Custody Battle
Phoenix, AZ:
A seven-year-old boy was at the center of a Phoenix courtroom drama last week when he challenged a court ruling over who should have custody of him. The boy has a history of being beaten by his parents, and the judge initially awarded custody to his aunt, in keeping with child custody law and regulations requiring that family unity be maintained.
The boy surprised the court when he proclaimed that his Aunt beat him more than his parents and he adamantly refused to live with her. When the judge then suggested that he live with his grandparents, the boy cried out that they also beat him.
After considering the remainder of the immediate family and learning that domestic violence was apparently a way of life among them, the judge took the unprecedented step of allowing the boy to propose who should have custody of him.
After two recesses to check legal references and confer with child welfare officials, the judge granted temporary custody to the Arizona Cardinals, whom the boy firmly believes are not capable of beating anyone.
Thanks for the heads up, Mark!
Doctor I've Got This Pain...
Okay, the vote was 6-3, with O'Connor writing for the dissenters, but still
Oh. Lung cancer, emphysema, cirrhosis, blindness, et al...all determined by “science and research” to be side-effects of indulgence in perfectly legal products, those are okay. But pain numbing, slight euphoria, and the munchies...no can do.“Our national medical system relies on proven scientific research, not popular opinion. To date, science and research have not determined that smoking marijuana is safe or effective,” John Walters, director of National Drug Control Policy, said Monday.
Hippie.
To quote Dickens: The law is a ass.
Wall Of Hair
How's That Search workin' Out For Ya?
I know, I know. All the tourists and police activity and the passage of time has spoiled what was once a pristine crime scene, and the world has moved on to other, more pressing, topics. But I can't help thinking that the answer to the riddle is just around the corner. Maybe, just maybe, if we all could - oh, I dunno - pitch in for one weekend a month or something, sort of like a Private Eye National Guard, we could find the evildoer(s).
Who's with me?
Or we could golf.
A Hard Day At School
Six British schoolboys were rushed to hospital after taking the erection-enhancing drug Viagra at lunchtime for a dare, the school said Thursday.The Sun newspaper quoted a source at the school as saying: "By the time the afternoon lessons began, there was no hiding what they had done."Paramedics took the six squirming boys to the nearby Royal Berkshire Hospital, where they were monitored until the effects wore off.'
Perhaps this was a bid for extra credit?
What Did You Do In The War, Daddy?
For the fifth straight year, members of Congress will see a jump in their paychecks in 2004, with election-year salaries rising from the current $154,700 to about $158,000. The Senate, on a 60-34 vote Thursday, rejected a proposal to exempt senators from a cost-of-living increase going to all civilian federal workers and military personnel. Last month the House, by a similar convincing margin, also turned back an attempt to deny lawmakers an automatic share of the COLA increase.
Note to Congress: Belt tightening only works if the whole belt is tightened! What a wonderful way to thank the troops for their sacrifice.
Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?
From The Washington Post via AlterNet comes
this sobering thought:
The Washington Post notes that “the $87 billion request is nearly triple the amount the federal government plans to spend on elementary and secondary education this year, and more than twice as much as the budget for homeland security.”
The $166 billion that has already been spent or requested exceeds “the inflation-adjusted costs of the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Spanish American War and the Persian Gulf War combined” and “approaches the $191 billion inflation-adjusted cost of World War I.”
I'm sure, with very little prodding, we can up this
to include WWI, WWII, Korea, and Viet Nam.
We are a determined society, after all.
