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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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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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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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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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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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”

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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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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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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Michigan Court Rules Insurance Coverage Includes Witnessing Son’s Death While Driving In Another Vehicle

There is an interesting case out of the Michigan courts this week. A Michigan appellate court ruled that a mother, Gale Boertmann, who saw her son’s fatal motorcycle accident could claim damages under her own auto insurance for her injuries while driving. Cincinnati Insurance Co. objected, saying that the injury was not due to her operation of the vehicle since “she would have suffered the exact same injury if she were standing on the front porch of her house.”
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Oregon Man Shoots At “Bear” and Kills Marine on a Hike

We have previously discussed “buck fever” cases and the relative absence of civil or criminal penalties for fatal hunting accidents historically. This week saw another tragic case after Marine reservist Christopher A. Ochoa, 20, was shot while hiking with a friend. Gene Collier, 67, says that he though Ochoa was a bear while hunting with his grandson.
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Meet Robert Maresca: The Man Who Wants The Rights To “Occupy Wall Street”

Many people have watched the spontaneous “Occupy Wall Street” protests and have been inspired and moved to action. Robert and Diane Maresca are two of those people but not quite in the way intended. The Long Island couple has filed a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) application to cash in on the movement and claim ‘Occupy Wall St.” as a global brand name for merchandise and marketing.
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