The Board of Disciplinary Appeals (appointed by the Texas Supreme Court) has upheld a state licensing board’s decision to disbar former prosecutor Charles Sebesta for his role in convicting an innocent man. Anthony Graves spent 18 years on death row for setting a fire that killed six people. Sebesta’s conduct was shocking but remains a relatively rare example of prosecutors being held accountable in such cases of prosecutorial abuse.
Category: Society
Like many people, my family held a Superbowl party with friends (and my signature Chili dish) to watch both the game and the commercials. The group is about evenly divided between which is the greater draw, though with a relatively dull game the commercials took on a heightened level of scrutiny. The commercials were not a bumper crop this year but there were a few particularly funny spots. I liked the Doritos baby commercial, the Christopher Walkin commercial, the Willem Dafoe/Snickers commercial and the Prius commercial the most. They are posted below. However, NARAL Pro-Choice America, a leading advocacy group on the issue of abortion, quickly sent out tweets denouncing various commercials in an apparent effort to show critics that the organization is truly incapable of humor or restraint at such moments.
Continue reading “NARAL Denounces Superbowl Ads as “Transphobic” and “Sexist””
Spanish Puppeteers Alfónso Lázaro de la Torre and Raul García Pérez could be headed to prison after a decision by Judge Ismael Moreno Chamarro. The Court noted that the two men performed for children in a play that included “the hanging of a doll dressed as a judge, the stabbing of policeman, the rape of a nun and her later stabbing with a crucifix”. That is certainly a large measure beyond the Punch and Judy shows that we grew up with. However, the question remains whether such shows, as disgusting as they are, should be turned into criminalized speech or left to civil liability and public pressures.
Continue reading “Spanish Court Orders The Arrest of Puppeteers For Glorifying Terrorism”
Quentin Tarantino did not have to do much to get me into “The Hateful Eight.” I am a Cowboy movie addict and like the Tarantino films generally. However, I really appreciate movies that combine entertainment with real litigation to bring my world together. That function was performed brilliantly by Kurt Russell who, in a scene, destroys a guitar that he is playing in the movie. The guitar was borrowed by Tarantino from the Martin Guitar Museum in Pennsylvania and was viewed as a highly valuable 145–year-old period piece. It was supposed to be replaced by a prop instead to the horror of the museum, it was smashed beyond repair.
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
Three weeks ago, we featured an article describing the plight of dozens of academics who faced arrest after signing a peace petition. These advocates were declared enemies of the Republic of Turkey. Now President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government will put on trial a Turkish professor who placed onto an exam questions referencing PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan.
Ankara University professor Resat Baris Unlu faces charges for spreading “terrorist propaganda” after presenting his students a question comparing two documents written by the founder of the proscribed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) who is currently serving a life sentence.
We have previously discussed the bizarre treatment of young women who have turned to Bernie Sanders with other young people in unprecedented numbers. Democratic and feminist leaders have increasingly treated those women as ignorant, naive or disloyal. However the most shocking and sexist statement came from feminist icon Gloria Steinem who told Bill Maher on Friday night that young women are simply looking for boys and the “boys are with Bernie.” In the meantime, with Hillary Clinton next to her, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said that women supporting Sanders should go to hell. Why? These are women who are refusing to be sexist and simply support Clinton because she is a women. Isn’t that what the gender revolution was about? Many young women have been polled and say that they view Clinton as dishonest and the very personification of the establishment. One can certainly contest those views but the idea that women should be damned or dismissed for not supporting a woman should seem . . . well . . . sexist. Moreover, I fail to see how any of this is helping change any minds among young women.
Continue reading “Steinem: Young Women Supporting Sanders Are Just Looking For Men”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
When you are at the top of your class, you can cop an attitude and shake ’em down.
Washington State Patrol Trooper Annette Novey knows how to strut her stuff, and score “Best Academic” of her crew at a recent WSP Academy graduation.
While the Patrol is known for its clean-cut, military style discipline, Trooper Novey can bust a move and a perp.
Continue reading “Washington State Patrol’s Top Diva Busts A Move”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
One experience I particularly enjoy is watching videos of soldiers, sailors and airmen returning from duty overseas to loved ones. Occasionally one particular video really touches the heart and reminds us of how difficult separation can be.
I found this video yesterday and quite frankly it was one of the most emotionally inspiring ones I’ve had the pleasure to see in quite a while.
Continue reading “A Special Homecoming For One Of Our Soldiers”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
Washington State Rep. Mary Dye of Pomeroy seems to have a curious interest concerning students visiting the state capitol–they should be questioned as to their virginity.
As part of a visit to the Washington State Capitol, Planned Parenthood’s annual Teen Lobbying Day participants met with Representative Dye to advocate bills proposing the expansion of insurance coverage for birth control. But it seemed that our representative wanted a little more information than expected.
It apparently was necessary for these teenagers to disclose their sexual activities to Washington’s self-appointed Virgin Tester.
Continue reading “Washington Lawmaker Needs To Know If Visiting Students Are Virgins”
I have found the Democratic debates really interesting to watch. For the first time in my lifetime, these debates actually have some substance and drama. There was a couple of interesting moments last night, including the suggestion by Hillary Clinton that it is out of bounds for Sanders to raise the money that she has taken from Wall Street as a “smear.” I thought that Clinton did a good job on various points with strong responses, including the progressive label issue. However, one of the most intriguing moments was Clinton saying that it was ridiculous to call her the “establishment” candidate because she is a woman. For many, the Clintons are the personification of the establishment with huge donors, PACs, control of the DNC, and a massive political machine. Even the Washington Post responded with “Come on” to the suggestion that she is not the ultimate establishment candidate. Yet, Clinton’s point is that she is also the trying to become the first woman president and thus must be considered an outsider candidate. It seemed to resonate with the crowd, though Sanders appears to have tied Clinton in a national poll despite an concerted campaign from Democratic leaders and politicians aligned with Clinton. I thought it would make for an interesting discussion on the blog.
Continue reading “Clinton: I Cannot Be Part Of The “Establishment” As A Woman Running For President”
The Wall Street Journal is reporting a relatively happy ending to a terrorist attack. Officials reportedly believe that the man who died after being sucked out of a Somali passenger jet in midair on Monday was the man who set off the explosion. He succeeded only in blowing himself out of the plane. Problem solved.
Continue reading “Alleged Terrorist “Deplanes” After Blowing Hole Through Side of Airbus in Somalia”
This is why I love this country. An intern starts with a tech startup and falls asleep. The response? A group picture of course. What followed was a hilarious series of photoshops of the now famous but nameless intern. The guy even has his own teeshirt as an inspiration to us all.
Continue reading “Intern Becomes Internet Sensation After Falling Asleep At First Day At Work”
Here goes any chance I have in getting a Tesla. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is at the heart of an interesting controversy after he punished a customer for a critical posting about the badly planned launch event for the new model. Musk appears to have a rather authoritarian view of critics like an automotive version of the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld.
There is voir dire and then there is voir dear. The court in Pascagoula, Mississippi, sent out a jury summons this month but, when prospective jurors called the telephone line, they found themselves speaking to a sex hotline. It does not help that the Clerk’s name is Randy but he is really really sorry.
Continue reading “Voir Dear: Court Summons Potential Jurors With Referral To Sex Hotline”
The University of Connecticut is under fire this week after a report that it would create a living space segregated by race. The school is concerned about the lower graduation rate for black students. So it has arranged for black-only housing to try to maintain a more supportive environment. Others call is segregation and a return to pre-Brown v. Board of Education values. The university has insisted that it is not a separate dorm and that the reports have been overblown, as discussed on Snopes.
Continue reading “Critics: UConn to Create Black-Only Housing (Updated)”