Suffolk County, New York has taken the budget cuts to a new low: firing Santa David McKell, 83, to save $660. Fortunately, the Obama Administration is continuing our spending billions in Iraq and Afghanistan so McKell could still look for a job from Halliburton, though Santa positions tend to be limited.
As fellow law professor sent me this video of Oakland police shooting a photographer. The video raises serious questions of the unjustified use of force.
Continue reading “Video: Oakland Police Officer Shoots Photographer With Rubber Bullet Without Any Apparent Provocation”
As discussed in a prior column, many civil libertarians view President Barack Obama as betraying core civil liberties in expanding on Bush-era surveillance programs, secrecy orders, and other measures. Now, even conservative justices are questioning the Administration’s demand to be able to engage in round-the-clock surveillance of citizens without a warrant using GPS technology. The sweeping new claim would gut the protections of the Fourth Amendment in the latest attack on civil liberties by Barack Obama.
Continue reading “Obama Administration Argues For “Orwellian” New Powers To Track U.S. Citizens”
Now here is an interesting case of false advertising. Barona Casino in Lakeside, California claimed to have a duffel bag filled with $250,000 as part of a promotion. Four men were so enthralled by the promotion of a giveaway that they entered the casino, shot open the display with an AK-47, and wrapped a chain around the display and yanked it out. They ultimately found, however, that it was less of a giveaway than a bait-and-switch. The bag did not contain $250,000 as advertised by a mere $2,000.
Don’t have time to get out of the house? Try the five minute trip across America.
Continue reading “I Give You The Five Minute Trip Across America”
Scientists have made an amazing discovery that has answered a long-standing question: where cavemen who drew the spotted horses in Pech Merle, France taking artistic license? The answer appears to be no. The horses were indeed spotted, according to new DNA analysis of horse teeth from 25,000 years ago.
The journalist, Simon Eroro, really really deserves the award from News Limited for his story on Free West Papua militants. Crossing rivers and jungles was tough enough, but in order to get access he had to agree to the group’s cleansing ritual . . . a circumcision with a bamboo stick.
Continue reading “The Ultimate News Tip: Journalist Wins Award After Agreeing To Circumcision To Get Story”
The Texas Dept. of Public Safety will not revoke or suspend the license of Crockett Keller, a handgun instructor who ran a radio ad telling Muslims and non-Christian Arabs that he would not teach them how to handle a firearm. Keller has agreed that he will train Muslims while adding that he views them as “the enemy.”
The University of Illinois law school has been fighting to regain its footing after a scandal over the admission of students due to their political connections. Now, the school is reeling from a new controversy: the disclosure that the school has published misleading data on admissions in six out of the last ten years.
Since we have discussed Plaintiffs’ conduct in class, I thought this video would offer a useful point of analysis. Is this negligence by the security guard?
Continue reading “Negligence? Woman Gets Stuck In Automatic Gate”
Below is my column today in The Los Angeles Times where I discuss the continuing trend of arrests of citizens videotaping police. We have followed many more cases but a couple are mentioned in the column. What is most disturbing is that prosecutors and police are continuing to fight court rulings upholding the right of citizens to videotape police.
Continue reading “The Right of Citizens To Videotape Police”
We have previously discussed the new labeling rules for cigarette packages and I have not hidden my criticism of the graphic images from both a legal and policy perspective. This afternoon, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon handed down a major decision granting an injunction of the rules — a move based on his belief that the cigarette makers are likely to succeed in blocking the new packaging rules.
Continue reading “Federal Judge Grants Injunction of New Tobacco Labels”
I often read ABA Journal as a great source of legal stories. The journal however has been the center of controversy this month after reporting on the results of a study on the preference of secretaries vis-a-vis male and female partners. The study by Professor Felice Batlan interviewed 142 secretaries at larger law firms and produced a surprising result: not a single secretary preferred female partners. When the ABA Journal reported that surprising fact, professors accused it of fostering gender stereotypes, misrepresenting the results of the study, and displaying a sexist view of the work. Some demanded a retraction and apology from the ABA Journal.
Continue reading “ABA Journal Under Fire For Coverage Of Survey Of Legal Secretaries”
Reporters and columnists often wait until Friday for the White House to do things that it does not want covered extensively in the press. This Friday’s news dump was the firing of Maj. Gen. Peter Fuller for saying what most everyone is saying about our ally, Afghan President Hamid Karzai — he is nuts. Remarkably, Fuller said if much more nicely, expressing concern whether Karzai is “isolated from reality.” My own disappointment is that Fuller did not add that Karzai’s family is little more than a criminal enterprise fostering corruption and drug trafficking.
Continue reading “Obama Administration Fires General For Calling Karzai “Erratic” and “Divorced From Reality””
This dog owner has tackled one of the longest standing problems of people of faith: paganism in pets or, worse yet, atheist animals. Some however insist on their dogs being both playful and prayful. This dog has been trained to give thanks to the Almighty before chowing down.
Continue reading “Fighting Pagan Puppies One Dog At A Time . . .”