Miss Piggy's Grocery Store Checkout Headlines

[Ragnus]

America.

[Drex]

well, excuse my capitalism!

[jmc]

http://now.msn.com/now/0624-mom-pays...d-removal.aspx

That's bullshit.... I've never heard of anything like that before.

[Cail]

James Hackett, 26, is facing a felony assault charge after allegedly throwing an order of "hot and oily" McDonald's french fries at his 11-year-old stepdaughter, according to a Lowell, Massachusetts, police report posted on The Smoking Gun.

Interestingly, the report states that the unnamed girl was not harmed in the incident but states the action "could cause burning to skin and eyes." What is surprising in the report is how much more mature the 11-year-old girl sounds than her mother and Hackett. After stopping by McDonald's, the couple were reportedly arguing about money in the car when the girl "began to interject into the argument in an attempt to get the two to stop fighting."

This was apparently too much for Hackett to handle, who then allegedly "picked up the container of french fries he had just purchased, which were hot and oily, and threw it at [the girl], striking her in the face and chest area."

After making it back home, Hackett reportedly "fled the residence on an old Honda motorcycle."

His wife then called the police, who tracked down Hackett and arrested him.

When Lowell Police Officer Richard Cesarz detained Hackett, The Smoking Gun reports that Hackett was informed "he was being charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon to wit french fry."

Hackett appeared in District Court on Monday and pleaded not guilty to the assault and battery count. He is currently free on bail and faces a pretrial conference on August 10

.

[Hatedregret]

Throwing anything in anger at a child is shitty, but damn man..... I get that just about anything can be considered a dangerous weapon and all but I gotta give a pass on the french fry being on that list.

[Kerberoz]

Fries are dangerous.

[BaneTheBrawler]

Somehow I don't think the guy carried the whole fryer out to the car with his fries.

[jmc]

Another from MA.....lol

Spoiler: show

Lawmen on the hunt for the fully loaded pistol they say is missing in downtown Boston after a Quincy club-goer dropped it into a bush fear it could fall into the wrong hands, possibly adding to the 97 percent of recent Hub slayings caused by illegal handguns — a staggering trend authorities say has to stop.

“This defendant notwithstanding, we’re not interested in prosecuting lawful gun owners,” Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley told the Herald. “The vast majority of homicides and shootings in Boston are committed by violent offenders using unlicensed firearms, and that’s where we direct our resources.”

John T. Murrett pleaded not guilty to a charge of unsafe weapon storage yesterday in Boston Municipal Court. Police said the 26-year-old was denied entry to the Theatre District nightclub, Club Royale, on Saturday when bouncers found his properly licensed Ruger LC9 in his pants.

“He then walked northbound on Tremont Street and placed his firearm in some bushes, at a nearby playground and left,” police wrote. Three hours later, after discovering the weapon was missing, Murrett returned to the club, wanting to know if anyone turned in a gun, police said. Cops were called and he was arrested.

Conley called Murrett’s alleged actions “an act of staggering irresponsibility,” and lamented that “there’s yet another loaded gun on the streets of Boston, ready to be used in a robbery, a shooting, or worse.”

Since 2008, of the 70 fatal shootings in Boston in which a suspect was arrested, 68 involved illegal firearms, according to Conley’s office. The only defendants who bought a gun through legal channels include: Philip Markoff, the accused Craigslist Killer who bought the gun police said he used to kill 25-year-old Julissa Brisman from a New Hampshire gun shop, albeit using another man’s ID; and Randy Moore, the 54-year-old Brighton man who’s accused of using his shotgun to murder his elderly neighbor last August.


Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who co-chairs the Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition, warned whoever has the gun, “you’re just as much at fault as the guy who put that gun there.

“You’re out there, you took that gun, and you thought it was a toy,” Menino said in a stern message to the gun’s new — and illegal — owner. “It’s not a toy. Turn it in.”

Murrett has a Class A license issued by the Quincy police, records show. Typically, to receive a Class A gun permit, a person must obtain approval from the local and state officials.

[Tyrath]

I've done that...with bottles of booze I couldn't bring into a club. But a gun, thats just special.

[Coren]

I've done it with a penknife... a gun? wtf

[Sepukku]

http://www.austinchronicle.com/blogs...ical-thinking/

Texas government votes on education agenda highlighting no longer focusing on teaching higher order critical thinking skills, because of consequential "challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority".

It's official: The Republican Party of Texas opposes critical thinking. That's right, drones, and it's part of their official platform.
One of our eagle-eyed readers emailed us to point out this unbelievable passage in the RPT 2012 platform, as adopted at their recent statewide conference.

"Knowledge-Based Education – We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority."

What this really means is that the GOP is doubling down on learn-by-rote fact recitation – of the kind spearheaded by the worst of the pro-testing advocates, and locally by IDEA Public Schools, which has committed to the anti-analytical direct learning model (aka "press button A, B or C.")

But what the hell is all that bunk about "undermining parental authority"? Could it be that the Texas GOP has shown its paternalistic streak a little too overtly? And, let's face facts, that's just policy-wonk speak for "honor thy father and mother." Yup, the Texas GOP is officially enshrining blind obedience into its doctrine of political domination. And be careful that you don't disturb a student's fixed beliefs, like, say, that the Loch Ness Monster is real.

Sadly, this is just one of 30 pages of head-in-the-sand, pretend-the-Enlightenment-never-happened thinking from the state's dominating party. Other gems include:

– Abstinence-only sex ed (yeah, because that's worked so well so far.)
– Trying juveniles as adults
– Faith-based drug rehab should be emphasized (Scientology front operation NarcAnon should be rubbing its hands at that one)
– Oppose the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Yeah! Who's the UN to tell us we should ban child slavery?)
– Flat rate income tax (go Team 1%!)
– Repealing the minimum wage (suck it, wage slaves!)
– Opposing homosexuality in the military (don't ask, don't tell, and don't do that!)
– Opposition to red light cameras (because if you run a red, kill someone, and there's no witnesses, was the light ever really red?)
– Oppose the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, because firms should be able to fire people for what they consider "sinful and sexually immoral behavior." Like, say, growing a beard?
– Continued opposition to ACORN (even though it has not existed since 2010)
– Opposing statehood or even Congressional voting rights for the citizens of the District of Columbia (who writes this crap, Rand Paul?)
– And no-questions-asked support for Israel because, and this is another direct quote, "Our policy is based on God’s biblical promise to bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel and we further invite other nations and organizations to enjoy the benefits of that promise."

Yes, for every measure that everyone can agree on, like labeling GMOs, there's another entry or three from the crazy ideas discount bin.

So, next time some Tea Partier tells you the GOP is all about freedom and liberty, remind them that the GOP doesn't want people to learn how to think critically. Because people who can think critically might start looking at their platform.

A lot of it after the critical thinking part is biased journalism but the stand alone quote, from the Republicans themselves, is just jaw dropping lol

[Celestialstrife]

someone help me out with this one please, it's pretty funny. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1624643.html

[Ragnus]

Oh God... my brain...

[Buffy]

Having been around education for most of my life (Dad has a doctorate in gifted and talented education, mom has a masters in early childhood education), and specifically christian education, I can state with some conviction that A.C.E. as a curriculum is trash. Despite my wildly over the top personal beliefs about the horrible-ness of the public school education system, I would never send my kid to an A.C.E. school.

[Kerberoz]

http://solsticevisuals.com/post/2622...-united-states
tl;dr: terrible official pics of US olympics people

Wow. They need to hire some fat girls who know how lighting and angles work.

[MaachaQ]

I think it was this thread that posted an article about "SWATting," here's a followup:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48067433...s-new_york_ny/

Police Probe Hoax 911 Calls in Westchester
By Pei-Sze Cheng
NBCNewYork.com

Police in Westchester and the FBI are investigating a series of hoax calls that drew heavy police response to non-existent emergencies over the past week, authorities said.

A 14-year-old Rye boy was charged with making a false report, but police believe more people are involved in the hoax calls and may potentially involve a hacking group.

The boy is accused only in a June 27 incident, when police received a 911 call through a typed message using a service for the hearing impaired.

The message stated, "I'm under my brother's bed hiding from three heavily armored men. I believe they have a very big shotgun. It's big and very, very loud."

It went on to say, "They're barricading us in, and I can't find my little brother. Please, my little sister is having trouble breathing. She's only four."

Armed police officers arrived at the reported address to find a woman, her teenage son and two friends. There was no emergency.

Rye Police are investigating three more hoax calls, dubbed "swatting" because they're meant to draw heavy police response, including from the SWAT team.

Neighbors were upset to hear of their local police being taken away to respond to false calls.

"I know a lot of the policemen here, if you call them, they're here in a minute," said Rye neighbor Martha Young. "For them to be taken away for something like this... I felt very bad about it."

Police say by answering the bogus calls, they run the risk of diverting resources from real emergencies.

"When an officer responds to a scene like that, and has some conceptions of what he might be facing, and if a resident responds with what's perceived as a threatening gesture, you could have some tragic consequences," said Rye Police Commissioner William Conners.

The FBI is assisting Rye Police with their investigation.

[hey]

http://www.thelocal.se/41822/20120704/

A man who attempted to rape a woman has been cleared of the charges by a Swedish court after it turned out that the woman he tried to rape was actually a man.

“The intended crime never had the possibility of being fulfilled,” explained judge Dan Sjöstedt of the Örebro District Court to local newspaper Nerikes Allehanda.

When the 61-year-old man had tried to commit the rape in Örebro, he had no idea that the intended victim was actually a man in women’s clothes, who had been taking hormonal treatment to reach the “right” identity, wrote the paper.

After following the woman for some time, the would-be rapist was “brutally violent” in the "attempted rape", tearing off the victim's pants and grabbing at the victim's crotch, according to the paper.

The incident occurred in front of the victim’s ex-boyfriend’s house, and it was him who came rushing to intervene. When police arrived, they arrested the attacker.

However, the court has ruled that the 61-year-old had intended to rape a woman, as he had been following her before the attack, making a conscious decision to rape her specifically. The man also referred to his victim as "she" throughout the court case.

As this “woman” was actually a man, his intentions were impossible to commit as the rape could never be completed.

“We believe that he wanted to rape this woman in particular. But as she turned out to be a man, the crime never was actually committed,” said Sjöstedt, adding that the case against rape was “invalid”.

"There are different theories about how this should be handled, and so we’re looking forward to seeing the verdict from the Court of Appeals,” he said, adding that he would appeal the decision if he were the prosecutor or the defence.

The 61-year-old is now convicted for assault. The punishment is four years prison and 15,000 kronor ($2,161) in damages to the woman.'

[Milkster]

http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/...n-thinking.jpg

[Cail]

Folks in San Diego witnessed what was either the worst Fourth of July fireworks celebration — or the absolute best — when a technical malfunction caused all of their pyrotechnics to go off at the same time. The annual Big Bay Boom celebration began and ended in spectacular fashion when an inadvertent signal set off the explosion about five minutes early and caused the entire 18 minute show to take place in about 15 seconds. Confused spectators waited around for what they thought was going to be the rest of the show, but were sent home and told the show (that was supposed to be choreographed to music) was canceled.

.

[Cail]

also this

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. -- Lifeguard Tomas Lopez helped save a drowning man and got fired for it.

The reason: He left the section of a south Florida beach his company is paid to patrol. The Orlando-based company, Jeff Ellis and Associates, says Lopez broke a company rule and could have put beachgoers in his section in jeopardy.

By the time Lopez arrived, witnesses had pulled the drowning man out of the water. Lopez and an off-duty nurse helped him until paramedics arrived. The victim survived and was hospitalized.

Afterward, Lopez was fired.

Two other lifeguards have quit in protest.