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Sacramento California Couple Face $746 Fine After Allowing Their Lawn To Die In Order To Save Water During Statewide Drought
July 3rd, 2008
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - If Sacramento wanted a poster couple for its “green city” aspirations, it would be hard to do better than Anne Hartridge and Matt George.
The husband and wife bought a home in east Sacramento for easy biking to work and shopping. They installed solar panels and efficient appliances. Their laundry dries on a clothesline.
They didn’t own a car until four years ago, when their eldest son, then 18 months old, was being treated frequently for food allergies. They bought a Prius.
So when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a statewide drought June 4, Hartridge decided it was only right to let her front lawn die to save water.
“The whole water conservation ethic is very important to me,” said Hartridge, a state employee who bikes or rides the bus to work.
But that ethic didn’t agree with her neighbors, or with the city.
Read MoreCrazed Texas Lawmaker Warren Chisum Targets Married Couples With 2 Year Wait For Divorce
July 2nd, 2008
TEXAS - Texans would have to wait two years to get a divorce — unless they take a class designed to save their marriage — under a proposal a key state lawmaker says he plans to revive.
State Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, sought to get a similar measure passed in 2007. He said he’s planning to bring it back as one of his priorities for the legislative session that begins in January.
“The deal is, we need to take marriage more seriously,” said Chisum, who in October will celebrate his 51st wedding anniversary.
It now takes at least 60 days to finalize a divorce in Texas. Across the country, waiting periods range from 30 days in Alabama to up to two years in Maryland, if one spouse contests the divorce, according to Mike McManus, president of Marriage Savers, a group that works with communities to start marriage education programs.
Read MoreHouston Texas Annexes County Roads Surrounding Legal Fireworks Stands To Entrap Purchaers
July 2nd, 2008
HOUSTON, TEXAS - Katy teen Stephen Gegenheimer had just bought $50 worth of roman candles and fireworks Monday afternoon and was headed home to set them off in his front yard when he spotted flashing lights in his rearview mirror.
An arson officer with the Houston Fire Marshal’s Office told the 17-year-old that he’d violated the law by driving through an annexed area of Houston with fireworks in his trunk.
Gegenheimer was baffled. Fireworks are illegal in the city of Houston, but legal in Harris County. He’d bought his fireworks legally at a stand in unincorporated Harris County and was planning to take them to his house in Katy, a few miles away, where he could legally use them.
But Gegenheimer’s direct route from the Wal-Mart in the 1300 block of Fry Road to his house in the 20600 block of Morning Creek Drive passed through a small stretch of Fry Road that has been annexed by the city of Houston, so the officer ticketed him.
Read MoreUnemployed Truck Driver Duped Dumbass Gerald Missouri Police Into Thinking He Was A Federal DEA Agent For Nearly 5 Months - Claimed He Didn’t Need Warrants To Enter Homes, And Local Police Followed Along Right Behind Him - City Aldermen Voted To Make Him A Reserve Officer
July 1st, 2008
GERALD, MISSOURI - Like so many rural communities in the country’s middle, this tiny town had wrestled for years with the woes of methamphetamine. Then, several months ago, a federal agent showed up.
Busts began. Houses were ransacked. People, in handcuffs on their front lawns, named names. To some, like Mayor Otis Schulte, who considers the county around Gerald, population 1,171, “a meth capital of the United States,” the drug scourge seemed to be fading at last.
Those whose homes were searched, though, grumbled about a peculiar change in what they understood, from television mainly, to be the law.
They said the agent, a man some had come to know as “Sergeant Bill,” boasted that he did not need search warrants to enter their homes because he worked for the federal government.
Read MoreMassachusetts State Senator James Marzilli Indicted For Crimes Against Women
July 1st, 2008
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS - A Middlesex County grand jury handed down sexually explicit indictments Tuesday against state Sen. James Marzilli, D-Arlington, charging him with crimes against women, the district attorney said.
The charges are based on accusations made by four women in Lowell who said Marzilli accosted them with sexually charged comments. The crimes are alleged to have taken place on the same day, June 3.
The most serious charge against Marzilli is one count of attempt to commit indecent assault and battery.
He faces up to five years in prison if convicted on that charge.
“These are troubling allegations in which Senator Marzilli is alleged to have engaged in a string of highly inappropriate and sexually explicit acts against four separate women,” District Attorney Gerard Leone said.
Read MoreCrazed North London UK Authorities Target Grandfather With “For Sale” Sign On His Car With Running A Roadside Business
June 29th, 2008
NORTH LONDON, UK - A car owner who put a for-sale note on his Ford Escort soon found another sign on the window - a £100 penalty ticket.
Victor Abrahams was accused of ‘offering goods for sale in a parking place’.
When the 67-year-old grandfather called the council, he was told the offence had been introduced a year ago and had been advertised in the local paper.
But as he does not live in the North London borough of Barnet, he says he had no idea that new rules had been brought in.
‘I don’t live in the area but I’ve had my office here for the last 25 years and I’ve never heard of anything like it,’ Mr Abrahams said yesterday.
‘I’ve got a tax disc, I’ve got insurance, I was parked legally but I was penalised for advertising my car for sale.
Read MoreMaine Prepares To Post Information On All State Prison Inmates And Those On Probation On The Web
June 28th, 2008
AUGUSTA, MAINE — Maine’s top elected officials reacted with surprise Monday to word that the state Corrections Department is preparing an online list of all state prison inmates and others who are on probation for any offense.
Gov. John Baldacci said the list will not be posted on the Web without a thorough public review.
The Corrections Department’s Web site, which was to include information on roughly 10,000 people, was expected to go on line in six weeks to two months. Officials see it as an aid to police, who would have up-to-date and instant information on a suspect’s probation status, and to crime victims, who could find out whether perpetrators are behind bars.
But Baldacci said he had not been briefed on the program and does not want it to go forward until he, the Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, and those affected by the plan have a chance to present their views, the governor’s spokesman David Farmer said.
Read MoreDemocrat Massachusetts Rep. James Fagan Vows To Torment And “Rip Apart” Child Rape Victims Who Take The Stand In Trials
June 25th, 2008
MASSACHUSETTS - A Massachusetts politician and defense attorney has touched off a firestorm with his shocking public vow to torment and “rip apart” child rape victims who take the witness stand if the state legislature passed stiff mandatory sentences for child sex offenders.
Rep. James Fagan, a Democrat, made the comments during debate last month on the state House floor.
“I’m gonna rip them apart,” Fagan said of young victims during his testimony on the bill. “I’m going to make sure that the rest of their life is ruined, that when they’re 8 years old, they throw up; when they’re 12 years old, they won’t sleep; when they’re 19 years old, they’ll have nightmares and they’ll never have a relationship with anybody.”
Fagan said as a defense attorney it would be his duty to do that in order to keep his clients free from a “mandatory sentence of those draconian proportions.”
Read MoreMansfield District UK Council Plans To Piss Away Taxpayer Funds On Bright Pink Dog Poop
June 24th, 2008
MANSFIELD DISTRICT, UK - Stepping in dog poo might be a thing of the past thanks to a new policy being introduced in one UK park.
Mansfield District Council has decided to spray the excrement with bright pink die in an attempt to cure the problem of messy pavements.
The idea is to shame owners who fail to clean up after their pets and also help walkers avoid stepping in the waste.
The project at Oak Tree Heath nature reserve in Nottinghamshire is being launched as part of National Poop Scoop week. Appeared Here
Very Disgraced Former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Under Investigation After Politicizing The Justice Department, Booted Top Lawyer From Department For Not Playing Along With Bush Administration’s Love For Illegal Torture, Then Promised A Position As U.S. Attorney To Placate Him
June 19th, 2008
WASHINGTON, DC - Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, now under investigation for allegedly politicizing the Justice Department, ousted a top lawyer for failing to adopt the administration’s position on torture and then promised him a position as a U.S. attorney to placate him, highly placed sources tell ABC News.
Gonzales, who was just taking over as attorney general, asked Justice Department lawyer Daniel Levin to leave in early 2005, shortly after Levin wrote a legal opinion that declared “torture is abhorrent” and limited the administration’s use of harsh interrogation techniques.
At the time, Levin was in the middle of drafting a second, critical memo that analyzed the legality of specific interrogation techniques, like waterboarding.
Gonzales, however, was concerned about how it would be perceived if Levin were ousted immediately after issuing the opinion - and just before he finished another - so he offered Levin a less significant job outside the Department of Justice at the National Security Council, sources tell ABC News.
Read MoreHouse Democrats Call For Nationalization Of Oil Refineries - ‘Cause The Government Is, You Know, So Much Better At Running Stuff Than Private Industry
June 18th, 2008
WASHINGTON, DC - House Democrats responded to President’s Bush’s call for Congress to lift the moratorium on offshore drilling. This was at an on-camera press conference fed back live.
Among other things, the Democrats called for the government to own refineries so it could better control the flow of the oil supply.
They also reasserted that the reason the Appropriations Committee markup (where the vote on the amendment to lift the ban) was cancelled so they could focus on preparing the supplemental Iraq spending bill for tomorrow.
At an off-camera briefing, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said the same. And a senior Republican House Appropriations Committee aide adds that “there were multiple reasons for the postponement” including discussion on the supplemental. But the aide said there was the thought that Democrats may wish to avoid a debate today on energy amendments.
Here are the highlights from briefing
Read MoreMiami Florida Attorney Jonathan S. Schwartz Sentenced To 10 Days In Jail For Contempt Of Court
June 17th, 2008
COLLIER COUNTY, FLORIDA - A Collier County judge threw a Miami attorney in county jail for 10 days Monday after finding him guilty of contempt for twice not appearing in court and not filing a motion to dismiss a bench warrant seeking his client’s arrest.
“You operated as if your law license was a license to steal,” County Judge Mike Carr told Jonathan S. Schwartz, 49, of Miami, after Schwartz finished his testimony. “You took his $800, wanted more and left him at the mercy of the court.”
After hearing from three other attorneys — Lee Carney, Diane Gonzalez and Justin Weisberg — and Schwartz’s legal secretary, who all testified for the defense, Carr found Schwartz guilty of criminal contempt and sentenced him to jail and six months of probation, with the condition he take a Florida Bar lawyer professionalism class. He also fined him $500.
Read MoreU.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly Hands The White House A Free Pass
June 16th, 2008
WASHINGTON, DC — A federal judge ruled today that a White House office that has records about millions of possibly missing e-mails does not have to make them public.
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly says the Office of Administration is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act, enabling the White House to maintain the secrecy of a lengthy internal paper trail about its problem-plagued e-mail system.
The decision came in a lawsuit filed against the administration by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a private group that has been trying to find out the extent of the White House’s e-mail problems for more than a year.
The functions of the Office of Administration “are strictly administrative,” Kollar-Kotelly ruled.
Kollar-Kotelly said the Office of Administration has no authority over others in the executive branch and that the office is exclusively dedicated to providing services to the Executive Office of the President.
Read MoreCrazed South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham Vows To Overturn Supreme Court’s Constitution Based Decision Regarding G.W. Bush’s Guantanamo Bay Torture Victims
June 13th, 2008
WASHINGTON, DC - Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) vowed Thursday to do everything in his power to overturn the Supreme Court’s decision on Guantanamo Bay detainees, saying that, “if necessary,” he would push for a constitutional amendment to modify the decision.
A former military prosecutor, Graham blasted the decision as “irresponsible and outrageous,” echoing the sentiments of many congressional Republicans and President Bush.
Earlier in the day, the court ruled 5-4 that suspected terrorists held by the U.S. military at Guantanamo Bay have the right to challenge their detention in federal court.
When talking to reporters Thursday afternoon, Graham cautioned that it he was still digesting the decision but said he was “looking at every way I can to modify this position,” including fighting to change the statute.
“The American people are going to wake up tomorrow and be shocked to hear that a member of Al Qaeda has the same constitutional rights as an American citizen,” said Graham.
Read MoreBelmar New Jersey Has Second Thoughts About Its Unenforceable Laws Targeting Drinking From “Unregistered” Beer Kegs, Obscene Gestures, And Loitering In Dark Alleys
June 12th, 2008
BELMAR, NEW JERSEY - Drinking out of unregistered beer kegs, making obscene gestures and loitering in dark alleys soon will no longer violate borough law.
The Borough Council voted unanimously Wednesday night to repeal the ordinances that had outlawed those actions, after learning the measures were unenforceable. Members of the public watched quietly and declined the opportunity to comment as the council decided to delete those laws from the borough’s code.
The keg ordinance, adopted in April 2007, required liquor retailers to attach a tag bearing their name, address and phone number to every beer keg they sell. It also required retailers to record, for at least 90 days, the name, birth date and address of every keg purchaser.
Anyone found in possession of an unregistered beer keg could have been fined up to $2,000, jailed for up to 90 days or required to perform community service, under the terms of the ordinance.
Read MoreFancy Water Pouring Impliments Circumvent New Australian Laws Banning Bongs
June 10th, 2008
ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - AN Adelaide business is rebadging outlawed cannabis bongs to beat tough new laws making the sale of drug implements illegal.
Attorney-General Michael Atkinson and a reformed cannabis addict say they saw illegal bongs on sale at Off Ya Tree in Hindley St, but they were labelled water-pourers.
“I’m advised that re-naming drug-use products does not protect a retailer from being subject to the new drug paraphernalia laws,” Mr Atkinson said. He said he had alerted police to Off Ya Tree’s alleged sale of illegal items.
Former addict Ryan Hidden says he was offered a bong by staff about 2.45pm on Sunday – more than 14 hours after the sale of bongs became illegal – and again yesterday.
Mr Hidden says bongs in the store were advertised as “water-pourers” but they were simply bongs by another name.
Read MoreInvestigation Of Massachusetts State Senator James Marzilli Expands After His Sexual Assault Arrest - Checked Into Psych Hospital
June 8th, 2008
LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS - Investigators have expanded their probe of longtime state Sen. James Marzilli after more people contacted police following Marzilli’s arrest Tuesday for sexually touching one woman and making lewd comments to another.
Three woman in as many months have accused Marzilli of making sexual advances. Late Wednesday, a spokesman for the Middlesex District Attorney’s office said that they were looking into other possible incidents involving Marzilli.
Marzilli, 50, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges he tried to grab a woman sexually at a park in Lowell, then fled police, and to charges he made lewd remarks to another woman.
“The commonwealth feels that the defendant is a danger to the community,” Prosecutor Richard Mucci said at Marzilli’s arraignment, adding he was “out of control at this point.”
Read MoreCrazed St. Louis Missouri Alderwoman Donna Baringer Wants City To Treat Spray Paint Can’s Like Handguns
June 8th, 2008
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI - Motorists driving down Highway 40 under Tamm Avenue in the wee hours of July 19, 2007, reported seeing graffiti artists at work on the pristine white concrete of the overpass wall. Before fleeing the scene, the men left their trademarks, or tags, in big bubble letters.
St. Louis police later caught two suspects north of the highway, and they also found backpacks loaded with sixteen cans of spray paint. Both men were charged with felony property damage. The incident set off alarm bells for south St. Louis Alderwoman Donna Baringer, who says she realized that the new overpasses and noise barriers going up along Highway 40 will be a prime target for vandals.
“Those walls will be seen as empty canvases to do artistic work,” says Baringer, who serves the 16th Ward. “But we will have to have it removed and the state — us taxpayers — will end up paying for it.”
Read MoreCrazed South Jordan Utah Lawmakers Consider Ban On Air Guns, BB Guns, Paintball Guns, And Replicas, ‘Cause That Will Solve So Many Pressing Issues
June 5th, 2008
SOUTH JORDAN, UTAH - South Jordan city leaders are considering a ban on air guns, BB guns, paintball guns and some firearms replicas.
Police say they’ve had more than 15 complaints in the past year and a half about fake weapons that were thought to be real.
The police department recently responded to a 911 call of a man lying in the bushes with a rifle that turned out to be fake.
Police are asking the City Council to ban certain kinds of weapons and the fakes. The rule would require residents to notify police if they plan to use items listed in the ordinance.
Similar ordinances have already been passed in Salt Lake City, West Jordan, West Valley City and North Salt Lake.
The South Jordan council is expected to discuss the proposal June 17. Appeared Here
World Ignores Sweden’s Draconian Internet And Telephone Wiretap Bill
June 4th, 2008
SWEDEN - Sweden is on the verge of passing a far-reaching wiretapping program that would greatly expand the government’s spying capabilities by permitting it to monitor all email and telephone traffic coming in and out of the country.
So far, hacks from the mainstream Swedish press seem to be on holiday, so news about the proposed law is woefully hard to come by. That leaves us turning to this summary from the decidedly left-leaning Swedish Pirate Party for details. We’d prefer to rely on a more neutral group, but that wasn’t possible this time. According to them, here’s a broad outline:
The En anpassad försvarsunderrättelseverksamhet bill (which loosely translates to “a better adapted military intelligence gathering”) gives Sweden’s National Defence Radio Establishment (FRA) direct access to the traffic passing through its borders. Now remember, we’re talking about the internet, which frequently routes packets though multiple geographically dispersed hops before they reach their final destination.
Read MoreMassachusetts State Senator James Marzilli Arrested, Charged After Trying To Sexually Touch Woman - Second Such Attack In 2 Months
June 4th, 2008
LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS - State Sen. James Marzilli was arrested Tuesday on charges he attempted to sexually touch a woman in a park in Lowell, just weeks after prosecutors said there wasn’t enough evidence to press charges when another woman claimed he assaulted her.
Lowell Police said the longtime Arlington Democrat was arrested at 3:45 p.m. Tuesday in the city’s downtown area after trying to flee. The charges include disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, attempting to commit a crime, assault and battery, and obstruction of justice.
Marzilli, 50, was scheduled to be arraigned in Lowell District Court on Wednesday.
Corey Welford, a spokesman for Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone, said Marzilli is accused of approaching a woman who was sitting on a park bench, making an “inappropriate comment” and attempting to touch her in a sexual manner, which she forcibly resisted. Welford said when Marzilli was approached by Lowell police he allegedly gave them a false name. He was arrested on Market Street after a police chase.
Read MoreCalifornia, Iowa, Ohio And Other States Base Redlight Tickets On Guesses (And Of Course Quotas)
June 2nd, 2008
REDWOOD CITY, CALIFORNIA - When officials in Redwood City, California are not sure who was responsible for an alleged red light camera infraction, they mail out citations to vehicle owners based upon a guess. The San Mateo Daily Journal newspaper provided an inside look at the city’s procedures for dealing with tickets issued by a single red light camera installed in March. So far, 470 tickets worth $180,950 have been mailed.
Australian red light camera vendor Redflex operates the device in return for a monthly fee. Redflex employees use sophisticated computer algorithms to review the photographs taken and decide who is and is not guilty with the click of a mouse. The company then offers the Redwood City Police Department an opportunity to review tickets before Redflex drops them in the mail. For budgetary purposes, the police claim an employee spent twenty hours per week in reviewing citations. If true, this means that a police officer spent a full half-hour reviewing each ticket issued to date, one-by-one.
Read MoreMonmouth County New Jersey Officials Pissed Away More Then $60,000 In Taxpayer Money In Failed Attempt To Fire Jail Guard Over Sandwich And Cupcakes
June 1st, 2008
MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY - Monmouth County government spent thousands in legal fees on behalf of the Sheriff’s Department in a failed effort to fire a jail guard over an incident involving a sandwich.
The guard eventually resigned but received back wages for the time missed from work during the legal fight over the sandwich, and a portion of the guard’s own legal expenses also were paid by the county. The total county tab was more than $60,000.
The grounds for dismissal were linked to a late evening incident at a convenience store in Belmar. The guard, who was off duty, ordered a sandwich and ate a pack of cupcakes, but found he didn’t have money to pay. He left a form of identification at the store and returned the next day with payment. Police were not called, and no police report was filed.
Read MorePolice State: House Bill Allows Police Officers To Carry Guns Anywhere Nation-Wide
June 1st, 2008
WASHINGTON, DC - Florida cops and retired law-enforcement officers can now carry guns nationwide.
The final step took effect two months ago.
Until then, many states refused to let them travel armed to investigate crimes or when on vacation.
“Probably three years ago, we flew into New York City to talk to a guy in jail there,” said Detective Mark Hussey of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office homicide squad. “They had New York City detectives meet us at the airport and shadow us the whole time we were there because you’re not supposed to carry concealed firearms in the state of New York.”
Known as H.R. 218, the federal Law Enforcement Safety Act of 2004 covers Florida’s 46,000 certified officers. The law set a national shooting standard for the first time so cops who passed would be accepted by all 50 states as knowing how to shoot.
Read MoreJudge Orders Passaic County New Jersey To Restaff Its Juvenile Detention Center After Deep Staff Cuts
June 1st, 2008
PASSAIC COUNTY, NEW JERSEY - The state has ordered Passaic County to restore at least 20 officers’ jobs at its juvenile detention center, arguing that deep staff cuts have put the center’s personnel and residents at risk and result in skyrocketing overtime costs.
State officials say staffing is far below requirements, even after the financially stressed county rehired five officers cut from the center’s payroll this year.
It’s not clear whether county officials knew of the state staffing mandate before jobs were cut to help close a budget gap.
The New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission has monitored the Passaic County Youth Reception and Rehabilitation Center in Haledon since layoffs began in December. By March, a total of 38 officers’ jobs were cut.
The commission’s Manual of Standards requires one officer to eight juveniles during the day. The ratio changes at night to one officer to 16 juveniles.
Read MoreBergen County Slush Funds, Packed With Tax Dollars, Under Investigation By Feds
June 1st, 2008
BERGEN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY - Some of the state grant money at the heart of a federal probe into top Bergen County Democrats came from special pots that critics say were little more than slush funds.
Those accounts were created in 2002 — after Democrats took control of the Legislature and the State House — by rewriting budget rules that had required specific grants be identified as budget line items.
Instead, lawmakers created programs with names such as “Livable Communities” and “Property Tax Assistance and Community Development Grants” and funded them with millions until the practice was ended in 2006.
“Under the McGreevey administration, it got abused,” said state Sen. Kevin O’Toole, R-Essex. “He directed the administration and the treasurer to create these swelling pots of money that had very little accountability. We’re seeing there was little checks and balances.”
Read MoreEnglewood New Jersey Mayor Michael Wildes Packs His Buddies And Campaign Contributors Into City Government
June 1st, 2008
ENGLEWOOD, NEW JERSEY - Mayor Michael Wildes has stocked Englewood’s Planning Board with campaign contributors and personal friends who have, in turn, voted for projects presented by other friends and donors.
Wildes, a Planning Board member himself, also has voted to approve some of those projects.
At the same time, board members, applicants, their employees and family members have donated a combined $50,775 to Wildes since he took office four years ago.
“There’s no connection between contributions and appointments,” the mayor said in an interview. “News flash: The mayor appoints people he respects who bring professionalism to the board, and an angle that was not there before. Every mayor across the state does it.”
Read MoreCrazed Texas Police And State Agents Illegally Snatched 440+ Children From Their Homes In Armed Raid - State Supreme Court Says Children Should Be Returned - Stupid Cops
May 29th, 2008
AUSTIN, TEXAS - The Texas Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that children who were separated from their parents following a raid on a polygamist ranch should be returned.
The ruling effectively ends one of the largest child custody cases in U.S. history.
Officials with Texas’ child protective services ordered the children be removed from the “Yearning For Zion” ranch following a raid there last month — fearing that the kids might be in danger. CPS officials said that separating the kids from their parents was necessary to end sexual abuse at the ranch, where young girls were forced to marry and have sex with older men.
But in its ruling on Thursday, the Texas Supreme Court said that child welfare officials overstepped their authority by pulling the children from their homes and that the kids should be returned.
Read MoreFederal Lawsuit Charges Blackjack Missouri Officials With Not Allowing Family To Live In Their Own Home - Dumbass City Attorney Sheldon Stock Gears Up To Piss Away Taxpayer Dollars In Court Battle Against ACLU Lawyers
May 29th, 2008
BLACK JACK, MISSOURI - Another unmarried couple is being told by a suburban St. Louis town they’re not welcome.
[BCN prediction: City attorney Sheldon Stock wastes taxpayer funds and loses in federal court against ACLU's lawyers.]
A man, his girlfriend and her three children recently bought a house in Black Jack in north St. Louis County. But because Toi Pruitt and Joe Pulliam and the children don’t meet the town’s definition of a family, they couldn’t get an occupancy permit.
In 2006, Black Jack revised its definition of a family after initially refusing a permit for Fondray Loving, Olivia Shelltrack and their children. That family had filed a federal lawsuit.
The new ordinance allows unmarried couples as long as the children are related to both. None of the children are related to Pulliam.
The city attorney says he’s willing to fight for the ordinance in court. Appeared Here
Crazed Lancaster New York Mayor William G. Cansdale Jr. Targets Teens, Removes Benches - As If There Is More To Do In The Village Than Sit And Talk With Friends
May 28th, 2008
LANCASTER, NEW YORK - With summer just around the corner, the Village of Lancaster has taken the unusual step of storing — for the time being, at least — benches lining the quaint, brick sidewalks of Central Avenue to discourage teenage loitering.
The furniture was scooped up during Memorial Day weekend, prompted by police reports of youngsters congregating in packs along Central and also in an area of the village known to Lancaster teens as “Paradise,” where police have documented evidence of drug use.
“The kids go wherever they have a place to sit down,” said Mayor William G. Cansdale Jr. at Monday night’s work session of the Village Board.
“We’re trying to interrupt their comfort zone. It’s a temporary measure.”
Lancaster police Lt. Gerald Gill said the department will be taking steps to increase police foot and bike patrols as summer approaches to monitor the movements of unsupervised teens in the village during night hours.
Read MoreNutcase/Dumbass Toronto Canada Mayor David Miller Wants To Close Recreational Shooting Centers Because They Lead To “…People Being Shot And Killed On The Streets…” - Duh!
May 28th, 2008
TORONTO, CANADA - Mayor David Miller wants to close recreational shooting ranges in Toronto, along with giving the city power to block gun manufacturers and wholesalers from opening new plants or warehouses.
“Nobody can deny that hobby directly results in people being shot and killed on the streets of our city,” Miller said of sport shooting yesterday, amid debate on a possible gun bylaw.
Canadian Olympic pistol shooter and downtown resident Avianna Chao begs to differ. She says that if Miller gets his way, it could mean an end to her sport – and it won’t make the streets one bit safer.
Miller wants to terminate leases with two gun clubs that have shooting ranges on city property, one at Union Station, the other at Don Montgomery community centre.
Chao, who will head to Beijing this summer to compete for Canada at the Olympics, began shooting at Don Montgomery and now trains primarily at the Union range.
Read MorePennsylvania Amish Tell State Where To Go Over School’s Outhouse
May 26th, 2008
EBENSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA - Members of a small Amish community in western Pennsylvania have to decide by tomorrow whether to challenge a state order over their school’s outhouses.
The school sits on Andy Swartzentruber’s farm 70 miles east of Pittsburgh. A state judge has ruled that he and the school are in violation of the state sewage disposal law.
The community is 1 of the most conservative in the Amish Christian sect. And the practice has been to collect the waste in a bucket and dump it onto a field. But the county says they have to install a holding tank and hire a certified sewage hauler.
Swartzentruber is refusing to pay the fine of more than $500. During a break while tilling a field, he told The Associated Press he’d rather go to jail than violate his religious principles.
Read MoreCriminal President G.W. Bush And Courts Ditch U.S. Constitution - Bush Administration Tells Court It Can And Will Use Military To Sieze And Hold Anyone In Jail Without Charges Or Trial Forever
May 24th, 2008
WASHINGTON, DC - If his cell were at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the prisoner would be just one of hundreds of suspected terrorists detained offshore, where the U.S. says the Constitution does not apply.
But Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri is a U.S. resident being held in a South Carolina military brig; he is the only enemy combatant held on U.S. soil. That makes his case very different.
Al-Marri’s capture six years ago might be the Bush administration’s biggest domestic counterterrorism success story. Authorities say he was an al Qaeda sleeper agent living in middle America, researching poisonous gases and plotting a cyberattack.
To justify holding him, the government claimed a broad interpretation of the president’s wartime powers, one that goes beyond warrantless wiretapping or monitoring banking transactions. Government lawyers told federal judges that the president can send the military into any U.S. neighborhood, capture a resident and hold him in prison without charge, indefinitely.
Read MoreCrazed California State Lawmakers Consider Pornography Tax Due To Their Inability To Stop Spending
May 23rd, 2008
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - California state lawmakers are considering an unusual idea to solve the state’s huge budget shortfall: Tax pornography.
The idea was proposed by a state assemblyman, and would impose a 25 percent tax on the production and sales of pornographic videos — the vast majority of which are made in southern California.
It is unknown, however, how seriously lawmakers will take the idea or how the porn business would deal with the new tax. It is likely, though, that porm-makers would simply pass the cost along to consumers by making pornographic materials more expensive.
However, many economists believe that pornography is an industry with inelastic demand — meaning market conditions typically don’t affect consumers’ desire for the product. In other words, it is believed that most porn consumers would continue to buy regardless of how much it cost.
Read MoreSenator Ted Kennedy’s Malignant Brain Tumor Stuns Colleagues (Who’ve Never Heard Of Karma or Chappaquiddick)
May 20th, 2008
Kennedy, 76, was hospitalized Saturday morning after suffering a seizure at his family’s compound at Hyannisport, Massachusetts.
“Preliminary results from a biopsy of the brain identified the cause of the seizure as a malignant glioma in the left parietal lobe,” according to a hospital statement.
Malignant glioma is the most common primary brain tumor, accounting for more than half of the 18,000 primary malignant brain tumors diagnosed each year in the United States, according to the National Cancer Institute.
A tumor in that area of the brain could affect Kennedy’s ability to speak and understand speech, as well as the strength on the right side of his body, CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta said. Video Watch Gupta describe treatment options »
UK Government Wants Huge Database Of All Cellphone Calls, eMail And Text Messages, And Users Activity Online
May 19th, 2008
The information would be held for at least 12 months and the police and security services would be able to access it if given permission from the courts.
The proposal will raise further alarm about a “Big Brother” society, as it follows plans for vast databases for the ID cards scheme and NHS patients. There will also be concern about the ability of the Government to manage a system holding billions of records. About 57 billion text messages were sent in Britain last year, while an estimated 3 billion e-mails are sent every day.
Hopefully The End Is Very Near For Senator Ted Kenedy
May 16th, 2008
Mr. Kennedy, 76, was taken to the hospital early in the morning, CNN reported, citing an unidentified prominent state party member.
The Massachusetts senator was a prominent supporter of Presidential candidate Barack Obama and campaigned for him in the northeastern state. Mr. Kennedy is the second-longest serving member of the Senate.
Florida’s Amber Alert System Resources To Be Pissed Away On “Officer Down” Reports That Nobody Cares About
May 6th, 2008
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA - Governor Charlie Crist has signed an executive order that will use the existing Amber Alert technology to alert the public when a law enforcement officer is seriously wounded or killed in the line of duty.
Under the order, information will be broadcast immediately to the public and will appear on highway message signs when an officer is reported down.
The announcement came during yesterday’s police memorial at the state Capitol.
Sixteen officers lost their lives across the state in 2007. That’s a jump of 56 percent over the year before, making Florida the second-deadliest state in the country for law enforcement. Appeared Here
New York Governor Eliot Spitzer Ignores Legal Resident’s Applications, Pardons Criminal Wetback To Keep Him From Being Deported
December 21st, 2007
NEW YORK - Governor Eliot Spitzer today granted a full and unconditional pardon to prevent the deportation of Frederick Lake, a native of Jamaica who served a six-year sentence after a 1991 conviction for first-degree robbery. Mr. Lake has been living in Brooklyn with his wife and sons since 1997.
Mr. Lake, who entered the United States legally in 1987, faces deportation under a federal statute that mandates the removal of a lawful resident alien who has been convicted of an aggravated felony. However, the federal statute explicitly allows a Governor to prevent the deportation by granting the alien a full and unconditional pardon.
“Mr. Lake has fully served the sentence imposed upon him for his robbery conviction,” Governor Spitzer said. “He had a perfect disciplinary record while in prison, he has had no other arrests or convictions during his lifetime, and he has been living safely and without incident in the community for the last 10 years. No pur