Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
Here’s a picture of my older brother Jack Murphy. It was taken on Saint Patrick’s Day.
Jack is a real party animal. He especially likes to party hearty on the day in March when we commemorate the patron saint of the Emerald Isle. My older sibling likes to dress in green, don his shamrock shades, and go wild! And I mean—WILD!
Continue reading “A Jack & Rudy Post: Dog Gone Wild on Saint Patty’s Day!”
Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
William Dudley, the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, recen
tly visited Queens where he got a “street-corner” education on the cost of living. Evidently, the Federal Reserve has been trying to sell its monetary policy to average folks—who aren’t exactly buying into to its talking points.
Dudley, a former chief economist for Goldman Sachs, gave a speech in Queens in which he spoke about the economy’s progress and the Fed’s successes. When the question and answer period rolled around, people in the audience wanted to know why the prices for food and gas were rising. As noted in a Wall Street Journal article—“the Fed doesn’t think food and gas prices matter to its policy calculations because they aren’t part of “core” inflation.”
Continue reading “Let Them Eat…iPads!: William Dudley Antoinette Visits Queens”
Japan was hit today with its most powerful earthquake in 100 years — followed by a series of aftershocks and a massive tsunami. (Here is a video)
Continue reading “8.9 Earthquake Hits Japan Followed by Tsunami — U.S. Cities Issued Tsunami Warning”
Larry Birkhead, the father of Anna Nicole Smith’s only surviving child Dannielynn (and therefore the heir to her large estate), is threatening legal action against the Royal Opera House over its opera “Anna Nicole.” Birkhead is insisting that the portrayal of Smith is not flattering or respectful — leading to some interesting questions of how (even if Anna Nicole were living) such an opera would defame a former stripper and reality television star who courted controversy in her life.
Continue reading “Birkhead Threatens Legal Action Against Anna Nicole Smith Opera”
Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
There’s been a lot going on in Wisconsin in the past week. I hope most Americans are aware of the reason why so many Wisconsinites have converged on the state capital to hold demonstrations.
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, a Republican, claims that the state is in financial trouble. He’s asking teachers, plow drivers, janitors, nurses, garbage collectors, and other public sector workers to contribute more to their pensions and to pay a larger amount of their health premiums. It appears many of those workers are willing to negotiate with the governor and to consider having more money taken out of their paychecks for their pensions and health insurance. What those employees are not willing to do is relinquish their right to collective bargaining.
A wrongful death lawsuit in Chicago has alleged another case of distracted driving . . . this time involving a driver, Araceli Beas, who is accused of updating her Facebook account on her cellphone just before she hit and killed pedestrian Raymond Veloz.
Continue reading “Chicago Woman Accused of Fatally Hitting Man After Driving While Updating Her Facebook Account”
Former Franklin County District Attorney John Pilati has added another ignoble precedent to his record. Pilati has just completed a sentence for civil rights violations involving prisoners. Since these allegations include fondling men as they provided urinary drug tests, he must now register as a sex offender according to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in the decision below.
Continue reading “Former Prosecutor Required To Register As Sex Offender”
I was struck this morning by a quote from Ewen Murray, a commentator for Britain’s Sky Sports, that he saw Tiger Woods commit “one of the ugliest things you will ever see on a golf course.” While I do not golf, I had to find out what transgression Woods committed with images of those past call girls dancing in my imagination. It turns out that it was not some Splendor in the Grass but spitting. Woods has been charged and fined for spitting on the green at the Dubai Desert Classic.
Continue reading “Fouling the Green: Tiger Woods Fined For Spitting”
Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), a member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, has made a request to see Bradley Manning, the soldier who is suspected of leaking classified documents to Julian Assange and Wikileaks. In a 
letter that he recently sent to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Kucinich voiced his concerns about the army’s treatment of Manning and the effects of solitary confinement on prisoners. Kucinich requested a visit with the soldier at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia.
Continue reading “Congressman Dennis Kucinich Requests Visit with Bradley Manning”
Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
Since the implementation of the U. S. Military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy in 1993, more than 14,000 gay and lesbian soldiers have been discharged from service. According to the GAO, of those discharged, more than 750 were mission-critical service members and more than 320 had skills in Arabic, Farsi, and Korean languages. Yet, while
gays and lesbians with special knowledge and skills were being discharged from the military, the army increased its number of waivers for recruits. According to a 2007 article in the New York Times, military waivers increased 65% from 2003 to 2006. During those years, the Army accepted more applicants who were high school dropouts and applicants who obtained low scores on aptitude tests. The Army also increased its number of “moral waivers” for individuals with criminal pasts. The “sharpest increase” in waivers was for applicants who were guilty of serious misdemeanors—including burglary, robbery, vehicular homicide, and aggravated assault.
Continue reading “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell…DON’T Pay!: On Dan Choi, Gays, and the Military”
Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
Those of us on this side of the jury box routinely think the jurors hang on our every word and feel greatly honored to sit in judgment of their fellows. Well maybe some do, but here’s an actual letter (misspellings and all) from Juror #5 to a trial judge lamenting his plight:
Continue reading “Juror #5 And The “Privilege” of Jury Duty”
Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty, (rafflaw), Guest Blogger
After a great afternoon playing with my grandsons, it is time to get back to “work”. One of the news items that flew under the radar this week was the report that the Pentagon has established a start date for its training to prepare troops for the repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy that made it through the recent Lame Duck Congress. I was pleasantly surprised that Defense Secretary Gates has moved quickly on the repeal, but I am confused as to why the troops have to be trained to treat everyone equally? Continue reading “Why Does the Military Need to “Train” Troops on DADT Repeal?”
Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty, (rafflaw), Guest Blogger
The other day I came across an article about Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, who has a big idea to save money in the Federal budget. When I read the article I was disappointed because Rep. Bachmann’s idea to save $4.5 Billion from the Federal budget is to take it away from Veterans disability payments. “The Air Force Times reports her plan would slice $4.5 billion from the VA, including reducing 150,000 veterans’ disability compensation and the amount they receive in Social Security Disability Income.” http://thinkprogress.org/2011/01/28/bachmann-veterans/ Now, I am all for saving money from waste and inefficiencies, but Rep. Bachmann’s idea would take it from our wounded heroes! Continue reading “Wake up Minnesota”
Wal-Mart is now marketing aging cream and other cosmetics for girls 8-12, including anti-aging creams to avoid that ten-year-old look.
Continue reading “Are You An Eight Year Old Girl Worried About Looking Ten? Wal-Mart Has The Answer”
Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
JACK: Sheesh, Rudy! It looks like no one will be taking me for a walk today. Football…football…football! That’s all our folks have been talking about around here the past couple of weeks. They’ll be watching NFL playoff games ALL afternoon. What’s an energetic dog like me supposed to do?
