Not So Curious George Back In Court

Posted on January 10, 2015 by mespo727272

By Mark Esposito

imageHeeee’s Back. Put-upon, misunderstood, citizen George Zimmerman, acquitted of gunning down unarmed  Florida teenager Trayvon Martin on a rainy common area between apartments is back in court and being held in jail.  In a Sunshine State courtroom he is facing  charges of aggravated assault with a weapon among other crimes. Darling of the right-wing for his staunch defense of his Second Amendment rights, Zimmerman was arrested last night after allegedly throwing a wine bottle at his domestic partner who remains unnamed.

Continue reading →

Posted in Celebrity, Conservatives, Constitutional Law, Countries, Courts, Crime, Criminal Law, Denialism, Government, History, Hypocrisy, Jurisprudence, Law Enforcement, Legal Analysis, Legal Theory, Local Government, Logic, Media, Neoconservatives, Politics, Prison, Racism, Society, States, United States, Weird News | Tagged , , , , , | 15 Comments

Is It Time To Make Fundamentalism A Crime? Part 1

Posted on January 10, 2015 by mespo727272

By Mark Esposito

imageThe horrific events that played out in Paris certainly will bring fundamental change to that society. Much like our 9/11, the massacres at Charlie Hebdo and a kosher deli have mobilized the French nation to  a new awareness of the threats faced by ordinary citizens from radicalized religionists with declared goals of  global caliphate and violence against any culture espousing Western liberal values. This clash is particularly acute in France where Europe’s largest Muslim population resides – many of whom are defiantly unassimilated into French society – and where, simultaneously, allegiance to irreverence to any form of authority creates is its own religion.

Continue reading →

Posted in Anti-Semitism, Art, Atheism, Christianity, Civil Liberties, Constitutional Law, Corruption, Countries, Courts, Crime, Criminal Law, Democracy, Education, Enlightenment, Equal Rights, Fascism, France, Free Speech, Fundamentalism, Government, Heroism, History, Hypocrisy, Jurisprudence, Justice, Law Enforcement, Legal Theory, Liberals, Literature, Murder, Oligarchy, Philosophy, Political Science, Politics, Prison, Propaganda, Psychology, Racism, Religion, Renaissance, Roman Catholic Church, Society, Theism, United States, War, War on "Terror", World History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 32 Comments

What DO “Bad Guys” Look Like?????

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Elaine Magliaro

By Elaine Magliaro

On Wednesday during an in-depth discussion about “why the terrorist attacks in France provided support for the militarization of police in the United States,” Shannon Bream—a member of the FOX News brain trust—pondered aloud how observers could have possibly known that the gunmen who perpetrated “the terrorist attack on French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo were bad guys if they didn’t know what their skin color was.”

Eric Bolling, one of Bream’s co-hosts on the Fox program Outnumbered, said that “militarized police would dissuade ‘bad’ guys from doing the ‘bad thing’ they were thinking about doing.” Kennedy Montgomery, another co-host on the show, said that “sometimes bad guys don’t look like bad guys.”

 

Montgomery is right. Sometimes evil folks look harmless. On the other hand, there are innocent folks who may look like bad guys to some people.

Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, France, Law Enforcement, Murder, Society, United States, War on "Terror" | Tagged , , , , | 20 Comments

The Seventeenth Post in the “Oh My Achin’ Head” Series: Demoted Catholic Cardinal Blames “Feminized” Church for Pedophile Clergy…and Altar Girls for Shortage of Priests

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Elaine Magliaro
Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke

Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke

By Elaine Magliaro

David Gibson of National Catholic Reporter reported earlier this week that Cardinal Raymond Burke, “who was recently demoted from the Vatican’s highest court to a ceremonial philanthropic post,” has been “roiling the waters once again.” This time the controversial conservative cardinal—one of Pope Francis’s harshest critics—is arguing that the Catholic Church has become too “feminized.”

David Ferguson of Raw Story wrote that Burke “has used his position in the Catholic hierarchy to harangue Democrats and endorse radical Republican politics, an ideological orientation that has been increasingly at odds with the new Pope’s more pluralistic church.”

Gibson said that Burke had “pointed to the introduction of altar girls for why fewer men are joining the priesthood.” In an interview with The New Emangelism that was published on Monday, Burke was quoted as saying, “Young boys don’t want to do things with girls. It’s just natural. I think that this has contributed to a loss of priestly vocations.”

Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Equal Rights, History, Religion, Roman Catholic Church, Society, United States | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

UPDATE in the Shooting Death of Tamir Rice: Extended Video Released by Cleveland City Officials

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Elaine Magliaro
Tamir Rice

Tamir Rice

By Elaine Magliaro

Cleveland city officials have finally released a 30-minute video that shows what happened in the aftermath of the police shooting of twelve-year-old Tamir Rice. The video confirms claims made by Samaria Rice, Tamir’s mother, that officers stopped her daughter from aiding her brother, cuffed her, and put her in their police cruiser. The video also supports Samaria Rice’s claim that police failed to render first aid for several minutes.

Travis Gettys (Raw Story)

The video shows rookie Officer Timothy Loehmann help his partner, Officer Frank Garmback, restrain the teenage girl and place her in the back of a police cruiser about 10 feet away from her brother as he lay dying on the ground.

Police stood around the wounded boy, including one who stood with hands on hips as an FBI agent arrived and administered first aid four minutes after officers shot the child.

Paramedics arrived eight minutes after the boy was shot, and he was taken away on a stretcher 13 minutes after the shooting.

Unfortunately, Tamir Rice later died at a hospital.

Video shows Tamir Rice shooting aftermath
This extended video that was released on Wednesday shows Cleveland police officers forcing the 14-year-old sister of Tamir Rice to the ground after one of them shot her brother to death at Cudell Recreation Center on Novener 22, 2014.

NOTE: Tamir Rice’s sister appears just after 1:40 on the video:

Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Equal Rights, Law Enforcement, Local Government, United States | Tagged , , , , , , | 47 Comments

It’s Only a Game: Is Chris Christie the “Mojo Man” and More for the Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones, and the NFL?

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Elaine Magliaro
Chris Christie Governor of New Jersey

Chris Christie
Governor of New Jersey

By Elaine Magliaro

Mark Arco (NJ.com) said that images of the governor of New Jersey celebrating the Dallas Cowboys’ win on Sunday night “created a stir among sports fans on social media.” Barry Petchetsky (Deadspin) wrote that “underripe tomato” Chris Christie was seen “hugging and bouncing and groping in the owner’s box” throughout the exciting football game. He added that because Christie is “still technically in charge of the great state of New Jersey, some folks want to know exactly how he got there, and how much public money was involved.”

Christie’s spokesman Kevin Roberts said that the governor had attended three games at the invitation of Jones. Roberts added that Jones invited the governor—and picked up the tab.

Continue reading →

Posted in Conservatives, Corruption, Hypocrisy, New Jersey, Politics, Sports, States, United States | Tagged , , , , , , , | 28 Comments

Long Live The Queen!

Posted on January 6, 2015 by mespo727272

By Mark Esposito, FFS Contributor

This month in 1967 a young African-American singer left Columbia Records and traveled to Muscle Shoals, Alabama to record at FAME studios. Neglected at Columbia, the frustrated singer appeared before the famed Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and belted out a new song,  “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You).” When she finished and that last note echoed around the room, there were smiles all around and Atlantic Records had a new star. Her gospel background now on full display, she would collaborate with Ray Charles, Ruth Brown, Big Joe Turner, LaVern Baker and the Drifters. The hits would follow: ” I Say A Little Prayer,” “R-E-S-P-E-C-T,” and my favorite, “Chain of Fools.” Her career would span the decades and that soulful voice never faded.

She was christened the Queen of Soul by DJ Pervis Spann and eventually reached that pinnacle of artistic honors by becoming known by one name only, Aretha.

If they have music in the hereafter, I think I know who they are holding the microphone for even now.

Enjoy!

Continue reading →

Posted in Art | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Remembering 2014: Mark Fiore Presents “The Year in Crazy”

Posted on January 6, 2015 by Elaine Magliaro

Submitted by Elaine Magliaro

Political cartoonist Mark Fiore says that 2014 “saw everything from a mooching rancher and his well-armed militia buddies fighting off the federal government to the killing of an unarmed black man sparking a nationwide conversation on race.” He said last year also brought us corporations now having the same right to freedom of religion as people. He added that money “continued to pour into our elections”– and that campaign advertising continued on its downward (or upward, depending on your perspective) spiral.”

Fiore:

There were way too many guns, bombs and crazies in 2014, a trend that will probably continue in 2015.

Tech is still booming, with watches and other wearables, drones and the occasional twisted campaign of hatred. This is just a tiny segment of cartoon fodder from 2014. Keep coming back for more cartoons and thanks for forwarding them along to your friends and/or enemies, I couldn’t do this without you! Happy New Year and here’s to a better 2015, dammit!

Continue reading →

Posted in United States | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Remembering 2014: Mark Fiore Presents “The Year in Crazy”

Bob McCulloch’s day just got a lot worse.

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Chuck Stanley

by Chuck Stanley

Robert McCulloch St. Louis County Prosecutor

Robert McCulloch
St. Louis County Prosecutor

A group of seven St. Louis County residents have just filed a formal bar complaint against St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch.  Assistant Prosecuting Attorneys Kathi Alizadeh and Sheila Whirley were also named in the complaint.

James R. Dowd, a former judge and practicing attorney, along with attorney Robert Ramsey, reviewed the grand jury transcript, examined evidence exhibits, witness statements and testimony presented.  Dowd and Ramsey presented their review to a group of seven citizens and attorneys.  The group, led by  Ethics Project founder Christi Griffin, filed an eleven (11) page complaint alleging ethical misconduct with the Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel for the Missouri Bar in Jefferson City, Missouri.

Continue reading →

Posted in Courts, Crime, Jurisprudence, Justice, Law Enforcement, Legal Analysis, Legal Theory, Local Government, Missouri, United States | Tagged , , , , , , | 55 Comments

“I Saw My Husband Die”: When a Patient’s Death is Broadcast Without Permission

Posted on January 4, 2015 by Elaine Magliaro

NYMedBy Elaine Magliaro

Imagine that it’s four o’clock in the morning and you can’t sleep…so you settle down on your couch to watch television. You’re elderly and a big fan of NY MED, “the popular real-life medical series set at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, starring Dr. Mehmet Oz.” You flip on the DVR and the previous night’s ABCNewsepisode of that show appears on your television screen…and you witness the death of your husband. That’s exactly what happened to Anita Chanko, 75, on an August night in 2012.

Chanko remembered the program that she watched that August night more than two years ago: “It starts off, there’s a woman with stomach cancer and her family, and then there’s somebody with a problem with their baby, I think it was a heart. And then I see the doctor that treated my husband.”

Chanko’s husband Mark had died sixteen months earlier—after he had been struck by a sanitation truck while crossing a street not far from his home. Doctors and nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center reportedly “tried in vain to save his life.”

Chanko stared at the television screen and “saw the chief surgery resident Sebastian Schubl, responding to an emergency in which a man is hit by a vehicle.”

Continue reading →

Posted in Health Care, Hospitals, Media, Physicians, Society, United States | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments