Category: Society

Free Speech, Society

FCC Votes To End Predatory Pricing Of Inmate Telephone Calls

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

PrisonCellWe previously featured an article on how the practice of private organizations charging predatory tolls on inmate telephone calls. Now, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC), a regulatory agency of the U.S. Government, voted to enact guidelines limiting these tolls to be more in-line with reasonable costs that the agency believes will balance inmate needs with legitimate rates of return required by carriers to remain viable in their business venture.

The ruling by the FCC should come not only as welcome news to inmates, their friends and families, but it will also provide a means of comfort for most inmates and might to a limited degree also lead to lower problems affecting staff caused by inmate misbehavior.

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Criminal law, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

Embattled Prosecutor Reportedly Says He Will Get $100,000 In Free Publicity For The Murder of Four Police Officers

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

Mark Lindquist
Mark Lindquist

An outrageous statement, if proven to be true, was made by embattled Pierce County Washington Prosecutor Mark Lindquist following the assassination of four Lakewood Police Officers in 2009.

These four officers were murdered while at a local coffee shop in Parkland. Their deaths were marked by great mourning in the law enforcement community and among Washington State’s citizens.

Showing almost sociopathic indifference, Prosecutor Mark Lindquist was quoted by his former Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Mary Robnett (who is now an Assistant Attorney General) as saying he,

“was going to have to run for re-election and would get $100K of free publicity from the murders.”

Of course, publically he was right there to show his great “remorse” for the officers and their families. His statement was confirmed by other witnesses.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, International, Military, Politics, Society

Egyptian Military Court Sentences Facebook User To Three Years For Joke Image in Unhappiest Place On Earth

CRCgw43WwAAj_xb-600x600Our close ally, Egypt, continues to lay waste to free speech this month with the absurd sentencing of a Facebook user to three years in jail for simply putting Mickey Mouse ears on a picture of president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. Amr Nohan was charged with an “attempt to overthrow the regime” for the comical Facebook posting and tried in a military court.

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Criminal law, Society

Albuquerque Police Nab Driver Who Allegedly Shot and Killed Four-Year-Old In Road Rage Incident

1022 tony torrez6412334_1445435749.4648Albuquerque police have announced that they have arrested the man responsible for the killing of Lilly Garcia, 4, in a road rage incident. Tony Torrez, 32, reportedly confessed to the crime and the police hit him with a long list of charges that should guarantee that he remains in jail most if not all of his life. Indeed, even a plea agreement at this point would likely place the sentence near the maximum level but, if Torrez confessed, there is little in terms of a defense to present without striking the confession on some grounds.

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Criminal law, Politics, Society

Gallup Poll: 58% Of Americans Want Marijuana Legalized

It is a common lament these days that we seem a hopelessly divided country on virtual every major issue from immigration to health care to climate change. The exception appears to be marijuana. Not only are record numbers of citizens reporting that they use pot, but a new Gallup poll puts support for legalization at 58%. That is up seven points from just one year ago. In addition to the public support, there appears increasing investments and tax revenues associated with marijuana sales. That combination could make it difficult for Congress or the next Administration to reverse this trend toward legalization.

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Criminal law, Media, Society

Atlantic City Man Arrested After Video Show Him Taunting And Assaulting Homeless Woman

Screen Shot 2015-10-20 at 8.56.54 PMIbn Hunter, 25, is one person that Atlantic City could do without. Hunter was arrested after he starred in a vicious video posted on YouTube where he taunts and then knocks out a 45-year-old homeless woman. The videotape below is disgusting and all the more disturbing by the utter lack of reaction of people around them.

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Academia, Bizarre, Society

San Francisco Principal Withholds Results Of School Election After Students Fail To Elect Sufficiently Diverse Representatives

1442646280822.jpg_w235Everett Middle School in San Francisco’s Mission District is teaching its students a thing or two about democracy . . . or the lack of it. Parents were informed by Principal Lena Van Haren (left) that the winners of the recent student elections would not be announced (or possibly honored) after the election failed to produce a sufficiently diverse selection. The school is composed of 80 percent students of color and 20 percent white students. The students however appeared to pick their representatives based on their individual qualifications rather than their race and that was a problem for Van Haren who told parents that the results were “concerning to me because as principal I want to make sure all voices are heard from all backgrounds.”

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Criminal law, Society

Chicago Former Gang Member Arrested After His 6-Year-Old Son Kills His Brother With Loaded Gun Left In Kitchen

562400f51400002a00c7a30bMichael Santiago, 25, is under arrest for felony child endangerment after his 6-year-old son accidentally shot and killed his 3-year-old brother. Santiago kept the .32-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver fully loaded on top of the refrigerator.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Media, Politics, Society

FEDERAL COURT DENIES ADMINISTRATION MOTION AND SETS ACA CASE FOR FINAL RULING

800px-Capitol_Building_Full_ViewThis afternoon, Judge Rosemary Collyer issued her ruling on the motion by the Administration to forego a ruling on the merits in the United States House of Representatives v. Burwell, a challenge brought by the House to unilateral action taken by the Administration under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). After losing its motion to dismiss the case on standing grounds, the Administration sought (over the objections of the House) to remove the case to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia without ruling on the merits of the case. Judge Collyer denied the motion and set the case for final briefing and ultimately a final ruling.

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Bizarre, Media, Military, Politics, Society

C for Censorship? CBS Bars Advertisements Of “The Truth” Movie On Bush Military Record

Truth_2015_posterThere is an interesting story coming out of CBS this week where the network has refused to air advertisements for Truth by Sony Pictures Classics. The problem is that the film starring Cate Blanchett and Robert Redford places CBS in a negative light in exploring the network controversy over airing the 2004 news story on former President George W. Bush’s military service record. The story was discredited and CBS fired producer Mary Mapes. Anchor Dan Rather later retired from CBS. [For full disclosure, I worked for CBS as an on-air analyst with Rather and thought very highly of him in our work on the Bush v. Gore coverage].

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Animals, Environment, Politics, Society

Hiker Found Guilty In Alaska In Tripping Traps That Killed Bald Eagle and Endangered Hikers

trapped-eagle-e1441350775692-930x699There is a bizarre case out of Alaska where hiker Kathleen Turley (no relation despite our shared name and mutual love for hiking) was found liable for springing traps John Forrest’s near a hiking path. The Juneau native insisted that she encountered the traps when it caught a bald eagle that she rescued from the trap. She tripped other traps to protect fellow hikers and her dog. However, the court found that that was no defense and that, under Alaskan law, she is liable.

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Bizarre, International, Society

“Please Be Careful As [Passengers] May Have Shifted During Flight”: Airbus Seeks New Design To Stack Passengers On Planes

lead_largeWe have been discussing the race to the bottom in airlines in the treatment of passengers from endless special charges to the elimination of every possible convenience or comfort. As I fly back to Washington this morning, I thought I would share the latest vision of the industry to stuff more people into planes by stacking them like kindling. It would seem that airlines may have to change their standard warning about luggage shifting in overhead bins to alert passengers to the danger of failing passengers who shifted during flights.

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Society, Travel Blog

FAREWELL OKLAHOMA CITY

220px-Bricktown_Canal_Water_Taxis_in_Oklahoma_CityI leave this morning for home after a wonderful stay at Oklahoma City. As I have written before, I have a particular affection for this beautiful city and its citizens. Indeed, I have been saddened of late with the continued mismanagement of my home city of Chicago where politicians have run the economy into the ground through waste, runaway pension plans, and excessive taxation. The contrast with Oklahoma City is striking. This has always been exceptionally well-run. The city is continuing a long investment and downtown improvement plan which has transformed the city with new parks, buildings, and recreational areas. This has been done without incurring a huge debt by carefully balancing new revenue with new construction. The Olympic-level rowing facility near downtown is an example of the creative planning by the city — a beautiful addition to the riverfront that is making the city a global presence in the sport. The BIDs or business improvement districts have been fueled by an intense civic pride at Oklahoma City that is evident everywhere you turn. Where Chicago is an example of the failure of a political system, Oklahoma City is a model of how a city can marshal its resources, particularly its people, to improve the city.

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Bizarre, Politics, Society

You Won An IOU: Illinois Forced To Halt Payments On Lottery Winners Due To Lack Of Funds . . . But Continues to Run Lottery

illinois-lotteryWhile I loved spending a few days back home in Chicago this week, it was depressing to see how decades of mismanagement of the city and the State continue to take a toll on citizens and businesses. The latest absurdity is the announcement by the Illinois lottery that anyone who wins more than $600 will simply get an IOU for their winnings due to a lack of cash. Yet, the state is still encouraging citizens to play the lottery.

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