There is an interesting ruling out of Mobile, Alabama where former child sex crimes prosecutor, Steve Giardini, was charged with solicitation of a minor over the computer. Special Judge Gaines McCorquodale dismissed the charge on a key missing element under the statute: an actual victim. Since Giardini was speaking with an undercover officer posing as a 15-year-old girl, McCorquodale ruled that there was no victim as required under the language of the statute for child enticement. Essentially, no child, no enticement, no charge.
A mall in Maine sacked Old St. Nick who was neither jolly nor nice. The mall responded to complaint with a classic “Bad Santa, No Cookie.” Parents say that the rent-a-claus would not let kids sit on his lap unless the parents bought a picture and would turn down the gift requests of children on the spot. The mall is now looking for a jollier Santa. The North Pole seems to be developing a criminal element. This follows the arrest this week of one of Santa’s helpers. What would be interesting is an infliction of emotional distress claim by one of the shattered kids. He is not among the fallen Santas this year. [Warning: Santa spoiler discussion below]
Ever wonder what type of low life would steal Holiday presents from people’s porches? How about from an area ravaged by a hurricane? Well, according to police in Long Island, you need to meet Albert Munoz, 21, and Freddy Benavides, Jr., 20. The two men were arrested after an off-duty New York State Trooper saw them allegedly following a UPS truck and stealing holiday packages from the porches and front doors of homes.
During the campaign, many people expressed outrage over Mitt Romney’s statement concerning the fact that almost fifty percent of the public do not pay pay income taxes. I well understood the anger, but I am a bit surprised that a video by the California Federation of Teachers has not produced the same outrage over its unfairness and frankly crudeness. The video shows a wealthy person urinating on the poor as part of a “Tax the Rich: An Animated Fairy Tale.” I readily admit that I am in the minority on our blog in opposing some of the tax increase proposals in this country and abroad as economically unwise. However, the demonization of the wealthy in this country has gone a bit far when a video of this kind is released by a major organization.
Continue reading “Teacher’s Union Releases Video Of Rich Urinating On The Poor [UPDATED]”
Detroit Councilwoman JoAnn Watson is nothing if not direct. Watson is quoted this week as demanding a “quid pro quo” from President Obama — a bailout for the ballots used to reelect him. We have run a long serious of stories of the meltdown in Detroit — one of the worst run cities in the nation and a city council that often seemed to have more members either in jail or under criminal investigation. Now the council seems to be looking for a bailout and Watson is reportedly telling Obama to pony up.
Below is my column this morning in USA Today on a campaign by the Obama Administration to pressure colleges and universities to reduce due process protections for students accused of sexual harassment and sexual violence. I have previously written a letter to my own university opposing some of these specific changes, though (like many schools) George Washington appears to be yielding to the pressure. I understand the concern of the Administration and the need to protect victims in this difficult process. We are all committed to maintaining a protective environment for both students and faculty. However, there are other ways to offer such protections without stripping away core due process protections in my view. My greatest concern is with the sexual violence cases because these adjudications will have a lifelong impact on the students (or faculty members) as well as consequences for collateral criminal proceedings. The column below is slightly expanded with material cut for space in the newspaper version.
just look me in the eyes . . . This is why dogs get away with so much. Of course, the combination of cuteness and color-blindness (as well as the absence of fingers or the ability to read) would seem to create a hazard for dog drivers, but you can’t tell that to a bunch of trainers in New Zealand. It appears that you will now have to shop for that perfect ride for your Range Rover.
We have been following a growing trend of alleged unjustified shootings of pet dogs by police officers. We can now add a case out of Chicago where a 7-month-old miniature bull terrier, called “The Colonel” by neighbors, was shot by a police officer. A lawsuit names Officer Brandon Pettigrew as the cop who twice shot The Colonel, which weighs less than 30 pounds. According to witnesses, the officer then calmly returned to writing the ticket and handed it to the distraught owner. The police returned three days later, according to media reports, and asked why the owners were speaking to the media . . . and proceeded to give them a ticket for having a dog off a leash.
Israeli officials are being quoted today of accusing the United States of fostering protests against the decision of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to build 3,000 settlers’ homes and develop an area of the West Bank. The renewed settlement plans are widely viewed as destabilizing the area and attempting to undermine a viable Palestinian state.
Continue reading “United States Accused Of Fueling Protests . . . By Israel”
Jennifer Phillips, 46, picked a curious scene to allegedly threaten the life of South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. First, Haley was appearing to discuss bullying and the need to stop such behavior. Second, Phillips was a volunteer Santa’s helper at the Santa’s workshop event. Phillips allegedly told a third party upon learning of Haley’s visit that “I’m going to smuggle a gun in and kill this Governor.”
Those crazy secularists (and Pat Robertson) are at it again. While creationists (including many of our elected officials) insist that the Earth is roughly 6,000 years old because the Bible says it is, paleontologists continue to put their radioisotopic data before biblical passages in estimating the age of fossils. The scientists claim to have found the world’s oldest dinosaur, which they claim walked the Earth 235 million years ago.
The gruesome death of Ki-Suck Han at the Times Square Station has again raised the question of the “no duty to rescue” rule. In this case, Han, 58, was pushed by a man on to the tracks and struggled to climb out of the way of the approaching train on a platform with people who simply watched and one, a journalistic photographer, snapped pictures.
One hour ago, our blog passed the 14,000,000 viewer. The fact that we only recently passed the 13,000,000 viewer mark reflects the impressive growth of this blog. Congratulations everyone. Now if we could only get .000001 of those viewers to vote for us on the ABA blog competition we could crush the competition! If you (are any distant relative, incompetent ward, or pet) has not voted, you can vote here and cast your vote today!
We previously discussed the bizarre case of James Cameron, 50, the former top drug prosecutor in Maine who cut off his electronic bracelet and fled after a ruling that upheld his conviction on child pornography charges. He spent 17 days on the run but was nabbed in Albuquerque on Monday and was ordered held without bail.
Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio has forced a construction crew to stop working after workers put up a warning sign reading “Men Working.” According to the report below, the college declared that the sign was “sexist and non-inclusive” and had to be removed before any further work resumed.
Continue reading “Ohio College Stops Construction Work Due To Use Of “Men Working” Sign”