We have been following the general trend toward criminalizing conduct in America and particularly the use of criminal penalties in our schools (here and here). Now, a study by Texas Appleseed shows Texas schools routinely using criminal misdemeanors against unruly students.
U.S. District Judge John McBryde of Fort Worth, Texas has issued a massive opinion holding attorneys S. Tracy Long, Melvin K. Silverman, Joseph F. Cleveland, Jr., and John P. Gillig liable for ethical breaches and recommending criminal prosecution after they challenged his impartiality and temperament in a case. The lengthy opinion below details the case against the lawyers in litigation over golf club patents. What is most striking about the case is the decision of the judge to conduct the inquiry himself — rejecting obvious concerns over his own conflict of interest in eliciting testimony on his own conduct. [See the update below]
Remember striking out in the 70s with the line what’s your sign when the girl turned out to be a Virgo and you are a Gemini? Now, you can go back and try again if she is still available. Astronomers have announced that most people have been using the wrong astrological sign due to a mistake in the zodiac chart. They have recalculated the dates that correspond with each sign to accommodate millennia of subtle shifts in the Earth’s axis. I have been informed that after years of living as a Taurus (the bull), I am now considered an Aries (the ram).
Continue reading “What’s Your Sign? Guess Again”
I was struck by today’s response of Sarah Palin to criticism that her rhetoric and “targeting” of Rep. Gifford’s district may have added to the recent massacre in Tucson. In fairness to Palin, the family stated today that Jared Loughner did not watch news or listen to talk radio. However, I was most interested in her claim that the attacks against her and conservative commentators amounted to a “blood libel.”
Continue reading “Palin: Attacks on Conservatives Over Tucson Massacre Constitute “Blood Libel””
In Wales, Design teacher Richard Tremelling has been sacked. He was not fired for poor teaching or hitting on students or even habitual lateness. He was fired because he let two 15-year-old students go sledding after his class at Cefn Hengoed Community School in Swansea — failing to prepare a “risk assessment” and getting prior written approval. That’s right, the students asked if they could try out a sled that he brought into class as a design object. He said yes and now he is unemployed.
Continue reading “Teacher Fired After Allowing Students To Sled After Class”
Who said that watching really bad science fiction movies is not educational? For those who grew up with The Blob, the Hubble Space Telescope has finally found its galactic origins. The HST has spotted a mysterious giant green blob in outer space that appear to be giving birth to new stars.
Continue reading “It Came From Outer Space: The Blob Finally Spotted By Actual Scientists”
We have been following “stolen valor” cases and the constitutional controversies raised by faux warriors. There is now a disturbing case out of New York which could present the next context for such prosecution. This picture is of a true American hero: Sgt. Roberto Sanchez, 24, a US Army Ranger killed in combat in Afghanistan in 2009 after five tours of duty. It was reportedly stolen by a man named “Dylan Sorvino” to claim to be a special forces soldier to attract women and praise for his service on Facebook.
Italian Darco Sangermano, 28, took matters into his own hands literally while waiting in an emergency room to be seen after being shot in the head. Sangermano was hit in the head by a bullet fired by one of those morons who like to shoot their guns on New Year’s Eve. Sangermano suddenly sneezed in the Naples hospital and the bullet came out his nose.
Continue reading “Italian Man Sneezes Out Bullet”
Gun shops are reporting near record sales after the massacre in Tuscon, particularly of the Glock semi-automatic pistol used by Jared Loughner, 22.
Continue reading “Nothing Like a Massacre: Gun Sales Soar After Tuscon Shootings”
I just saw this clip and felt it had to be immediately added to our series on perils of the press. He understandably had his eye on the large snake . . .
Continue reading “Perils of the Press . . . and Small Airborne Animals”
It appears Pat Robertson is not alone speaking for God in the use of nature to punish the sins of man. A Christian pastor in Queensland, Daniel Nalliah of Catch the Fire Ministries, has announced that the devastating floods in Australia are actually divine judgment against Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd because he “spoke against Israel” in December 2010.
In Kentucky, Kenton Circuit Court Judge Martin Sheehan has put an end to a relatively rare case of a lawyer suing a prosecutor for defamation. The lawsuit by lawyer (and radio personality) Eric Deters against Kenton Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders was thrown out on the basis that comments made about Deters were merely opinion.
Continue reading “Court Dismisses Defamation Lawsuit by Lawyer Against Prosecutor”
Behold the roll cloud. This particular roll cloud was photographed in Ontario, Canada and put on Reddit.
Continue reading “Behold The Roll Cloud”
This is the rather bizarre mugshot of Jared Loughner that was released yesterday afternoon. He has been assigned lawyer Judy Clarke, who defended the Unabomber.
Continue reading “Meet Jared Loughner”
Unfortunately, one of the most predictable things to follow a madman’s attack in this country is a slew of new laws proposed by politicians — often laws that threaten first amendment or fourth amendment rights. In the first of what may be a slew of such measures following the Arizona massacre, Rep. Robert Brady (D-Pa.) has indicated that he now plans to introduce legislation that would make it a federal crime to use language or symbols that could be perceived as threatening or inciting violence against a federal official or member of Congress. The law will be designed on the model of the law criminalizing threats against the President. That law has long been controversial with civil libertarians and Rep. Brady’s law will only magnify the constitutional concerns.