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23 Dec 2011 01:15

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Politics: Pennsylvania Judge issues rulings in rhyme

  • Sentenced on the other crimes, he surely won’t go free / But we find he can’t be guilty of this final felony / Convictions for the forgery and theft are approbated / The sentence for insurance fraud, however, is vacated
  • Judge J. Michael Eakin • Apparently, this Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice is known locally as the “rhyming judge” for — you guessed it — issuing judicial verdicts in verse. We love that people like this exist. (Correction: The initial post had the wrong state. Oops, sorry about that.)  source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Apr 2011 00:09

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Politics: In theory, Democrats have enough signatures to recall Scott Walker

  • 541,000 signatures needed to initiate a recall election for Scott Walker, once he’s eligible in 2012
  • 738,000 votes cast for the Democrat in Wisconsin’s judicial election last Tuesday source
  • » A few caveats: First, a lot can change in a year; who knows if Wisconsonites will even be thinking about Walker’s 2011 assault on unions in 2012? Second of all, an obscure judicial election isn’t really comparable to a signature-gathering recall campaign; they’re apples and oranges. Still, this is reason for Democrats to be cautiously optimistic about the feasibility of recalling Walker in a year. JoAnne Kloppenburg, the Democratic candidate in question, has claimed victory in the judicial election, although there will assuredly be a recount.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Dec 2010 21:21

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Politics: Senate getting slower and slower at confirming judicial appointees

  • 39.8% confirmation rate of Barack Obama’s judicial nominees (lowest in history)
  • 76% George W. Bush’s judicial confirmation rate at this point in his presidency
  • 89% Bill Clinton’s judicial confirmation rate at the same point (more than twice Obama’s) source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Sep 2010 10:23

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World: A Canadian judge just made prostitution a lot more legal

  • Pimpin’ ain’t easy, but it beats being on the streets. That’s the decision an Ontario judge made in legalizing prostitution, pimping, soliciting and running brothels. The decision came at the behest of three prostitutes who went to court claiming that being on the streets put them in danger. The judge agreed, suggesting the laws on the books didn’t guarantee “the right to life, liberty and security.” You know, Judge Susan Himel, they could NOT DO IT and still have those rights. Anyway, the decision legalizes prostitution in Ontario within 30 days, but the Canadian government is thinking about appealing. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Sep 2010 21:31

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Culture: New American Idol judges the same two everyone expected

Question: Who looks older, the actually-old Steven Tyler or Jennifer Lopez wearing that Celine Dionish onesie? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Sep 2010 10:35

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U.S.: In Missouri, judges can factor in a prison sentence’s price tag

  • Well, that’s one way to help shore up the budget. In Missouri, judges are now being given price tags for various types of sentences. And the main lesson to learn from this? Putting people in jail for a long time is way more expensive than simply giving them probation. No other state does it, and it’s created a bit of debate for the way that it seems to encourage weaker sentences. Our thought? If it means having safer streets, we’d rather have the added deficit. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Sep 2010 23:37

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Culture: Jennifer Lopez on “American Idol”: She’s gonna make bank

  • $12 million deal for being bubbly and offering non-opinions source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

19 Aug 2010 11:21

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Culture: Steven Tyler as “Idol” judge: This oughta be a huge failure

It’s official (according to Aerosmith’s bassist); Tyler will replace Simon Cowell in the judge’s chair. Could you imagine him being a good judge? Seriously? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

24 Jun 2009 21:39

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U.S.: Racist net dude Hal Turner arrested for threats to Chicago judges

  • Turner’s threats Turner, a white supremacist, radio host and blogger who’s claimed to be so far to the right that he makes Rush Limbaugh look liberal, said this in response to a recent court decision banning handguns in Chicago: “Let me be the first to say this plainly: These judges deserve to be killed.” source
  • Turner’s threats Turner, a white supremacist, radio host and blogger who’s claimed to be so far to the right that he makes Rush Limbaugh look liberal, said this in response to a recent court decision banning handguns in Chicago: “Let me be the first to say this plainly: These judges deserve to be killed.”
  • Going too far He also posted their vital information on his site, along with a picture of the courthouse mentioning where barriers were put up to prevent truck bombs. WTF man? The court in question is sensitive to threats, after District Court Judge Joan Lefkow’s mom and husband were killed in 2005. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

23 May 2009 11:28

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Culture: The decline of American Idol, ratings powerhouse

  • Just 28.8 million watched Kris Allen wipe the snot out of Adam Lambert – a major upset. And those ratings are down significantly from last year, when 32 million watched the finale. source
  • All of the main stars in the judging booth, particularly force of nature Simon Cowell, who commutes between the U.S. and the U.K. weekly for his TV hosting jobs, could leave in the next year. source
  • And worse, this season’s big judging experiment – the addition of Kara DioGuardi, who’s proven to be unpopular – appears to have damaged the chemistry between judges. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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