .

Bumper stickers of the week:

– 11 + 6 = 5:  The Eleventh Circuit says NO*; the Sixth Circuit says YES; the Five Supremes will enact health care policy

A 207 page decision?  Not even 207 words are required.

What are all the state attorneys general doing pursuing the legal challenge to Romney-O’Bama Care while capitulating to the Big Banks and surrendering the major legal issues?

There is no law, there is only ideology

I hope laughter is the best medicine – it is all I can afford

(M)End The Fed (July 11, 2011)

Posted in Antitrust, Banks and Banking System, Bernanke, Crime/Punishment, Federal Reserve, Language, Law, Monopoly, O'Bama, Politics on July 11, 2011 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “The vocal critics of the Fed are missing the point.  Stated simply, every nation needs a central bank, but the Big Banks own and operate the Federal Reserve.  Stated another way, the country tolerates a misunderstood institution – the Federal Reserve – that is an unrestrained cancer and at the same time lacks an institution it desperately needs – a central bank independent of excessive political and any private interference.”

L          “A transparent central bank?”

K          “Call it whatever you want.”

L          “A responsive central bank?”

K          “Responsive to something other than Big Banks.  Bernanke* should have the intellect to understand the problem and the integrity to compel change, yet even he may take his marching orders from others.”

L          “He, Geithner and the others either assisted in creating the problem or allowed it to fester and permutate.  Now O’Bama is serving the interests of the financial industry at a time when his Department of Justice should be serving members of the financial industry with sub poenas and criminal indictments.  What incentive it there for him to reform the financial industry or the Fed.  Simply look at who he is soliciting for campaign contributions.”

K          “He was caught.  He simply could not get elected and cannot get reelected without the money.  No one is able to identify one industry in America that is not completely monopolized today.  Banks are among the biggest offenders.  Without a market, there is not a market and are not market forces.  Change likely will not come until there is a complete economic collapse.  That situation may generate enough sustained interest and desperation among those who can change affairs to reform the system.”

L          “Or the catastrophe may not leave any choice.” 

. . .

Bumper stickers of the week:

Antitrust Chief Flees; Monopolies Reign Freely

Because you don’t have to do the time, do the crime

Big sticker; small font sans serifs; big bumper:

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

BEFORE THE

BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

WASHINGTON, D.C.

___________________________________

Written Agreement by and between

BIG BANK,

New York, New York

And

FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF NEW YORK,

New York, New York

___________________________________

.          WHEREAS, in recognition of their common goal to maintain the financial soundness of Big Bank (the “Big Bank”), a nationally chartered bank that is a member of the Federal Reserve System, the Big Bank and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (the “Reserve Bank”) have mutually agreed to enter into this Written Agreement (the “Agreement”).

.          NOW, THEREFORE, the Bank and the Reserve Bank agree as follows:

  1. Within ninety (90) days of this Agreement, the board of directors of the Big Bank shall submit to the Reserve Bank a written plan to divest itself of any and all deposits and assets in excess of one hundred billion dollars ($100,000,000,000.00) . . . .

Is A “Strategic Default” Of A Mortgage Now A Moral Imperative? (February 28, 2011)

Posted in Bailout/Bribe, Banks and Banking System, Courts, Crime/Punishment, Economics, Housing, Kleptocracy, Law, Society, Supreme Court, TARP on February 28, 2011 by e-commentary.org

. . .

S          “You have heard of them.  A ‘strategic default’ is a default by a person who could make the monthly payments on the mortgage yet elects to cease making the payments because the property is underwater financially.”

D          “There are a flood of them today.”

S          “A strategic default may be de rigueur today.  Look at the law.  Start with the indoctrination process in law school.  Young law students are taught the theory of ‘efficient breach’ which counsels one to breach a contract if breaching the contract is worth more than performing the contract.  That is defined as ‘efficiency.’  The students who answer obediently get on the law review, clerk for the Supreme Court and make millions representing banks, big businesses and insurance companies.”

D          “And assist in running them into the ground.”

S          “That’s the plan.  They don’t even understand ‘efficiency.’  In practice, the party breaching the contract is not spawning a more efficient use of global resources.  The breaching party simply does not want to pay or perform and usually has far more money and can overwhelm the non-breaching party in court.  The party not receiving payment or performance loses big and usually has little judicial relief.”

D          “With a few exceptions, the legal system seems to exist to protect and serve the interests of the wealthy and the well-connected. I’ll take my direction from no one other than the MBAs at the MBA (Mortgage Bankers Association) who recommend defaulting on your mortgage if it is not working for you.  The banksters decided not to pay the mortgage on the MBA office building in D.C. (Washington, D.C.), even though the group had the funds to pay.  The banksters strategically defaulted.”

S          “They are indeed an example for all.  When the government bribed and bailed out the banks and other institutions, some contended that the government could not breach the contracts providing for unwarranted and illegal bonuses.  How un-American.  The government should have disregarded every contract and required the banksters to bring suit.  How American.”

D          “Allowing the banksters to file suit would allow them to file in a sympathetic Republican Federal District Court and possibly steer the case to a receptive judge.”

S          “Always a risk in the legal game.  However, before the banksters brought suit, their legion of lawyers would remind them that they could confront defenses and counterclaims.  In court, the government could assert a dozen affirmative defenses and also counterclaim for fraud, deceit, perjury, conspiracy, embezzlement, racketeering, misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, obstruction of justice, etc.  Some of the banksters would not file suit which is the least expensive and, yes, the most efficient way of reaching a just resolution.”

D          “Seems that the courts are stacked against the public.  Nonetheless, there is a small chance that an independent judge might hear some of the cases and hold that the bonuses are illegal.  An affirmative award against the banksters is improbable but not impossible.”

S          “Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats ever intended to bring criminal charges against the criminals.  We seem at times to be alone in a lawless world with millions of laws on the books.  We in America have moved from a democracy to a kleptocracy.”

D          “And no one to throw the book at them.  Except that the law and morality are clear.  Homeowners are morally obligated to default on the payment of their mortgages if the property is underwater financially.  The government is morally obligated to default on the payment of the bankster’s bonuses.  In today’s amoral America, a strategic default is both an economic necessity and a moral imperative.”

S          “Perhaps a provision should be added to Title 18 of the United States Code making it a crime not to strategically default if the property is underwater financially.  Not to strategically default is so un-American.  And inefficient.  We just can’t have that.”

D          “Strategically defaulting immanentizes the eschaton.”

S          “Indeed.”

. . .

Mortgage Bankers Association Defaults:  http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-october-7-2010/mortgage-bankers-association-strategic-default

Home Sales Data Is Overstated:  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704476604576158452087956150.html

“Three years after a horrific financial crisis caused by massive fraud, not a single financial executive has gone to jail, and that’s wrong.”  Charles Ferguson upon receiving the Oscar along with Audrey Marrs for the Best Documentary for the movie “Inside Job.”

“Almost everyone counted publicly each and every single day of the event known as the ‘Iran hostage crisis,’ yet no one is counting publicly the days that have passed since September 15, 2008 without a single major criminal indictment of the banksters and their ilk who caused the financial crisis that continues to plague this country today.”

[See the “e-ssay” titled “1000 AUSAs (February 9, 2009).”]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Do as I do not as I say

Mortgage Bankers Association: Strategically Default Today

Free $1000 an hour legal advice:  Strategically Default On Your Mortgage Today

Efficiency uber alles

Efficiency is Inefficient

If your property is underwater, should you plant seaweed in the front yard this spring?

Incite, Sarah, Indict? (January 10, 2011)

Posted in Courts, Crime/Punishment, Elections, First Amendment, Guns, Health Care, Law, Press/Media, Society, Supreme Court, Tea Party on January 10, 2011 by e-commentary.org

. . .

R          “You cannot get out of bed in the morning without violating some section of Title 18 of the United States Code, the federal criminal code.  In fact, and as a matter of law, you cannot stay in bed in the morning without violating some section of Title 18 of the United States Code.”

S          “So why not indict her?  She incited and directed others to kill and targeted the targets by first and last name and address.  She created a mindset and a market for death.  She legitimized killing.  The specific nature of the killer’s mind and his motives are still emerging.  Maybe he did not do it for her or for some specific political purpose.  Nonetheless, he took her specific message and tactics to heart.”

R          “Perhaps her twisted comments about death panels and the like confused a twisted and confused mind.  Others stridently proclaim they have not heard anything inflammatory, yet he heard the shrill dog whistle.”

S          “Her comments were one of the legal, moral and proximate causes of the death and maiming in Arizona.  Look, she took down the targets on her website recently which is an admission of guilt.”

R          “A subsequent remedial measure?”

S          “What about the bull’s eyes?  Listen to others who now opine that political discourse has taken a turn for the worse.  The political discourse has not changed course one degree in recent years.  The entreaties to kill have simply reached their predictable and inevitable outcome.  Why is everyone now so shocked and stupefied?  What happened was intended.  It was only a matter of time.”

R          “During the 2008 and 2010 elections, a few commentators noticed that she promoted and encouraged violence against specific candidates.  Her threats of violence against specific candidates were and are not protected by the First Amendment and were and are clear violations of provisions of Title 18 when they target federal officials or occur on federal property.”

S          “She is white and connected, so she will be given a pass.  U.S. Attorneys expend considerable tax dollars prosecuting some harmless jaywalker on federal property who has the misfortune to be non-white and unconnected.”

R          “The Supreme Court decreed that corporations are legal persons.  The nattering news network is a legal person.  Persons can be indicted.  Another option is to indict the network, the president, the board of directors and the pitch men and women on tv.  We need to return to personal responsibility as a governor of behavior.  Law plays a role.”

S          “White.  Extraordinarily well connected.  And capable of getting a U.S. Attorney fired.  Same story.  Same outcome.  Those in power get a pass.  Carte blanc, the White Card.”

R          “Her vitriolic rants against a sitting President may be her undoing.  Title 18 criminalizes threats against a sitting President.  The grand irony would be to watch on YouTube after one of her tirades as her Secret Service protective detail turns and cuffs her for direct threats against the President.”

S          “That might go viral.”

R          “America sports a billion laws and yet has become such a lawless nation.  In the absence of personal responsibility and without some rules and the rule of law, affairs can and will get worse.”

S          “So why not simply allow a dozen jurors to decide?”

. . .

[See the “e-ssay” titled “In The Land Of Fury And The Home Of The Fearful (November 1, 2010).”]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Incite, Sarah, Indict

Incite, Sarah, Indict Sarah

There oughta be a law; no, there are laws but there oughta be some law enforcement.

What happens when you take an arrow out of the quiver, nock it with care, draw back purposefully, release while slowly exhaling and then look up to see that you have hit the bull’s eye?

I was walking across a bridge one day and saw a man standing on the edge and about to jump off.  So I ran over and said, “Stop! Don’t do it!”  “Why shouldn’t I?” he said.  I said, “Well, there’s so much to live for!”  He said, “Like what?”  I said, “Well, are you religious or atheist?”  He said, “Religious.”  I said, “Me too!  Are you Christian or Buddhist?”  He said, “Christian.”  I said, “Me too!  Are you Catholic or Protestant?”  He said, “Protestant.”  I said, “Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?”  He said, “Baptist!”  I said, “Wow!  Me too!  Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?”  He said, “Baptist Church of God!”  I said, “Me too!  Are you Original Baptist Church of God or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?”  He said, “Reformed Baptist Church of God!”  I said, “Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915?”  He said, “Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915!”  I said, “Die, heretic scum!” and pushed him over the edge.