Elders at Ridgedale Church of Christ appear not to have read John 8:7: “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” Instead, the elders gathered themselves and their stones this week to ban a mother because she would not renounce her own child. The Tennessee church banned two relatives for good measure after they supported Kat Cooper, a lesbian detective with the Collegedale Police Department. Her mother, Linda Cooper, was given the choice: denounce your daughter or leave the church. It was not much of a Sophie’s Choice: she left the church and with her was any evidence of God’s grace that this church may have had.
Category: Society
There was an interesting moment in a White House briefing this week by Principal Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest. Earnest made a frank statement that President Obama had a “bias” for black colleges and universities. The statement produced an immediate backlash from some academics at non-historically black institutions. It was an honest moment and it is likely to be blown out of proportion by those who wrongly subscribe to the view that Obama dislikes whites, as stated this week by the Maine governor. However, the statement took many of us back in the academic world particularly when the question addressed all colleges and universities with regard to loans. I am pretty sure that Earnest was simply noting that the reduction of loans would affect these institutions significantly. However, various professors emailed me with the comment that spread like wildfire across academic channels. I think that the comment is being blown out of proportion and would have been less problematic with an additional line about the high vulnerability of these institutions to the loss of such revenue. Even that however would likely draw objections that schools, including law schools, are cutting back on staff and programs as revenues fall with applications across the country. Tough times understandable make for sensitive folk.
There is an interesting story out of Southhampton, New York where a toxic tide of brown water has come in — killing fish and turning the ocean into a disgusting mix of dead fish and rust colored water. While people have raised questions about the water, it was the response of the state of New York that caught my eye: “The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation said it cannot comment on claims that it is not doing enough to protect Long Island waterways, because of a pending lawsuit.”
In criminal law and torts, we often discuss acts of passion as a defense. The most difficult cases are often heat-of-passion cases. There are few defendants who could claim the cause for such heat-of-passion acts as Timothy John ‘TJ’ Brewer. Brewer walked in on his wife having sex in his son’s room. To make thing worse, the man was his own father — fire chief Wesley ‘Corky’ Brewer. TJ Brewer, a former sheriff’s deputy hit his wife, pistol-whipped his father, and threaten to kill his father with a handgun. He has now pleaded guilty to assault and assault on a police officer.
We have previously discussed how some countries require approval of names or ban the use of some names. This includes a recent court order stripping a baby of the name “Messiah.” Now the city of Brussels has told an Israeli couple that they cannot name their child “Jerusalem” because it is not on the official list of permissible baby names.
Continue reading “Brussels Prevents Israeli Couple From Naming Baby “Jerusalem””
This cartoon is at the center of a controversy at the University of Denver. We have previously discussed the trend to eliminate such school symbols as Chief Illini and others. Unlike some of these controversies, “Denver Boone” is not based on a tribe but is a cartoon character designed by a Walt Disney cartoonist. However, the University of Denver has voted to ban its use as offensive.
Continue reading “University of Denver Bans “Denver Boone” As Offensive”
Below is my column today in the Los Angeles Times. The column follows the recognition of the name for Area 51, which produced a great deal of media coverage.
Continue reading “The Truth Is Out There: The Real Cover-Up At Area 51”
Civil libertarians have long ago lost faith in Barack Obama’s and his continuing expression of support for privacy and individual rights. Just in case anyone is still not convinced, consider the petition this month to the Supreme Court by the Obama Administration. Just last week, Obama waxed poetic about his commitment to privacy. Yesterday however, his Administration took another major swipe at privacy and asked the Supreme Court to reverse the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, which held that the police could not conduct warrantless searches of your cellphone when you are arrested. The decision in United States v. Wurie is below.
Communist Party members across China are receiving secret instructions from Beijing to stomp out notions of democracy or rights that are growing among Chinese citizens. It appears that ideas of freedom are creeping into the worker’s paradise and, in a remarkably frank and brutal message, the Party is warning that such ideas (called the “seven perils”) are threatening its hold on China.
In West Virginia, Mingo County Circuit Judge Michael Thornsbury is the only judge in his county. However, federal prosecutors have charged that he had enough time on his hands to frame have an affair with his secretary and frame her husband for a series of crimes, including the planting of drugs. Thornsbury, 57, is charged with two counts of conspiracy against rights to frame what U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin calls “his romantic rival.”
For civil libertarians in the United States and England, it is increasingly difficult to distinguish the practices of our own governments and the countries that we routinely denounce as authoritarian. An example of this confusion can be found in the outrageous arrest of the partner of journalist Glenn Greenwald, the Guardian writer who brought the Snowden disclosures to light and a leading voice for civil liberties in the world. David Miranda, who lives with Greenwald, was taken into custody when passing through London’s Heathrow airport on his way home to Rio de Janeiro. He was held for nine hours and had his computer, cell phone and other equipment seized. Such stops can occur at the request of the National Security Agency and other agencies and are carried out under the abusive Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000. The case could also highlight possible surveillance of journalists in England and the United States.
Davenport police are facing an outcry over the treatment of an alleged shoplifter, Brandie Redell, in custody after a videotape surfaced showing clear contradictions with what the officer stated in his report. The report states that Redell was the aggressor and the officer her victim despite serious injuries to Redell that required medical treatment. Officer Scott Crow hit Redell repeatedly because he says that the woman appeared to be “willing to fight.” It is not clear what that means but the video shows the woman seated when Crow hits her and throws her to the ground.
In Saratoga Springs, a historic cast-iron fountain was knocked over by individuals trying to steal coins thrown with wishes into the pool. It was a senseless act for chump change, but the culprits may soon learn that you have to be careful what you wish for: there are cameras inside faux bird houses in the park that may have captured their images. In the meantime, Buffalo meter maids have confessed to stealing 840,000 quarters from meters over the course of eight years.
Germany is moving to a new birth certificate that could put pressure on the EU for a broader change among its member countries. The new certificate will allow parents to select a third option other than male or female. If the parents do not wish to leave gender up to their child, they can select “indeterminate” or “blank” for the gender. The new form is the result of a campaign to combat discrimination over gender changes.
For many, major breakthroughs in isotopes or nanotechnology or enzyme can simply go over one’s head in their significance. However, scientists in Australia have developed something that will likely make them virtual Gods in their community: a major step toward a hangover free beer. The sudsologists say that they have found a way to increase the hydrating effects of beer by adding electrolytes, a common ingredient found in sports drinks. As Miller lite promises, “it is everything you always wanted in a beer. And less.” Finally, Joe Six Pack has his own scientists.