Kosher hot dog maker Arnie Zaler may have pulled off his greatest scam. Facing 30 counts of bank and wire fraud in Denver, Zaler promised not to leave Denver if he was released on an unsecured bond. He handed over his Israeli passport and then a few days later fled to Israel on a different passport.
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Chrysler also always boasted the “inspiration comes standard” but but what about the indignation? For many voters, the billions of dollars given to the auto industry is the latest outrage from Washington, which seems intent on bailing out every failed company and bad mortgage. The U.S. auto industry spent decades fighting environmental laws and resisting pressure to build smaller, fuel efficient cars. Now, no one wants to buy their cars and they are receiving a bailout. Chrysler, however, decided that it wanted to thank the American people — so it took out full page ads in the most expensive newspapers in the country. Of course, this is a lot like sending flowers to a loved one with a bill from the florist. After all, as the advertisement says, “Chrysler. Drive = Love.”
Continue reading “Indignation Comes Standard: Chrysler Thanks Public with Public-Subsidized Thank You Campaign”
Sandra Howery may not be the most popular homecoming queen candidate but she is certainly the most litigious. Howery is suing Sacramento State University after it failed to make her Queen despite what she alleges was more points in favor of her selection.
Continue reading “Royal Mess: Sacramento Student Sues Over Rejection as Homecoming Queen”
The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has refused to disqualify US District Judge Nancy Gertner from a lawsuit against the Boston Police Department for a wrongful conviction in three rapes. Counsel for the department charged with her showing “deep-seated favoritism and antagonism” in comments made in court.
Continue reading “First Circuit Refuses to Remove Judge Gertner For Alleged Bias”
There are reports today that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four co-defendants have indicated that they want to plead guilty to the charges that they are facing before a US military tribunal in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It is a bizarre turn of events when the defendants were likely to see new rights granted under an Obama Administration. I will be discussing the development today on the BBC and later on Rachel Maddow on MSNBC.
Continue reading “Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Four Co-Defendants Seek to Plead Guilty”
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and thank you for making this blog such a success — and so much fun. We had over a million hits in the first year and continue to grow each month. I hope that you have a litigation free holiday. In celebration, I give you the annual Turkey Tort below and a video of the Palin Turkey slaughter.
There is growing tension between Saudi Arabia and Egypt over another medieval criminal sentence out of the Saudi court system. Raouf Amin el-Arabi, an Egyptian doctor who has treated the royal family for 20 years, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and 1,500 lashes after he allegedly committed malpractice in the treatment of a Saudi princess. Many believe the flogging will kill him.
Reporters have faced every type of threat from imprisonment to, as noted in yesterday’s entry, defecating bovine. But few face the danger of burning alive in an effort to report the news. Well, here’s a video of a reporter who does not allow a mere raging fire to stop the presses.
Continue reading “Perils of the Press IV: Fire in the Fourth Estate”
The South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled that striking a juror from a civil jury for wearing dreadlocks is not race neutral. Remarkably, there was a dissent filed in the close 3-2 decision by two justices who believe that it is appropriate to strike a juror over hairstyle.
If Sen. Ted Stevens is not acquitted in his corruption trial, it is not for a lack of effort by the prosecutors who have again been accused of fumbling. This time the prosecutorial error was found not by the court or the defense, but the jurors themselves. The jury noted that the indictment states that Stevens marked “no” in his 2001 report on whether he received any gifts. In fact, he marked “yes.”
Continue reading “Comedy of Errors: Stevens Jurors Find Prosecutorial Error in Indictment”
In a major victory for the media, the Florida Supreme Court throw out a lawsuit where the Pensacola News Journal was successfully sued for false light of road-building contractor Joe Anderson. Anderson sued over a series of articles in 1998 about environmental issues surrounding the paving company he founded, Anderson Columbia. The story included references being on probation for fraud in 1988 when he shot and killed his wife in a Dixie County hunting accident. This was only days after he filed for divorce. The substantive decision came in an equally interesting case of Jews for Jesus v. Rapp.
New reports show that “Hockey Mom” Sarah Palin spent $32,800 on hair and make-up in just two weeks. At that rate, you buy and could lipstick over 64,000 pigs. You could also pay the annual salary and medical expenses for one average citizen for what Palin spent on hair and make-up in two weeks. In the meantime, Palin has now given her deposition in the troopergate investigation where an investigation has already found that she acted unethically in the firing of a state employee.
Continue reading “Lipstick on a Pac: Palin Spent $32,800 on Hair and Make-Up”
Johnson County Clerk Jill Jackson in Franklin, Indiana waited until after hours to put copies of a chain letter on the desks of employees that called Sen. Barack Obama a “young, black Adolf Hitler” and discussed the absence of white pride. The problem is that a video camera captured her at 5:27 p.m. on the Friday of Labor Day weekend. When she was confronted by police, she insisted it was a joke — she merely forgot to tell anyone. Here’s one: what goes “Ha, Ha, Thump”? — a disgraced Indiana clerk laughing her head off.
Chicago is set for a vote on the new high school targeting gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transsexual students on November 19th. Below is today’s column on the school, which I reluctantly oppose as I did the Harvey Milk high school.
Jewish settlers attacked a photographer who was taking pictures of Palestinian farmers picking olives in the West Bank on Saturday — an attack filmed by AP Television. One man then hit a woman who tried to retrieve the camera that the settlers took from the photographer. Palestinians have long complained about such attacks.