Michael Joseph Oleksik, 23, has a curious crime alleged in Florida. He reportedly became upset when an ATM machine gave him too much money so he proceeded to pummel the machine. It is not clear why he was enraged by being over-paid, but any concern for the bank’s assets did not extend to the machine itself.
Continue reading “Man Arrested For Beating Up ATM Machine After Being Given Too Much Money”
In Minnesota, there is a troubling case brought by Rice County Attorney John Fossum who has confirmed that he has charged a 14-year-old girl with felony child pornography for sending a fellow teen a selfie of herself. In such a twisted logic, the child is both the victim and the felon of child pornography.
Continue reading “Minnesota Teen Charged With Child Pornography For Sending Selfie”
Many of us are excited to see the new biopic “Darkest Hour” on the towering historical figure of Winston Churchill. What is less welcomed is a truly ridiculous warning added to the move that “the depictions of tobacco smoking are based solely on artistic consideration.” It is not even clear what smoking “based solely on artistic consideration” means but is clearly meant as a gesture to those who would immediately run from the film in shock at the scene of a twentieth century leader smoking. It turns out that while, “History is written by the victors,” it is rewritten by cringing Hollywood producers.
Continue reading “Churchill Biopic Features Warning Against Second Hard Smoke”
A feminist activist from the extremist group Femen ran onto the Nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Monday and tried to steal the baby Jesus. The woman screaming “God is woman” was tackled by Vatican gendarme. The group identified the culprit as Alisa Vinogradova and proudly declared her to be a “sextremist”. This is not the only effort his season to “jack” Jesus. These cases represent a convergence of the Corpus delicti and the Corpus Christi.
Below is my column in the Hill Newspaper on an annual list of Christmas torts and mishaps. Santas feature prominently this year.
Continue reading “Christmas Torts: The 2018 Listing Of Holiday Mishaps and Madness”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
I received this week a true gem of a phishing e-mail. I have to admit however that I was a bit disappointed in its transparency.
Usually the notion of the Confidence Man of the past involves lavishing praise on his mark. Since the 1990s when a flim-flam attempted to scam a person they often provide respect by extending the courtesies of a learned barrister representing wealthy Nigerian politicians or royalty. But it seems cynicism finally overcame this fraud and it consumed him.
But then again, this onerous email might act as a filter to winnow out the intelligent from the truly gullible who are more easily victimized.
The University of Virginia has reversed a decision of VA student council to refuse to recognize a conservative student organization because it catered to conservative students. This absurd decision was based, according to Ty Zirkle, UVA student council’s vice president for organizations, on a strained reading of state law. The decision was in sharp contrast to other groups which cater to shared viewpoints. The concern should be with the selective application of this perceived rule by the student council.
There is an interesting hearing to be held in Minneapolis where a court will decide whether a new trial is warranted for Michael Smith, who has a record of offenses including fourth-degree assault convictions in 2005 and 2006. He is challenging his conviction four years ago after two jurors have stated that their votes were swayed by another juror calling him a “banger from the hood.” While statements of prosecutors are often the basis for post-conviction appeals, this is a statement from other jurors in deliberations that are rarely the subject of such detailed review.
Glen Alveris has a curious way of impressing a girl. He first shot an innocent woman walking her dog to impress his girlfriend with how “crazy” he was and then stabbed the girlfriend when we was clearly not impressed enough. He is likely to impress the heck out of a jury in New Orleans.
Gregory Lu is a student at the University of California San Diego who felt that all of the coverage over the acquittal of Jose Inez Garcia Zarate was missing sufficient consideration for his victim, Kate Steinle. Much of the coverage turned on the status of illegal immigrants like Zarate and their dreams in coming to the country. Accordingly, Lu posted 150 posters with her face and the words “She had dreams too.” The fliers were immediately taken down and Lu was informed that he was to report to the Office for the Prevention of Harassment & Discrimination due of an “online incident report.”
The Indiana Attorney General is investigating an Indiana hotel and is accused of a truly outrageous practice of charging customers hundreds of dollars when they write bad reviews of the hotel. Katrina Arthus and her husband were hit with a $350 fine when they panned the Abbey Inn & Suites on a social media site. They complained about the room smelling of sewage and the sheets were dirty. That led to the fine for disclosing their opinions and later a lawsuit by Arthus.
Continue reading “Indiana Hotel Charges Guests $350 For Writing Bad Review”
The video below has left me speechless as a mother first leaves a young child to beat down another woman in the mall and then attacks her again while pushing the stroller (then abandoning the child again to continue the fight). The fight was over claims made in a double murder homicide in Florida.
Continue reading “Toddler Abandoned As Adults Have Melee in Florida Mall”
CNN guest commentator Hilary Rosen has long been something of a live wire on television as when she attacked the wife of Mitt Romney — comments that David Axelrod called “offensive” and President Obama apologized for during the campaign. She has been criticized for her sometimes no-holds-barred approach to advocacy for Democrats. We had such an exchange on NPR where she was quick to take offense as a lesbian to a discussion on Hillary Clinton’s record. She is again in the midst of a controversy and could well be sued for defamation (though I think such a lawsuit would be unwarranted). Rosen (who is Jewish) went on social media to condemn Georgetown student Michael Bakan as an anti-Semitic after he appears in a bacon outfit in this picture. She appears to have missed the fact that his name resembles (and is pronounced) “Bacon.”
We recently discussed the outrage over a woman getting four-months probation for laughing at the torture of a defenseless, disabled man and posting this crime on social media. We have yet another absurd sentencing.
In Wisconsin, Richard A. Root, 21, was given six months in jail and seven years of probation after beating his 2-month-old daughter. He broke more than 20 of the infant’s bones and caused bleeding in her brain. Six months.
There is a rumor of more members being axed in the coming week over sexual harassment as Washington prepares for the final tax vote. Ok, it was just an excuse to show this incredible picture from a Leningrad gas mask drill in 1939.