Legal Commentary

Kung Fu Bear

Posted on May 25, 2010
The man who shot this video at a Japanese Zoo insists that this is the original and was not altered in any way. You be the judge. Po, the Kung Fu Panda, still has the cute edge and of course Master Shifu.

Hooked on History: Hayworth Becomes The Latest Casualty of World War II

Posted on May 25, 2010
Arizona Senatorial candidate and conservative commentator J.D. Hayworth may have some explaining to do to the “greatest generation” and his high school history professor. Hayworth has insisted that the United States never declared war on Germany in World War II — leading to this video...

School?s Out: Gaza Gun Men Burn Girl?s U.N. School for Teaching ?Dancing and Immorality?

Posted on May 24, 2010
While religious police in Saudi Arabia are herding Emo girls (here), gunmen in the Gaza Strip have burned down a U.N.-run summer camp for children for educating girls and playing hip hop music. Extremists in Gaza appear to have taken lessons from the Taliban who have a knack for burning down girls’ schools and throwing [...

Mississippi School Disciplines Student For Using Foul Word After Speech Class

Posted on May 24, 2010
Hinds Community College in Mississippi is receiving some unwanted attention due to a controversy involving the discipline of Isaac Rosenbloom, 30, for using a single foul word in the presence of a teacher after a speech class. Rosenbloom’s transgression occurred after the end of a class when he sought to discuss a bad grade in [...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

City of Brotherly Love: Thieves Steal Another Wheelchair From A Disabled Person in Philadelphia

Posted on May 24, 2010
Just days after we discussed the low-lives who stole a wheelchair and dog from a disabled man in Philadelphia (here), it has happened again. An eight-year-old boy who suffers from cerebral palsy had his wheelchair stolen when he went into his home briefly with his nurse...

Herding Emos: Saudi Religious Police Round Up Emo Girls

Posted on May 24, 2010
Saudi religious police have declared war on the emo girls. Ten “emos” were rounded up at a coffee shop at the King Abdullah University. A coffee shop owner called in the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice when the emos arrived...

Meet Jose Lopez Madrigal: Accused Rapist and Nine Time Deportee

Posted on May 24, 2010
In Edmonds, Washington, Jose Lopez Madrigal is in jail for alleged rape. He is not unfamiliar with custody, however. Police have learned that Madrigal has been deported nine times. He is accused of grabbing a woman on the street and raping her behind a dumpster...

How Not To Get Rid Of Your Yard Trash

Posted on May 24, 2010
This guy appears to be working quite hard to remove his family from the gene pool. I particularly like putting the burning material near the overhanging tree.

Polling Poultry: Nevada Bans Chicken Costumes During Upcoming Election

Posted on May 24, 2010
It appears that officials will not allow free range chickens to roam on election day in Nevada. Republican Senate candidate Sue Lowden has been ridiculed for her comment about how people used to barter for medical care. Critics have suggested that she was looking back fondly on the way “our grandparents would bring a chicken [...

No Shoes, No Service

Posted on May 23, 2010
Ever wonder why bears steal picnic baskets? Because no one will serve them. We are still at Shrine Mont this morning and enjoying the retreat with the various families. The salamander harvest has been robust and the s’mores have been ideally prepared (and eaten)...

England To Shield Identities of Alleged Rapists

Posted on May 23, 2010
Rape shield laws have always been controversial with defense counsel and some civil libertarians because they shield the identity of the alleged victim but not the alleged attacker. Now, the coalition government in England appears ready to address that controversy by banning the identification of both alleged victims and criminal defendants in rape cases...

Hopping Mad: Politics in Arizona Goes To The Frogs

Posted on May 23, 2010
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) has released turned to humor and an amphibian advocate to make her case to Arizona voters — making fun at critics who have been denouncing the Arizona law without reading it. The video has become a hit and pushed Brewer ahead of her Democratic opponent in the race, Terry Goddard...

Obama Official Suggests That Government May Not Process Illegal Immigrants Arrested Under Arizona Law

Posted on May 23, 2010
The Obama Administration appears close to doing what many thought was unthinkable from a political standpoint: opposing the enforcement of federal law for any illegal immigrants caught in Arizona. That appears to be the suggestion of John Morton, assistant secretary of homeland security for U...

Federal Agents Seize Toy Gun That Can Be Converted Into Semi-Automatic Weapon

Posted on May 23, 2010
Now this would make for an interesting foreseeable misuse case. Federal authorities are reporting a toy pellet gun in being converted into a semi-automatic weapon for gang members. The popular recreational pellet gun is propane-powered and used in some law enforcement activities...

Air Ball: Basketball The Way God Intended It To Be Played

Posted on May 23, 2010
These guys seems to have transcended both the NBA rules and physics to play basketball the way that football fans would want it played. By the way, here is another remarkable shot: And another remarkable shot from the “Dude Perfect’ people: These guys seem to simply feel uncomfortable with the restraining rules of the National [...

Bloggie Doggie: Meet Buddha

Posted on May 22, 2010
This week’s winner as Pet of the Week is Buddha (aka “Bu”) who is the companion of Stan (who informs me that he is the one in the white cap). Bu is a therapy dog and a canine with real character. If you are interested in nominating a pet (any species allowed), you can find [...

Thieves in Philadelphia Steal Disabled Man?s Wheelchair and Dog

Posted on May 22, 2010
We often chronicle the standouts in criminal law, but none quite match this week to the villainy of thieves in Philadelphia who stole not just the wheelchair of a disabled man in Philadelphia but his pet dog, Bengie. Warren Lloyd, who suffers from cerebral palsy, had parked his motorized wheelchair at 11 a...

JetBlue Pilot Taken Off Flight After Allegedly Promising to Die ?In Spectacular Fashion?

Posted on May 22, 2010
A JetBlue pilot was taken off a flight at Logan Airport this week after he allegedly threatened to kill himself “in spectacular fashion” in an email to his girlfriend. The pilot was reportedly threatening the act if they broke up. The girlfriend is a flight attendant...

Shrine Mont Bound

Posted on May 22, 2010
There will be a delay in any postings this weekend due to my annual trip with the family to Shrinemont, a retreat in the mountains of Virginia. Every year, the Turleys join a group of other families in a retreat to the cabins of Shrine Mont where the kids hunt salamanders and hike up the [...

Confirmation-Lite: Clinton Library May Not Turn Over Documents For Kagan Confirmation Hearings

Posted on May 21, 2010
Some of us have long complained that confirmation hearings have become a rather bad joke (here) — carefully choreographed events devoid of substance. While many of us thought it could not positively become more content-free, it has. The director of the William J...

Fast Drinker, Slow Learner: Vermont Man Arrested For DUI After Serving 20 Years for Fatal DUI

Posted on May 21, 2010
Douglas Gardner, 54, appears to have been waiting a long time for a good drink and drive. After being incarcerated for 20 years after a prior fatal DUI accident, Gardner has been arrested for his 9th DUI arrest in Saint Albans, Vermont. On April 23, 1990, Gardner crashed a stolen pick-up truck head-on into a [...

Kiana Firouz: Give Her Asylum!

Posted on May 21, 2010
Iranian lesbian activist Kiana Firouz has released a breakthrough film at risk to her own life — detailing her struggle as a lesbian in Iran. She is now fighting for asylum in England and the world’s community should be heard in support of the petition...

The Soprano Defense: Mafia Boss Released Early Due to Depression

Posted on May 21, 2010
Mafia boss Salvatore “Vito” Vitale has been released early from prison in Italy due to depression. It appears that Vitale has found jail emotionally hard — more so than his role in murdering a 13-year-old boy and then dissolving him in acid before his incarceration...

George Washington Finally Makes Good

Posted on May 21, 2010
George Washington’s long and sordid history as a book scofflaw has come to an end. The library book borrowed by by Washington and never returned to the New York Society Library has been returned 221 years overdue. “The Law of Nations” by Emer de Vattel on October 5, 1789 is not the only book on [...

Forbidden Love: Gay Couple Sentenced to 14 Years in Malawi For Holding Marriage Ceremony

Posted on May 20, 2010
Steven Monjeza, 26, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 20, have been sentenced to 14 years in prison with hard labor for holding a private wedding ceremony. The Malawi court found that such a ceremony and relationship constitutes gross indecency and involves unnatural acts...

Power Play: Arizona Utility Commissioner Threatens To Cut Off Power to Los Angeles If City Boycotts State

Posted on May 20, 2010
Arizona Corporation Commission member Gary Pierce has threatened that the state may cut off power to Los Angeles if that city goes forward with a boycott of his state over its controversial immigration law. The city gets 25 percent of its power from Arizona...

Census-less Crimes: Census Workers Accused of Wrongdoing

Posted on May 20, 2010
We have seen a rash of census workers accused of wrongdoing this month. In Indiana, Daniel Miller, 39, (left) is accused of raping a 21-year-old disabled woman after forcing his way into her home during a Census visit, here. In New Jersey, Frank J. Kuni was arrested after a woman recognized him as a sex [...

Bad Hair Day: Woman Arrested After Driving 102 MPH To Salon Appointment

Posted on May 20, 2010
In South Carolina, Sandra Powell, 72, really wanted to get to that hair appointment. She was clocked at over 100 mph and, when finally caught, explained that she was late for her hair appointment. Union Police Sgt. Richard Powers reported that Powell almost hit cars and was going over 100 mph in a 45 mph [...

London Unveils Its Olympic Mascots to a Collective ?Huh??

Posted on May 20, 2010
What in the name of Mount Olympus are these things? These are the “mascots” for the London Games. The video below seems to combine the happy notion of losing (retiring) from a job and being watched by alien overlords.

Blumenthal: Politics? Unlikely Walter Mitty

Posted on May 20, 2010
The controversy over Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal?s claim of service in the Vietnam War continues. After the New York Times was accused of leaving out exculpatory statements made by Blumenthal on one such occasion, the newspaper insists that the earlier comment does not alter the misleading representations, here...

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.