Academia, Media, Politics, Society

Rahm Emanuel’s Reform of the Chicago Public Schools

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Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty-(Rafflaw)-Guest Blogger

We often hear the term “school reform” used often by politicians of all stripes.  Chicago’s politicians are no different when it comes to talking about and taking action on so-called school reform.  Recently, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who is a big fan of the charter school program and a former investment banker, decided that the best way to “reform” Chicago Public Schools was to close 49 schools and terminate 550 teachers and another 300 school staff employees!

“On June 14, the Chicago Public Schools sent layoff notices to 850 school employees, including 550 teachers. The layoffs will hit hardest at those teachers working in African-American and Latino communities. These are the communities that were targeted in the system’s recent decision to close 49 schools – the largest single school closure in US history.” Truth-out Continue reading “Rahm Emanuel’s Reform of the Chicago Public Schools” →

Free Speech, Lawyering, Society

The Name That May Not Be Spoken: Paula Deen,The “N” Word, And The ’60s South

By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

deenI never much liked Paula Deen’s cooking. Filled with butter and gravies and things like Krispy Creme Donuts for hamburger buns, Paula seemed too culinarily eccentric … to foodie excessive … too health oblivious even for a southern cook in 1813 much less 2013. Her story though, like her southern twang, had a certain charm to it: single mother of two left penniless makes ends meet by selling food-to-go out of her home kitchen and works her butt off until she reached the top of the sundae’s cherry with three shows on the Food Network and some spin off shows for her two sons.

Continue reading “The Name That May Not Be Spoken: Paula Deen,The “N” Word, And The ’60s South” →

International, Military, Uncategorized

More on Kirby Cowan and those who died and were wounded on 22 June 1944

Submitted by Charlton Stanley (Otteray Scribe) Guest Blogger

Kirby Cowan memorial plaque
Kirby Cowan memorial plaque
Gennevillers, France

It was 69 years ago today. 7:27PM, Paris, France. The B-17G serial number 42-102552 was shot down by flak over Paris. Some of the crew managed to get out of the destroyed plane, some did not. Kirby Cowan, whom I wrote about here, was the only one of the crew captured by the Gestapo. He was one of the 168 allied airmen who ended up in the Buchenwald Concentration Camp instead of a POW camp.

This story is not really about Kirby Cowan, as much as it is about the 6600 American service members who died per MONTH, during WWII (about 220 a day).  No one who was not alive then has any idea of the magnitude of the losses. 40,000 airmen were killed in combat theaters and another 18,000 wounded. Young men who climbed into thin aluminum coffins and flew into the stratosphere–and into history.

ImageAlso shot down that day at 7:24 PM, three minutes before Horn’s Hornets, was the B-17G #42-975432 flown by Second Lieutenant George Martin. That plane was also special because Staff Sgt. Carl E. Carlson was a member of the crew. SSgt. Carlson was the father of one of our own Turley blog commenters, Darrel Carlson.

Continue reading “More on Kirby Cowan and those who died and were wounded on 22 June 1944” →

Constitutional Law, Religion, Supreme Court

Atheist Denied Citizenship Because Her Morality Doesn’t Come From Religion

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

USCISMargaret Doughty, a 64-year old woman originally from the UK, and living in the US for 30+ years applied for US citizenship. She was asked, like all candidates, if they’d be willing to take up arms in defense of the United States of America. She responded that her “duty of conscience not to contribute to warfare by taking up arms … my beliefs are as strong and deeply held as those who possess traditional religious beliefs and who believe in God.” The USCIS in Houston, Texas, informed Doughty that conscientious objection must be based on religious grounds and she was to “submit a letter on official church stationery, attesting to the fact that you are a member in good standing and the church’s official position on the bearing of arms.”

Continue reading “Atheist Denied Citizenship Because Her Morality Doesn’t Come From Religion” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Uncategorized

The War on Men

Submitted by: Mike Spindell, Guest Blogger

taranto-waronmen1As a male who met his wife at age 36, I had many years as a single male and many relationships with women. While being experienced sexually the idea of forcing myself on a woman was not only repellant, but emotionally I was and am unable to understand why men would do something like that.  Emotionally even as a fantasy, on film, or in literature I find nothing the least bit stimulating, or manly about forcing oneself upon an unwilling partner. Yet I understand it very well intellectually as a power trip having little to do with sex and much to do with an innate hostility towards women.. One of the places where it seems rape and sexual assault has run rampant has been the military.  A recent AP story has related that one third of fired military commanders were canned for sexual misconduct.  http://jezebel.com/5977856/nearly-a-third-of-fired-military-commanders-were-canned-because-of-their-penises Congress is discussing harsher military penalties for rape and sexual molestation. This is a disgraceful situation in my opinion and a continuance of women being treated as second class citizens.

In May, the Department of Defense released its “Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military,” which found that up to 26,000 service members may have been the victim of some form of sexual assault last year, up from an estimated 19,000 in 2010. The report also found that 62 percent of victims who reported their assault faced retaliation as a result. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel responded to the report by calling the assaults “a despicable crime” that is “a threat to the safety and the welfare of our people,” and General Martin Dempsey affirmed that sexual assaults constitute a “crisis” in the military.

I find that the figure of 26,000 service members being victims of sexual assault this past year appalling. Almost all of those victims were females. Yet as we shall see there are some who minimize this behavior and seem to excuse it as just the natural workings of the male libido. I’ll explain. Continue reading “The War on Men” →

Uncategorized

In Memoriam: Idealist707

id707It has recently come to our attention that long time poster Idealist707 passed away in Stockholm, Sweden on June 10, 2013. Our heartfelt condolences go out to all his family and friends. To those of you who knew him from and from outside this blog, you know he was an outspoken and colorful character who added much flavor to the conversations here. As a tribute to him and his contributions, this thread has been established for you to share in not just in his loss, but share in your memories of him, for no one is truly gone so long as they live in our memories.

Rest in peace, Idealist707.

This blog is richer for having known you and poorer in your absence.

(Of note, thank you to poster Malisha who informed us of this sad news and to poster Darren Smith for suggesting a memorial thread.)

~ respectfully submitted by Gene Howington, Guest Blogger, on behalf of the Res Ispa Loquitur family

Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Politics, Society

Report: NSA Allowed To Use “Inadvertently Acquired” Communications

President_Barack_ObamaNational_Security_Agency.svgWe have seen a continuing array of spins by the White House and its allies to excuse the massive assault on privacy in the recently revealed warrantless surveillance programs. This effort has included perjury by high-ranking officials, an effort to redefine privacy in a new surveillance-friendly image, ever increasing claims of averting “plots” and misdirection toward other “threats” to privacy. However, one of the consistent claims has been that no content of communications was reviewed — an argument that itself is fallacious. Now however it appears that even that assurance is false. There are various reports that the content of the warrantless communications was accessible. Now, it has also been confirmed that there are two documents dated July 2009 and signed by Attorney General Holder allows the NSA to use “inadvertently acquired” communications.
Continue reading “Report: NSA Allowed To Use “Inadvertently Acquired” Communications” →

Courts, Criminal law, Society

New Jersey Judge to Face Trial for Hindering the Arrest of Robbery Suspect [UPDATED]

gavel2Superior Court judge Carlia Brady, 41, is to stand trial for “knowingly harbor[ing]” a fugitive charged with armed robbery in her Woodbridge home and never calling the police. She was arrested on Tuesday and charged two counts of hindering the apprehension of Jason Prontnicki, 41.

Continue reading “New Jersey Judge to Face Trial for Hindering the Arrest of Robbery Suspect [UPDATED]” →

Courts, Lawyering, Politics

Michigan Judge Removed From Office For Lying Under Oath

bildegavel2The Michigan Supreme Court voted yesterday 5-2 to remove Wayne Family Circuit Judge Deborah Ross Adams from office for lying under oath and other violations of judicial ethics. In removing Adams, the court found that a 180-day suspension recommended by the Judicial Tenure Commission was manifestly too low for a judge lying under oath. Continue reading “Michigan Judge Removed From Office For Lying Under Oath” →

Uncategorized

Not So Pleasant: Tennessee Water Officials Warn Citizens That Complaints About Water Quality Could Be Treated As Terroristic Threats

220px-Drinking_waterThe Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation deputy director Sherwin Smith is warning citizens to think before they start raising concerns about water quality because they could be charged with making terroristic threats. Smith told Maury County resident that unfounded complaints could be considered an “act of terrorism” and turned over the the police and the FBI. The meeting followed complaints about water quality in Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee where children have become ill drinking the water. That left residents with the sense that they were being given a Sophie’s Choice by the TDEC: live with sick children or face a possible charge of being a terrorist.

Continue reading “Not So Pleasant: Tennessee Water Officials Warn Citizens That Complaints About Water Quality Could Be Treated As Terroristic Threats” →

Bizarre, International, Military

Turning U.S. Billions Into Afghan Pennies: U.S. To Destroy $7 Billion In Equipment in Afghanistan Rather Than Ship It Home

220px-MRAP04220px-155mmMustardGasShellsAs President Obama starts our intervention into yet another war in Syria and members call for even greater intervention, we have another measure of how costly our war in Afghanistan has been. Stars and Stripes is reporting that the U.S. will abandon or destroy $7 billion in equipment rather than ship it home under the tight schedule for withdrawal. Once again, history will record the insanity of both President Bush and President Obama in spending hundreds of billions on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan while cutting key educational, environmental, and scientific programs needed in this country. Members who rail against support for things like NPR will not even take note of $7 billion in equipment going up in smoke in Afghanistan. In the perfect metaphor, the billions of dollars of scrap metal will be turned into Afghan pennies.

Continue reading “Turning U.S. Billions Into Afghan Pennies: U.S. To Destroy $7 Billion In Equipment in Afghanistan Rather Than Ship It Home” →

Bizarre, Congress, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Politics, Society

The Fantastic Feinstein: How To Make Privacy Disappear While Appearing To Defend It

225px-dianne_feinstein_official_senate_photoimages>Civil libertarians have long viewed Senator Dianne Feinstein (D.,CA) as a menace to privacy and civil liberties in her role on the  Senate Intelligence Committee. She has worked to blocked investigation of torture while supporting warrantless surveillance of our own citizens. Recently, many Californians became aware of her role in seeking ever-expanding powers for the security state. Feinstein desperately tried to get citizens to embrace a new model of privacy that allows for their continual surveillance in the latest scandals under her tenure. That has not worked particularly well so now Feinstein is taking a new approach: she is proclaiming her concern over the dangers of privacy posed by . . . drones. That’s right. Like the street magicians distracting an audience, Feinstein is trying to get citizens to focus on the use of drones for surveillance and promising some form of “regulation” in the future. The obvious intent behind yesterday’s carefully constructed scene was to present Feinstein in the light of a fighter for, rather than an attacker of, privacy rights.

Continue reading “The Fantastic Feinstein: How To Make Privacy Disappear While Appearing To Defend It” →

Bizarre, Criminal law, Society, Torts

Michigan Woman Accused Of False Rape Charges Against Three Men, Including One Released After 10 Years

article-2326336-19A6AE47000005DC-939_306x423Police were investigating the alleged rape of Sara Ylen by two men in her home in Lexington, Michigan when her attending physician noticed something odd: her bruises were wiping off clean. She is now being prosecuted for falsely claiming rape and tampering with evidence. The most chilling aspect of the story is that prosecutors convicted a man previously of raping Ylen. It is the role of the prosecutors that needs to be investigated in this bizarre story.

Continue reading “Michigan Woman Accused Of False Rape Charges Against Three Men, Including One Released After 10 Years” →

International, Politics, Society

The Extraterrestrial Extramarital Defense: English Politician Announces Affair With Green Alien “Cat Queen” . . . Wife Reportedly “Not Happy”

220px-My_stepmother_is_an_alien_h353_w628_m6_otrue_lfalseSimon Parkes appears to be pressing the flesh with all the wrong people. The city council member and married father of three from Whitby Town Council has gone public with an account of a long affair with aliens, particularly an alien named the “Cat Queen” with whom he has had a child. He also claims that his “real mother” is a 9-foot green alien with eight fingers. The Labor politician has also reported the less surprising news that his wife is rather put out by the whole thing. He did raise a novel extraterrestrial defense to extramarital affairs. Continue reading “The Extraterrestrial Extramarital Defense: English Politician Announces Affair With Green Alien “Cat Queen” . . . Wife Reportedly “Not Happy”” →