Category: Strange

A Pot to Pee In – Ben Roethlisberger Accused of Public Urination?

July 14, 2010
Crime and PunishmentSportsStrange
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Sometimes, a guy can’t catch a break.

Ben Roethlisberger needs positive headelines, soon.

Not like this, from USA Today:

Police in Dublin, Ohio, investigated a golf foursome that included Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger after a woman bordering the course alleged that a person in the group had urinated in public.

Dublin police spokesman David Ball told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that no charges or citations were issued and that Roethlisberger was not the person seen urinating.

"We received a call that said a member of the party urinated on private property," Ball told the paper. "We spoke to the golf course and they agreed to discuss this issue internally with their members."

Roethlisberger, a native of Findlay, Ohio, was suspended 6 games in April for violating the league’s personal-conduct policy. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell ordered Roethlisberger into a behavioral evaluation program and held open the potential for extending the ban if he wasn’t satisfied by Roethlisberger’s progress.

Double Yoy!

Video: Jonas Brothers Trapped in and Elevator

June 20, 2010
GeneralHumorStrange
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Here you go: the terrifying, riveting video all Jonas Brothers fans have been waiting for. Yes, this heart-stopping moment is brought to you by AOL News.

No, this isn’t ‘Love in an Elevator.’ This is the Jonas Brothers, after all.

Enjoy these meaningless few minutes as you watch the brothers elude danger, certain death…, well, none of that, really. If you’re here, just enjoy.

Colorado Town of Black Hawk, Pop. 100, Bans Cyclists

June 19, 2010
Anti-ScienceSportsStrange
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From the world of, "You have got to be kidding!"

No, they’re not kidding. One hundred people in Black Hawk, Colorado, believe their village would be safer without bicicyles on the streets.

This one comes to us from across the pond:

A town in the US has banned cyclists on most of its streets, punishing anyone who gets caught with a $68 (£46) fine. Black Hawk in Colorado, which has a population of just above 100, is thought to be the first town in the US to make cycling illegal after a change in civic law.

The curious decree has been introduced for "health and safety" reasons, said administrators of the former goldmining town, which in the 1990s decided to develop gambling to prevent the place vanishing altogether.

Michael Copp, Black Hawk’s city manager, the equivalent of chief executive of a local council in the UK, admitted there had not been any accidents to prompt the ban, just concern over potential collisions between motor vehicles and bicycles on 19th-century streets that were designed for horses and carriages.

The town started enforcing the ban on 5 June, five months after it passed the law requiring cyclists to dismount and wheel their bikes through the town. So far eight tickets have been issued, said Copp.

Copp, who does not cycle himself, said the council passed the ordinance after the town experienced a surge in traffic – buses, delivery trucks, and motorists – following a law that increased the maximum betting limits from $5 to $100 once it chose gambling as its raison d’etre.

No accidents. And this gamble-happy hamlet apparently consulted no experts, no national studies. Just did away with two-wheelers.

Oy.

Why Do People Celebrate by Shooting Guns?

June 12, 2010
ChicagoChicagolandIllinoisSportsStrange
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Two Naperville men face Class 4 felony charges because of the way they allegedly chose to celebrate the Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup victory.

From the Sun-Times:

A Naperville man and his son caught the unexpected attention of police as the men allegedly celebrated the Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup victory by firing rounds from an assault rifle into the ground behind their home.

Mark W. Steinbrecher, 54, and his son Mark S. Steinbrecher, 20, were wearing shirts embossed with Blackhawks and Stanley Cup insignia when their booking photographs were taken at the Naperville police station. Both men face Class 4 felony charges of reckless discharge of a firearm.

Police Cmdr. Dave Hoffman said patrol officers were sent at 12:40 a.m. to the Steinbrechers’ house on Naperville’s far southwest side. A neighbor called 911 to report "a subject in the backyard firing a weapon,” Hoffman said.

I don’t understand.

Philadelphia Freedom: Phillies Fan Who Intentionally Vomited on Child Pleads Guilty

June 3, 2010
SportsStrange
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Chicago Blackhawks fans in Philadelphia for the Stanley Cup Finals might want to wear rain ponchos if they’re lucky enough to get anywhere near the Wachovia Center. Why? A 21-year-old New Jersey man pleaded guilty to intentionally vomiting on a man and his 11-year-old daughter in the stands during a Philadelphia Phillies game.

Ugh.

Here’s the scoop (sorry about that):

A New Jersey man is facing charges after police say he intentionally vomited on an 11-year-old girl and her father in the stands during a Phillies game.

Matthew Clemmens, 21, of Cherry Hill, N.J., was arraigned Friday on charges stemming from his behavior at Wednesday night’s Phillies-Nationals game. Police say Clemmens made himself vomit on an off-duty police captain and his daughter after a companion was kicked out for unruly behavior.

The plea:

Matthew Clemmens of Cherry Hill, N.J., pleaded guilty today to charges stemming from the incident at a Phillies-Nationals game on April 14.

Police say Clemmens stuck his fingers down his throat and vomited on Easton police Captain Michael Vangelo and his daughter after Clemmens’ companion was ejected from the park.

And the dude:

fan

Enough said.

Go Hawks!

Dios Mio! Arizona Superintendent Out to Get Teachers with Accents

May 25, 2010
AmericaAnti-ScienceConservativesConstitutionEducationimmigrationLegalLiberalsRepublicansStrange
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No kidding. Arizona superintendent Tom Horne is on the lookout for teachers who pronounce "comma" as "COH-ma."

Oy. Vey.

From Think Progress:

Late last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Arizona Department of Education “recently began telling school districts that teachers whose spoken English it deems to be heavily accented or ungrammatical must be removed from classes for students still learning English”:

State education officials say the move is intended to ensure that students with limited English have teachers who speak the language flawlessly. But some school principals and administrators say the department is imposing arbitrary fluency standards that could undermine students by thinning the ranks of experienced educators. […]

“This is just one more indication of the incredible anti-immigrant sentiment in the state,” said Bruce Merrill, a professor emeritus at Arizona State University who conducts public-opinion research.

At one school, for example, state auditors complained that teachers pronounced “words such as violet as ‘biolet,’ think as ‘tink’ and swallow the ending sounds of words, as they sometimes do in Spanish.” The principal at that school acknowledged that teachers “should speak grammatically correct English” but said they shouldn’t be punished for having an accent.

The man in charge of this project, far-right Arizona superintendent Tom Horne — who is running for attorney general — has been going on national media in recent days to defend his policies.

What would he do if he wandered into a Latin Mass? Arrest the priest?

More here.

Rush: “President Clinton’s ties to the domestic terrorism of Oklahoma are tangible” (Video)

April 19, 2010
ConservativesStrange
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Is it possible to say that Rush Limbaugh has gone too far?

Just when you think he’s topped himself, out comes another brain fart. And, once again, Rush takes advantage of the misery of others to pad his pocketbook.

Watch the video, and wonder why….

Betty Loren-Maltese Will Now Take Your Order

April 7, 2010
ChicagoChicagolandLegalStrange
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I don’t know what a "high-end pizza parlor" is, but Betty Loren-Maltese is working at one in Oak Park, and she’ll be happy to take you to your table, maybe even take your order.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Former Cicero Town President Betty Loren-Maltese isn’t just a story. She’s a headline.

The feisty village chieftain, who spent seven years in a federal prison after a public corruption conviction, has dropped weight, shed the major eyelashes, looks ka-pow and begins a new career tonight: serving as the evening hostess at Salerno’s restaurant, a high-end pizza parlor on Roosevelt Road in Oak Park.

"The owner thought I needed a break and, in turn, it would be good for business," said Maltese, who now lives in a modest apartment in Evergreen Park she shares with two goldfish: "Priscilla and Elvis."

"I love animals, the landlord doesn’t allow pets, and I lost my dog, ‘Punky,’ when I went to prison," she said. "So I have goldfish — and I swear they are synchronized swimmers."

I once described Maltese as a piece of painted shrapnel with a sense of humor.

The paint is now pastel, but shrapnel peppers commentary on her conviction in 2002.

Her mission: "To clear my name and reunite with my daughter, Ashleigh Rose, who is now 13," Maltese said.

"To this day I maintain my innocence," she said. "How much more can they do? I’ve lost Ashleigh. I’ve lost everything I’ve worked for my whole life. And I continue to question the omission of evidence that could have found me not guilty."

I don’t know what to say here. Betty was found guilty. She served her time.

I wish her well.

But, wow, serving pizza?

Never saw that coming.

Rep. Broun Calls Civil War ‘The Great War Of Yankee Aggression’ (Video)

March 20, 2010
Barack ObamaCongressConservativesHealth CareLegalRepublicansStrange
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Still fighting the Civil War, and apparently unhappy that his children and grandchildren will live in a country with a better health care system than he did before entering Congress, Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) calls the Civil War "The Great War of Yankee Aggression."

Enjoy the short video clip from Media Matters.

Coming In June: The Summer of Blagojevich

March 17, 2010
ChicagoChicagolandCook CountyDemocratic NewsIllinoisLegalStrange
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Rod Blagojevich’s flying circus continues this summer: a judge ruled today there will be no delay in the former governor’s trial.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich won’t be able to delay his trial on public corruption charges, a federal judge said today.

U.S. District Judge James Zagel said the trial should go forward as planned on June 3. He called a pending U.S. Supreme Court decision that could redefine a statute that some of Blagojevich’s charges are based on a “red herring.’’

“I don’t see any reason to continue this case,’’ Zagel said. “This is more than a year to acquaint yourselves with the evidence.’’

Last week, lawyers for the indicted governor made a formal request to continue the June trial to November, saying they’ve been snowed under by recently turned over evidence, and they still await the Supreme Court ruling. Prosecutors opposed any delay for Blagojevich, who debuted on the television show “Celebrity Apprentice’’ on Sunday. They said the ex-governor has had plenty of time to prepare for trial.

The circus comes to town in June.