Legal Commentary

2010 ? Tied For Warmest Year on Record

Posted on January 15, 2011
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger We have previously discussed, here, the data from NASA?s Goddard Institute of Space Studies showing that 2010 as the warmest climate year on record. We now have confirmation from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)...

Branding For Jesus ? Update II

Posted on January 15, 2011
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger We have previously discussed John Freshwater, a controversial teacher in Mount Vernon, Ohio, who used a Tesla coil to  brand crosses into the arm of a 7th grade student, here and updated his story, here. The Mount Vernon School Board has voted, 4 to 1, to fire middle [...

C?mon Everybody

Posted on January 15, 2011
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger C’mon Everybody For your listening enjoyment, we present Eddie Cochran in glorious STEREO!

On Civil Liberties & Freedom: Take 2

Posted on January 15, 2011
Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger I thought I?d do a follow-up to my Let Civil Liberties & Freedom Ring! post about the erosion of civil liberties in Britain?which, in my opinion, is akin to what has been happening here in the United States in the past decade...

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Inappropriate Disposition of the Host

Posted on January 15, 2011
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger Navarre, Florida, resident Jackie Trebesh was pulled over by a Santa Rosa County deputy and given a trespass warning after leaving mass at St. Sylvester?s Catholic Church in Gulf Breeze. She was also denied communion during mass...

Are Child Labor Laws Unconstitutional in The Tea Party World?

Posted on January 15, 2011
Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty(rafflaw), Guest Blogger   We have seen and heard on many occasions the Tea Party claim that it desires Congress and the Federal Government to follow the letter of the Constitution instead of reaching beyond the four corners of the document...

Twelve Angry Liberal Jurors: DeLay Slams Austin Jury Pool and Venue

Posted on January 14, 2011
Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) once called the jurors in his recent trial his “brothers and sisters.” His view has changed a bit since they convicted him and he was sentenced to three years. DeLay has been making the talk show circuit and said on “The Today Show” that the jury was a [...

Out Foxed: Man Shot By Fox in Belarus

Posted on January 14, 2011
As someone who has always loved foxes, I am struggling to feel sorry for the subject of this story. A man in Belarus was participating in one of the favorite sports of that country (fox hunting) when the fox shot him. The man had already shot the fox and decide to finish the fun by [...

The Lesser of Two Weevils: Ohio School Finds Weevils in Noodles, Removes Them, Serves Kids The Noodles

Posted on January 14, 2011
Ohio lunch workers know the values of choosing the lesser of two weevils. They found boll weevil beetles in dry noodles, removed those they could see, and then served the noodles. They did, however, remove the big ones that they could find. While the Reagan Administration may have counted ketchup as a vegetable, I assume [...

Cook County Treasurer Found To Have Driver Paid $94,000 a Year and a Cleaning Lady Paid $57,000 a Year

Posted on January 14, 2011
My former neighbor in Chicago BS 2 Investigator Pam Zekman has an amazing story this week. Zekman found that Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas has a county-supplied driver who makes $94,000 a year and a cleaning lady making $57,000 a year. Zekman’s staff secretly filmed Emanuel Hatzisavas as he waited for such things as Pappas [...

Emergency Room Waits Now Average Six Hours

Posted on January 14, 2011
A new study has confirmed what most of us already know: we have a crisis in emergency rooms where sick individuals customarily have to wait for hours before being seen. We have seen the horrible consequences of these delays in past postings (here and here)...

What?s Your Sign? Guess Again

Posted on January 13, 2011
Remember striking out in the 70s with the line what’s your sign when the girl turned out to be a Virgo and you are a Gemini? Now, you can go back and try again if she is still available. Astronomers have announced that most people have been using the wrong astrological sign due to a [...

Rep. Peter King To Propose Law Making It A Crime To Come Within 1000 Feet Of Federal Officials With A Gun

Posted on January 13, 2011
As Democratic and Republican members rush to line up with new bills to restrict speech or guns after the Tucson massacre, Rep. Peter King once again will not be outdone in criminalizing conduct. He is reportedly planning to introduce a bill that would make it illegal to knowingly carry a gun within 1,000 feet of [...

Cut the Line, Do The Time: Texas Schools Increasingly Using Criminal Citations Against Unruly Children

Posted on January 13, 2011
We have been following the general trend toward criminalizing conduct in America and particularly the use of criminal penalties in our schools (here and here). Now, a study by Texas Appleseed shows Texas schools routinely using criminal misdemeanors against unruly students...

Texas Judge Refers Attorneys For Possible Criminal Prosecution After They Seek His Removal From Case

Posted on January 13, 2011
U.S. District Judge John McBryde of Fort Worth, Texas has issued a massive opinion holding attorneys S. Tracy Long, Melvin K. Silverman, Joseph F. Cleveland, Jr., and John P. Gillig liable for ethical breaches and recommending criminal prosecution after they challenged his impartiality and temperament in a case...

It Came From Outer Space: The Blob Finally Spotted By Actual Scientists

Posted on January 12, 2011
Who said that watching really bad science fiction movies is not educational? For those who grew up with The Blob, the Hubble Space Telescope has finally found its galactic origins. The HST has spotted a mysterious giant green blob in outer space that appear to be giving birth to new stars...

Stolen Hearts or Stolen Valor? New York Man Steals Image of Dead Ranger To Lure Women

Posted on January 12, 2011
We have been following “stolen valor” cases and the constitutional controversies raised by faux warriors. There is now a disturbing case out of New York which could present the next context for such prosecution. This picture is of a true American hero: Sgt...

Italian Man Sneezes Out Bullet

Posted on January 12, 2011
Italian Darco Sangermano, 28, took matters into his own hands literally while waiting in an emergency room to be seen after being shot in the head. Sangermano was hit in the head by a bullet fired by one of those morons who like to shoot their guns on New Year’s Eve...

Nothing Like a Massacre: Gun Sales Soar After Tuscan Shootings

Posted on January 12, 2011
Gun shops are reporting near record sales after the massacre in Tuscan, particularly of the Glock semi-automatic pistol used by Jared Loughner, 22. The $499 semi-automatic pistols are “flying out the doors of his Glockmeister stores in Mesa and Phoenix...

Palin: Attacks on Conservatives Over Tuscon Massacre Constitute ?Blood Libel?

Posted on January 12, 2011
I was struck by today’s response of Sarah Palin to criticism that her rhetoric and “targeting” of Rep. Gifford’s district may have added to the recent massacre in Tuscon. In fairness to Palin, the family stated today that Jared Loughner did not watch news or listen to talk radio...

Teacher Fired After Allowing Students To Sled After Class

Posted on January 12, 2011
In Wales, Design teacher Richard Tremelling has been sacked. He was not fired for poor teaching or hitting on students or even habitual lateness. He was fired because he let two 15-year-old students go sledding after his class at Cefn Hengoed Community School in Swansea — failing to prepare a “risk assessment” and getting prior [...

Behold The Roll Cloud

Posted on January 11, 2011
Behold the roll cloud. This particular roll cloud was photographed in Ontario, Canada and put on Reddit. The Cloud Appreciation Society (yes, there is a Cloud Appreciation Society) says Vertical columns of warmer air surge up the middle of storm clouds, while cooler air sinks downwards around them ? helped along by all the falling [...

Meet Jared Loughner

Posted on January 11, 2011
This is the rather bizarre mugshot of Jared Loughner that was released yesterday afternoon. He has been assigned lawyer Judy Clarke, who defended the Unabomber. One of the more interesting facts to emerge is that Loughner was expelled from his community college after complaints from classmates that he seemed on the edge of violence...

Perils of the Press . . . and Small Airborne Animals

Posted on January 11, 2011
I just saw this clip that felt it had to be immediately added to our series on perils of the press. He understandably had his eye on the large snake . . . I cannot quite make out the animal that leaps on the jacket, but it does not appear to be an intern...

Australian Pastor Blames Prime Minister for Causing Disasterous Floods as God?s Vengence

Posted on January 11, 2011
It appears Pat Robertson is not alone speaking for God in the use of nature to punish the sins of man. A Christian pastor in Queensland, Daniel Nalliah of Catch the Fire Ministries, has announced that the devastating floods in Australia are actually divine judgment against Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd because he “spoke against Israel” [...

Court Dismisses Defamation Lawsuit by Lawyer Against Prosecutor

Posted on January 11, 2011
In Kentucky, Kenton Circuit Court Judge Martin Sheehan has put an end to a relatively rare case of a lawyer suing a prosecutor for defamation. The lawsuit by lawyer (and radio personality) Eric Deters against Kenton Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders was thrown out on the basis that comments made about Deters were merely opinion...

The Hair of the Dog That Bit You: Man Faces His Own Dog in Murder Trial

Posted on January 10, 2011
Michael Haydon, 44, is having a Perry Mason moment. Just as his case appeared unwinnable for the prosecutors, a surprise witness has popped up in court . . . his best friend . . . his German shepherd, Boomer. The Court has ruled that prosecutors in Wisconsin may introduce DNA evidence from his dog at [...

GAO: U.S. Has Fired 250,000 Rounds For Every Insurgent Killed

Posted on January 10, 2011
There is an amazing (and startling) statistic out of Iraq and Afghanistan: the United States has fired an estimated 250,000 for every insurgent killed. The U.S. is going through so much ammo that manufacturers are struggling to keep up. In another milestone, U...

Japanese Marathoner Takes Wrong Turn Just Before Finish Line

Posted on January 10, 2011
The video below is the quintessential warning for a host of human endeavors from law school exams to marriage: stay on the path and don’t make unplanned turns. In a heartbreaking moment, Natsuki Terada had pulled ahead in a marathon and was just about to win when he made the wrong turn...

Congressman Reportedly Moves to Criminalize Threatening Speech Against Members of Congress

Posted on January 10, 2011
Unfortunately, one of the most predictable things to follow a madman’s attack in this country is a slew of new laws proposed by politicians — often laws that threaten first amendment or fourth amendment rights. In the first of what may be a slew of such measures following the Arizona massacre, Rep...

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