Walmart Groper Needs To Be Caught And Punished

Let's give the world a gift for the New Year by helping police apprehend the creep who groped (sexually assaulted) a girl inside a Minnesota Walmart on University Avenue in Fridley. The pervert is around 30 years-old. This guy is so sick, he groped the girl with her mother and a sibling near by. The crime which occurred in the electronics department was captured on security cameras throughout the store. The man stalking the girl for five minutes before he assaulted her.

The suspect is a white male with an average build and sparse facial hair. He was wearing a duck-brown colored hooded jacket and a black stocking hat with red flames. A similar incident might have occurred recently in Roseville. Anyone with information about the crime or the suspect is encouraged to call the Anoka County Sheriff's Office. Let's put this guy behind bars.

Can A Catholic Employer Control An Employee's Personal Life?

It seems to all come down to whether a Catholic employer can control an employee's personal life; or at least that's how it seems. Christa Dias was a technology coordinator at Holy Family and St. Lawrence Catholic schools in Cincinnati, Ohio. She claims that she was wrongfully terminated because she became pregnant through the utilization of artificial insemination. Fired

The schools position has been less than consistent. Initially, the school reportedly fired Dias for being pregnant while single. They later apparently changed their reason to being pregnant from artificial insemination. Ironically, both reasons are contrary to Catholic teaching as well as her employment contract. But one would have to question how the schools would address the immaculate conception of Mary had she been an employee. (Edit comment)

Dias responded by suing the schools for discrimination. While it is not clear whether her attorneys will argue inconsistencies in theology, perhaps they should. The outcome of the case will likely hinge upon a similar case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. Case on hold. In the interim, what does the contract say?

In sum, it requires the teacher to "comply with and act consistently in accordance with the stated philosophy and teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and the policies and directives of the School and the Archdiocese."
This becomes problematic when you consider Section 2376 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church which reads:

"The gift of a child"

"Techniques that entail the dissociation of husband and wife, by the intrusion of a person other than the couple – donation of a sperm or ovum, surrogate uterus – are gravely immoral. These techniques – heterologous artificial insemination and fertilization – infringe the child’s right to be born of a father and mother known to him and bound to each other by marriage. They betray the spouses’ ‘right to become a father and a mother only through each other.' "

Defendant schools claim Dias' dismissal was not discriminatory; they contend it is simply because she violated a legal contract. Dias' attorneys; however, argue that the same standards are not enforced on male sperm donors. Furthermore, given that 90% of Catholics have used birth control of one sort or another, one may assume there are teachers that have used birth control. Were such teachers also fired for violating Catholic policy? (Don't even get us started on Priest who bend the rules when it comes to young alter boys...)

The Telegraph claims that Jennifer Cox was fired from Atomic Weapons Establishment in Britain for missing work due to pregnancy. Cox's case will be decided after the new year. Women argue that they want the same freedom that men take for granted. They want the ability to make choices in their personal lives without the risk of being singled out or fired in the work place. On the other hand the employers argue nondiscriminatory reasons for their personnel decisions. In the mean time, Catholic employers might be best suited to make decisions based upon old school theology. After all, wasn't Mary a single woman who became pregnant by unconventional means? Would the board advocate firing the mother of God based on a contractual violation?

Feel free to comment below or Twitter your feelings concerning this controversial case: LINK

Mike Plumadore Arrested In Association With the Murder of Aliahna Lemmon?

For those concerned about the missing 9-year-old Indiana girl, Aliahna Lemmon, the worst nightmare has come true. Aliahna was found dead in Allen county. Mike Plumadore, a family friend, was watching her before she disappeared. Plumadore was apparently charged yesterday with Aliahna's murder according to Allen County sheriff's spokesman Cpl. Jeremy Tinkel.

Plumadore, had been watching Aliahna and her sisters before she was reported missing late Friday. Apparently, Aliahna and her sisters were staying there because their mother had been sick with the flu. Aliahna's stepfather works at night and sleeps during the day. Plumadore was reportedly a family friend.

Plumadore was not on Indiana's registered sex offenders list. A criminal records search suggests that he has convictions in Florida and North Carolina for trespassing and assault. Emergency workers searched Saturday for Aliahna around the mobile home park, where she was last seen. Search dogs and FBI agents were at the park and the girl's home on Monday. Tarah Souders, 28, told The Journal Gazette that her daughter had vision and hearing problems, attention deficit disorder and night terrors. Plumadore reportedly said that he left the three girls in his mobile home about 6 a.m. Friday in order to buy a cigar. A store's surveillance video confirms his presence at that time.

Plumadore claims that when he got back all three girls were still there. He smoked his cigar and went back to sleep. Plumadore allegedly woke up about 10 a.m. at which time he discovered that his door was unlocked and that Aliahna was missing. Aliahna's 6-year-old sister allegedly told Plumadore that Aliahna had left with her mom. Plumadore claims that he first learned Aliahna was missing after he spoke with her mom about 8:30 p.m. Tarah Souders indicates that miscommunication between the two of them caused the delay in reporting the disappearance.

Contrast the quick arrest in this case to the stagnate April Tinsley case. LINK.

Update Afternoon: Plumadore allegedly confessed to bludgeoning the 9-year-old girl to death with a brick. He then dismembered her, hiding her head, hands and feet at his home and dumping the rest of her remains nearby. A police affidavit further indicates that Michael Plumadore killed Aliahna Lemmon on Thursday.

It should be noted that charging does not amount to guilt. Mike Plumadore is to be presumed innocent unless otherwise proven in a court of law.

Update 12-28-11: The girls allegedly stayed with Plumadore for about a week while their mother recovered from the flu. Their stepfather apparently worked days. Thank God the younger children were not harmed. (IndyStar.com)

Feel the need to twitter your thoughts? LINK.

Things Might Disappear But People Should Not!

It is understandable that things sometimes disappear. As we age, things seem to get misplaced more often than we care to admit. But people are not suppose to get misplaced. When Lauren Spierer disappeared in the college town of Bloomington, Indiana, a sense of fear shivered through campuses all across the nation. LAUREN SPIERER LINK. Now another young college girl has disappeared. Aisha Khan, a 19-year-old Kansas woman is a student at Johnson County Community College. On Friday morning she was studying for finals when she sent a frightful text message that said a drunken man was pestering her. Aisha subsequently disappeared from the Edwards Campus around 11:00 a.m. Friday morning. The Kansas City Star

"There's a creepy guy that just came up to me, and he was harassing me," Aisha wrote in a text message. Faiza Khan, older sister. Khan apparently slapped the drunken man according to her sister.

Volunteers and police officers spent much of the weekend searching the surrounding area. Khan's cell phone and backpack were found on a picnic table near campus. KMBC. Facebook

Khan is 5 feet 2 inches tall, 120 pounds with dark brown hair, brown eyes, and glasses. The searech may be followed on Twitter. Twitter A $10,000 reward is available to anyone with information leading to Khan's safe recovery.

Ayla Reynolds

In an unrelated but equally disturbing event, a twenty month old toddler, Ayla Reynolds, has turned up missing. Ayla was last seen by her father, Justin DiPietro, when he put her to sleep around 8 p.m. on Friday. The following day at around 8:50 a.m., DiPietro called police to report that his daughter had vanished. Investigators and police searched the small city of Waterville, for the toddler who was last seen wearing a soft splint on her left arm, green pajamas with polka dots with the words "Daddy's Princess" on the front. Press conference. The girl may have wondered off or she may have been abducted. Morning Sentinel . Anyone with any information should call the Waterville Police.

Want to twitter about this story? https://twitter.com/#!/Legal_Pub

Update 12-25-11: Aisha Khan has been found. She is alive and well.

Update 1-30-12: Blood discovered in the home of the father has been confirmed to belong to Ayla Reynolds. The blood found was in an amount more than what a small cut would produce.
Three adults were in the home when the toddler allegedly disappeared. Officially there are no suspects and neither mom nor dad at this point are "persons of interest."

Social Security and Chicago Bears Appear in a Downward Spiral?. Update 12-19-11

With all the problems, Social Security reminds me of the movie, The Bad News Bears. It is common knowledge that Social Security is in financial trouble. Do the math. Social Security spent $49 billion more in 2010 than it took in as tax collections. When 2011 ends, Social Security will have outspend collections by another $46 billion. At this rate, the "Trust Fund" is expected to be depleted by 2036. Without that fund, expect benefits to fall to about three-quarters of current promised levels.

To attempt to offset massive obligations, tax rates have risen repeatedly. What commenced as 2% of the first $3,000 of income (half paid by you, half by your employer) is now scheduled to be 12.4% of the first $110,100 of income in 2012. Furthermore, "full retirement age" is moving up from 65 to 67. Even with the increasing of taxes and the cutting of benefits, Social Security's destruction appears inevitable.

Again, do the math. People are living longer and having fewer children. While the American birthrate has fallen from 18.7 live births per 1,000 population in 1935 to 13.8 per 1,000 in 2009, so has the work force as the percentage of the working age population actually working is down to 63.9% as of November 2011. Just a decade earlier, 66.6% were working. As Social Security no longer pays surplus funds to the Treasury, the Treasury not only loses that source of revenue but it also needs to make up the amounts being redeemed. Consequently, the revenue deficit will continue to mushroom.

So just like the childhood nativity of the lovable kids in The Bad News Bears, Social Security won't last forever. in its current form. The key questions are "What will change?" and "When will it happen?"


Speaking of bad Bears, the Chicago Bears continue their slide both on and off the field. Of course many know of Brian Urlacher's civil controversies LINK. However now, criminal charges against a wide receiver are further perpetuating the team's downward spiral. In fact, as of Thursday, Sam Hurd was in jail after authorities accused him of trying to set up a drug distribution network in the Chicago. Sam was arrested after he allegedly agreed to buy a kilogram of cocaine from an undercover agent.The federal complaint contends Hurd told an undercover agent that he was interested in purchasing five to 10 kilograms of cocaine and 1,000 pounds of marijuana with an intent to distribute.

Sam Hurd (AP Photo)

Hurd is scheduled to appear in Federal Court today. Hurd, a 26-year-old, played for five seasons with the Dallas Cowboys and is now in his first season with the Bears. The Bears have a three-year contract with Hurd. He is of course to be assumed innocent. You can read more at : http://aol.sportingnews.com/nfl/story/2011-12-15/chicago-bears-wr-sam-hurd-facing-drug-charges?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl6%7Csec3_lnk1%26pLid%3D120483#ixzz1gdVWhdug

Update 12-19-11: Bears culminated a horrible last seven days by losing again on Sunday. Incidentally, Hurd was also released from the team for "unspecified reasons."

Joe Paterno Termination An Appropriate Ending? ~by Elaine Hirsch 1-22-12 Update

Joseph Vincent Paterno, is a legendary college football coach. He coached the Penn State Nittany Lions for 46 years and holds the record for most victories out of any Division I football coach. The Big Ten even decided to name it's championship trophy in his honor. However, all the fuzzy feelings about Coach Paterno and his exceptional career came to an abrupt halt in November 2011 when he was fired mid-season, after one of his prior assistants, Jerry Sandusky, was accused of sexually abusing boys.

According to ESPN.com, Paterno apparently claims that he told athletic director, Tim Curley, and university vice president, Gary Schultz, about an alleged sexual assault by the former defensive coordinator. The coach apparently felt that fulfilled his obligations as a supervisor. But this explanation did not sit well with the media or public given the gravity of the accusations against Sandusky.

Sanduky is accused of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy in the showers of the Penn State’s football complex. Consequently, their is little sympathy for Joe Paterno who apparently did not go to the police or any other authoritative personnel about the incident. The coach's son, Scott Paterno, apparently told the Philadelphia Inquirer that his father never asked Sandusky about the alleged sexual assault. Assistant coach, Mike McQueary, apparently told a Grand Jury he witnessed Jerry Sandusky sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy in the showers of the football complex.

The most efficient decision for Penn State would have been if Paterno had offered to resign immediately. Instead, Paterno offered to retire at the end of the season, which resulted in Penn State officials firing him immediately with no reimbursement. The dismissal originally prompted many students to gather near the campus chanting “We want Joe,” as stated by NFL.com. Witnesses said the students knocked over a van and lamppost, were throwing bottles and rocks.However, once students learned of the facts and the alleged victims plight, the protests stopped.

In the end, Joe Paterno was fired because he did too little. He didn't call the police and he failed to make sure the people he told about the incident took care of the situation. Nils Hagen-Frederiksen, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office, told ABC News that Joe Paterno is a cooperating witness who testified and provided a truthful testimony. However, the spokesperson also told ABC News that two others may have committed perjury before the grand jury. These individuals legal expenses will likely be reimbursed by Penn State. As if the cost of education is not high enough. One wonders just how much of the expense of such inappropriate behavior will become a burden on students paying tuition.

(Elaine Hirsch writes articles as a guest blogger and for online degree programs. A link to such a program can be found here: LINK.)

Update 12-7-11: Jerry Sandusky is in a Pennsylvania county jail after being unable to post $250,000 bail in cash. Sandusky faces new charges based on the testimony of two new accusers. There are not 10 total accusers. He already faced 40 counts of child sex abuse involving eight young boys over a 15-year span. Sandusky lawyer Joseph Amendola claims his client is innocent. Sandusky and all involved are to be presumed innocent unless otherwise proven in a court of law.
Update 1-22-12: Joe Paterno died today. He was 85.

Update 6-18-12:  Sandusky is on trial.  See the 6-18-12 thread on Sandusky.

New Marketing Of Inflight Entertainment?

What happened to that phrase, "Fly the Friendly Skies?" Perhaps now the marketing slogan should be "Don't Get Too Upset if You Get Caught Being Too Chummy While Flying" using an Australian accent while advocating for Jetstar. Why the warning? An Australian couple was arrested over the weekend for trying to join the "mile high club." The man was 44-years-old and the woman 39-years-old. Saturday Bust.

The man, who apparently didn't finish, allegedly became "abusive" towards cabin crew after the couple was interrupted. The man is charged with disorderly conduct. His mate, however; was released without any formal charges according to Adelaide Now. (Moral: Should the man have exited without comment and then later gone into the restroom alone and finished the job?)

Jetstar claims that they don't allow passengers to "enter the toilet in pairs." If they do, they are asked to come out and if they "... comply there are no further questions asked or action taken." Some may ask what is the harm in allowing such conduct? (Think of the cost of adding extra large plane bathrooms and equipping them with complimentary condoms and vibrators. ) After all, over 90% of travelers would like to join the exclusive club. Twenty percent of all travelers claim to be members. 95% Want In Mile High Club (20% claim they have already joined.) Given the numbers, is there a marketing angle in promoting the mile high club on Jetstar flights? Simply by the numbers, the answer appears to be yes.

But people wishing a crack down on bathroom antics think the potential of in air mishaps is simply too great. It is not just unwanted pregnancies but also the distraction to airline personnel that they fear. For example in November, an off-duty Qantas pilot was allegedly scolded for becoming too familiar with a female passenger on a flight from London to Sydney. Too familiar? Can anyone blame the off duty pilot for making the friendly skies a bit more inviting atmosphere for attractive single women? Again those advocating against bathroom entertainment claim that if such conduct is encouraged, it might lead to a disproportionate number of attractive females being offered private viewings of the cock pit?

Perhaps encouraging membership in the mile high club might lead to over reliance on autopilot guidance and dangerous penetration of restricted air space. However, in this competitive market it may all come down to dollars and cents. In other words, is it more cost efficient for the airlines to return to providing snacks and movies as cheap in flight entertainment or should they simply turn a blind eye to couples sharing a toilet seat?

Update 12-7-11: Alec Baldwin just got kicked off a plane for violating the no cell phone rule. While reports conflict as to what Baldwin was doing with the device, reports of him throwing a temper tantrum after he was told to turn the device off appears to be consistent. LINK.