In Bolivia, North Carolina, former teacher Leah Gayle Shipman, 42, was spared a criminal trial on statutory rape of a student on a rather novel ground: she married the student. Shipman married Johnnie Ray Ison, 17, after divorcing her husband of 19 years. Ison married with the consent of his mother.
Continue reading “North Carolina Teacher Avoids Rape Charges By Marrying Student”
Remember the moving rendition of the National Anthem by Beyoncé at the Inaugural? Not only does it now appear that she lip synced but it took a British newspaper to uncover the truth. The Times is reporting that the spokesperson for the Marine Corp Band Kristen DuBois confirmed that Beyoncé did a Milli Vanilli with the National Anthem.
Continue reading “What So Proudly We Hailed at Beyoncé’s Lip Syncing . . .”
Three police officers in Schaumburg, Illinois (outside Chicago) have been indicted for allegedly teaming up with a drug dealer to sell narcotics. Matthew Hudak, John Cichy, and Terrance O’Brien were all members of the tactical unit and charged with a female companion, Nicole Brehm, 44.
Continue reading “Three Illinois Police Officers Indicted In Narcotics Sting”
This is really how all roadside sobriety tests should go.
Minnesota attorney Thomas P. Lowe, 58, has been suspended indefinitely after he was found not only to have had an affair with a client in a divorce case but then charged her for time they spent having sex.
I have already given my view of the Inauguration Speech. However, I just read MSNBC’s Chris Matthews comparison of this unremarkable speech to the Gettysburg Address. I previously tweeted about the now formulaic approaches of Fox and MSNBC to covering the president. However, this comparison demonstrates the detachment from the actual observed news once filtered through these cable programs.
Continue reading “Chris Matthews: Obama Speech Akin To Gettysburg Address”
Gun Appreciation Day across the country was marked by various gun shot wounds. At the Dixie Gun and Knife Show in Raleigh, North Carolina, the owner of a 12-gauge shotgun was asked to remove his gun from its case at a security check point and accidentally discharged the weapon — wounding three people.
We have yet another mindless enforcement of a zero tolerance rule. A 5-year-old Pennsylvania girl was suspended from kindergarten after she who told another girl that she was going to shoot her with a pink Hello Kitty toy gun that blows soapy bubbles. Originally, the charge was “terroristic threats” against the student. The Mount Carmel Area Elementary School in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania reduced the charge but still suspends the kindergartener to end her reign of soapy terror.
By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
Manti Te’o may not be the last of the true romantics. The Heisman Trophy runner-up and supposed victim of an on-line girlfriend hoax wrought by an acquaintance stands a distant second in the wine and chocolates line. Meet Manatee County (FL)’s own James Flenniken, unpolished thief (allegedly) and dedicated romantic. Beneficiary of an impending date with a lady, Flenniken hopped on over to the local Wal-Mart and helped himself to $80.00 worth of beef steak, wine and beer according to a report in the Bradenton Herald. Nabbed by an alert loss prevention worker, our love struck grifter told police he did the deed to “impress a lady.” The officers –obviously no fans of best-selling author Nora Roberts — were unimpressed and charged Flenniken with petty theft. He was held later without bond in the local hoosegow and thus frustrating any chance at true love. No word on the lucky lady. I’m betting on Winona Ryder. The couple seems to have a lot in common.
Source: Bradenton.com
~Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
Municipal court judge Lee Johnson in Ennis, Texas, is the latest public official to rush to Facebook like a teenager on a tear. Johnson breathlessly reported that a “certain unnamed (very) recent Heisman Trophy winner” had been ticketed in his jurisdiction — an obvious reference to Texas A&M quarterback and Heisman winner Johnny Manziel. Johnson then wrote “I meant to say ‘allegedly’ speeding, my bad.” It was striking that Johnson thought the problem was not saying allegedly as opposed to his turning into some form of judicial paparazzi.
When responding to a fire, most firefighters would not expect a small avalanche as a peril though it is hard to see how the danger was not obvious for this firefighter. Nevertheless, he went to rescue people in the fire and his colleagues ultimately rescued a child. The firefighter is thankfully doing well and was close to falling four stories after the hit.
Continue reading “Russian Firefighter Survives Close Call After Being Hit By Snow In Fire”
We have another large settlement involving the Chicago Police Department this year. The Chicago police will pay $22.5 million to compensate a mentally-ill California woman who was released by police into a high-crime area where she was kidnapped and raped before she fell from the seventh floor of a public housing apartment building. Christina Eilman, 27, survived and will be given the largest settlement in Chicago’s history (the prior record was $18 million).
Michael L. Selleneit, 54, appears to have decided that his defense to shooting a neighbor was not particularly promising. After Selleneit shot Tony Pierce, 41, who lived in a nearby trailer, he claimed to have acted in defense of his wife who was being “telepathically” raped by Pierce.
Lance Armstrong has reportedly gone to Oprah to come clean on his use of doping to win his seven Tour de France titles — sort of. Oprah says that he admitted to the use of the drugs but not quite as fully as she wanted. The admission is clearly calculated to allow Armstrong to compete in triathlons. However, there are an array of lawsuits facing Armstrong that raise some interesting questions.
The response to the massacre in Newtown, Connecticut continues to get more and more bizarre. In Arizona, a controversial sheriff will have a volunteer “posse” at schools armed to the teeth. The NRA president wants armed guards at every school. Now, in Montpelier, Ohio, the school district wants to arm custodial staff who will now have push brooms, plungers, and semi-automatic weapons.
Continue reading “Ohio School District Moves To Arm . . . Janitors”