Like most of humanity, I have been stunned by the sheer savagery and cruelty of the Islamic State. Yet, thousands have flocked to the ISIS forces from the West. For me, it has been a particularly shocking phenomenon. The images that repel us, attract them. Religion is clearly a release for these people. A release from the obligations of decency and humanity. Images show Islamic State fighters laughing and enjoying the torture and murder of captives. Muslim clerics with ISIS assure them that they can treat non-Muslims as lower than animals and commit rape as an Islamically pure act. It has been an incredibly depressing time for those of us who believe that humans can aspire to true greatest of spirit and caring. This Christmas, however, my daughter showed me the YouTube clip below of a man named Matt Harding who goes around the world getting people to dance with him. After watching him, my faith in humanity was restored.
Cara L. Gallagher, Weekend Contributor
When SCOTUS orders a case back to a lower court it’s rare that the case garners the same attention it received when it was in the Supreme Court. But Fisher v. The University of Texas at Austin, a critical case that still has the potential to uproot affirmative action programs in public universities – one that beckoned Justice Sandra Day O’Connor to the SCOTUS pews on decision day in June of 2013 – is one you follow post-SCOTUS. Perhaps Justice O’Connor traveled all that way to throw shade to those justices likely to upend her landmark 2003 affirmative action decision, Grutter v. Bollinger. Although the spirit of Grutter remained intact, the majority’s 7-1 decision to remand the case back to a lower court was done so with explicit instruction that the University prove they’d satisfied the necessary strict scrutiny test. The same attorneys who argued the case before the SCOTUS in 2013 stayed on the case arguing before a 3-judge panel in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. Continue reading “Affirmative action in college admissions survives. For now.”
There is an interesting twist on the usual nativity litigation that comes with the season (for a prior column, click here and here). In Ohio, Jasen Dixon has been told to take down his Nativity scene. Dixon, who manages a nearby haunted house, took a unique approach to the standard Christmas display: it shows the holy family as zombies.
Continue reading “Town Orders Ohio Man To Take Down Zombie Nativity”
We have had a great time in Chicago. The holiday went off without a hitch. The beef turned out great. I insert a whole head of garlic into the meat, which adds a great taste with the herb coating. With 29 people, it was a lot of beef but everything came off well and we had a wonderful family dinner with the Turleys from Bartlett, Naperville, Evanston, Highland Park and of course Virginia (as well as our friends Laura, Annie, Norman, and Jennifer). We finished the day with intense games of Quiz Up on our cellphones and iPads. As are now coming down from our sugar high from a record of cakes, pies, cookies, and other sweets.
If you gave a Barbie to a child in France, you might want to check the box. The French feminist group FièrEs secretly inserted pamphlets into hundreds of barbie toys and plastic guns reading “this toy is sexist. They stressed that “We have caused no damage or ripped any plastic. We simply slipped the message in boxes, or in books.” Of course, there is the injury to families who do not want to expose their children to the rantings of an extreme group that wants to use their children to make some point of social protest.
Cameron Shenk, 26, presents what can only be described as a tough defense case. A woman was in a bathroom stall in Terminal C of the Logan Airport in Boston when Shenk reportedly fell through the ceiling naked. It went from bad to worse from that point on.
Best wishes to everyone celebrating Christmas. Continue reading “MERRY CHRISTMAS!”
Charles DiRosa, 27, has been criminally charged in Chicopee, Massachusetts after he posted “Put Wings on Pigs” to Facebook. It was a despicable act after the murder of two New York police officers, but in my view it was protected speech.
Continue reading “Massachusetts Man Arrested For Posting “Put Wings On Pigs” On Facebook”
We have previously seen how people attempt to cash in on political and social expressions under the increasingly absurd copyright and trademark laws in this country. Now joining this ignoble group is Catherine Crump, 57, of Waukegan, Illinois, who has applied for the trademark on “I Can’t Breathe.” In doing so, Crump not only is attempting to cash in on the words of the deceased Eric Garner, but a nationwide protest movement. So, while tens of thousands have been trying to find ways to protest what they view as police brutality, Crump has been trying to find a way to make money out of the tragedy and the movement.
Continue reading “Illinois Woman Files For Trademark Protection On Phrase “I Can’t Breathe””
We previously discussed how a Chinese zoo displayed a lion that caused a bit of a commotion when it suddenly barked. The zoo could to afford a lion so it made a large dog into a lion. An Italian circus in Brescia has proven even more daring – and dishonest. It dyed two chow-chow dogs to pretend that they were pandas. It did not seem odd to many people that a small zoo would have not one but two of the endangered animals.
Continue reading “Italian Circus Owner Charged After Dyeing Two Dogs To Pass Off As Pandas”
The New York Times has been investigating a controversial immigration case that could present another challenge for Hillary Clinton as she prepares for her presidential run. At the center of the controversy is a rather disreputable character named Estefanía Isaías. A wealthy, well-connected Ecuadorean television executive, she was barred from coming to the United States after being caught fraudulently obtaining visas for her maids. However, the New York Times reports that the Clinton State Department intervened to get her into the country “so that Ms. Isaías could work for an Obama fund-raiser with close ties to the administration.” The newspaper also notes that her fortunes changed after “her family gave tens of thousands of dollars to Democratic campaigns.” Her family is accused of fraud costing the poor country $400 million. There are also serious questions being raised about the efforts of Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey in leading the intensive efforts to countermand the decisions of career officials in Washington and Ecuador in the case.
The New York Times has published a blistering editorial calling upon President Barack Obama to fulfill our obligations under domestic and international law and investigate and prosecute those responsible for the torture program under the administration of President George W. Bush. The American Civil Liberties Union is also calling for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the program and possibly prosecute those responsible. The Obama Administration has steadfastly refused to prosecute anyone despite its admission that, to quote Obama, “we tortured some folks.” The political costs of such a prosecute were likely viewed as too high and Attorney General Eric Holder has again taken the politically expedient approach in avoiding any serious effort to hold those responsible for these crimes. In the meantime, many of those who would be prosecuted under domestic and international law have been writing books and giving interviews — casually discussing acts that are considered war crimes under international law.
Meet Bela, a healthy German shepherd in Indiana. He would seem ideal for an adoption except for one thing. His recently deceased owner, Connie Lay, specified in her will that Bela, her beloved companion, should be euthanized upon her death and his ashes buried with her. Despite an outcry, she may succeed in reaching from the grave to end Bela’s life. In fairness to Lay, her love for the dog seems to have motivated her unusual demand and she allowed for one escape clause for Bela.
Middle school teacher and varsity cheer coach Heather Cagle was fired Wednesday night in a rather bizarre controversy. Cagle was fired after she admitted that she drove 11 yearbook students to Walmart for a snack, including two put into a locked trunk of her Honda Accord.
Brian Chellis, 23, has some serious naughty issues to address back at the home office. When police responded to a DUI call at 3 am, they found a gray Toyota van next to the loading dock of a Target store with its engine running, lights on, and music blaring. Inside, they found Chellis was dressed as an elf on a shelf and allegedly loaded smelling of a bit too much of the old holiday nog. Chellis was asleep at the wheel.
Continue reading “Bad Elf: New Jersey Man Arrested For DUI While Dressed As Elf On A Shelf”