Bizarre, International

Bacon Anyone? Winter Brings Bacon Drying In Chinese Cities

BelQUY6IcAA-7eMI have often commented on how breakfast in China is a still evolving skill, particularly with regard to bacon which seems boiled and rubbery. This picture may explain part of the problem. The image is from Wuhan and shows how Chinese bacon is “air-cured” on balconies in major cities. Given the alarming levels of pollution, the image is doubly unappealing. This makes the sale of fake eggs more appealing than the authentic bacon.

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Criminal law, Lawyering, Society

Illinois Man Sells Drugs To Judge . . . Man Faces 11 Years While Judge Faces 18 Months In Jail

5277add4c1c8f.preview-300cook-michael-150x150Former St. Clair County Circuit Judge Michael Cook (left) is no doubt facing a nightmare after pleading guilty to buying and using heroin while on the bench. However, he is still far better off than his supplier, Sean D. McGilvery (right) who is looking at a 10 to 11 year prison term for the crime.

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Congress, Society

Tax-Free “Charity” NFL Paid $29.5 Million To Commissioner And Only $2.1 To Charity

125px-National_Football_League_2008.svg220px-Roger_Goodell_at_Super_Bowl_43There has long been a controversy over the tax-free status of the National Football League, which racks in massive profits while claiming to be a charity. The latest figures will only deepen that controversy. In 2012, the NFL gave only $2.3 million to charity and virtually all of that went to the NFL Hall of Fame. In the meantime, it gave NFL commissioner Roger Goodell $29.5 million for what many consider the greatest – and easiest — job in the world. Through creative bookkeeping, the NFL is also claiming to be actually in the red by some $316 million.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, Politics, Society

Florida Candidate Interviewed By Secret Service After Calling For Obama To Be Tried And Hanged

156482_223545827783750_183494050_nPresident_Barack_ObamaThe United States Secret Service has interviewed a Republican candidate for the Florida House of Representatives after he made a comment on Twitter about the need for President Obama to be tried and hanged for his crimes. It was a uniquely stupid tweet but the controversy again raises the question of the federal law making threatening language against the President a crime. For years, elementary students, journalists, and even cartoonists have found themselves being confronted by Secret Service over comments or pictures deemed threatening. The effort is chilling for the first amendment and inimical to political speech.

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International, Military, Politics

U.S. Funded Afghan Schools Remain Unoccupied Due To Shoddy Work By Contractors

SchooAFHThe United States continues to pour money into Afghanistan — and not just in those bags of cash that Hamid Karzai has insisted keep being delivered to his office. Billions have disappeared while hundreds of millions have been spent on dubious projects rife with corruption. This week we have an insight into just how shoddy this work is in Afghanistan. The U.S. Agency for International Development paid Afghan firms $17.1 million to build 16 small schools. The contractors ripped off the U.S. and built one school that still cannot occupied due to structural dangers.

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Animals, Criminal law

Allie and the Jets: Illinois Woman Charged With Releasing Alligator At O’Hare

Alexis Prokopchuk, 29ohare-alligatorIn Illinois Alexis T. Prokopchuk, 29, is facing a rather novel criminal charge after security cameras captured her releasing a baby alligator named Allie at O’Hare International Airport in November. If she thought this was an urban alligator simply being released into the wild, she was wrong. She is now charged with animal cruelty and reckless conduct. Notably, both are misdemeanors, which may surprise some that releasing an alligator into an public area is not a felony.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Lawyering, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

Supreme Court Takes Up Major Case On The Limits Of Restitution

Supreme CourtToday, the Supreme Court will consider a case that has not attracted national attention but remains in my view one of the most important of the term, a classic “sleeper” case where the legal issues have sweeping potential. The case involves Doyle Randall Paroline, who pleaded guilty in Texas in 2009 to possessing child pornography. He downloaded hundreds of images and two were found to be child pornography dedicating the abuse of Amy. After pleading guilty, Paroline was hit by $3.4 million in restitution damages for Amy even though he had no role in her victimization nine years earlier or any role in the production or distribution of the two photos. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit found that the federal restitution law does not require “proximate causation” — a critical limitation in torts and criminal law that ensures that liability is confined to those parties immediately responsible for injuries. I have criticized the expansion of restitution in this area for years and I spoke with NPR’s On The Media on the case.

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Criminal law, Politics

Former Virginia Governor McDonnell Indicted With Wife For Corruption

220px-Bob_McDonnell_by_Gage_SkidmoreVirginia has been rocked by the indictment of Robert F. “Bob” McDonnell, a former state attorney general and his wife, Maureen, on corruption charges. The couple is accused of accepting loans, gifts, vacations and the use of a private plane from Jonnie Williams Sr., CEO of Star Scientific, a Virginia-based dietary supplement company. Like many in Virginia, I was floored by the sheer size of the gifts that exceeded $140,000. For a person who clearly aspired to national office, it was not just potentially crime but just plain stupid. Yet, I did not view the indictment as overwhelming in the proof of an actual crime due to the lack of any clear use of official power or authority to benefit Williams.

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International, Media, Politics

Affair of State: Hollande’s Popularity Increases In Aftermath Of Affair

220px-V.Dombrovskis_tiekas_ar_Francijas_prezidentu_(8662374471)-cropFrench President Francois Hollande, 59, appears to have finally found an initiative that resonates with the public. While 80 percent to French citizens view him as ineffective and his massive taxation policies have led to both companies and citizens fleeing the country, his polarity has taken small uptick with revelations of his affair with actress Julie Gayet, 41. The affair reportedly sent his long-standing partner Valerie Trierweiler, 49, into a hospital. It certainly captures a difference between U.S. and French politics. Gary Hart was not even married but a brief dockside party with Donna Rice was enough to sink his career.

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Environment, International, Politics, Science

Report: Chinese Pollution Tied To U.S. Exports Is Degrading Air Quality In Western States

300px-Made_in_chinaWe have been following the worsening pollution crisis in China, but a new report shows how the Chinese government’s rejection of basic environmental protections is degrading the environment of the world. Western states, particularly California, are finding their air quality reduced dramatically by Chinese pollution. A recent study documents adds an interesting twist: calculating the percentage of Chinese pollution tied to exports to the United States. It suggests that we are outsourcing industrial productions and getting the resulting pollution from the Western side of the country.

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Academia, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Media, Politics, Religion, Society

Florida High School Student Expelled After Disclosure Of Work In Porn Industry

Robert-Marucci-TFNJ_0We have previously discussed the increasing discipline of both students and teachers for conduct outside of the schools. Now a case in Central Florida raises a significant free speech issue after a student was kicked out of his high school, Cocoa High School, for working in the porn industry. At first glance, this might appear reasonable but the problem is that Robert Marucci is 18 and therefore allowed to work in the industry. The industry itself is legal. Thus, the school has expelled a student for engaging in lawful conduct that many feel is morally repulsive.

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Bizarre, Congress, Military, Politics

United States Air Force Spends $1 Billion On Software System Now Declared Utter Failure

210px-Seal_of_the_US_Air_Force.svgWe have been discussing how the U.S. military continues to waste billions with little accountability for failed programs or unneeded equipment. This includes tens of billions wasted in our ongoing wars. Much of this waste or lost resources has been covered up by intentional accounting tricks. No one appears to be disciplined, let alone fired, for billions of lost money and over-charges. And the beat goes on. The Senate Armed Services Committee has decided to actually investigate waste and is looking into a failed $1 billion software project for the U.S. Air Force that was implemented by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. It was scrapped after it was disclosed that we would have to spend an additional $1.1 billion just to fix the unused system.

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Academia, Bizarre, Society

Smartie Heads: School Officials Warn Of The Danger Of Nasal Maggots In Latest School Fad

hqdefaultAs parents, many of us have an ever-expanding list of things to worry about for our children. We can now add “nasal maggots.” That’s right, nasal maggots. School officials are warning parents in Rhode Island that students are snorting Smarties and the latest fad is causing allergic reactions, lung irritations, and potential maggots in the nasal cavities.

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