Submitted by Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
U.S. District Court Judge James Parker of the New Mexico District ruled a monument displaying the Ten Commandments must be removed from the Bloomfield, New Mexico City Hall.
A lawsuit was filed in the district on behalf of two members of the Wicca Religion by the American Civil Liberties Union against the city. Judge Parker’s ruling stated the city had violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to United States Constitution.
Submitted by Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
King5 news reports that the operator of a medical marijuana dispensary in Bellingham, Martin Nickerson, sued because he was being simultaneously prosecuted for marijuana distribution and targeted by the state Revenue Department for not collecting taxes on marijuana sales. He argued he couldn’t pay the tax without incriminating himself.
In what should likely be a continuation of process rather than an abrupt end U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman dismissed the case last week for lack of jurisdiction.
The attorneys representing Washington State argued that the case should be tried in state court, that it was not within the jurisdiction of the federal government.
Continue reading “Federal Judge Dismisses Washington Marijuana Tax Case”
We often use these pages to discuss tragedies and disasters. So it is time to report a happy ending. Unbeknownst to most on this blog, a catastrophe occurred on the return from our family trip to Cape Cod. Upon our return to Virginia, Madie, my youngest learned that she had left “Baa” her lifelong lamb blankey at the hotel in Hyannis, Massachusetts. However, as it turned out, a rescue would be launched.
There is a controversy at the University of Illinois over the right of faculty to express views on social media outside of their positions. Steven Salaita had already been offered a tenured position in the American Indian studies program on the Champaign-Urbana campus and was just waiting for approval by the university’s Board of Trustees, usually a perfunctory stage. However, Salaita posted strongly anti-Israeli sentiments after the start of the recent war in Gaza. After those postings, he was informed that the university was rescinding its offer due to opposition on the board.
Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad is truly a nightmare to any competitor due to his speed and an equal menace to himself due to his lack of control. Mekhissi-Benabbad has faced continuing controversies over thuggish or plain stupid acts in competition. The most recent, as shown in the video below, was to strip off his shirt while handily winning the European 3000m steeplechase. It would have been his third consecutive gold medal but the judges stripped him of his win for acting, again, like an adolescent. I remain a bit old-fashioned on athletes acting out in such cases. Indeed, I am one of the few people who seem to continue to support the ban on excessive celebration in the NFL and the rule against trash talking.
Continue reading “Controversial French Runner Stripped Of Gold After Stripping During Race”
One can certainly understand Tyree Threatt, 21, being confused. He was charged after a victim picked out his photo as the man who robbed her. However, the robbery occurred while Threatt was in jail on another robbery charge. Now here is the bizarre twist. Nicholas Cooksley, his public defender, showed the court the record proving that it was impossible for Threatt to have committed the crime. Indeed, what could be a better alibi than being in jail? Well, it was not good enough for the prosecutor who refused to drop the charge and insisted on a trial. Even more bizarre was the judge who agreed that a trial would be needed. The charges were only dropped after the media pressed the police, which eventually dropped the charges.
Roger Lee Harris, 63, and Bryan Bandes, 43, could have chosen any of the traditional reasons for guys to fight from women to football teams to politics. However, while playing a round of golf in Uniontown, Pa, the two men turned violent over a disagreement on the rules addressing “casual water.” The case was eventually dismissed by the brilliantly named Judge Robert Breakiron.
First there is the record low polls of his popularity. Then there is the growing independent view that there is no chance that the Democrats can retake the House and that the GOP could not only gain seats in the House but retake the Senate. However, nothing likely prepared President Barack Obama for this. His controversial use of unilateral authority has been defended by . . . former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. You may recall Gonzales who was so vilified for his politicalization of the Justice Department and blind support of executive power that he had a difficult time even landing a job. The Gonzales defense is part of a bizarre new world of Democratic politics. Democratic members of Congress recently lined up to quote Associate Justice Antonin Scalia for his restrictive views on standing — a view that has been used to bar public interest organizations in environmental and civil liberties cases. The Obama Administration now routinely pitches appeals to the four most conservative members of the Supreme Court on presidential powers and the most vocal supporters of the President’s use of virtually unchecked power is coming from former Bush officials. Such is the inversive world in which we live. The Democrats have largely abandoned traditional values tied to civil liberties, war powers, privacy, and other core issues in favor of supporting Obama. The result is that you find yourself left with Alberto Gonzales as your pro bono counsel.
Continue reading “Gonzales Defends Obama’s Use Of Executive Power”
Glenn Greenwald has called out National Public Radio in a recent interview for a story by Dina Temple-Raston for a story that it aired on how a study had found “tangible evidence” that leaks by Edward Snowden had harmed security by showing terrorists that they have to develop more sophisticated encryption programs. However, that study was the work of a firm named “Recorded Future,” which Greenwald claims has been funded by the CIA to the tune of millions of dollars. Greenwald chastises Temple-Raston and NPR for not informing listeners that the source is a CIA funded outfit. He accuses NPR of essentially airing CIA talking points.
We recently discussed the homicidal hunk from ISIS who is all the rage with Muslim women looking for a husband to watch martyred. The extremist Sunni movement has been reaching out to Westerners to join their self-declared caliphate and thousands have reportedly responded. Now even more disturbing pictures have been posted with a father from Australia having his seven-year-old son holding up a severed head in celebration and a former British rapper (right) doing the same. Beheadings are viewed by ISIS as a traditional Islamic form of execution and a type of macabre celebration of their view of Islam. Severed heads feature prominently on ISIS (or Islamic State) social media postings.
Shawna Lynn Palmer, 22, dreamed of being a beauty queen may have ended in jail after she was arrested for alleged worker’s compensation fraud following the posting of video showing her competing in high heels despite her claim of an debilitating foot injury as a grocery clerk at Stater Bros. She appeared in the 2014 Miss Toyota Long Beach Grand Prix pageant. Toyota’s new slogan is “Let’s Go Places” but I think that is not exactly what Palmer had in mind.
We are leaving Cape Cod today (a bit early due to the arrival of thunderstorms) and we had a wonderful time in this extraordinarily beautiful spot. (As usual, I used my iPhone for pictures with varying success but the lighthouse taken from the boat turned out pretty good).
The Woodward family may need to add a keg to their family crest. Three members of the family — Nicholas (right), 19, Joshua (left), 22 and father Brian, 46 — were all arrested on the same day in Vermont on separate incidents of driving under the influence. Perhaps we could call this an intervention for the family? The successive arrests occurred when family members allegedly drove drunk to the scene of an accident involving the first family member.
Continue reading “Family Affair: Three Members of Vermont Family Arrested On Same Day For DUI”
And you thought the Redskins controversy was bad.
There are reports this week is of a bizarre confrontation where the Simon Wiesenthal Centre has asked the French government to rename a small village in central France that is currently called “Death to Jews” (La Mort aux Juifs). However, the town is resisting the efforts to change the name that dates back to the 11th Century.
The anti-homosexual movement in Kenya continues this week with an infamous bill that would reportedly allow foreign homosexual people stoned to death in public. The law would allow such executions for foreigners who commit one homosexual act while imposing a life sentence on Kenyan nationals.