We have previously seen parents who appear less mature than their children in responding to sporting events. We would have to add a father of a student with Vancouver (Wash.) Skyview High basketball team who responded to a contentious game with a call for someone to massacre students at Camas (Wash.) High. There are calls for criminal charges and the father, who has not yet been identified, is barred from the school grounds.
Category: Bizarre
In St. Paul, Kirill Bartashevitch, 52, was up in arms over President Obama’s possible gun control laws. To protect himself from such laws, Bartashevitch went out and bought an Ak-47 rifle. Soon thereafter, he was arrested for pointing the weapon at his high school daughter after she got two B’s instead of straight A’s.
We have been discussing the steady stream of absurd actions taken by school officials under “zero tolerance” policies. For a prior column, click here. The Philadelphia school district is adding its name to this ignoble list after standing by the decision to not only scold but to search a 5th grade student after Melody Valentin was found in possession of a paper gun.
Continue reading “Philadelphia School Searches Elementary Student After Finding Paper Gun”
We have been following the increasing crackdown on passengers wearing T-Shirts on airlines deemed offensive or threatening. These cases often raise free speech questions, but also raise serious questions of the increasing irrationality of airline staff and some passengers. The t-shirt of Wynand Mullins is a good example. Mullins wore a t-shirt on a Qantas flight from Sydney with the well-known quote from Princess Bride by character Montoya (played in the film by Mandy Patinkin): “My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father, prepare to die.” Some passengers became alarmed by the t-shirt, presumably convinced that a terrorist would not only advertise his intent but choose a fictional character from a children’s book to represent his deep homicidal beliefs. Flight staff insisted that he change his shirt. Presumably, there was a passenger with five fingers that felt personally threatened by the quotation.
We have a new example for our criminal defense lawyers (and budding criminals) on the blog of how not to respond to an arrest. Faron Thompson, 29, was arrested after he tried to force his fiancée (now presumably his former fiancée) to swallow their engagement ring after she said she wanted to call off their wedding. Given his statements after the arrest, one can understand how she decided to let this gem go.
Continue reading “Florida Man Arrested After Trying To Force Fiancée to Swallow Engagement Ring”
Austria’s Turkish community has launched an international campaign against Lego because it insists that a Lego model sold as “Jabba’s Palace” is based on the sacred Hagia Sophia mosque in Istanbul. It is a curious argument since the only similarity is the use of a classic domed palace structure. I have been to the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul (which is spectacular) and I fail to see the clear duplication. Ironically, the original church was dedicated to the Logos not the Legos, which might be the source of the confusion.
Continue reading “Legos or Logos? Turks Protest Latest Lego Set”
New Mexico Rep. Cathrynn Brown (R) has introduced House Bill 206, a bill that would make it a crime a rape victim to get an abortion as destruction of evidence of a crime. Brown is a lawyer and a member of the judiciary committee. She is also an ardent pro-life legislator who has made eliminating abortion (and “debunking” global warming) a mission. and, after a national outcry, says that the bill was poorly drafted will be changed to address the public concerns.
We have previously discussed how Congress and the White House have yielded to demand for increasing copyright and trademark restrictions, including criminal prosecutions of ordinary citizens. One of my longest complaints is how people and businesses now claim ownership of common symbols and phrases. (here and here). This week we have two parties in a fight to claim trademark over a common expression. Roy Fox of Pendleton, Indiana secured a copyright to the term “Harbowl” last year to make money off of a Superbowl with the Baltimore Ravens under coach John Harbaugh and San Francisco 49ers under coach Jim Harbaugh. He was then muscled out of his trademark by NFL lawyers claiming to own the term “Superbowl.”
Continue reading “NFL Crushes Indiana Man Who Claimed Ownership Of “Harbowl””
Australian Catholic priest Thomas Byrne, 80, pleaded guilty in court this week to a rather shocking case of laying hands (and teeth) on another priest. Byrne bit off the ear of fellow priest, Father Thomas Smith, 81, in a parking space dispute.
Continue reading “Catholic Priest Arrested After Biting Off Ear Of Fellow Priest”
We have previously discussed the cruelty shown by Chinese to animals in zoos and circuses. The article below offers a further glimpse into this national and cultural disgrace after a man strangled an ostrich to death in a zoo. Another report shows that a zoo in Shenzen is down to just two crocodiles from a dozen because people are killing them by throwing rocks at them and garbage into their pools.
We have previously discussed the counterproductive increases in taxes that have been implemented recently without consideration of their impact on behavior or revenue. France’s ridiculous 75 percent tax on the rich is an obvious example (now even the former French president is reportedly planning to flee the taxes for England). So is our high tax on corporations while Canada continues to lower its tax just next door. There are also reports of high earners like Tiger Woods leaving California and New York in the face of high increases. A smaller but even more moronic tax is being contemplated by Alexandria, Virginia where the city council is considering a law forcing people to register bikes so that they can be forced to pay a fee.
Continue reading “Alexandria Moves Toward Registration And Taxing Bicycles”
We previously discussed the insulting decision of Beyoncé to lip sync the national anthem at the Inauguration. The story has only gotten worse with time. First, it turns out that the Marine band also faked playing to match her fake singing. Second, and more recently, we have learned that Beyoncé decided to lip sync the day before after showing up late and not rehearsing. It appears that gig was not important enough to her to either show up on time or work a bit later. It is not the Superbowl after all.
Continue reading “What So Proudly We Hailed at Beyoncé’s Lip Syncing . . . (Part II)”
The California Highway Patrol has agreed to a settlement of the recent case of a pregnant driver, Tamara Gaglione, 30, being hogtied by police after being stopped for talking on her cellphone. Gaglione will receive a $250,000 settlement.
The Saudi Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice is a religious police force that has been a constant presence in the Kingdom arresting woman having coffee with colleagues or forcing young girls to burn to death in fire rather than run out without their scarves. Now the religious police in Dammam marched into a popular dinosaur exhibit and shut it down without any explanation of why the dinosaurs threatened the virtue of good Muslims.
Continue reading “Paleontological Perversity? Saudi Religious Police Shutdown Dinosaur Exhibit”
Journalist Mark Hales is facing bankruptcy after he blew the engine of a £1.3million replica Porsche 917 during a test drive. Hales says that the owner, veteran Formula One ace David Piper, told him that he would cover any damage. However, Piper denied the oral agreement occurred and a court ordered Hale to pay $76,000 to cover repairs to the car, plus $100,000 in legal costs.