Jul 25, 2014
Posted by AAfterwit on Jul 25, 2014 | 0 comments
Allow us to introduce you to Nigel Sykes, seen in the image to the left.
In 2010, after being linked to crimes against eight other establishments, Sykes decided he would rob Seasons Pizza in Newport, Delaware.
The then 19 year old Sykes walked into the pizza store with a gun and robbed a delivery man of $140 but before he could leave with his ill gotten booty, Sykes was grabbed from behind by another employee and wrestled to the ground. Additional employees fought Sykes to subdue him. During the struggle, the gun which Sykes brought into the pizzeria went off, narrowly missing an employee.
The police were called and Sykes was arrested. At trial, Sykes pled guilty to the robbery.
With nothing else to do while in jail, Sykes decided to sue Seasons Pizza, the employees and the police. What is amazing is that a judge is allowing portions of the lawsuit to go forward:
Sykes alleges assault in a federal civil complaint claiming the rough treatment was “unnecessary” and that as a result of the injuries he suffered during his attempted hold-up, he is due over $260,000.
Sykes also claims in his suit, filed without an attorney, that after employees subdued him, two Newport police officers improperly used stun guns on him and denied him access to medical attention.
Normally lawsuits like this are tossed out after a brief review by the court. And while U.S. District Judge Sue L. Robinson tossed out several of Sykes’ claims, she allowed the case to move forward against the pizza employees, two arresting officers and Seasons.
(more…)
Jul 24, 2014
Posted by AAfterwit on Jul 24, 2014 | 0 comments
An interesting video from the folks at the Prager University.
The U.S. government has spent trillions of dollars in recent decades attempting to combat poverty, yet the poverty rate has remained virtually unmoved. Why? As social economist Michael Tanner explains, the “War on Poverty” has both discouraged work and ensnared people in hardship. The “War on Poverty,” it turns out, is actually a “War on Work.” In five minutes, learn the truth about government’s counterproductive efforts to eliminate poverty.
Jul 23, 2014
Posted by AAfterwit on Jul 23, 2014 | 0 comments
A group called “The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership” has launched a program to plant one tree for each fallen soldier from the Civil War along the byways of what they consider some of the richest historical sites in America.
The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership is a non-profit, four-state partnership dedicated to raising awareness of the unparalleled American heritage in the region running from Gettysburg, PA., through Maryland and Harpers Ferry, W.VA., to Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in Charlottesville, VA. With more history than any other region in the nation, the Journey Through Hallowed Ground was
recognized by Congress as a National Heritage Area and offers authentic heritage tourism programs and award-winning educational programs for students of all ages.
The group plans on planting 625,000 trees – one for every solider who died in the Civil War. The group is asking for donations of $100 per tree and hopes to have mature trees planted by the bicentennial of the Civil War.
(more…)
Jul 23, 2014
Posted by AAfterwit on Jul 23, 2014 | 0 comments
Danusha V. Goska was born to Eastern European, peasant immigrants in New Jersey. She has lived in remote villages and large cities in Africa, Asia, Europe, on both coasts, and in the heartland, of America. She has traveled extensively, often alone, by hitchhiking. She has been published by Basic Books, Oxford University Press, TheScreamOnline, and Beliefnet. Her writing has won the New Jersey State Council on the Arts Grant, the PAHA Halecki Award, and others. Professional critics have called her work “inspirational,” “important,” “courageous,” and
“groundbreaking.” Goska holds an MA from UC Berkeley, and a PhD from Indiana University Bloomington. She teaches at WPUNJ.
Goska was an avowed leftist.
How avowed?
She writes:
How far left was I? So far left my beloved uncle was a card-carrying member of the Communist Party in a Communist country. When I returned to his Slovak village to buy him a mass card, the priest refused to sell me one. So far left that a self-identified terrorist proposed marriage to me. So far left I was a two-time Peace Corps volunteer and I have a degree from UC Berkeley. So far left that my Teamster mother used to tell anyone who would listen that she voted for Gus Hall, Communist Party chairman, for president. I wore a button saying “Eat the Rich.” To me it wasn’t a metaphor.
Over on the American Thinker website, Goska has an interesting article entitled “Ten Reasons Why I Am No Longer a Leftist.”
We have seen a lot of these types of articles before and have always found them to be a little “over the top” in tone. Many of the articles we have read almost have a smugness to them of “I was a leftist and then I saw the light and am now much smarter than the universe!”
(more…)
Jul 22, 2014
Posted by AAfterwit on Jul 22, 2014 | 0 comments
FedEx has been indicted by a grand jury for failing to examine the contents of some of the packages it ships.
Specifically, the Federal government claims that FedEx was shipping from illegal pharmaceutical companies to customers in the US.
The operator of the world’s largest cargo airline was charged by the U.S. with 15 counts of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and misbranded drugs and drug trafficking that carry a potential fine of twice the gains from the conduct, alleged to be at least $820 million for it and co-conspirators. The company, while denying the allegations, said today in a regulatory filing that conviction could be “material.”
The indictment claims that FedEx knew, or should have known, that some of the packages it was delivering contained illegal substances or drugs.
The problem is that FedEx is not a law enforcement agency. It’s company model is to deliver packages from point “A” to point “B.”
UPS paid a $40 million dollar fine for the same offense last year.
UPS put out a statement that doesn’t sound even remotely forced upon it by DOJ people holding guns.
“We believe we have an obligation and responsibility to help curb the sale and shipment of drugs sold through illegal Internet pharmacies,” said Susan Rosenberg, a UPS spokeswoman.
(more…)
Jul 21, 2014
Posted by AAfterwit on Jul 21, 2014 | 0 comments
Two thirds of the population believes a myth that has been propagated for over a century: that we use only 10% of our brains. Hardly! Our neuron-dense brains have evolved to use the least amount of energy while carrying the most information possible — a feat that requires the entire brain. Richard E. Cytowic debunks this neurological myth (and explains why we aren’t so good at multitasking).
Jul 20, 2014
Posted by AAfterwit on Jul 20, 2014 | 0 comments
The person to the left is 18 year old Raymond Frolander. As you can see, Frolander seems a little worse for wear in his police mug shot.
There is a reason for that.
An unidentified father came home to find Frolander sexually battering his 11 year old son.
The father took matters into his own hands.
A Daytona Beach father who walked in on a man sexually battering his 11-year-old son Friday said he did what he had a right to do when he beat the suspect unconscious, leaving him in a puddle of blood, according to a 9-1-1 call.
“I just walked in on a grown man molesting …,” the upset father told a dispatcher. “And I got him in a bloody puddle for you officer.”
Asked by the dispatcher if any weapons were involved, the father said “my foot and my fist.”
“I didn’t proceed to ask him any questions sir,” the father said. “He is nice and knocked out on the floor for you. I drug him out to the living room.”
……
“Send an ambulance. He is going to need one,” the father said.
Frolander was treated for his injuries at Halifax Health Medical Center. His jail picture shows several cuts, bruises and swelling on his face.
……
In the 9-1-1 call the father said he stepped out of his home to get food and when he came back he knew something was not right because the house was too quiet. He walked into the room and saw Frolander and the child, he said to a dispatcher.
“He stood up and his pants were around his ankles and nothing else needed to be said,” the father told the dispatcher. “I did whatever I got a right to do except I didn’t kill him.”
He added, “You are damn lucky boy that I love my God.”
Frolander later admitted he was guilty.
(more…)
Jul 19, 2014
Posted by AAfterwit on Jul 19, 2014 | 0 comments
In case you missed it, the state of California is in a bit of a drought. California officials are encouraging citizens to cut down on water usage including watering lawns.
The state is serious about it too:
California water regulators Tuesday approved fines for washing cars, watering lawns or hosing down sidewalks after revised figures showed that residents have increased consumption despite calls for big cutbacks amid the state’s severe
drought.
They are the first emergency conservation measures passed to try to force Californians to wake up to the three-year-long dry spell, the worst in decades.
Though Gov. Jerry Brown had urged a voluntary 20% reduction in water use, figures released last month indicated a drop of only 5% statewide for the year. But the State Water Resources Control Board on Tuesday updated the monthly survey from water districts to show that consumption had increased 1% in May compared with a year ago.
Based on the initial figures, the board last week proposed banning watering lawns, washing cars or sidewalks and running fountains, with violators facing fines up to $500 a day. On Tuesday evening, the board adopted those measures. Police will have the authority to ticket water-wasters.
That brings us to Laura Whitney and her husband, Michael Korte, residents Glendale, a city of roughly 51,000 people in California.
The fact that the couple lives in California is important because on the same day that the State announced fines for watering lawns, the couple received a letter saying they had to re-vitalize their brown lawn – a lawn that was not green because it was not being watered.
Laura Whitney and her husband, Michael Korte, don’t know whether they’re being good citizens during a drought or scofflaws.
(more…)
