The continued fall of the Detroit City Council into chaos appears to have continued with a disturbing account of where white witnesses were told to “go home” and told not to speak the name of President Barach Obama. The hearing, headed by Council President Monica Conyers, leaves the impression of a major city in free fall. This is being widely reported on the Internet but appears based on a single Op-Ed from the Detroit News.
Continue reading “Meltdown In the Detroit City Council: Leaders Accused of Racist Remark”
Here is today’s column from USA Today. Yesterday, the D.C. Vote bill was temporarily pulled from the floor due to the threat of an gun rights amendment. The NRA has threatened to “score” the vote — meaning that members who vote against it would be given a lower score in the annual rankings. This is only a temporary withdrawal as Democrats scramble to deal with the challenge. A similar amendment passed in the Senate after being introduced by Sen. John Ensign of Nevada by a comfortable margin.
Continue reading “D.C.’s Speed Bump: The Constitution”
For many months, denizens of this blog have mocked my crusade against exposure to Barry Manilow songs (Friends Don’t Let Friends Listen to Manilow). Now, the New Zealand city of Christchurch is going to play Manilow songs to drive off teenagers from a mall area.
Indonesian Muslim Clerics have issued a fatwa against Muslims engaging in any form of yoga. It appears that even a simple lotus position is excellent for flexibility but remains soul-sucking exercise for the faithful.
For those math geeks ready to party hearty, Square Root day is back. These days come only nine times each century and March 3, 2009 is one such day. (3/3/09 or the square root of nine). Citizens should be cautious as pocket-protector and pencil laden math fiends hit the streets across America looking for some crazy fun with calculators and multiplication tables. It is the one day that you can party like it is the 1999 Math Game.
A man is appealing a recent loss before the United States Court of Appeals in a very disturbing decision. In the video below, Deputy Jonathan Rackard of the Washington County Florida repeated uses of a taser on Jesse Buckley who is merely sitting and crying next to a road. The Eleventh Circuit voted 2-1 that the Eighth Amendment was not violated in the case, reversing a decision from the trial court.
Continue reading “Eleventh Circuit Rules that Video of Officer Repeatedly Tasering a Sobbing Man Sitting By the Road is Not a Constitutional Violation”
The Pew Center has released a shocking statistic: one in every 31 adults in the United States is now in the corrections system in jail, prison, probation and supervision. That is over double the rate of 1982 when one in 77 was in the system.
Continue reading “Locked Down Nation: One in Every 31 Adults Now in Corrections System”
The British medical journal has found that more than 100,000 young women were killed in fires in India in a single year — a rate three times men. Notably, the women fell within a 15-34-year age group, the very group often involved in marital disputes.
Continue reading “Study: Over 100,000 Women in India Killed in Fires in a Single Year”
The California Supreme Court has sent back a case challenging the practice of security patting down fans at games for the San Francisco 49ers. The Court ruled that it lacks sufficient information to determine if the policy is an illegal invasion of privacy. It is the legal equivalent to an incomplete pass.
Continue reading “Touch Football: California Supreme Court Returns 49ers Pat Down Case to Trial Court”
A partner at the law firm of McDermott, Will & Emory has added another case of the danger of the “reply all” button that we have all experienced one time or another. On this occasion, the partner revealed that the firm was cutting back on coffee services in these tough economic times: a move the partner describes as “send[ing] a Message of Desperation.” In the meantime, other major firms are expected to be sending caffeine care packages to their under-caffeinated colleagues at McDermott.
Continue reading “Oh Baristas and Barristers: Under-Caffeinated McDermott Lawyers Revolt”
The Bush Administration previously told a federal court that there were two tapes of interrogations destroyed showing waterboarding and other brutal treatment of detainees. It has now admitted that at least 92 tapes were destroyed in what appears a clear and knowing effort to destroy evidence.
Continue reading “CIA Admits to Destroying 92 (Rather Than 2) Tapes of Interrogations”
While it has become common for cities and counties to ban pit bulls, Oregon is considering a bill to ban the dogs from the entire state. Oregon may be the first state to declare owning pit bulls a crime, if the legislation passes.
Continue reading “Pit Bull Prohibition: Oregon Moves Toward Banning Pit Bulls”
Since we recently passed the 87th anniversary of passage of the Eighteenth Amendment and the start of the Prohibition period, I could not resist posting this picture that I spotted on the Internet. One wonders why the prohibition was not more successful.
After Derick Gates, 20, drove his 2003 Honda Accord over a bank and collided with trees, he was understandably delighted to see an ambulance and emergency workers arrive. Unlike most drivers in distress, however, Gates saw the rescue as something of an opportunity: he stole the ambulance.
Continue reading “California Man Drives Over Bank and Then Steals Ambulance Sent to Rescue Him”
Roxana Saberi, 31, a freelance journalist who has reported for National Public Radio and other media outlets, remains missing. Her father, Reza Saberi said that she was arrested after she bought a bottle of wine.
Continue reading “American Journalist Roxana Saberi Reportedly Arrested After Buying Bottle of Wine”