Tort Reform

Ken AshfordSex/Morality/Family ValuesLeave a Comment

From Feministing:

Germantool "German playboy" Rolf Eden is suing a 19-year-old woman for ageism because, after he wined and dined her, she refused to sleep with him.

Despite a night on the town with Eden, which ended back at his place, she refused to have sex with him, saying the he was too old for her.

"That was shattering. No woman has ever said that to me before," Eden told the tabloid. "I was crushed." He has filed charges with the prosecutors’ office, he said. "After all, there are laws against discrimination."

Yeah, let me tell you what’s up, Rolf. Purchasing a meal and a few drinks for your ladyfriend has NEVER meant you’ve bought the right to sleep with her. I’m sorry she’s not into septuagenarians, but that’s not exactly grounds for a lawsuit.

UPDATE:  Breaking news…just in:

The Georgia Supreme Court has upheld a ruling that Genarlow Wilson’s 10-year prison sentence for having consensual oral sex with a fellow teenager is cruel and unusual, and ordered him released from prison.

I believe I wrote about this a while ago.  Basically involved a 17 year old engaging in consensual oral sex with a 15 year old girl.  Notably, he was black.  I’m sure that had nothing to do with it though, right?  This being rural Georgia?

Fake News

Ken AshfordDisastersLeave a Comment

FEMA holds a press conference with itself:

The agency gave reporters 15 minutes’ notice before the press briefing, making it almost impossible for most reporters to get FEMA’s DC offices (which are nowhere near downtown or Capitol Hill). But the agency didn’t want to hold a press conference on national television without questions, so FEMA employees stood in and gave Johnson the chance to “wax on and on about FEMA’s greatness.”

Of course, that could be because the questions were asked by FEMA staffers playing reporters. We’re told the questions were asked by Cindy Taylor, FEMA’s deputy director of external affairs, and by “Mike” Widomski, the deputy director of public affairs. Director of External Affairs John “Pat” Philbin asked a question, and another came, we understand, from someone who sounds like press aide Ali Kirin.

Asked about this, Widomski said: “We had been getting mobbed with phone calls from reporters, and this was thrown together at the last minute.”

The administration pays pundits to toe the Bush line, and it sends out fake-news segments for local TV stations to air, so I suppose it stands to reason that it would host press conferences with administration employees pretending to be reporters.

Scientific Breakthrough Conquers AIDS?

Ken AshfordHealth CareLeave a Comment

I’m surprised nobody is covering this:

With the latest advances in treatment, doctors have discovered that they can successfully neutralise the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The so-called ‘combination therapy’ prevents HIV from mutating and spreading, allowing patients to rebuild their immune system to the same levels as the rest of the population.

To date, it represents the most significant treatment for patients suffering from HIV.

Professor Jens Lundgren from the University of Copenhagen, together with other members of the research group EuroSIDA, have conducted a study, which demonstrates that the immune system of all HIV-infected patients can be restored and normalised. The only stipulation is that patients begin and continue to follow their course of treatment.

Read the whole thing.

Dewey, Bangham & Howe: Sex With Lawyers

Ken AshfordCourts/Law, Sex/Morality/Family Values1 Comment

Every lawyer knows — because it’s drilled into us — that it is unethical to have sex with a client.  It violates the Rules of Professional Conduct in every state bar, and can lead to fines or suspension of your legal license.  The rationale is that having sex with a client creates a conflict of interest.  Also demeans the profession, I suppose.

Professor Eugene Volokh, always with an eye out for the interesting legal case, discovers a story out of Wisconsin, where a lawyer was suspended for having a three-way with his client and his client’s girlfriend.

It gets a bit dicey here, but apparently the lawyer (a male) and his client (another male) engaged in sexual conduct at the same time with the client’s girlfriend (a female).  This, believe it or not, was in lieu of legal fees. 

The legal question that the court had to consider was — in doing so, can it be said that the lawyer had sex "with" his client?  The key word here is "with".

You’ll want to read about it here (and the discussion/tittering in the comments), but the consensus is that the court got it right.  Although the attorney was rightfully suspended (there were other things involved — drugs, etc.), it seems that — technically — he did not have sex with his client.  See if you agree.

Good Times Never Seemed So Good

Ken AshfordRed Sox & Other SportsLeave a Comment

2 games to 0.  Nice 2-1 win.  Schilling, who is no longer the Schilling of yore, still knows how to compete.  Then came the "dynamic duo of Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon" who kept the Rockies in place for the back end of the game.  Nice to see that even when the bats aren’t connecting (unlike Wednesday’s blowout), the pitching takes charge.

Best part: Pap’s pickoff of Holliday to quelch an 8th inning rally.  Sweeeeeeet.

Pleo

Ken AshfordRandom MusingsLeave a Comment

This might be the sought-after toy this Christmas:

I’m gonna get me one just to scare the crap out of the dogs…..

Naughty Crissy

Ken AshfordCrime, Education, Sex Scandals1 Comment

Ah, such a bright future ahead.  From a local Utah newspaper, dated September 1, 2004:

KristyCrissy Morris is just starting her career as a teacher at HHS and will be teaching geography, sociology and PE.  She hopes to make learning enjoyable for the students and make an impact in their lives. 

Crissy was born to John and Carol Thorpe and raised in Santa Maria, Calif., where she lived until her family moved to St. George when she was age 14 and at the beginning of her freshman year.

***

“I have a wonderful husband who works with at-risk youth [Triumph Youth Expeditions of Toquerville] and loves it,” Morris said.  She is married to Rusty Morris and they have one 4-year-old son, Andrew, “going on 20,” and another son on the way.

    Morris loves the outdoors, not only track and soccer, but other sports have been a major draw to her, whether fishing or water sports.  She is looking forward to coaching HHS girls’ soccer and track teams.

“I am very excited to start my career in a place where the community gets very involved and everyone seems to care about the youth,” said Morris.

(Emphasis mine).  Look how exciting and happy Crissy is to be starting her new career as a teacher and get involved with the youth.

But Crissy apparently took getting "involved" with the "youth" to extremes.

TeacherA teacher at Hurricane High School was arrested today, charged with five counts of rape.

Cris Morris, a 29-year-old female teacher from Washington City, is accused of having sexual intercourse with a juvenile male student. Under Utah law, a juvenile student is incapable of consenting to sexual relations with a teacher, which constitutes the act as rape.

Morris was booked into the Washington County Jail and has been placed on administrative leave while the Washington County School District investigates.

Not so happy anymore.

The Haunted Swingset

Ken AshfordRandom MusingsLeave a Comment

Click through and watch the video.

If the video is real, it’s really creepy:

A ‘HAUNTED’ playground swing that rocks backwards and forwards on its own for days has scientists baffled.

Parents and children are convinced a ghost is to blame.

They were so spooked they reported the swing to cops after it began moving four months ago.

The phenomenon flummoxed police, who called physics professors into Firmat, Argentina.

But so far the boffins have failed to find a logical explanation.

Locals claim the seat moves nonstop for TEN DAYS before stopping dead, while other swings remain still.

Teacher Maria de Silva Agustina said yesterday: “One child called it the Blair Witch Playground. We believe it is haunted.”

War vs. Children’s Health

Ken AshfordHealth Care, IraqLeave a Comment

A day after the White House through Dana Perino said they weren’t concerned about the newest CBO estimates that the Iraq and Afghanistan wars will cost the treasury over $2 trillion dollars, Perino this morning says that Bush will veto the newest SCHIP bill coming from Congress this week. The reason? Because Congress hasn’t justified why $35 billion more over five years is needed for our nation’s kids.

Someone explain that to me.