Category: Uncategorized

Bizarre, Society, Things That Tick Me Off, Uncategorized

Maternal In-Stink: Woman Steals Foul Ball from Little Girl

Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Here's How A Real Adult Handles a Foul Ball

All’s fair in love, war, and now baseball. As the video below shows, notions like being kind to children at ball games is now passe.’ Gone are the days when the fan would be happy with making a great catch of a foul ball and then flipping the ball to a starry-eyed kid to make his day. Nope, here the unidentified sweetie grabs the ball from the little girl’s hand and then celebrates her big win over an apparent six-year-old. Brava!

 The crowd wasn’t so impressed. They booed for five minutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6locBvdMJtw&feature=player_embedded

Source: SF Gate

~Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Uncategorized

English Man Sentenced For Hanging Ham Around Mosque and Stuffing Shoes of Muslims with Ham

My any measure, Jamie Knowlson, 30, is a thoroughly horrible person. Knowlson has been arrested for entering a mosque and draping hand railings with ham and stuffing ham into the shoes of people praying. He was caught on CCTV hurling insults at the Muslims when they confronted him over such a hateful act.
Continue reading “English Man Sentenced For Hanging Ham Around Mosque and Stuffing Shoes of Muslims with Ham” →

Media, Politics, Uncategorized

The Bells Are Ringing: Sarah Palin and the Revised Story of Paul Revere’s Ride

Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger

I’m sure most Americans are aware that former Alaska governor Sarah Palin has been on a bus tour along the east coast of the United States. What is the purpose of her tour? Only Palin knows for sure. She did, however, provide people with her reason for taking this tour of historical places on her Sarah PAC website.

It’s interesting when (for the 100th time) reporters shout out, “Why are you traveling to historical sites? What are you trying to accomplish?” I repeat my answer, “It’s so important for Americans to learn about our past so we can clearly see our way forward in challenging times; so, we’re bringing attention to our great nation’s foundation.” When that answer isn’t what the reporters want to hear, we’ve asked them if they’ve ever visited these sites like the National Archives, Gettysburg, etc. When they confirm that they haven’t, it’s good to say, “Well, there you go. You’ll learn a lot about America today.” (They usually don’t want to hear that either!)

Continue reading “The Bells Are Ringing: Sarah Palin and the Revised Story of Paul Revere’s Ride” →

Religion, Society, Uncategorized

Did the “Deviant” Behavior of the 1960s & 1970s in the US Lead to an Increase in Catholic Clergy Sex Abuse of Children?

Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger

Recently, the findings of a controversial five-year study into the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church were released. The study, commissioned by the nation’s Roman Catholic bishops, was conducted by researchers at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York. The study concluded that homosexual priests were no more likely to be abusers than heterosexual priests. It also found that celibacy was not to blame for the sexual abuse of children. Authors of the study wrote: “The most significant conclusion drawn from this data is that no single psychological, developmental, or behavioral characteristic differentiated priests who abused minors from those who did not.’’

Karen Terry, PhD., John Jay’s principal investigator for the report, claimed that the bulk of the cases occurred decades ago. Terry said: “The increased frequency of abuse in the 1960s and 1970s was consistent with the patterns of increased deviance of society during that time.” She added that “social influences intersected with vulnerabilities of individual priests whose preparation for a life of celibacy was inadequate at that time.” The poor training of priests combined with social isolation, job stress, and few support systems were also said to have been contributing factors to clergy sex abuse of children.

Continue reading “Did the “Deviant” Behavior of the 1960s & 1970s in the US Lead to an Increase in Catholic Clergy Sex Abuse of Children?” →

Uncategorized

4 Bedrooms, 3.5 Baths … Marijuana Greenhouse

Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

In an advertisement  on Craig’s List sure to test the boundaries of commercial free speech, a rural property owner has offered a house for sale or rent. Nothing unusual there. What makes it interesting  is that the North Bend Washington property is touted for its marijuana growing propensities:  “Green house is set up for specially growing Marijuana growing, flowers, veggies,” the ad read. “With the legal 45 plants at a time, you can easily grow over $125,000 in crop per summer and take the winters off or grow indoors during the winter.”

Continue reading “4 Bedrooms, 3.5 Baths … Marijuana Greenhouse” →

Uncategorized

Don’t We Owe our Military Women the Same Protections as the Men?

 

Respectfully submitted by Lawrence Rafferty,(rafflaw), Guest Blogger

In the past we have discussed the ongoing war on Women that is being waged by the Right, but this latest example is a tough one to swallow.  When military women are raped while in the service, it turns out that military health insurance does not cover abortions, even when the servicewoman has been raped.  I discovered this sad fact when I was reading the ACLU Blog.  Jessica Kenyon joined the Army in 2005 and while on duty she was raped by a fellow member of the Army and made the mistake of not reporting it. Continue reading “Don’t We Owe our Military Women the Same Protections as the Men?” →

Uncategorized

My Favorite Mother’s Day Gift…Ever!!!

Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger

Nearly three decades ago—when my daughter Sara was just three years old—I received a Mother’s Day gift that I will never forget. It wasn’t a piece of expensive jewelry, a gift certificate to a designer boutique, or a weekend at a beauty spa. No…it was a nondescript ceramic mug selected by my young daughter when her “daddy” took her shopping to buy me something special for that special Sunday.

Continue reading “My Favorite Mother’s Day Gift…Ever!!!” →

Uncategorized

Torture is still Torture, and it is Still Illegal.

Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty,(rafflaw), Guest Blogger

 This entire week the torture enthusiasts have been back on all of the news channels exclaiming their happiness that their “enhanced interrogation techniques” worked.  Of course, they are talking about waterboarding and other methods of torture. Why are Michael Mukasey, John Yoo and other members of the George W. Bush administration once again declaring that torture is good policy and that it was successful in helping to get Osama Bin Laden? Continue reading “Torture is still Torture, and it is Still Illegal.” →

Academia, Environment, Uncategorized

Law Student Takes Parents To Court To Force Them To Resume Paying His Allowance

Having just given my final torts exam last night, this story caught my eye. In Madrid, a 25-year-old Spanish man from Andalusia sued his parents after they stopped giving him allowance money and demanded the resumption of $588 a month.
Continue reading “Law Student Takes Parents To Court To Force Them To Resume Paying His Allowance” →

Uncategorized

Why the Tea Party is Dangerous

By Mike Appleton (Guest Blogger)

In 1773 the British East India Company was broke.  In an effort to prevent bankruptcy, and the resulting loss of the crown’s investment, the British government eliminated all taxes on domestic tea sales and granted the company a monopoly on tea shipments to the American colonies.  In December of that year radicals boarded ships in Boston harbor and threw $75,000.00 worth of tea overboard.  The first Tea Party was a violent reaction to monopolistic economic power protected by government.
Continue reading “Why the Tea Party is Dangerous” →

Politics, Uncategorized

Let America Be America Again!: The Politician and The Poet—Rick Santorum vs. Langston Hughes

Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger

Poets know how to say things best–and the best poets know how to pack a punch with their words, which are often quoted. As Samuel Taylor Coleridge once said: “I wish our clever young poets would remember my homely definitions of prose and poetry; that is, prose,—words in their best order; poetry,—the best words in their best order.”

When speaking, politicians don’t always use the best words. They tend toward uttering their “talking points” and “staying on message.” They are often caught off guard when someone asks them an unexpected question that they aren’t prepared to answer. Rick Santorum found himself in an awkward position recently. Santorum was speaking at an “ECON-101” Town Hall meeting-style event Thursday sponsored by the Center for Civic Engagement at New England College in New Hampshire when he was tripped up by a student who asked him if he knew that his campaign slogan “Fighting to make America America again,” was borrowed from the “pro-union poem by the gay poet Langston Hughes.”

Continue reading “Let America Be America Again!: The Politician and The Poet—Rick Santorum vs. Langston Hughes” →

Environment, Uncategorized

Fracking USA: A Post about the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, Governor Tom Corbett, C. Alan Walker, the Marcellus Shale, Polluted Drinking Water, and the Movie Gasland

Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger

Republican governors in Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, New Jersey, and Florida have been getting a lot of media and press attention lately because of their proposals for drastic budget cuts, big tax breaks for corporations, or for their attacks on public sector workers and their unions. One newly elected Republic governor who has remained pretty much under the radar is Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania. A few weeks ago, a story about Corbett at ProPublica caught my attention. I thought it was a story worth investigating.

Last December, Governor Corbett announced his very first political appointee—a man named C. Alan Walker. Walker, an energy executive, was chosen to head the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. What’s particularly interesting about this appointment is that Corbett also gave Walker supreme authority over environmental permitting in the state of Pennsylvania.

Continue reading “Fracking USA: A Post about the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, Governor Tom Corbett, C. Alan Walker, the Marcellus Shale, Polluted Drinking Water, and the Movie Gasland” →