Many people thought it was a bit odd when Governor Rick Perry indicated that he might run for President of the United States after previously suggesting that Texas may want to secede from the United States. Perry seems not only want to be the John C. Calhoun of presidential aspirants, but he has also decided to add the violation of international law and treaties as a resume booster. Over the objections of President Obama and a host of leading international figures, Perry has refused to stop the execution of of Humberto Leal Garcia — a Mexican national denied his rights under the Vienna Convention.
A leading Russian anti-corruption lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky died recently in custody. It was immediately called suspicious and now there is a report that eight guards who beat him while handcuffed in a small cell. The guards reportedly forced an ambulance to wait as they beat him to death.
Ohio Rep. Robert Mecklenborg is a Republican legislator and former prosecutor who has made his career on family values legislation, including his opposition to abortion rights. The Roman Catholic legislator seemed to have strayed a bit after he was arrested in a car with temporary Kentucky plates in Indiana with a young stripper. Tests found he was loaded with not just alcohol but Viagra.
Iceland is considering a measure that could prove a real drag for smokers — prescription-only cigarettes. It is the latest effort to make smoking as unpleasant and inconvenient as possible.
Continue reading “Just What The Doctor Ordered: Iceland Considers Prescription-Only Cigarettes”
While many were surprised by the verdict in the Casey Anthony case yesterday, some things remained both predictable and consistent like Nancy Grace’s reaction to any defendant prevailing in a criminal case. Grace’s choleric persona was in full rage that the jury would deign to find the evidence insufficient to convict the woman who Grace had already convicted many times on her show. “Now, I know it is our duty as American citizens to respect the jury system and I do, believe me I do. I’ve struck over one-hundred juries. But I know one thing: As the defense sits by and has their champagne toast after that not guilty verdict. Somewhere out there, the devil is dancing tonight.”
Continue reading “Fall From Grace: CNN’s Nancy Grace Denounces Dancing Devil After Anthony Verdict”
This week, Philip Contos, 55, joined a group of motorcyclists to protest New York’s helmet law by riding bareheaded. He became a symbol of a different kind when he crashed and died after hitting his head on the roadway.
Indian Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad shocked the world community at an AIDS conference by describing homosexuality as an “unnatural disease” spreading around the world at an alarming rate. In the world’s least surprising revelation, Azad informed the crowd “There is a substantial number of men having sex with men in our country.”
Continue reading “India Health Minister Denounces Homosexuality as “Unnatural Disease” At AIDS Conference”
The Rev. Robert H. Schuller, 84, has been voted off the board for Crystal Cathedral Ministries, which he founded over 50 years ago. This follows an earlier move to oust his son, Robert A. Schuller. The ministry is in debt and rife with family divisions, including one over a required anti-gay marriage pledge demanded by his daughters.
Continue reading “Hour of Power [Grab]: Robert Schuller Thrown Out Of Crystal Ministries”
In today’s high-paced world, every woman needs a portable, collapsible husband who can fit in an overhead compartment. That is what police found in a prison in Quintana, Mexico where a woman left a conjugal visit with her husband with him folded inside her suitcase.
This seems the week for super women. Just two days ago, we saw a story of a Chinese woman who ran over and caught a toddler in a ten–story fall. Now in Tottenham, England, this woman was caught on CCTV driving up to a fire, getting out of her car, rescuing a little boy from a burning building, and then just driving away.
Continue reading “Who Is This Woman?”
Happy Birthday America. Once again, we gather to celebrate tossing out that preening, prancing Hanover prig George III. Of course, this blog is the embodiment of everything that is noble and good in our country. It is here that we defend those rights that define us. If Thomas Paine were alive, he would be one of our regulars (after a lecture on our civility policy).
Continue reading “HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!”
Harvard has released a study in its own unique way of celebrating the Fourth of July with America. Harvard Kennedy School Assistant Professor David Yanagizawa-Drott and Bocconi University Assistant Professor Andreas Madestam argue that Fourth of July celebrations tend to turn people into Republicans and help advance the GOP in elections. I would differ. I think Harvard studies tend to push people toward conservative candidates.
Continue reading “Harvard Study Finds Fourth of July Celebrations Help Turn People Into Republicans”
We previously discussed how the parents of Amanda Knox are being sued by police for objecting to their shoddy investigation. It is an absurd case — one of many such defamation cases in Europe where courts allow lawsuits over comments that would be protected from liability in the United States. Now, the judge in the libel case has resigned due to a conflict of interest, but the police are still going forward with the lawsuit — despite the fact that recent disclosures establish clearly shoddy work by the police.
Continue reading “Knox Parents Get New Judge In Defamation Case”
As the lawyers prepared for final arguments in the capital murder trial of Casey Anthony, Orange County Chief Judge Belvin Perry Jr. hit the defense with a major ruling barring them from making a key argument to the jury: that Casey had been sexually abused. Perry ruled that there was no evidence to support the allegation and therefore defense counsel Jose Baez would be prevented from even mentioning it in his closing.
Continue reading “Judge Bars Critical Defense Argument in Casey Trial”
In St. Petersburg, Florida, Officer Thad “Stu” Crisco is under investigation after a supervisor learned that he told the father of a robbery victim that one part of town was a bit dangerous for his 16-year-old daughter to be hanging around after she was robbed. Crisco has an unblemished record, but he is being hammered for the well-intentioned advice. In his comments in the article below,
Mayor Bill Foster does not appear to be concerned about an officer being disciplined for simply informing a parent about a rough area. He stated “I always want to know my officers are representing this city in a very positive light.” Well, how about a positive statement like “hey, you know this area excels in robberies and is second to none in homicides.”
Continue reading “Florida Officer Faces Suspension For Warning Father About His Daughter Hanging Around Dangerous Area”