Jilly_in_VA
Jilly_in_VA's JournalJudge OKs lawsuit against ex-Hamilton County deputy accused of baptizing woman after traffic stop
A U.S. District Court judge gave the go-ahead Thursday to a lawsuit against a former Hamilton County deputy accused of baptizing a woman against her will after a 2019 traffic stop.
In addition to ruling that the suit against Daniel Wilkey, 28, may proceed, Tennessee Eastern District Court Judge Travis R. McDonough ruled that several aspects of the complaint against former deputy Jacob Goforth could not continue. Wilkey allegedly called Goforth to witness the baptism and Goforth recorded the incident on his cellphone.
While excluding Goforth from most complaints in the lawsuit, the judge did say the former deputy had failed to protect the woman from Wilkey's use of excessive force.
"Goforth is qualified for reasonable immunity and summary judgment on this claim," the judgment said. However, the ruling also found that Goforth had ample time to stop Wilkey from committing an unreasonable seizure.
"And, if anything, the truly bizarre nature of these facts should have put Goforth further on notice that the seizure was inappropriate," the judge wrote.
Goforth had said he believed the woman to not be under police custody because she arrived at Soddy Lake in her own vehicle, but the judge stressed in his ruling that the woman might not have thought she was free to go until she was baptized by Wilkey.
https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2022/apr/08/judge-gives-go-ahead-lawsuit-against-former-deputy/566677/
_______________________________________________________________________________
In a shocking twist to this story, the woman was found deceased just a few days ago. Cause of death has not been released.
23% Of Spending By Pro-Trump Super PAC Reportedly Paid For Single Mar-a-Lago Event
Nearly a quarter of all expenditures this year by a Donald Trump-supporting super PAC reportedly paid for a single lavish event at — wait for it — his golf resort Mar-a-Lago.
New York Times reporters Kenneth Vogel and Shane Goldmacher wrote about the February event earlier this year, describing it as an “elaborate forum” for candidates endorsed by Trump and donors who gave as much as $125,000 per person to the super PAC Make America Great Again, Again! Inc. — which bankrolled the event.
Now Goldmacher has the receipts. The get-together cost an eye-popping $318,000, which was nearly a fourth of the PAC’s total expenditures so far this year, he noted.
The super PAC’s single largest line item for the first quarter of the year was the money to Mar-a-Lago for “event expense: facility rental and catering services,” Politico noted.
Other funding groups also paid tribute to Trump via Mar-a-Lago. Documents show controversial GOP Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, endorsed by Trump, paid $81,000 to Mar-a-Lago in late February.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-pac-23-percent-expenditures-mar-a-lago_n_625b575ce4b052d2bd628c8a
Family words and expressions
I know every family has its own words and expressions for different things, and being the inveterate word collector that I am, I'm genuinely interested in sharing mine and collecting yours. I find them fascinating, both the expressions and, if known, their origins. Here are a few from my family, both my family of origin and my um, created family. Please feel free to submit yours! I want to see them!
swoofer-- a wet wipe. Might be derived from "Swiffer". 
geibitz--a speck of floating debris, usually in a beverage, though it can be anything. Originally from my college lab partner about a speck on a slide.
staring time-- the amount of time required to come to oneself, i.e. stare at nothing, after a nap or in the morning. From my uncle.
glenguzzle-- the iced tea and lemonade recipe peculiar to my family. From my paternal grandfather, origin unknown.
bandag skin-- piece of tire retread lying alongside a highway. From my late ex, references a commercial
bemoses-- acceptable (to my parents) substitute for "bejesus". From a Jewish friend.
busterfeathers-- family cuss word. Invented by my 4 year old when told he couldn't use the word he'd picked up from another child. Still in use by younger grandchildren.
The larger problem highlighted by Lizelle Herrera's dubious abortion arrest
By Mary Ziegler, author of "Abortion and the Law in America: A Legal History of the Abortion Debate"
Almost as soon as news broke last week that a Texas woman had been charged with murder for allegedly inducing her abortion, prosecutors acknowledged there was no legal basis for the charges.
Details in the case remain sparse, but it’s likely medical professionals treating Lizelle Herrera at a Texas hospital reported her to law enforcement. Then the Starr County Sheriff’s Office charged her with murder for “intentionally and knowingly causing the death of an individual by self-induced abortion.”
But there never was a legal justification for these charges, a fact highlighted by the Democratic district attorney’s apology. True, Texas last year passed SB 8, a now-notorious bill that allows anyone to sue a doctor who performs an abortion, or anyone who “aids or abets” a person seeking one. But SB 8 authorized lawsuits, not criminal charges, and it specifically exempted women, and other people who can get pregnant, from lawsuits. Texas’s murder statute explicitly prohibits anyone from prosecuting women or other pregnant people for abortion.
Indeed, many (but not all) of the states that have recently introduced strict anti-abortion laws have stressed they are not planning to punish women for disobeying them.
In practice, it’s never been so simple. States have already sometimes punished people for their behavior during pregnancy, especially people of color with fewer resources. But states’ formal position still make a difference: The more red state lawmakers claim that they won’t punish women, the more constraints there should be on prosecutors who target them.
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/lizelle-herreras-texas-abortion-arrest-warning-rcna24639
Gay parents called 'rapists' and 'pedophiles' in Amtrak incident
Robbie Pierce, his husband and their two young children were enjoying a scenic train ride on the Pacific coast, a peaceful prelude to their spring break getaway. But at the end of their journey from their home in Los Angeles to Oakland, California, the couple said a man sitting across the aisle turned their family vacation into a nightmare.
“He started yelling across me and shouting, ‘Remember what I told you!’” Pierce recalled, saying the man’s remarks were directed at his 6-year-old son. “The next thing he said was, ‘Marriage is between a man and a woman. They stole you, and they’re pedophiles.’”
The shouting started as the Amtrak train was stopped at Diridon Station in San Jose, Pierce said. Immediately, he and his husband, Neal Broverman, stood up and got in between the unidentified man and their children, who started sobbing.
“I’m not a big guy, but I wasn’t nervous,” Broverman said. “When you’re dealing with your children and you feel like they’re being threatened, you’re kind of fearless. It’s kind of that mom lifting the car scenario, but it was hideous, and it was not stopping.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/gay-parents-called-rapists-pedophiles-amtrak-incident-rcna24610
California teen with autism who vanished 3 years ago is found alive in Utah
A teenager who vanished nearly three years ago in California was found alive outside of a gas station in Utah last week, authorities said.
Connerjack Oswalt, who has autism, went missing in Clearlake on Sept. 28, 2019, when he was 16 years old. He was reported missing to the Clearlake Police Department the following day.
The search for him ended earlier this month after the Summit County Sheriff's Office found him outside of Jeremy's Store in Summit Park.
“It boggles all of our minds,” Lt. Andrew Wright with the Summit County Sheriff’s Office said Friday. “It’s just a really miraculous discovery if you will.”
Several weeks before Oswalt's identity was confirmed, residents in the area began calling the sheriff's office to report seeing a homeless person pushing a cart. Wright said they do not have a lot of transients in the area because it gets very cold due to the high elevation.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/california-teen-autism-vanished-3-years-ago-found-alive-utah-rcna24624
_________________________________________________________________________
An estimated 10% of the homeless population is thought to be on the ASD spectrum
Youngkin only vetoes Democratic-led bills
Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed 26 of the nearly 850 bills that the Virginia General Assembly sent to his desk this year. All of the nixed bills were introduced by Democrats.
Youngkin, the first Republican to win statewide since 2009, signed 700 pieces of legislation into law and amended over 100 bills. He vetoed 26 of the 841 bills approved this legislative session, including nine from state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria).
It’s not uncommon for governors to veto more bills from lawmakers of the opposite party. From 2019 to 2021, 33 of the 38 bills vetoed by former Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam were sponsored by Republicans.
But Youngkin vetoed six bills that were identical to ones he approved or amended, all of which were sponsored by Sen. Ebbin.
“I’m stunned at the governor’s unexplainable decision to veto meaningful, non-controversial, legislation. It is the polar opposite of what he campaigned on,” Sen. Ebbin wrote in a tweet Tuesday. “These vetoes, from protecting living organ donors to enhancing consumer’s data privacy to reforming the VEC are not in the best interest of Virginians.”
https://www.wric.com/news/politics/capitol-connection/youngkin-only-vetoes-democratic-led-bills/
______________________________________________________________________________
Because of course /s
Florida bans 28 math textbooks in panic over Critical Race Theory
The state of Florida is rejecting 28 mathematics textbooks as a result of Republicans' purported outrage over Critical Race Theory.
On Friday, Florida Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran announced that the state had rejected the math textbooks under the state's Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking (B.E.S.T.) standards.
"The approved list followed a thorough review of submissions at the Department, which found 41 percent of the submitted textbooks were impermissible with either Florida’s new standards or contained prohibited topics – the most in Florida’s history. Reasons for rejecting textbooks included references to Critical Race Theory (CRT), inclusions of Common Core, and the unsolicited addition of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) in mathematics," the department announced.
"The highest number of books rejected were for grade levels K-5, where an alarming 71 percent were not appropriately aligned with Florida standards or included prohibited topics and unsolicited strategies. Despite rejecting 41 percent of materials submitted, every core mathematics course and grade is covered with at least one textbook," the department said.
https://www.rawstory.com/desantis-critical-race-theory/
________________________________________________
JFC on a pogo stick, just amputate this place already!
Rare, severe liver damage reported in kids in U.S. and Europe
Public health officials in Europe and the United States are investigating dozens of puzzling cases of severe hepatitis in young children.
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver. The cause is often a virus, but the viruses that commonly cause the illness — hepatitis A, B, C, D and E — have been ruled out in the cases in question, leaving doctors searching for the culprit.
In several cases, the illness was so severe that the children needed a liver transplant. No deaths have been reported.
The World Health Organization on Friday said it was investigating 74 cases of severe acute hepatitis in children under age 10 in the United Kingdom. Three cases were also reported in Spain, the WHO said.
In the U.S., nine cases have been reported in children ages 6 and younger in Alabama. The Alabama cases were first reported by Stat News.
Dr. Wes Stubblefield, district medical officer for the Alabama Department of Public Health, said that all of the children were otherwise healthy before becoming ill, and that there is no obvious link among the children.
With the common hepatitis viruses ruled out, the current leading theory is that a different virus, called adenovirus type 41, is to blame.
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/severe-hepatitis-kids-dozens-cases-reported-us-europe-rcna24553
The life skills your dog needs
Every year at Crufts, the UK's largest dog show, canines and their people can participate in all manner of exciting competitions. Whether heelwork-to-music (essentially dancing with dogs) or obedience, or the high-speed relay races of flyball, it can be a marvellous feast of fun for performance dogs.
Of course, the reality is that most companion dogs will never enter the dog show ring – what they need to learn are the skills for everyday life.
The importance of a "canine good citizen" – a dog that can happily co-exist in human society – should not be underestimated. A well-trained dog benefits humans and dogs alike by enhancing the bond between animal and owner. And well-behaved dogs are less likely to be relinquished too.
So, helping our dogs learn how to conduct themselves is one of the most important things we can do. But what skills are "must have" and what factors do we need to take into account before beginning the training process? Here are some things to think about.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220404-the-training-that-helps-your-dog-lead-a-better-life
Profile Information
Gender: Do not displayCurrent location: Virginia
Member since: Wed Jun 1, 2011, 07:34 PM
Number of posts: 9,965