The happy warrior



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

Texas Teacher Guilty of Official Oppression

(San Antonio, Texas) A 44-year-old teacher at Salinas Elementary School, Cynthia Ambrose, has been accused of directing students to hit an alleged bully schoolmate.

Reportedly, Ambrose had students line up and hit a 6-year-old to show how it feels to be bullied.

Ambrose was convicted by a jury last Thursday on a charge of official oppression.

The May 2012 incident occurred when the boy was brought to Ambrose by his teacher, Barbara Ramirez, after he hit another student. The boy, now 7, told the jury this week he remembers getting hit by students and later telling his brothers, but they didn't believe him.

"It started out as a pat," Ramirez said. "Then she told the class, `Come on, hit him harder."'

Ramirez was granted immunity in exchange for her testimony. She said she reported the incident to the school principal two weeks later.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 29. She faces a possible year in prison.

Chinese Dog Festival

(Yulin, China) The annual dog meat festival attracts canine connoisseurs and animal rights activists.

Held every year to mark the summer solstice, the festival sees the city, in the southern Guangxi province, filled with revellers who feast on the meat with lychee wine.

According to the South China Morning Post, animal rights activists estimate 10,000 dogs will be killed during the festival.

In many Asian countries eating dog meat is believed to be good for the health, and boost male fertility.

Heh.

NJ Teacher Gets Jail for Sex with Student - Updated

(Passaic County, New Jersey) Kristin Leone, now 28, was sentenced yesterday to one year in jail and five years probation. During the proceeding, Leone choked back tears and apologized.

* * * * *
NJ Teacher Guilty of Sex with Student - Updated
[Previous 4/16/13 post]
(Clifton, New Jersey) Clifton High School teacher Kristin Leone, 27, pleaded guilty yesterday to criminal sexual contact with a 16-year-old male student.

In accordance with the plea agreement, counts of sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child, luring and enticing a child, criminal sexual contact and official misconduct will be dismissed.

Through a series of “yes” and “no” answers to questions asked by defense attorney Ronald Ricci of Woodland Park, Leone admitted in court Monday that the student took her hand and placed it on his genitals during a tutoring session at school on April 26 and that she kept her hand there for her own sexual gratification.

Leone, who was the boy’s social studies teacher, also admitted to inviting the student to her Clifton apartment on April 29 and to placing her hand on the boy’s genitals for her own sexual gratification.

Authorities had alleged prior to her guilty plea that the two had sexual intercourse at her apartment. While there was no sign that anyone was coerced, the relationship was not legal.

Leone will be sentenced on June 7 to one year in jail and five years of probation. Meanwhile, she remains free on bail.

* * * * *
NJ Teacher Accused of Sex with Student
[Previous 5/10/12 post]
(Clifton, New Jersey) A 26-year-old history teacher at Clifton High School, Kristin K. Leone, has been accused of engaging in sex with a 16-year-old student.

Leone faces charges sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child, criminal sexual contact, luring and enticing a child and official misconduct. According to Passaic County Prosecutor Amelia Valdes,

"Clifton police detectives conducted interviews, executed a search warrant and collected evidence relating to the allegations," according to the Prosecutor's office. "The evidence demonstrated that Ms. Leone engaged in sexual conduct with the child on two separate occasions," Valdes said, adding both incidents occurred in late April, the first in a Clifton High School classroom while the student was to be receiving extra help, the second, four days later at Leone's Clifton home.

The prosecutor said details are still being investigated, but said the contact initiated with text messages between the high school junior and his teacher, who used her personal phone. The prosecutor said it's not yet clear who started the texting, but added the incident is still under investigation.

Leone was booked and released on $100,000 bail.

California Teacher Accused of Sex with Minor

(Corona, California) A 31-year-old special education teacher at Centennial High School, Summer Michelle Hansen, has been accused of engaging in sex with several students while on school property.

Hansen has been arrested on suspicion of multiple counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor and oral copulation of a minor.

The case began Tuesday, June 18, with a call from Corona-Norco Unified School District officials who told of a possibly inappropriate relationship between a teacher and a now former Centennial student.

“Detectives have identified multiple victims under the age of 18 who have had sexual contact with the teacher while on school grounds,” according to the statement. “On June 20 … two search warrants were served in regard to this case, one in the city of Corona and the other in the county of Riverside.”

Details on booking are unavailable.

Students Ordered to Support Homosexuality

(Columbia, Tennessee)

A Tennessee community college professor ordered her students to wear ribbons in support of gay rights and said those who supported the traditional definition of marriage are just “uneducated bigots” who “attack homosexuals with hate,” according to a legal firm representing several of the students in the class.

Students in a general psychology class at Columbia State Community College were directed by their professor to wear “Rainbow Coalition” ribbons for an entire day and express their support for the homosexual community, said Travis Barham, an attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom.

Barham is calling for the college to punish Dr. Linda Brunton and order her to apologize to the students whose constitutional rights he believes were violated, according to a letter he sent to the community college president.

“Dr. Brunton essentially turned her General Psychology class into a semester-long clinic on the demands of the homosexual movement,” Barham said.

Professor Brunton also said it was her job to educate the ignorant and uneducated elements of society to correct their ‘hateful and close-minded’ views. What a gal, eh?

Texas Teacher Sentenced for Sex with Boy, 15

(Salado, Texas) In accordance with a plea agreement, former teacher at Salado Intermediate School, Lisa Marie Wagnon, pleaded guilty yesterday to sexual assault of a male student.

As a result, Wagnon was sentenced to 30 days in the Bell County Jail and ten years deferred adjudication.

In the terms of the plea bargain, Wagnon must also register as a sex offender and give up her teaching certificate. Court officials say Wagnon has already surrendered her teaching certificate.

Wagnon is scheduled to turn herself in by 5 p.m. on July 19. She will then serve her jail sentence on the weekends.

It appears the case is closed.

* * * * *
Texas Teacher Accused of Sex with Boy, 15
[Previous 10/26/12 post]
(Salado, Texas) A 48-year-old teacher at Salado Intermediate School, Lisa Marie Wagnon, surrendered to police yesterday to face charges that she had a sexual relationship with a Salado High School student.

Wagnon faces a charge of improper relationship between educator and student, a second degree felony.

Arrest records say the former teacher picked-up the 15-year-old from his high school and drove him to her home. That's where the two allegedly had sex.

Investigators now say they've found incriminating messages on the victim's Facebook page. They will be checking phone records to make sure nothing like this happens again.

Wagnon, a married mother of two children, was booked and released on $10,000 bail.

Indiana Teacher Acquitted in Sex Case - Update

(Shelbyville, Indiana)

A jury has acquitted a former middle school teacher of four felony and seven misdemeanor counts alleging she had sex with a high school student and hosted parties in which other high school students smoked marijuana and drank alcohol.

A Shelby Superior Court jury found 29-year-old Bethany Appleton of Trafalgar not guilty on all counts Wednesday.[…]

Defense attorney Bryan Barrett and some state witnesses described Appleton as a good, helpful teacher during the trial that began Tuesday.

Congratulations to the defendant.

* * * * *
Indiana Teacher Accused of Child Sex
[Previous 8/8/12 post]
(Shelbyville, Indiana) A 28-year-old teacher at Shelbyville Middle School, Bethany Appleton, was arrested earlier today for allegedly engaging in sex with several middle school students.

Appleton faces multiple felony counts of sexual misconduct with a minor, child seduction, maintaining a common nuisance and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

In at least one case, the incident allegedly took place at her home where she also gave the child alcohol and marijuana, according to the investigation.

The investigation said the incidents took place between April 11, 2011 and May 12 of this year.

Appleton was booked into custody at the Shelby County Jail and then released on $2,005 bond.

Rebutting Warmists:  Comment on a very hairy Dutchman

Richard Tol is a very skeptical man, an economist and rather  blunt, though not as blunt as I am.  I am sure we would enjoy drinking schnapps together, or maybe just beer.

But he seems not to have a clue about the type of dispassionate writing required for academic journals. Or perhaps dispassion deserts him when he is discussing fraud.

I am referring to his rebuttal of "Mr 97%" John Cook (2013) a rebuttal which was recently rejected by ERL.  ERL would always have found some reason to reject Richard's paper but Richard made it easy for them.  His paper was blatantly political and was full of speculation (about "fatigue", for instance).  ERL was right to reject it.  I would have sent it back for revision, however, as there was a lot of solid data in it that stood by itself as an effective rebuttal of the Cooker.  In my days writing for the academic journals I got about 40 critique articles published on politically loaded topics so I think I am a reasonable judge of what is required there.

Anthony Watts has put the paper up so you can judge for yourself. I am rather cross with Richard for spoiling the presentation of his basically sound work.  I would encourage him to delete the problem passages I mentioned and resubmit to another journal. Just the first paragraph of his paper would have sufficed as an introduction, for instance.  If properly done, the journal editor should not be able to guess the opinions of the author.

And when you have put up some statistics showing that the other guy is a complete fool, you don't say: "This guy is a complete fool".  You say:  "These discrepancies may be some cause for concern".

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

Judges Order California Prisoner Release

(Sacramento, California)

In a sharp rebuke to California Gov. Jerry Brown, a panel of three federal judges said Thursday they are fed up with continued delays in reducing the state's prison population and ordered Brown to take immediate steps to begin releasing inmates.

Their order demands that California's prison system population be reduced to 137.5 percent of capacity by the end of the year, a requirement that essentially means the state must begin finding ways to reduce the inmate population or face a contempt citation.

The judges' order translates into the release of 10,000 inmates by year's end.

The news



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

NY Men Accused of Death-Ray Terror Plot

Eric J. Feight - Glendon S. Crawford
(Albany, New York)

The full complaint against two local men in custody reveals that undercover FBI agents posed as people who claimed to be aiding them in plans to develop an X-ray radiation emitting device to kill targeted people.

It also states that just days ago both 49-year-old Glendon Scott Crawford of Galway and 54-year-old Eric Feight of Hudson had plans to meet at a local hotel to test elements of the device.

"What they were engaged in, in terms of putting this particular device together with its truly deadly capability, that presented a significant danger to the public,” said Executive Assistant US John Duncan.

That danger, according to the lengthy criminal complaint, was fueled by Crawford's ill feelings towards Muslims.

According to the complaint, when referring to killing Muslims with the device, Crawford said it would be like "Hiroshima on a light switch," and, "everything with respiration would be dead by the morning."

Frankly, I'm unconvinced that Feight and Crawford could create an X-ray radiation emitter. However, they could get lucky. In any event, they got the attention of the FBI.

Both men are being held without bail and face possible 15-year sentences and $250,000 fines if convicted.

Wisconsin Woman Half-Naked and Drunk

Cheri Fullarton
(Clayton, Wisconsin) Here's a case of a woman who should cut back on her early afternoon partying.

A woman was found passed out and naked from the waist down in a car parked outside of a K-12 school in Clayton, Wis. Sunday afternoon.

According to authorities, 34-year-old Cheri Fullarton was passed out in a car outside of the Clayton School at approximately 2:18 p.m.

Fullarton blew a 0.277 on a breath test. She was arrested for disorderly conduct.

Tip: Charley Nestor

Most Wanted Fugitive Caught in Mexico

Walter Lee Williams
(Playa del Carmen, Mexico)

A former University of Southern California professor on the FBI's 10 Most-Wanted Fugitives list over alleged sexual exploitation of children has been nabbed in the Mexican resort city of Playa del Carmen.

The arrest of Walter Lee Williams, 64, who is accused of engaging in sex acts via webcam and in person with underage boys in the Philippines, comes a day after he was placed on the most-wanted list, ABC News reported.

Mexican Prosecutor Gaspar Armando Garcia Torres said Williams, suspected of traveling abroad to engage in sexual acts with children, was captured while drinking coffee near a park in the Caribbean beach town.

Williams is a professor of anthropology, gender studies and history.

Obama Calls for End to Catholic Education

(Northern Ireland)

The Catholic media is up in arms over comments President Obama made during a speech while in Northern Ireland for the G8 summit.

Obama made what is described as “an alarming call for an end to Catholic education,” in spite of the fact that it is considered “a critical component of the Church.”

Obama claimed that "Catholic education divides people and blocks peace."

I wonder if Catholics are being targeted by the IRS.

Black bishop not backing down

Hurling the "hate speech" accusation at his traditional Christian views didn't work

The Republican nominee for lieutenant governor in Virginia says that he is a Christian and has no reason to apologize for his history of hate speech against LGBT people, liberals and abortion providers.

It was only after African-American minister E.W. Jackson won the nomination at the Virginia Republican Party Convention last week that many became aware of his history of saying gay people were “perverted” and “sick people psychologically.”

“Homosexuality is a horrible sin, it poisons culture, it destroys families, it destroys societies; it brings the judgment of God unlike very few things that we can think of,” he said last year.

He has also called Democrats “slave masters” and compared Planned Parenthood to the Ku Klux Klan.”

“Liberalism and their ideas have done more to kill black folks whom they claim so much to love than the Ku Klux Klan, lynching and slavery and Jim Crow ever did, now that’s a fact,” Jackson said in a 2012 interview.

On Tuesday, Jackson told reporters that he had no intention of apologizing.

“I say the things that I say because I’m a Christian, not because I hate anybody, but because I have religious values that matter to me,” Jackson told reporters during a campaign event in Fredericksburg, according to The Washington Post. “Attacking me because I hold to those principles is attacking every church-going person, every family that’s living a traditional family life, everybody who believes that we all deserve the right to live.”

“So I don’t have anything to rephrase or apologize for. I would just say people should not paint me as one-dimensional.”

Source

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

Florida Mom "Parties" with Minors

(Jacksonville, Florida) A 40 year-old local woman, Cherelyn Laura McDonald (aka Cher), has been accused of turning her home into a "party house" where minors were encouraged to consume alcohol and engage in sexual activity.

McDonald faces counts of lewd and lascivious battery to a minor 12 to 16 years old, encouraging or enticing a person under the age of 16 to engage in sexual activity, and contributing to the delinquency of a child.

The heavily redacted police report makes note of "sex" and "alcohol" consumption at the Arlington home.

Neighbors say McDonald had two children living with her, a boy and girl with the oldest a teenager.

The Department of Children and Families has joined the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office in the investigation.

DCF spokesman John Harrell says the mother's two children have been placed with family members while the Child Protection Team works to determine more about the home environment.

Details on booking are unavailable.

WV Teacher Fired for Inappropriate Texts to Boy

(Beckley, West Virginia) Following an investigation by the school system regarding alleged inappropriate behavior, a teacher at Trap Hill Middle School, Lori Lester, was fired.

The Raleigh County Board of Education voted unanimously to terminate Lester amid allegations that she sent inappropriate text messages to a male student.

Charleston attorney Brett Preston had accused Lester of sending inappropriate and sexually explicit text messages to Preston’s client, Lester’s 13-year-old student at Trap Hill Middle, in February and March.

The male student’s parents took him out of the school following the texts and home-schooled him for the remainder of his eighth-grade year.

The student's mother worked as a secretary for the school system at the time the alleged texts were sent, according to Preston.

The West Virginia State Police and Child Protective Services continue to investigate.

Connecticut Teacher Accused of Threats to School

Stacey Goodnow
(Norwalk, Connecticut)

A troubled Greenwich middle school teacher was ordered into mental health treatment and prohibited from going near her school after police said she left a message on a colleague's phone threatening to "shoot up" the facility.

Stacey Goodnow, 46, of Melrose Avenue, Norwalk, was arraigned at state Superior Court in Norwalk on Monday on a disorderly conduct charge.

Judge William Wenzel ordered Goodnow to not contact the teacher she left the message with, or Western Middle School, where she works; she is not allowed within 300 feet of the building located on Western Jr. Highway in Greenwich.

A court date is scheduled for July 11.

Football commentators fired for unkind skit

Audio of the skit is here.  Player with Lou Gehrig's disease portrayed as speaking badly.  Certainly poor taste but rough humor is common among sportsmen.  Should someone lose their job over it? America is becoming a namby pamby nation

The now-former hosts of Mayhem in the A.M. probably suspected that, at some point, the name of their show would have literal meaning.

790 The Zone in Atlanta has announced that the “three individuals” involved in a bizarre and unfunny bit involving former Saints defensive back Steve Gleason have been fired.

The station has announced the move without naming the (former) hosts of the show:  Stephen “Steak” Shapiro, Nick Cellino, and Chris Dimino.

The audio of the gag, which featured a caller with a computerized voice pretending to be Gleason, has surfaced.  It’s not humorous, under any reasonably stretch of the subjective concept of what is and isn’t funny.

Source

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