Category: Society

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

Buffalo Professor Arrested for Verbally Attacking Students Over Pro-Life Display

CurryLaura Curry, a professor of film at the University of Buffalo, has been arrested after she confronted a pro-life demonstration using profane language. In the video below, Curry objects to being asked to stop because of her language. She insists that she has a first amendment right to swear. In my view, she is correct. I do not see how this is any cognizable crime. One can certainly disagree with the tenor or public conduct of the professor, but this would seem protected speech. This is the second such arrest of a professor in a month for denouncing a campus demonstration. There are really two legal issues presented in such cases: a criminal case (which is quite weak) and an academic case (which is likely to be more substantial) against the professor.

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Criminal law, International, Society

Report: U.S. Government Ran Torture Program After 9-11

220px-AbuGhraibAbuse-standing-on-boxAn independent report by the Constitution Project, a non-partisan Washington think tank, is the latest to confirm what is already known to the world — we ran a torture program approved by the highest levels of our government in the aftermath of the 9-11 attacks. The report is an indictment not only of President Bush who is responsible for the torture program but President Obama who promised CIA officials that they would not be investigated or prosecuted for torture.

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Academia, Politics, Science, Society

Gov. Bobby Jindal Supports Teaching Creationism As “Science” In Public Schools

BobbyJindal1Not long ago, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal received praise for a speech after the Republican defeat warning fellow Republicans that, if they want to win again, “We’ve got to stop being the stupid party.” He seems to have forgotten that particular reform in comments this week supporting the teaching of both creationism and intelligent design in public schools as part of teaching “the best science.”

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Animals, Criminal law, Environment, International, Society

Chinese Vessel Runs Aground In Protected Filipino Coral Reef Loaded With Dead Protected Anteaters

Flag_of_the_People's_Republic_of_China170px-Pangolin_borneoThe cultural appetite of Chinese for exotic and endangered animals has long fueled the global black market for such products and sustained an army of poachers who are forcing various species into extinction. This cultural taste is combined with China’s unrivaled anti-environmental record. Those elements came together this week when a Chinese vessel, the F/N Min Long Yu ran aground in a protected coral reef in the southwestern Philippines. Not only did the vessel damage the protected area, but it turned out to be illegally present in the area and loaded with more than 22,000 pounds of meat from a protected species, the pangolin or scaly anteater. The Chinese crew then allegedly tried to bride the Filipino coast guard to just look the other way — a common practice in China.

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Bizarre, Society, Torts

Some Things Just Do Not Improve With Age: Jury Rejects Claim of New York Actress Over Publication Of Her Age

theater-masksWe have previously followed the case of actress Junie Hoang, 41, who sued IMDb after it obtained her correct age which she said made it more difficult for her to play younger roles. Jurors last week rejected Hoang’s remaining claims, leaving her with fruitless litigation that only served to highlight her age.

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Society

Apple Agrees To $53 Million Settlement Over Water Damaged iPhones

apple logoYou may recall that years ago, I posted an account of an ordeal over a relatively new iPhone that stopped functioning. When I took it into the store, they promptly informed me that I got the phone wet and refused to repair or replace it. When I told that that it was impossible that the phone had been “submerged” or saturated as they claimed, they opened the phone and confirmed that only one of two indicators showed water damage but still said that it voided any obligation of the company. Though I eventually got a new phone, my posting attracted many people around the world who said that they had the same experience. Well, Apple (without admitting guilt) is now agreeing to a settlement in a class action for people who were told they had such water damage. As suspected, it appears that the water damage indicators were defective.

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Lawyering, Society

Park Avenue Polygamy? New York Attorney Accused Of Pressuring Paralegal To Be His “Third Wife”

article-0-19418F6A000005DC-433_634x411article-2308335-1941951D000005DC-480_634x601Park Avenue lawyer James R. Ray, 50, is the subject of a bizarre allegation that he pressured his female paralegal to be his “third wife.” Sarbrina Rafi, 27, make the allegation in a sexual harassment complaint in which she says that Ray boasts of multiple wives and referred to her ethnic background in making her ideal for his third spouse. As lead counsel in the Sister Wives case, I am not sure of how Park Avenue Polygamy works, but this (if true) sounds more like simple sexual harassment than a consensual plural relationship.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Justice, Politics, Religion, Society

Drug Testing Welfare Recipients to Prevent Abuse

220px-Cannabis_sativa_leaf_Dorsal_aspect_2012_01_23_0830

Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Guest Blogger

I have seen the suggestion before that Welfare recipients need to be drug tested to make sure that taxpayers are not paying for the drug habits of those evil poor people.  I have even seen relatives allude to it in messages on social media sites and I have witnessed friends championing the idea in personal emails.  I always wondered why some people think that the poor must be abusing the state and federal aid programs and therefore must have drug tests to insure that the taxpayers money is not being wasted.  While I agree that taxpayers money should not be wasted, I have not seen any benefit from forcing people to be drug tested before they receive their aid payments.

The State of Florida tried this from 1999 to 2001 and reintroduced it in 2011.  The Florida plan was subsequently struck down by the courts because there was no evidence that poor people abused drugs more often than their wealthier counterparts.  “The state of Florida passed an almost identical testing procedure that ran from 1999 to 2001 and was reintroduced in July of 2011 that was struck down by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta the following month, citing the fact:  ‘ “there is nothing inherent to the condition of being impoverished that supports the conclusion that there is a `concrete danger’ that impoverished individuals are prone to drug use.” ‘  Crooks and Liars   Does it surprise you that it took the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals before this expensive and intrusive process was ended in Florida?  Continue reading “Drug Testing Welfare Recipients to Prevent Abuse” →

Military, Society

Grace Under Pressure: “Your Brother, Franz”

By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Author’s Note:  This incredible story of human compassion under the most difficult of circumstances comes  from my friend, Coach Bill Mountjoy. It’s printed verbatim from an email from his friend, John Butler. I think it epitomizes the ongoing series of posts, Grace Under Pressure.

franzThe 21-year old American B-17 pilot glanced outside his cockpit and froze. He blinked hard and looked again, hoping it was just a mirage. But his co-pilot stared at the same horrible vision. “My God, this is a nightmare,” the co-pilot said. “He’s going to destroy us,” the pilot agreed.The men were looking at a gray German Messerschmitt fighter hovering just three feet off their wingtip. It was five days before Christmas 1943, and the fighter had closed in on their crippled American B-17 bomber for the kill.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, International, Media, Military, Politics, Society

America’s Next War: Coming Soon

Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger

798px-Tomb_of_the_Unknowns_crackOur nation has become a military empire analogous to ancient Rome, another Republic that lost its bearings because it became the mightiest fighting force of its time. That we owe this to having spectacularly won what could be called “The Last Just War”, World War II, merely ironically underlines our descent into become the World’s most bellicose nation. This bellicosity has been masked by propaganda that makes us out to be the one nation responsible for ensuring “freedom and safety”. In this strife torn Earth, that idea cannot be supported since the truth is that we are the chief threat to peace in the world today. Now in truth, the use of the United States military to intervene in this Nation and other Nation’s affairs is not simply a phenomenon that began with World War II as you can see from this timeline linked here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_United_States_military_operations . What World War II marked though was the absolute dominant position in world military power which our country attained during our participation in that war. Given the magnitude of its scope it is easy to forget that for the United States World War II lasted only a brief four years. However, the incredible mobilization of troops and the supporting materiel of war were accomplished via a total mobilization that in the end fully turned the vision of Corporate America towards the great profits and benefits to be derived by American military dominance. Indeed, for generations to come there was a fluidity of personnel between leading corporate entities and the Department of Defense.

 Since 2001 our Armed Forces have been totally engaged in two major, unjustified wars and various minor “peace actions”. A child born in 1990 in the U.S. grew up in a world where there has been constant warfare and warfare’s necessary companion glorification of military service. The admixture of America’s warlike behavior and the faux glorification of the nobility of our military has become a constant in that young persons mind, only to better make them future cannon fodder for our dominant Corporate/Military Industrial Complex. Sadly, the less educated that young person is the more they are gullible to the siren call of that propaganda of military glorification. As the Great U.S. General Smedley Butler said so long ago: “War is a racket”. Continue reading “America’s Next War: Coming Soon” →

Environment, Politics, Society

Kansas Legislature Considers Ban On Funds For Sustainable Development

hedke_dennis300px-oil_wellThe Kansas legislature appears intent in stacking out the most hostile environmental record in the nation. Sponsors have introduced Kansas House Bill 2366 to ban any funds to be used to “promote or implement sustainable development.” The anti-environmental legislation is meant to prevent measures designed to balance development with the sustaining of natural resources. The main sponsor, Republican Rep. Dennis Hedke has close ties with oil and gas companies.

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Bizarre, Society, Torts

The Amazing Dentist: Indianapolis Man To Sue After Dentist Allegedly Removes All Of His Teeth Without His Consent

220px-Lower_wisdom_toothThe Amazing Family Dental office certainly seems to deliver on its promise. Christopher Crist, a 21-year-old autistic man, claims that he went to have three teeth pulled only to find that the dentist pulled them all. That raises not only the possibility of a negligence claim but a battery claim against the dentist in tort.

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Constitutional Law, Politics, Society

Gay Man Arrested After He Refused To Leave Partner’s Side In Missouri Hospital

wdaf_hospital_rights_130411a-615x345As the Supreme Court considers the same-sex marriage cases in Hollingsworth and Windsor, the arrest of Roger Gorley could serve as an answer to justices like Chief Justice John Roberts who asked pointedly what the rush was for an answer on the issue. Gorley was arrested at the Research Medical Center in Kansas City after he refused to leave the side of his partner. While he had power of attorney and the right to make medical decisions, family members did not want him in the room. Because he was not viewed as a “spouse” and therefore a family member, he was told to leave.

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Bizarre, Politics, Society

Weiner Announces Interest In Mayoral Race While Discussing How Lack of Hugs And Access to Technology Led To His Scandal

220px-AnthonyweinerThe New York Times Magazine article on the return of former Rep. Anthony Weiner and his wife Huma Abedin has been denounced as a puff piece designed to lay the foundation for Weiner to run for New York mayor or other office. As I have mentioned before, I am astonished by so many Democrats expressing interest and support for Weiner’s return. Weiner has already reportedly spent considerable money on polling and clearly has received assurances of financial support. While many of the same people called for the removal of Republicans like Senator Larry Craig and others, it seems that sending creepy sexual pictures to unconsenting women, lying to the public repeatedly, and attacking the media is not enough to disqualify you for high public office. The article does read like a puff piece about one of New York’s power couple. However, it contains some truly bizarre insights into Weiner and his family.

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Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Politics, Religion, Society, Supreme Court

Washington Attorney General Sues Florist Who Refused To Provide Flowers For Gay Wedding

250px-Cakeinwhitesatin-1451px-White_and_green_floral_spray_wedding_decorWashington Attorney General Bob Ferguson is suing Barronelle Stutzman, owner of Arlene’s Flowers and Gifts, after she refused to provide flowers for a gay wedding. I have been writing about the tension between free exercise rights and anti-discrimination laws — a subject that I discussed at the conference this week at the Utah Valley University’s Center for Constitutional Studies. This is now an issue that is arising with greater regularity, including conflicts over wedding cakes and other items.
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