With the approach of Yom Kippur, animal rights advocates and officials in California are launching a campaign to end the ritual of Kapparot, where a fowl is held by the neck and swung around the head of a Jewish person. The sins of the person are then transfered to the fowl (usually a chicken) which is then sacrificed. The practice has been denounced as little more than animal cruelty and many have called for criminal charges under state laws.
Category: Bizarre
A California prisoner, Barry A. Hazle Jr., 40, is challenging a condition of his release from prison after a year on drug possession: mandatory drug treatment. It is not the drug treatment idea that bothers Hazle, it is the religiosity of the program. Hazle is an atheist and would like a program that does not require his commitment to both sobriety and God.
Continue reading “What Price Sobriety? Atheist Prisoner Challenges Mandatory Religious Program”
A Marianna, Fla. middle-school teacher, Greg Howard, will not be fired after he allegedly explained to his class what supporters of Barach Obama really mean by “Change.” He reportedly wrote the word on the board as an acronym: “C.H.A.N.G.E. — Come Help A (N-word) Get Elected.” It appears that in Florida, openly racist lesson plans are merely cause for a 10 days suspension and a relocation to a new job within the district.
Continue reading “Florida Teacher Fined But Retained After Allegedly Racist Lesson for Middle School Students”
Officials at the Berkeley Unified School District are investigating an allegation that Jefferson Elementary School teacher Gwen Martin not only told her students that Santa and the Easter Bunny were fakes but told them that God is very real.
Continue reading “Making the Naughty List: California Teacher Tells Students that Santa and Easter Bunny Do Not Exist”
A federal district court judge has issued an interesting decision in Miller v. Penn Manor School District, (ED PA, Sept. 30, 2008). This case originally captured national attention when a high school student, Donald Miller III, was prevented from wearing a T-shirt that said “Special Issue-Resident-Lifetime License, United States Terrorist Hunting Permit…” The Court upheld the ban on such messages including violent messages. However, it struck down a religious-related ban.
Continue reading “Federal Court Enjoins Limitations on Student Religous Expression”
Sheikh Muhammad al-Habadan in Saudi Arabia is calling for women to wear a niqab, or full veil, that covers all but one eye. Currently, women wear head to toe coverings that show two eyes. However, al-Habadan says women are wearing eye make-up and flirting with their two eyes.
In a clear effort to simply delay an investigation until after the November election, Alaskan GOP politicians have appealed the recent ruling upholding the investigation of Gov. Sarah Palin. Anchorage Superior Court Judge Peter Michalski dismissed their lawsuit Thursday shortly before the debate. I discussed the ruling on the Rachael Maddow Show. This is precisely the same tactic used by Dick Cheney and the Bush Justice Department in filing motions and appeals to advance meritless claims for the sole purpose of delay. In political cases, justice delayed is justice.
Continue reading “Delay and Conquer: GOP Politicians Appeal Troopergate Ruling”
As Congress was passing a bailout of $700 billion to rescue companies like Fannie Mae from their own poor decisions, Addie Polk in Akron, Ohio was being evicted after Fannie Mae foreclosed on her home. She was bailed out of her home when medics carried her out after she shot herself.
Joshua Hickson, 19, appears by any measure to be an idiot. When he found out that a student at Wenatchee High School was severely allergic to peanuts, he repeatedly smeared a peanut butter sandwich on the student’s forehead. However, some people are objecting that he is now charged with criminal assault despite the lack of any injury or allergic reaction. He faces a year in jail if convicted of the misdemeanor. It could be a new addition to our criminal lexicon: Assault and Battery (A & B) with P & J.
Shortly before the start of the Vice Presidential debate, Alaskan judge Peter Michalski handed down a major ruling threw out a challenge by Republican politicians seeking to block an investigation into Gov. Sarah Palin in the so-called Troopergate scandal. [Update: I discussed this last night on Rachael Maddow’s show, click here).
Continue reading “Judge Upholds Troopergate Investigation of Gov. Sarah Palin”
JetBlue seems to have taken a bad turn this week. In Fort Lauderdale, two JetBlue pilots, Pilots William Hart Smith, 40, and Brad Leopard, 38,, went to a strip club and then allegedly attacked a taxi driver over a $9 fare to a Subway restaurant. In the meantime, a women has said that a flight from Fort Lauderdale became a nightmare when a JetBlue flight attendant allegedly harassed and groped her.
Senator Ted Stevens may get a mistrial after the judge discovered that prosecutors withheld material evidence from his defense. It is a great irony for the Republican Senator who, like Sen. Larry Craig, spent careers stripping criminal defendants of rights, but soon found the value of those hated little “technicalities.”
Continue reading “Possible Mistrial in Sen. Stevens’ Corruption Trial”
The tragic case of Iman Morales just got more tragic. Morales was found dancing naked on the top of a ledge. Police shot him with a taser, resulting in his fall and death. It was an obviously poor decision in violation of department guidelines. Now, the officer in charge who gave that order, Lt. Michael Pigott, has committed suicide in the police locker room after being stripped of his badge and gun.
Continue reading “Accused Police Officer in New York Taser Death Commits Suicide at Police Station”
A major fight is brewing in the tranquil environs of the Hamptons. Rabbi Marc Schneier and Orthodox Jews want Westhampton Beach officials to approve the placement of an eruv, a religious boundary that allows observant Jews to perform minor tasks on their Sabbath or on religious holidays. Citizens have objected, including some more secular Jewish citizens and there is talk of a lawsuit.
Continue reading “Religious Controversy Grips the Hamptons”
Republican politicians continue to explore the possibility that Barack Obama is the Anti-Christ. Recently, a Republican County Chairperson suggested that he was indeed the biblical beast foretold in the Book of Revelation. Now, Fort Mill, S.C. Mayor Danny Funderburk admits that he sent out an e-mail warning about the possibility, but insists that he was “just curious” about gathering evidence on the question. In the meantime, John McCain remains silent on allegations (first raised on this blog) that he is indeed the Aztec Demon God Itzcoliuhqui.
Continue reading “Latest Biblical Beast Sighting: GOP Mayor Says that It Remains Unclear Whether Obama is the Anti-Christ”