Academia, Criminal law, Society

High School Student Facing Potential Felony Charge For Yearbook Prank

SchoolClassroomI have previously written about my concern with the criminalization of conduct in America, particularly at our schools. A case in Columbia, Missouri again raises this issue with a 17-year-old Hickman High School junior facing possible felony charges for a prank. The student changed the last name of Raigan Mastain to “Masturbate” and more than 700 yearbooks went to press with the change. Now a prosecutor is considering a charge of first-degree property damage and harassment — a felony prosecution for an immature prank.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Justice, Media, Politics, Society

Media Refuses To Attend Holder Confab Over Monitoring Of Reporters

holderericI have previously expressed my view of the meeting ordered by President Barack Obama of Attorney General Eric Holder with representatives of the media. This feeble response was taken in lieu of the more obvious step of firing Holder for his attack on the free press. The proposed meeting was, in my view, an insulting gesture of effectively having Holder investigate Holder. It was made even more transparent by the decision of the Justice Department that the meeting had to be off-the-record. That was too much for two principled media organizations New York Times, CNN, and Associated Press which have refused (correctly) to attend. Continue reading “Media Refuses To Attend Holder Confab Over Monitoring Of Reporters” →

Academia, Bizarre, Society

Lock and LEGO: Six-Year-Old Kindergartner Put Into Detention Over Tiny LEGO Gun Found In His Possession

Lego-Toy-GunWe have yet another zero logic case out of our schools enforcing zero tolerance policies on guns. We have yet another case of lunacy in our schools as part of the zero tolerance policy regarding guns. We have previously explored how teachers and school administrators are expelling or suspending students for everything from finger guns to stick figures. (here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here). For a prior column, click here. Even nibbling a danish into a gun shape can get you expelled today. Now a 6-year-old kindergartner attending Old Mill Pond Elementary School in Palmer, Mass faced possible suspension or expulsion because he was spotted with a plastic Lego G.I. Joe gun — the size of a quarter — on to his school bus. After public outcry, the school decided that it would not discipline the boy. However, the boy was given detention after the discovery.

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Academia, Animals, Bizarre, International, Science

Russian Scientists Discover Fully-Grown Mammoth With Running Blood

220px-Steppe_mammoth_sizeThere is an exciting discovery out of Siberia where Russian scientists have discovered a fully-grown female mammoth preserved in the ice. What is different is that not only does this animal have well-preserved muscle tissue but actual liquid blood. Yet, the godless scientists at the Institute of Applied Ecology are likely to be disappointed. Scientists were not only surprised to find running blood after pricking the body but found that the blood continued to run in the 10°C below zero temperature at the site. That leads them to believe that the mammoth’s blood has some type of “cryo-protective properties” previously unknown to scientists.

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Academia, Constitutional Law, Society

Harvard College Dean Resigns In Wake Of Leak Scandal

174580_167846826769_6484182_nWhile Eric Holder refuses to resign and Obama refuses to fire him, another leading citizen appears to be moving toward a resignation after her own controversial leak investigation scandal. Harvard Dean Evelynn Hammands is leaving her post as undergraduate dean in the wake of a controversy over her ordering the searches of the emails of junior faculty to determine who spoke with the media on a recent cheating scandal. In my view, it was an outrageous act that contravened both academic and privacy principles.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, International, Politics, Religion

Empty Altar: Iran Arrests Leading Christian Minister and Drags Him Off Altar In Middle Of Services

220px-Echmiatsin_altair170px-Ali_Khamenei,The Iranian government is continuing its crackdown on non-Muslim faiths this month with a shocking arrest of a minister in the middle of a service at Iran’s largest Persian-language Pentecostal church. One can only imagine the response of Muslims in the country if a Muslim cleric was arrested in the middle of a service in another country. However, the Iranian government pulled Pastor Robert Asserian off the altar and literally dragged him out of the church. The move is viewed as a warning to non-Muslims before the June 14 presidential election to replace President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Politics, Religion

Arizona Legislator Leads Colleagues In Double Prayer To Repent For Prayer By Atheist Member The Day Before

steve-smithWe recently celebrated the showing of tolerance in Arizona when the legislators allowed an atheist member to give the opening “prayer.” Democratic Representative Juan Mendez, of Tempe, is an atheist and opened the session by asking his colleagues not to bow their heads but look at each other. That did not sit well with Arizona State Rep. Steven Smith who proceeded the next day to give not one, but two prayers. The second prayer was to express “repentance” of the secular invocation offered the day before by Mendez. He was joined by half of the Arizona lawmakers in using prayer as a condemnation of Mendez and atheists.

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Columns, Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, Justice, Lawyering, Media, Politics, Society

FIRE ERIC HOLDER

holderericHere is today’s column in USA Today calling for the firing of Attorney General Eric Holder (I have added a couple lines removed in editing). Holder is not the only individual who needs to leave federal office but he is the first. Equally responsible are his deputy, James Cole, and Ronald Machen Jr., the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia who played critical roles in the investigation of journalists with Associated Press and Fox News. Notably, Obama reportedly “fired” IRS Director Steve Miller (who was reportedly already leaving) over the IRS scandal though there is no indication of any knowledge on his part. In Holder’s case, he was personally involved in targeting journalists (in the Fox case) and launched an attack on the media that has been condemned by a wide array of public interest and media groups. Yet, Holder has been asked to hold a simple meeting with aggrieved media representatives by Obama.

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Bizarre, International, Society

Chinese Teen Identified In Desecration Of 3,500 Luxor Temple

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We previously discussed the disgraceful defacing of a wall of the 3500 year old Luxor Temple in Egypt by a Chinese tourist. The wall survived thousands of years in pristine condition only to fall victim to a Chinese tourist. We now have an identification of culprit according to Chinese newspapers: Ding Jinhao, 15, from Nanjing. The graffiti reads “Ding Jinhao visited here” in Chinese.

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Criminal law, Society, Uncategorized

Zimmerman Loses Key Evidentiary Battle

trayon-martin-picture1tmgunhandsmWe previously discussed the effort of the defense team for George Zimmerman to introduce text messages, pictures, and history showing that Trayvon Martin had a history of discipline and drug problems. Judge Debra Nelson ruled today that most of this evidence would be kept out despite the fact that Zimmerman’s history and prior statements will be likely introduced. Zimmerman is arguing that it was Martin who attacked him and that this evidence shows a troubled teen with an obsession with guns and gangsta culture.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Society

Full Moon or Just A Waning Crescent? Virginia Mother Sentenced To Jail For Disorderly Conduct In Allegedly Mooning School Bus Driver

Image.aspxA recent story caught my eye out of Suffolk, Virginia. A bus driver was shocked when a mother allegedly mooned the bus after a confrontation last November with roughly 45 students onboard. The mother, Lisa Grant, 34, admits that she was upset that the driver sent a note home with her middle school son for misbehaving. She apparently thought yelling at the bus would be an appropriate response to the claim of misconduct. However, the videotape below shows the bus driver as equally irritated and loud in the confrontation and there remains a controversy over whether a true moon appeared along the roadside.

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Animals, Constitutional Law, Courts, Environment

PETA Accused Of Pursuing Bloggers After Criticism Of Its Animal Shelter

100px-Peta.svg People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is famous for its public displays designed to shock and sometimes disgust people (here and here and here). However, PETA appears a bit thin skinned this week with legal attacks on critics who accused the organization of killing animals in a Virginia shelter. PETA reportedly is asking a court to give it the personal information, email addresses, phone numbers, and other data for three bloggers who reacted to an April 2 posting by a no-kill shelter advocate. One of the bloggers called PETA “animal Kevorkians.”

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Criminal law, International, Media, Politics, Society

Interpol Rebuffs Putin On Demand For Whistleblower’s Arrest

Interpol_logo225px-Vladimir_Putin_official_portraitThere is an interesting conflict that has arisen between Interpol and the Putin government. Putin’s government has demanded the arrest of UK-based fund manager William Browder for his alleged tax evasion and told Interpol to put him on its list of wanted individuals. In a rare denial, Interpol decided that the Putin regime was pursuing Browder for offenses “of a predominantly political nature” and refused to assist the Russians.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Media, Politics

Leading Blogger Arrested In Vietnam In Major Crackdown On Free Speech

130528084704_truong_duy_nhat_464x261_truongduynhatfacebookTruong Duy Nhat, 49, is a leading blogger in Vietnam who has been challenging the government on its authoritarian laws. The Communist government has now responded by arresting him for “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe on the interests of the state.” This truly Orwellian charge could result in a seven year sentence for the blogger.

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