State Rep. Alvin Holmes (D-Montgomery) has introduced a bill that tackles that pressing problem of the State of Alabama. No, not high unemployment or crime or foreclosures. He is moving a bill that would ban saggy pants. That’s right, the legislature of Alabama is close to passing a statewide ban on saggy pants. The only thing more questionable than its constitutionality is its necessity. While it may put him at odds with Arizona Democratic state Rep. Katie Hobbs to require airbrushing of any saggy images, they both seem to be working off the sense of legislative priorities.
Continue reading “Alabama House Passes Ban On Saggy Pants”
Arizona Democratic state Rep. Katie Hobbs (shown right in an unairbrushed photo) has tackled what she considers a pressing issue of the day: airbrushing of models to make them look perfect. She wants to require that any advertisers airbrushing models impose the following disclaimer prominently on the ad: “Postproduction techniques were made to alter the appearance in this advertisement. When using this product, similar results may not be achieved.” That is a bit of a buzz kill.
Continue reading “Arizona Legislator Moves To Bar Airbrushing Of Models”
We have followed a disturbing trend of teachers, and other public employees, who have been fired for activities in their private lives, including jobs previously held in the entertainment or sex industries. Now, an elementary teacher in the Bronx, Melissa Petro, has lost her job because she wrote a column in the Huffington Post on her brief stint as a sex worker. Dubbed the “Hooker Teacher,” Petro was shown the door at the demand of Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
A man in his 40s this week died of a heart attack while eating a 6,000-calorie Triple Bypass burger at an aptly named chain that serves up massive burgers and allows grossly obese individuals to eat for free. We previously looked at Heart Attack Grill when its overweight spokesman died at 29. The question is whether a restaurant can be sued for knowingly serving food that comes with a higher risk of death or serious bodily injury — a risk that is openly advertised by the restaurant and assumed by the customer.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a stinging rebuke to the Justice Department after refusing to remove the name of a prosecutor who acted unethically from an opinion. The effort by the Justice Department to conceal the name of the prosecutor, the court noted, was in sharp contrast to its common heralding of the accomplishments of its prosecutors in public. The move reaffirmed the view of many lawyers that the Justice Department often acts reflexively in defense of its lawyers — often resisting efforts to hold abusive prosecutors accountable. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jerry Albert is accused of misrepresenting a drug defendant’s prior statements when trying to impeach her trial testimony.
There is an interesting product liability case in the making in Niceville, Florida where Tom Holloway, 57, reportedly had his teeth blown out when his electronic cigarette exploded. He also lost part of his tongue and suffered burns on this face. It is not known which brand was allegedly informed in the explosion.
Below is today’s column, which concerns the subject upon which I will be testifying this morning before the full House Judiciary Committee: recess appointments.
Continue reading “Abuse Of Power: Obama’s Recess Appointments And The Constitution”
Below is my testimony this morning before the full House Judiciary Committee on the constitutionality of the recent recess appointments by President Obama. I also wrote a column this morning on that same subject.
Continue reading “Turley Testimony on the Constitutionality of Recess Appointments”
Nancy Grace has long thrived on the carrion of high-profile murders and disappearances. Sometimes, however, there simply is not time to lose to distort facts into a juicy murderous tale. Thus, when Whitney Houston died, Grace was virtually hyperventilating in fashioning the death as a presumptive murder. Grace demanded to know who pushed Houston under the water in her tub or gave her the lethal dose of drugs or both.
Continue reading “Nancy Grace Demands To Know Who Shoved Houston Under The Water”
The new Libyan government has adopted many of the habits of its previous regime like torture and it can now add homophobic leadership. Libya’s new United Nations delegate to the U.N. Human Rights Council used a resolution to combat violence based on sexual orientation to denounce homosexuals as threatening the survival of the human race.
Continue reading “Libyan U.N. Envoy Denounces Gays and Lesbians As Threatening Humanity”
Many people have complained about a new policy of “American Exceptionalism” in our wars and foreign policy. It appears however that we may have to call it a policy of “American Incoherence” after reading the latest remarks of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — policies that are understandable only to our leaders. Clinton (who supported the armed intervention in Libya because of the threat of citizen deaths) has announced that no troops can be sent to Syria without the consent of the regime. I happen to oppose military intervention in Syria, but we continue to convey to the world that the only guiding principle in our foreign policy is opportunism.
Continue reading “Clinton: No Troops Can Be Sent To Syria Without Assad’s Consent”
Some drinks just make you want to scream “UCC.” The Uniform Commercial Code that is. The Cheesecake Factory has announced it will yield to demands from Massachusetts lawyer Ross Mitchell who objected under the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act to the failure to post the prices of its drinks. He is supported by Texas Wesleyan law professor Franklin Snyder who has invoked the UCC as required reading for anyone bar hopping.
There is a disputed shooting in Culpeper, Virginia where Patricia Cook, 54, was killed by an officer who said that she tried to drive away from a church parking lot while his arm was caught in the window. However, an eye witness has come forward to dispute that account and neighbors have questioned the need for lethal force against the unarmed woman.
The same week that the Durham District Attorney is appearing in a hearing on her possible removal, a Texas judge has found probable cause that former Williamson County District Attorney Ken Anderson withheld exculpatory evidence and may have caused a innocent man to be wrongfully convicted. Anderson, now a district judge himself, will face a likely special court of inquiry over his alleged misconduct.
A case out of York, England could raise the question of whether inebriation is a defense to animal abuse. A 20-year-old student was arrested for allegedly frying the pet hamster of his roommate while drunk.
Continue reading “English Student Arrested For Frying Roommate’s Pet Hamster”