Bush's Legacy

'This latest batch of memos, after all, offers us the proposition that U.S. citizens wouldn't be protected by the Fourth Amendment if the military were deployed against suspected terrorists in the United States and that the president (as channeled by then-OLC lawyer John Yoo) had secretly granted himself the right to suspend free speech and a free press.'

Obama, Bush Secret-Keeper

Animal Drive Car!! Animal Drive Car!!

The Muppet's Animal Caught Speeding, Driving Police Crazy

Huh.

So Dubai is trying to reinvent themselves as a Vegas of the Middle East, but their pesky religious views tend to get in the way.

They have tough restrictions on alcohol, don't like The Gays, and now this:

DUBAI: Sex on the beach, then prison

'A British couple whose drunken escapade involving sex on the beach led to tabloid headlines -- and a clash between Western permissiveness and Islamic values -- were sentenced Thursday by a Dubai court to three months in prison.

Vince Acors and Michelle Palmer were each sentenced to the prison term, fined $272 for drinking alcohol and ordered to be deported immediately upon leaving prison.

The pair was found guilty of having unmarried sex after a taxi had picked them up from a champagne brunch at a five-star hotel and drove them to Jumeirah beach in the United Arab Emirates’ most culturally-tolerant emirate of Dubai.

The case, which grew out of a tryst on July 5, quickly became a morality tale set amid globalization and Dubai’s skyline of sharp-angled, glittering high-rises.

The emirate is a financial hub in the Middle East, catering to tourists and multi-billion dollar business deals. It is also an Islamic state straining to balance Western influence and wealth with religious traditions that forbid alcohol, un-married sex and homosexuality.'

Nerd Alert

Ky. boy checks drivers' speed with toy radar gun

11-year-old got tired of shouting at cars to slow down on his street

'LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Landon Wilburn, 11, has a future as a cop — a traffic cop.

The youngster, who used to shout at speeders to slow down as they drove through the Stone Lakes subdivision in Louisville, now has taken matters into his own hands.

Dressed in a reflective vest, wearing a bicycle helmet and armed with an orange Hot Wheels brand radar gun, he points and records the actual speed of passing traffic.

Landon also carries a flashlight with a built-in siren.

"When I saw it happening, I got the biggest kick out of it," said resident George Ayers, 61. "People were locking up their brakes when they saw him."

Many in the subdivision are frustrated that motorists tear through the neighborhood at 55 mph despite signs posting a 25 mph limit.

Officials said the city will install speed humps in the neighborhood if 70 percent of residents agree and are willing to put up half the money.'

Literally, A Coke-Head

Woman's big wig tips off cops to hidden cocaine

Suspicious Norwegian officials discover 2.2 pounds of drug under hairpiece

'OSLO, Norway - A British woman's bulging wig did not fool customs agents in Norway who realized she wasn't just having a bad hair day.

The wig was concealing 2.2 pounds of cocaine glued to her head and customs agents detained her on suspicion of cocaine smuggling, authorities said Wednesday.

The 32-year-old suspect, whose name was withheld, arrived late Sunday at Vaernes airport near the city of Trondheim on a flight from Copenhagen, Denmark, the customs service said.

"The agent thought she had a great deal of hair and suspected that she was wearing a wig," the agency said. "The wig was examined and the agents found a bag of cocaine."

Norway's largest newspaper, Verdens Gang, said the cocaine was glued so firmly to the woman's real hair that police brought her to the local hospital to have it removed.

Kjetil Mjoesund, of Trondheim police, confirmed that it was glued to her head, but had no information about how it was removed. He said she was taken for a routine medical check.

A court ordered the women held until July 15, pending a formal indictment and trial.'

Ack.

Man walks 25 miles to court for DUI sentencing

'CARLISLE, Pa. - A Pennsylvania man says he had one alternative when his brother didn't show up to give him a ride to court: start walking. Stephen Shoemaker of Shippensburg was scheduled to appear at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday for sentencing on a 2007 drunken-driving conviction.

Shoemaker, 33, doesn't have a car or driver's license. So he started walking to the Cumberland County Courthouse in Carlisle at dawn. He kept walking for about 25 miles in 90-plus-degree heat.

Shoemaker arrived about 3:30 p.m., after a detour to Carlisle Regional Medical Center, where he was treated for dehydration. Judge Edward Guido had issued an arrest warrant when Shoemaker failed to appear. Instead he agreed to defer sentencing until July. Guido says he hesitated only because "that means he'll have to walk back to Shippensburg."

Deputy Public Defender Anthony Adams volunteered to give Shoemaker a ride home.'

Ha.

'The U.S. acknowledges the design hinders blind people but it argued that blind people have adapted. Some relied on store clerks to help them, some used credit cards and others folded certain corners to help distinguish between bills.

The court ruled 2-1 that such adaptations were insufficient. The government might as well argue that, since handicapped people can crawl on all fours or ask for help from strangers, there's no need to make buildings wheelchair accessible, the court said.'

US court: Paper money discriminates against blind

Ack!

'William E. Giffels admitted in a written statement that he copied Kaylee Hall's nude photos from her computer onto his personal flash drive.

On this drive, he also kept the most up-to-date version of the Geek Squad diagnostic tools and told other agents to copy from it.

Then other Geek Squad made CD copies of the drive and installed the tools, along with Kaylee's photos, onto other customers' computers in the Traverse City, Michigan area'

$50k Porn-Pilfering Lawsuits Opens With Geek Squad Employee Confession

Stuff I Did Not Know

The Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA)

Arrested!

Vanilla Ice Arrested on Domestic Battery

People are dumb.

In regards to the State overturning the ban on alcohol sales on Sunday:

'"We're going to have more DUIs on Sunday now. We're probably going to have more alcohol-related car accidents. We're going to have more hit and run accidents. We're probably going to have more college students and underage drinking as a result of this," said Rep. Larry Liston (R-Colorado Springs).'

He's from Colorado Springs.

Figures.

Liquor stores get closer to Sunday sales

Political Compass

The questions aren't that great though.

Political Compass via Clayton Barrel.

Ha.

How do you pronounce it?

There's a newspaper called 'The Oregonian'.

Is it ore-eee-joan-ian?

Oree-gone-ian?

And, I know I am going to hell because the notion that Roloff guy from Little People, Big World, was drunk driving kind of cracks me up.

As if he didn't already have enough problems driving the car already.

I am conflicted about that show.

Sometimes I like it, but other times I can't get past how sloppy their house is.

It makes my cleanliness OCD all agitated.

Like I want to pop in the screen and clean up the place.

Further proof, I always get a mental image of them having to 'roll off' the bed to get out whenever their name is mentioned.

What do you guys think of this?

It's a collection of photos of the houses of registered sex offenders.

Love Thy Neighbor

Thanks to Quaker Jono!

Pressure cookers scare me.

Ever since this one time [at band camp, heh] when my mom was using one, and I don't know what she did, but it exploded and food went everywhere. And now you have this:

HSN settles over pressure cookers

'WASHINGTON — The Home Shopping Network has agreed to pay the government an $875,000 civil settlement after the government accused the company of failing to promptly warn consumers about dangerous pressure cookers blamed for burning consumers at least 37 times.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Thursday that the payment was part of a settlement reached with HSN LP and its partner companies over defects in Welbilt electronic pressure cookers sold between September 2001 and November 2002. HSN LP is the network's corporate name.

The agreement headed off a lawsuit the commission and the Justice Department were prepared to file against HSN, accusing it of failing to tell the commission — as required by law — about 25 reports the company allegedly received of defects in the pressure cooker.'

Yikes

Family sues in man's mistaken death case

Medical officials inadequately checked man's vital signs, family claims

'RALEIGH, N.C. - The family of a man who was hit by a car and mistakenly declared dead has sued over the mistake, claiming it led to injuries from which he might not recover.

Larry Green was walking across a highway in 2005 when he was hit by a car. He was put into a body bag and sent to the morgue, and the medical examiner did not notice Green was still alive until roughly 2 1/2 hours after the accident.

Green, who now lives in a nursing home in North Carolina, was hospitalized for two months with a severe head injury, broken leg and other injuries. He began some limited speaking five months after the accident.

In the lawsuit filed this month, the family claims medical officials inadequately checked his vital signs after the accident. It also alleges the medical examiner disregarded signs that Green was alive.

The examiner, J.B. Perdue, said it was not his job to determine whether Green was dead or alive.

"The medical examiner is called after death," Perdue said. "Someone else pronounced his death, and the medical examiner is called to investigate the cause and manner of that death. He does not pronounce people dead."

William Hill, an attorney representing Franklin County, did not return calls seeking comment.'

Oh man. Get over it. Yeesh.

Potty mouth protected by First Amendment

Judge dismisses charge against woman who cursed her overflowing toilet

'SCRANTON, Pa. - A woman who was cited for loudly cursing at her overflowing toilet — and then at a neighbor who told her to quiet down — has been acquitted on First Amendment grounds.

District Judge Terrence Gallagher dismissed the disorderly conduct charge against Dawn Herb, 33, ruling Thursday that she was within her rights when she let loose a string of profanities Oct. 11.

Although the language she used "may be considered by some to be offensive, vulgar and imprudent ... (it is) protected speech pursuant to the First Amendment," the judge wrote.

Herb was cited after Patrick Gilman, a police officer who lives near Herb, called authorities to complain.

At a hearing Monday, Gilman testified that he was at home, off duty, when his 12-year-old daughter ran in and said she had heard loud curses coming from a house down the street.

Gilman said he went outside, heard the bad language and yelled out to Herb to "watch your mouth." He said that she cursed at him instead. That's when Gilman called authorities.

In Pennsylvania, someone can be convicted of disorderly conduct for using obscene language in a way that causes "public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm."

But Barry Dyller, who represented Herb on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union, said rulings over the past 20 years have established that "colorful language" isn't illegal. He praised the judge's ruling.

"He's exactly right ... in his reasoning," Dyller said. "And it's important that the public understands this."

Herb did not testify at the trial earlier this week, and her lawyer advised her not to speak to reporters. She could have faced up to 90 days in jail.'

Ha.

'I was wondering where grandma was. She left for a 6 pack and some smokes and never came home.'

Mugshot Mondays

I say let her fry.

I wouldn't want some person blasting a horn in my neighborhood. Especially for the Broncos.

Neighbor never meant for Broncos fan to 'have a criminal experience'

'ADAMS COUNTY – The 69-year-old woman who faces a disorderly conduct charge for her Broncos celebration met in the magistrate's office on Monday.

Jeri Priest, who honks a contraption she calls "The Broncos Horn" after each Denver score on game day, met in the magistrates office to go over the charges she faces.

"We need to get all the police reports, witness statements and all the information relevant to this case, so that we can do a full investigation and make a decision as to what the appropriate course for this case is to take," said J.P. Moore, chief trial deputy attorney.

Priest faces the misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct which carries a maximum penalty of a $500 fine and 6 months in jail. She is due back in court on December 18 for a pre-trial conference.

After every Broncos' score, Priest and her husband Larry and their neighbors let off one hearty honk for each point scored. The horn is an odd-looking device Larry Priest built 30 years ago. It's a two-wheel dolly carrying six car horns all hooked to a car battery. A relay switch allows Jeri Priest to sound the horn from the comfort of her home.

"Go Broncos, I love the Broncos. I don't care if they lost yesterday, I still honk the horns, I'm always a Broncos fan," said Priest.

The neighbor, who asked 9NEWS to remain anonymous, has called the Adams County Sheriff's Department numerous times to complain about the noise. On October 21, as the Broncos battled the Steelers, deputies filed an arrest report accusing Priest of disorderly conduct.

He told 9NEWS he never meant for this to get out of hand this way.

"I'm not asking for the horn to be silenced," the man said, "I'm asking for it to be strategically placed. It's not my intent for a 70-year-old woman to have a criminal experience."

He went on to say, "I would like everyone to know, I tried to go there a couple of years ago to try to talk to them, as any neighborhood. Jeri Priest was very rude ... she didn't want to point it behind the house, she wouldn't do it."

The Priests say they have since put the horn in their backyard.

The neighbor told 9NEWS, "I will drop the charges if I get a firm commitment from them that they put the horn in their back yard pointing north or east--pointing away from my house."

The man also said the "whole problem is the result of the lack of communication. I would even pay for a mediator to talk to them."

He said the horn is more than 10 times the acceptable decibel amount, it's very loud and "bases through my house."'