Category: Bizarre

Academia, Bizarre

UPenn Professor Under Fire For Reportedly Calling Ben Carson A “Coon”

butlerDr. Ben Carson is learning the perils of rising in the polls in a presidential election. This week, the National Enquirer produced an article detailing what it says is a pattern of malpractice by Carson, including leaving a sponge in the head of a patient. Some of the harshest commentary however have come from liberal African Americans. Much like some of the criticism faced by Clarence Thomas, Carson has been attacked as being a type of traitor to the black community despite the fact that he is a hugely successful doctor and mentor for many. University of Pennsylvania Professor Anthea Butler however took that criticism to a new low in calling Carson a “coon.” While such a racial slur would normally be followed by demands for terminations from a white professor, the response to the slur has been at best muted.

Continue reading “UPenn Professor Under Fire For Reportedly Calling Ben Carson A “Coon”” →

Bizarre, Politics

Gun-Toting North Carolina Candidate Pledges To Hunt Down “Rinos” In Political Ad

Screen Shot 2015-10-07 at 7.46.01 PMHouse GOP primary candidate Kay Daly is challenging Rep. Renee Ellmers in North Carolina clearly has a different view of what constitutes a high calibre candidate. The former N.C. GOP spokeswoman and congressional aide is running an advertisement that says that she does not just oppose RINOs (“Republican In Name Only”) but wants to bag them . . . literally.

Continue reading “Gun-Toting North Carolina Candidate Pledges To Hunt Down “Rinos” In Political Ad” →

Academia, Bizarre, Criminal law, International

University of London Diversity Officer Charged With Threatening Communications After Racist and Sexist Comments

TwitterBahar Mustafa, of the University of London is facing criminal charges for sending a threatening communication. Mustafa attracted international condemnation for her use of a Twitter hashtag #killallwhitemen and asked for white men not to come to certain university events. Despite her unmitigated racism and sexism, an effort to remove her failed after only 165 people signed a petition for her removal. The retention of Mustafa at the university is a disgrace for both the university and academia as a whole.

Continue reading “University of London Diversity Officer Charged With Threatening Communications After Racist and Sexist Comments” →

Bizarre, Politics

Report: Half of the Country Has No Savings

depression-era-unemployment-lineWe have occasionally followed new reports on the economic condition of the public and the news is rarely good. After an extremely very poor jobs report, a new study found that twenty-eight percent of Americans have nothing in their savings accounts and another 21 percent have no savings account at all. Only 29 percent has $1,000 or more in their accounts.

Continue reading “Report: Half of the Country Has No Savings” →

Bizarre, Criminal law, Religion, Society

New Jersey Priest Arrested, Charged With Aggravated Assault For Allegedly Pretending That He Would Shoot Boy For Wearing Cowboys Jersey To His Church

njpriestpic2St. Margaret of Cortona Church in Little Ferry, N.J. this week is dealing with the arrest of its pastor, The Rev. Kevin Carter, 54. Even more shocking is the charge: aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child. However, on closer examination, the arrest and charge seems wildly out of place according to published reports. What was a gag based on football rivalry has turned into a full fledged criminal case due to the refusal of the police or prosecutors to show a modicum of discretion or logic.

Continue reading “New Jersey Priest Arrested, Charged With Aggravated Assault For Allegedly Pretending That He Would Shoot Boy For Wearing Cowboys Jersey To His Church” →

Bizarre, Politics, Religion, Society

“A Quibble”: Florida Senate Candidate Admits To Drinking Goat Blood

invictus6n-1-web220px-Angora_001Augustus Sol Invictus is not your typical politician. While most politicians are known for kissing babies, Invictus is best known for admitting that he killed a goat and drank its blood in a ritual of thanks after returning from a journey in the Mojave Desert. Invictus changed his former name (which he will reportedly not reveal) to the Latin Sol Invictus (“Unconquered Sun”), which was the official sun god of the Roman Empire and a patron of soldiers. It appears the 32-year-old lawyer is willing to admit that critics got his goat, or at least the story, but insists that people can look beyond a goat-blood drinking Senator. “I did sacrifice a goat. I know that’s probably a quibble in the mind of most Americans. I sacrificed an animal to the god of the wilderness … Yes, I drank the goat’s blood.”

Continue reading ““A Quibble”: Florida Senate Candidate Admits To Drinking Goat Blood” →

Bizarre, Criminal law, Torts

$10 Million Defamation Lawsuit Of Sleeping Baseball Fan Dismissed In New York

article-0-1F75612F00000578-313_634x427We previously discussed the bizarre lawsuit by Andrew Rector, 26, who sued ESPN, the Yankees, Major League Baseball, and announcers Dan Shulman and John Kruk are being sued by Andrew Rector, 26, for defamation after the network showed him asleep at the New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox game and joked about his being “oblivious” to the game. While Rector says that the commentators called him “stupor, fatty, unintelligent, stupid,” those insults are not heard on the videotape below from the telecast. Rector sued for $10 million in a complaint that I earlier criticized. The lawsuit has now been dismissed by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Julia Rodriguez, but Rector’s lawyer says that she sees a solid basis for appeal — though I fail to see such a basis. Indeed, given the condition of the original complaint, some judges might have awarded sanctions with the dismissal.

Continue reading “$10 Million Defamation Lawsuit Of Sleeping Baseball Fan Dismissed In New York” →

Bizarre, Criminal law, International

“Nobody is a Saint”: Nigerian Former Governor Runs For Reelection Despite Being On The Run For Stealing Billions During Prior Term

abubakar-audu-Kogi-300x162This is what passes for honesty in Nigeria. The notoriously corrupt country reached a new low this week with Kogi State APC Chairman, Alhaji Hadi Ametuo. Ametuo was asked about the slightly awkward fact of his party’s candidate in the forthcoming governorship poll, Prince Audu Abubakar, being under investigation for stealing over N11 billion during his prior office term. Ametuo shrugged off the alleged theft as something that is quite common and then promised that Audu would return the money . . . if he is elected.

Continue reading ““Nobody is a Saint”: Nigerian Former Governor Runs For Reelection Despite Being On The Run For Stealing Billions During Prior Term” →

Bizarre, Politics

WA Department Of Licensing Bundles Handicapped Parking Placard Requests With Red Tape, Then Breaks State Law

wa-compliant-handicapped-parking-signBy Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

The archetype of bureaucracy is often associated with the Departments of Licensing / Departments of Motor Vehicles in various states. Washington’s contribution for this year manifested in the issuance of handicapped parking placards–the cards that hang from mirrors. It most certainly adds insult to citizens’ injuries who need the placards due to restricted mobility when the Washington Department of Licensing changed rules to supposedly address alleged fraud (which I personally have a difficult time accepting is rampant).  But the DOL in doing so created a system that is easily circumvented and worse added another layer of delay for legitimate users by failing to announce changes to forms and procedures; thus requiring untold number of citizens to schedule new appointments with their doctors due to the agency’s bureaucratic rigidity and nonsensical new procedures.

Continue reading “WA Department Of Licensing Bundles Handicapped Parking Placard Requests With Red Tape, Then Breaks State Law” →

Academia, Bizarre, Criminal law, Society

BIID: North Carolina Woman Blinds Herself (With Alleged Help Of Doctor) To Fulfill A Lifelong Dream To Be Disabled

220px-Eye_irisIn Raleigh, North Carolina, Jewel Shuping is finally happy. With the help of what was described as a “sympathetic psychologist,” Shuping, 30, fulfilled a lifelong dream in blinding herself with drain cleaner. Shuping says that she always wanted to be blind and is now overjoyed to be disabled. It is the latest example of what is called Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID) where able bodied people disable themselves. What is even more astonishing is that there is no indication of any discipline of the alleged psychologist who performed this harmful practice.

Continue reading “BIID: North Carolina Woman Blinds Herself (With Alleged Help Of Doctor) To Fulfill A Lifelong Dream To Be Disabled” →

Bizarre, Criminal law

New Jersey Woman Allegedly Used Lamp Cord To Strangle Husband In Bizarre Criminal Case

170px-OutletPlugThere is a bizarre case out of New Jersey where Michelle Hurley is charged with choking her husband nearly to death with a lamp cord. The victim, 50, was unconscious when the police arrived and remains hospitalized in critical condition.

Continue reading “New Jersey Woman Allegedly Used Lamp Cord To Strangle Husband In Bizarre Criminal Case” →

Bizarre, Free Speech, Media, Military, Politics, Society

Journalist Attacked For Being Anti-Women For Story Questioning Training of First Female Rangers

army-rangers-1024It would seem a straightforward journalistic piece when Susan Keating at PEOPLE Magazine decided to inform readers that Congressman Steve Russell, R-Okla., and others were questioning the qualifications and training of the first women to pass the Army Ranger school. Russell has asked the secretary of the Army for documentation pertaining to the passage of 1st Lt. Shaye Haver and Capt. Kristen Griest after he said various sources complained that (in direct contradiction of official Army statements) the women were given help in passing the rigorous tests. Keating, however, has been attacked as “anti-woman” for writing the story in a strong backlash as the Army denies all of the allegations.

Continue reading “Journalist Attacked For Being Anti-Women For Story Questioning Training of First Female Rangers” →

Bizarre, Criminal law, International

Muslim Man Beaten To Death By Hindu Mob After Rumor That His Family Killed A Cow

1024px-Flag_of_India.svgblack-and-white-cow-3India has yet another case of religious vigilantes murdering neighbors to punish what they view as a blasphemy. Mohammad Akhlaq and his 22-year-old son were dragged from their house by around 100 villagers in Dadri and Akhlaq beaten to death on the outskirts of Delhi. The cause? A rumor that they had butchered a cow. Mohammad Akhlaq’s older son Mohammad Sartaj, 24, is an engineer with the Air Force.

Continue reading “Muslim Man Beaten To Death By Hindu Mob After Rumor That His Family Killed A Cow” →

Bizarre, Criminal law

Arkansas Woman Is Killed Shortly After Posting Of Snapchat Pictures Of Boyfriend Pointing Gun At Her Head

snapchat30n-5-webWhen Stephanie Hernandez, an Arkansas mother of a 3-year-old and an 8-month-old daughter, was found dead recently, the police did not have to look far. They simply checked out social media and found a picture of her boyfriend, Rafael Gonzalez, pointing a gun at her head. Hernandez was killed just hours after the pictures were posted on Snapchat.

Continue reading “Arkansas Woman Is Killed Shortly After Posting Of Snapchat Pictures Of Boyfriend Pointing Gun At Her Head” →