Category: Society

Bizarre, International, Society

Cattle Call: Airbus and Southwest Moves To Add Even More Seats To Coach

220px-Economy_Seat220px-Boeing_737-2A1_N25SW_Southwest_SAT_17.10.75_edited-2I have previously authored columns and blog entries criticizing the airline industry for its nosedive in customer services and accommodations. (here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here). The includes the planned switch to “bench seating” where passengers are expected to start bringing their own cushions. Despite the rising criticism of airlines making record profits while continuing to strip away every comfort, there is a new report that Southwest is now turning its back on passengers. The airline and Airbus are going to stuff another seat into coach class with new A380 superjumbo carriers.

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Bizarre, Society

Clipped: Court Orders Girlfriend of Former Clippers Owner Donald Sterling To Repay Roughly $3 Million In Gifts To Sterling’s Wife

gavel2A California judge has ruled that the girlfriend of former Clippers owner Donald Sterling must pay back the $2.6 million given to her in gifts from Sterling in a surprising ruling that defines these gifts as community property even though the couple was separated and moving toward divorce. Judge Richard Fruin Jr. awarded Shelly Sterling most of the nearly $3 million she had sought. I have previously discussed how the case highlights the often troubling line of what constitutes prostitution and what constitutes a gifts. [Notably both Sterling and Stiviano deny having a sexual relationship] If Sterling had given V. Stiviano money directly for sex, it would be illegal. Instead, he gave her millions in gifts as part of a relationship. Regardless of where to draw that particular line, Fruin said that the line on community property is drawn to include the house, luxury cars and expensive gifts given to Stiviano as she served as the companion of the octogenarian Sterling.

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Criminal law, Society, Torts

TSA Screeners Fired After Allegedly Picking Out Handsome Male Passengers To Grope For Sexual Pleasure

240px-tsa_-_logoTwo Transportation Security Administration screeners at Denver International airport have been fired after investigators found that a male TSA employee would select handsome men that he wanted to fondle as part of a secondary patdown. Before you give the TSA much credit however you may want to read on.

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Criminal law, Society, Torts

Tickle, Tickle: California Police Officer Suspended After Allegedly Admitting That He Likes To Play With Dead Bodies

120px-Toe_tagThere is a bizarre and disturbing case out of Bakersfield California where Officer Aaron Stringer has been put on leave after he allegedly admitted that he liked to play with dead bodies and was seeing tickling the feet of a dead man (shot by police) and saying “tickle, tickle.”

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Animals, Bizarre, Criminal law, Society

Cleveland Mom Dangles Toddler Over Cheetah Pit At Zoo and Then Drops Him Into Pit

220px-Cheetah_KrugerWe have yet another tough case of how to handle a parent who seems devoid of basic sense, let alone basic instincts. The mother reportedly dangled her two-yera-old boy over a railing at a cheetah pit and then accidentally dropped him. Fortunately, the cheetahs did not attack but the boy’s leg was hurt.

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Academia, Criminal law, Society

Florida Eighth Grader Charged With Felony For School Prank

Domanik-GreenPrisonCellWe have yet another arrest in a school for an act that would have previously resulted in a reprimand and a parent visit with the principal — or at worst a suspension. Florida eighth-grader Domanik Green was accused of breaking into the computer system at the Paul R. Smith Middle School in Holiday, Florida to play a prank on a teacher. He changed the background of the teacher’s computer to show two men kissing. For that, he was charged with a felony for computer hacking. He will be tried as an adult. He is fourteen years old.

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Criminal law, Society

San Bernardino Sheriff Deputies Under Investigation After Release Of Police Beating Suspect In Desert

182px-Patch_of_the_San_Bernardino_County_Sheriff-Coroner's_DepartmentScreen Shot 2015-04-10 at 7.59.57 AMThere is another disturbing videotape of a beating by police in California. This incident involves a bizarre chase of a suspect on horseback in San Bernardino county. The aerial footage shows the suspect on the ground after being stunned by a taser. Despite no evidence of resistance, the sheriff’s deputies proceed to punch and kick Francis Jared Pusok, 30. Pusok was suspected of stealing the horse. Three deputies were injured during the search — two from dehydration and a third was injured when kicked by the horse.

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Academia, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Lawyering, Media, Society

San Diego Law Professor Prevails In Defamation Lawsuit Over Blog Article

d24d68ba081ac99041d0a1418fdb459dSan Diego University Law Professor Shaun P. Martin has prevailed in a bizarre lawsuit filed by Melanie Welch, who sued Martin for defamation after he discussed her case on his blog. In addition, the court imposed attorney fees against Welch for the litigation. The case is Welch v. Univ. of San Diego (Cal. App. 2015) and constitutes a victory for free speech protections.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Politics, Religion, Society

Tennessee Moves To Make Bible The Official State Book

h35180px-Gideons_BibleDespite far more pressing problems, Tennessee Senate and House committees have been working to make the Bible the official book of Tennessee — adding the Bible with catfish (the state fish) as a symbol of the state. Of course, cat fish are not matters of faith (beyond the hope and prayer of every fisherman). The House sponsor, Rep. Jerry Sexton, R-Bean Station, added “talking points” to bill. Sexton was only elected in 2015 but is wasting no time in trying to rollback on the separation of church and state.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, International, Lawyering, Media, Politics, Religion, Society

Private Detective Arrested With Silencer and Arsenal Of Weapons States That He Was Hired To Shadow Father Of Church Leader David Miscavige

488px-scientology_symbolsvgWest Allis, Wis., police had a bit of a surprise when they responded to a call about a mysterious man in the neighborhood near Milwaukee in July 2013 and found Dwayne S. Powell, a private detective, with two laptop computers, binoculars, a GPS tracking device, a stun gun, two rifles, four handguns, 2,000 rounds of ammunition and a homemade silencer in a rented SUV. While first resisting to give his name, Powell reportedly admitted that he was hired to keep continual watch on the father of David Miscavige, the leader of the Church of Scientology, who had separated from the church. Powell further stated that, after seeing what he believed was a possible heart attack, he contacted David Miscavige, who allegedly told him to let his father Ronald Miscavige Sr. die and not intervene or call help. The case has not led to litigation but it could.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Society

Meet Bobbi Ann House: The “Military Mistress” On The Run

275FAB4100000578-0-image-a-2_1428499695165Police are searching for Bobbi Ann House, 39, dubbed the “Military Mistress” for what they allege is a pattern of fraudulent conduct, including marriages to 14 U.S. servicemen to steal their money. She is reportedly on the run with Zackerie House, 27, her new husband. They are reportedly driving a bright blue 2005 Cadillac Escalade purchased with a fraudulent down payment.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Society

South Carolina Police Officer Charged With Murder After Posting Of Video Shooting Unarmed Man In Back

officer(2)Michael Slager, an officer with the North Charleston Police Department, has been charged with murder after a highly disturbing video surfaced that shows him shooting an unarmed man who was running away. He could face the death penalty for the alleged crime.

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Bizarre, Congress, Politics, Society

No Comprendo: Federal Government Approved “Disability” Payments to Puerto Ricans Who Cannot Speak English . . . in Puerto Rico

220px-US-SocialSecurityAdmin-Seal.svgJust when you think that the federal government could not be more moronic in the spending of money, you read a story like this. The Social Security Administration (SSA) has been approving disability benefits for hundreds of Puerto Ricans because they do not speak English. However, these “disabled” individuals are living in a predominantly Spanish-speaking territory. Having worked for the Puerto Rico House of Representatives years ago, the story seemed to me a belated April Fool’s joke but it appears to be true.

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Bizarre, Politics, Society

U.S. Postal Service Issues “Forever” Stamp For Maya Angelou With Quote From Different Author

ST-maya7341428096065The U.S. Postal Service not only has issues with a new limited edition “Forever” stamp honoring Maya Angelou with a quote written by another author but it doesn’t appear particularly disturbed about it. The stamp above features the quote “A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.” However, that is a quote from child book author Joan Walsh Anglund.

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Academia, Science, Society

Study: 69 Percent Of People On Antidepressants Do Not Meet Criteria For Clinical Depression

Old_guitarist_chicagoThere is an interesting study out in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry that has concluded that the majority of people taking antidepressants may not actually have depression. The study found that more than two-thirds (69 per cent) of people taking antidepressants did not meet the criteria for major depressive disorder, or clinical depression.

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