Norway Mayor Jim Preacher was not apparently happy about being pulled over by a South Carolina state trooper for speeding. After being given a ticket, Preacher proceeded to put on his own blue lights and pulled over the trooper in his capacity as Norway’s chief constable.
In Texas, investigators are demanding answers from Dallas meat-packing company Columbia Packing Company after photos appeared to show the company dumping pig blood into the Trinity River. The case raises some interesting legal questions.
Continue reading “Texas Company Accused Of Dumping Pig Blood Into River Used For Recreation”
We have been following the rapid diminishing of free speech in the West in recent years. It is particularly disconcerting to see this trend in our close allies of England and France (For a prior column, click here). Now, the French Senate has added a new speech crime — denying the fact of the Armenian genocide by Turkey. While I commend the motivation, the legislation is blind to the implications to free speech by criminalizing certain subjects for debate. It seeks to force critics to be silent under threat of criminal prosecution — an approach that produces only the appearance of agreement while denying citizens the basic right to be heard on such controversies.
Continue reading “French Senate Makes Denying Armenian Genocide A Crime”
As a history buff who loves visiting France, I have previously objected to the commercialization of historical sites of a former French minister of Versailles. However, nothing quite prepared me for the new idea of former French minister Yves Jégo, who is planning the creation of “Napoleonland.” He is raising £180 million for the amusement park on the site of Napoleon’s final victory at the Battle of Montereau in 1814 just south of Paris.
Continue reading “Liberté, Egalité, Débauche: Former French Minister Pushes For Creation of “Napoleonland””
Former Florida prosecutor Aaron Slavin, 34, has received a three-year prison sentence for accepting more than 200 oxycodone pills as payment for legal services in 2010. His wife Eryn Slavin, 34, was also convicted of drug possession, but under the deal with her husband she will avoid jail time. His mug shot sheet shows an arrest in 2010.
Continue reading “Former Prosecutor Sentenced To Three Years For Accepting Drugs For Fees”
I previously wrote about the pending case of United States v. Jones and the effort of the Administration to establish precedent allowing the government to follow citizens with Global Positioning Devices (GPS) without any showing of probable cause. I am happy to report that the Court has ruled unanimously against the government and found the practice to be unconstitutional under the fourth amendment. It is a stinging defeat for the Obama Administration but a roaring victory for privacy and civil liberties at a time when good news is rare.
We have followed the rising prosecution of people for blasphemy around the world, including the West. Now, Muslim groups in India are calling for the prosecution of organizers for reading from Salman Rushdie’s banned book “Satanic Verses” at the Jaipur Literature Festival. Abdul Latif, state secretary of All India Milli council refers to the mere reading from the book as “condemnable” and said that the groups are collecting evidence for prosecution.
LawDragon has released the results of its increasingly popular survey of the top lawyers in America. I was fortunate to again make the list this year.
Continue reading “LawDragon Selects Top 500 Lawyers”
Andrew Adler, the owner and publisher of the Atlanta Jewish Times, has apologized after running a column that lists three options for Israel to deal with its current threats that included killing Barack Obama. The column went out of its way to make sure that readers “read ‘three’ correctly” — “U.S. based Mossad agents” should kill the president. The column is just one more example of how religious writers and politicians use faith as a vehicle for hate and violent speech. Given our discussion of Santorum’s honorary campaign chairman (who denounced gays as making God want to vomit), one has to wonder about the intestinal fortitude of the Almighty during periods of sectarian extremism.
Continue reading “Editor of American Jewish Magazine Calls For Israel’s Mossad To Kill Obama”
Remember our plans to introduce a free and democratic nation in Iraq? We have been following the rampant corruption and increasing use of Sharia law in the country. Now, the Human Rights Watch has issued a report that our billions of dollars and many lives were spent to achieve . . . “a budding police state” where torture and abuse is widespread. In the meantime, we have spent ten years cutting back on essential services and programs in the United States to fund this shining example of American intervention.
Continue reading “Human Rights Report: Iraq Now A “Budding Police State””
Rick Santorum has long been ridiculed for his anti-homosexual views, but he appears to have someone who can actually extend the extreme of the spectrum to his right: Rev. O’Neil Dozier. Dozier has told his flock that gay “make God want to vomit.” He appears to know a great deal about things that make God vomit. His website describes him as “a prayer warrior who faithfully spends time in his own prayer closet and teaches his flock to pray.” This is one American who might be better off staying in the closet.
This week, Steven Tyler — formerly of Aerosmith and presently of American Idol — has made my Things That Tick Me Off list. I watched the two playoff games last night, but the Ravens-Patriots Game began with one of the most painful renditions of the national anthem in the history of mankind by Tyler, who appeared to be offering a rendition (below) of what the song if it was played by strangling a cat. Of course, now that he has made our “Things That Tick Me Off” list I expect his television and singing career will now be over.
One can certainly understand why victims of the recently wreck of the Costa Concordia were a little put out by a recent offer. The company, owned by Carnival, called to offer them a 30% discount on their next Carnival cruise after 12 people died on the last voyage and 20 are still missing. Truly savings to die for. For crash victims, it is like Ford’s Theater offering Mary Todd Lincoln “buy two, get one free” ticket deal on the next performance of “Our American Cousin.”
This film is the result of an experiment of locking a fully loaded bike in New York City and then taking one picture every day for 365 days.
Respectfully submitted by Lawrence Rafferty (rafflaw)-Guest Blogger
We have all certainly heard of the important Freedom of Speech cases that the Roberts led Supreme Court has decided. Citizens United is probably the most prominent one that comes to my mind. Of course, the Citizens United case promoted the ability of corporate entities to enjoy full Free Speech rights. Other important Free Speech cases that were decided by the Roberts Court include the military funeral case of Snyder v. Phelps, et al,(131 S. Ct. 1207 (2011) ) and the Brown v. Entertainment Merchants case (131 S. Ct. 2729 (2011) ) in California which overturned a California law which required parental consent for minors to rent or buy violent video games. Because of these decisions and others, some scholars and constitutional law experts make the claim that the Roberts Court is the most pro-free speech Supreme Court in history! Continue reading “The Roberts Court and Free Speech”