Carolina Teacher Accused of Indecent Liberties

(Taylorsville, North Carolina) A 29-year-old math teacher at Alexander Central High School, Nikki Setzer Icard, has been accused of engaging in an inappropriate relationship with an 18-year-old male student.

Icard faces one felony count of indecent liberties with a student. She is also accused of sending the student nude pictures of herself.

The senior apparently shared those images, and the Alexander Sheriff’s Department received an anonymous phone call regarding the situation.

The sheriff then contacted the police department, as the alleged felony occurred within Taylorsville city limits, said Jones.

Icard was booked into custody and subsequently posted a $10,000 bond.

Florida Teacher Canned for Bikini Pics



Victoria James aka Olivia Sprauer

(Martin County, Florida) A 26-year-old English teacher at Martin County High School, Olivia Sprauer, has been jettisoned from her teaching position because she was moonlighting as a bikini model under the name Victoria James.

Sprauer admitted that she knew her teaching profession could be jeopardized by the modeling gig.

Sure enough, Sprauer’s school principal somehow came across her modeling photos and confronted her with them on April 29. After Olivia Sprauer confirmed that it was indeed her in those bikinis, the principal asked her to resign.

Sprauer contends she didn't do anything wrong.

Colorado Coed Accused of Mushroom Behavior



Taylor Powers
(Boulder, Colorado) On Sunday, a Chautauqua Park Ranger notified the Boulder County Sheriff's office that a 21-year-old college coed was running buck naked around the park, apparently "high on mushrooms."

Reportedly, a total of 35 sheriff's deputies and rescue personnel responded to the scene.

Ultimately, University of Colorado undergrad Taylor Powers was wrestled to the ground and handcuffed. She was cited for consuming a controlled substance.

Tip: Charley Nestor

Too Pretty?



Laura Fernee
Some people will always find a reason to complain.

A British woman says she was forced out of her job in a science laboratory because she was too good looking to work there.

Laura Fernee, a 33-year-old PhD graduate, says she quit the job in 2011 due to unwanted attention from male colleagues and jealousy from female co-workers.

Fernee claims she left her job due to bullying and harassment which she describes as men asking her out on dates, giving her romantic gifts and leaving notes on her desk.

Ms. Fernee is writing a book to help other women who are too pretty and suffer from having too many dates and receiving too many gifts.

Here's a suggested title; Expert Help for Women Whose Shit Doesn't Stink.

Some useful enquiries

Below is an email from an old friend which reminds me how much there is to explain in the matters I broach.  I propose to answer it in italics

While understanding that the understanding of authoritarianism may have some application in real life I don’t quite understand how proving that one race is less intelligent than another can have any application at all.

Back to authoritarianism for a moment; you blame all authoritarianism on ‘leftists’ despite ‘nationalism’ normally being seen as a right wing trait. Are there no ‘right wing’ regimes? Are not the Mugabe or the Idi Amins (and many other African states) right wing dictators? If not, then I would like to know the definition of right wing as I clearly don’t understand it. (Serious question)

Not all tyrants are ideologically motivated.  In history most tyrants have been just tyrants.  But as far as it goes Mugabe is a redistributionist, which makes him Leftist.  Amin was just a brute.

There is a distinction between patriotism (love of counrty) and nationalism (the desire to have your country control others).  The first is conservative, the second Leftist.  Democrats declared almost all America's foreign wars.  GWB went to war  only when America was attacked (9/11).  Friedrich Engels (co-author of Karl Marx) was a furious German nationalist; TR was a furious American nationalist and FDR so hankered for a war that he forced the unfortunate Japanese into one by cutting off their oil supplies

Actually I just looked up the definition in Wikipedia (interesting that your article prompted me to research something I normally wouldn’t have bothered with)

“In left-right politics, right-wing describes an outlook or specific position that accepts or supports social hierarchy or social inequality.[1][2][3][4] Social hierarchy and social inequality is viewed by those affiliated with the Right as either inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable,[2] whether it arises through traditional social differences[5] or from competition in market economies.[6][7] It typically accepts or justifies this position on the basis of natural law or tradition”
  
Would you agree with this definition?

No.  It is a Leftist definition.  "Rightist" is mainly a Leftist term these days.  It is often used for Hitler, who was actually a socialist.  "Conservative" is clearer for the non-Leftist side of politics. 

The great triumph of Leftist disinformation that has identified Hitler as a Rightist has upset the whole Left/Right terminology.  In his antisemitism, nationalism and eugenics Hitler was typical of prewar Leftists.  The Conservative Churchill was his great opponent, not an ally

If so, it would seem to me that most dictatorships would fall within this definition?

By choosing a wrong definition you can prove many wacky things

Ha ha, I just reread your authoritarianism piece again and realised that you are going to accuse me of attempting to ‘...prove that conservatives are the authoritarians...’ .That wasn’t my intention I was seriously trying to discover just exactly what you think ‘right wing’ means as opposed to what I thought it meant. Of course Shakespeare pre-empted Freud with regards to self-justification “...I believe he doth protest too much...”

Would it be fun to list specifically how a ‘right wing’ person would respond to all of today’s controversies?

Use "conservative" and we can have an empirical definition.  Briefly:   "Devoted to individual liberty".  Not much room for dictatorship there

Anyway, it wasn’t authoritarianism that prompted me to write, but intelligence across races.

Understand that I am not seeking to debate or argue with you but simply to align your thinking with mine in order to isolate where our thoughts might diverge.

In seeking to prove that one race is intellectually inferior to another how would you like to proceed with that knowledge to change the way the world works?

It could be used to give American blacks schools especially suited to their limited abilities -- They learn very little in today's schools

A few things occurred to me while reading:

Assuming that the average IQ is 100, what cross section of society is used to determine that number, ie is it the population of America or Africa or the Middle East, or is it the world or a specific race? I’m sure there is some complicated maths behind all of this.

The population mean (average) for the white population of Britain, the USA and most of Europe is 100 so that has become the norm

If it is America, then it must contain subsets of many races which (if your assertion is correct) must skew the average downwards making it irrelevant to any specific race and making a race of even a slightly higher IQ seem artificially higher. If IQ is determined on a racial basis (ie a different mean is set for each race) then I would have thought that cross-race testing would be very revealing given cultural specialities. I would be interested in these results if they are available.

Yes.  The mean for the USA as a whole would be meaningless.  You have to separate out the ethnic groups

Again, what actually is the point in proving your assertion? Are you suggesting that one race should be treated differently because they have a lower IQ? Should we assume that if we are talking to or listening to a Muslim we shouldn’t take any notice of what he thinks? Or are you suggesting that intelligent people are in some way better members of society than others? Or maybe better able to rule? There are many clever intellectuals who get many things wrong.

The policies adopted depend on many factors but treating all groups as the same will inevitably lead to policy failures -- outcomes not envisaged

I believe it to be true that many serial killers and sociopaths in general, have high IQ’s and are very charming people. My experience is that less intelligent people are much more likely to obey rules than those who think things through for themselves and therefore believe that ‘rules are made for the lowest common denominator and therefore don’t apply to me’. I have often found that the more ‘ordinary’ a person is the nicer human beings they are (if less interesting to communicate with)

There are exceptions but most incarcerated criminals are low IQ and poorly educated. 

I personally get on best with working class people as I find them more down to earth

I applaud your desire to simply state the truth that research reveals and I totally understand that ideal but in order to do that effectively I suggest that the use of emotive words and phrases like  ‘pretended’ ‘ ...who should know better’ ‘...it is clearly...’ ‘...unlike...(fill in the assumption)...’ ‘...are obviously...’ ‘...it is surely that...’ would best be avoided.

Yes.  I avoid that in my academic writings but for maximum reach I have to make things vivid a bit

I know it is difficult to avoid these common phrases but they are read as put downs by people who may have an opposing view or who even see grey where you might see black and white, and leads them to think that if they disagree with the subject of the sentence they are somehow wrong or misinformed or even worse, stupid. I think that your points could be just as impactful (if less reaffirming to the converted) without the emotive content.

I don't actually hope to convert Leftists.  That rarely happens except through aging.  I aim to buck up my side

Perhaps it is the association of IQ with superiority that needs to be addressed. I’m sure it doesn’t surprise you that people should be upset by being called inferior?

High IQ is broadly advantageous but is not much use for singing or running and various other things so it is not everything.  I accept, for instance,  that I am physically clumsy.  We all have our limitations and for a contented life you have to accept them

Maybe there is even a psychological inference to be drawn from those who seek to prove their superiority by these means? Lol. Didn’t someone once try to prove that the capacity of the skull was proof of superiority simply because he had a big head?

That was phrenology.  But more sophisticated measurements do show a correlation of about .3 between brain size and IQ

I would be interested to know where you would classify me in the scale of left to right. I seem to adopt ideas from both ‘isms’ with little or no conflict. I come to conclusions on issues (wherever I actually do hold an opinion) by largely empirical and logical means but don’t claim to have any answers to the bigger questions of life. An example of where I do conflict is when I quite happily tuck into a meat meal but am quite incapable of killing the animal that supplied it. I acknowledge my hypocrisy but am powerless to rationalise it. 

I think you are a recovering Leftist -- about right for your age.  How you had such a conservative son is the mystery

You claim that ‘leftists’ know all of the answers, in which case I know no ‘leftists’ at all (although I think you would disagree). In fact the person I know who does seem to have most of the answers is you, John? Ha ha

Leftist policy prescriptions show very little awareness of possible problems so they  do create the impression that they think they know it all. 

If I knew it all I would just write it down once and then stop.  That I keep writing indicates that I am always learning

I can’t help feeling that by spending your energies on segregating races you are simply employing the emperor Alexander’s solution to the Gordian knot problem, instead of trying to unravel the complex knot you would take a sword to it and simply cut the rope. Lol.

It's not at all complex.  The only complexity is that many people dislike the evidence. 

Race is a major problem in the USA but it is not I who have created it.  I just try to point out that most of the problem is due to wrong assumptions of equality and that the problem will remain until reality is recognized

Like you I find these topics fascinating but I can’t agree with your assertion that ALL leftists deny that race exists. I have never heard that, neither have I heard them insisting that everyone is equal, I have only ever interpreted it as all men should have ‘equal opportunity’ which is what I loosely believe. This allows talent to rise to the surface from whichever substrate they come, and accepts by definition that some will naturally end up as less equal than others. In fact the very acceptance of this tenet is the acceptance that men are not all equal.

You need to note the shrill outrage when Americans even mention IQ or race.  Belief in equal opportunity only  is conservative these days

Anyway, the more I read over your articles the more it makes me think and I thank you for that stimulation.


Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).

Indiana Woman Guilty of Molestation - Update

(Valparaiso, Indiana)

A Northwest Indiana woman accused of photographing herself molesting a 3-year-old for her boyfriend pleaded guilty Friday to two of the 13 felony charges against her.

Tara Tryon, 23, of Wanatah, Ind., will serve 10 years for Class B felony child molesting and eight years for Class C felony child exploitation if Indiana’s Porter Superior Judge William Alexa accepts her plea at a July 12 sentencing hearing.

“We thought the evidence was pretty strong, and she decided to accept the plea,” defense attorney Bob Harper said.

Tryon will serve the sentences at the same time, but neither sentence includes probation time.

As part of her plea, the state would drop four Class B felony child molesting charges, a Class C felony child molesting charge and six Class C felony child exploitation charges.

Tryon remains on bail until sentencing.

* * * * *
Indiana Babysitter Accused of Molestation
[Previous 10/29/11 post]
(Valparaiso, Indiana) A 21-year-old babysitter, Tara Tryon, has been accused of molesting a three-year-old boy she was caring for.

Tryon faces 13 felony counts of child molestation and exploitation.

According to the probable cause affidavit filed by Det. Sgt. Rick Strong of the Indiana State Police, on Monday, Oct. 24, the ISP was notified by the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Police of an anonymous caller who reported receiving, via e-mail, photos and video “of a woman engaging in the sexual molestation of a young male child.”

The caller identified the woman in the photos as Tryon, stated that she believed Tryon to be residing in Valparaiso, and added that she reported the matter to the Department of Social Services’ hotline, Strong stated in his affidavit.

When asked about the content of the photos, the caller indicated that she had viewed only a few but that they clearly showed intimate sexual contact between Tryon and a boy apparently younger than 5, Strong stated.

Tryon was booked into custody at the Porter County Jail without bond.

Monster Tornadoes in Oklahoma - Update



From AccuWeather.com:

The tornado touched down at about 2:53 p.m. CDT Monday in Moore, between Norman and Oklahoma City. Entire neighborhoods were leveled, according to local police.

Power lines were reported down on Santa Fe Road near the Briarwood Elementary School in Oklahoma City, Okla. It was reported that the elementary school had a large gas leak. Emergency crews experienced difficulty reaching the school due to large amounts of debris in the road.

Police reported that children were trapped under debris at the school. Later, police requested all available personnel report to help rescue the children from the debris. Children were reported to be lost and wandering in groups as parents searched the area.

Children at the Wellston Elementary School in Wellston, Okla., and Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla., were also reported to be trapped under debris.

Early morning Tuesday, media reports indicate 51 fatalities have been confirmed. More are expected.

Included in the death total are 20 children who were buried under debris when the roof of their school was torn off.

* * * * *
Monster Tornadoes in Oklahoma
[Previous 5/20/13 post]
(Moore, Oklahoma) The tornado outbreak reportedly hit the ground about 4PM CDT. Monitoring the web and media, four fatalities, including a mother and baby, have been reported thus far. Seeing pictures of the devastation, I expect many more.

A monstrous tornado as much as a mile wide roared through the Oklahoma City suburbs Monday, flattening entire neighborhoods, setting buildings on fire and landing a direct blow on an elementary school.[…]

Block after block of the community lay in ruins, with heaps of debris piled up where homes used to be. Cars and trucks were left crumpled on the roadside.

Volunteers and first responders were searching through debris looking for survivors. Television footage showed first-responders picking through rubble and twisted metal.

Oklahoma City Police Capt. Dexter Nelson said downed power lines and open gas lines posed a risk in the aftermath of the system.

The storm seemed to blow neighborhoods apart instantly, scattering shards of wood and pieces of insulation across the scarred landscape.

Winds are estimated to have exceeded 190 MPH. A search for survivors is in progress.

Venezuela Wants Ties with US

(Caracas, Venezuela) In a television interview yesterday, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Elias Jaua said his nation desires to restore full diplomatic relations with the United States.

"This is a message for U.S. politicians so they understand Venezuela's desire to normalize relations ... via the designation of the highest diplomatic authorities," he said. "Why? Because the United States remains our top trade partner."

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has in recent months said he wants better ties with Washington as long as the relationship is respectful.

The U.S. is always respectful to backstabbing commie nutjobs.

Bob Carter shreds the myths




Even High School kids could follow this.  Carter is an earth sciences professor at an Australian university so the talk does include some Australian references.

The Climate Lessons blogger says:  "This should be recommended viewing for every teacher in the world.

I also think there are seeds in this video for ideas that could be used as and when the 'authorities' get round to creating a decent curriculum on climate for schools.  That might have to precede publishers willing to risk new books aimed at the young, and suitable for schools, with a more realistic and optimistic view of our climate system and our impact on it.

That might include the fact that we have never been in a stronger position than we are now to cope with climate variations.  So parents might like to take the initiative and tell their children that.  There will be troubles ahead from climate, just as there have been in the past.  But we are more ready than ever before to handle them.  Our abundant supplies of affordable energy are part of that."


Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).

Microstamping Law in California



(Sacramento, California)

A California law that requires all semi-automatic handguns to be equipped with technology that stamps its identifying information on bullet casings is now in effect after years of delays.[…]

The law doesn't impact the more than 1,200 guns already on the state's official firearm roster. Only new or modified semi-automatic handguns sold in California must be equipped with the technology that "microstamps" a bullet casing with a code identifying a gun's make, model and serial number whenever the gun is fired.

So, the microstamping feature is only mandated for new or modified weapons.

Florida Student Faces Lewd & Lascivious Charges

(Sebastian, Florida) An 18-year-old student at Sebastian River High School, Kaitlyn Hunt, has been accused of engaging in a lesbian relationship with an underage girl.

Hunt faces counts of felony lewd and lascivious battery on a child ages 12 to 16.

In September, after Hunt turned 18, she and the other girl, a freshman, began dating and expressed their relationship in “intimate ways,” the family said.

But when the basketball coach found out about their relationship, Hunt was thrown off the team and the other girl’s parents were notified.

The parents then told police, and a phone call was recorded between their daughter and Hunt in which the girls discussed their relationship, Gay said.

The age of consent in Florida is 18.

Hunt was expelled from Sebastian River High School.

Altemeyer is still fundamentally confused

At least since 1950, Leftist psychologists have been fascinated by the concept of authoritarianism.  They have good reason to be.  The most authoritarian regimes in recent history have been socialist:  From the Communist Lenin, Stalin and Mao, through the national socialist Hitler to the ghastly Pol Pot.  So authoritarianism is in the bones of Leftists. We also see that orientation in their virtually universal refusal to condemn the gran lider of Cuba ("Great Leader", Fidel Castro) and their unrelenting attempts to fasten the bonds of regulation around  most aspects of life in the USA. And they are always eager to spend your money for you whether you want them to or not.

But authoritarianism is repugnant to most people gripped by it so the Left have a need to deny the authoritarianism which is innate to them.  They need to pretend to be something else.  And they are rather good at that. They pretend to be do-gooders even though most of what they do turns out badly.

Another very useful way of deflecting criticism is simply denial.  If you say often enough that you are not authoritarian, people might believe you.  And a very effective way of reinforcing such denials is of accusing your opponents of what is really true of yourself.  Freud called that "projection".  So Leftist psychologists have made great efforts to prove that conservatives are the authoritarian ones, not themselves.

That merry little scheme started with the work of Marxist theoretician Adorno in 1950 but foundered eventually on the poor evidence for the various Adorno assertions.  I cover that here.

The Adorno work was however refurbished from 1981 on by Robert Altemeyer of the University of Manitoba in Canada and I have pointed out from early on how sloppy Altemeyer's work is (e.g. here and here and here) .

Altemeyer has however continued to write books on authoritarianism and has gained a certain degree of notice outside academe,  particularly through the blog of Jonathan Turley.  Not much about Altemeyer's story has changed over the years but maybe there is by now a case for me to update a little my comments on his work.

Altemeyer has compiled a set of statements (the RWA scale) which in his view reflect "Right Wing Authoritarianism".  But he is very shifty about what he means by "right-wing".  Sometimes he refers to it as meaning conservative and at other times he admits that it is uncorrelated with vote for conservative political parties.

In other words his research is about conservatives who are as likely to vote Democrat as Republican!  A truly odd bunch!  The truth, I suspect, is that Altemeyer would not know a conservative if he fell over one. I have  no doubt that the Psychology Dept. at the University of Manitoba is the standard Leftist bubble that one expects of such Depts so strange beliefs about conservatives and much else could flourish in that environment.

So what the RWA scale really measures is anybody's guess.  I see it as measuring an old fashioned form of extreme conservatism that no longer has political relevance or, indeed, any relevance at all.  So the political relevance of Altemeyer's various research findings exists only in Altemeyer's imagination and need detain nobody for any time at all.

But if Altemeyer is vague about "right wing", he is quite clearly wrong about authoritarianism.  He makes it clear that it is not dictators he is talking about but rather their followers.  He claims that he is measuring a tendency for people to submit to authority.  But there is no such thing.  Nobody just respects authority per se.  Different people respect different authorities.  Altemeyer is convinced that conservatives in the USA are characterized by a respect for conventional authority.  Yet most American conservatives these days almost spit when they talk about the President, Congress and the Supreme Court.  Not much respect for the conventional authorities of America there!

And even the old mainline churches get short shrift among conservatives.  Conservatives tend to respect "rebel" evangelical churches, churches with a strong streak of independence.

Altemeyer has some awareness of the political  irreverence of American conservatives so to save his theory he nominates Rush Limbaugh and his ilk as authorities that conservatives respect.  But Limbaugh is no authority at all.  He is just a radio commentator!  People listen to him because they agree with him, not for any other reason.  In Altemeyer's world, agreeing with anybody is dangerous!

And it is not only in conservative politics that one finds an absence of a general tendency to respect authority.  I set out here some evidence from psychological research which shows that respect for authority in one field does not generalize to respect for authority in other fields.  That being so, Altemeyer is studying a unicorn (or perhaps more specifically, a chimera).

So wherever you look at Altemeyer's theories you find that he is not studying what he thinks he is studying.  He is studying something that exists only in his own imagination.

But a relatively recent work of his really puts the cap on his intellectual confusion.  He has written an extensive history and analysis of the Tea Party movement.  And he does get one thing right.  He notes that a lot of the Tea Partiers are evangelical Christians.

Even Altemeyer cannot avoid noticing however that Libertarians are prominent in the Tea Party movement too. So are Libertarians authoritarian? Good old Altemeyer sticks to his guns and says they are. He calls libertarians "The Other Authoritarian Personality". That people who comprehensively reject authoritative control over our lives are also submissive to authority must be one of the most crosseyed assertions in contemporary politics. Black might as well be white. Again Altemeyer is living in a little world of his own imagination.

Altemeyer also likes the "Social Dominance Orientation" theory of Pratto and Sidanius but I have pointed out the large holes in that some time ago.

Finally, the whole idea that you need to be a particular personality type to support an authoritarian regime is contrary to the evidence. Milgram showed vividly that perfectly ordinary people can be conned into supporting extremely authoritarian actions and prewar writers such as Roberts and Heiden agree that by the late 30's Hitler was quite simply the most popular man in Germany. They LIKED his claim that they were a Herrenvolk (Master race)! His support ranged from the intelligentsia to the workers and, contrary to the usual Marxist piffle, the hard-core Nazis (the SA) were predominantly working class -- usually the more rebellious element of society.

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).

FEMEN Protests Barbie

(Berlin, Germany) The Barbie Dreamhouse Experience theme park is open.

For some, it's a dream in pink. For others, it's a monument to misogyny. The Barbie Dreamhouse opened its doors in Berlin on Thursday, and demonstrators and journalists were out in force.

Femen also made an appearance -- to burn Barbie on the cross.

In front of the life-sized dollhouse, amid the FEMEN protesters, stood a giant, pink high-heeled shoe.

[A]n activist with the women's rights group Femen climbed onto the gigantic shoe dressed only in a mini-skirt.



"They were standing at the fence and chanting 'Burn it down! Burn it down!'" one employee said. And then the Femen activist started running around with her burning cross. The employee said he thought she was going to light the building on fire.

Since construction of the theme park is primarily canvas and plastic, it would easily burn.

The FEMEN protesters ostensibly achieved their goal by simply getting into the news. Arguably, most rational people will see their attacks on a child's toy as doing more harm than good.

Man Rapes & Impregnates Sister Then Kills Her for Honor



(Al-Wazzani, Lebanon)

A man has killed his pregnant teenage sister in south Lebanon in what was seen as an honor crime - the murder of a woman accused of shaming her family.

Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5) said Friday that the body of Baghdad Khaled al-Issa, 18, was found with stab wounds in her head and sides in the area of al-Wazzani.

Investigators discovered that her brother Jihad, 21, had killed her in what is described as an honor crime, VDL said.

It added that the victim was seven months pregnant.

Later on Friday, LBCI television reported that the investigation with Jihad revealed that he had raped his sister, which lead to her pregnancy.

"He confessed to raping his sister,” LBCI said, adding that Jihad claimed he was drunk when the incident happened.

The television channel added that he had only recently found out about the pregnancy and asked his sister to undergo an abortion, but she refused.

Sad culture, eh?

Texas Teacher Gets Prison in Sex Case - Update

(Upshur County, Texas)

A former Harmony High School substitute teacher was sentenced to five years in prison Friday after pleading guilty to attempted sexual assault of a 16-year-old boy, Upshur County District Attorney Billy Byrd said.

Judy Lynn Langford, 36, of Big Sandy, was sentenced by Judge Lauren Parish of the 115th District Court for the Nov. 29, 2011, offense of having “sexual contact” with the youth, Byrd said.

Under the plea bargain, Mrs. Langford agreed to forfeit her substitute teacher’s license and to register as a sex offender until 10 years after she is paroled, he said.

Langford admitted to an additional charge of online solicitation of a minor but avoided prosecution. The DA said he would prosecute if she got into trouble again.

* * * * *
Texas Teacher Guilty of Sex Assault - Update
[Previous 2/11/13 post]
(Upshur County, Texas) Judy Lynn Langford owned up to being nasty and pleaded guilty to enjoying wagga-wagga sessions with a student.

According to Upshur County District Attorney Billy Byrd, Judy Lynn Langford was charged with sexual assault of a child and online solicitation of a minor.

Byrd said that the improper relationship charge is more appropriate for her conduct.

Sentencing is scheduled for later this month.

* * * * *
Texas Teacher Accused of Sex Assault
[Previous 8/10/12 post]
(Upshur County, Texas) A 35-year-old substitute teacher at Harmony ISD, Judy Lynn Langford, has been accused of engaging in sex with a youngster.

Langford faces charges of sexual assault of a child and online solicitation of a minor. According to Harmony ISD Superintendent Jed Whitaker:

"She was considered a very good sub. Several teachers requested her as a sub for their class," said Whitaker.

Whitaker said Langford had been a substitute for four or five years before the alleged incidents took place.

He tells us school officials were notified of the accusation on Thursday, December 1. He said Langford was removed from the substitute list that day, and the Upshur County Sheriff's Office was asked to investigate.

Langford was booked into custody this week and subsequently released on $60,000 bond.

Milwaukee Bra Ban Busted




(Milwaukee, Wisconsin) Likely sporting a fountain pen and an authoritative smirk, a city inspector told the owner of The Holler House to remove the bras hanging from the ceiling. The owner complained.

Alderman Bob Donovan caught wind of the problem and in less than a day the bra ban was lifted at the Milwaukee bowling alley.

Heh.

The umbrella difference




George Bush can hold his own umbrella

President Obama humiliated the marine who he asked to hold his umbrella by making him ‘look like a butler’, a respected military general claimed today.  Thomas McInerney, a former United States Air Force Lieutenant General, said that the President showed a ‘lack of respect’ by making the soldier shelter him from a shower.

He also said that the President has plenty of aides so did not understand why one of them could not have held the umbrella.

The President caused a stir when he summoned over two marines to keep him dry at a press conference in the Rose Garden.  The marines held an umbrella over the President and the Turkish Prime Minister individually as Obama made jokes about the weather.

However, for some the move was not a laughing matter particularly as it is a breach of protocol for marines to hold umbrellas while in uniform.

SOURCE


Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).

Ohio Woman Accused of Child Sex

(McArthur, Ohio) A 28-year-old local woman, Cassandra Holsinger, has been arrested for sexually assaulting a child under 13 years of age.

Holsinger faces three counts each of rape, sexual battery, gross sexual imposition, and kidnapping.

Bureau of Criminal Investigation agents with the attorney general's Crimes Against Children Unit investigated the case in conjunction with the Vinton County Sheriff's Office.

"The acts this woman is accused of committing are absolutely sickening," said DeWine. "The suspect was in a position of trust with the child, but thankfully the juvenile was brave enough to tell someone what happened."

Holsinger was booked into custody at the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail.

WV Teacher Guilty on Child Porn Charge

(Wheeling, West Virginia) A 36-year-old teacher at Wheeling Middle School, Jennifer Bennett, has admitted to trading sexually explicit photos with a student.

Bennett pleaded guilty in Ohio County Circuit Court to possession of child pornography.

West Virginia State Police began investigating Bennett in June 2011 after the mother of one of her former students reported she believed Bennett and the then 16-year-old boy shared an inappropriate relationship.

No criminal evidence was discovered during the initial months of the investigation, but in February 2012, the boy told State Police he and Bennett had been exchanging cell phone pictures of their genitals. Bennett also admitted as much during an interview with investigators. She resigned her teaching position that same month.

Bennett will be sentenced in June.

Mars Mission Planners Seek Suicidal Farmers



Mars Base Concept
According to this report, colonists on Mars have to possess specific capabilities.

Previous research has suggested that humans on other planets - and on longhaul space voyages - will be forced to subsist on a grim diet of hand-cultivated cabbage and greens grown largely in their own excrement.[…]

Earthbound farmers are known to be at "high risk" of suicide, which might indicate that they're the sort to fancy going to Mars and never coming back to Earth.

NASA is hoping to send a squad of astronauts on a return journey to Mars by 2030, though there is presumably some risk of their ship being mobbed by disillusioned reality-TV farmers sick of turd-garden spinach.

Heh.

NY Educator Accused of Nasty with Disabled Student

(Nassau County, New York) A 34-year-old teacher's aide at Henry Viscard School, Ivone Oliviera, has been accused of engaging in an inappropriate sexual relationship with an 18-year-old disabled student.

Oliviera faces a charge of endangering the welfare of a disabled person.

The student is described as having various physical disabilities.

Prosecutors say the relationship began in January, when Oliviera allegedly started hugging and kissing the student. Detectives say they also uncovered sexual photos and text messages sent to the student by Oliviera.

Oliviera pleaded not guilty at arraignment.

IRS Targeted Hispanic Conservatives



(Washington, D.C.) In addition to targeting a variety of domestic conservatives, it appears the Internal Revenue Service has also used unjustified intimidating tactics against conservative Hispanic groups.

George Rodriguez, former president of the San Antonio Tea Party, said that when the organization applied for non-profit status, leaders were intimidated by IRS workers with excessive paperwork and meddling questions.

“They asked us all sorts of things that were out of the norm,” Rodriguez, now head of the conservative South Texas Alliance, told Fox News Latino. “We knew these questions were not the norm and we had our suspicions about them.”

Rodriguez said the group received a questionnaire from the IRS with “well over 50 questions,” including inquiries into who the group met with, where they held their meetings, who was in attendance and what the subject of their internal emails were.

“They should have been worried about the numbers, not who we were meeting with,” he added. “It was flat-out dirty politics.”

The IRS has the power to seize property, bankrupt businesses and ruin lives. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

The IRS needs to be harnessed for freedom to survive. Otherwise, forget the Bill of Rights.

Kansas Teacher Accused of Drug Possession

(Newton, Kansas) A 45-year-old special education teacher at Newton High School, Eden Bloom, has been accused of drug possession at school.

Bloom faces charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of paraphernalia, no tax stamp, criminal trespassing and obstruction.

According to Newton Police, 45-year-old Eden Bloom was asked to leave the school several times before a School Resource Officer arrested her.

That’s when they found methamphetamine in her possession.

“At the time of the incident no students were in danger,” said Newton Police Deputy Chief Eric Murphy.

Bloom was booked into custody at the Harvey County Jail and released on bond.

Toilet Paper News



(Caracas, Venezuela)

First milk, butter, coffee and cornmeal ran short. Now Venezuela is running out of the most basic of necessities – toilet paper.

Blaming political opponents for the shortfall, as it does for other shortages, the government says it will import 50m rolls to boost supplies.

That was little comfort to consumers struggling to find toilet paper on Wednesday.

"This is the last straw," said Manuel Fagundes, a shopper hunting for tissue in Caracas. "I'm 71 years old and this is the first time I've seen this."

During my life and travels outside the U.S., I learned that the availability of toilet paper can be dicey. Interestingly, a scarcity of toilet paper was occasionally coupled with shortages of foodstuffs.

Power Corrupts



A revealing juxtaposition, I'd say. (More….)

[Addendum] It has been pointed out to me that some readers may not know that, in 1974, Hillary Rodham (later Clinton) was part of the impeachment inquiry staff advising the House Committee on the Judiciary in the Watergate scandal. Probing questions ultimately led to President Nixon's resignation.

Today, Hillary Rodham Clinton summarily deflects questions about the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi. So far, probing questions go unanswered by Mrs. Clinton.