In Austria, the parents of an 18-year-old women have been sued by their own daughter for what is usually considered the domain of adoring parents: posting childhood pictures. The woman claims that her parents have made her life miserable by posting 500 images on social media without her consent. However, that suggests that parents are not the owners of such pictures when children are still below the age of majority. For years, I have told my complaining children to save whatever grieves them for another chapter in their eventual book, Daddy Dearest.
Brittany Dunn, 27, is an accused cat burglar but not exactly the usual type.
Continue reading “Can You Guess What This Person Was Charged With?”
I will testify this morning before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology on the controversy over dueling state and federal investigations involving the climate change debate. After various state attorneys general announced investigations of Exxon Company over its opposition to climate change theories (including subpoenas either to or concerning conservation public interest groups), the Committee issued its own subpoenas to the prosecutors and environmental public interest groups involved in the campaign. That has triggered a confrontation as the prosecutors and environmental groups raised constitutional objections to the House subpoenas. The full committee hearing will start at 10 am in 2318 Rayburn House Office Building.
Continue reading “TURLEY TESTIFIES IN HOUSE SCIENCE COMMITTEE ON CLIMATE CHANGE CONTROVERSY”
I recently discussed the questions raised over the Justice Department giving the two former aides to Hillary Clinton immunity — and thereby removing any serious threat of prosecution while seeking information on their superiors. As part of that discussion, I posed the question of whether these previously immunized witnesses would defy Congress. That confrontation appears to be brewing after the former State Department IT specialist who set up Hillary Clinton’s private server Bryan Pagliano simply ignored a subpoena to appear this week before the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Ironically, I will be testifying this morning on the congressional authority to enforce subpoenas in the House of Representatives. House oversight committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (right) will now have to decide whether to move to hold Pagliano and other defiant former Clinton aides in contempt for refusing to appear or respond to the Committee.
Patricia Spann, 43, and Misty Spann, 25, of Duncan, Oklahoma, are mother and daughter but but moved from the familial to the illegal in ramping up their relationship.
Continue reading “Can You Guess What These People Were Charged With?”
Weirton police officer Stephen Mader would seem the very model of courage after he confronted an armed man and, rather than just shooting him (which seems all too common today), he engaged Ronald D. Williams Jr., (shown left) in conversation to try to get him to drop the gun. He said the gun was not pointed at him and was by his side (it turned out to a unloaded and he believed it was a case of “suicide by cop”). He was speaking to the man when two other officers arrived and shot and killed the man. Mader was then fired. Why? Weirton Police Chief Rob Alexander and his colleagues believe Mader should have just killed the man and been done with it.
Joaquin Mendez, 23, has a cousin who is lethally literal. Alexandro Garibaldi, 24, (left) was with Mendez when his cousin asked whether a bulletproof vest he had put on “still worked.” Garibaldi allegedly responded by saying “Let’s see” and shooting his cousin who died from the fatal wounds.
I had to share this amazing picture from NASA of Mercury.
Some people crash parties. Cynthia Ann Frierson, 36, crashes funerals.
Continue reading “Can You Guess What This Person Is Charged With?”
This afternoon, the Brown family filed its appeal with the United States Supreme Court in the “Sister Wives” case. The case is Brown v. Buhman, No. 14-4117. As lead counsel for the Browns, I am joined on the petition by co-counsel Thomas Huff and we benefited from the input of our long-time co-counsel in Utah, Adam Alba. The petition asks the Court to resolve a longstanding conflict among the courts of appeals concerning the extent to which the government can strategically moot a constitutional challenge to a statute by announcing a new non-enforcement policy during the pendency of litigation. The petition is attached below.
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It is often remarkable how ministers facing tough questions on their income or luxury purchases will find a way to explain their lifestyle or secrecy as a biblical command like our prior discussion of televangelists who insisted that they really need private luxury jets. Now Elevation Church Pastor Steven Furtick is insisting that he would love to disclose how much he makes annually but it would be against the will of God.
Many of us remembered the 15th anniversary of 9-11 yesterday in reflection. However, Miracle Mattress store spent the weekend closing its doors and fielding irate messages from people who saw its “Twin Tower sale” days before the anniversary. The unbelievably tasteless commercial is below.
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By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor.
On this fifteenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks millions in the United States and the world reflect back on those terrible events, where we were, and how it affected each of us in our own unique ways–but sharing of course a familiar story. My own family certainly was not an exception.
If our experience can be summed into one word, I cannot find one more telling of how we avoided tragedy:
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor.
It seems incumbent Grays Harbor County, Washington Commission Candidate Frank Gordon has some ‘splainin’ to do.
His election opponent, Randy Ross, noticed that his campaign signs began disappearing at an intersection near the residence of, no pun intended, “Commissioner Gordon”. The defaced signs were reposted, but soon were pulled out and thrown into a weeded area. Unfortunately for the commissioner, a wildlife camera recorded a big surprise for the county.
Continue reading “County Commissioner Accused Of Removing Campaign Signs Of Opponent”
We previously discussed the controversy over the FBI granting immunity to former State Department staffer, Bryan Pagliano, who set up a server in Mrs. Clinton’s home in Chappaqua, N.Y., and worked for her at the State Department. Pagliano had refused to cooperate after invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. He was an obvious target of potential criminal charges if he knew that the server was meant to circumvent federal laws, including the mishandling of classified information. The granting of immunity removed the threat for his cooperation, a leverage often used to implication others who may be higher up in the chain of command. Now, as the record appears to confirm that email records were knowingly destroyed after the issuing of a congressional subpoena to preserve such record, it also appears that the Justice Department gave immunity to the other person most at risk of a criminal charge — and the person some are likely to argue would have been the most likely to be able to implicate others. He is computer specialist, Paul Combetta.