Legal Commentary

Elephants May Again Roam Vermont

Posted on January 16, 2010
Soon elephant may walk the state of Vermont if Rep. Dick Lawrence has his way. He is seeking to lift the ban on elephants in the state. While some countries and states have considered banning circus elephants over allegations of animal cruelty, Vermont banned all elephants in fear that they would bring [...

Michigan Couple Arrested After Dragging to Death Kmart Guard

Posted on January 16, 2010
In Michigan, police have arrested a couple, Greg Wainio (39) and Samantha Lorraine Lomasney (20), after they allegedly dragged to death Greg Wainio, a “loss prevention officer” at Kmart. The couple is now charged with felony murder after allegedly trying to steal $400 of goods and then killing Wainio in their escape...

Remember When Mom Told You Not To Play With Fire . . . This Is What She Never Told You

Posted on January 16, 2010
This kinda makes me feel a little wimpy about my bic lighter for the grill. I would love to be at the job interviews for this theater. . . “so how do you feel generally about fire?”

Military Arrests Soldier in Afghanistan for Child Porn After He Receives Picture of 4-Year Old Niece in Wading Pool

Posted on January 16, 2010
When Specialist Billy Miller an Illinois National Guardsman in Afghanistan complained about being homesick his mother, Terri Miller, sent him a picture of a little girl that he helped raise in a wading pool. One picture showed a buttocks exposed and Miller was promptly arrested for possession of child pornography...

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Glover: Haiti Earthquake is the Result of Failure to Deal with Global Warming

Posted on January 16, 2010
First we had Pat Robertson saying that the Haitian earthquake was punishment from God for a pact with the devil. Now Danny Glover seems to say that it is the response for failing to reach a pact on global warming. Glover told the media: “What happened in Haiti could happen to anywhere in the Caribbean [...

Former Chief U.N. Weapons Inspector Scott Ridder Arrested in Sex Sting

Posted on January 15, 2010
Former chief United Nations weapons inspector Scott Ritter, 48, has been arrested in a Pennsylvania sex sting involving a lewd Internet conversation with a person he thought was a 15-year-old girl. The charges are reportedly supported by a videotape of Ritter that (if true) makes a plea likely...

Ford Recall? Pundits Pan Ford Interview With New York Times and Declare Candidacy for Senate DOA

Posted on January 15, 2010
Many of us scratched our heads when Harold Ford Jr. announced that he was going to run for the Senate in New York. Of course, Hillary Clinton did the same thing when she decided to instantly become a New Yorker (as did Bobby Kennedy). However, neither Clinton nor Kennedy ever had an interview [...

Hey, Ladies, We?re Evolving!!!

Posted on January 15, 2010
The men on this blog finally have something to say to our spouses and significant others when confronted with complaints about toilet seats being left up or the lack of regular bathing: we are evolving faster than you. Of course, the new research showing that the Y chromosome is the fastest evolving in the [...

Moldrin: Johnson and Johnson Recalls Over-The-Counter Drugs Over Possible Contamination

Posted on January 15, 2010
McNeil-PPC, a division of Johnson and Johnson has recalled Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl, and other drugs after complaints over an “unusual moldy, musty or mildew-like” odor. There were also complaints over stomach problems, including nausea, stomach pain, vomiting or diarrhea...

Repo Man Takes Car With Infant Inside

Posted on January 15, 2010
We have another repo man taking a car with a child inside. The latest case occurred in San Jose where Isabel Leuvano was just 17 days late on her payments and parked the running car in the driveway of her ex-husband to pick up her daughter. Police finally tracked down the child [...

Taser Tots: Kankakee Police Officer Tasers Children in Demonstration

Posted on January 14, 2010
A police officer in Kankakee has a curious method of applied learning for children. While visiting the Kankakee Junior High School, he called for volunteers and tasered students in a demonstration. One of the parents rushed her son to the hospital because he has a pre-existing heart murmur...

Police At Play

Posted on January 14, 2010
This video shows Oxford’s finest using their riot shield as sleds in the snow. The BBC story below says that the officers have been reprimanded. However, Rick Latham posted the video to show that the officers do have a “sense of humour...

Three Missouri Men Arrested After Allegedly Kidnapping Wrong Man in New Jersey

Posted on January 14, 2010
According to police, these guys may be the worst kidnappers in history. Police believe that they kidnapped the wrong guy from New Jersey, only to have him bolt in Missouri. One officer called Douglas Stangeland, 46, of Nevada; Andrew David Wadel, 21, and Lonnie Eugene Swarnes, 44, “bumbling idiots” after their arrest near a [...

Tots for Toys: Mother Allegedly Trades Child for Gun

Posted on January 14, 2010
In Arizona, police say that they arrested Tanya Nareau, 33, after she allegedly traded her 2-year-old daughter for a gun. Police say that Nareau felt that a friend would be a better parent and apparently saw this as a good trade. When I saw this on Reddit, I was struck at how wrong it was...

History in the Unmaking: Publisher Drops The Beaver As Magazine Name

Posted on January 14, 2010
First there was the Wisconsin Tourism Federation changing its name to avoid the confusion with another usage of WTF, here. Now, Canada’s second-oldest magazine, The Beaver, is changing its name because it continues to be confused with porn sites and filtered out on computers...

Supreme Court Votes To Ban Telecasting of Same-Sex Trial

Posted on January 14, 2010
In a rare rebuke to a trial judge, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to block the planned telecasting of the trial over the constitutionality of Proposition 8 (the ban on same-sex marriage). The vote broke down along ideological line with the five conservatives ruling that Chief U...

Pat Robertson: Haitians Were Punished By God for ?Pact With the Devil?

Posted on January 14, 2010
Rev. Pat Robertson often attributes horrific events to God’s wrath as when he explained that the 9-11 attacks and the Katrina disaster were punishments for our sins. Now, Robertson has proclaimed that the earthquake in Haiti was sent by God to punish Haitians for a “pact with the Devil” made to overthrow the French...

Shiva Got Your Tongue? Man Slices Off Tongue To Become Father

Posted on January 13, 2010
Mukesh Kumar, 28, has a curious way to impregnating his wife: he cut off his tongue to petition the Hindu God Shiva for a child. He is obviously not commenting on the sacrifice or its success, but the press has reported that he was upset with the fact that he has been married for four years [...

New Hampshire Moves Toward Repealing 200-Year-Old Adultery Law

Posted on January 13, 2010
New Hampshire appears to be moving toward repealing its 200-Year-Old adultery law. It is obviously long overdue. I have previously written how these laws are clearly unconstitutional, here and here. While many politicians are unwilling to deal with the difficult political issue, state Rep...

A Tale of a Fateful Trip: Man?s Complaint Referring to Gilligan?s Island Results in Aborted Flight and Criminal Charges

Posted on January 13, 2010
A flight to Hawaii from Portland, Oregon was turned around after a flight attendant was given what they said was a potentially threatening note. Joseph Hedlund Johnson arrested for the note, which seems to make not a reference to an act of terrorism but ‘Gilligan’s Island...

Man Allegedly Attacks Elderly Greeter in Florida. . . Walmart Fires Greeter

Posted on January 13, 2010
Witnesses and an elderly Wal-Mart greeter say that Skyler Lowery, 23, attacked Ed Bauman, 69, while he was watching the front door of a Wal-Mart in Palm Bay, Florida. The video below seems to confirm their story and the police charged Lowery. However, that did not stop Wal-Mart from firing Bauman...

Most of Port-au-Prince Reportedly Destroyed; PM Says Hundreds of Thousands May Be Dead

Posted on January 13, 2010
The news continues to grow worse out of Haiti, where U.S. observers are now saying that most of Port-au-Prince has been destroyed in the devastating quake. CNN is reporting that the U.S. State Department expects “serious loss of life.” The only good news is that the airport appears functioning, which should speed recovery supplies [...

Boston Police Arresting People For Filming Them on Streets As Invasive of Their Privacy

Posted on January 13, 2010
After criticizing police in England for arresting people for filming them and buildings (here), it appears that the police in Boston have embraced this abuse and have started arresting people for the crime of filming them in the streets. Just ask Simon Glik, a lawyer who was arrested for filming officers in what he [...

OMG TARFU in CT: Court Deputy Breaks Leg While Trying to Stop Texting

Posted on January 12, 2010
According to police, Demonte T. Jones, 18, has texted himself into a criminal charge. Anne Arundel court deputies say that Jones was texting in court and got into a wrestling match with deputies — resulting in one suffering a broken leg. Deputies say that Jones was told repeatedly to stop texting...

Cartoonist Sends Letter to Young Boy

Posted on January 12, 2010
Call me a softie, but I find this really cool. A young boy wrote a letter to the cartoonist John Kricfalusi, the creator of Ren & Stimpy. Instead of just blowing him off, he sends this illustrated letter. The letter at the link below takes young Amir through the basics of drawing...

Mark McGwire Comes Clean on Steriod Use

Posted on January 12, 2010
Mark McGwire has come clean about playing dirty with steroids. In the statement below, he admits to using steroids during the season when he broke the home run record in 1998. McGwire took a different legal approach to other players like Clemens and Sosa...

Police Arrest Florida Man Who Beat Wife While She Was Driving and Caused Rollover

Posted on January 12, 2010
We have yet another case out of Port St. Lucie to add to our library, here. According to police, Dwight Robotham, 33, decided to beat his wife she was driving the car. The result was a rollover for the couple and a criminal charge for Robotham. The couple was attending a [...

From the Litter Box to the Jury Box: Cat Called for Jury Duty in Boston

Posted on January 12, 2010
Sal Esposito may have some difficulty in voir dire before he actually sits on a jury. His constant licking himself may alone attract the ire of the Court. Guy and Anna Esposito were surprised this week when their cat, Sal, was called for jury duty. The mix up appears to be the census form [...

Bank of America Allegedly Forecloses on Wrong House, Cuts Off Power, and Locks Out Couple . . . But Insists Lawsuit Has ?No Merit?

Posted on January 12, 2010
Dr. Alan Schroit and his wife had a truly scary Halloween in Galveston, Texas this year. When they went to their home to get ready for a party the next day, they found the locks changed and needed the police to get into the house. They then found putrid food due to the electricity [...

Pope Pans Avatar

Posted on January 12, 2010
Geez, it is getting to the point that you cannot go to any movie without putting your ever-lasting soul in jeopardy. After giving a thumb down to the movie New Moon, the Vatican is now panning Avatar as a threat to the true faith. Joining the Pontiff is a Chicago Alderman who opposes [...

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