Below is my column today in USA Today on the torture report. This is the slightly longer version that ran on the Internet.
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Continue reading “TRUTH WILL OUT: THE SENATE REPORT CONTAINS SOME INCONVENIENT TRUTHS”
We have been seeing leading Democrats going public recently with their views that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or “Obamacare” was a political blunder or a simply poorly drafted mistake. This included the third-highest ranked Democrat, Chuck Schumer, who said that it was a mistake to even try to pass the legislation in the first term when most Americans did not place health care as a priority for action. Now the highest ranked Democrat, Senate majority leader Harry Reid, is saying that the Obama Administration may have doomed Democrats in Congress with its poor management and blunders in the rollout of the program.
Continue reading “Reid: Administration’s Mismanagement Of Obamacare Rollout Cost The Election”
Andrew Shannon, 49, now has something that he can say puts him in a small group shared only with Steve Wynn. Both have punched holes in valuable paintings. Unlike Wynn, however, Shannon wanted to punch a hole in a Claude Monet masterpiece hanging in the National Gallery Ireland in 2012 and did so in front of witnesses. Fortunately, he also did so in front of a security camera given his later defense. Monet’s 1874 work Argenteuil Basin with a Single Sail Boat has since been repaired though some small pieces were lost due to the damage on the painting.
Continue reading “Irishman Given Five Years After Punching Hole In Monet Masterpiece”
Columbia Law School has decided to delay exams for law students to overcome “trauma” of Ferguson, Garner decisions. It is the first such delay of exams for such decisions that I have seen at a law school and it has attracted criticism from both academics and lawyers as a poor preparation for real life as lawyers. Nevertheless, students at Harvard and Georgetown are now demanding the same right to delay their exams. Columbia has brought in a A “trauma specialist” to work with students. The University of California-Irvine has also offered such counseling to facilitate “healing, grieving and support.”
This rather stern looking gentleman in the booking line is John H. Przybyla , 75. If he looks a bit ticked, it may due to his falling victim to that siren’s call of dinner plates: beer-battered fish. When Przybyla was pulled over on what would be his 10th DUI, he allegedly told the deputy that the alcohol that he smelled was just his classic Wisconsin dinner. Unfortunately for him, the officer did not buy the blue plate special defense.
The Senate report is out and linked below. It is remarkable in both its candor and breadth. I was particularly moved by watching Sen. John McCain, a victim of torture, explaining to his colleagues why this country must not only condemn this torture program but come clean about our failure to meet the fundamental values that define us as a people. It was a true profile of courage — an all too rare moment in our contemporary politics where a politician transcends politics and stand boldly on a higher moral ground. What McCain showed was the difference between a politician and a statesman. He proved himself to be the latter this afternoon.
There is a highly disturbing case out of New York where a Hudson Valley anesthesiologist, Thomas Pfeiffer, 44, had been charged with strangulation, abortion and assault after he allegedly choked a woman and forced her to swallow a “morning after” pill after she told him she was pregnant. The abortion charge is relatively rare in criminal cases.
We recently discussed a horrific case where 10 women died and dozens were injured in India after a mass sterilization. Now, authorities are investigating a case where over 24 poor and elderly people went blind following cataract surgeries performed at a free medical camp in northern India. Continue reading “Over Two Dozen Poor People Reportedly Left Blind After Free Cataract Surgery In India”
Yesterday, we discussed the story of two men who celebrated the holiday by ruining it for everyone else. Brandon Ancell, 19, and Brandon Chait, 18, followed a UPS truck and stole gifts arriving at homes. Now, a Massachusetts woman has joined this ignoble list after she was captured on security cameras stealing several hundred dollars of holiday wreaths from the Sunshine Farm in Sherborn, Massachusetts. She does not appear to be too hard up for cash since she pulled up in a Range Rover. Well, at least it was not a small dog with antlers tied to its head.
There are two separate controversies this week over rape stories that have been challenged by critics. Both stories involve leading U.S. universities. Unlike the Duke Lacrosse controversy, neither school is accused of wrongdoing. Rolling Stone magazine has apologized for shocking failures in reporting a sensational rape story where a woman named Jackie alleged that she was gang raped at the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house, but the Washington Post reported on discrepancies in the account, including the fact that no party was held at the fraternity on the day in question. In the meantime, Lena Dunham’s story of being raped in college has been challenged as containing discrepancies and the man who has faced the most accusations is now considering a libel lawsuit against the author and director.
Last November, questions were raised over a decision of prosecutors to drop all charges against 13th Court Justice of Appeals Nora Longoria for alleged drunk driving. There were concerns of special treatment but prosecutors insisted that they simply lacked sufficient evidence. Now it appears that there was a dash cam video that clearly shows Longoria unable to complete sobriety tests. It would seems a fairly easy case for prosecution.
Brandon Ancell, 19, and Brandon Chait, 18, probably thought that the Grinch made it look so easy in Whoville. You just wait for Christmas gifts to arrive at houses and steal them. The problem arises when a neighbor plays the role of Cindy Lou Who with a camera.
Continue reading “Trouble In Whoville: Two Men Caught Stealing Holiday Presents”
We have been following the international outrage over the arrest of Loujain al-Hathloul, 25, for driving as a woman. She was arrested with a female journalist. Not only is the Saudi government not backing down, it has extended their jail time by 25 more days to allow for further investigation.
Continue reading “Saudi Officials Extend Jail Time For Women Caught Driving”
We previously discussed the best and worst of mugshots. There is a curious trend developing after the publication of mugshots on the Internet: some are finding that their mugshots have made them overnight sensations. Alysa Suguro Bathrick, 18, is the latest of these mugshot mavens. Her mugshot has gone viral following her arrest on drug charges.
Continue reading “Mugshot Maven: Another Booking Shot Goes Viral”
Respectfully Submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw) Weekend Contributor
The Banksters are at it again. You may recall an article that I wrote in March of 2013 which detailed a plan agreed to by the Bank of England and the FDIC which would allow banks to grab depositors funds in order to avoid a bank failure. The prime example given in that article was a similar plan that was put into action in Cyprus. Similar plans were on the books elsewhere, but the Cyprus grab had actually been activated.
Now it seems that the joint FDIC-Bank of England agreement from December of 2012 was not enough to make the Banksters whole in the event that their derivative gambling went south. The idea has gone global and it puts all of our deposits, and even our pension investments at risk! Continue reading “Bail-Ins and Empty Pockets”