"Twenty-three year old Howard’s death at the hands of three Bangor teenagers arguably was one of Bangor’s most infamous hate crimes....A monument [was dedicated which] consists of a gray granite bench and a rectangular slab upon which a stone flower urn sits. It overlooks the spot where Howard drowned after he was chased, beaten and thrown into the Kenduskeag Stream because he was gay."

The perpetrators, who claimed they though Howard was joking when he told them he couldn't swim, were tried as juveniles and all released by their 21st birthdays. That was outrageous to many people. Howard was simply walking in the company of another gay man at 10:30pm when the three roughnecks approached in a pick-up truck. Hate crimes can happen to anyone under any circumstances.

Who wants a closer look at their words? Who cares? Anybody? Anybody?

Again, one more time: Shepard's behavior while risky, wasn't out-of-the-ordinary.

-- bobbyjoe

http://www.newsweek.com/id/94351

Typically, if one feels they will be killed over a certain lifestyle the natural response is to take protective measures which include steps that might be considered out-of-the-ordinary.

I will stick by my assertion because, in spite of your accusation otherwise, it has not been designed to minimize the tragic circumstances but to debate this issue too hotly seems to detract from the tragedy. So, I'm out.

Next you may be a cheerleader for Sarah.

And Sarah is still driving the libs crazy.

The nanny state is just getting started.

The libs will protect you from yourself.

Before we shoot the bastards.

as an object of disgust.

Too bad these concrete-brained fools stop short of getting an education from Ann.

Common sense ain't so common amongst these bastards.

They're still cursing Reagan even though they enjoyed living thru his reign.

300+ letters and they're still throwing stones(?)

Good points.

But it's not really the advent of the Baby Boomers retiring, though that's a real problem to deal with. It's funding.

America is one of the least taxed nations on the planet. We think we're overtaxed. We always have. We broke away from Britain ostensibly over a very small tax. It was a few percentages. So, that appears to be in our national DNA. But, in reality, we're not taxed heavily now, in comparison with our own past or the world's present.

(From 1947-1964, the top rate was 91%. It was reduced to 70% and stayed that way until 1973. That period of time, 1947-1973, saw the best sustained economic performance in our history.)

It's roughly in the area of 25% of GDP now. Sweden's is roughly twice that.

We can afford more. Thing is, the people who have seen the biggest gains in income and the biggest cuts in taxes over the last 30 years should take the brunt of it. They've been flying high, while wages have slumped or stagnated for 90% of working Americans. So I'd lift the ceiling on FICA tax, tax every dollar earned, and we could probably reduce the overall tax for everyone.

I'd also make it impossible for a hedge fund manager to pay just 15% in taxes, while his or her secretary pays twice that on a fraction of the wages.

There are a lot of ways to make our tax system fairer, and it begins with getting the rich to pay their fair share. The GAO recently found that 2/3rds of American corporations paid zero in taxes this past decade, and 90% of them pay just 5% or less. We should change that and make them pay their fair share . . .

Making the tax system fairer could pay for Medicare for all. That's the best way to go . . .

I was in New Brunswick, Canada a few days ago where the currency difference is 10% (after last year when Canuck dollar was worth more). The drop in oil prices accounts for the difference.

The US has gotten a partial free ride off the fact our currency is the world's money. This means Uncle Sam doesn't need to tax its citizens to pay for the international military industrial complex which includes multiple military bases overseas. It also enabled the US to wrack up a great deal of debt at both the household and government level.

Anyways, we were trying to consolidate currencies so as to use up the Canadian money and I volunteered, "Maybe next year the Canadians will want this" and pulled out 5 RMB (Chinese yuan). "I doubt it" my Dad said dismissively.

But, to get out of debt requires the role of the greenback be scaled back and clearly the Chinese, who are pushing to have stock market trades settled in RMB (in Hong Kong?), want the role of the role of their currency to expand. This issue will confront us sooner rather than later.

In some cases they've realized returns from outsourcing to places like China which, prior to this era of globalization, they would have had to share with their American workforce.

You! Are! The! Worst! Writer! Ever!!

Sexual Personae!!!

P.S.!

Somebody please fire Joan Walsh for letting this train wreck soil the pages of Salon.