Monday, February 29, 2016

Death By Selfie

A young dolphin has died of dehydration after being paraded around like a trophy and stroked by a crowd of Argentinian sunbathers who then abandoned it on the sand.

The group of people huddled around the mammal taking selfies after it was found on the beach resort of Santa Teresita in a province northeast of Buenos Aires.   Dozens of people crowded round to look at the squirming calf as they strained to touch it, and have their photos taken with it.

The La Plata dolphin (also known as the Franciscana dolphin) can live to be twenty years old.  The species is listed as vulnerable and is of particular conservation concern because of its restricted distribution and vulnerability to incidental capture in fishing gear. There are only around 30,000 animals of its kind thought to be left in the world.

The last tragic images of the individual exploited in this incident show the body, abandoned on the sand, as people continue to take pictures.

The episode has caused the Wildlife Foundation in Argentina to issue a reminder to the public regarding the vulnerable species, which is only present off the coast of Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil.

Sunday, February 28, 2016

New Details of Sexual Harrassment Allegations Against Peyton Manning

It is a testament to the power of the Manning family that only upon Peyton Manning's retirement did reports begin to surface regarding his harassment of Dr. Jamie Naughright while at the University of Tennesse and the extent to which he and his father would ruin her professional career in the years afterward.  This blog entry has been assembled from reporting at Sports Illustrated, SB NationWashington Post and Bleacher Report.

Dr. Jamie Naughright was not "a girl" sexually assaulted by Peyton Manning--  she was an esteemed professional widely admired by students and peers alike at the University of Tennessee, where she was the Director of Health & Wellness for the Men's Athletic Program.

Jamie Naughright had been a staple across all sports programs at the University of Tennessee and had more tenure than most of the football staff, including the head coach at the time, Phillip Fulmer.

Starting as a student in 1988, Naughright devoted her entire life to the University of Tennessee athletic program. She was a student trainer for the women's athletic programs and a supervisor for intramural sports on campus.  From 1989-91, she was the student trainer for the men's athletic department. After earning her bachelor's degree and entering grad school, she became the graduate assistant trainer for the men's athletic program for two years. Gifted and respected throughout the campus, she was hired as the assistant trainer for the entire men's athletic program in 1993, following a year as a full-time intern.

After two years in that role, she was hired as the Director of Health and Wellness for the Men's Athletic Program. In that position she developed widely acclaimed educational and medical programs for students and oversaw the drug testing of all of the male athletes. She presented academic papers, served as an instructor and lecturer for college courses, and traveled frequently with students and staff to conferences all over the country. She started successful community projects and raised funds for local charities.

While serving as the Director of Health and Wellness, Naughright also was the head trainer for Tennessee's track and field program, which includes cross country, indoor, and outdoor athletics. In that position she hired and trained 25 staff members, oversaw all medical care for every track and field athlete, served as the medical director for large events, coordinated annual physicals and supervised weekly drug testing. So many athletes — which would eventually include medal-winning Olympians — developed such a deep respect for Dr. Naughright that she would be requested to travel with them to international events and world championships.

In addition to all of her other responsibilities, Naughright served as the associate athletic trainer for the men's football program. The years Naughright was employed as the associate trainer by the men's football program, from 1996-98, were arguably the three best years in the modern history of the program, as the team won back-to-back SEC championships and the national title. Dr. Jamie Naughright was as an absolute force of nature in the University of Tennessee's sports program.

At that time, Naughright's education, training and ascension through the ranks of the University of Tennessee's athletic program should have culminated, after more than 10 years of service to the institution, with her being able to land any job she wanted. When football teams win SEC championships and national titles, key employees can pretty much dictate where in the sports world they want to work next. If Dr. Jamie Naughright was a man that likely would've been the case for her as well.

But Naughright was a woman-- and the harassment she suffered at the hands of her male peers began as far back as when she initially was transferred to the UT men's athletic programs in 1989.  According to court documents and affidavits, her boss, associate trainer Mike Rollo, perceived Naughright to be a lesbian. Rollo, who had just left working with a group of young women he also thought to be lesbians, allegedly began calling Naughright "cunt bumper." This wasn't a rare occurrence or something he said to her only in private; he allegedly called her that in front of others. For three years, until 1992, when Naughright built up enough courage to complain, she said she was almost exclusively called "cunt bumper," or "bumper" for short, by a variety of staff members in the program.

According to the allegations in the documents, Rollo regularly referred to the women's teams, known as the Lady Volunteers, as the Lady Lickers. Naughright, who is not a lesbian, said she was told by Rollo that she would just have to get used to hearing such vulgarities. Since she was one of the first women to work in the men's program, the 20-year-old Naughright decided to endure the abuse if it meant she could serve as a pioneer of sorts for women in sports. After Naughright issued a formal complaint, Rollo and other staff members allegedly were ordered by administrators to cease the practice. While the name "c--t bumper" ceased, Rollo and the staff continued to call her "bumper" and would frequently add other sexual adjectives to it.

Determined to persevere without jeopardizing her career, Naughright began writing policies for the program prohibiting foul or abusive language. First she instituted the policies for athletic training rooms, then later the male cheerleading program. Eventually she would train a variety of student athletes on the proper and professional use of appropriate language.

It was in the fall of 1994 when Peyton Manning entered the University of Tennessee football program as the already-famous son of legendary college and pro football star Archie Manning. That semester, his first on campus, some type of incident involving Manning and Naughright occurred. By request of the counsel of Peyton Manning, the details of that incident have been sealed and three-and-a-half pages concerning it have been redacted from the permanent record.

Whatever happened, Naughright claims it colored and informed the professional interactions between Naughright and Manning from that time on and caused Manning to consistently harbor anger toward her. Yet in spite of the drama, Naughright served as the medical director for the NCAA Track and Field Championships in 1995 and was a member of the training staff prepping for the Olympics trials for the 1996 Games in Atlanta.

On February 29, 1996, Naughright (at that point the university's director of health and wellness) was in a training room, examining what she thought might be a possible stress fracture in Manning's foot. At 6 feet, 5 inches, his feet dangled off the edge of the table. Manning allegedly then proceeded to scoot down the training table while Naughright examined his foot. At that point, she said, he forcefully maneuvered his naked testicles and rectum directly on her face with his penis on top of her head. Shocked, disgusted, and offended, Naughright pushed Manning away, removing her head out from under him.  Within hours, she reported the incident to the Sexual Assault Crisis Center in Knoxville.

According to the court records, Manning initially denied the incident ever took place. It was a calculated risk. He was the star quarterback, a Heisman trophy hopeful, and a likely No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft. While Naughright was now a respected member of the staff, Manning was the star, the savior of Tennessee football. It was his word against hers.

When Rollo learned of the complaint, he allegedly concocted a story that Manning actually pulled down his pants to moon another student-athlete, Malcolm Saxon, who was nearby. According to Rollo, after mooning the student, Naughright just happened to move her head right into Manning's pelvic region. Rollo acknowledged under oath that he was the first person to use the word “mooning.”

One person, though, could settle all of this-- Malcolm Saxon.

And, in fact, he did settle it. In an affidavit, Saxon refuted Manning's story and made it clear that Manning never mooned him. In a letter to Manning, Saxon, who stated that he lost his eligibility as a student-athlete over it, practically begged him to come forward and tell the truth. Here's an excerpt from the letter:
"First, I have stuck to my same story throughout this drama. I told Mike Rollo the next day and Coach Fulmer a week or two afterwards. I had nothing to hide at that point and I have nothing to hide today. I have never been on Jamie's side or on your side (contrary to what the athletic department was telling you and telling her). I stuck to the truth and I lost my eligibility for it. My redshirt request sat on Mike Rollo's desk for months as the process was going forward. I'm not angry about it anymore, just getting a little tired of it!!

"Peyton, you messed up. I still don't know why you dropped your drawers. Maybe it was a mistake, maybe not. But it was definitely inappropriate. Please take some personal responsibility here and own up to what you did. I never understood why you didn't admit to it...."
Saxon goes on to tell Peyton things like:
"Coming clean is the right thing to do.

You have shown no mercy or grace to this lady who was on her knees seeing if you had a stress fracture.

You might as well maintain some dignity and admit to what happened.

Your celebrity doesn't mean that you can treat folks this way."
For anybody other than Peyton Manning, such damning statements from a fellow student who had no dog in the fight would have been the nail in their coffin. As a general rule, it's not just gross to smash your testicles on a woman's face, it's a crime.

When Rollo was asked, under oath, if the woman he had known for more than seven years would respond in such a way to being mooned, he repeatedly said no. Yet he allegedly concocted the mooning narrative, nonetheless.

Instead, the school asked Naughright to leave. Having poured her heart and soul out to the University of Tennessee for nearly 10 years, she agreed, as a part of a settlement agreement, to part ways.

Before she left, though, two staff members of the school asked Naughright if she would consider blaming the entire incident not on Manning, but on another athlete — a black one. According to Naughright, the staff members (named as Mr. Wyant and Mr. Rollo), went so far as to actually name a specific black athlete she could blame it on. Of course, she refused.

In her remaining time at the university, Naughright testified that Manning, in her presence, on two separate occasions, deliberately reenacted the sexual assault on other student athletes to terrorize her. On another occasion he allegedly called her a "bitch" in front of other athletes after snatching a marker used to label drug-test specimens from her hand and throwing it across the room (see page 22).

When Naughright finally left the University of Tennessee it was both heartbreaking and a great relief. She was hired to be an assistant professor and the program director of the Athletic Education Training Program at Florida Southern College. For more than three years she served Florida Southern with great distinction. She received regular raises, outstanding reviews, and was credited for helping grow the program in measurable ways.

In 1998, she served as the head athletic trainer for the U.S. women's track and field program in Beijing. Two years later, she was hired to be the head athletic trainer for the both the men's and women's USA track and field teams in their competition versus Canada. Her professional life had clearly turned a corner. Beloved both by athletes and her colleagues, Naughright had decided she'd never discuss the sexual assault by Manning publicly. In fact, both she and Manning signed a confidentiality agreement when she left the University of Tennessee that they would not discuss it.

Yet, in 2001, after moving on and revitalizing her career, everything came crashing down again. Now a quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts, and more famous than ever, Manning violated the confidentiality agreement in a way that could not be undone. It has marked Naughright like a scarlet letter to this very day.

On May 16th, 2001, Naughright returned to Florida after accompanying her students on an educational and medical trip to South Africa. When she arrived at her office, she found a large manilla envelope in a receptacle on her door with the words "Dr. Vulgar Mouth Whited" printed on it (see page 1). Whited was Naughright's married name for most of her time at the University of Tennessee. She was immediately disturbed. Other employees testified that the envelope had been there for a few days before she arrived home from South Africa.

In it, were Xerox copies from some type of publication. It appeared to be written by Peyton Manning and it was about her. Colleagues who saw her after opening it testified that she was shaken up by what she read. Manning and his father, Archie, had written a book called "The Mannings" and perhaps wanting to put their stamp on the incident in Knoxville before it ever reached the public, they threw Naughright under bus.

Her supervisor at Florida Southern had already opened the envelope and read what was in it. What Manning said about her ruined her career at Florida Southern and in college athletics once and for all. After years of amazing reviews and great work at the university, the controversy from the book and the stress it created eventually caused Dr. Jamie Naughright to be let go, once again, for doing nothing wrong.

It appears that Peyton and Archie Manning thought Naughright would accept what they did to her quietly. They were wrong. This time, she did file suit against Peyton Manning, Archie Manning, the ghostwriter John Underwood, and the publisher Harper Collins. Manning and his lawyers asked for the case to be dismissed, but Polk County Circuit Judge Harvey A. Kornstein not only denied the motion but put Peyton Manning, his father, and the others on blast. In his statement, he said:
"Even if the plaintiff is a public figure, the evidence of record contains sufficient evidence to satisfy the court that a genuine issue of material fact exists that would allow a jury to find, by clear and convincing evidence, the existence of actual malice of the part of the defendants.

"Specifically, there is evidence of record, substantial enough to suggest that the defendants knew that the passages in question were false, or acted in reckless disregard of their falsity. There is evidence of record to suggest that there were obvious reasons to doubt the veracity of Peyton Manning's account of the incident in question. The court further finds that there is sufficient evidence to permit the conclusion that the defendants entertained serious doubts as to the truth of the passages in this case."
In other words, Judge Kornstein said that there is evidence to support the conclusion that Peyton Manning lied in his book about the incidents and knew that he was lying about the incidents.

Under deposition, it was learned from their ghostwriter, John Underwood, that Archie Manning, speaking of Dr. Jamie Naughright said, "He didn't really like this girl."

Playing a bit of good cop, bad cop, Peyton said, "I certainly didn't dislike her. I thought she had a vulgar mouth, but I always tried to be nice." Peyton went on to describe a few favors that he did for Dr. Naughright, including one on a trip to Virginia, where, at Naughright's request, he gave some younger students a ride somewhere.

When forced to testify about this incident in a deposition, attorneys asked Peyton to describe a specific incident when Dr. Naughright had a "vulgar mouth." He could only think of one — it was during the Virginia trip. According to Manning, Dr. Naughright said to him, "These motherfuckers are yours. Get these motherfuckers off my hands for a little while."

It appears that Manning, who was under oath, completely concocted this story out of thin air. Again, just as he expected the student athlete, Malcolm Saxon, to go along with the story of his mooning Naughright, he assumed that the plethora of witnesses in Virginia would also go along with his new lie. Unfortunately for him, they didn't.

On the trip to Charlottesville, Va., five University of Tennessee students were selected to go to the NCAA's annual APPLE Conference, a training symposium on substance-abuse prevention and health promotion for student athletes and athletic department administrators. One was Manning. Three were teammates from the football team: Eric Lane, Scott Pfeiffer and Tyrone Hines. The last, Geno Devane, was a track and field athlete.

The other four students, all juniors and seniors, were all older than Manning, who was a sophomore. Under oath, they each testified that Manning never gave them a ride anywhere that night and never would have. It was a peculiar story. But the strangest — and most damning — part of their testimony, though, was that they each made it abundantly clear that they never heard Naughright say one vulgar word that night or on any other occasion.  Devane, a medical student at the time of his testimony, said, "I can assure you that I would remember. I would have been very upset if that had occurred. That type of language would have been completely out of character because she was always very professional around me and other student-athletes."

Furthermore, Devane recalls very clearly who drove the athletes that night and it wasn't Manning; it was Eric Lane.  Devane's testimony gets even more damning. Line by line, and statement by statement, he repeatedly testifies, "I unequivocally state that this did not occur," regarding virtually every aspect of the story Manning concocted.

For some, the testimony of Eric Lane can be considered even worse than that of Devane. Lane was not only Manning's teammate, but also his fullback on offense. At the time of his testimony he was an employee of the University of Tennessee and in the final year of law school. He also testified that he could not recall any such thing ever being said or done by Naughright.

Jill Griffin, the head of the Metropolitan Drug Commission in Knoxville, who was also on the trip, roomed with Naughright and spent a great deal of time with her, testified that she never heard Naughright say a vulgar word over the entire history of them knowing each other and, furthermore, that she never heard her calling students by vulgar names. In fact, Griffin testified that Naughright was exceedingly professional at all times with the students.

While not personal friends, Griffin and Naughright worked together on the drug commission for over three years. She testified that she was an "excellent board member," and that she "had a good reputation in the Knoxville community and on the Metropolitan Drug Commission."

But it gets worse. Much worse.  Soon after the alleged sexual assault, records show that Manning told the school, "I have never approved of Jamie's vulgar language. It has always been my opinion, along with the majority of the team, that Jamie wants to be one of the guys."

To his father, he concocted far worse lies that were torn apart, one by one, when he and others were forced to testify under oath. He told his father, Archie, "she's kind of trashy," and "had the most vulgar mouth of any girl he'd ever seen" and "was unattractive but had big breasts" and had "been out with a bunch of black guys" and "had a toilet mouth."

Under oath, the ghostwriter, John Underwood revealed that Archie Manning suggested to him that Naughright was going into the dorms and having sex with large numbers of black student athletes. After saying that she was up in the dorms with black students, Archie, states:

"And, she'd, she'd, been up in the dorm before, I mean hey, you know, they could have, you know, could have pulled off stuff on her too. Ah, she, toilet mouth, ah Peyton told me he never did like her, but he always did, cause what I'd told him to do, ah, I instructed him to be nice to the tr- … don't ever look down on a trainer or an equipment person you know."

According to the records, attorneys for Naughright drilled person after person, staff member after staff member, asking them to identify an instance where they heard Naughright use vulgar language. Not a single person could do so. One after another, those who claimed she was promiscuous admitted under oath that they didn't have any evidence to support such claims. No one with firsthand knowledge testified to her ever being vulgar or having sexual relationships with student athletes.

Lawrence Johnson, an Olympic silver medalist and gold medalist at the World Indoor Games, testified at great length to the character, compassion, professionalism, and overall amazing nature of Dr. Jamie Naughright. He testified that he believed he had attended at least 80 different local, national, and international events with her and that he had not heard her a single vulgar word in the 10 years he had known and worked with her. He testified that she was "professional and proper" in her conduct, appearance, and demeanor. He went on testify how she came to check on him at his bedside after surgeries and traveled with him to meets all over the world to ensure his peak performance.

Another student athlete, Antonio Brewer, who has known Naughright since 1995, testified that he personally knew her to have high moral character and that her reputation for being a moral person was actually well-known at the university. He testified that he had never heard her use vulgar language of any kind and that he was deeply offended by the racist suggestion made by Archie Manning that she was sleeping around with black athletes.

According to all reports Dr. Naughright has not worked in college athletics since being let go from Florida Southern.  The defamation suit was settled in 2003 but terms were not disclosed. Naughright settled her suit againt the University of Tennessee for a reported $300,000.

Friday, February 26, 2016

Manning Sexual Assault Allegations Resurface

Thirteen years ago, USA Today obtained 74 pages of explosive court documents on Peyton Manning, Archie Manning, the University of Tennessee, and Florida Southern College that revealed allegations of a sexual-assault scandal, cover up, and smear campaign of the victim that was so deep, so widespread and so ugly that it would've rocked the American sports world to its core.

Mel Antonen, now a baseball writer for Sports Illustrated, wrote about the documents for the paper on Nov. 3, 2003. Three days later, Christine Brennan, longtime sportswriter for USA Today wrote an op-ed about Peyton Manning and the documents entitled, “Do you really know your sports hero?” but the scandal pretty much died right there.  And don't even expect ESPN to cover this story-- it's become pretty clear that the once-respected sports network is the latest apologist for the scandal-plagued NFL.

ESPN has been running up the ratings with the feel-good story of the veteran QB winning the Super Bowl in his final season.  And many other sports writers and evangelical leaders have been extolling Manning “squeaky clean” image and positioning the Broncos QB as the arbiter of all things good and decent-- but that wouldn't be the case if this story had been reported on by responsible media outlets when it occurred.

The newly reported facts of the covered-up Manning sexual assault case provide credible evidence that Peyton and the Manning family knowingly, willingly, wantonly ruined the good name and career of Dr. Jamie Naughright, a respected scholar, speaker, professor, and trainer of some of the best athletes in the world.

Only time will tell if this story is treated with the seriousness it deserves or whether Manning is allowed to retire with the dignity he probably doesn't deserve.

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

ESPN No Longer Cool

ESPN has been garnering much criticism of late by white-washing criticism of the NFL from its airwaves in a naked attempt to curry favor and programming from the controversy-drenched league.  Don't most people expect ESPN to report on sports?

During the recent  NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, Arcade Fire’s Win Butler used the opportunity to launch into some good words for Canada, saying, “The U.S. has a lot it could learn from Canada-- Health care, taking care of people.”

But ESPN reporter Sage Steele was having none of it.  “We’re talking about celebrity stuff, not politics,” Steele interrupted as ESPN quickly cut away. “Congratulations on your MVP!”

Saturday, February 20, 2016

More Incompetence in Flint

Residents of Flint, Michigan, began getting gravely ill and in some cases dying in summer 2014 in one of the worst outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease in U.S. history, and a county health director says attempts to find the source were hampered when the state wouldn't request federal assistance.   Eventually, 87 people got Legionnaire's and nine died.

According to Genesee County Health director Jim Henry, state officials purposely kept the CDC away once the county wanted to investigate the highly corrosive Flint River as the Legionnaire's outbreak began. By that time, the state had decided to switch the water supply source to the Flint River, and soon brown water began flowing from taps in the city. 

The CDC never showed up after being contacted by county officials and it appears that state purposely intervened.  According to CDC protocol, a state must "invite" the CDC to investigate an outbreak. And Michigan did not do that.  According to the CNN story, the CDC says "Michigan felt that they had the skills and resources needed to perform the investigation themselves."  Michigan state officials admit hat they never found the cause of the outbreak, but refuse to comment further.

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Censorship On The Rise in France

And you thought we were past the "anti-smut" conservative movement that saw its heyday in the U.S. back in the 1970-80's.  What's even more shocking is that the latest battle against freedom of expression in the arts is taking place in France

The French conservative values group "Promouvoir" has won another victory in its crusade against sex and violence on French screens. Lars von Trier’s 2009 drama, "Antichrist", which won the best actress prize for Charlotte Gainsbourg at the Cannes film festival, has seen its operating visa revoked by a court in Paris. The court cited “scenes of great violence” and “non-simulated sex” in its decision, per multiple reports.

The move comes at a time when Promouvoir has won campaigns against several major titles in recent months, mostly over sexual content. It’s also somewhat ironic in a country that saw its right to to artistic expression so devastatingly attacked last year.

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Irate Gambler Lynched in Nairobi

A Tanzanian gambler has been stoned to death by fellow players at a casino in Kenya's capital Nairobi after he killed two of its employees.

The attack took place at the City View Bar and Restaurant Casino on Tenth Street in Nairobi's Eastleigh district.  The man, identified as John Barnabas Mchanga,  lost his temper when he was refused a chance to try to win back the $300 he had lost, according to police.

Mchanga went to the manager's office and demanded a free play from 40-year-old Winfred Mbuvi, but she turned him down.  He used a Somali sword to stab her several times, killing her.  A security guard, James Lutea, tried to rescue her but was also fatally stabbed.

The Tanzanian gambler also stabbed another guard, Kevin Ogada, who was being treated in a hospital and was listed in a serious condition.   The incident sparked panic and chaos at the casino, sending some patrons running for their lives while a mob of onlookers confronted the gambler.  The mob chased Mchanga and stoned him to death in a nearby street.

Casinos have been growing in popularity in Kenya in recent years.  Revenues for 2014 were estimated at $20 million, representing an annual increase of more than 6%.  Revenue growth is expected to fall, however, due to slower economic growth and a newly-levied 20 percent withholding tax on gambling winnings.

Monday, February 15, 2016

Lifting the Veil of Bush-Era Secrecy

On a snowy afternoon in February 2004, an FBI agent came to Nick Merrill’s door, bearing a national security letter (NSL).  At the time, Merrill was  running a small internet service provider (called Calyx) on Manhattan's west side. 

The NSL demanded details on one of his company’s clients-- including cellphone tower location data, email details and screen-names.  If Merrill even talked about the NSL with his girlfriend or a lawyer, he could go to jail on "national security" charges.

NSL's were sparingly used over the years, but the Patriot Act vastly expanded what an NSL could be used for, and the FBI began rapidly abusing the tool, issuing nearly 57,000 in the most recent year.  After n 11-year battle with the FBI, Merrill can now finally tell his story to the public.

With the ACLU, Merrill went to court to challenge the constitutionality of the letter, and its associated gag order.

The case, in which Merrill was listed as a “John Doe” because of the terms of the order, was against the attorney general, John Ashcroft, FBI director, Robert Mueller, and FBI senior counsel Marion Bowman.

The same year, a district court judge, sided with Merrill against the federal government, finding that the letter violated his fourth amendment rights. A year later, in response, Congress amended the statute. Merrill went to court again; again, the district court struck down the law.  In 2008, a second circuit judge affirmed that decision.  The FBI eventually decided it no longer wanted the information it had demanded and dropped its demand for records-- but it continued to challenge Merrill's right to disclose the letter and publicly discuss his case.

In 2014, a federal judge in New York finally ruled that the gag order be completely lifted.  After waiting out the period in which the Department of Justice could appeal, Merrill finally received permission to publish the full, un-redacted version of the letter.

It has taken a long fifteen years-- but we are another step closer to unraveling the tortured legacy of the Bush administration.

Sunday, February 14, 2016

The Words of Antonin Scalia

This was the guy who was actually weighing in on some of the most important issues of the day . . . .

On the death penalty:  "Mere factual innocence is no reason not to carry out a death sentence properly reached."

In deciding that private businesses can be exempted from certain laws on religious grounds:  “Well, religious beliefs aren’t reasonable. I mean, religious beliefs are categorical. You know, it’s God [that] tells you. It’s not a matter of being reasonable."

On the right of Americans to arm themselves with anything that can be hand-carried:  "I suppose there are hand-held rocket launchers that can bring down airplanes, that will have to be decided.”

Responding to critics who say his religion impairs his fairness in rulings: “To my critics, I say, ‘Vaffanculo." (Italian slang meaning "fuck you")

“If securing its territory in this fashion is not within the power of Arizona, we should cease referring to it as a sovereign State.” He then used a 19th-century law restricting the movement of freed slaves to bolster his argument:  "[Back in the day], “State laws not only provided for the removal of unwanted immigrants but also imposed penalties on unlawfully present aliens and those who aided their immigration.”

“Nobody thought it (the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection) was directed against sex discrimination.  Although [gender bias]  shouldn’t exist-- [the idea that it is] constitutionally forbidden is a modern invention.”

Upon being corrected during oral arguments for mistakenly using the term stratosphere:  “Troposphere, whatever. I told you before I’m not a scientist. That’s why I don’t want to have to deal with global warming, to tell you the truth.”

On why he believed that comments from legislators were irrelevant in figuring out what statutes meant: “Once Congress floats that text out there, it has its own life. It means what it means. It means what it says.”

"Who ever thought that intimacy and spirituality (whatever that means) were freedoms? And if intimacy is, one would think Freedom of Intimacy is abridged rather than expanded by marriage. Ask the nearest hippie. Expression, sure enough, is a freedom, but anyone in a long-lasting marriage will attest that that happy state constricts, rather than expands, what one can prudently say."

On his belief that racism no longer exists and that the Voting Rights Act is no longer needed:  "[There is a] phenomenon that is called perpetuation of racial entitlement.  It’s been written about. Whenever a society adopts racial entitlements, it is very difficult to get out of them through the normal political processes."

On his tendency to equate homosexuality with murder and bestiality:  “If we cannot have moral feelings against homosexuality, can we have it against murder?"

“[The Texas anti-sodomy statute] undoubtedly imposes constraints on liberty ... So do laws prohibiting prostitution, recreational use of heroin, and, for that matter, working more than 60 hours per week in a bakery.”

Explaining why an unopposed vote on a piece of legislation actually undermines the law:  “The Israeli supreme court, the Sanhedrin, used to have a rule that if the death penalty was pronounced unanimously, it was invalid, because there must be something wrong there.”

The Daily Dude notes that in 1986, the Senate approved Justice Scalia’s nomination to the Supreme Court by a vote of 98 to 0 . . . by Scalia's standards, there must be something wrong there.

Saturday, February 13, 2016

Wiping Up The Mess After Treating Your Passport Like Shit

A woman has been refused entry to Thailand after ripping pages from a passport to use instead of toilet roll.  Faye Wilson, from the Lake District of Scotland, was turned back by border officers after they found missing pages, which she said she had used as toilet paper when drunk.  Here's how she put it:
"We were walking from one bar to the next and we must have been desperate for a wee and obviously didn't have any toilet roll.  It was maybe two or three pages. I was a bit drunk so didn't even think about the consequences."

"Thai immigration just opened my passport and started looking through it, and asked 'what's happened here'?  I just said that I had lost the pages because I was too embarrassed to explain the real reason. Before I could explain more, they had deported me back to Dubai and then to Glasgow and confiscated my documents."

Wilson will now have to apply for an emergency passport back in Scotland to continue the trip.

Friday, February 12, 2016

Another Stereotype Bites the Dust

The “drunken Indian” stereotype and been a disgraceful slur levied against Native Americans for centuries. But a new study at the University of Arizona has debunked the long-held view that American Indians have a uniquely high rate of use and abuse.

Researchers found that the rate of binge and heavy drinking is the same for Indians and whites. There was a major area of difference, however: Indians are more likely to abstain from alcohol altogether than are whites. The study appears in the Feb. 8 edition of the peer-reviewed journal, Drug and Alcohol Dependence. The researchers examined data from a survey of more than 4,000 Native Americans and 170,000 whites between 2009 and 2013. They found that about 17 percent of both Indians and whites were binge drinkers (five or more drinks on one to four days in the previous month). About 8 percent of both groups were heavy drinkers (five or more drinks on five or more days in the previous month). But 60 percent of Indians reported no alcohol use in the past month, compared to 43 percent of whites.

James K. Cunningham, the lead author of the study, said: "Of course, debunking a stereotype doesn't mean that alcohol problems don't exist. All major U.S. racial and ethnic groups face problems due to alcohol abuse, and alcohol use within those groups can vary with geographic location, age and gender.”

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Boo-hoo Over a Subaru

If you haven't been watching TV recently, you probably didn't know that Subaru has been running one of the most heart-breaking commercials in recent memory. The ad is titled "Dream Weekend" and it follows a man and his dog, celebrating the pooch's 14 and 3/4 birthday.  It will only take the viewer a few sad moments to realize why he isn't waiting to celebrate his dog's 15th.


The melancholy strains of Willie Nelson's "I've Loved You All Over The World" wash over the moments onscreen, as we watch the man marks items off his dog's bucket list one by one.

1. Road Trip
2. 100 tennis balls
3. Ferris Wheel
4. Sky diving
5. Beach
6. Old girlfriend
7. Chew a shoe
8. Massage at a hotel
9. Steak dinner
10. Hot air ballooning
11. Breakfast in bed
12. Looping roller coaster
13. (unknown)
14. River rafting
15. Ride a train
16. Sneak into a hotel pool
17. Run in the park
18. Dig a big hole

The commercial ends as the man and his loyal friend enjoy a sunset at the beach- the last item on the list. Watch for yourself:

Friday, February 5, 2016

Retirees Dealt A Bad Hand By Thai Police

A group of elderly bridge players in the Thailand resort town of Pattaya were surprised by a visit from the police this week.   Over 50 officers from the Thai Army and local police stormed a regularly scheduled bridge game, arresting 32 foreign retirees-- including an 84-year-old Dutch woman.  The group, which has been conducting weekly bridge games for over twenty years, said they were not playing for money-- but were jailed for possessing too many unregistered playing cards. 

Thailand's military rulers have vowed to crack down on corruption and crime.  Police said they raided the bridge club after its anti-corruption center received a tip-off.  Thailand has strict anti-gambling laws, with nearly all forms of gambling prohibited. The members had broken a 1935 law, the Playing Cards Act, which prohibits individuals from possessing more than 120 playing cards.  A group of 32 bridge players, by necessity, would need to utilize eight decks-- for a total of 416 cards.  The players were released on bail for $160 each after 12 hours in custody.




Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Cheney The Carpetbagger

Yesterday morning, Liz Cheney used Facebook to explain why she was running for  the House of Representatives. . .  unfortunately, she had location enabled in her Facebook settings, which revealed that she had uploaded the post from her actual residence in Alexandria, Va.


Cheney, the Republican daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, has faced criticism that she’s not firmly enough rooted in the Cowboy State.  Liz Cheney lived in Wyoming as a child and she and her husband bought a house in Wyoming four years ago in advance of her failed 2014 Senate bid.  In an interview with the Casper Star-Tribune this past weekend, Cheney claimed that she’s been heavily involved in her Wyoming community as a mother to five children.

After the post was widely shared on social media, her campaign updated the post to remove the location, using the ubiquitous excuse: “It was a campaign glitch."

There's no doubt Liz Cheney has unintentionally outed herself as a carpetbagger. In Wyoming, most candidates for political office differ very little in their conservative positions-- which is why other factors (such as integrity and honesty) can often make the difference.

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Shame The Lame Dame of the Blame Game

Partial-term Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was not happy today when her interview on NBC deviated away from the topic of the Iowa caucuses and toward her son's recent arrest.

Palin's son Track, who was arrested two weeks ago on weapons and domestic violence charges, is a veteran of the Iraq War. Palin suggested shortly after the arrest that President Barack Obama may be to blame because he does not offer veterans the respect they deserve:
But my son, like so many others, they come back a bit different, they come back hardened, they come back wondering if there is that respect for what it is that their fellow soldiers and airmen and every other member of the military, so sacrificially have given to this country, and that starts from the top, it’s a shame that our military personnel even have to wonder, if they have to question if they’re respected anymore. It starts from the top, the question, though, that comes from our own president, where they have to look at him and wonder: do you know what we go through, do you know what we’re trying to do to secure America and to secure the freedoms that have been bequeathed us!

But veterans who know the damaging effects of PTSD quickly came down on Palin's rhetoric, making it clear that her son's domestic violence charge shouldn't be used as a platform to politicize a condition that affects more than 10 percent of the U.S. military.  "Palin is using PTSD as an excuse to shift blame away from her son's domestic violence," said Brandon Friedman, the former digital media director for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Matt Miller, the chief policy officer for the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said Palin used PTSD as a "crutch" for her son's domestic violence. Instead of politicizing the suffering of veterans, Palin could have instead sought help for him.

As for Obama's alleged apathy on veterans' issues, Miller said that simply isn't true. Just last year, Obama signed a bipartisan bill to improve veterans' access to mental health resources. And the Veterans Affairs budget is at an all-time high.  "It's ironic that people like Sarah Palin are in the party of 'personal responsibility' but as soon as someone in her family is arrested for domestic violence, it's Obama's fault," Friedman said.