This clip has been widely shown of Vladimir Putin playing piano and singing “Blueberry Hill.” Shown on various networks, it has been played with spans of the audience of thrilled actors and celebrities from the West. I must confess that, as a civil libertarian, I had a distinctly different reaction. I hesitated to post the clip because I did not want to appear a Killjoy. However, watching all of these American and European actors gush over Putin singing made me a bit ill. Here is a guy who had destroyed democratic reforms in Russia, re-militarized his country, and incorporated the security services to every aspect of Russian life. But he can sure belt out “Blueberry Hill” on a piano.
Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
Author’s note: This is my third submission about events of historical significance following pieces about George Washington and The Boston Tea Party. It is quite lengthy and for that I apologize, but the story and the people involved are both larger-than-life and fascinating. I hope you enjoy reading this history as much as I do writing about it.
Clutching the mahogany bannister of his elegant home located in the Shockoe neighborhood of Richmond’s River District, the old man haltingly descended the steps. Sweating profusely, and doubling up in pain, he could not even summon the energy to cry out. Almost falling numerous times, the ‘father of American jurisprudence,” finally reached the kitchen only to find his freed-slave housekeeper, Lydia Broadnax, and her son, Michael Brown, writhing in distress and afflicted with the same intestinal ailment. Hours later when one of the triumvirate of Richmond’s elite medical establishment would arrive, the Judge would purposefully sit-up in his bed to declare, “I am murdered.” It was May 25, 1806. Fourteen agonizing days and numerous repetitions of the charge later, that prediction would come true.
Continue reading “The Curious Death of George Wythe: “I Am Murdered!””
Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
Last Thursday, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled that prosecutors have the right to seek “so-called John Doe indictments” in rape cases. What this means is that prosecutors in the state will be able to indict the DNA profile of an unknown person in order to prevent the statute of limitations for charging an individual with a crime from running out. The justices concluded that a DNA profile is an “indelible ‘bar code’ that labels an individual’s identity with nearly irrefutable precision.’’
Continue reading “Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Rules on “John Doe” DNA Indictments”
Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
The “Berniebuster” begins:
Continue reading “Senator Bernie Sanders Takes a Stand on President Obama’s Tax Cut Compromise”
Submitted By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
In a move worthy of the late, great Steve McQueen, our canine friend escapes his captors:
http://embed.break.com/NTc0MDU1
Amazing Dog Escapes from Kennel – Watch more Funny Videos
Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
H/T: Bio-Rad. (Which has additional videos such as out-takes.)
Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
Got some extra room under you Christmas tree? Have I got the perfect stocking stuffer for you! It fires a 7 pound projectile at 7,875 feet per second. What’s not to love? It’s an electro-magnetic projectile accelerator. OK, it’s a railgun. The launcher is at ONR’s Electromagnetic Launch Facility, located in Virginia at the Naval Surface Warfare Center’s Dahlgren Division Laboratory.
A video of the test firing is below the fold.
In a much-anticipated report issued last Thursday, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) concluded that Virginia Tech acted too slowly to alert students and staff about the ongoing rampage of mass murderer, Seung-Hui Cho. The report found that VT officials violated the Clery Act by failing to alert students of a dorm room shooting that left two people dead about two and a half hours before Cho went to Norris Hall and killed 30 more students and staff.
Continue reading “Was VT Slow To Respond To Campus Threat That Left 32 Dead?”
Recently, Republican Rep. Ron Paul of Texas took to the floor of the House to talk about Wikileaks, transparency in government, and the case of Daniel Ellsberg, the 
Pentagon Papers, and the New York Times. He spoke about how the Iraq War was based on lies. He asked how the U. S. government should prosecute a citizen of Australia for publishing classified U. S. documents that he did not steal. Paul also said the following: “Revealing the real nature and goal of our presence in so many Muslim countries is a threat to our empire, and any revelation of this truth is highly resented by those in charge.”
Continue reading “Ron Paul Speaks about Wikileaks on the Floor of the House”
How’d that secession thing work out for you? Not so well? Want to get all the benefits of secession without any of the drawbacks? The Tea Party has your answer – nullification. Any law a state doesn’t like can be declared unconstitutional and poof, the state can ignore it. Want to ignore Brown v. Board of Education? No worries.
Only one problem, nullification is unconstitutional.
Evanston, Illinois may not seem like the epi-center of a galactic struggle between “The Force” and the “Dark Side” of bullying, but for seven-year-old Star Wars’ fan, Katie Goldman, it surely was. When the first grader announced she would no longer be bringing her cherished Star Wars waterbottle to her classroom, mom and dad wanted to know why. Katie was as mum as R2D2, but her parents kept pressing. Finally, the little girl said her classmates were teasing her because “only boys liked Star Wars.” She didn’t want the water bottle anymore.
Continue reading “The Blog Force Is With You Or Don’t Mess Around With Katie!”
Thomas Drummond is a resourceful fellow. Driving in the unfamiliar wilds of southeastern Missouri, Drummond spun out on icy roads and ended up in culvert. In his last-“ditch” effort to notify someone of his plight, he texted his girlfriend about the accident around 2:00 a.m., but, in a curious omission, forgot to tell her the location. Two hours later, a soused (0.148 BAC) Drummond was found by the highway patrol and promptly arrested for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.
Continue reading “Get Lost, Get Cold, Get Drunk, Get Acquitted”
Prince Charles and his consort, the Duchess of Cornwall were attacked by a mob protesting tuition hikes screaming “Off With Their Heads” and “Tory Scum” on Thursday as seen in this extraordinary video. One protester reported was able to poke Camilla with a stick through a window left open by security.
With a 2000 year old history, the Holy Thorn Tree of Glastonbury has stood as an important symbol for Christians in England — a pilgrimage point retracing the steps of Joseph of Arimathea (believed to be Jesus’ great uncle). Now it has been cut down in what some are alleging to be an anti-Christian act of vandalism. I have seen no evidence establishing an anti-Christian intent.
Continue reading “Vandals Cut Down The Holy Thorn Tree of Glastonbury”
We have previously followed complaints from families in the Jewish Orthodox community that pedophiles continue to receive protection from disclosure or prosecution — even as the Catholic Church is forced to deal with its own scandal. This has come to another flashpoint with the hunt for Brooklyn Rabbi Gershon Kranczer and his 21-year-old son Asher for the sexual abuse of four family relatives.
Continue reading “Child Abuses Allegations Hit The Orthodox Jewish Community”