Year: 2014

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Free Speech, Justice, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

Is Voting Going the Way of the Edsel?

LyndonJohnson_signs_Voting_Rights_Act_of_1965

Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Weekend Contributor

Is there anything more fundamental to a democracy or democratic republic then the ability of its citizens to vote for their representatives at every level of government?  The privilege or as many state, the right to vote is essential for citizens to control who is running the local and state and national governments and controlling what direction they want their community and country to go in.

As I write this article, there are groups and indeed, national political parties attempting to restrict the right to vote and restrict the early voting opportunities and attempting to restrict the ability of registered citizens to vote at all.  In the past few national elections, we all witnessed the horror stories of people waiting for hours in line to vote on election day.  Instead of increasing early voting days and installing additional voting machines in crowded precincts, just the opposite seems to be happening.  Continue reading “Is Voting Going the Way of the Edsel?” →

Lawyering, Society

Frank Maco Responds To Criticism Over Woody Allen Case On The Blog

445px-woody_allen_2006Last week, I ran a column on the controversy surrounding the renewed allegations of child abuse by Woody Allen and the suggestion of the former prosecutor, Frank Maco, that he might sue Allen for defamation. The piece expressed deep skepticism over the potential for a defamation claim and further questioned Mr. Maco’s public comments after he decided not to bring charges. I was recently contacted by Mr. Maco who shared his view of the underlying facts and the suggested lawsuit. I felt, particularly in light of the criticism on this blog, his response should be run in its entirety to give his side of the story. Below is that response.

Continue reading “Frank Maco Responds To Criticism Over Woody Allen Case On The Blog” →

Animals, Bizarre

Parrot Rats Out Owner At DUI Checkpoint

Submitted by Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

Sang Like A Canary
Sang Like A Canary

The DUI offender Code of Silence was violated in Mexico after police allegedly contacted a driver at a checkpoint, suspecting him of drunk driving. As Guillermo Reyes stepped out of the car, his parrot called out “Está borracho, Está borracho!” Spanish for “He’s drunk, He’s drunk !” Police at first believed the parrot’s voice to be that of a passenger.

Reportedly the parrot was correct as Guillermo was later arrested for DUI.
Continue reading “Parrot Rats Out Owner At DUI Checkpoint” →

Congress, Courts, Justice, Politics, Torts

Florida Trooper Who Stopped Speeding MPD Officer Files Lawsuit After Alleged Harassment By Other Officers

Submitted By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

FHP Stops MHP officerMany are aware of the incident in October of 2011 when the Florida Highway Patrol stopped a speeding Miami Police Department vehicle operating without emergency equipment, weaving through traffic and reaching speeds up to 120 MPH. The MPD officer driving claimed to be late for an off-duty assignment at an area school. The police officer was eventually fired by Miami PD. Dash-cam video was uploaded to Youtube and witnessed by many. The incident also made national headlines. The Miami PD officer involved had no emergent or law enforcement justification for driving at this speed and doing so without emergency lighting is considered hazardous. Dash-cam video quotes the trooper as saying one of the reasons for her concern was that a day prior a police vehicle was stolen and was involved in a tragic incident.

Now the Florida Highway Patrol Trooper, Donna Jane Watts, has filed a civil suit against several officers and police agencies alleging her driver license information had been unlawfully accessed and that she had been subjected to harassment by other law enforcement officers due the incident involving the Miami Police Department officer.
Continue reading “Florida Trooper Who Stopped Speeding MPD Officer Files Lawsuit After Alleged Harassment By Other Officers” →

Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, Justice, Lawyering, Politics, Religion, Society

Loving For All In Virginia: Getting It Right The Second Time Around

By Mark Esposito, Weekend Contributor

Mildred_Richard_Loving_1967Somewhere out there Mildred Loving must be smiling and wondering how things could change so much since 1967.  You might recall Ms. Loving as the African-American and Virginia resident who had the audacity to marry a white man and then procreate in the Virginia of the 1960s. Charged with violating Virginia’s  Racial Integrity Act of 1924, an anti-miscegenation law which criminalized marriages between members of different races, the case was heard in Hanover Courthouse, where liberty’s most eloquent spokesman, Patrick Henry, once argued the famous Parson’s Case.  Circuit Court Judge Leon Bazile, whose portrait still hangs in the hallway of the new courthouse, sentenced the couple to one year in prison suspended upon the condition they would leave their home state. In doing so, he announced to the world that Virginia would not step so quickly away from its historical racism:

Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix.

Continue reading “Loving For All In Virginia: Getting It Right The Second Time Around” →

Criminal law, International, Media, Science, Society

One-Ring Phone Scam: When not to return a call

by Charlton “Chuck” Stanley, Weekend Contributor

Image by the Cherokee County Sheriff's Department Murphy, NC Keith Lovin, Sheriff
Image by the
Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department
Murphy, NC

This morning, I had been working on another topic when my cell phone rang one time. I looked at the number on the caller ID, which came from 216-206-xxxx. I looked up the number on a internet reverse lookup service. The call “originated” in Euclid, OH. Except it didn’t. If I had called that number back, my call would have been re-directed to an offshore number, most likely in a Caribbean country.

So far, in the past week, I have received at least a half-dozen such calls. I did not think to write all the numbers down before deleting them from my phone.

Continue reading “One-Ring Phone Scam: When not to return a call” →

Politics, Religion, Science, Uncategorized

Missouri Lawmaker Introduces Legislation That Would Make Learning about Evolution in Public Schools “Optional”

RickBrattinSubmitted by Elaine Magliaro, Weekend Contributor

(NOTE: Correction and Update Below)

A Missouri lawmaker has proposed legislation that would make learning about evolution in public schools “optional.” State Rep. Rick Brattin (R), the main sponsor of House Bill 291—also known as the “Missouri Standard Science Act”—introduced the bill in January. Brattin told KCTV, a local station, that teaching only evolution in school was “indoctrination.” He continued, “Our schools basically mandate that we teach one side. It is an indoctrination because it is not objective approach.”

The Kansas City Star reported that Brattin said, “…forcing students to study the natural selection theories developed by Charles Darwin a century and a half ago can violate their religious faith. It’s an absolute infringement on people’s beliefs.” Critics of Brattin’s bill say his legislation “would allow religious faith in biblical explanations to crowd out sound science.”

Continue reading “Missouri Lawmaker Introduces Legislation That Would Make Learning about Evolution in Public Schools “Optional”” →

Criminal law, Politics, Society, Torts

Utah Considering Placement Of Breath Test Devices Into Bars

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

CocktailsUtah Legislator Greg Hughes is proposing a law he believes will address successfully some of the DUI incidents that happen within the state. The proposal is in the working stage and has been under several revisions but in essence the device would be installed in bars under incentives from the state so that bar patrons may use the device to test their sobriety levels so that they may make informed choices on whether to drive or not. The measure includes an immunity from civil and criminal liability on bar owners if a customer’s breath alcohol level is high and the customer drives away and the data would not be available to law enforcement to provide a hesitation free attraction.

While the goal of the device is certainly laudable, could the devices be counter productive as indicated by experience with law enforcement breath test devices and their shortcomings?
Continue reading “Utah Considering Placement Of Breath Test Devices Into Bars” →

Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Justice, Politics, Religion, Society

International Humanist And Ethical Union Publishes Comprehensive Global Report On Athiest and Non-Religious Rights

Submitted by Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

Humanist EmblemWhile many, primarily Islamic, countries have received much press regarding flagrant abuses of religious and non-religious persons or views, seven of which have death penalty offenses for crimes such as apostasy, the true impact for most of the worlds citizens are not as stark but can be often a suffer a form of punishment, repression and imprisonment of some kind for their beliefs.

The international Humanist and Ethical Union published a broad and comprehensive study of world governments listing laws, social constraints, and customs of government for nearly each nation. The study provides a deep insight into how even subtle restrictions on atheists and subscribers to differing religions or non-religions can have a chilling effect on the expressions of their citizens and it is often this subtlety that can become a form of suppression of dissent in surprising areas.
Continue reading “International Humanist And Ethical Union Publishes Comprehensive Global Report On Athiest and Non-Religious Rights” →

Free Speech, Media, Society

Facebook Subscribers Can Now Choose Among Fifty Six New Gender Identities

Submitted by Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

Facebook LogoLGBT USA Pride FlagFacebook won much acclaim in the LGBT community by configuring their website to allow a great many choices their subscribers may use in their user profiles. Where most websites permit simply male or female, and perhaps a few all encompassing terms such as transgender or transsexual, Facebook consulted with the LBGT community to identify as many gender identities the community encompassed. Subscribers are also provided with additional tools such as which pronouns to use when they are referred to. Subscribers can use ten different options for gender or can choose to keep this information private.

Most outside the LGBT are not familiar with the nomenclature of these new identities but what Facebook is trying to accomplish is to provide as many choices for the individual to describe themselves in a manner as close as possible to what each of them can identify with. With as large a subscriber base as Facebook commands, many believe this will offer some insight and understanding of how analog gender is becoming.
Continue reading “Facebook Subscribers Can Now Choose Among Fifty Six New Gender Identities” →

Free Speech, International, Society

Haram Is Where the Heart Is: Muslim Clerics Denounce Valentine’s Day As UnIslamic

225px-Victorian-valentines-cards-two-cherubs-red-heartsIslamic leaders celebrated Valentine’s Day again this year by denouncing the holiday as anti-Islamic and calling for a “Modesty Day” instead that celebrates such items as burkas and veils. Students clashed today in Peshawar as dozens of liberal students sought to celebrate the holiday and defy orders from religious leaders to boycott the holiday. The result was an exchange of rocks and bricks between the pro-Valentine and anti-Valentine protesters. At least one student was shot and wounded. In Indonesia, warnings were issued that celebration of the holiday was an offense of Islam. In Malasysia religious monitors have been patrolling the streets looking for unIslamic practices. Valentine’s Day has been declared haram, or forbidden.

Continue reading “Haram Is Where the Heart Is: Muslim Clerics Denounce Valentine’s Day As UnIslamic” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Media, Politics, Society

United States Drops To 46th in Press Freedoms Under Barack Obama

President_Barack_ObamaWe have previously discussed the attack of President Obama on press freedom. As with the comprehensive attack on privacy, there has been little outcry from Democratic or liberal voters to the placing of journalists under surveillance or the treatment of reporters as potential criminals for receiving information from whistleblowers. Even those who express disappointment have not let these policies alter their continued support for the Administration. Many simply buy the White House argument that the other guys are worse. Well, international groups view the matter a bit more objectively and this month released a report that should be an utter embarrassment for every American. The United States — once the world champion of press freedoms — have called to forty-sixth in the world, according to the World Press Freedom Index. The drop is tied directly to the anti-media policies of President Obama.

Continue reading “United States Drops To 46th in Press Freedoms Under Barack Obama” →

Bizarre, International, Society

Is It Time To Get Rid Of Curling?

220px-Curlingstoneold220px-Curling_Canada_Torino_2006As many on this blog know, I have long been a critic of the International Olympic Committee which has long been accused of corruption, cronyism, and plain stupidity. One of the most outrageous decisions was the elimination of wrestling, one of the few original sports, in favor of events like golf with more wealthy supporters. (Wrestling was later reinstated after global outcry). My sense of confusion depended this week with the reappearance of curling — a sport viewed by 99 percent of people every four years and met with the same universal question: “why is this a sport?” I do not contest that curling is a sport, I just fail to understand why it is an Olympic sport (like shooting) when sports like wrestling were cut.

Continue reading “Is It Time To Get Rid Of Curling?” →

Criminal law, International, Society

Spanish Campaign Asks For Donation Of Childhood Photos As “Abuse-Free Children Pornography” (Updated)

220px-Sleepingputto_LéonBazilePerraultThere is a creepy but provocative issue raised by an advertisement in Barcelona, Spain this month. The posters offered “abuse-free child pornography” that asked viewers to “Send us naked photos of when you were a child. For child pornography without abuse. +18 Yes to Pedophilia. No to Abuse.” The posters were later taken down, but they raise a challenging (if admittedly unsettling) legal question. If people are turning over pictures of themselves as children (without any prior abuse or sexual acts depicted), does it still constitute child pornography? Update: The articles on this story reported that the posters were displayed by JCDeaux, an advertising firm. However, I have communicated with a representative of the company who has stated that it had no role in the posters and “JCDecaux is investigating this unauthorized insertion of the poster in our bus shelter in Barcelona. We removed the poster as soon as we were made aware of it.”
Continue reading “Spanish Campaign Asks For Donation Of Childhood Photos As “Abuse-Free Children Pornography” (Updated)” →