I'm sorry, the judge was doing what during the trial?

This story made me blush, but I have to comment on it because it goes to show that, yes, some people really are that icky.

While clicking through cbsnews.com, the headline “Okla. Judge Disbarred For Using Sex Device,” dated Sept. 24, 2008, caught my attention. I thought to myself that Oklahoma officials must monitor judges pretty dang strictly if they have that kind of intimate information.

As it turns out, those officials weren’t monitoring this particular judge all that closely. In fact, Donald Thompson, 61, a former Creek County District Judge, was convicted of committing the indecent acts in his seat during trials on four different occasions—not very inconspicuous. He was found guilty of indecent exposure in 2006 and was released nearly two years later as a registered sex offender.

I can’t help but wonder what this guy was thinking. Having been a district court judge, he was obviously very accomplished. I would also imagine that he was required to have clear judgment to be in his position, but I guess he didn’t have good sense on every matter.

Also, how did the prosecution prove he was being indecent? My guess is that some poor witness got more than he or she bargained for when looking over at the judge from the stand. Yuck.

All in all, I suppose that these Creek County trials must have been boring enough that the judge felt he had to find something to do to stay entertained. Personally, I have vowed not to be accused of a crime in Oklahoma if that is the sort of thing that goes on in courtrooms there.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/24/national/main4475167.shtml

She's a MAC girl! I've been dying to know that.

Some people suggest that not only is it important to know about Sarah Palin's political views, foreign policy experience and previous actions as Alaska's head honcho, it is also crucial that we know every detail about her personal life.

One article, "Five (More) Things You Didn't Know About Sarah Palin," posted September 14 on People Magazine's Web site, takes the fascination a step further by revealing tidbits of information like her lipstick of choice and her cell phone habits.

I think I will focus on Palin's political abilities, especially since none of the other candidates are being asked what cosmetics they prefer. Even so, I still find the so-called facts in this article interesting.

For example, according to the article, Palin once gave a friend a blank thank you card. The explanation was that Palin liked the card so much that she wanted to give her friend the option of reusing it. For this, the article's writer called Palin frugal. Since when did forgetting to sign a thank you card reflect good money management skills? Also, the author pegs Palin as a traditionalist because she prefers to shave her legs, not wax them. In my mind, a traditionalist would just not shave his or her legs at all.

Out of the five so-called facts about Palin this author names, I can only see one of them as reasonable. To me, this is just another example of our nation's misuse and misunderstanding of facts about politicians.

By the way, like many of the other things we know about Palin, this information is all heresay. These tiny insights into Palin's persona are originally from the Insider's interview with several of Palin's close friends. I guess not even the Insider can get Palin to answer questions.

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20226300,00.html

Matt Damon, political expert

Yikes. As reported at cnn.com, actor Matt Damon recently commented to the Associated Press on McCain's VP pick Sarah Palin.

"I think there's a really good chance Sarah Palin could be president, and I think that's a really scary thing because I don't know anything about her,” he said.

Judging from what he said in the rest of the interview, he sure does have a strong opinion of her for not knowing anything about her.

His comments don't make much sense to me, which is why I deduce that the only reason his opinion made the headlines is because of his celebrity status. That scares me.

Are people in the U.S. so enthralled in celebrity worship that actors automatically become knowledgable on every topic? Should I be asking Angelina Jolie how to raise my future family? I surely hope not.

The article also mentioned Damon's long-time pal Ben Affleck, saying that the two have been supporting Barack Obama. Those are arguably two of the yummiest men on the planet, but when it comes to politics, I'll stick to credible sources to make my decisions. They should just stick to looking pretty.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/