Bizarre, Politics, Things That Tick Me Off

Conservative Family Values? AntiGay Candidate Admits Lesbian Affair With Student 40 Years Ago, Still Wants Political Office

Submitted By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

An interesting story out of Appomattox, Virginia, and  one that hits closer to home than I originally thought. Anti-Gay lobbyist and former deputy clerk of the Virginia House of Delegates, Linda Wall, wants to put her conservative  ideology to work for the citizens of Appomattox, Virginia in the election for the Commonwealth’s 59th District House seat.  Running as an independent, she describes herself as a “Republican-leaning conservative.” Her campaign slogan is: “A Campaign of Protection and Restoration.”  But the place where our Country was reunited in 1865, is wondering just what kind of “protection” she’s talking about and has a real dilemma on its hand since Wall admitted a lesbian affair with one of her junior high students in the early 1970s.

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Politics, Science

B.E.S.T. Results

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

B.E.S.T., Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature, is the organization, formed by Richard Muller, Professor of Physics at the University of California at Berkeley and self-proclaimed climate skeptic, to analyze temperature data. B.E.S.T. has received a total of $623,087 in financial support, with the largest contribution, $150,000, coming from the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation. B.E.S.T. directly addressed concerns including urban heat island effect, poor station quality, and data selection bias.

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Politics, Society

Public Interest Groups Denounce Obama For Violating Lobbyist Money Pledge

For years, civil libertarians and environmentalist have denounced President Obama for his policies violating core principles of those movements. Now anti-corruption and good government groups are denouncing him for his abandonment of pledges to not to take lobbyist money.

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Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Religion, Society

Shorter Means Straighter: University Requires Faculty To Sign Lifestyle Statement Denouncing Homosexuality

Shorter University President Donald Dowless has notified the faculty and staff that they will now be required to sign mandatory pledges that affirm their rejection of homosexuality and other unChristian acts. The pledge, Dowless, insists, is necessary as an “affirmation of our Christ-centered mission.” It has caused a considerable controversy, though the countervailing religious practice rights should be considered.

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Bizarre, Science, Society, Torts

McBan: McDonald’s Bans Arizona Professor From All Restaurants After She Claims To Find Pathogens in Play Areas

With repeated brawls in McDonald’s, it is would seem that it is pretty hard to be excluded from the restaurant chain. However, Erin Carr Jordan found a way. The mother of four and college professor with a doctorate in developmental psychology, has been leading an effort to get McDonald’s to clean its play area by testing equipment and reportedly finding dangerous levels of pathogens. It is not the first time McDonald’s has been accused of such dangerous levels — made more dangerous by being in proximity to food where the children digest the pathogens.
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Bizarre, Politics, Society

Reforming Halloween From “Jesus Ween” To Saturday-Only Observance

As a self-confessed Halloween devotee, I am always taken aback by those who want to change or eliminate what seems to me to be a hugely fun holiday for kids and adults alike. Yet, this year has seen the annual reforms of the holidays from changing the date to establishing the alternative of “Jesus Ween.” Yet, this is an improvement over psychoanalysis that my love for Halloween is merely a cry for help from my dying soul.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Politics, Society

The Obama Tuition Stimulus: Will Students Get A Sawbuck While The Constitution Get The Shaft?

The newly announced stimulus effort to help students has been denounced as an election year ploy that, as discussed in the below article, would result in less than $10 a month in savings for the average student. The question is whether such a use of executive power is constitutional given the conflict with prior legislation.
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Constitutional Law, Religion, Society

Court Under Fire For Upholding Application of Islamic Law in Florida Court

The 2nd District Court of Appeal in Lakeland, Florida is under fire after upholding the use of Islamic law by Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Richard A. Nielsen. The uproar has reignited the national controversy over the perceived threat of Sharia law to the United States.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Politics, Society

Pro-Life or Pro-Libel: Former Dem Congressman Sues Susan B. Anthony List For “Loss of Livelihood” After Defeat

When former Rep. Steven Driehaus lost his seat in Ohio’s 1st Congressional District, he prepared more than a concession speech. He prepared a lawsuit. Driehaus blames his defeat on what he says were misrepresentations by the Susan B. Anthony List, a group that supports pro-life candidates for Congress. Continue reading “Pro-Life or Pro-Libel: Former Dem Congressman Sues Susan B. Anthony List For “Loss of Livelihood” After Defeat” →

Bizarre, Society

Rock Relics: John Lennon’s Tooth Up For Sale At $16,000

Many of us may have been under the misimpression that the sale of relics is a market that has largely disappeared since the height in the Middle Ages. An auction this week shows that it has not disappeared. It has simply moved from religious to rock relics. John Lennon’s remarkably yellow tooth will be auctioned on Omega auction with a price of $16,000. Assuming that all teeth are valued the same, that would mean that John Lennon’s full 32-tooth dental resources (not including baby teeth) are worth $512,000.
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Constitutional Law, Free Speech, International, Politics, Religion, Society

Egyptian Party Leader: “I Am the Enemy of Democracy”

With Libya now moving to a Sharia-based system that will impose religious values on the population, Egypt is also rapidly moving toward an extreme Sharia based system. Indeed, Hesham al Ashry (the leader of the Salafists) announced this week that “I am the enemy of democracy.”

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Bizarre, Torts

California Man Spends Nine Hours Trapped in Swing

Now this would make for an interesting tort lawsuit. A California man was rescued on Saturday after being stuck in a toddler’s swing in the park for nine hours. The man had bet his friends $100 that he could fit into the swing, lubricated himself with laundry detergent, and squeezed into the swing — only to be stuck. After trying unsuccessfully to free him, the friends decided to leave him as a joke.

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