I say yes, you say no, OR People are Strange

Patzee,

What's your point?  

good nite, blue.  I will be turning in as well.

Good nite everyone.   

I know I have.  Good night, all!

Thank you moderators

susieq58 -- those are some of my favorite authors too, in addition to Elizabeth George, Kate Wilhelm, Ridley Pearson, T. Jefferson Parker, Ruth Rendell, Marcia Muller, Sara Paretsky, J.A. Jance, Nevada Barr, and currently I'm reading a whole bunch of Scandanavian mystery writers whose works have been released in ebook form (available through my library). I assume they are capitalizing on the Steig Larsson popularity.

At times I have wondered if my reading habits approach the level of an addiction!

Revkat - I only listed a few as I was at work and couldn't remember them all - now I'm home and can see my bookcases, I could list them but it would be a long list. I love Sarah Paretsky and Elizabeth George too.

Sue

Good morning, Barb.....no worry, I am not stalking you...just roaming around checking things out.  Thanks to those who welcomed me, but I will just be checking in and out as I know a lot of you keep up with politics and current issues and I am pretty much in the dark when it comes to those.....watch my shows on HBO and Showtime  (True Blood, The Big C and Weeds are back and I cannot wait for BoardWalk Empire to start again this fall) , but avoid the news.  Also, I love to read. 

.  Speaking of I say Yes, you say NO, I have tickets for McCartney when he is here in Aug. playing at the stadium.

    Hope you all have a wonderful day.  

Morning all! Welcome, Marybe. I didn't know you had McCartney tickets. Not surprised as you're the only person I know who actually saw the Fab Four live the first go around. Most of us who are still alive only got to watch on Ed Sullivan.

Barbara - have you read Greg Iles? My son told me about him. I have every single one of his books on my Kindle. Too bad we can't "share" the good books! He has a new one coming out in August and I cannot wait.

Popping in with another author recommendation for mystery lovers - Lindsey Davis. She writes a series about an "informer" (private detective) named Marcus Didius Falco that takes place in Rome during the time of Emperor Vespasian. His wife, Helena Justina, is very much like the many of the feisty, brilliant women on this thread! You won't be able to put them down!



I don't read either true crime or horror ... I have nightmares completely unprompted, let alone giving my brain something scary to work with!



Yes, DH is from Wisconsin ... Coincidentally, his sister is a teacher, too ... And is now extremely active.

Barbara

My daughter told me there was supposed to be a Stephanie Plum movie. I wonder if it is still in the works.

Good luck, Marybe!  I found the SS people very easy to work with.

Good Morning!

Welcome Marybe .. hope all goes well with your SS appointment.

Today is sentencing day for Casey Anthony.  I had it on for awhile this a.m.  It seems the defense is trying to have all four of the charges against her lumped together as one .. most likely to cut down on the time she will have to serve.  Even if the judge sentences her consecutively, she'll at most only get another year.

Hope everyone has a good day!

Bren

EDITED:  I just read she got four years, but could be out in a number of months.

I have been reading more about the Anthony case this morning.

I would say that a very technical reading of the evidence would find "not guilty" a reasonable verdict, but that a common sense reading would have said that there was no reasonable doubt that Casey Anthony did it. It is true that there is no forensic smoking gun, but before forensic science was so advanced, juries would probably have been more than satisfied with what they saw.

The problem in this case, IMO, is that we tend to want technology to give us all the answers in easy, unambiguous black-and-white format. The Florida jury appeared to have wanted a seamless stream of forensic chains before convicting. This standard is unreasonable; the truth is that we don't know as much as we think we do in forensics. We still don't know for sure what gases a decomposed body can emit, for example. In an earlier time, the testimony that Casey's father thought he smelled a decomposing body, Casey's lies, her decision not to report the child missing, the internet searches and the diary entry (in a journal not available until 2004) would have been a strong enough chain.

As with so many controversial and botched up cases, the incompetence of the police played a role. They were able to determine manner of death, but had the girl's body been recovered the first time the meter reader reported the sighting, they may have determined cause of death too.

If the jury had asked itself (IMO a reasonable question): Is there any way this death could possibly have come about without Casey's involvement, the answer would have to be no. From there on, they could have seen the signs of how she did it and arrived at a guilty verdict.

I think the jury used the standard "beyond any doubt," and that's the problem.  The death penalty also played a part - perhaps the jury had some, albeit unreasonable, doubts and just couldn't push that death penalty button.  We need to get rid of the death penalty for this reason, and because it's just too expensive.

Stephen King - you bet!  I loved "The Stand," and there was a recent one - "Under the Dome" or something like that?  Fascinating sociological discussions.