Category: Bizarre

Fowl Politics: Missouri Representatives Decapitates and Mutilates Chicken in YouTube Video

mikemoonscreencap32816Missouri Representative Mike Moon (R-Ash Grove) takes a more literal meaning to the classic political pledge of a “chicken in every pot.”  In a truly bizarre video below, the Republican legislator decapitated a chicken while discussing a special session and then pulled out its heart.

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Hut In Antarctica Yields Beautiful and Haunting Painting Of Famed Explorer Edward Wilson

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The watercolor depicts a tree creeper. Pic: Antarctic Heritage Trust

This is the type of thing that I find thrilling.  An effort to preserve a hut at Cape Adare in Antarctica led to the discovery of this beautiful 118-year-old painting by Dr. Edward Wilson.  The British polar explorer died in Antarctica on an expedition led by Capt. Robert Falcon Scott.  This incredible picture sat in a pile of papers unnoticed for over a century.

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Ninth Circuit Rules Against Trump . . . Using Trump As Main Witness Against Himself

donald_trump_president-elect_portrait_croppedninth-circuit-logoIt is the presidential version of death by cop.  Recently, I wrote a column on how Trump had become a witness against himself by, again, tweeting highly damaging observations about pending litigation and even contradicting the statements of his own legal team in the immigration order litigation.  As predicted, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit not only ruled against his Administration but relied on his damaging recent tweet to seal the deal.  The lack of message discipline extended to Trump friends this week after his friend, Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy, said Trump was considering firing Mueller: “I think he’s considering perhaps terminating the special counsel. I think he’s weighing that option. I think it’s pretty clear by what one of his lawyers said on television recently.”   The statement sent a chill throughout Congress.  Such a move would not only push Congress to pass a renewal of the Independent Counsel Act but magnify allegations of obstruction.

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Distracted New Jersey Woman Falls Into Open Sidewalk Cellar Opening

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There was a scary moment in Plainfield, New Jersey recently after a distracted 67-year-old was looking at her cellphone and walked over a barrier and fell into a sidewalk cellar for Acme Windows.  The question of liability is likely on the mind of the company even though the woman appears to have suffered non-life threatening injuries.

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Meet Gavel: The World’s Greatest Hope For Salvation

puppy-fired-too-nice-governor-queensland-png-1496934565Despite the depressing news domestically and internationally, there is proof that there is still hope for the world.  Gavel has found a home.  Gavel flunked out of police canine academy in Queensland, Australia, for being too friendly.  It was a disappointment because Gavel came from are “family bloodline” of top German Shepard police dogs. The problem is that Gavel just wanted to be friends . . . with everyone.

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The Vanishing Woman: Saudi Arabian Ad Substitutes Image Of Inflatable Ball For Mother In Pool Picture

4131F54200000578-4580510-image-m-34_1496835530873We have previously discussed how woman magically disappear in Saudi Arabia, including  ads for companies like IKEA. (We have seen the same vanishing in Orthodox Jewish publication).  Now Saudi Arabia is accused of replacing a picture of a mother with a beach ball in this advertisement to protect Muslim sensibilities.  At least these kids can say “Mom was a real ball on vacation.”

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Philadelphia Reporter Fired After Caught On Videotape Abusing Police

campbell7n-1-webA Philadelphia reporter, Colleen Campbell, 28, is not only out of job but perhaps a profession after a video of her berating police officers went viral.  Campbell is shown below in cuffs after being removed from the Helium Comedy Club on Sunday night.  She was asked to leave for disrupting comedian Craig Robinson by her loud whispering.  It then went from bad to worse (Warning: the video below contains foul language)

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Report: Comey Asked Sessions Not To Leave Him Alone With Trump

donald_trump_president-elect_portrait_cropped440px-Comey-FBI-PortraitIt appears that President Donald Trump’s instilled a virtually phobic reaction in former FBI Director James Comey after his allegedly inappropriate pitch to terminate the investigation of former National Security Advisor Micheal Flynn.  According to the New York Times, Comey asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions not to leave him alone with Trump.  If true, the request for a type of chaperone in the Oval Office would represent a new low for the White House.  In the meantime (and equally embarrassing if true), ABC reports that Sessions actually asked Trump if he should resign due to his own deteriorating relationship with the President (who was reportedly still angry at Sessions for recusing himself from the Russian investigation). Notably, the White House declined to say whether Trump still has faith in Sessions at the White House press conference.

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Spicer Declares Trump Tweets To Be “Official Statements” After Conway Chides Media For Taking Tweets So Seriously

Kellyanne_Conway_with_Trump_lettersean_spicerOne can certainly understand if the media is a tad confused.  This week, Presidential Counselor Kellyanne Conway chided media for taking President Donald Trump’s tweets so seriously and denied that tweets are one of his preferred methods of communication.  Shortly thereafter White House press secretary Sean Spicer reminded media that Trump’s tweets are “official statements” and thus serious articulations of policy.

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NYPD Arrests Man Shown Beating 90-Year-Old Man

Tweet Storm: Trump Attacks Position Of His Own Lawyers on Twitter On The Eve Of Supreme Court Decision

donald_trump_president-elect_portrait_croppedThis weekend I discussed how President Donald Trump’s own words had been the primary problem for lawyers seeking to advance his agenda.  Trump’s comment and tweets have routinely undermined defenses and alienated allies.  The column was prompted by Trump’s London tweets. While discussed for their triggering outrage across the political spectrum in Great Britain, one of the most controversial tweets also contained references to the immigration order as a “travel ban.”  It was a remarkably ill-considered tweet. However, on Monday morning, President Trump doubled down and actually attacked his own lawyers at the Justice Department and directly contradicted their position in court.  As I mentioned earlier, government counsel must feel like they have a daily Perry Mason moment with their client jumping up in court screaming incriminating things. The only logical conclusion that can be reached is that Trump really does not care if he wins the case.  The problem is that there is a large and talented team at the Justice Department that is still laboring under the assumption that the President does want to prevail before the Supreme Court.

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Indiana Man Arrested After Shooting Heroin While Driving and Causing Accident

chadwick-smith-foxWe have been discussing the opiate crisis that is destroying this country and countless families.  A vivid display of the hold of these drugs can be found in the arrest of Chadwick Smith in Muncie, Indiana.  Smith was arrested after an auto accident where he shot up with heroin while driving — leading to predictably tragic results.  It is truly chilling to think of a person actually shooting up while traveling at high speed down a road.

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The Trump Factor: Trump Refers To Immigration Order As “Travel Ban” During Critical Stage Of Immigration Appeal

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One of the strangest aspects of the troubled start to the Trump Administration has been the role played by Trump’s own words in tweets and interviews.  In both litigation and political settings, Trump’s own words have become the greatest liability for the Administration — undercutting allies and unraveling defenses.  In the immigration order litigation, his controversial campaign statements have been repeatedly used as the determinative factor against his Administration in both the first and second rounds of litigation.  His statements to the Russians and then his rather odd denial in Israel threw his Administration into downward spirals.  Now we may see the creation of new precedent entirely due to Trump’s continued unguarded and unwise statements.  Trump’s statements in interviews are the primary reason for the appointment of the Special Counsel after he directly contradicted his own staff on the reasons for the Comey termination.  Recently, after the London attack, his Twitter statements caused an understandable outcry in Britain after he first tried to use the attack to argue for his immigration order and then attacked London’s mayor by misconstruing the mayor’s statement to the public.  It is an incredible record.  Absent these unguarded and ill-considered statements, Trump’s Administration would be in a far better legal and political position.

While the London tweets have been discussed primarily for their highly negative impact on people in Great Britain (of all parties), one tweet is equally problematic from a legal perspective.  In his controversial tweet, Trump referred to his immigration order as a “Travel ban” — precisely what his lawyers have worked so hard to avoid before the Ninth and Fourth Circuits.  As with his Comey comments, he is using the very language that his critics most wanted him to use. It is another example of sending months and hundreds of pages of argument only to be stymied by a mere 140 words.

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True Believer: CNN Host Calls President Trump A “Piece of S–T”

downloadI have been writing about how President Donald Trump has brought out the worst in his critics in the media as well as the courts.  Ironically, some in these institutions appear to be rushing to confirm the stereotypes that he has painted of them.  The latest example is CNN host Reza Aslan.  CNN has been criticized by many for its coverage of Trump and alleged bias against his Administration.  The loudest critic is of course Trump himself.  Recently, CNN anchor Fareed Zakaria declared that Trump attained the White House through “bulls–t.” Now Aslan, who hosts CNN’s program “Believer” has called  President Trump “a piece of sh–” and “an embarrassment to humankind” after Trump used the latest massacre to his call for U.S. courts to approve his executive order banning travel from six Muslim-majority countries.  Aslan seemed intent to establish that he is a “true believer” in the anti-Trump cause but he also represents a media organization.  His attack is the latest evidence of media personalities losing any sense of professionalism and dispassion.  As I said yesterday, media must decide if they still want to report or merely rave at the new and newsmakers.  Aslan may be as “spiritually curious” as advertised but he is now professionally dubious as a journalist.  At the same time, as discussed below, President Trump is again causing an international outcry with his tweets after the attack.

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