Volume 1

Beware....Sharia Law!
A creeping influence in Europe, Asia, Africa and now the United States.

Sharia law first came to popular attention in the United States with incidences in New Jersey and Oklahoma.

New Jersey involved a Family Court case. Oklahoma the passage by the electorate this past November of a constitutional amendment barring the use of Sharia law and international law in Oklahoma courts.

Let us start with an understanding of what is Sharia law is.

Sharia law is sacred Islamic law. It is based on the Quran and the teaching of Mohammed.

Sharia is an ancient Arab term. Its simplistic meaning is path to the watering hole. The modern interpretation is path to be followed. Another way of saying rules to be followed.

Worldwide, Muslims are pressing governments to permit them to be judged by Sharia law rather than the criminal and civil law of the country they are living in. England has tried it in some of their family courts. With disastrous results. A New Jersey Family Court Judge applied Sharia law in a husband/wife dispute. The wife claimed she had been raped several times by her husband. He said it was his right under Islamic law to do so. He was owed a "spousal duty" by his wife. An appellate court reversed the decision.

Some Sharia religious laws are inconsistent with our American traditions. For example, under Sharia law a man may have four wives. Men can divorce easily. Just look at his wife and say I divorce you. Women on the other hand have a hard time divorcing.

What of criminals? Theft can be punished with imprisonment or amputation of hands and feet. Adultery by stoning to death if married, 100 lashes with a cane if single. A single woman in Bangladesh recently died from a public caning for adultery.

There is a Muslim population living in the United States. It is not yet significant. Approximately 2.4 million people. Less than 1 per cent of the population. It is growing, however! And becoming vocal and rights conscious as it does. The Muslim cry is My Way! As regards to Sharia law.

The people of Oklahoma apparently sensed a growing threat from Sharia law. Ergo, the November Constitutional amendment proposal. Barring amongst other things, Sharia law from usage in Oklahoma courts.

It passed overwhelmingly. Seventy per cent voted in support of the measure.

Now the American way kicked in!

A group known as the Council on American-Islamic Relations immediately filed suit in federal district court claiming a violation of their right to freedom of religion. A federal judge recently rendered a decision in favor of the Islamic group and against the vote of the people of Oklahoma. The decision barred the Board of Elections from certifying the vote. The Board has appealed.

The case is on the way to the United States Supreme Court!

I have an opinion on the issue.

I do not believe this is an issue of religious freedom. All freedoms, all rights, have limits. There is freedom of speech. But one cannot shout fire in a crowded theater. If a particular religion said all second born female babies had to be put to death, would such be enforced based on freedom of religion? Of course not!

So there are limits. There are lines drawn in the sand.

If someone wants to live in the United States, then they should be willing to accept and submit to our laws. Not theirs. It should be the American way or the highway!

There is nothing wrong with the last statement. All previous peoples who immigrated to the United States accepted our rules of law. From the English to the Germans to the Poles to the Irish to the Italians to the Bosnians and so on.

The bottom line is if you do not like our laws..... go home!

Stimulus Differences......Eisenhower and Obama

In the history of the United States there have been many stimulus packages. Two stand out. Because of their size and impact.

The first significant stimulus package was under President Eisenhower, the other under President Obama.

Both had the same purpose. Improve the economy. That was the end of the similarity.

Stimulus packages are legal in nature. They must become law. Congress must first authorize the expenditure via legislation. Then the President must sign the legislation into law.

Highway construction was at the heart of Eisenhower's stimulus activity.

In 1919, Eisenhower made a trip across the United States with an Army caravan of trucks. Roads then were not as now. Half of them were nothing more than dirt. It took Eisenhower and his comrades 62 days to make the trip.

Later during World War II, Eisenhower became impressed with the German highway system. Several lanes of concrete each way. High speeds possible.

When Eisenhower became President, he was faced with an economic downturn on two fronts. First were the World War II veterans who were reentering the work market. Many had attended college after the war under the GI bill and were graduating. Additionally, Korea had ended and the Korean vets would be returning home looking for jobs.

Eisenhower saw the immediate need for gainful employment. His solution, his stimulus, was a modern interstate highway system. He got the legislation passed and he signed it into law.

And away the country went! Major highway construction from one end to the other.

Middle class America was put to work. Middle class is the operative terminology. Every day people needed jobs. Eisenhower's stimulus package provided those jobs.

Now comes a new time in our history when the economy is threatened. When people need jobs.

First Bush and then Obama lead the fight for stimulus packages. Especially Obama. And he got them!

Except Obama's stimulus and Eisenhower's stimulus are dramatically different. Obama provided the monies to help the moneyed groups and corporations. The banks, insurance companies and auto industry.

Perhaps it was thought the effect of the monies would dribble downward to the middle class. Take care of the big guy and the little guy benefits. It did not work out that way. At least not yet. And I question whether it will in the near future.

Obama's loans to the banks, insurance companies and auto industry have provided a profitable windfall to the U.S. Treasury. Obviously good investments from a monetary perspective.

But what of the middle class? They still wait. For jobs. For home security. For economic security. Unemployment continues to push 10 per cent. The number is really higher as most economists advise.

I see some stimulus dollars being spent in Key West. Some new curbs and sewer work. Also on US 1. Some road work. However nothing significant as in Eisenhower's time. Under Ike, the landscape was buried in construction crews as far as the eye could see. I know. I was one of those who benefited. I drove a dump truck on a construction site outside Rome, NY.

Obama's stimulus dollars appear not to have been well spent. They cannot be seen on a grandiose scale nor is the stimulus dollars’ impact being felt by the working class.

Maybe more direction is needed. Someone to oversee the dollars moving out of Washington and how they are being spent. A buck stops here person!

Whatever, Obama and his people need to rethink the process. I am sure his intentions are well thought out. But misdirected. It looks to me like the big guys such as the banks have come out way ahead of the middle and working class. None of my friends have or are receiving million dollar bonuses.

Not right!

Don't Shave Your Privates While Driving

Truth is stranger than fiction. The following proves it.

Megan Mariah Barnes was driving south on US 1 in the area of Cudjoe Key on March 2, 2010. Her destination was Key West. Her purpose to meet her boyfriend.

Megan was a 37 year old divorcee. Her former husband was riding in the passenger seat with her.

Megan was apparently preparing for her date. She was shaving her privates. Her bikini area.

Her former husband was assisting with the driving. He was steering. Megan was operating the foot pedals.

The two were not operating the vehicle in sync. They rear ended another vehicle.

No drinking was involved.

Many states prohibit driving and the use of cell phones. Some forbid texting while driving. All say don't drink and drive.

Soon in the State of Florida, I anticipate a law prohibiting the shaving of one's privates while driving!

That is how laws come about. Some odd ball thing happens that has not occurred in the past and legislators are quick to pass a law to cover the situation. Always after the barn door has been left open and the cow is out.

The media went bonkers with this story. It was on all the major TV news and talk shows.

Morning Joe is an example. Willy could not stop laughing. Joe yelled. Mika almost had a heart attack. Pat Buchanan, in his fatherly manner, calmly said.....let’s move on.

Which brings us to the more philosophical question of the day. What about sex while driving?

You may not believe what I am about to share with you.

The issue came up six years ago in Germany. The court ruled sex while driving is perfectly legal. So is masturbation. And shaving and changing a radio station. The German courts consistently rule that the right to engage in sex while driving is constitutionally protected.

German decisions rely not only on their own precedent, but also Russian cases. Apparently sex while driving is a popular practice in Russia. There, too, it is constitutionally protected.

The Germans and Russians decide the issue on the side of individual rights. Whereas, here in the United States the concern is for the public good. Public safety.

So.....if your preference is sex while driving, I suggest you move to Germany or Russia. Sex while driving in the United States is a no no.

And probably will remain so!

Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You

The Golden Rule!

Treat others as you would be treated.

The problem is many times those who ask for particular treatment are not willing to give it in return.

The United States guarantees many freedoms. One in particular is freedom of religion.

Muslims have been immigrating to the United States in increasing numbers. Not yet significant. But increasingly so. They have also been moving into other countries worldwide.

Where ever they go, they want to live under the rules of their religion. Islamic law. Not just the right to attend the mosque. But the right to have Muslim law decide the type of law under which they will live. Both civilly and criminally.

The argument presented in support of their perceived right is freedom of religion as set forth in the United States Constitution. Examples are the lawsuit in federal court in Oklahoma which recently found a Constitutional amendment voted on by Oklahomans as unconstitutional. By a 70 per cent plurality, the people of Oklahoma voted in November to bar Sharia law (Islamic law) from being applied in Oklahoma courts.

A Family Court Judge in New Jersey applied Sharia law in a spousal rape case. The Judge ruled with the Muslim husband who claimed he had a spousal right via the Quran to do what he did to his wife. An appellate court later reversed the decision.

England is applying Sharia law in certain of its family courts. Disastrously. There is movement in all European countries by Muslims to require Sharia law to be applied to them.

Muslims view their position as one of religious right. Yet they are not willing to extend the same tolerance to those of other faiths who live in countries where the Muslim population predominates.

Catholics/Christians have a difficult time in many Muslim countries.

The most recent example was Christmas in Iraq.

Only 2 per cent of Iraqis are Catholic/Christians. There is an attempt to drive them out of Iraq. Al-Qaeda is blamed. Something I do not understand. We are told there only about 50 members of Al-Qaeda left in Iraq.

Be that as it may, on October 31st of this year, the Catholic Church known as Salvation Church in Baghdad was attacked while a large number of Catholics were inside. Sixty eight Catholics were killed. Two of them priests.

As a result, Catholics were afraid to hold Christmas Eve mass. Nor did they celebrate Santa Claus as they normally did in the past.

Then there is Indonesia.

Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world. 202.9 million. Catholics are small in number.

I have a friend in Jakarta. She and her family have lived in Indonesia for generations. She is a dyed and true Indonesian. She and her family are Catholic. Have been for generations.

My friend tells me that periodically she is accosted and beaten on the streets because she is Catholic. She also tells me her Church is periodically desecrated. In each instance by those of the Muslim faith.

The Sharia law the Muslim immigrants in the United States would like to be governed under has some strange penalties. Penalties that are barbaric and do not fit the crime.

Like the single woman in Bangladesh who was recently caned, causing her death, because she committed adultery. And the young girl in Afghanistan who was a child bride to a Taliban. She did not like the marriage or him and ran away. She was caught. As punishment, her husband, father in law and brother in law cut off her nose and ears. Following which these men were arrested. The punishment rendered was not consistent with Sharia law. The proper punishment would have been a flogging or stoning to death.

Sort of confusing! Strange!

Muslims come to our shores. Yet they seek to live under the old ways. They are not willing to accept our laws. They seek to remedy the situation by claiming freedom of religion.

No freedom is absolute. There are limits and exceptions. For example, freedom of speech does not permit a person to shout fire in a crowded theater. Suppose a religious sect believed that every second daughter was to be put to death. Would our courts support that alleged right under freedom of religion? Of course not!

I believe the Oklahoma judge who sided with the Muslims was wrong in her decision. I am hopeful an appellate court will see the situation correctly as not one involving freedom of religion.

Otherwise, we are in trouble! Everyone in the United States has to be guided by the same set of laws and rules. No one is or should be exempt.

If those of the Muslim faith do not like our laws, then they should have not come here in the first place. And even better, they should go home!

Prior waves of immigrants, such as the English, German, Dutch, Poles, Irish, Italians and Bosnians, came here and accepted our way of life. There is no reason why preferential treatment should be shown Muslims.

My admonishment is twofold. First, treat those of other faiths in the Muslim countries with the same freedoms you expect in the United States. Second, learn to live the American way or go home.

Simple.

IRS Refund Checks Will Be Late.....If You Itemize!

It is that time of the year again! Tax filing!

Some/many are entitled to refunds. This New Year refunds will be late. If you itemize!

The problem arises for two reasons.

First, a law was passed on December 17th which reinstated three deductions. The state and local sales tax deduction, higher education tuition and fees deduction, and the education expenses deduction. Second, anyone who opts to itemize deductions on the Form 1040 Schedule will receive a late refund... The 1040 delay is the result of Congressional action late in December on certain items.

Not only will refunds be late, but actual filing is delayed also. The IRS has to reprogram to accommodate the new deduction changes. Reprogramming will take into mid or late February. Ergo, the IRS can do nothing with the itemized deduction returns till then. Refunds will go out some time thereafter.

The IRS has assured the tax paying public it "...will work through the holidays and into the New Year to get our systems reprogrammed."

I cannot be critical of the delay. The additional deductions inure to the benefit of the taxpaying public. Everything beneficial only recently became law in the later part of December.

The history of the IRS is interesting.

The United States levied no income taxes till the Civil War. Lincoln may have freed the slaves. But he burdened us with another form of slavery. The income tax... A temporary one at the time. The Civil War was overwhelming economically. Additional monies were required to fight the battle. Lincoln said give me an income tax and he got it!

Though temporary, the tax continued in effect for 10 years till 1872 when it was permitted to expire.

Gradually thereafter a form of income tax evolved. Nothing bad or imposing.

Then came the Income Tax Act of 1894. The Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional! A good Court!

When Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft were Presidents, they found it hard to run government. Cash flow was needed. Congress passed the Sixteenth Amendment. It gave Congress the power to lay and collect taxes on income.

State ratification was required. In 1913 a sufficient number of states ratified the Sixteenth Amendment and it became the law of the land. Never to leave us!

Interestingly, only three states voted against ratification. Connecticut, Rhode Island and Utah.

I can understand why Utah voted against the Amendment. Mormons at the time were against anything federal. As to Connecticut and Rhode Island, I assume it was pure New England miserliness. Tightwads by nature, they probably considered under any circumstances that a penny saved was a penny earned. And right they were!

The IRS taxing formulas have outlived their time. A total revision of the Internal Revenue Code is required. My solution is a simple one. Simple in thought and simple in application. Tax everyone with the same percentage. The poor pay less, the rich more. Or in the alternative, levy a sales tax across the board on everything. Products and services. Those who spend more will pay more.

Bottom line admonition. File your return on time. Pay your taxes. If things are tough and you cannot pay, still file your return. It is generally held that failure to file is a crime whereas failure to pay may not be. If you cannot pay, get competent representation and contact the IRS to work things out. The boogey man does not go away. You must face up to the problem and deal with it.

Pardons....From the Whiskey Rebellion to Billy the Kid

Pardons are in the news this week.

Because of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson's refusal to pardon the infamous outlaw of the Old West, Billy the Kid.

A pardon is the forgiveness of a crime and the penalty associated with it.

The power to pardon is generally limited to the head of state. The term state is used in the generic sense. In the United States, the head of state would be the President or a Governor.

No one else may pardon.

The President's power to pardon is found in the Constitution. Article II, section 2, reads that the President "...shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States."

All federal pardons are addressed to the President. He generally then refers them to the Office of the Pardon Attorney for review, study and recommendation. The Office is part of the U.S. Department of Justice.

A pardon is not easily obtained. Many are requested. Few granted.

A pardon is also tricky for the person receiving it. The recipient must formally accept the pardon. The law says by so doing, there is an automatic admission of guilt. Some refuse pardons because of the admission of guilt factor.

There is an interesting question with which the courts have yet to deal. What if the recipient of the pardon is dead? How can such a recipient accept the pardon thereby complying with the admission of guilt requirement?

Controversy has been part and parcel of the United States from its inception. This includes the area of Presidential pardons.

At the beginning, there were those in the colonies who opposed pardons. They were known as Anti-Federalists. Their concern was that the tyrannies of the King of England would befall our Presidents in the granting of pardons. Kings had gone way overboard and pardoned many who should not have been

Alexander Hamilton did not agree with the Anti-Federalists. He favored pardons and fought for them to be a part of the Constitution.

One of the first controversial pardons involved George Washington and the leaders of the Whiskey Rebellion. Washington pardoned them all.

Other controversial pardons include Ford's pardon of Nixon after Watergate, Andrew Johnson's pardon of Confederate officials and soldiers after the Civil War, Carter's pardon of Vietnam draft dodgers and Clinton's pardon of the billionaire fugitive Marc Rich.

Bush 2 had a hot potato on his plate with regard to the Lewis "Scooter" Libby proposed pardon. Bush had already commuted Libby's sentence. However, he refused to pardon Libby. Even after strong pressure from Cheney.

I have always respected Bush for his denial of the Libby pardon.

Governors, too, have the power to pardon. Governors generally pardon offenses under state criminal law.

Such a case recently confronted New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. The proposed pardon involved the infamous outlaw of old, Billy the Kid.

Billy the Kid killed 9 people in the late 1800s. Two were deputies.

The territorial Governor at the time was a fellow named Wallace. He made some deal with Billy the Kid to pardon him in return for the Kid's cooperation with regard to some other crimes. Billy the Kid did not keep his end of the deal. He escaped jail instead, killing two deputies in the process.

One hundred thirty years later, Billy the Kid's pardon came up again. After review and within his power as Governor, Richardson denied the pardon application. Apparently Billy was too bad and the years had clouded the details of Wallace's initial pardon.

Such is the story of pardons in the United States. A basic understanding of how the system works and the history of certain pardons is good to have. The issue of pardons comes up annually. Both the President and Governors generally pardon at Christmas time.

Fascinating Facts About The United States Constitution

The United States Constitution! Law of the land!

The Constitution is a living breathing document. That is why it has survived all these years. In spite of the yelling and screaming that constantly surrounds it.

Permit me to share some tidbits of wisdom about the Constitution. Interesting facts generally not known.

1. It is the oldest constitution of any major government in the world. Obviously, constitutions do not last long considering that the United States is a mere 235 years old. Or maybe it is nations that do not last long.

2. The Constitution contains 4,440 words. Sounds like a lot. It is not. It is the shortest written constitution of any government in the world.

3. It is recognized among legal scholars that the reason there are so many cases interpreting the Constitution is because it is so short.

4. Spelling errors! Many! It makes me feel good that Thomas Jefferson was not a good speller either. The most glaring error involves Pennsylvania. It is spelled where ever it appears in the document as "Pennsylvania." An "n" is missing at the beginning.

5. Delegates to the Constitutional Convention were of all ages. From 26 to 81. The youngest was Jonathan Dayton of New Jersey. The oldest of course was Benjamin Franklin.

6. Most of us believe that Thanksgiving is celebrated to honor the Puritans and Indians getting together for dinner at Plymouth. Not correct. George Washington was so happy our new country finally had a Constitution that he issued a Presidential Proclamation and also got Congress to pass a Congressional Resolution establishing November 26, 1789 as the first Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving because the United States had a for real Constitution. The holiday had nothing to do with the feast at Plymouth Rock.

7. Benjamin Franklin had trouble walking/moving about. His mind was sharp. His body deteriorating. He was in constant pain. He suffered from the gout. He had a stone in his bladder. He could hardly walk. Four prisoners were selected from the Philadelphia Walnut Street Jail. Their task was to carry Franklin back and forth from Convention Hall. A chair was attached to two poles. Franklin was lifted on the chair which rested via the poles on the shoulders of the four prisoners. A democrat in every sense, Franklin was none the less transported as a King of old.

8. One of the issues that arose was the size of the standing army. The Convention wanted it limited to 5,000. George Washington was no fool. He said he would agree if the Convention could guarantee that any invading army would be limited to 3,000.

Hope you enjoyed!

Men in Women's Sports Locker Rooms

Professor Lloyd had a special saying in Constitutional Law class. What's good for the goose is good for the gander!

The issue is female reporters in an all male sports locker room. And whether male reporters should be permitted in an all female sports locker room.

Ines Sainz comes to mind.

Sainz is one of the foremost female sports announcers. Her reputation is worldwide. She was a reporter for Mexico's TV Azteca station at the time of the incident to be related.

Sainz was at a New York Jets practice. She wanted to interview quarterback star Mark Sanchez.

It is claimed that footballs were intentionally thrown her way while she was on the field and that she was subjected to catcalls and other rude remarks while in the locker room.

Women talk of cracking the ceiling. They have done so in the field of sport reporting. Women reporters are allowed everywhere. Even into a male locker room with bare ass athletes.

Women are allowed the same rights as male reporters. They come and go in the locker room like their male counterparts.

Let’s move from Ines Sainz to the Lingerie Football League. You read me correctly. The Lingerie Football League!

There is one!

It is just like the National Football League. Except one is for female players and the other males.

The Lingerie Football League is known as the LFL. Close to the NFL!

The LFL is in its second year. It has many teams. Most with interesting names. Like the Chicago Bliss, Philadelphia Passion, Miami Caliente, Dallas Desire, Los Angeles Temptation and San Diego Seduction.

These ladies actually play football.

Their uniforms are lingerie. Consistent with the League's name.

There is also a Lingerie Super Bowl. The same day as the NFL Super Bowl. February 6, 2011. The ladies will be playing in Las Vegas. The game will be available on play for pay TV during the half time of the men's game.

The legal concern. Male reporters in a female sports locker room.

It is an equal rights issue. If the ladies can walk into a male locker room with bare ass males all around, why can't the male reporters do likewise in the ladies' locker room? Picture it! The game is over. Some of the ladies are walking out of the shower with little to nothing covering their bodies. Other female athletes in the locker room in various states of dress. Or undress. Whatever way you might view it.

Louis' solution.

The women have established their Constitutional right to enter the male locker room. They have unquestionably succeeded in cracking the glass ceiling in this regard.

Female athletic teams are prominent in the college and professional ranks today. The reverse should be avoided. I am still a bit of a prude.

Although men have a legal right to enter the ladies' locker room, good taste says they should not. Nor.....should women continue to enter the men's locker room. The point has been made. The legal right established. Now is the time to exercise good taste as opposed to legal propriety. Let each stay out of the other's locker room.

Good for the goose and good for the gander will still prevail.

Some provision can easily be made for interviews after a game has been concluded. Perhaps an hour later in a specified place.

With every one dressed for the occasion!

Dead Alive....Lawsuits in the Making

There are modern day Lazarus's.

People are declared dead who are not dead.

A lawsuit by the survivor and family thereafter is almost certain.

Just two weeks ago in Brazil such an incident occurred. The woman's name is Maria das Dores. Age 88. Sickly and hospitalized.

A doctor declared her dead on December 22. She was sent to a funeral home. She was laid out for three days. On the third day, the undertaker noticed Maria was breathing and moving around in the coffin.

Maria was alive!

She was returned to the hospital. Unfortunately she died a few days later.

The hospital is investigating how this could have happened.

The family is suing the hospital and doctor. Perhaps Maria could have lived longer if she had not been improperly declared dead. The family claims it was also caused to suffer mental anguish.

There is generally no embalming in Brazil.

Then there is the case of the baby in Mexico. A doctor declared the baby dead. Twenty four hours later, the baby was in a coffin on view. The baby cried. The baby was alive.

This incident occurred on August 5, 2010. This year, also.

Mexico does not embalm. The body is generally buried within 24 hours because of that fact. The baby was being readied for burial and was saved in the nick of time.

A lawsuit is pending.

In 2005, a North Carolina man, Larry Green, was hit by a car. He was declared dead at the scene. He was then placed in a body bag and taken to the morgue.

Two and a half hours later, a medical examiner was looking Green's body over. He discovered Green was breathing.

A lawsuit was initiated.

Mistakes happen. Some caused by negligence. Generally failure to provide proper attention, make a proper diagnosis, or do what should normally be done to determine life or death. And concededly there are also those instances where every scientific test/measure assures death has occurred. But the person is still alive.

In case, any situation, a lawsuit will generally follow. Such is life

Embalming is an interesting issue. You have already noticed that embalming is not required in every country. Guess what? Embalming is not legally required in the United States, unless the burial is to be delayed or the body is to cross state lines. Many families today are refusing embalming for the deceased in order to save money.

Another interesting embalming item.

If a person is injected with embalming fluid and not disemboweled, the person could live. Drug addicts inject themselves with embalming fluid. It contains marijuana. The high lasts 3-6 days.

Thank God there are modern day Lazarus's. The alternative is scary. Buried alive. Something no one even wants to contemplate, let alone experience.

Bedroom Tales and Related Issues 


Some interesting sex activity going on in the outside world!

When the frolicking exceeds normal, the law generally becomes involved. I concede immediately that I do not know what normal is. The line is vague. But when something is out there, way out, you automatically know the line has been exceeded.

The term fantasy sex has been with us in the news this past week.

Arthur Seville resides in Oklahoma with his wife Rebecca. Rather, Arthur did reside with Rebecca. Rebecca is now dead.

Arthur is age 23. Rebecca was 50.

Last week Arthur and Rebecca were having sex. Arthur says that they enjoyed using a handgun during the act. Arthur would pull it out and threaten to shoot Rebecca.

The last time they played the game, the gun went off. Rebecca was shot in the head and died. Arthur says the gun accidentally discharged.

Arthur immediately called 911. The police came. Arthur was remorseful and totally cooperative. The police at first were not sure they were going to arrest him. The shooting appeared to be an accident.

Since then however, Alfred has been arrested on suspicion of murder. The police are still questioning however whether the murder was intentional.

The national news media has described the occurrence as fantasy sex.

Then there is the divorce case of Lily Shang. Lily is married to investor David Rucker. A divorce suit is pending.

Lily and David made sex tapes/videos while sexually engaged together. David now threatens to release the tapes/videos on the internet if Lily does not agree to a lesser or more reasonable settlement from his perspective.

Lily is not taking the threat lying down. She has applied to the court for a protective order prohibiting David from showing the tapes/videos. Decision pending.

Incest is in the news. Uncomfortably so.

Recently it has been alleged that a Columbia University professor, David Epstein, has been having sex with his daughter. For three years. The twist is the daughter is an adult. She is presently 24. The sex is alleged to have been ongoing since she was 21.

David, the father, is 46.

 He has been arrested.

New York criminalizes incest. You would think all states would. It is not the case. Had David and his daughter played across the river in New Jersey, there would not have been a problem. Incest is not a crime in New Jersey.

Incest is in the news internationally, also. Switzerland has announced it is seriously considering legalizing incest, except where children are involved.

I have a concern with this one.

Morality seems to change with time. We have seen it with interracial marriage and same sex marriage. 100 years ago no one would have conceived that interracial marriage would be accepted in the United States. As recently as 20 years ago, no one would have conceived same sex marriage would be legal in some states.

The gravity regarding incest has diminished with time already. When I graduated from law school some 50 years ago, incest was a no no even with relatives. I think the term used was to the third degree of consanguinity.

Today where incest is illegal, it is generally considered such only between parents and children or siblings.

Will the day come when a parent and an adult child may marry? Or a brother and sister?

Only time will tell.

There are numerous strange sex cases. However for today, enough is enough!

The Legal System in Failure....Pick Your Poison

Albert Greenwood Brown has made legal history!

He has been on death row in California since 1982 awaiting execution. Twenty nine years.

His crime. Murder and rape of a 15 year old girl.

Brown is either very lucky or has had the benefit of very good lawyers. Perhaps both. Or maybe the legal system as a whole has failed.

Brown seems to have the luck of the draw. He last was sentenced to be executed this past year on September 30, 2010. California provides a choice to the person to be executed. The gas chamber or lethal injection. Brown selected lethal injection.

Lethal injection requires a cocktail, for want of a better description, of three separate drugs. California law specifies and identifies the three drugs by name. The first is sodium thiopental.

California ran out of sodium thiopental. It did not have any with which to execute Brown. The manufacturer had problems with raw materials and could not provide the drug till sometime early in 2011.

California asked other states to help. No state had enough, except for one. Texas. Texas had a lot. But Texas was not sharing with her sister state. Texas takes executions seriously. In 2010 alone, 17 persons were executed by Texas. Texas wanted to and did keep its supply of sodium thiopental for itself.

Still hoping to keep Brown's September 30 execution date, California offered Brown an option. He could pick his own drug. Yes, he was offered the opportunity to select his own poison.

Either Brown or his attorney was smart. Brown refused to make a selection. His position was that the statute specified the drugs to be used and it would be illegal to kill him with any other.

Not a bad move. Brown's position held up in court.

Brown's attorney referred to the selection option as "...medievally unconstitutional."

Early this past December, California found some sodium thiopental. In England. Cost California, who is otherwise broke, $36,415.

A December execution date was set. Brown went back to court.

There is a federal judge in California who is of the opinion, amongst other things, that the three drug cocktail may constitute cruel and unusual treatment under the Constitution. The process from injection to death may be painful for the condemned individual.

Also an issue has arisen as to whether the drug option was proper in the first instance.

Everything appears to be screwed up.

Brown has another stay. He is alive today. In 2011. Twenty nine years after having been convicted and sentenced to death.

I believe in giving every one the full benefit of the law. Especially a condemned person. But 29 years is too much.

The system appears broke!

Then there is the state of Oklahoma and John David Duty.

Duty was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. He was executed this past month. But not before a hullabaloo erupted over the sodium thiopental issue in Oklahoma.

Oklahoma ran out of the drug. They decided to substitute pentobarbital. Pentobarbital is the drug used to euthanize animals. The thing dog pounds use.

Duty went to court claiming the drug improper, sodium thiopental the proper drug to be administered, etc.

The Oklahoma court did not agree with Duty. His execution timely took place in December.

There was a legal difference. California specified the drugs by name that were to be used in executions. Oklahoma did not. So Oklahoma was not bound to use sodium thiopental.

Brown's case is ongoing.

I have a concern. He has been on death row so long that at some point the argument is going to be made that to delay his execution for almost 30 years constitutes cruel and unusual punishment under the Constitution.

If such occurs, it might very well prove the adage in the law that justice delayed IS justice denied.

Breach of Promise....Tale of the Woman Scorned

Breach of promise! Usually the tale of a woman scorned.

What are we talking about?

A man promises to marry a woman. They become engaged. He thereafter changes his mind. He refuses to marry. The woman is entitled to money damages for his backing out of the marriage promise.

It was universally recognized everywhere at one time that the woman dumped had a lawsuit against the man who dumped her. It was called a suit for breach of promise. The promise being one to marry.

Breach of promise goes back to the English common law. Way back to the 1400s-1500s.

The reasons the law made money damages available to the woman were twofold.

First, the woman's virginity came into play. Apparently back in those days, once engaged the two partook of sexual liberties with each other. The woman became spoiled goods and could not properly be offered to another man.

I am a bit shocked to think that promiscuity and sexual freedom were as rampant then as they are today. My perception has always been that those of yesteryear were holier than most.

The second reason can only be described as job security. In days of old, women did not generally work. They became wives and became established in the man's household. The woman's position was running the household. If the man broke the engagement and had partaken of her body, what man would want her? Her lifetime of job security as a wife was not to be.

Many men of old entered into engagements with younger women. Most men were affluent. There is no fool like an old fool. The young ladies were on the receiving end of large money settlements and awards.

As the years and centuries progressed, the dollar awards became outrageous. Some cases were legitimate. However most were brought by shrewd females who ensnared the unwary with the ultimate aim of the lawsuit at some point in time.

The states saw the injustice. Many states have now outlawed breach of promise lawsuits. New York for example did so in 1930. A few still permit breach of promise lawsuits. Within limitations, however.

Which brings me to a case recently sued in Illinois courts.

The place is Chicago. A couple engaged. He promised to marry her. Obviously, she promised to marry him in return. The female part of the relationship was an attorney. Her name Dominique A. Buttitta.

Dominique fronted most of the wedding expenses. Reception, flowers, wedding dress, etc. She was committed for or had paid out $95,000.

One week before the wedding, her husband to be backed out.

Not a smart thing to do in Illinois!

Illinois by statute permits the rejected party to bring a breach of promise lawsuit. However the damages/monies that can be obtained are limited to actual out of pocket expenses incurred. In Dominique's case, $95,000. Extra monies for loss of virginity (remember the common law) and job security are not permitted.

It appears Dominique is on her way to a successful recovery.

There are lessons to be learned. Included are engaged couples should keep their word.....a man perhaps should not become engaged to a female attorney.

In any event, better safe than sorry. Do not get engaged in Illinois!

Reading Your Wife's Emails; A No No

An interesting case has developed in Michigan.

It involves one spouse reading the other's private emails.

Leon Walker lives just outside Detroit. He resided in a home with his wife Clara and Clara's infant son by a previous marriage. This was Clara's third marriage.

Leon and Clara shared a lap top computer. One which Leon had purchased for Clara and given to her as a gift.

Clara had her own password. Leon did not know it. However, he discovered her password in a book she kept next to the computer.

Leon is alleged to have used Clara's password to gain entry to her emails. It is claimed he read them.

Some of the emails contained intimate messages. They suggested Clara may have been having an affair with a former husband.

Clara's child comes into play at this point. It is alleged Leon told the boy's father, Clara's other husband, that the boy might be accompanying her to some meetings with the husband with whom she was purportedly cheating.

All hell broke loose. Clara reported Leon to the police. Clara also has since divorced Leon.

Michigan has a law known as Michigan Statute 752.795. Simply stated, the statute covers computer misuse. Leon has been charged with felonies under the statute. The penalty, if convicted, is up to five years in jail.

There is a serious question whether the intent and wording of the law was meant to apply to the situation of an alleged cheating spouse. Some legal experts are of the opinion that the law was passed to protect identity theft, trade secrets and matters involving intellectual property law. The Oakland County prosecutor disagrees. She claims this is a perfect case for the application of the law. She describes Leon as nothing more than a "hacker."

A person's basic right to privacy may also be involved. Are emails personal? Not subject to reading by third parties, including a spouse?

Not all states have privacy laws. Some require economic gain by the violating party. Others merely recognize that some things are no one's business.

Whatever, an issue of national importance has been presented. Whether a wife/person can expect privacy to emails on a computer shared with another person?

Charles Dickens comes into play here. Remember Mr. Bumble in Oliver Twist. He said, “The law is an ass." The statement arose from a husband/wife situation.

Some things are better off left alone. This seems to be one from my perspective. I sense a Pandora's box opening giving birth to all kinds of problems regarding emails. The internet is such a wonderful place. I hate to see it mucked up with too many laws applying to its activities.

Leon's trial is February 7, 2011. I shall follow it and let you know how the case turns out.

In the meantime, if a spouse suspects the other is having a clandestine affair, do not read the other's emails. Not until and unless we know for certain whether it can be legally done.

Christmas....A Legal Holiday

On this wonderful Christmas Day 2010, most of us are sitting back happy with ourselves. In a joyous festive mood. Thankful for family and friends. Pleased by gifts and food.

And we might believe that Christmas in the United States has always been such. That Christmas as we know it always existed.

Shockingly, it did not!

Let’s go back to the Puritans. Those hearty immigrants from England to the shores of Massachusetts. Those who gave us Thanksgiving.

Christmas they did not give to us. In fact, they took Christmas away from us. The earliest Scrooges of record!

From 1659 to 1681, Christmas was outlawed in Boston. By the Puritans. They believed that Christmas was not consistent with their Puritan ideas and religious reforms. So one of their acts was to abolish Christmas!

Christmas remained a no no through the American Revolution. The English influence in the colonies prevailed. Christmas could not regain its foothold.

A few years after the Revolution, the colonists, rid of the English influence, started celebrating Christmas. But it was not Christmas as we know it.

The early 1800s found Christmas being celebrated in a bit of a rowdy fashion. Much like Mardi Gras and Fantasy Fest.

Then came a couple of books which influenced the situation.

The first was by Washington Irving. In 1809, he wrote The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon. It portrayed Christmas as a peaceful loving holiday. Many attribute Irving's novel as setting the mood for present day Christmas.

Irving actually created with words Christmas Day as we know and celebrate it. He mentally conceived his concept of Christmas and wrote it on paper. Christmas to that point had not been as he portrayed it.

About the same time, there was another writing. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. This, too, captured the American imagination.

During the 1830s, several southern states legalized December 25 Christmas Day as a legal holiday. The first was Alabama in 1836.

The South continued to favor and celebrate Christmas up to the time of the Civil War. Whereas the North basically paid little attention to the day. Christmas had become a Southern thing.

Now comes the Civil War. Lincoln wanted to demoralize the Confederate troops. He wanted to show that the South's Santa Claus was on the side of the North. He authorized a famous artist late in 1862 to do a drawing of Santa Claus watching over Union troops. The picture was the front cover on January 3, 1863 of a prominent national magazine. It was sort of a God is on our side thing. Some believe it achieved Lincoln's desired effect.

President Ulysses S. Grant is given credit for making Christmas a national holiday. I question the accuracy of the representation. In 1870 Grant signed a bill into law regarding Christmas Day. The new law read that Christmas "...shall be a holiday within the District of Columbia."

The District of Columbia is not the whole of the United States. However, Grant is usually given credit for making Christmas a national holiday by that act.

The last state to legalize Christmas as a legal holiday was Oklahoma in 1907.

I suspect that it was the combination of Grant's signing regarding the District of Columbia and all of the states legalizing the holiday that finally made Christmas Day a national holiday.

Christmas Day received a further boost by the 1897 editorial in the Sun of New York. We all know it. "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus."

Christmas was practiced and recognized as a holiday through World War II. For whatever reason, it received its most gigantic step forward recognition and celebration wise following World War II. Everyone got into the act after the war! Maybe because people were happy and grateful to have won.

Such is the story of the legalization of Christmas Day.

Pedophilia.....Our Children in Danger!

Pedophilia! Adults having sex with children!

The problem has always been with us. Almost back to the beginning of time.

Pedophilia is defined many ways. It all comes down to sex with children. An adult engaging in sexual activity with a child. An adult whose primary sexual interest is children.

It can involve an adult male or an adult female. Generally however, it is an adult male with a minor male or a minor female.

There is no cure for pedophilia. It is a mental disorder with which the adult was born. The drive can sometimes be reduced. Rarely, however. The desire for youthful sexual engagement never totally controlled.

Besides lifetime incarceration, the only other cure is castration. Chemical or surgical. Several European countries have engaged in castration since World War II. Poland is presently considering adopting chemical castration for pedophiles.

Castration is a bit barbaric. But the crime just as barbaric.

The United States favors longtime incarceration. A more humane approach. In jail or a private institution for the rest of the pedophile's life. Such has been permitted by the United States Supreme Court since its 1997 decision in the case of Kansas v. Hendricks.

There have been some interesting developments recently in the field of pedophilia. Shocking may be a better description.

Would you believe someone recently wrote a book on how to be a pedophile? A safe one. Whatever that might suggest.

The book is entitled "The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure." The author Phillip R. Graves II. It is alleged Graves wrote the book to address the unfair portrayal of pedophiles in the media. The book was an attempt to describe ethical pedophilia. Assuming there can be such activity. I doubt it. Even more emphatically, I would say it is impossible to consider pedophilia ethical in any fashion.

A anti-pedophile activist described Graves' writing as "...a book about how to rape a child."

Graves posted the book on Amazon.com as an e-book. A furry of objections arose. Amazon discontinued carrying the book.

Gravres also sold the book directly. At the time, he was residing in Colorado. Florida police officials noted copies of the book showing up in their state. They communicated with Graves incognito. They arranged to buy the book directly from Graves. He even autographed it for them Charged the cops $50 for it.

The Florida police officers were members of the Polk County Sheriff's Department.

Just three weeks ago on December 20, 2010, the Sheriff's Department had Graves arrested in Colorado on a Florida warrant charging obscenity violations under Florida law. Florida law prohibits the distribution of obscene material depicting minors engaged in conduct harmful to minors.

On the same day that Graves was arrested, December 20, 2010, it was reported that a Miramar, Florida man was sentenced to life in prison for child pornography.

The perpetrator was Jesus Rios, age 43.

Two separate courts were involved.

In May of last year, Rios was convicted in Florida State Court in Broward County of sexual abuse of two children. He also made photographic images of the abuse. During the investigation of the crime, the police discovered 2,000 images of other children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. He received 30 years in jail.

Then in November of last year, Rios appeared in Federal Court. He pled guilty to four counts of child pornography. He received a life sentence.

The Keynoter is a local weekly newspaper. Its distribution is the Florida Keys.

This past week the Keynoter ran an excellent front page article on pedophilia. "More Victims Coming Forward." Its author, Larry Kahn.

One of the issues was whether there is more child molestation than in the past. Local police officials were interviewed. It appears there is not more crime of this nature. People are just coming forward in larger numbers. Victims are less fearful of talking to the authorities.

There was a recent conviction in the Florida Keys. A minor girl was molested by 68 year old man. He was sentenced by Monroe County Circuit Judge Luis Garcia. The sentence: 9 life terms plus 180 years.

It is going to be a long time before this wrongdoer gets out of jail! Effectively, he never will. Judge Garcia's sentencing reflects the attitude that pedophilia is non treatable and that this type criminal has to be put away for years or forever to protect other children.

I have refrained from discussing the trauma affect pedophilia has on the victim. The child. It is deep and endless. There are two things that can be done and should be done immediately to help the child. First, report the incident. The police know how to handle these matters. Second, get psychiatric help for the child immediately, also. Time spent today with a mental professional will limit the time needed down the road when the child is an adult.

Sexual perverts engaging our children are unquestionably bad people. Perhaps the worst. The law and courts must deal with them consistent with the nature of the crime.

The law and courts are.

Somalia.....Not a Place to Live!

Ancient civilizations have come and gone. Many knew true greatness. The glory of Rome. The wonder of Greece.

Somali once was touched with such greatness. Today it is a third world country without a government. Living in various degrees of poverty.

Somali is more of a people than a nation. It is most often described as an ethnic group. Persons of Somalian heritage total about 16 million. They live in three different countries. Somalia, Ethiopia, and Yemen. The greatest number, some 9 million, reside in Somalia.

Somalia is located on the east side of Africa. Where the African continent juts out. The area is described as the Horn of Africa, as well as the Somali Peninsula.

In days of old, Somalia knew greatness. Its sailors and merchants were as the Three Wise Men. They supplied gold, frankincense and myrrh to the Egyptians, Phoenicians and Babylonians. And became wealthy in the process!

At some point in time, the Muslim influence from the east pervaded Somalian society. Today Somalia with few exceptions is totally Muslim.

Since 1991, Somalia has had no central government. That does not mean things were in disarray. The Somalia’s had developed their own laws. Basically, be good and do good to each other. The law was called Xeer. Xeer was very loose. Easy going. Sort of like living in Key West.

Two of its basic tenets were treat women justly and protect children. There was an informal court system. Some older individual who would settle disputes.

Then came the Taliban and al-Qaida. Most believe the present Taliban is associated with al-Qaida.

The Taliban insist on the enforcement of Islamic law. Sharia law. Tough rules. Even tougher punishments. Floggings, tongue slicing, stonings, and the like.

The Taliban Islamists residing in Somalia are known as al-Shabab.

Two recent developments reflect the Taliban influence.

The first involves piracy.

We are all familiar with the recent piracy attacks on the seas involving Somalian pirates. These pirates are not the movie star heroes of yesteryear such as Errol Flynn. No dashing clothes. No large galleons with sails blowing in the wind. These are street corner pirates. They generally go out in small motor boats.

Just today, yes, today, it was reported that Somalian pirates in a motor launch attempted to attack a luxury liner on the high seas. The vessel was the Spirit of Adventure. Big. Expensive to travel on. The passengers were seated at a black tie dinner when the looming attack was reported. The Captain of the cruise liner decided to try to outrun the pirates. He succeeded and fortunately nothing more came of the incident.

The other recent development has to do with women and children. This Taliban group known as al-Shabab are not nice people. They are swiftly moving away from the loose Xeer form of law. Sharia law is their law. It is the law they are presently imposing on Somalians.

Some recent Taliban inspired activity includes forbidding unrelated men and women from speaking or walking together. The penalty if caught can be whipping, imprisonment or execution.

These Islamic insurgents are stopping buses. If a woman is improperly dressed or traveling alone, woe is she!

There are many one parent families in Somalia. Generally headed by the woman/mother. Women are forbidden from working. The theory is if the women work, there will be fewer jobs for the men. As a result, many one parent families have become destitute.

The Taliban/al-Shabab needs recruits. Children are the source. Male children. Teens, in effect.

Each family must volunteer/donate one male child to serve in the militia. If the family does not have a male child, then it is required to pay the Taliban $50 per month. A sum equal to Somalia's per capita income.

Listening to music, watching movies and watching sports on TV is prohibited. For males and females.

Punishments are over the top and barbaric. Limbs chopped off is commonplace. So are executions by stoning. All done in a public forum, of course. As a warning to others to keep in line.

Somalia and Afghanistan are 2,000 miles apart. Yet many scholars consider the two comparable with regard to Taliban and al-Qaida influences.

Keep in mind that the very essence/roots of Taliban thinking is the Muslim faith. The Islam approach to life and punishment. I make the point because of the on going influx of Muslims into all nations worldwide. Where ever they settle, they insist that their religious law govern them. Sharia law.

I previously wrote of such attempts in the United States.

We must be vigilant. Big trees from little acorns grow.

I subscribe to freedom of religion one hundred percent. But not when it permits my neighbor to live under a different set of rules than me and my family.

China, the Law and Bad Milk

China was in the news this week. Bad milk again. Not the first time. It happened in 2008, also.

The case made me curious about Chinese law. Good? Bad? Effective? Ineffective?

Let me share a bit of what I discovered.

Confucian philosophy is at the basis of Chinese law. Social control is the key. Power of the government over people.

This power is accumulated and exercised three ways.

The first is moral education. The Chinese are a moral society from their own perspective. Thousands of years of existence have developed an unwritten moral code to guide them.

Then there is the codified law. The written law. Sometimes strong, sometimes weak. It depends how it is enforced and who is enforcing it. Chinese society is not based on equal justice for all.

Finally, criminal sanctions. Tough! Like 40-100 public lashes for spitting on the sidewalk.

There have been three major influences on the law.

The first was somewhat enunciated above. China's early history and the moral code that developed from it.

The second is the Revolution of 1911. China adopted a western style legal code following the Revolution.

The third was the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. The present government. The new government was greatly influenced by Soviet Russia. Socialism became a significant part of the law.

In the United States, we speak of rule of law. Does the same apply to China? The answer is highly questionable. I would suggest not, except where the powers to be want the rule of law to apply. The Bubba system exists big time in China.

Some practical examples of Chinese law in operation.

Congress is ineffective. Little to no power. Does not function as legislative bodies do in the free world.

The Constitution. Not the supreme law of the land. Nor is it generally enforced.

The judiciary is subject to political pressure. Easily and openly.

Corruption exists in high places. Favors and bribes common place.

The legal profession leaves much to be desired. Attorneys and judges are neither qualified nor well trained.

Which brings us to this week's tainted milk case.

China announced the arrest of 96 persons. The charges concern powdered milk. 2,132 tons of it. The claim is the powdered milk was contaminated. With melamine.

Melamine is used in the manufacture of plastics, fertilizers and concrete. Melamine is high in nitrogen content. It causes kidney stones and major kidney problems. Death causing type problems.

How many babies and young children are affected is still unknown. However, a similar problem occurred in 2008. Three years ago melamine was found in the powdered milk. Peroxide, also. Six children died and over 300,000 were caused to become violently ill.

Involved was 2,176 tons of powdered milk.

The Chinese government reacted to the 2008 incident. Two of the persons involved were executed, 3 were given life sentences and 2 received 15 year jail terms.

Let me put the melamine problem is better perspective. Remember the 2007 incident involving dog food imported from China? Dogs died after eating the dog food. The bad stuff in the dog food which caused their deaths was melamine. The same chemical now improperly found again in powdered milk.

In the last few years, there was a gigantic recall of a particular candy. China had exported the candy to several nations worldwide. Including the United States. The problem with the candy? You guessed it. Melamine.

There is a bottom line to all this. Stop buying food materials from China. The Chinese system of quality control leaves much to be desired.

I have spoken about this in the past on my radio show The Key West Lou Legal Hour. These imports are dangerous to the well being of our society.

We should grow, produce and sell home grown American foodstuffs!

It would help the economy and protect our good health!

I will follow the most recent tainted powdered milk case and report to you as and when there are developments.

Cell Phone Voyeurism / Video Voyeurism

Modern science is wonderful!

Small portable telephones with the capacity to photograph and video. Solitary cameras so tiny they can be hidden in a space no larger than a pencil point.

As easily as Eve corrupted Adam, these new ways of taking pictures are corrupting some others in today's society.

The topic involves voyeurism. Voyeurism is a sexual interest or practice of spying on another while that person is naked or sexually engaged. Sexual gratification derived by seeing another's naked body.

Of course, the person being observed is totally unaware of what is occurring.

A peeping tom type scenario.

Man's oldest law is the Bible. The Bible frowned upon voyeurism. Recall for example David peeking over the roof top to observe Bathsheba bathing.

The common law however did not label voyeurism a crime. It did not consider the act taboo from a legal perspective. Maybe because it was a man's world at the time. As a result, there is no common law basis in our law or the law of many nations making voyeurism a crime.

Where the common law did not entertain an issue, it is generally held that a legislative body must pass a law criminalizing something that was otherwise not a crime. Modern society has been slow to so do as regards voyeurism. Canada made voyeurism a crime by statue as recently as 1950. The States have been slower to do so.

Where legislatively enacted, voyeurism was considered a sexually deviant act.

I was prompted to review this area of the law with you because of two recent cases.

Yesterday a jury verdict was returned in South Florida. The claim was video voyeurism. Which, by the way, is a legislatively adopted crime in the State of Florida. The defendant sued was not convicted criminally. The charges were dismissed because of the manner in which the police obtained his confession.

However the woman videoed pursued the defendant in civil court for money damages. Much like the O. J. Simpson case. The jury awarded the woman in the civil case $476,200.00

The woman suing was Miranda Goldston, age 27. A college student. She was renting a room from the defendant. Apparently he had a camera secreted somewhere in the bedroom. Additionally the lawsuit claimed the defendant sun bathe in the nude and masturbated below her bedroom window.

The defendant was employed as an IRS agent.

I have intentionally refrained from identifying the defendant. The reason is his last name is spelled two dramatically different ways in the news' stories. Better to err on the side of caution.

For purposes of this case and the one to follow, Florida describes video voyeurism as intimate pictures of a woman taken without her consent.

The other case took place a few months ago. In a Publix Supermarket in Coral Gables, Florida.

A woman was shopping. She was wearing a dress. She was standing at a frozen foods counter. A Manuel Benitez used his Blackberry to take pictures up the woman's skirt.

He got caught!

Video voyeurism was the criminal charge. The Florida law also speaks of under or through clothing.

Benitez's cell phone was a cause of further agitation for him. The police discovered several other photos of other women similarly captured.

I have not set forth the woman's name because the police refrained from doing so. It is the practice in Florida not to identify the victim in a sexual case. The identity of the woman in the first case is known only because she brought a civil suit wherein she identified herself.

Nine states presently have video voyeurism laws. More will follow. The crime is becoming common place.

There is an additional problem/embarrassment for the culprit. After conviction, he is generally required to register as a sex offender.

To the men reading this, I say: Do not attempt to take a picture via camera or video of any woman naked or under her clothes  It is a gigantic NO NO! Unless of course you have her permission. Then fire away! I would get her consent in writing. You never know after the fact. There is the woman scorned syndrome.

To the women reading this, I say: Report to the police authorities any one you think might be improperly taking your picture or videoing you as described herein. It is your body! No one else’s! You and your body have an absolute right to privacy.

Lying.....Constitutionally Protected Free Speech

People lie. A fact of life.

A federal law was adopted in 2006 which concerned lying under specific circumstances. The law was called the Stolen Valor Act. It made it a crime to lie about having received a military medial or service badge.

Along comes Xavier Alvarez.

Alvarez resided in Pomona, California. In 2007 he ran as a candidate for election to the Three Valleys Water Board. He claimed along the way that he had received the Congressional Medal of Honor. America's highest military award. Given to those who have exhibited outstanding bravery in the military.

Alvarez had never received the Medal of Honor. In fact, he had never served in the military.

He lied. He spoke a deliberate untruth.

He was arrested. He pled guilty. However, Alvarez reserved his right to appeal his plea on the grounds that the statute violated his right to free speech as guaranteed under the United States Constitution.

The appeal was taken to the Ninth Circuit in California. Perhaps the most liberal intermediary federal appeals court in the nation.

Last August, the appeals Court agreed with Alvarez. It ruled in his favor. The Court held that the Stolen Valor Act violated his right to free speech. The Court said it was ok to lie as long as no one was harmed. It found no harm to anyone because of Alvarez's false heroism claim. The Court further justified its holding by saying that "...most people lie about some aspects of their lives from time to time."

What does Louis think? A bum decision.

To lie about receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor and get away with it.....incomprehensible! Falsehoods should not be permitted to support a freedom of speech claim.

What an example to set for our young. The decision does not speak well for us as a society.

There is justice sometimes. What goes around, does come around on occasion.

Alvarez was elected. He became a member of the Water Board. However, he no longer is a member. He defrauded the Three Valleys Water Board while a board member. He was sentenced to jail.

Sometimes justice is served, though indirectly.

Death by Stoning.....The Case of Sakineh

Mohammadi Ashtiani

The person named in the title is a woman. An Iranian woman. A widow.

The issue at hand is her two adulterous relationships. One either before her husband died or after. The other definitely after.

She was also charged with murdering her husband. She was found not guilty of that charge.

Whatever happened occurred in 2006. Sakineh has been in jail since that time.

Iranian law is based on the law of Islam. Muslims follow Islamic law. Precisely. To the point.

Islamic law is also known as Sharia law. The same law that many Muslims immigrating to the United States wish to live under. Not our law. Islamic law. Civilly and criminally.

Sakineh was sentenced to death by stoning for the two adulteries. Islamic law.

A terrific international outcry evolved. Even the Pope got involved. Opposition was twofold. The sentence did not fit the crime. Stoning was not civilized.

Brazil offered Sakineh asylum. Iran rejected it. The Iranian government basically said Brazil did not understand.

France also got involved. President Sarkozy's wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, wrote a letter in support of Sakineh and in opposition to stoning. Part of the letter read "...Why shed your blood and deprive your children of their mother? Because you have lived, because you have loved, because you're a woman, and because you're an Iranian."

The Iranian government controlled media responded by calling the French President's wife a "prostitute" who "deserved death."

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has also lodged protests on behalf of Sakineh.

In addition to the stoning death sentence, Sakineh was also sentenced to receive 99 lashes. She did.

At some point in her incarceration, an additional 99 lashes were ordered. Her case was receiving much international attention. Publicity adverse to the Iranian government. The Iranian government thought her picture appeared in some European newspaper. So they decided Sakineh had to be whipped again.

It was later determined that the picture was not of Sakineh. Rather it was of a Swiss woman.

Sakineh at some point confessed. Her attorney says the confession came after two days of torture. Sakineh has recanted her confession.

Her attorney became unpopular with the Iranian government because of his defense of Sakineh. He fled to Norway when he found out the Iranian government intended to arrest him. Norway has granted him political asylum.

In the past year or so, Iran has advised that they would not stone Sakineh. Instead, they would hang her. For her two adulteries.

She has been scheduled for hanging several different times since then. Each time however the Iranian government has decided at the last minute to reschedule the execution date.

Her scenario at this stage is beginning to resemble death row in the United States.

Stoning is difficult to label descriptively. Barbaric, yes. Outdated, definitely. Bear with me as I describe how a stoning takes place.

The person, whether male or female, has their hands tied behind their back. Then he or she is placed in a clothe sack. A hole has been prepared in the ground. The person is set in the ground feet first in a standing position. Then the hole is filled in.

Men are buried to their necks. Only neck and head are above ground. Women are buried only to their shoulders. Shoulders, neck and head above ground.

The reason that women are only buried to their shoulders is that Islamic law recognizes that women are the weaker sex. You see the law also permits/provides the opportunity for the person to be stoned to escape.

All the condemned person has to do is untie their hands, get out of the cloth bag and dig their way out.

Not finished yet, however. After the condemned is buried, a circle of citizens is formed. The citizens do the stoning. Stones obviously are used. Islamic law also spells out the size of the stone. Basically not too small and not too large.

While the stones are being thrown at the individual's head, the individual has the opportunity to escape as described. The escape attempt also involves getting through the crowd of people doing the stoning.

The Islamic sense of fairness!

Sakineh's ultimate fate remains unknown. The fact she is still alive after four years is fortunate for her and hopefully a good sign. Her case has become a hot potato for Iran.

I share Sakineh's story with you for a number of reasons. The foremost is so there will be an awareness of Iranian/Islamic justice. The same justice once again that many Muslims who are now living in the United States wish to be governed under.

It is important for us to know and understand what Muslims think and that which they seek. The issue of governance by Sharia law is touted as a freedom of religion issue. I do not see it that way. All freedoms have limits. For example, freedom of speech does not permit one to falsely shout fire in a crowded theater. Further, if a religion decreed that the second born girl must be put to death, such would not be upheld as permissible because of freedom of religion.

There is more to this adultery leading to stoning issue. It involves new born babies. It was recently reported that unmarried pregnant females in Pakistan are killing their new born in large numbers. Approximately 1,200 last year. Their fear is that they will be stoned to death if their adulterous conduct is discovered. One to six day old babies are left in garbage dumps and sewers to die. One mother strangled her baby and then burned the body.

What more can be said? Beware is the operative word. Muslims from every nation are welcome in the United States. But once here, they must live by our rules. Not those they have been accustomed to. If they insist on their rules, then they should return from whence they came. We do not want their way of life here.

Theodore Roosevelt the Phrase-maker

A walk back in history.....

Theodore Roosevelt. Unquestionably a great President! He also had a way with words. Gems. Some that he uttered have stayed with us over the years. A phrasemaker he was!

Roosevelt was the first to call the White House a "bully pulpit." Roosevelt recognized the great stage that was the White House. How it could be used to make a President's views known worldwide.

Roosevelt was confronted with an uncontrolled corporate America. Perhaps as we face today. He went after corporate America and forced it to get in line. He referred to his way of going after the corporations as "...speak softly and carry a big stick." He did!

Political lunacy existed in Roosevelt's day, also. The extremists in each political party. He referred to them as the "...lunatic fringe."

Roosevelt was asked in 1912 if he was going to run for the Presidency again. He said, "My hat is in the ring."

The phrase actually originated in the Old West. Roosevelt was familiar with it and made it popular. In the West of old if a boxer was ready to take on all challengers, he would toss his hat into the boxing ring.

Last but not least is a Roosevelt gem that was born in 1907. Roosevelt was at the Hermitage visiting the Tennessee home of Andrew Johnson. He was served coffee.  He drank it down and exclaimed, "Good to the last drop!" The coffee was a local brew. It came from one of Nashville, Tennessee's leading hotels. The Maxwell House. Within a decade of Roosevelt's exclamation, the Maxwell House used his words to turn its coffee into a national brand. To this day. "Good to the last drop!"

I enjoy deviating a bit in this blog and sharing some historical material with you. I hope you enjoy an occasional walk down history lane as much as I do.

Missouri and Strip Clubs

Onward Christian soldiers.....

Morality and religion. God, the Good Book and Church/Synagogue/Mosque. The word flows. Man follows. Or, tries to.

Sometimes religion and the civil law come into conflict. Religion can overstep it bounds. Encroach into that which is Caesar's.

The place is Missouri. The time last year. A Republican legislature and a Democratic governor created a new law. One whose primary purpose appears to be to put strip clubs out of business. Those dens of iniquity where naked women or very scantily clad women frolic about dancing and consorting with male customers. Also referred to as Gentlemen's Clubs.

The law in its initial application appears successful. A number of strip clubs have closed. It depends on the courts whether the law is constitutionally rightful. The clash between church and state.

Missouri's new law forbids full nudity and the sale of alcohol. It prohibits touching between semi-nude employees and customers. It requires strip clubs to close at midnight.

Will put strip clubs out of business!

If the law is not stopped, that is.

Now comes the battle. In the courts.

The strip club industry first attempted a blanket assault on the law. In a trial court and on appeal. To no avail. The appellate court said there has been no arrest yet, no facts established, no record made.

So back to step one.

The St. Joseph, Missouri police made an arrest. Smart police officers.

You would expect the police to raid a strip club where females shed their clothes. Not in St. Joseph. They raided an establishment where male strippers were performing. It was girls' night out. Two undercover female police officers were among the customers. The male strippers showed it all! Full frontal expose of the family jewels!

Arrests were made. The case is winding through the courts. Too early for any decision as yet.

The deciding issue is going to be a Constitutional one. Freedom of speech. In this instance, it will be referred to as artful expression.

There have been a multitude of these cases in the past. Most result in a decision in favor of the strip club. Stripping has been considered protected under the freedom of speech provision of the U.S. Constitution.

I assume based on precedent that the Missouri law will ultimately fail. As all previous such laws have.

What does Louis think?  I believe we have a problem that requires cleaning up, however. A moralist I am not. I enjoy viewing the naked female body. Occasionally I stop into a strip club. Perhaps once a year.

As much as I find the female body intriguing, it has always bothered me when I saw these ladies up close. They are kids. In their early twenties at best. Appear worn. Not healthy.

The job is purported to pay well. Some girls earn $1,000 to $2,000 a night. But the toll is obvious.

I believe strip clubs should go or be revolutionized in some way so the ladies are not so abused.

Operating a strip club is generally a profitable business. There is a news release today of 100 plus alleged mobsters/Mafia persons having been arrested in the northeast. One of the alleged crimes is requiring strip clubs to pay protection monies. The bookkeeper for a number of the strip clubs was also arrested.

Got to be a money maker!

This Missouri/strip club situation will be followed. You will be advised when there is a significant development.

Lifetime Imprisonment Without Possibility of Parole for Youthful Criminals a No No

Sometimes our laws are behind the times. Cruel actions are permitted for long periods. What might have appeared correct yesterday is not necessarily right today.

The issue involves children. Anyone under the age of 18 years. Jailed for life without the possibility of parole! In non murder cases!

European nations long ago did away with such life imprisonment sentences in such cases. The United States sadly lagged behind till a case involving Terrance Graham and the State of Florida.

First, some background.

As of last year, the United States had 129 males serving life sentences for non murder crimes who were sentenced while under the age of 18. The sentencing age was 13 to 16. Most are now adults. And most are still in jail.

Seventy seven of these criminals were incarcerated in Florida. Interestingly, 76 of the 77 were black. An issue for another day.

Terrance Graham was one of the Floridians. He was 16 when he committed burglary. The judge gave him a break. Probation and no criminal record under Florida law. Graham went out and committed another burglary. This time the judge was not lenient. He sentenced Graham to life imprisonment for having committed another burglary while on probation for the first.

Florida does not have a parole system. So life imprisonment means just that. No way for an earlier release.

The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.

Graham took his case to the United States Supreme Court on that issue. Life without parole for a non murder crime was cruel and unusual thereby violating his Constitutional rights.

In May of last year, the United States Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision agreed with Graham. The Supreme Court said such a harsh sentence does not take into account that a person may change from what he was in his youth to what he may become as an adult. The law denied the incarcerated hope. That good behavior might be rewarded.

Note that the Supreme Court did not say that incarceration for life for a non murder crime was wrong. The only thing wrong was that the opportunity/possibility for parole was not available. Under this scenario, Graham could have a new sentencing hearing and still be sentenced to life. But he must occasionally be provided a hearing to determine if he should be released.

A strange situation since Florida does not have a parole system in place. However, that becomes Florida's problem. Someway, somehow Florida will have to devise a system that provides the opportunity for these initially youthful offenders to be released, if existing law does not permit it.

The first step for Graham and the other 76 persons so sentenced is to apply for a revised sentencing hearing. It is anticipated all 77 Floridians so incarcerated will. 

There is an economic factor to be considered, also. Florida is in trouble financially, as most states. In the last 30 years, the Florida jail population has increased more than 500 percent while its population did not even double. It costs approximately $100 million to construct a jail. It costs $25 million dollars a year to operate each jail.

Statistics indicate that 5.4 out of every 100 persons in Florida are in jail. That means 5 per cent of the population is living off the public till.

It is time for each State to review its sentencing guidelines. Astronomical sentences for relatively minor crimes should not be allowed. The penalty should fit the crime. As Graham's case indicates, a life sentence for burglary does not make sense.

The Minie Ball Pregnancy

Legal cases can become a bit heavy. So occasionally I deviate with a walk back in history or something unique which is claimed to have occurred.

Today's topic involves pregnancy. A virgin one. An unanticipated one. A strange one.

The time is 1863. The Civil War. The place a battle ground in Mississippi. Historically referred to as the Battle of Raymond, Mississippi.

A minie ball is involved. A minie ball is the bullet/round shot that soldiers on both sides used in their guns. In those days, bullets were referred to as minie balls.

A Yankee shot his rifle at a Confederate soldier. The minie ball shot passed through the reproductive organs of the Confederate soldier. His scrotum to be exact.

A few seconds later, the same minie ball penetrated a young lady who was standing on the porch of her nearby home.

Dr. Le Grand Capers was nearby. He was a doctor serving in the medical corp. of the Confederate army.

Capers claimed he tended to both their wounds. Subsequently, the girl became pregnant from the fertile minie ball. Capers delivered the baby. He did even more. He introduced the girl to the Confederate soldier.

The young lady claimed at all times that she was still a virgin, although she obviously became pregnant and delivered. Her mother did not believe her cries of Mommy, I never had sex! Not until Dr.Capers told the mother the whole story. Then she believed.

The baby born was a male. Three weeks after he was delivered, the girl's mother called Dr. Capers. The baby's scrotum was swollen. Dr. Capers removed a mashed and battered minie ball from the baby's scrotum.

The couple married and had two additional children.

Capers eventually settled in Vicksburg and became a professor at a medical school in New Orleans.

In those days, The American Medical Weekly was THE medical publication. Much like the New England Journal of Medicine today.

Capers wrote an article about the minie ball pregnancy which was published in the American Weekly Journal in 1874.

Turns out the story as written by Capers was a spoof! A joke! There was no minie ball pregnancy.  Dr. Capers intended the story as a  joke and did not think anyone would believe it. But they did! Big time!

The article received national and international attention.

At some point after its publication, Dr. Capers issued a statement indicating the article was a joke. It appears no one paid attention. To recent times the article has been cited as authoritative in proving that virginal births can occur.

In 1959, a leading medical publication no less than the New York State Journal of Medicine cited the minie ball pregnancy as authority/proof in an article entitled "Two Unusual Cases of Gunshot Wounds of the Uterus."

As recently as 1982, Dear Abbey cited the mini ball pregnancy as proof that an impregnated woman can still be a virgin.

Interesting!

Capers must laugh in his grave each time the story is told!

Philadelphia Horror.....Heinous Crime!

You think you have heard it all. There is nothing more that can surprise or shock you. And then something happens. Something out of the ordinary. Grotesque and despicable.

This incident was reported this week.

Dr. Kermit Gosnell owns and operates an abortion clinic in Philadelphia. He has owned the clinic for many years. It is located in a depressed neighborhood. Its customers are primarily African American and Hispanic women.

This week Dr. Gosnell was charged with eight murders.

It is claimed that seven fetuses were aborted alive and that Dr. Gosnell took a scissors and snipped the spine of each baby, thereby killing the infant. It is further claimed that one of the women delivering died as a result of improper procedures by Dr. Gosnell.

Dr. Gosnell has a history of bad medical practice. He has been sued 15 times for malpractice. Two of his patients died prior to the one he is presently charged with murdering.

Pennsylvania has rules and regulations governing the operation of an abortion clinic. These rules and regulations provide governmental oversight. Oversight that failed as regards Dr. Gosnell's practice.

There are two Pennsylvania State Departments involved. Neither has inspected Dr. Gosnell's office in 16 years. The Governor believes something may be amiss. He has ordered an investigation.

A State agency representative reportedly said when questioned regarding the matter, "People die."

Callous under the circumstances.

Several methods were used to induce abortion. One simply was a shot. If the shot worked and the woman started aborting, she was seated on a toilet. The fetus was permitted to drop in the bowl. Then it was removed because of concern regarding plugging the toilet.

A sad story. A sick story.

Nothing more can be said. The facts speak for themselves.

Thomas Jefferson's Bible

The Bible. The written word. Generally considered man's first written law. Though there was an earlier law not written by man. The Ten Commandments as set forth on the two stone tablets given to Moses by God.

The term bible is used in the generic sense. It is the written word in book form that actually counts. Each major religion has a different name for that book.

To Christians, it is the Bible. To Jews, the Torah. To Muslims, the Quran.

Law can be said to have been derived from these religious writings.

The Christian Bible reflects the writings of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Each page written by them a lesson to live by.

There is another bible. One written by Thomas Jefferson. Yes, our hero, President and author of the United States Constitution.

Jefferson did not agree with everything Matthew, Mark, Luke and John wrote. He decided to write his own bible. He did it at night during his first term as President. A task that a President would be unable to perform today.

Jefferson had some major differences with the Christian Bible.

He did not believe Jesus was God. He considered Jesus a prophet, a teacher, a good man, a philosopher. But not God.

Jefferson did not believe in the miracles. Especially the one where Jesus is said to have risen from the dead.

He thought that Matthew, Mark, Luke and John had been carried away in their writings. He considered them stupid and rogues. Pretty strong stuff.

Jefferson was aware that his thinking might not be popular with the masses. Especially in what was a Christian society at the time. He was fearful his biblical rewriting would be considered radical. He knew religion was a controversial topic even then.

As a result, Jefferson's Bible was buried, so to speak. It was not published till 75 years after his death. When published, it floated like a lead balloon. There was neither impact nor outcry.

Jefferson and his biblical leanings/beliefs are interesting. Remember, Jefferson was a spiritual free thinker. Now we know he really was!

He was vehement in his defense of religious freedom. Two statements attributed to him reflect this posture.

The first involves his fellow man's beliefs. "It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are 20 gods or no god."

He believed that whatever a man's religious beliefs, such "...neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg."

Jefferson obviously had his own religious beliefs. He appears to have always believed in basic goodness and a person's right to worship as he pleased. He just did not accept the players who made up everyone else's Bible. So he wrote his own. And kept it as his own while alive.

It was Jefferson's right to believe as he did. As was it the right, recognized by him, for others to believe as they did.

Rahm Emanuel's Residency Problem

Rahm Emanuel wants to be Mayor of Chicago.

I don't think he is going to make it.

An Illinois appellate court ruled yesterday in a 2-1 decision that Emanuel was not a legal resident of Chicago for one year prior to his candidacy. The legal requirement.

The pertinent facts are simple. Emanuel was a Congressman from Chicago. He left Congress to become Chief of Staff to President Obama. That was two years ago.

When Emanuel left for Washington and his new post, he rented out his Chicago home. There is a written lease.

He still has not returned to that home. The lessee refuses to move till the end of the lease.

The residency law requires a one year residency before a candidate is eligible to run for office. Emanuel says he never left Chicago. He is to be compared to a person in the military. Although such person leaves a Chicago home for years sometimes, the military person is still considered a resident of Chicago.

The appellate court said no. It did not accept Emanuel’s argument.

A law does exist which accepts Emanuel's argument. But it has to do with voting rather than candidacy for office. Emanuel can vote in the mayoral race, although he cannot run for Mayor. These are two separate and distinct laws. One applies to voting rights and the other candidacy rights.

Residency requires a home. A place where one sleeps. A place where one keeps his clothes. A place where he receives his mail. A place from whence one's children go to school.

Emanuel moved to Washington. Lock, stock and barrel. Rented a new home. Slept there. Kept his clothes there. Received his usual home mail there. Sent his children to school in the Washington area.

Emanuel does not qualify to run for Mayor of Chicago.

I agree with the appellate court. Emanuel's screw up was renting his Chicago home. Had he not, things would have been different. The home is the big item in these cases. Since the Chicago home was rented out, it was and is not to this day Emanuel's to visit and keep his clothes in.

Emanuel screwed himself by renting the Chicago house.

I can understand how the problem arose. Emanuel probably did not foresee himself running for Mayor anytime soon when he took the job with Obama. Circumstances changed and he had the opportunity. Opportunity alone does not create the right to run. The law controls. Residency laws are basically the same in all 50 states. Emanuel simply does not qualify.

He has another problem. Whether he can appeal to Illinois highest court, the Supreme Court. Appeal is not by right. The law controls.

There are two ways Emanuel could appeal.

The first is if the appellate court which just ruled against him had certified the issue involved. That would have mandated that the Supreme Court hear the case right away. The appellate court did not certify the issue in Emanuel's case.

The other route of appeal is the Supreme Court voluntarily accepting the case. This requires four of the seven Judges to agree to hear the case. It is questionable whether four will agree in Emanuel's case.

Time is Emanuel's enemy. The election is February 22. The ballots for the election are being printed as I write. Emanuel's name is not on them. Because of the appellate court's decision, he is not a candidate at the moment.

Typical Chicago/Illinois situation. Lots of drama. Everything up in the air.

The Chicago Tribune wrote an editorial on the issue. The newspaper charged the appellate judges with "...judicial arrogance." I do not agree. The law is the law. It is for everyone equally. Plainly, Emanuel screwed up.

Rahm Emanuel Revisited

I expressed myself apparently prematurely in the Rahm Emanuel residency fight yesterday.

I forgot one ingredient in the mix. The State is Illinois. Anything can happen and does happen in Illinois. One is never to be surprised by the long reach of Illinois politics.

After the appellate court said Emanuel was out of the Chicago mayoral race on residency grounds, the only recourse left to Emanuel was an appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court. I did not consider the same possible for two reasons. The appellate court had not certified the issue. An Illinois requirement entitling one to automatic appeal. That left but one avenue to Emanuel. He had to convince four Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court that his case had merit and should be heard. There are a total of seven Justices. I did not believe that Emanuel had a snow ball's chance in hell of convincing four out of the seven.

He did. Within 24 hours of the appellate decision.

Not only is the Illinois Supreme Court going to consider the case, they are going to render a decision forthwith. Like sometime today or tomorrow. In order to do so, the Supreme court has said there will be no oral arguments. They will decide the case on briefs and papers already filed.

A couple of new facts have come to my attention which were not available yesterday. In order to show ties to Chicago, Emanuel sets forth that he has never voted in Washington and that his banking is still done in Chicago. Whether this is sufficient to overcome the rented house situation is for the Supreme Court to decide.

I am impressed that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear Emanuel's appeal. A result extremely difficult to accomplish in the law given the circumstances. I am not suggesting political chicanery. However, there is a distinct aura at this stage that political rather than legal forces may be driving the case.

If so, not fair.

My point. Would you or I have achieved the same success as Emanuel in having this appeal heard by the Supreme Court? I doubt it.

The law should be applied equally and fairly. It is supposed to work the same for everyone.

Next a decision by the Illinois Supreme Court.

 Any thoughts as what it might be?

General Motors Bites The Hand That Fed It

Mexico President Felipe Calderon announced this week that General Motors was investing $540 million in Mexico. The investment will be to GM's Toluca plant. General Motors will produce two low emission motors at the plant.

Calderon said that General Motor's investment will create 500 direct jobs and an additional 500 indirect jobs.

General Motors has four plants in Mexico. Calderon stated that General Motors has also invested an additional $5 billion in Mexico since 2006.

Something does not make sense.

Did not the United States bail out General Motors a couple of years ago? Yes. TARP bailout monies to the tune of $49.5 billion. The monies helped General Motors restructure and survive

Another question. Is one of the major problems confronting the United States today unemployment? Yes. Record high. What is needed are manufacturing jobs. Too many over the past years have been outsourced to other countries.

So why does General Motors invest all these monies in Mexico? Since 2006 and most recently.

It does not make sense.

It is General Motors biting the hand that fed it. The people of the United States.

Arizona On The Move Again

Arizona and the immigration problem. An unending one.

Several months ago Arizona passed a law requiring people to show their papers or be arrested. The law permitted police to stop people on the street and demand written proof they were citizens. If no written proof was available, they would be arrested.

Shades of Nazi Germany!

The courts dealt with the problem the law was declared unconstitutional. It is presently on appeal, but not expected to do much better at the appellate level.

Arizona state legislators do not give up easily, however. They hang in there.

Yesterday, new legislation was introduced. Its purpose to deny citizenship to children born in the Arizona of illegal immigrant parents. Actually the proposed law is more encompassing. Any child born in Arizona of parents not citizens of the United States would not be considered an American citizen.

In effect, Arizonians propose having parts of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution invalidated.

The pertinent part of the Fourteenth Amendment reads as follows: "...all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof."

The Fourteenth amendment was passed on 1868 to resolve any citizenship problems for African and African American slaves who had become citizens as a result of the Civil War.

The Fourteenth Amendment is a guarantee of citizenship to all born here, regardless of the status of the newborn's parent. Arizona seeks to do away with that right/guarantee.

On the same day, yesterday, Sheriff Joe Arpaio got into the act once again. He is the Arizona tough cop on the issue of illegal immigrants. His position is simple. Arrest them all and throw them out!

Arpaio announced a new crack down on illegal immigrants in his county. He formed an "Illegal Immigration Enforcement Posse." You read correctly. A posse! The posse consists of deputies and citizens. Volunteer citizens.

Sounds like the posses of the Old West. The sheriff rounded up a group of citizens and out they rode looking for the bad guys. The posse hung some of the bad guys from the nearest tree when found.

Another similar situation would be the blacks in the South. There was a time when white citizens hunted them and hung them.

The game plan involves targeting certain homes for the posse to visit. Here come the Nazis again! The knock on the door in the night! Twenty two persons have already been arrested under the new program.

Steven Seagal is one of my favorite movie action heroes. I don't know if I will continue to admire him. It is reported Seagal is a member of the Sheriff's posse and has taken part in the new operation.

What does Louis think?

The proposed law about newborns is going nowhere. The courts will declare it unconstitutional just as they did with the show me your papers legislation.

The posse concerns me. You cannot argue with enforcing existing law. It is proper to seek out illegal immigrants, arrest them and ultimately deport them. What is of concern however is the use of non police as part of the posses. The citizen volunteers. Things can get hairy in a police operation. Untrained persons can get carried too far. Who knows what might happen.

The new Arizona story will be followed and reported on as significant events occur.

Let me skip to Rahm Emanuel for a moment.

Late yesterday afternoon the Illinois Supreme Court voted 7-0 that Emanuel was a resident of Chicago and could run. The matter appears to be legally settled. I do not agree with the result. I view the result as a typical Illinois one. I sense politics deciding the matter rather than law. And I share again with you the thought that if it were you or me running, the result might be different.

Abraham Lincoln And The Body Snatchers

Abraham Lincoln had been dead and buried for ten years. His burial place was located in Springfield, Illinois.

A bunch of bad guys, better described as a gang, wanted to steal his body. Snatch it. Their purpose was to hold Lincoln's body for ransom.

A bit of background.

Ben Boyd was a master counterfeiter at the time. The Feds caught him and he eventually was sentenced to prison. His gang wanted to obtain his release. Spring him.

They came up with what they perceived as a brilliant idea.  They would steal Lincoln's body and hold it for ransom. The ransom would be Ben Boyd's release from jail. As an afterthought, they decided their efforts should also be compensated with some monies. So in addition to the return of Lincoln's body, they would ask for $25,000. A significant sum in those days.

The best laid plans of mice and men do oft go astray. Things did not work out as the gang planned.

The authorities became aware of the plan. One of them infiltrated the gang. Became a member there of. The authorities knew everything that was going to happen. The plan was to catch the gang in the act.

The authorities screwed up. The authorities consisted of the Secret Service and Pinkerton agents.

The gang almost had Lincoln's body out of the tomb. Someone shot. No one is certain which side fired that first shot. A gun battle ensued.

In the dark of the night, the Pinkerton agents started shooting at each other. In the confusion, the gang got away.

Lincoln's body was saved. The culprits escaped. But some were not free for long. Two were captured soon thereafter.

A problem arose at the prosecution end. What should the two be charged with? Grave robbing was not a crime in Illinois or under federal statute. Even if the body was that of a former President.

Stealing the casket was a crime. They were charged with attempted theft of the casket. The value of the casket determined the type of crime. The value was insufficient to constitute a felony. They could only be charged with a misdemeanor. Each received a one year jail sentence.

The gang was a bit early in their effort to steal a body from its grave. Within ten years of the Lincoln attempt, body snatching became a major industry and most states treated it as a serious crime. Not because of the Abraham Lincoln situation. Rather, medical schools were in dire need of cadavers to assist in teaching medical students. The only place to get them at the time was from relatively fresh graves. The bodies needed to be in good condition.

Body snatching and its became big time for both the thieves and police. It became a major illegal business. Much like alcohol during Prohibition and marijuana today. For about 20 years. Until more legitimate ways were found to obtain newly deceased bodies for teaching purposes.

Sexy Cora.....A Tale of Malpractice

Sexy Cora. The professional name of a German porn star. Her real name was Caroline Ebert.

She died this past week. At the age of 23.

Her photos suggest a beautiful young woman. Her career was established. Even at 23, she had already appeared in over 100 pornographic films. She was also a star of the popular German reality TV show Big Brother.

She died allegedly as the result of her sixth breast enlargement surgery. She wanted her breasts enlarged from a 34F to 34G.

I am not a breast size expert. However F and G sound pretty big to me!

Cora had had five previous breast enlargement surgeries at a clinic in Poland. She returned for her sixth enlargement procedure. The Polish clinic refused to perform it. They were of the opinion it might be injurious to her health.

She found doctors in Hamburg, Germany who were willing to perform the surgery. They were aware of the Polish clinic's decision.

The operation involved the injection of 28 ounces of silicone into each breast.

Cora suffered two heart attacks while on the operating table. Later she was in a coma. Then finally died.

The doctors have been charged criminally with negligent manslaughter by the German authorities.

There could also be a civil suit by Cora's heirs.

The German doctors are in trouble. Even though Cora was aware of the dangers involved. The Polish physicians had made her aware. The German doctors have liability/responsibility because they had knowledge of possible problems as a result of the Polish determination. And still went ahead with the surgery! The doctors are the professionals. They have the final judgment call as to whether a surgery should be performed.

The German doctors were forewarned. Never the less, they proceeded.

A clear case of malpractice.

Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me.

I once was lost but now am found,

Was blind, but now I see.

There is a story that goes with these beautiful words and the song from whence they came. It starts with slavery.

Most are unaware that the Founding Fathers dealt with the issue of the importation of slaves to the United States in the Constitution. Article I, section 9, stated in effect that the government could not ban the importation of slaves for at least twenty years.

Why such was placed in the original Constitution is not certain. I suspect that the Founding Fathers, most of whom were slave owners, were of the opinion that twenty years would give them enough time to propagate additional slaves. Since slaves had a significant monetary value and one's worth was often measured by slaves owned, it made sense that there had to be a time when no more would be permitted entry to the United States. An over abundance of slaves could conceivably diminish the value of each slave.

Twenty years passed. The Congress could not wait to pass a law banning further importation of slaves to the United States. They did it one year early in 1807. Thomas Jefferson was President at the time. He also is considered the Father of the Constitution. He supported the proposed law and did not hesitate in signing it. The law went into effect January 1, 1808.

From that day forward, the United States Navy was on the lookout for any ships that were attempting to bring new slaves to American shores. The Navy was kept busy. Slavery was a big business. It took till 1862 for the Navy to finally eradicate the problem.

Although the final three slave ships were captured in 1862 when the Civil War was already two years old, their capture had nothing to do with the Civil War. It was the result of the continued enforcement of the 1808 law.

The last three ships captured were the William, Bogota and Wildfire.

The demand for new slaves was overwhelming in the 1700s and first half of the 1800s. They were needed for work in North and South America. It is estimated some twelve million were imported during those years.

Cuba was in need of great numbers of slaves. The sugar fields needed workers. It is estimated at least 100,000 slaves were delivered from West Africa to Cuba.

Slaves had to be replenished. Most of the slaves delivered were young. Teenagers. They did not live long. They were literally worked to death. The need to replenish drove the slave industry.

John Newton was a slave trader. A bad guy in his early years. Very bad. Mean. He was known by people acquainted with him as a despicable person.

On one of the trips across the ocean, Newton and his ship engaged a violent storm. Newton thought he was going to die. He learned to pray. He asked God to save him. God did.

Newton continued as a slave trader for a few years. However, his conscience was now bothering him. He quit his chosen profession and went to theology school. Newton became a minister.

In 1779 Newton wrote Amazing Grace. Not as a musical piece. Not as a song. But rather a poem. His congregation would recite, not sing, the words at services.

The poem continued to 1835. At that time someone put it to music. There was an English tune New Britain. It became the melody for Amazing Grace.

Prior to the 1960s, Amazing Grace had no particular popularity. Except in the black churches. It became a song of hope and redemption. An African American spiritual.

Then came the civil rights movement of the 1960s. The marches, the boycotts, the assassinations. Amazing Grace gained national prominence and popularity during that era.

It also became a top selling recording.

Willie Nelson, Elvis Presley and Tennessee Ernie Ford all recorded it. So did Althea Franklin and Judy Collins. And most recently, Susan Boyle.

Amazing Grace's history began with the United States Constitution, the law of 1808, John Newton finding God, someone putting the words to music and finally the civil rights movement.

Today the hymn is sung everywhere. Both for the living and dead. Warm and uplifting.

Suicide

I recently read about a bungled suicide attempt. It happened in Buenos Aires, Argentina. A 33 year old woman jumped from the twenty third floor of a hotel. She landed on top of an empty taxi. Crushed the roof and windshield.

She survived. Banged up quite a bit. But recovered.

Her situation gave birth to this blog.

There is a public conception that suicide is a crime. This blog analyzes suicide in that regard.

Some interesting data first.

Suicide is defined as the act of a human being intentionally causing his or her own death. It is the sixth most common cause of death in the United States. Hard to believe! It is the thirtieth common cause of death worldwide. The cause of or precipitating factor leading to a suicide or attempted suicide includes depression, alcohol, substance abuse or the occurrence of a major stressful event.

The highest risk of suicide or its attempt is with white men.

There are over one million successful suicides worldwide yearly. There are between ten million and twenty million non fatal/botched suicide attempts.

Many years ago and many civilizations ago, it was considered a crime. Civilly and religiously. Civilized man does not look at suicide the same way as his ancestors. It may be said with a few exceptions that suicide is no longer a crime. Neither federally nor in any state. Not even at the misdemeanor level.

We have come a long way!

There is a court created exception to the statement that suicide is not a crime today. It involves common law suicide. In instances where there is no statutory/man legislated law on an issue, the courts look to old England. Remember, suicide was a crime in days of old. If there is a situation where suicide may affect the rights of survivors, then the common law may be invoked. A rare situation.

Oregon recently passed a law permitting physician assisted suicide. The Oregon Death with Dignity Act.

Washington soon followed suit. The Washington Death with Dignity Act. However, Washington only permits a physician to advise. A physician may not assist in the suicide.

The area where suicide is still a crime is where someone assists in the suicide.  Suicide assistance is a crime just about everywhere. Jack Kevorkian is the perfect example.

The bottom line is that the person attempting the suicide is free from any criminal charge if he or she survives. And a large number obviously do, based on the statistics set forth earlier. Suicide survivors are beyond the reach of the law. But once again, the helper or one providing assistance to the suicidal person is not. They can and generally will be charged with a felony.

The lady in Buenos Aires who jumped twenty three floors and survived has nothing to worry about. Except perhaps having to live with the thought of her failure.

Malawi

Some problems result in strange laws. Oddball laws.

Let me share with you one such law. A new one. Came into existence this past week.

The nation is Malawi.

I had never heard of Malawi before this week. It is a small landlocked country in southeast Africa. Very small. Very hot. Densely populated. Too many people for the size of the country.

The new law outlaws farting. You read me correctly. The passing of gas in public places is a crime. The problem so acute that Malawi is creating new local courts to handle the anticipated influx of cases and some other matters.

One prominent Malawi leader said the purpose of the anti-farting law was to "...mold responsible and disciplined citizens."

And you thought we had problems here in the United States that required attention!

Malawi Revisited / Super Bowl and Sex Trafficking

Malawi's new anti-farting law first came to the attention of the world this past Wednesday. In a radio interview, Malawi's Justice Minister discussed the law. He said that the "anti-farting" law would clamp down on unruly bowels and promote "public decency."

The Justice Minister is a lawyer and Yale graduate.

The radio interview drew worldwide attention.

Malawi also has a Solicitor General. The Solicitor General disagreed with the Justice Minister regarding the law. The Solicitor General said the law was merely an anti-pollution measure and had nothing to do with the passing of human gas.

So late Friday, the Justice Minister, the Yale graduate, said he had erred. A faux pas on his part. The new law did not prohibit farting in public.

Let’s move now to Dallas and the Super Bowl. The issue here has nothing to do with the Malawi topic. They are separate and distinct.

This past week it was revealed that in Dallas this weekend there would be pimps selling children for sex. Police are on special lookout regarding the problem. The Dallas Police Chief said, "This is a very big issue."

Child prostitution at Super Bowl games has been on the increase since 2008.

At the Phoenix game in 2008, a child prostitution ring was unveiled. At the Tampa game in 2009, two men were arrested for advertising a 14 year old Super Bowl special. At the Miami game in 2010, a Hawaiian man brought a teenager to Miami. He prostituted her. He is now doing 20 years in a federal prison.

The modus operandi is simple. The pimps rent houses and buses. Then arrange parties with underage girls.

I have discussed pedophilia/child sex in an earlier blog here and on my radio show. I warned it was on the increase. This Dallas situation is one example.

Soon.....Smoking Only In Caves

Smokers beware! Governments are coming after you.

Two governmental entities legislated new anti-smoking laws last week. New York City and Bhutan.

New York City has banned smoking in restaurants and bars for years. This past week the City Council in an overwhelming vote directed a further prohibition on smoking. Smoking no longer will be permitted in public parks, public beaches and public plazas.

New York City has 1,700 parks, 14 miles of beaches and numerous public plazas. Enforcement will be interesting.

Mayor Bloomberg is expected to sign the legislation into law.

Such prohibitions are not uncommon. Los Angeles already bans smoking in their parks. Chicago prohibits smoking in parks containing playgrounds.

Then there is Bhutan. A tiny Himalayan kingdom.

Bhutan went all the way! It banned smoking and the use of tobacco products everywhere nationwide. With one exception. Limited tobacco products may be used in one's home.

Someone has already been arrested under the new law. A Buddhist monk. The temptation must have been too much for him.

The Buddhist monk is facing 5 years in jail, if convicted. He is charged with having in his possession 72 packets of chewing tobacco.

The new Bhutan law is strict. It gives police the right to search homes without a warrant. Even in the night. It allows police to bully and threaten people in their search for illegal tobacco use and products. Special sniffer dogs have been acquired to assist the police.

I used to smoke. I do not any longer. So I have no ax to grind.

I have a concern however with banning smoking. A legal one. It is definitely an infringement on individual rights. The prohibition has gone from restaurants to parks and beaches. Eventually even the United States may impose a total prohibition as Bhutan did.

We read and hear media reports concerning obesity. Healthier food and less food is becoming the cry. Just this weekend I read somewhere that Michelle Obama suggested restaurants serve smaller portions.

Wearing helmets when biking and seat belts in cars are other examples of personal infringements.

If people want to smoke and get lung cancer, it should be their right. Stupid as it may be. Likewise if some people enjoy eating and don't mind being fat, that should be their right.

There has to be a point where government stops. The line must be drawn somewhere with regard to personal infringements. Where, I am not sure. Certainly however the issue is something to think about.

Sharia Law Revisited

The first blog I wrote in this Key West Lou Law series was entitled: Beware.....Sharia Law!

Sharia law is sacred Islamic law. Followed by those of the Muslim faith. It is derived from the Quran and the teachings of Mohammed.

In Muslim nations, Sharia law controls civilly and criminally. Some of its more outrageous criminal punishments include stoning for adultery and the cutting off of a limb for a robbery. In the field of domestic relations, only the husband may divorce. This is also the law that requires females to be garbed totally with only their eyes visible.

My concern is with those of the Muslim faith who are immigrating to the United States. As a side note, Muslims are immigrating to nations all over the world. Their cry in each instance is the right to be governed by Sharia law. Civilly and criminally. Not the laws of the new country they are living in.

We cannot live in a society with two sets of laws. There can be only one law. Consistent. The same for everyone.

That is the American way. That is the way it has been in the United States from its inception. And should so continue.

The reason for the update is that matters are moving in this area. Worldwide and in the United States. You should be aware. To be forewarned is to be forearmed.

The Mideast nation of Qatar is in the news this very day.

Non-Islamic banks in Qatar have Islamic finance divisions. As of today, such divisions may no longer operate. A loss of 100,000 customers in Qatar.

It is anticipated that this barring of Islamic divisions will spread to other Middle East countries.

The reason appears to be that Sharia law does not permit the charging or earning of interest. Note these are non Islamic banks doing business in the Middle East. These banks obviously do not wish to loan money with no anticipated return.

Then there is Egypt. In turmoil the past two weeks.

A disorganized revolt of sorts. There does not appear to be leadership. A vacuum exists in that regard. Into the vacuum now walks the Muslim Brotherhood. Not large in numbers. But well organized.

It has been reported that the Muslim Brotherhood is a radical Islamic group governed by Sharia law. It is considered anti American in many respects. Even President Obama made comment to this effect in the O'Relly interview prior to the Super Bowl game.

Scholars are warning that democracy and Islamic Sharia law are not compatible and that it is culturally impossible for the two to exist in one nation. The scholars further warn that this democracy being talked of in Egypt these days will not be as we understand it. It will be more of a theo democracy. Religiously driven.

Oklahoma last November passed a law barring Sharia law to be used in Oklahoma courts. A Muslim group immediately went to Federal Court saying such law denied Muslims freedom of religion under the United States Constitution. The federal judge agreed. The case is on appeal.

Since that time, eight other states have introduced legislation to thwart the Sharia law problem. Alaska, Arkansas, Indiana, Nebraska, Wyoming, South Carolina, South Dakota and Texas. Only Wyoming targets Sharia law specifically. The others target the laws of other nations from being applied, without specifically naming Sharia law, in an attempt to get around the Oklahoma decision.

I do not know what is going to happen in the final analysis. I am against the use of Sharia law in American courts. If one wishes to live in the United States and enjoy its blessings, then that person should be willing to accept our laws also. Either immigrate whole heartedly or do not immigrate at all.

I obviously believe the Oklahoma decision was a bum one. I do not view the problem as one involving freedom of religion. Muslims can still practice their faith as Protestants, Catholics and Jews do.

What the Muslims want with Sharia law does not fit into the fabric of our society. It never has.

I have an additional concern. It is that this Sharia law thing is the first step in an attempt to eventually control and change the American way of life. Not farfetched. Pew put out a study this past week indicating that in 20 years the Muslim population in the United States will have doubled. And that there will be as many Muslims here as Episcopalians and Jews today.

Think about it.

Cadavers.....Money In Them There Bones!

A cadaver is the dead body which remains after life has passed from it.

The body is legally dead. Brain dead. But biologically, the body is still alive. Its tissues and organs are available for transplant.

In days of old, the transplanting of tissues and organs was not commonplace. Medical science had not progressed to where it is today. Dead bodies were solely required for medical studies.

Governments would provide the bodies of executed criminals. It was thought criminals were bad people to begin with and would not find their way into Heaven. Religious belief also held that dissected bodies could not enter Heaven. God's image had to be preserved for entry. So it was ok to provide executed bodies to medical schools.

Over a stretch of time, executions became less frequent. The demand for bodies remained the same however. Necessity is the mother of invention. A new business arose. Body snatching/grave snatching. In the dark of the night, grave diggers dug up the remains for sale to medical schools.

Even grave digging could not meet the increasing demand. In the early 1800s, grave digging graduated to murder. Gangs were organized to kill the unwary. And kill they did! Big time!

Medical schools were paying top dollar for cadavers. Most of the murderers were earning upwards of $1,000 a year. Big money in those days!

1827-1828 was the worst. In England. The West Port Murders.

Governments finally got into the act and started controlling the means whereby cadavers found their way into medical schools.

Today most cadavers are donated. Initially.

Corneas, bones for spinal surgery, ground bones for dental surgery, skin for burn victims and more. Cadaver usage is for much more than medical school education purposes today. It is to help mend the injured who still live.

Demand outstrips supply. There are 20,000 bodies available for each year via  the donation route. Twenty thousand bodies results in 1 million body parts. Yet even more are needed.

Money now comes into play. Illegal dollars.

The estimated value of a cadaver today is $150,000. That is the value of our respective bodies at the time of death. Assuming a healthy body, of course. A lot of money!

The law regarding cadaver sales is simple. It is illegal in the United States to sell tissues and organs for transplant. There is one exception. Organs and tissue may be donated to non-profits established to process those body parts on for medical transplants.

The non-profit receives the cadaver for free. It sells it for money. Legal.

If the cadaver is to be bought or sold for research and medical education purposes, sales are proper in every instance.

The problem once again is that there are not enough cadavers available. Body parts have become big business on the secondary market. And to illegal markets. Greed takes over. Body parts are sold illegally for gain to the wrongdoer.

One example is the University of Southern California at Los Angeles. The University received 175 donated cadavers a year. Two University staff members were aware of the market and opportunity to make big dollars. From 1998 to 2003, these staff members sold 496 cadavers illegally for $704,600.

Need more be said! Sale/resale of cadavers is a booming business! A business which probably requires more oversight than it is presently being given.