Legal Commentary

Federal Appeals Court Blocks Order to End DADT Policy

Posted on November 02, 2010
On Monday, a panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals extended the freeze on an order by U. S. District Judge Virginia Phillips halting the enforcement of DADT.  The panel of judges was persuaded by the government?s argument that suddenly ending the prohibition on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military could have [...

One You Never Saw Coming: Ozzie has Neanderthal Genes

Posted on November 02, 2010
Just Imagine. The man who bites heads off birds and fronted for the hyper-heavy metal band, Black Sabbath, has bits of Neanderthal coursing though his veins. Ozzie Osbourne joins DNA co-discoverer James Watson and Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates as persons having their entire genome sequenced and analyzed...

Republican At Heart

Posted on November 02, 2010
Finally, definitive proof that at least one Wisconsin Republican voter has a heart. Sixty-Nine year old Terry Kopplin was planning on a trip to the polls Tuesday to do his patriotic duty when he began having chest pains. He was rushed to the hospital where emergency surgery was conducted to insert a metal stint into [...

Party Poop Governator Bans Use of Welfare Cards at Psychics, Medical Marijuana Shops, Bingo Halls, Cruise Ships, and Tattoo Parlors

Posted on November 02, 2010
 The title of this post just about says it all. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of Caleeforneea, no economic girlie man for sure, has decided to get tough and restrict the use of state-issued debit cards at businesses whose services have been deemed ?inconsistent with the intent? of the program...

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State Laws Vary on Polling Place Photography

Posted on November 02, 2010
Considering right wing voter suppression activities, know your state’s laws: ????State Laws. Scroll down to find your state. -David Drumm (Nal)

Death by Fire

Posted on November 01, 2010
On February 16, 2004 Gov. Rick Perry (Texas) executed an innocent man. His name was Cameron Todd Willingham and he was convicted of murder via arson for the deaths of his three young children. Perry also impeded the investigation of the incident by the Texas Forensic Science Commission when he replaced four of the nine [...

I Sued the Sheriff ?

Posted on November 01, 2010
We have discussed the situation regarding the anonymous blogger who complained about the salary and perks of Pastor Mac Brunson, here. Detective Robert Hinson of the Jacksonville Sheriff?s Office got a subpoena and forced Google to reveal the blogger’s identity...

Little Darlin?

Posted on November 01, 2010
Little Darlin’ Hope you kept your headphones/earbuds handy. It’s Little Darlin’ by The Diamonds in glorious STEREO! It just needs … MORE COWBELL!

Alcohol More Dangerous Than Heroin: Irish Unfazed

Posted on November 01, 2010
The London-based Centre for Crime and Justice Studies is reporting on research suggesting alcohol is more dangerous to society than crack cocaine and heroin. Published in the British medical journal Lancet, a panel of experts evaluated the psychological and social problems associated with alcohol using a new scale...

Man Charged with Domestic Assault for Waterboarding Girlfriend

Posted on November 01, 2010
A 22-year-old Nebraska man named Trevor Case suspected that his girlfriend Danielle Stallworth might be cheating on him. In order to elicit information from Stallworth, the mother of his child, Case decided to employ an ?enhanced interrogation technique? on her...

The Best Government Money Can Buy: A Video and A Verse

Posted on November 01, 2010
A Lobbying I?ll Go: A D. C. Ditty by Elaine Magliaro A lobbying I?ll go, a lobbying I?ll go, Heigh ho the CEO, a lobbying I?ll go. I?ve got a corporate stash. I?ll take a wad of cash. Heigh ho the CEO, a lobbying I?ll go. I?ll drive into D. C. Oh, how they?ll welcome [...

Running Bare: Man Found Naked in Park after Allegedly Killing His Wife on Halloween

Posted on November 01, 2010
Ah, the bloom is too soon off the marriage rose as far as some men are concerned! At least that?s how it would appear for Minchillo McLester who was married just three weeks ago.  McLester?s wife Madison was found dead on the floor of their home. She had apparently been shot several times...

Independence Day: Real?

Posted on November 01, 2010
Actor Will Smith plays a fictional fighter pilot confronted by an alien UFO capable of fending off nuclear weapons and disabling large parts of the U.S. arsenal in the 1996 blockbuster film, Independence Day. Wild science fiction? Not according to seven former US Air Force officers who held a press conference in Washington, D...

Look! Put That Cash In The Bag And I Won?t Slather You!

Posted on November 01, 2010
Crooks are always looking for new ways to rob, but a Florida high school kid is truly cutting edge. Unable to secure gun, knife, or even billy club to instill fear in his victim, Larry Franklin seized the moment at a local convenience store and brandished what else — a bottle of salad dressing...

Blowing Smoke?

Posted on October 31, 2010
We have previously discussed the cafe owner who was ordered to remove the exhaust fan, here. The fan was ordered removed because it blew bacon odors that were offensive to Muslims. Seems like another story of accommodation, but ? From the website of the Central Stockport Area Committee we find a list of 14 issues [...

Do It Again

Posted on October 31, 2010
Do It Again Break out your headphones/earbuds, we have The Beach Boys in glorious stereo! One of my favorite BB tunes is available for you listening pleasure in stereo. -David Drumm (Nal)

Car-Hop Spotted in Chicago: Three Charged By Cops

Posted on October 31, 2010
Peter Crotty has some peculiar ideas about his job responsibilities. Crotty, a waiter at Buffalo Wild Wings, in suburban Skokie, Illinois, takes waiting tables and the “Wild” in “Wild Wings” very seriously. When three area teens decided to skip out on their $51...

Dirty Dog!: A Sunday Pooch Poetry Post

Posted on October 31, 2010
My daughter and her husband have a Labrador retriever named Jack. Jack is mischievous and quite rambunctious. Whenever I talk to my daughter on the phone and ask how Jack is doing, I always get the same response: ?He?s out of control!? Jack is truly lovable–but he can be exasperating?as I found out recently when [...

God Hates Figs

Posted on October 31, 2010
No, really: “Mark 11:12-14 The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs...

IRISH SHOPPERS CONSIDER ?SHOOTING THE BULL?: OWNER CUTS OFF DEBATE

Posted on October 31, 2010
Cummins’s SuperValu in Ballinrobe, County Mayo enjoys a well-deserved reputation for fresh beef. Now we know why. Stunned shoppers watched helplessly as a bull methodically walked the aisles. “The bull ran down one aisle, and into the store area, where he had a good look around and came back out again...

Vaccine Awareness Week

Posted on October 31, 2010
November 1-6 has been declared ?Vaccine Awareness Week.? What a great idea. Especially with the whooping cough epidemic in California. The epidemic is the largest outbreak in more than 60 years and has claimed the lives of 10 children. Over 6200 cases have been reported since January...

Massachusetts Man to Lead Clergy Abuse Victims Rally Outside Vatican on Halloween

Posted on October 31, 2010
Bernie McDaid, a man from Massachusetts, will be leading a rally outside the Vatican on Halloween. McDaid, who was an altar boy in his youth, joined a lawsuit against Cardinal Bernard Law and other officials of the Catholic Church in 2002. The suit alleged that McDaid and a number of other altar boys at St...

I Thought That I Should Never See An Opinion As Lovely As a Tree?Wrong!!

Posted on October 31, 2010
Who says appellate judges can’t be literate — and hilarious. Fisher v. Lowe 122 Mich.App. 418, 33 N.W.2d 67 (1983) Syllabus A wayward Chevy struck a tree Whose owner sued defendants three. He sued car’s owner, driver two, And insurer for what was due For his oak tree that now may bear A lasting need [...

Columbus Exonerated: Did Not Discover Syphilis

Posted on October 31, 2010
Explorer, conqueror, and, to some, the carrier of syphilis back to Europe from the New World, Columbus’ reputation seemed set in stone for eternity. Now some nifty forensic archeology may have exonerated the Admiral of the Ocean Sea from responsibility for the scourge that was first documented in Europe two years after his return from [...

Does The UCC Cover This: PA Man Complains to Cops About Bad Pot

Posted on October 30, 2010
A consumer-conscious Uniontown, Pennsylvania man called local police to complain about the quality of the marijuana he just purchased. When police arrived, the 21-year-old complained that the pot was “nasty.” A field test by the officers revealed the stash was not marijuana at all, but our boy-genius is not off the hook...

The Annual Halloween Special of Spooky Torts and Crimes

Posted on October 30, 2010
Since I am off to Paris in a few hours, I am posting this list a day early.  Happy Halloween to everyone and good luck to our guest bloggers — Elaine, David, and Mark — who will be blogging from today until the 30th (and possibly the 31st if they have any material left!) While [...

Let My Poodle Go!: Okie Rides Deere To Pound To Free Pet

Posted on October 30, 2010
Edwin Fry, 73, is quite the dog lover. When his pet poodle, aptly named “Buddy Tough,” was nabbed by local police for running “at large,” Fry decided to pull his best Steve McQueen. Refusing to pay the enhanced fine of $100.00  due to Buddy’s repeat offense,  Fry leaped aboard his riding mower and headed straight [...

Giles Corey: An Iron Man Who Was a Victim of the Salem Witch Hysteria

Posted on October 30, 2010
There?s nothing like a little hysteria to get one?s heart pumping. Lately, we?ve seen people in our country who?ve been whipped into frenzies by the following things: the belief that Sharia law could be instituted in the United States, the proposed building of a Muslim cultural center not far from Ground Zero, and stories about Americans being beheaded in the [...

Does Convicted Cop Equal Reasonable Doubt?

Posted on October 30, 2010
Norfolk, Virginia, Police Detective Robert Glenn Ford had a reputation as a hard-nosed cop who handled most of the City’s high profile criminal cases. Now he’s got another one but it’s his name “across the v” from the Government...

Kentucky Police Officer Suspended For Racial Statement During Roll Call

Posted on October 29, 2010
New Albany (Ky) police officer Jack Messe has been given a rare suspension for comments made during roll call when he criticized the given of civil rights to minorities. A board gave him a 40 day suspension. Messer was found guilty of conduct unbecoming an officer as well as a violation of police policy for [...

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