-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
It’s that time of year again. That time when many Christians imagine themselves persecuted by a secular “War on Christmas.” Interestingly, the “War on Christmas” has Christian roots. Pilgrims, who were strict Puritans, believed that “[t]hey for whom all days are holy can have no holiday.” Those holidays also included Christmas and Easter. Thanksgiving to the Pilgrims would have not been a holy day.
This week, we posted the photo of a man who was caught on CCTV knocking out a 16-year-old girl from behind while she walked on a street in East London. The police have now arrested the man. He is Michael Ayoade, 34, who admitted that he punched the girl in what he says was a “misunderstanding on his part.” Ayoade ran up behind Tasneem Kabir as she walked to college and knocked her to the ground. He said that “she started it” because he had felt ‘intimidated’ by a look from the 16-year-old girl.
Continue reading “London Police Capture Man Shown On CCTV Attacking 16-Year-Old Girl”
Every Friday after Thanksgiving, stores demonstrate that claims of human evolution may be greatly overstated. From gunshots to smashed doors to stampedes to riots, shopping was again reduced to the lowest common denominator of humanity. The display of conspicuous (and chaotic) consumption is taking place at Walmarts as workers picket for fair wage and treatment outside.
For those still following the absurdity unfolding around the family of ex-Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., we now have word that his decision to run for reelection (without campaigning) and then promptly resign will cost the taxpayers over $5 million — as if the taxpayers have not paid enough to the family of Jesse Jackson.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. This is my favorite holiday with all of the essential elements of joy: food, friends, and football. Continue reading “HAPPY THANKSGIVING!”
We appear to have another judge acting as a little Caesar from the bench and meting out his brand of justice. In Ohio, Stark County Common Pleas Judge Frank Forchione has sentenced Valerie Rodgers, 46, to making Thanksgiving dinner for three police officers on leave or unable to work. In addition to the dinner, she will be on one-year probation for felony assault and three misdemeanors. This follows another judge who sentenced a teen to ten years of church.
Continue reading “Ohio Judge Sentences Women To Cooking Thanksgiving Dinner For Police Officers”
There is an interesting case out of Chicago where a gang member has reached a settlement with the Chicago Police Department after filing a tort action for intentional infliction of emotional distress and false arrest. The $33,000 settlement followed a controversy over two Chicago police officers — Susana La Casa and Luis Contreras — taking gang member Miguel “Mikey” Castillo into a rival gangs territory and allowing the rival Latin King members to taunt and threaten him. The Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy is now seeking the dismissal of the officers.
Many civil libertarians refused to vote for President Barack Obama given his dismal record in the expansion of the security state, surveillance law, and assertions of unchecked executive power. The Administration went into radio silence on such issues during the campaign in an effort to win back liberals (as they did on medical marijuana) only to announce after the election that they would resume the same policies. The Democratic leadership has shown the same duplicity on civil liberties for years — including hiding knowledge of the Bush torture program and surveillance programs as well as blocking any meaningful investigations into those alleged crimes. Now, some Democrats have reportedly put that hypocrisy on public display again. Senator Patrick Leahy introduced the bill which, as originally written, required warrants for the reading of emails and was heralded by Democrats during the campaign as their showing of fealty to privacy and civil liberties. The Justice Department then took the bill and flipped it to serve as a sweeping denial of privacy rights . . . and some Senators are pushing on passage now that the election is over. The bill includes warrantless access to university email systems.
We have seen a number of cases (here and here) involving stars going to prison for life in inexplicable falls from celebrity status. Shelley Malil will now be added to that rogue’s gallery of fallen stars. The actor appeared in movies like “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” but has been sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Malil, 45, stabbed his girlfriend, Kendra Beebe, 20 times after finding her having a glass of wine with a man at her home.
Continue reading ““40-Year-Old” Virgin Actor Sentenced To Life In Prison For Stabbing of Girlfriend”
We have another judge who has decided to create his own system of criminal punishment with novel sentencing. Oklahoma judge Mike Norman has magnified this increasingly common form of judicial abuse by adding compelled religious observance to sentence. Norman deferred a prison sentence for Tyler Alred, 17, in exchange for his agreement to attend church for 10 years. Norman observed “[t]he Lord works in many ways,” including it appears through him and his court. While many would view the imposition of religious observance in a criminal sentence as something akin to an American Taliban court, Norman insists that he has judicially ordered religious practices in the past.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has already started the process for running for president in 2016 with an appearance in Iowa. He has begun in classic form. In 2008, many people were shocked when most of the GOP candidates said that they did not believe in evolution. Rubio has now added his voice as denying scientific reality to court evangelical votes. Rubio insisted in an interview with GQ that the age of the Earth remains “one of the great mysteries.” Of course, the age of the Earth is about as much of a “mystery” as whether the Sun revolves around the Earth or the Earth revolves around the Sun. The age is roughly 4.5 billions years — an inconvenient fact to be sure, but a fact.
Continue reading “Rubio: Age of Earth Remains “One of the Great Mysteries””
Cortland County District Attorney Mark Suben, 69, recently secured reelection after a tough campaign. Nothing strange there. District Attorney positions are often much sought-after positions. However, Suben was hounded by media questions of whether he was previously known as Gus Thomas, a porn star in at least 12 films, such as “Devil’s Due,” “Bedroom Bedlam,” “Deep Throat 2,” “Lecher” and “The Love Witch.” He vehemently denied the allegations . . . until he was reelected. He now admits that he repeatedly lied to the public and the press but he refuses to resign. In “Devil’s Due,” he played an actor who tricked women into bondage.
We have been following (here and here and and and here and and here and here) the worsening situation in England concerning free speech. As noted in a recent column, free speech appears to be dying in the West with the increasing criminalization of speech under discrimination, hate, and blasphemy laws. The article below details the crackdown on Internet speech in the country from charging a teenager who made offensive comments about a murder to a man who burned a paper poppy, the symbol of the war dead.
Continue reading “England Cracks Down On Unacceptable Internet Speech”
The Church of Scientology is the focus of new charges of potentially criminal wrongdoing in the death of a church member. A federal lawsuit details allegations that the Church spent millions to influence judges and lawyers to scuttle homicide allegations in the death of Lisa McPherson in 1995. The allegations of corrupt practices are directed at known judges and lawyers, including the lawyer for the coroner in the investigation into the death. The former number two of the Church says that he believes the Church spent at least $30 million to get criminal charges dropped.
It truly sounds like something out of Saturday Night Live: the Taliban inadvertently revealed their contacts when someone hit the “reply all” button on an email which showed their entire mailing list. The Taliban are known as cave dwelling Troglodytes who destroyed ancient artifacts and pushed much of Afghanistan back into the dark ages. Thus, it could not happen to a more deserving group of guys.
Continue reading “Taliban Spokesman Inadvertently Discloses Whole Mailing List In Email”