Legal Commentary

Homeowners? Association Foreclosed on Soldier?s Home For Failure to Pay $800 in Fee ? Selling the $300,000 Home for $3500

Posted on May 30, 2010
When Michael Clauer went to Iraq as a captain commanding over 100 soldiers in Iraq, he was likely contemplating many potential dire consequences, but he probably was not thinking about the threat posed by his homeowners’ association. Because Clauer’s wife did not pay the homeowners’ fees, the association foreclosed on his $300,000 hourse and sold [...

Video: Protesters Allege Police Harassed Cyclists and Then Arrested Photographer Recording the Harassment

Posted on May 30, 2010
This video reportedly shows Los Angeles police menacing riders in a “critical mass” bike protest against British Petroleum by sticking out their feet. According to the cyclists, when on person filming the scene objected, he was arrested. The protesters say that an officer was trying to either kick or trip a cyclist when another cyclist [...

New Zealand Bans Kosher Slaughtering

Posted on May 30, 2010
New Zealand’s new Animal Welfare (Commercial Slaughter) Code has banned kosher slaughtering by requiring that all animals slaughtered commercially be stunned prior to killing. The law still allows kosher meat to be imported from other countries...

Meet Baxter: Pet of the Week

Posted on May 29, 2010
Big Fella’s Baxter Ward is this week’s Pet of the Week. Name: Baxter Ward Breed: WMK (Walmart kitty from a guy hanging out in front of Walmart with a cardboard box of kitties). Age: 7-2/3 Quirks: Fixation with being brushed and licking his hair brush...

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Report: White House Had Clinton Offer Intelligence Position to Sestak to Drop Out of Race Against Specter

Posted on May 29, 2010
After months of evading questions, the White House appears to have confirmed that it did play a leading role in trying to get Rep. Joe Sestak to drop out of the race against now defeated Sen. Arlen Specter. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel reportedly asked former President Bill Clinton to offer an unpaid [...

The Uncola: Student Prosecuted for Defecating in Soda of Classmate

Posted on May 29, 2010
In Camden, New Jersey, a a 17-year-old high school student has pleaded guilty to defecating in a classmate’s soda during an auto-shop class. What is interesting is that the prosecutors originally pursued an aggravated assault charge — a novel claim for such a case...

Scientists Announced Breakthrough in Ebola Drug

Posted on May 29, 2010
In a little reported story, scientists have made a breakthrough in the fight against Ebola — the often fatal “bleeding disease.” Thomas Geisbert of Boston University and a team of researchers have developed an experimental drug that appears to protect monkeys from the most lethal strain of Ebola...

Why Does This Man Look Like a Drug Dealer?

Posted on May 29, 2010
According to Bill O’Reilly, Columbia Professor Marc Lamont Hill looks like a cocaine dealer. The answer appears to be that all cocaine dealers wear straight dress shirt collars.

The Good Neighbor: State Farm Charges Family for Bumper of Car that Killed Their Dog

Posted on May 28, 2010
Kim Flemming thought that losing Jake, her 12-year-old yellow Labrador, in Aurora, Ontario was bad enough. That was until she received a letter from State Farm Insurance demanding that she pay for the dented bumper on the car that killed Jake. Flemming had let Jake out when she returned home...

Nun Excommunicated After Supporting Abortion To Protect Life of Mother

Posted on May 28, 2010
While the Catholic Church may be criticized for covering up crimes by priests and resisting efforts to discipline offenders, it seems to waste to time with errant nuns. Sister Margaret McBride has been excommunicated for the offense of approving an abortion to protect the life of a mother as a senior administrator of St...

Court Orders Additional Jail Time for Couple Arrested in Alleged ?Eunuch Wedding?

Posted on May 28, 2010
Pakistani fertilizer dealer Malik Mohammad Iqbal, 42, and his eunuch partner “Rani” Kashif, 19, are at the center of a controversy over whether they were throwing a party with other “eunuchs” or throwing a wedding party. They have been charged with trying to wed and unnatural acts under a Sharia-based law...

Israel Arrests Activists Yelling Insults at Rahm Emanuel

Posted on May 28, 2010
Two Israeli activists were arrested for shouting insults at White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel in Israel this week. The activists spotted Emanuel in Jerusalem’s Old City with his family and shouted “Jerusalem is not for sale.” Heck, Rahm Emanuel is known to say worse stuff in a shower, here...

Long Beach Police Rush to Save Drowning Man ? Run Over Sunbather

Posted on May 28, 2010
Long Beach police are investigating a beach tragedy after one of its officers rushed to help a drowning man — only to run over a sunbather and crush his spine. In the meantime, down the beach another swimmer Emanuel Tiburcio, 19, drowned. He did not know how to swim and was seen struggling in the [...

Not Another Fish Story

Posted on May 28, 2010
Please tell me that the father was near the shore still trying to catch even a minnow after hours of fruitless casting. She is even better than the pocket fisherman. Just release toddler in water and wait for return with trophy-sized fish.

Coming to a College Campus Near You: Vodka Eyeballing

Posted on May 27, 2010
There was a time when we got things like the Beatles and Monty Python from our British cousins. The most recent import from England, however, is far less redeeming: vodka eyeballing. Upset that vodka shots took too long to be absorbed into their blood streams, British drinkers have discovered that pouring vodka directly into your [...

BP Official Takes the Fifth While New Details Emerge of Argument Shortly Before The Deepwater Horizon Explosion

Posted on May 27, 2010
The legal situation over the Deepwater Horizon explosion appears to be getting more serious as accounts emerged that there was a serious argument between Transocean and BP officials shortly before the blast — with references to the possible use of the blowout preventer...

Dial M for Murder: Telephone Company Suspends Number Due to Deaths of Prior Owners

Posted on May 27, 2010
It appears 0888 888 888 is the cellphone version of the monkey’s paw — bringing disaster to all those who acquire it. The Bulgarian mobile phone company has removed the number from circulation after all of its previous owners died within the last ten years...

A Beer With a High Ball

Posted on May 27, 2010
Once again, I will simply note that Cubs fans are the greatest fans in the world. A Mets fan would have demanded a new beer and retained counsel.

Amnesty International Issues Report Accusing Israel of War Crimes

Posted on May 27, 2010
Amnesty International (winner of the Nobel Peace Prize) has issued a 430-page report accusing both Israel and Hamas of war crimes. While few have any illusions about Hamas and its violation of international law, the accusations against Israel are quite damaging and join those of the United Nations investigation by the Goldstone Commission...

Question of the Day: What is Worse Than an Accident with a Truck?

Posted on May 26, 2010
Answer: A truck carrying 17 million bees. A truck hauling 7,000 hives was involved in a four-car accident in Minnesota. A report says that “rescue crews were using fire hoses to douse an angry swarm of bees.” That does not seem like a good way of calming irate bees...

Bank Robbers Destroy Bank, Leave Cash Machine

Posted on May 26, 2010
Bank robbers in Germany went a bit overboard with the explosives in trying to break open a cash machine in Malliss. They destroyed the bank. The only thing remaining intact was the bank’s cash machine. it appears that the thieves may have used explosives made from from petrol or acetylene...

U.S. Debt: Now Over $13,000,000,000,000

Posted on May 26, 2010
While Congress continues to gush money in Iraq and Afghanistan (and offers to pay for an over $200 million missile system for Israel), U.S. debt is now over $13,000,000,000,000. That is roughly $118,000 per taxpayer. The White House and Congress show no serious commitment to addressing this problem as they pile on pork projects and [...

English Court Rules Breast Enlargement Not a Human Right

Posted on May 26, 2010
A 58-year-old British transsexual identified only a “C” lost a unique claim in England when Judge David Bean ruled that the state-funded health service’s refusal to pay for a breast enlargement was not a violation of her human rights...

Sharia Police in Indonesia To Issue Islamic Skirts To ?Offending Women? on Street

Posted on May 26, 2010
AFP is reporting that Sharia police in Indonesia’s Aceh province have been armed with 20,000 skirts in its battle against unIslamic figure-hugging or short outfits on women. Women will be told to put on the skirts to adhere to Islamic values. West Aceh district chief Ramli Mansur explained “Female offenders can then immediately change their [...

Senate Rejects Two Proposals To Allow Importation of Low-Cost Drugs

Posted on May 26, 2010
The United States Senate yielded again to demands from the powerful pharmaceutical lobby and killed two separate proposals that would have allowed citizens to obtain cheaper drugs in the United States. Both the White House and Congress have been killing such proposals despite the fact that soaring drug costs are crippling many families...

Washington Post Details Stock Holdings and Trades of Moran

Posted on May 25, 2010
The Washington Post has an interesting article today on the stock trades of Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.). I have been a long critic of members playing the stock market (here) given the dangers posed by insider information and advantage. With considerable resources tied up in particular areas, members can influence the markets through [...

Florida Man Sentenced to Life for Theft of $4 of Socks

Posted on May 25, 2010
Dean Rockmore, 48, has the distinction of serving life for the theft of socks. The Daytona Beach man received a mandatory life sentence as a repeat offender after he ran from a store with $4 of socks. Rockmore was convicted of armed robbery because, when confronted by a loss prevention officer in the parking lot, [...

High School Football Coach Removed After Allegedly Sending Explicit Pictures To His 20-Year-Old Girlfriend

Posted on May 25, 2010
Jason Robinson, 32, has been removed as head football coach for the Mandarin High School in Jacksonville, Florida after allegedly sending inappropriate pictures to his 20-year-old girlfriend. The age of the girlfriend makes this story rather interesting since two adults sharing such pictures should not normally be a matter for discipline let alone removal...

George Mason Law School Wins Dismissal of Rotunda Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

Posted on May 25, 2010
We have been following the sexual harassment lawsuit filed by former George Mason Clinical professor Kyndra Rotunda (wife of constitutional law professor Ron Rotunda) against George Mason Law School and Dean Daniel Polsby (left). This week, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema not only dismissed the sexual harassment claims against Polsby and the school but barred [...

Illinois School Scraps Girl Varsity Basketball Team?s Visit To Arizona

Posted on May 25, 2010
There is a growing controversy in Illinois where School District 113 has blocked the Township High School ‘s Girls Varsity Basketball Team from traveling to Arizona in December due to the passage of that state’s controversial immigration law...

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