For weeks, my son Jack has been demanding why our blog has not covered one of the most important scientific breakthroughs of our generation: the domesticated fox. Despite skeptical siblings, Jack insisted that foxes have been domesticated and may be purchased as pets. Finally, our crack team of researchers was assigned to the question and sure enough mad scientists in Russian have developed a domesticated fox out of the Siberian white fox (the picture above is just a red fox someone met and put on YouTube). The real pets are shown below and they are awfully cute.
Category: Bizarre
We have periodically discussed the infamous case of Tawana Brawley and Al Sharpton, now a MSNBC host. In 1987, Brawley, a black teenager, falsely accused a prosecutor, a New York police officer and a state trooper of a racist attack and rape. The racial animus was fueled actively by Al Sharpton who sued the case to propelled himself into national fame or infamy. She later recanted and a court ordered damages to be paid by both Brawley and Sharpton — neither of whom paid. Now the falsely accused former Dutchess County prosecutor Steven Pagones has tracked down Brawley living in Virginia and working as a nurse. It is 25 years after the sordid affair was in the national spotlight. He is seeking $190,000 in damages against Brawley, now 40. She is now beginning to pay back the amount due to Pagones.
This morning we have a sad story of a young man with limitless potential who is now heading to jail. Georgetown law student Marc Gersen was Phi Beta Kappa at Georgetown and a champion debater who secured a scholarship to study at the University of California, Berkeley. He then entered Georgetown law school and worked with prisoners in the D.C. jail. That work however may have been a bit too close. Gersen was arrested and accused of using a social network to sell methamphetamine.
Continue reading “Georgetown Law Student Sentenced For Drug Dealing”
I know that many people are not bothered by the lip-syncing of the national anthem at the Inauguration — or at least not as much as some of us. I must confess that I am still ticked about the deception at a ceremony with a great deal of symbolism for the country’s democratic traditions. For constitutionalists, the ceremony represents the fulfillment of our commitment to peaceful transfers of power. For that reason, I was less than thrilled with Beyoncé’s effort (after weeks of silence) to rehabilitate herself at a press conference yesterday. Her public relations people appear to have read Othello and adopted the defense that Beyonce is not lazy or spoiled but “one that lov’d not wisely but too well.”
Continue reading “Beyoncé’s Othello Moment: It Was Not That I Did Not Care, I Cared Too Much”
In Jackson, Tennessee, a man took his bulldog to a kill shelter after catching the dog humped another male dog. The man concluded that the dog was gay and took him to a shelter that euthanizes unwanted dogs. Fortunately, a sane person read about the dog and adopted him from the Madison County animal shelter.
You have to love this guy’s rather unorthodox technique in making a $75,000 half court throw during one of the Miami Heat games. What is even cooler is the reaction and hug from LeBron James. Computer technician Michael Drysch won the money as part of a promotion by lip balm brand Carmex and the LeBron James Family Foundation. He won the $75,000 for himself but also $75,000 for the Boys & Girls Club of America.
While they are arresting seven-year-olds in New York, South Carolina schools are expelling a six-year-old girl for bringing her brother’s toy gun into school. We have been discussing the steady stream of absurd actions taken by school officials under “zero tolerance” policies. For a prior column, click here. This is yet another example. This little girl picked up her brother’s toy gun. Rather than call the parents into the school and reprimand the girl, these school officials chose to expel her from Alice Drive Elementary in Sumter, South Carolina. It is bizarre that Principal Sheree T. Boozer (right) could not simply see a child’s mistake for what it is.
Continue reading “South Carolina School Expels Six-Year-Old For Bringing Toy Gun To School”
Wilson Reyes is one of those hardened criminals who are hard to break. Police handcuffed Reyes, threw him in a cruiser, and interrogated him for a reported ten hours. Yet, Reyes insisted he was innocent and had to be released . . . to his mother. The seven-year-old boy was accused of stealing $5 on a playground at his school.
I would expect that of all of the NFL teams to espouse homophobic views, the San Francisco 49ers would probably be the least receptive forum. That did not appear to deter 49ers cornerback Chris Culliver who raged against gays in the locker room just days before Super Bowl XLVII. In contrast, Ravens player Brendon Ayanbadejo has used the Superbowl to advocate the rights of same-sex couples. (Conversely, Ravens center Matt Birk came out opposing equal rights for gays in marriages). Suddenly, the Superbowl has become a debate on gay and lesbian rights.
Continue reading “Cornerback or Throwback? 49ers Player Culliver Strikes Out Against Gays”
After a DEA dog alerted agents at an airport, they found a diaper filled with powder. The problem is that it was being worn by an adult woman, Priscilla Pena, and the powder was cocaine. They then found a similar diaper on her friend Michelle Blassingale on the same flight from the Dominican Republic.
Continue reading “Loaded Diaper: Two New York Women Arrested At JFK Airport With Cocaine Diapers”
There was a highly disturbing scene in a Domestic Relations courtroom this month after a judge left a woman with her ex-boyfriend in a room despite her saying that she was fearful of him and seeking protection. In the video below, Rashad Greene, 30, proceeded to attack Dominique Morrow, 28, in the courtroom.
We have previously discussed the corrupt regime of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe and his globe-trotting wife. So Mugabe and his friends and family have reportedly stolen hundreds of millions (particularly from diamond mining), but they decided to leave $217 in the bank for the rest of the country — that is far more restraint than they have been known for in the past. Now In the meantime, many are celebrating the world’s first female billionaire. She is Isobel Dos Santos. A considerable achievement to be sure until you learn that she is the daughter of Angolan president José Eduardo dos Santos, the second longest-serving leader on the continent and like Mugabe has been openly draining the country of wealth for decades for his family and friends.
Fathi Shihab-Eddim, a senior aide to Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, has tackled a key problem for Holocaust deniers: where did all of the Jews go? His answer? America, of course.
Continue reading “High-Ranking Morsi Aide Calls Holocaust A Hoax”
We have continued to follow the abuse and killing of women in countries like India, including so-called “honor killings” where parents murder their children to maintain their honor. Now Indian caste leaders have given a glimpse into the perverse perspective in such cultures with a submission to their Supreme Court.
Continue reading “Indian Caste Leaders Praise Parents Who Kill Children For Honor”
Vladimir Putin has worked hard to maintain his carefully constructed image of a macho authoritarian figure, including sending away the members of Pussy Riot for speaking out against him and his alliance with the Russian Orthodox Church. However, he continues to distinguish himself among budding dictators. For example, anyone can prosecute whistle-blowing lawyers. China continually does it. Iran does it. However, Russia is prosecuting a whistle-blowing lawyer after he died. Now that is a tough guy.
Continue reading “Dead Men Don’t Blow Whistles: Russians Prosecute Dead Lawyer”