Devereaux:

If the Dunphy Code were to be enacted, it would prescribe that people like Mr. Williamson's tormentor would, at some suitable break in the performance, be  hauled onto the stage and horsewhipped for all the audience to see, then tossed into the alley behind the theater.  Alas, the law as it now stands offers more protection for inconsiderate people than for those discomfited by them.

And I concur with MJBubba in his (her?) criticism of the theater management.  Why have rules if you fail to enforce them?

Cool indeed. For so many reasons.

The hiccup in John's suggestion is that statements obtained outside Miranda invite defense claims that they were leaked to the prosecution.  Even if a defendant later provides a statement after a waiver, the earlier questioning can taint the Mirandized admission and result in its exclusion.  In any event, it appears that the evidence against the surviving bomber is compelling, so the government's case against him will neither rise nor fall on an admission.

Just watched the video at the linked prior post. Five minutes of my life down the drain.

There's a crazy Russian on the loose in here!  Somebody call the cops!

Tommy De Seno:

That's an irrelevant semantic.   The timing doesn't matter.

If the Commissioner got his wish Dorner surrenders and no one gets hurt.

Jack hoped against that wish.  Dorner complied and an officers is dead.

The Commissioner's wish was better. 

Jack disagreed.

I disagree with Jack and agree with the Commissioner.

It's hardly an irrelevant semantic, the timing does matter, and the implication that I don't think it does is an insult.  At the time Commander (not Commissioner) Smith made his statement, Deputy MacKay had already been killed and a second deputy wounded.  How many more should they have allowed to be shot while trying to bring about Dorner's surrender?

Skyler,

I salute your service in the Marines, but the distinctions you draw are of scale, not of kind.  That this battle occurred near a ski resort you have visited is irrelevant.  Ramadi and Fallujah were not battlefields -- until they were.  In Big Bear Tuesday there was a heavily armed adversary in a position of advantage and bent on killing as many police officers as he could.  The deputy who was killed is no less dead than a Marine killed in a more conventional battle in some faraway land.

I meant that if Dorner was to die in the final encounter, as he seemed resigned to do, it would have been preferable -- more just, if you will -- that he fall at a police officer's hand rather than his own. I do not suggest that he should have been killed if he tried to surrender.

In reading Dorner's screed it's hard to place him on the left-right scale.  Yes, he watches MSNBC, but he opines favorably on George H.W. Bush.  He likes Piers Morgan but wants Fareed Zakaria (your buddy, Rob) deported.  But perhaps the nuttiest opinion he expressed was a favorable view of Michelle Obama's bangs.  Go figure.

Tough indeed.  More on the Main Feed later.

And remember this: As you long for the pre-baby days as you sometimes will, you won’t bear the heartbreak of coming home from work to hear the babysitter announce that your child has spoken his first word or taken his first step.  You will be there for all of it, and when those and so many other joyous moments come, you will not regret your decision in the least.  One of the best descriptions of parenthood I’ve heard is this: Think of the hardest thing you’ve ever done and multiply it by ten; think of the best thing you’ve ever done and multiply it by a thousand.

Best wishes for a happy and healthy baby.  Please report back and let us know how it’s going.

When we were first married, the Divine Mrs. Dunphy gave up a career that was as highly remunerative as it was demanding.  She earned as much as three times my police officer’s salary, but she knew her job would not be conducive to a happy married life and even less so to parenthood.  She struggled in those first years after leaving her job, even as she put her financial expertise to use in the service of some worthwhile charities.

She carried on a struggle of a different nature after our daughter was born, grappling with the isolation and all the other things others have mentioned above.  And we sometimes fantasize about what life might be like if we had her previous income – in a good month we don’t dip into our savings to get by.  But we always return to this inescapable fact: No one will ever love your child as much as you do, and no one will ever be as attentive to his needs as you will.

Congratulations on the win.  May many more follow.

Dave, Pseud, et al,

It's all so, so unbelievable.  A cousin of mine, now deceased, was a beloved parish priest in the L.A. archdiocese for many years.  It's a shame that men like him saw their good works eclipsed in such a fashion.

But as far as any future legal action goes, unless new victims come forward, I would assume that the settlement referred to by Pseud above would have closed that door.  All the lawyering should be done with, but the moral atonement should be ongoing.  Judging from the statement in the bulletin, the current archbishop seems to disagree. 

Many, many thanks for this. What a beautiful story.

I would indeed recommend Wouk's WW II novels to anyone of any generation.  I would also recommend, as a departure from his weighty historical stuff, the novel City Boy, which I've read twice and very much enjoyed both times.