Category: Society

Criminal law, Politics, Society

Second Video Shows Brutal Attack On Tourist By Mob In Baltimore

This new video has emerged showing the brutal attack on a tourist in Baltimore on St. Patrick’s Day. The video also clearly shows a man who stands above the victim to take his picture as he and others laugh at his being beaten, stripped, and robbed on the street. In the meantime, the Baltimore Police Chief Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III is being criticized for dismissing the possibility of a hate crime — insisting that this is nothing like the Trayvon Martin case.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Media, Society

Zimmerman: Shooting Was “Life Altering Event”

George Zimmerman has gone public for the first time with a new website, therealgeorgezimmerman.com, and a paypal link to raise funds for his litigation costs. The website is a smart move, but Zimmerman used the occasion to describe the shooting as a “life altering event.” That is manifestly true except for the fact that he was speaking of himself, not Martin.

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Constitutional Law, Courts, Lawyering, Media, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

ABA President Criticizes Obama For Judicial Activism Comments

ABA President Wm. T. (Bill) Robinson III has issued a statement criticizing President Obama’s statement that voting against the health care law would be “judicial activism” In a letter to the Wall Street Journal, Robinson called the remarks “troubling.”

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Academia, Society

Former Professor Sues FBI For Gender Discrimination

Jay Bauer, a Northwestern University doctoral graduate and former University of Wisconsin assistant professor of Communications Science, has filed an interesting lawsuit alleging that females are given unfair advantage in training for special agents. Bauer fell one push-up short of making the cut for agent and was denied a second try that was afforded to female candidates (who are required to do less than half of the push ups).

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Free Speech, International, Politics, Society

Report States Iran To Cut Off Entire Country From World Wide Web; Iran Denies Story As Hoax

We have seen our own government and other Western countries moving to exercise greater control over the Internet in recent years — reaffirming the fact that the Internet may be the single most important vehicle of free speech created by mankind. Iran, however, is not to be outdone when it comes to denying liberties. A widespread news report stated that country is about to cut off its entire population from the Internet services on the World Wide Web. Such sites are viewed as polluting the minds of Iranians with unIslamic thoughts and ideas. Now, instead of Google and Gmail, Yahoo and the like, Iranians would have Iran Mail and the “National Internet.” Iranian officials insist that citizens will now receive mail and stories on a “clean Internet” designed and maintained for good Muslims. [UPDATE: The Iranian government issued a statement today responding to the articles on the Iranian internet that specifically denies that it intends to cut off access to the worldwide web]

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Courts, Criminal law, Lawyering, Politics, Society

Detroit City Attorney Given Only 90 Day Suspension For Lying To City Council, Judge, and Bar in Kilpatrick Scandal

While Michigan’s Attorney Grievance Commission sought disbarment, a state discipline panel headed by Assistant United States Attorney William Sauget has handed down only a 90 day suspension for Detroit City Attorney Valerie Colbert-Osamuede. Colbert-Osamuede who is accused of lying to the Detroit City Council, a Wayne County Circuit Court judge and the Attorney Grievance Commission about a settlement and alleged coverup benefitting then-mayor (and now convicted felon) Kwame Kilpatrick. Despite this trifecta of false statements and the panel’s conclusion that she was still not sure she is telling the truth, Sauget’s panel still refused to hand down a disbarment or something more substantial as a punishment.

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Religion, Society

Happy Ishtar Day: The Origins of Easter

By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Today from Sandy Bay, Maine to San Diego, California, Americans will don their Sunday Best, attend a religious service, and enjoy the Spring air while their kids search for candy and eggs. A  joyous celebration on both the Christian and secular calendar, it wasn’t always that way — or maybe it was.

Easter was looked on with some skepticism by the ultra-religious Puritan sect when they showed up at Plymouth Bay. According to author Steve Englehart, these earlier settlers had bona fide religious reasons to eschew the holiday. “They knew that pagans had celebrated the return of spring long before Christians celebrated Easter…for the first two hundred years of European life in North America, only a few states, mostly in the South, paid much attention to Easter.”

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Academia, International, Military, Society, Travel Blog

Farewell Vermont


We made it home last night from Vermont after having a glorious time. I have always said that, if I ever left Virginia, I would go to Vermont. No state has worked so hard to protect the environment and preserve the natural beauty of the land. Vermont legislators basically work for free (with a small stipend for travel) and every citizen seems connected to the local and state political system.

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Justice, Politics, Religion, Society, Things That Tick Me Off

The Roman Catholic Church and the Gays

Respectfully submitted by Lawrence Rafferty (rafflaw)-Guest Blogger

On this Easter weekend, I was dismayed when I learned that the Roman Catholic Church recently decided that helping the poor in Colorado obtain health care is fine, as long as the organizations assisting these needy folks were not gay or “hanging out” with the Gays. Continue reading “The Roman Catholic Church and the Gays” →

Courts, Lawyering, Society

The Popcorn Revolution

By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Joshua Thompson, 20-ish, of Livonia, Michigan loves the movies, but could not understand why his soda pop  and candy purchase rang up the till for another $8.00 on top of the price of admission.  In the same cinema, popcorn and a soda can run you $11.00. Rather than just griping, he filed a consumer class action suit in Wayne County (Michigan) Circuit Court on behalf of us all to get some answers.

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Environment, Science, Society

Finally, Clean Hydrogen? Maybe.

by Gene Howington, Guest Blogger

Science and society are common topics of discussion here. As frequently noted on this blog, a great number of our foriegn policy and domestic economic headaches could be made to go away if we were not dependent on foreign oil or oil at all. Alternatives have been discussed, but one of the most promising technologies – hydrogen – has time and again run into the issue of how to manufacture carbon-free or clean hydrogen. A new technology developed by doctoral student Erik Koepf working out of the University of Delaware and currently being tested in Switzerland shows promise of delivering hydrogen production free from carbon dioxide and other undesirable emissions.

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Criminal law, Religion, Society

California Pastor Arrested For Taking Pliers To Teen After Beating Him, Macing Him, And Making Him Dig His Own Grave

Pastor Lonny Lee Remmers, 54, has been charged with felony assault and inflicting injury on a 13-year-old child with pliers and directing two church members to discipline the youth. He is the pastor of the Heart of Worship Community Church in Corona. After his arrest, many parishioners learned that Remmers has previously served time for fraud. Two other church members — Nicholas Craig, 22, and Darryl Duane Jeter Jr., 28 — have also been charged. Craig is Remmers’ stepson.

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