Animals, Bizarre, International, Religion

Pakistani Airline Responds To Deadly Crash By Sacrificing Goat on Airport Tarmac

3b846c8100000578-4047924-image-m-33_1482158625056Faced with widespread safety concerns, most airlines order shake downs, inspections, and enhanced monitoring. Pakistan International Airlines however had an additional safety measure: the sacrifice of a goat to ward off bad luck. The pictures on social media show smiling airline officials as they practice the barbaric superstition. It appears that some airlines have carry on policies while others have carrion policies.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Politics

Trump Wins Electoral College After Clinton Loses The Most Defections Of “Faithless Elector”

495px-Donald_Trump_by_Gage_Skidmore225px-Hillary_Clinton_official_Secretary_of_State_portrait_cropThe Clinton supporters have been campaigning hard to convince electors to switch their votes from Donald Trump to Hillary Clinton. It was a remarkably hypocritical stance for Clinton who repeatedly called Trump’s failure to promise to abide by the election results “horrifying” and unAmerican. Clinton maintained that shocked demeanor all the way up to election night when she found herself the loser. She then broke from tradition and refused to concede that night before her supporters. Her campaign then supported challenges in various states and actively sought to convince electors to switch their votes. Well the results are in and it is rather surprising: Of the 10 electors who did not vote for their designated candidate, eight were actually Clinton electors who refused to vote for her. Only two Trump electors switched and neither voted for Clinton.

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Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Politics, Society

Georgia Police Sergeant Sues After Being Terminated For Flying Confederate Flag In Her Backyard

flag28n-2-webThere is an interesting first amendment case filed in Georgia where a police sergeant is contesting his termination after flying the Confederate flag at her home. It is of course perfectly legal to fly a confederate flag and Silvia Cotriss, a 20-year-veteran of the police, said that she was simply celebrating her heritage. However, her neighbors found the flag offensive and complained.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Politics, Religion, Society

Muslim Teenager Arrested After Making False Report Of Abuse By Trump Supporters In New York Subway

yasmin_seweid-1481327466-991-1481328678-6425Yasmin Seweid, 18, a Baruch College student, raised a national controversy after she reported being harassed on the New York City subway by supporters of President-elect Donald Trump. She has now been arrested for fabricating the story and filing a false report as well as obstructing governmental administration.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, International, Politics, Religion, Society

Italy Moves To Remove The Promise Fidelity As A Condition For Marriage

la-dolce-vita-vintage-style-italian-posterThere is a fascinating new law in Italy that seems a victory for the growing population of polyamorists around the world. Italy may drop the promise for couples to remain faithful in marriage as a commitment that may be viewed as outdated or objectionable by many modern couples who do not view sexual “fidelity” as a precondition for marriage.

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Animals, International, Religion, Torts

Do Donkeys Get “One Free Bite”? Donkey Bites Children During Live Nativity Scene In Wales

“Living nativity” have long been the rage during the holidays, particularly as part of traditions like the one at St Mary’s Church on Holton Road in Wales. The scene includes live donkeys to the delight of the children. However, this year was marred by one donkey taking a bite out of one of the children — thereby bringing together two of my favorite themes: Christmas and torts. The case could come down to the question of a type of “one free bite” rule.

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Academia, Lawyering, Society

Women Outnumber Men in Law Schools For The First Time In History

220px-belva_ann_lockwood_-_brady-handyThis year passed a milestone for law schools. For the first time, women make up a majority of law students with just over 50 percent of the seats at accredited law schools in the United States. It is a particularly poignant moment for those of us at George Washington Law School where Belva Ann Bennett Lockwood graduated and ultimately became not only one of the very first female lawyers in the United States but the first woman admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court. The incoming class owes a debt of gratitude to pioneers like Lockwood who bravely fought entrenched discrimination and ignorance to reach this incredible moment in history.

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Congress, Environment, Politics, Science, Society

Cost of Solar Power Dropping Globally As “The World’s Cheapest Energy”

earth-screensaver_largeThere is a hopeful report out this week that the cost of solar energy has dropped so dramatically that it is not cheaper than wind power in emerging markets like China and India. Indeed, Popular Mechanics is now calling solar energy the “cheapest energy” option. In Chile, electricity is being produced by solar power for $29.10 per megawatt hour–half the price of power produced by coal. These countries are seeing the benefits in the investment into alternative energy sources in both cost and the environment. The pledge of the Trump Administration to expand drilling and “clean coal” use runs against the trend in other countries.

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Environment, International

Scientific Reports Confirm Catastrophic Climate Change

There are new reports confirming not only climate change but escalating losses of arctic ice. US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s annual Arctic report card has found that this is the hottest year on record in the Arctic and it is now twice as fast as any other place on Earth. Another international study found that the rapid loss of glaciers is caused by climate change to a certainty of 99 percent.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Religion, Society

Pagan Priest Wins Right To Wear Horns For Maine Driver’s License Photo

imrsPhelan Moonsong, 56, has achieved something that no pagan or non-pagan has ever achieved before him.  He has been allowed to wear his ceremonial goat horns as a religious garment for his Maine driver’s license.  If anything, they should eliminate any difficulty recognizing the Pagan priest.

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Bizarre, Media, Society

Newspaper Suggests That Touching Santa Story Is A Hoax

screen-shot-2016-12-15-at-1-43-46-pmWe have long dealt with the plague of fake news, a particular problem on the blogosphere where stories are picked up and replicated. Sometimes however questionable stories arise from allegedly false claims rather than false reporters. The Knoxville News Sentinel has suggested that it may have been hoodwinked in a bizarre and disturbing account by a professional “Santa” who recounted how he granted a dying boys heart-wrenching final wish: to die in the arms of Santa. Eric Schmitt-Matzen gave his emotional account of how the boy died in his arms as the family looked on in a hospital. The problem is that reporters have not been able to verify that the boy existed and Schmitt-Matzen has said that he is withholding the family name out of a concern for their privacy. The New Sentinel posted a warning that it could no longer stand by the story.

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Bizarre, Free Speech, Media

Tone Deaf: Spokesperson Of DC Schools Jokes About Wanting To Eradicate All White Males

hilary_tone_c0-76-640-449_s885x516It is unfortunately not uncommon to see people tweeting about getting rid of a particular race or gender on social media. It does cause a bit more of a stir when that person is the spokesperson for the public schools in Washington, D.C., Hilary Tone. In a heated response to word that former Texas governor Rick Perry would be picked as Energy Secretary, Tone dashed off a statement on Twitter that “If wanting to get rid of something qualifies you to run it, I want to be Secretary of White Men.” Not exactly what one expects from a spokesperson, but the D.C. schools have been remarkably quiet in response to the posting (which was later withdrawn) by its spokesperson.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, International

Duterte: I Personally Killed Suspects To Show The Police How It Is Done

rodrigo_duterte_and_laotian_president_bounnhang_vorachith_croppedWe have previously discussed the disgraceful reign of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, a foul-mouthed, patently unstable leader who relishes extrajudicial killings. Duterte who has unleashed profanities at the Pope, President Obama, and anyone else objecting to his evisceration of human rights and the rule of law. Now, Duterte, undeterred by global condemnations and withholding of aid programs, he is now publicly bragging about how he personally murdered suspects as an example for police who were a bit more reluctant to engage in extrajudicial murders. The question now is whether the Filipino government contains enough sane and honorable leaders to finally move to remove this unhinged, tyrannical figure. While China clearly loves what it sees in this murderous authoritarian, most Filipinos were raised in a nation that has struggled to create true democratic institutions based on the rule of law.

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Academia, Congress, Constitutional Law

Gallup: Support For Electoral College Surges After 2016 Presidential Election

d46bffd8-7832-4835-895e-9f89680f51aeDemocratic leaders have suddenly discovered that the Electoral College is anti-democratic and have called for its elimination.  I have long been a critic of the Electoral College, though I understand the concerns of those who fear that the loss of the institution would reduce presidential elections to the choice of states like California and New York.  However, the interesting result of this election (where Hillary Clinton won the popular) was a ground swell of calls for the elimination of the Electoral College.  The hue and cry for reform gave hope for critics (despite the obvious opportunism and hypocrisy from some quarters) but a recent Gallup poll indicates that an inverse move has also occurred as many have come to appreciate the counter-majoritarian impact of institution in this election.  The net results appears to be an increase in support for the Electoral College.

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