U.S. District Judge Andrew J. Guilford verbally lashed the Fullerton Police Department in its handing of allegation by sexual misconduct of an officer, calling the police department actions as “shocking” in its failure to take serious steps to preserve and act on evidence.
Continue reading “Federal Judge Criticizes Lack of Response of California Police Department To Allegations of Sexual Abuse By Officer”
I was just sent this video by a friend of a 29-year-old woman who is filmed as she hears her own voice for the first time with the use of an ear implant.
Continue reading “Video: Woman Hears Own Voice For First Time in 29 Years”
Thad Holmes and Clem Parnell are Alabama conservation enforcement officers . . . and part-time human ballistic burial experts. Holmes and Parnell have founded Holy Smoke, LLC, a company that loads the ashes of your fried or loved one in shotgun shells, and rifle and pistol cartridges to be used in one last hunting trip or just target practice. For a small sum, it is resurrection and reload . . .
Continue reading “Ballistic Burials: Alabama Conservation Officers Sell Ammunition Filled With the Ashes of Your Loved One”
Here is what you are missing.
Continue reading “Ever Tickle a Penguin?”
Charlie Whittington, owner of the Kwik Kar oil-change shop in Plano, TX, no doubt accepts the promise in Hebrews 1:9 that “God, even your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows,” but he wants to throw in a discount oil change for good measure. Whittington has achieved national notoriety by offering customers an oil change for $19.99 if they recite a Bible verse to him or his staff. They must recite John 3:16: “For God so loved that world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Continue reading ““For God So Loved The World, He Gave You Bargains, Bargains, Bargains”: Texas Mechanic Offers Cheap Oil Changes For Christian Recitals”
As someone who loves garlic and uses massive amounts in most everything that I cook, I found this video intriguing.
Continue reading “How To Peel An Entire Head Of Garlic In 10 Seconds”
Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
So…I get this baby gift recently from one of my Grammy’s good friends. It’s a pink Red Sox hat. My mom—who happens to be a big fan of the Boston baseball team–loved it. She put it on me and made my grandma take a picture. Mom wanted me to wear it proudly every time she took me for a walk.
Little did my mom know when I got that gift that the Red Sox would collapse like a pup tent in a hurricane at the end of the regular baseball season. What a bunch of losers! From what I’ve overheard my parents talking about this week—the curse of the Bambino must have been reactivated! I wonder how long the curse will hang around this time???
Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
Ex-con Bruce Price is a principled guy. He spent a decade as a prison chef while serving time for assault. Many of those meals were for condemned men in the Texas penal system. We’ve recently discussed Texas’ knee-jerk abandonment of the Last Meal for condemned prisoners here on the blog. Seems Price was reading about it, too.
Continue reading “Have Ladle, Will Travel: Texas Chef Calls State’s Hand On Canning Last Meals”
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
Bank of America is leading banks all across the country in instituting new monthly fees for customers who use debit cards. BoA will start charging customers $5 a month while Wells Fargo and Chase are testing a $3 a month fee, Regions a $4 a month fee, and SunTrust a $5 fee.
Below is today’s column in the Washington Post (Sunday) exploring the growing infusion of religious pitches and policies in the presidential campaign. With the anniversary this week of the Danbury letter, this is a particularly good time to take account of the condition of the wall of separation. Today is also the day of the “Red Mass,” the annual religious service held with members of the Supreme Court before the start of their term and leading Republican and Democratic politicians. While the separation of church and state is not mentioned in the Constitution, this exchange cemented the phrase in our legal and cultural lexicon. The piece below does not delve into the meaning of the First Amendment and whether it can be read broadly or narrowly given its language and history. Even if one accepts that the establishment clause was only designed to prevent the creation of an official church, there remains the long-standing principle in politics and government against the intermingling of church and state. To put it simply, religion is back in politics. While the targeted religious minorities may have changed from Baptists to Muslims, the fight over separation has resumed with the same politicized piety that once tore this country apart.
Continue reading “Separation of Church and State? Not on the 2012 Campaign Trial”
Here is our picture of the week from our erstwhile colleague in the City of Light, Eric Tenin.
Continue reading “Sunday in Paris With Eric”
Submited by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
We’ve known for years that exposure to violence makes humans more likely to commit violence themselves. TV violence is especially pernicious and can have effects lasting decades. Now that applies to participatory virtual violence as well.
Mark Bradford, a 46-year-old resident of Plymouth, England attacked a 13-year-old boy who had just “killed” his virtual fighter in the wildly successful computer game, Call of Duty:Black Ops. The two were playing the game over the Internet when Bradford’s character was shot during a battle scene. The enraged father of two promptly raced over to the boy’s nearby home and grabbed the young man by the throat using both hands. The child’s mother fought him off and called police.
Continue reading “Call of Crazy: Gamer Attackes Teen Who Killed His Character”
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
Ten bonus points to anyone who can find the kitteh. Solution below the fold.
Few people would mourn the passing of radical U.S. cleric Anwar al-Aulaqi. However, his reported death from a U.S. air strike raises the long-standing question over President Obama’s insistence that he can unilaterally label a citizen as a terrorist and order his killing. It is one of the policies (of many) that Obama continued from his predecessor, George W. Bush, and was one of the subjects of my column yesterday in the Los Angeles Times.
Awkward. Primera (Texas) Police Chief Joe Rodriguez recently sent his opponent for the office of constable, Robert Lopez, text that contained transgender porn. Oops.
Continue reading “Texas Sheriff Sends Transgender Porn To Political Opponent By Mistake”