Breana Harmon Talbott, 19, is facing criminal charges after creating panic in Denison, Texas over her claim that she was kidnapped and gang raped by three black men. She has reportedly admitted to an elaborate hoax, including a staged crime scene and self-inflicted injuries.
Continue reading “Texas Woman Confesses To Lying About Being Gang Raped By Three Black Men”
Judge Neil Gorsuch is scheduled to complete the long and grueling questioning of his confirmation hearing today. Indeed, he may finish a bit early. Like past nominees, Gorsuch declined to discuss cases and said little about his positions on possible cases dealing with subjects like abortion. Nominees are trained to hit grounders in these hearing and avoid pitches in the corners or trying to put anything over the wall. He stayed with that strategy and the Democrats have made little progress in undermining his stellar record. I have two columns out today at USA Today and The Hill newspaper discussing different aspects of the nomination. I am scheduled to testify at the hearing on Thursday when they call expert witnesses. There remains one disturbing question, however, that needs to be addressed: is Judge Gorsuch anti-duck?
There is an interesting proposal in California where legislators are moving to punishing any companies who work with the federal government in the construction of the wall pledged by President Donald Trump between the United States and Mexico. The bill would force pension funds to divest from participating companies. It is a bill that would significantly raise the level of conflict between the Trump Administration and certain states. The Trump Administration is already moving to withdraw grants from cities and states barring assistance to federal immigration officials. To now have states retaliate against companies for simply contracting with the federal government would push the already bad situation to Def Con 1 over federal/state conflict. There is no way that the federal government could sit ideally by as states retaliated against federal contractors.
Continue reading “California Legislators Move To Punish Companies Working On Border Wall”
Alden Whiteside could not have handled things worse on his way Spring Break in Florida. First, there was the seven cases of beer in plain view in his truck. Then there was the problem of being 19 and not allowed to drink or buy alcohol. Then there was the fact that he was speeding. Then there was the fake driver’s license that he was using. Finally, there was the marijuana discovered in the car. That pretty much covers most of the criminal code. He was not the only Alabama college student facing charges from a Spring Break gone bad.
Continue reading “University of Alabama Students Arrested in Two Epic Spring Break Cases”
We have seen rising violence and intolerance on our colleges and universities as some students seek to prevent speakers and claim an ever-widening array of “microaggressions” and cultural appropriations. The latest occurred during a basketball game where a player was attacked due to wearing braids that 20-year-old Hispanic student, Carmen Figueroa, claimed to be cultural misappropriation.
Iran this week celebrated its National Women’s and Mothers’ Day and Ayatollah Khamenei held forth on his demented view of the ideal Islamic women. Khamenei denounced the very concept of women’s rights and gender equality as a Western plot against all women.
If you thought your dentist was a bit intimidating, you may want to check out “Dr.” Joseph Hirsch, 59. Hirsh is accused of practicing dentistry in Redwood (CA) without a license. Then there is the problem of the unsanitary office and his alleged meth cooking operation. Hirsch’s dental operation included a pair of brass knuckles, which presumably were used for extractions.
Continue reading “Can You Guess What This Person Was Charged With?”
Yesterday’s press conference by White House Spokesman Sean Spicer seemed uncomfortably close to a Saturday Night Live parody as Spicer spared with CNN and other news outlets over President Trump’s wiretapping allegations. I actually was sympathetic with Spicer on one point: the media continues to take a literal meaning of Trump’s reference to “wiretap.” Some after the first tweet, I stated on CNN that I did not believe that Trump was speaking literally and that he likely meant “surveillance.” I have written and litigated in the field of surveillance over the course of decades and the use of “wiretap” to mean surveillance is a common, if inartful, practice — particularly among older Americans. That does not mean that Trump’s allegation of surveillance is true or supportable. That should be the focus, not this recurring rhetorical point. However, there has been a truly shocking lack of discipline among high-ranking Trump staffers in their public comments, including comments that have undermined the immigration orders. A good example of that ongoing problem is the suggestion that British intelligence surveilled Trump for Obama. This allegation had no place in a White House briefing and led to a reported embarrassing apology from the Administration to the British and a promise not to repeat it. It appears that there was no James Bond contract to surveil and the Administration is again shaken not stirred scripted. [UPDATE: CNN is reporting late Friday that Sean Spicer has denied that any apology has been made to Britain. For its part, Fox News reportedly is saying that it has no support for the allegation raised by Judge Napolitano]
In the latest indictment of our educational system, a new study has found that only 1 out of five kids in Oklahoma City can tell time on an analog clock. These kids rely on iPhone and other devices with numerical readouts of the time.
Continue reading “Report: 4 Out Of 5 Oklahoma City Kids Cannot Tell Time”
This is not exactly the “wake me up” that most travelers are seeking in their morning commute from Amtrak.
Continue reading “Avalanche With Amtrak: New York Passengers Get Buried In Snow From Arriving Train”
Micah Risner, 29, and his fiancée Nataleigh Schlette are accused of a truly bizarre crime in Ohio. Family members received pictures of a grotesque murder scene of Schlette. Risner then texted his sister to suggest that he had murdered Schlette. When police were called to the home, they found Schlette alive and the couple admitted that the whole thing was a moronic prank. The police were not laughing and the couple was charged with “inducing panic.”
Continue reading “Ohio Couple Charged After Staging Gruesome Murder As Family Prank”
We have often discussed the difficult challenge in dealing recidivists for DUI and other non-violent offenses. Margaret Johnson, however, is virtually in a category onto herself. The 40-year-old English woman has been arrested 153 times and is called the “Pickpocket Queen of Birmingham.”
Continue reading “English Woman Gets 30 Months In Jail After 153rd Arrest”
Carleton University has students and some faculty upset over a decision to remove scales for its gym because, according to one students, “scales are very triggering” for people with eating disorders. Some asked if mirrors would be next. However, that decision was already made in one dorm in Bucknell University where mirrors were covered in an effort to promote “body positivity” and “self-love.” Various schools have similarly adopted “mirrorless Mondays” to combat eating disorders and triggering episodes.
Continue reading “Carleton University Ban Scales At School Gym Due To “Triggering” Some Students”
Zachary Gross, 31, may be the least repentant criminals to face a judge at sentencing. The Kentucky man interrupted the judge during his hearing and told him to spare him the “lecture.” It was a particularly curious position for a man to take after telling his pit bull to attack his girlfriend,Marilyn Stanley — leading to her being partially scalped by the dog. The horrific attack and its equally horrific aftermath was caused by Gross anger over Facebook postings by Stanley. If there was anyone in need of a good lecture, it would seem to be Zachary Gross.
It appears that if you are an authoritarian tyrant everyone looks like a Nazi when they oppose your will. Recently, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounced the German government for blocking rallies of Turkish nationals — saying that the decision is “no different to those of the Nazi period.: Erdogan has been widely denounced for his destruction of the secular traditions of Turkey and his attack on free speech and the free press. Erdogan somehow missed the global ridicule of his (of all people) objecting to the denial of free speech. Now, undeterred, Erdogan is denouncing the Netherlands as Nazis after the denied permission for a plane carrying Turkey’s foreign minister to land in the country ahead of a rally supporting his notorious expanded powers.