Happy Father's Day, Homme Videos; Paternity, Parenthood, Law and Disorder, Fake Rape, Sexual Assaults, Prison; Sperm, Penis, Circumcisions; Men, Teens; Male Fashion, Facial Hair

Happy Father's Day

• The Rise of the Single Dad—"More than 2.6 million households in America are headed by a single father."
• Growing number of dads home with the kids
• Lev Grossman on his daughter, Lily: How being a father ruined my life and made me a better writer.
• Terminally ill dad can't be there for daughter so gives her life's advice in one letter
• "Modern Family's" modern fathers: The decade's best sitcom is also its most important Salon

Homme Videos

• Baby Misses Dad's Beard
• Baby meets her dad's twin brother for the first time
• 40 year old tantrum

Paternity

• Nebraska high court again rules father's consent necessary for adoption
• Mother Can Exclude Father From Delivery Room, N.J. Judge holds
• Sports radio host Mike Francesca celebrates bad fathers everywhere, calls paternity leave a "scam"—"Your wife doesn't need your help the first couple of days." Salon

Parenthood

• Look-alike College Friends Discover They Are Sisters
• Rogue sperm donor may have fathered hundreds —Vince Vaungh, is that you?
• Judge rules Kan. sperm donor owes child support—Although "he signed a contract waiving his parental rights and responsibilities... the state contended the contract was moot because the parties didn't follow a 1994 Kansas law requiring a licensed physician to perform the artificial insemination when donors were involved."

Law and Disorder

• Male sex abuse reporting soars
• I was fired for denying lusty lady bosses: suit
• Nearly Half of Young Men Say They’ve Had 'Unwanted' Sex—"New study says it's possible for women to rape men: 18% of surveyed guys say women used physical force to make them have sex against their will."
• Chouteau man accused of shooting aunt claims he was tired of having sex with her in exchange for housing
• No jail time for Wausau woman accused of holding 2 men hostage, demanding sex
• Alexandra Rose Williams on good behaviour bond after in-flight bum grope
• Florida mom who had sex with teen son's friend gets asylum in Canada
• Judge questions why 'only the boy' is charged in underage sex case
• 17-year-old boy detained for 'exploiting' woman aged 21
• Tucker Carlson: We Have To 'Pretend' Boys Are Statutory Rape Victims

Fake Rape

• Angelina Jolie lookalike stabs man who refused sex—"Perijoc, who styles herself on Jolie's character in the movie 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider,' was arrested on the scene and originally tried to claim she was the victim."
• Trainee barrister cried rape 11 times to avoid taking exams, court told—"Rhiannon Brooker, trainee lawyer, is accused of falsely claiming boyfriend repeatedly raped and assaulted her in attempt to dodge Bar exams."
• UA Student Arrested In False Sex Assault Report On Campus
• Jail for woman who told husband she had been raped to hide her affair
• Law graduate found guilty of falsely accusing former boyfriend of rape—A [Women Against Rape (War)] spokesperson said the prosecution of Brooker was 'completely disproportionate,' adding: 'Time and again we see police resources diverted from rape and put into prosecuting women instead.'" Don't you mean prosecuting liars?
• Minnesota Supreme Court reinstates charges against Billings woman accused of false rape claims

Sexual Assaults

• Retired Marine Reveals Secret Suffering of Male Military Rape Victims
• The 'Boys' in the Bunkhouse—"For decades, dozens of men with intellectual disabilities lived in an old schoolhouse and worked in a turkey plant. No one knew just what they endured." NT
• Boys 'rented out' for abuse at Salvation Army boys' home at Bexley in Sydney's south—Those who ran away got beaten up by police.
• Nathaniel Morales of Covenant Life Church convicted of sexually abusing young boys
• UK launches £500,000 fund to help male victims of rape and sexual abuse—"Minister says he wants to break silence on 'taboo' subject after crime survey estimates 72,000 men a year are victims."
• Male rape in America: A new study reveals that men are sexually assaulted almost as often as women

Prison

• Sex in men's prisons: 'The US system cultivates rape. If you treat people like animals, they behave like it'
• Sentenced to Wait: Efforts to End Prison Rape Stall Again—"The Prison Rape Elimination Act was passed in Washington 2003. It still hasn't been fully implemented."
• These 7 GOP Governors Are Refusing to Crack Down on Prison Rape. Now the Obama Administration Is Calling Them Out
• Meet the Vigilante Prisoner Who Beats Up Jail Rapists

Sperm

• Testicular time bomb: Older dads' mutant sperm
• The 6 most bizarre types of sperm found in nature—"You thought that 17-million-year-old sperm was weird? Well, it's in some very strange company." Salon
• Blast from the Past: Sperm-like cells created by scientists

Penis

• Penis politics: Sex, size and stereotypes in the gay community Salon
• Novi Man Discriminated Against For Big Penis, Tiny Speedo
• Exploiting Men's Insecurity About Their Penises Is a Terrible Way to Promote Vegetarianism
• For March Madness fans, vasectomy timing is everything
• 'Accidental Tyler Durden' as Fox news station KDVR airs penis picture during helicopter crash coverage
• Me and my codpiece
• Man accidentally shoots own penis, dies

Circumcisions

• New York Baby Infected With Herpes After Metzitza B'peh Circumcision Rite
• Sexually Transmitted Disease in Infants Following Ritual Circumcisions
• South Africa's dark secret: Botched circumcisions
• Circumcision rates declining in U.S., study says
• Circumcision Rates in the United States: Rising or Falling? What Effect Might the New Affirmative Pediatric Policy Statement Have?
• Penn & Teller: Bullshit on Circumcision
• College Humor: The Real Reason You're Circumcised

Men

• The Tortured Rise of the All-American Bro—"The misogynist portrait of modern American masculinity may be a historical accident. Here's how to fix it."
• Building a Bigger Action Hero—"A mere six-pack doesn't cut it in Hollywood anymore. Today's male stars need 5 percent body fat, massive pecs, and the much-coveted inguinal crease – regardless of what it takes to get there."
• Why Are Handsome Men Such Jerks?

Teens

• War on Boys
• Why teenage boys do stupid things
• More teen boys working as babysitters
• Confirmed: Teenage Boys Use Way, Way Too Much Body Spray
• Steroid Use Much Higher Among Gay and Bi Teen Boys

Male Fashion

• The worst men's grooming trends of all time
• Project Upgrade: Kevin Love—"We noticed Minnesota Timberwolves animal of a power forward Kevin Love has been looking a little shaggy lately. This season he's been playing the best ball of his career, so we called our go-to barber to give him a cut and a shave to match."
• How Men Can Fight Sexism by Wearing Very Short Shorts
• Why Are Guys Afraid to Wear Speedos?—"American men need to get over their Freudian fear of showing off their junk."

Facial Hair

• The Racially Fraught History of the American Beard
• Beard PhD
• Hipster wannabes get facial hair transplants
• Beard envy? Surgery may be the answer
• Mike Napoli says Elvis Andrus should shave off 'embarrassing' beard
• Beards Trim P&G's Sales as 'Movember' Fuels Hairy Look
• 10 Actors Who Improved with Mustaches
• Gillette Loses Its Way in Mustache Flap
• Hot gay daddies—NSFW video by Farenheit80.

Comply! Zero Tolerance, Bullying, Racism, School Shootings, Sexual Assaults, Law and Disorder, Juvenile Deliquence; Educamation, Teachers, That's Un-Possible! Parenting

Comply!

• Parents say middle school students suspended over FB post—"A group of Spalding County middle school students is facing suspension over a Facebook post about the school dress code."
• Student's awesome non-apology for wearing leggings
• North Carolina Senior Stripped of Diploma After He Strips at Graduation
• Running Coach Fired For Running Boston Marathon—He went on his personal day, and the athletic director goes on a power trip.
• Oakland High guard charged in abuse of student in wheelchair
• Campus cop fires gun at teens he caught making out in car parked at OK school
• Georgetown officer suspended 40 days after tripping incident
• Dad Arrested For Picking Up Kids At School By Foot

Zero Tolerance

• New Report on Zero Tolerance: Stop Expelling Kids for Ridiculous Nonsense
• Dad: NJ threatens to take away son after pencil-twirling incident—"A simple pencil-twirling incident landed Ethan Chaplin in hot water with his school, which threatened to suspend him after a classmate claimed he was spinning the writing utensil like a gun."
• School mum over dad's gun—Dad flashed his gun permit to the school principal during an argument "over a picture his son drew in art class of Gru, the main character in the movie 'Despicable Me,' 'shooting ping-pong balls at his minions,' which school officials thought was sexual in nature." School administration stupidty at work again.
• Boy, 7, may be expelled after telling teacher he accidentally brought toy gun to school
• Parent wants NEISD to reconsider sunscreen policy—"Girl, 10, not allowed to bring sunscreen on field trip due to 'toxic' nature."
• When your high school gets you arrested for a science project—"Last year Kiera Wilmot was busted for simulating a volcano with toilet cleaner and foil. Her record still lists felony arrest."

Bullying

• Was Rainier HS student suspended for reporting online bullying?
• Maryland girl pleads 'responsible' for bullying boy with autism—"A 17-year-old Maryland girl accused of assaulting an autistic boy pleaded 'responsible' to two misdemeanor charges after her case was transferred from adult to juvenile court."
• Torrence Collier: Westport parents insist town is not racist—"Parents in the tiny Newfoundland community of Westport say suggestions that their community is racist are wrong, with one saying that Torrence Collier, the 11-year-old black boy whose allegations of racially motivated bullying have made national headlines, is a bully himself."
• CPS investigating allegations of anti-Semitic bullying
• It's time to outlaw bullying

Racism

• Mich. teacher suspended over blackface lesson plan—"A community is outraged after a Michigan public school teacher was removed from the classroom for showing a video of white entertainers in blackface." Updated: The teacher has been reinstated. The administrator should be kicked out.
• UCI student council penalizes frat over themed party—"Critics say Phi Gamma Delta's annual Fiji Islander event is a slap because of how the nation was treated during colonial times."
• Hylton officials file complaint about racism following soccer game

School Shootings

• Seattle student credited with stopping campus gunman has wedding registry, honeymoon paid for by strangers
• Oregon school shooting leaves student, gunman dead
• The Daily Banter's Investigation Helps Catch Sandy Hook Memorial Thief

Sexual Assaults

• Brown University Student Speaks Out on What It's Like to Be Accused of Rape—"In April, Daniel Kopin was publicly accused of sexually assaulting his classmate. For the first time, he tells his side of the story."
• Judge Blocks Expulsion of Duke Student Accused of Sexual Misconduct WSJ
• More college men are fighting back against sexual misconduct cases
• Stanford won't expel student in sexual assault case
• Stanford sexual-assault case: Did the university do enough to punish a student it found responsible for sexual misconduct?
• Teacher charged with raping student flipped out over prom date
• Dad hits teacher with baseball bat after 'inappropriate' texts surface with teen daughter

Law and Disorder

• 14 charged in Wilmington College hazing incident at the Gamma Phi Gamma house
• Woman sentenced to 2 days for truancy fines dies in jail; judge says it was his only option
• 20 students taken to hospital after first grader brings heroin to school

Juvenile Deliquence

• Girls Charged in Stabbing Allegedly Tried to Kill for 'Slender Man'
• 13-year-old Ohio girl stabs mother in 2nd 'Slenderman' attack
• Teenager calls in hoax bomb threat so brother can finish Burger King shift early
• Man jumped in Patterson Park by teenagers who were filming attack

Educamation

• Obama Plans Steps to Ease Student Debt—"Borrowers' debt load is growing and retarding the ability to buy homes, start businesses or otherwise spend to spur the economy, economists say." NYT
• Bill To Allow Refinancing Of Student Loans Dies In Senate
• Cafeteria worker tosses child's lunch when he's 26 cents short
• Public Schools Are Hurting More in the Recovery Than in the Recession
• Half of college grads still relying on parents' money
• How Medicaid lowers high school dropout rates and leads to more college grads WaPo

Teachers

• Williamsburg students stage walkout to protest mistreatment of teachers
• North Carolina: Judge rules revocation of teacher tenure, 25% contracts unconstitutional
• Judge Strikes Down California Teacher Tenure—"A judge struck down tenure and other job protections for California's public school teachers as unconstitutional Tuesday, saying such laws harm students — especially poor and minority ones — by saddling them with bad teachers who are almost impossible to fire."

That's Un-Possible!

• UNC's McCants: 'Just show up, play'—"Former North Carolina basketball star Rashad McCants told Outside the Lines that he could have been academically ineligible to play during the 2004-05 national championship season had he not been provided fraudulent academic assistance."
• School cancels reading program rather than promote "hacker culture"—"Boing Boing editor responds, offers 200 free copies to the school's students."
• This Made Us LOL—South Carolina takes a stand.

Parenting

• The day I left my son in the car—"I made a split-second decision to run into the store. I had no idea it would consume the next years of my life." Salon
• Stop helicopter-parenting other people's kids—"We've reached the point where parenting "mistakes" are being reported to the cops."
• Hawaii Man Gets Probation for Making Kid Walk Mile—He was sentenced to probation, but he shouldn't have been charged in the first place.
• Dad charged for forcing teen to carry landscape stone
• Brooklyn pub bans kids after being swamped by families—"The Hot Bird in Clinton Hill posted a sign reading 'Children are not allowed,' after hip parents kept taking their babies to the bar."

Comply! Zero Tolerance; That's Un-Possible! Educamation, School Fees; Racism; Bullying; Teen Killers; Think of the Children; Teachers

Comply!

• Girl, 9, barred from school for shaving head to support friend with cancer
• Tennessee teacher out of a job after taking sick student to ER and paying the bill—"It's a liability issue. It's an issue of insubordination after doing something you were officially warned not to do and doing it again.
• Minnesota teen wins settlement after school takes Facebook password—"A Minnesota school district has agreed to pay $70,000 to settle a lawsuit that claimed school officials violated a student's constitutional rights by viewing her Facebook and email accounts without permission."
• Supreme Court declines 'I (heart) Boobies'
• Free speech vs. school order—"Public school administrators must have their heads spinning as they try to sort out recent court decisions regarding free-expression rights of students. Principals have the almost impossible task of balancing constitutionally protected student expression with keeping order in schools where education is the primary objective."

Zero Tolerance

• Student involved in razor incident will return to school Friday—"A Virginia Beach sixth grader who came to the aide of a classmate who was cutting his arm will now return to school Friday after initially facing expulsion for her actions."
• Teen's military plans on hold after spending 13 days in jail —He was "charged with a felony and spent 13 days in jail, after what he says what was a pocketknife was found in his car during a search at his school Ashtabula County Tech."
• There's no such thing as zero tolerance—"Yup, we have yet another 'Asinine School Administration Negligently Enforces Zero Tolerance Policy Because the Administration is Asinine' debacle."
• St. Louis County mother furious after being arrested for consoling son—"A mother trying to pick her special needs son up from school winds up in handcuffs and puts the school on lock down."
• Citing abuse, advocates to seek changes in zero-tolerance policies

That's Un-Possible!

• Here's the Awful 146-Word "Essay" That Earned an A- for a UNC Jock
• Teenager expelled from school after organising mass-walkout over LACK of homework—Say hello to a future politician.
• Chemistry Professor Accidentally Taught The Wrong Course For Months

Educamation

• A Conservative Meme On School Lunches: Work For It, Kids!
• Kansas illegally underfunds poorer school districts, court rules
• Hilariously, Bobby Jindal Attempts To Use "Science" To Defend His Failed School Voucher Program
• Ohio legislator says America's public education system is 'socialism,' should be privatized
• Diane Ravitch Tells Bill Moyers Why School Privatization Is Turning into a Disaster
• Gov. Mike Pence signs bill to ditch Common Core
• Kindergarten teacher: My job is now about tests and data — not children. I quit. WaPo

School Fees

• Pay it forward: Plan would allow Michigan students to attend college for 'free'—"In return for free tuition, students have to agree to pay a fixed percentage of their future income for a specified number of years to a special fund that would pay other students' college bills." Interesting.
• University of Baltimore to offer free final semester—"... if [the students] can finish their degrees in four years."
• New strategy would drop college textbook costs to zero—"USM holds pilot in which students use free 'open-source' textbooks put together by their professors."
• College affordability: Low-income students bearing brunt of price hikes at some West Michigan schools
• Superintendent's pay in South Bay district called 'excessive'—"The superintendent of the small Centinela Valley Union High School District, Jose Fernandez, made $674,559 last year, far more than the New York and Los Angeles school district heads."

Racism

• Olathe district apologizes after only black students invited on trip—Claims it was a "misunderstanding."
• Teaching tolerance: How white parents should talk to their kids about race
• U Of Alabama Sororites Win Right To Ban Blacks

Bullying

• School Bans Bullied Boy from Wearing his 'My Little Pony' Bag – This is Victim Blaming
• Petition asking for principal's termination—Accused of cyber-bullying a six-year-old.
• Details Emerge in Throat Stabbing of Elementary School Student; Photos Obtained
• Fed-Up Father Of Bullied Son Files Restraining Order Against Fairfield 9-Year-Old
• Teens get banned from an app after vicious attacks and threats—"Yik Yak is banned from Chicago after upsetting middle and high school students."
• Two Maryland teens admit to assaulting boy with autism
• Former elementary school lunch lady taken to jail for paying kids $1 to beat up classmate

Teen Killers

• Student Who Allegedly Produced Ricin Was Inspired By 'Breaking Bad'
• Ballard High student who killed for cell phone disappointed victim didn't have a nicer model—Psychopath.
• Two Wylie Teens Arrested For Murder Of Classmate
• Teen charged with killing parents in Calif. mansion
• Girl, 16, stabbed 65 times following Facebook argument
• Texas teens arrested for skinning dog and killing kittens in 'satanic-style ritual'
• Saturday's Louisville mob violence step-by-step

Think of the Children

• Doctor: ADHD Does Not Exist
• Alabama retailer turns away special needs kids
• When one New Zealand school tossed its playground rules and let students risk injury, the results were surprising
• When parents limit screen time, kids behave, sleep, and test better—"Since the average kid is in front of a screen more than 40 hours a week, researchers say even small limits on screen time can reap multiple health benefits."
• Blast from the Past: British children 'babied' by intrusive parents, says MP—"UK children are being 'babied' by overly-intrusive parents, leaving them unable to cope as they grow up, an adviser to David Cameron has said."

Teachers

• Los Alamitos High School Teacher Tweets—In the vein of celebrities reading hate tweets on Kimmel.
• Maths teacher threatens Game of Thrones spoilers instead of detention for naughty students
• Teacher keeps promise to mail thousands of former students letters written by their past selves

Zero Tolerance, Comply! Gun Show; Hunger Games, Student Loans, Free College, School Fees; That's Un-Possible! SAT; Educamation; Think of the Children; Bullying, Parenting, Law and Disorder; Ukraine

Zero Tolerance

• Pop-Tart school-gun bill clears first hurdle in Florida—"Legislators here are working to keep students from getting in serious trouble for simulating a weapon with harmless objects like their fingers, Pop-Tarts or Legos."
• NRA Backs Fla. "Pop Tart" Gun Bill Because Playing With Toy Guns at School Is Totally a Kid's Right
• Chicago School Officials Suspend 11-Year-Old Boy Under 'Dangerous Weapons' Policy for Voluntarily Turning in Non-Firing Toy Gun
• Boy points finger like gun, gets suspended
• New Hanover County Schools remove 'Zero Tolerance' Policy

Comply!

• Texas student suspended after bringing beer to school by mistake
• Clarksville Student Suspended For Knife In Father's Car—30 days (down from 90) is still too much.
• Boy arrested after throwing snowball at cop—"13-year-old being charged with a felony following incident."
• Teen: Teachers Made Me Stand Outside In Wet Bathing Suit, Barefoot
• University policy will force students to wear trackable identification at all times

Gun Show

• 'Toy gun' found at Flint's Doyle-Ryder Elementary, two students arrested on disorderly conduct charges—"While police called it a 'toy gun,' Watkins said he believed in was a BB gun," which is an expellable offense.
• Student brings gun to elementary school—"The 11-year-old boy brought the .44-caliber handgun to Feaster Charter School in a backpack to show a few other students on Jan. 31, police said. He didn’t wave it around or threaten anybody, they added."
• Ind. House OKs bill to allow guns in cars at schools
• Associates defend man who had gun in school—Ironically, an advocate of the SAFE act, "the state law that made carrying a gun on school property a felony."
• When May I Shoot a Student?—"Modest questions about an Idaho bill allowing guns on campus." NYT

Hunger Games

• Many Minnesota students are subjected to lunch refusals, including 'tray pulls'
• USDA Tells Schools: Don't Refuse Food To Students Who Owe
• ACLU takes case of bus driver fired over Facebook posting—"Johnny Cook said that he was terminated from his job after he made a post about a child who he said was refused a free lunch."
• Howell elementary student raising money to cover unpaid school lunch bills for classmates
• Policies need to make sure all students get a hot lunch
• Paul Ryan: Free School Lunch Means Poor Parents Don't Care About Kids—He just loves the poor.

Student Loans

• Student Loans Are Ruining Your Life. Now They're Ruining the Economy, Too—"American students are well over $1 trillion in debt, and it's starting to hurt everyone, economists say."
• Feds file suit against for-profit college chain—"The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed suit Wednesday against a large, for-profit college chain alleging that it pushed students into high-cost private student loans knowing they would likely end in default."
• Elizabeth Warren: Sallie Mae May Be Hurting Borrowers, Taxpayers—Can she get student loans refinanced?

Free College

• TN Governor makes education top priority in State of the State address—"Addressing a packed House chamber, Gov. Haslam announced what he called the 'Tennessee Promise'; the plan allows for all high school students to get two years of college education for free."
• Free Online University Receives Accreditation, in Time for Graduating Class of 7—"The University of the People, built to reach underserved students around the world, announced Thursday that it had received accreditation." NYT
• Can free community college save the US economy?

School Fees

• Cut Off Harvard to Save America—"University endowments promote inefficiency and are anti-meritocratic."
• Alamo Colleges trustees OK new approach to textbooks
• Oklahoma schools required to teach high school students to manage finances—"Oklahoma students, effective this May, now must demonstrate an understanding in banking, taxes, investing, loans, insurance, identity theft and eight other areas to graduate. Teachers are required to certify students' working knowledge in each area."

That's Un-Possible!

• The Myth Behind Public School Failure—"In the rush to privatize the country's schools, corporations and politicians have decimated school budgets, replaced teaching with standardized testing, and placed the blame on teachers and students."
• Carolina Confronts Classroom Corruption as Athletes Fail to Read
• Rutgers makes professor teach class he is clueless about, suspends him for telling students
• Fight Over Effective Teachers Shifts to Courtroom NYT

SAT

• Sharpen those pencils: The SAT test is getting harder—Bye-bye essay section [WaPo].
• Why the SAT is really changing: It's facing tough competition from the ACT WaPo
• The Problem Isn't What's on the SAT. The Problem Is the SAT Itself—"Make no mistake: The next revolution is an educational one. And America can only be at the forefront of it by disregarding for-profit standardized tests."

Educamation

• The University of Tennessee's Sex Week Will Go on Despite Major Controversy
• Philly-area student gets prize -- and more -- after being snubbed jackpot for half-court basketball shot—Props to Pizza Hut. Free good-will publicity for them.
• Columbus school board admits to illegal meetings, settles 'Dispatch' lawsuit
• Poudre School District destroys records to deny special needs family's access
• An inconvenient child—"My six-year-old son was suspended as a danger to others. His crime? Apraxia, a disability you could find in any classroom."

Think of the Children

• 11-year-old girl's cupcake business shut down by Madison County officials
• Victoria's Secret store bans mom from breastfeeding
• New Study Confirms It: Breast-Feeding Benefits Have Been Drastically Overstated
• Nick Lachey Says 'It Takes a Lot of Courage' for Media to Adopt #NoKidsPolicy
• Graco recalls nearly 4 million car seats because children may get trapped

Bullying

• Family Outraged Over Suspension Of Westlake High Senior Class President—"Friends and Conti supporters accuse Westlake High Principal Ron Lipari of coming down hard on Conti and protecting the school's football program."
• Suspended Rudder High School Teen Speaks Out—Stood up for someone getting harrased; gets suspended.
• Child attempts suicide after being bullied at school for being a fan of My Little Pony
• Former high school bully congratulates gay victim after seeing marriage proposal online

Parenting

• Motivating teenagers: How do you do it?—"Helicopter parenting has crippled American teenagers. Here's how to fix it."
• It's Complicated: An interview with danah boyd about teens and technology.
• Sponsor of Kansas spanking bill says it would help define corporal punishment, restore parental rights
• NY lawmaker: Parents should take parenting classes—Some parents don't know the fuck they're doing.
• The tyranny of the "bad mother": Slacker moms are just as intimidating as perfect ones Salon
• Judge Denies Tuition Money, Child Support For NJ Teen Suing Parents

Law and Disorder

• Parents force 5-year-old to drink grape soda until she dies, prosecutor says
• Judge accepts father's insanity plea in decapitation
• Boy, 11, is beaten and stabbed to death by his father at cricket practice
• Philadelphia couple face prison after sons' prayer deaths
• Baby to undergo blood transfusions despite objection of Jehovah's Witnesses parents—"High Court judge agrees to proceedure despite his parents' objections on religious grounds."
• US doctor found guilty of waterboarding his 11-year-old stepdaughter

Ukraine

• U.S. Navy destroyer heads to Black Sea for pre-planned exercises
• Russians sink a boat off Ukraine coast - their own
• EU leaders to hold emergency talks
• CIA reportedly says Russia sees treaty as justifying Ukraine moves—It "allows up to 25,000 Russia troops in the vital Crimea region, so Russia may not consider its recent troop movements to be an invasion."
• State-Funded Channel's Anchorwoman Hits Kremlin On Ukraine
• Russian professor under pressure over Nazi comparison on Ukraine
• Crimea votes to join Russia, Obama orders sanctions

Trial and Error; Police State, Bad Cops, Guns; Private Prisons, Kids, Jail Tales, Solitary; Recording, Body Cams, Innocence; Deaths, Sins of Youth, Animal Cruelty, Law and Disorder

Trial and Error

• Lawyers ripped him off, now a house is his payback
• Court: Disgraced Ex-Journalist Stephen Glass Can't Practice Law
• The man who sues too much: After 50 cases in 10 years, Mohammed Tabibar Rahman has been banned from taking anyone else to court
• Supreme Court secretly recorded on camera

Police State

• Justices Rule on Home Searches and Defendants' Frozen Assets—"The Supreme Court ruled that the police may search homes over the objections of one of the residents and that defendants are not entitled to hearings to gain access to frozen assets to pay lawyers." NYT
• Man blows 0.00 on breathalyzer, gets arrested for DWI—"The Austin Police Department stands by the arrest, saying they believed Davis showed signs of impairment, that while standing on one leg, he 'swayed,' and 'needed his arms for balance.'"
• Army Gives Out $500,000 Armored Trucks for Free—"U.S. law enforcement agencies have received the lion’s share of this high-powered military surplus."

Bad Cops

• California officers arrested in car impound scheme
• 6 S.F. officers indicted over residential hotel searches
• Mayor Freezes SPD Misconduct Settlements, City Can't Find Paperwork to Back Up Claims of Mayor and Chief
• DA Invalidates More Convictions Tied To Corrupt Philly Cop
• NJ Police Complaint System Broken—"A New Jersey Public Radio investigation has found that the citizen complaint process at local police departments is riddled with problems, including retaliation and a lack of oversight from the state. "
• Video: Officer "Failed To Render Aid" For Dying Crash Victims
• Video: Jerk CHP Officer Handcuffs Firefighter Helping Car Crash Victims

Guns

• ATF agents lost track of dozens of their own guns, reports show
• SC officer shoots man reaching for cane—'A police officer in South Carolina shot a 70-year-old motorist who was reaching for a cane during a traffic stop because he thought the man was grabbing a rifle from the bed of his pickup truck, investigators said. The man was expected to survive." WaPo
• Saginaw officers who shot and killed Milton Hall won't face federal charges—"Six officers shot at Hall 47 times; 11 bullets struck him. Several civilians witnessed the incident and recorded portions of it on their cellular phones."

Private Prisons

• The Private Prison Racket—"Companies that manage prisons on our behalf have abysmal records. So why do we keep giving them business?"
• Despite Receiving Millions in Public Money, Private Prisons are Impenetrable "Bastions of Secrecy"—"A new study shows that federal law still allows private prisons to shroud much of their activity in mystery, despite receiving public money."
• The Prison-Industrial Complex: Politicians need to stand up to the prosecutocracy — and embrace reform
• Private prison firm to fight staffing audit result
• Higher Profits Explain Why There Are More People Of Color In Private Prisons—Study done across nine states.
• Nebraska Lawmaker Wants Her State To Stop Paying Private Prisons For Empty Cells

Kids

• Sentenced young: The story of life without parole for juvenile offenders
• Corrupt 'Kids for Cash' judge ruined more than 2,000 lives
• Name mix-up in sexual battery case sends wrong Clay County teen to jail for 35 days

Jail Tales

• Lawsuit: 'Sadistic Violence' at Cook County Jail—"Guards at one of the nation's largest jails systematically engage in "sadistic violence and brutality" against inmates, according to a federal class-action lawsuit filed on Thursday." NYT
• Colorado's Federal Supermax Prison Is Force-Feeding Inmates on Hunger Strike
• Prison Labor: Hundreds Of American Companies Pay Employees As Little As 23 Cents An Hour
• US prison to charge inmates for food and medical care
• Virginia makes $3 million+ a year on inmate phone calls
• With no 'defense,' HP Israel faces a PR nightmare—"The Knesset is demanding answers over an IT project gone awry, but there's no one to defend the firm, which employs 6,000 here."

Solitary

• CO Prison Chief Ready For Reform After A Night In Solitary Confinement
• Federal report condemns use of solitary confinement for mentally ill prisoners in Pa.
• Solitary Confinement and Its Costs—"Our correctional institutions have made ever-increasing use of solitary confinement, a policy that is damaging and potentially catastrophic."
• The Science of Solitary Confinement—"Research tells us that isolation is an ineffective rehabilitation strategy and leaves lasting psychological damage."

Recording

• Video Shows Officer Confronting Man Filming Arrests In Towson—"You have no rights," the officer said. The police chief disagrees.
• King Co. Sheriff fires deputy who threatened to arrest journalist
• Bloomfield mayor alleges police 'cover up,' vows to 'purge' police department of 'bad officers—Here's the raw video of arrest released after man dies in Moore police custody.
• Cops sexually assault mother, break 10-year-old son's leg, claims lawsuit—"A Brooklyn cop kicked a 10-year-old boy in the shin, breaking his leg, as the child was recording him with his cell phone, according to court papers."
• Unprovoked: Courtroom Video Shows Denver Sheriff's Deputy Attacking Shackled Inmate—"If a deputy sheriff thinks he can get away with viciously attacking a middle-aged Black man and calling him 'a boy' appearing in court, you can only imagine what happens to men and women in custody in the confines of the Denver city and county jails."
• Dashcam video clears NJ man
• Cops hit my car, then arrested me: suit
• Cellphone video in fatal Warren Theatre incident made public
• Oklahoma father dies in police encounter after mother slaps daughter
• Recording Traffic Stop Lands Davie Woman In Jail—"As O’Brien approached her vehicle, Berning hit the record button on her phone. She recorded about 15 seconds of the conversation before telling O’Brien that he was being recorded. That’s when the deputy told her she had just committed a felony and demanded that she hand over her phone."

Body Cams

• Lubbock police deploying 70 new body cameras
• Toronto police to test out lapel cameras—"Pilot project stems from recommendation in a 2013 report on police and community engagement."
• Body cameras on police protect everybody

Innocence

• Man Framed by New York Detective to Get $6.4 Million Without Filing Suit—"A man who was framed by a rogue detective and served 23 years in prison for a murder he did not commit will receive $6.4 million from the City of New York in a settlement that came before a civil rights lawsuit was even filed, lawyers involved in the case said on Thursday." NYT
• Evidence of Concealed Jailhouse Deal Raises Questions About a Texas Execution—"The battle to clear the name of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was convicted of murdering his three children by arson, has symbolic value because it may offer evidence that an innocent man was executed 10 years ago." NYT
• Record number of people exonerated of crimes in US in 2013—"Eighty-seven people cleared of conviction, including in many cases which investigation revealed no crime ever committed."
• In A Record Year For Exonerations, This Bar Owner Has One Of The Most Outrageous Stories Of All
• Man Speaks About Achieving Exoneration After 7 Years in Prison—"Minnesota is one of 21 states that does not..." have "compensation statutes for the wrongfully imprisoned."
• 21 years in jail for a crime he didn't commit

Deaths

• North Carolina detective indicted for killing mentally ill teenager
• Movie theater shooter: 'You don't get do-overs'
• Attorney: Teen was shot for having Wii controller in hand
• Florida teen in loud music murder trial was unarmed, witnesses say—Parents want to put stand-your-ground on trial.
• Arkansas girl, 15, pulls prank, shot to death by homeowner—"Parents would like to know why the curfew isn't enforced." I would like to know why parents aren't parenting. Update: Willie Noble said he only shot to scare.

Sins of Youth

• 27 years for teen in 'knockout game' slaying of father of 12
• Teen confessed to killing Davis couple—"Daniel William Marsh confessed to the brutal murders of an elderly Davis couple, saying he'd had the urge to kill since he was about 10 years old...."
• Charges upgraded to capital murder against 3 suspects in violent Chickasaw home invasion

Animal Cruelty

• Contact 13 uncovers new case of police killing pets
• Bull dog that visits dying patients shot in Pa. yard
• Kitten suffered 'horrendous' death after woman, 23, cooked it in microwave
• Teens arrested after Facebook dog abuse video goes viral

Law and Disorder

• Friend confesses to being Zodiac Killer
• Woman attempts to shoplift 330 Pizza Roll
• Chico mayor cited for driving over 100 MPH—"Gruendl did not tell the officer who pulled him over that he was the mayor and said he plans to accept responsibility for his actions."

Zero Tolerance, "That's Un-Possible!", Educamation, Think of the Children, Parenting; NSA Spying, Snowden, Surveillance and Privacy, Google

Zero Tolerance

• Ease Up On 'No Tolerance' Policies, U.S. Agencies Tell Schools—"Saying that 'zero tolerance' discipline policies at U.S. schools are unfairly applied 'all too often,' Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is urging officials to rethink that approach."
• Oklahoma lawmaker files bill to protect students creating imaginary weapons
• Minority kids disproportionately impacted by zero-tolerance laws
• Flipside: School ditches rules and loses bullies

"That's Un-Possible!"

• CNN Analysis: Some college athletes play like adults, read like fifth-graders—They'd rather shoot the messenger than tackle this issue.
• University of North Carolina Apologizes for Fake Classes, Promises Real Change
• Columbus has 17 charter school failures in one year
• Trend-starting Texas drops algebra II mandate

Educamation

• NC Teachers Fight Over Loss Of Tenure, New Contracts
• Six former Atlanta school employees plead guilty in cheating scandal, avoiding May trial
• Cafeteria worker accused of stealing up to $1M arrested
• Yale censored a student's course selection website. So I made an unblockable replacement—The school dean "apologizes".

Think of the Children

• N-word use lands Poulsbo Elementary principal on leave
• Mom sues Broward school district over service dog
• Reading this can damage your health
• Lunches seized from kids in debt at Salt Lake City elementary—"Up to 40 kids at Uintah Elementary in Salt Lake City picked up their lunches Tuesday, then watched as the meals were taken and thrown away because of outstanding balances on their accounts — a move that shocked and angered parents."

Parenting

• Stop Trying to Make Your Kid Happy (and Other Radical Insights)
• Don't bring your baby to a fancy restaurant Salon
• California court upholds mother's right to spank daughter
• Study shows shopping cart injuries rise after US safety standards set

NSA Spying

• Angry Birds firm calls for industry to respond to NSA spying revelations—Quiet until the bottom line is threatened.
• Snowden Docs: U.S. Spied on Negotiators At 2009 Climate Summit
• Merkel rebukes US and UK over spying—"Merkel said that Western powers sacrificing freedom in the quest for security were sending the wrong signal to 'billions of people living in undemocratic states.'"
• In Germany, memories of repressive national spying inflamed by U.S. surveillance
• Obama Stays Silent on Reform of NSA's Crypto Subversion
• Terror Defendant Challenges Evidence Gathered by NSA Spying
• It Only Took the NSA 61 Years to Hire Its First Privacy and Civil Liberties Officer

Snowden

• Clapper: Snowden and media "accomplices" should return our documents—Clapper wasn't using the term lightly.
• US whistleblower laws offer no protection—"The White House says that Edward Snowden should have reported his concerns within the NSA, instead of revealing surveillance programs to the press. But who exactly do US whistleblower laws protect?"
• Norwegian lawmakers nominate Edward Snowden for Nobel Peace Prize

Surveillance and Privacy

• Limits on surveillance: A global right to privacy
• AP-GfK poll: Americans value privacy over security
• British government reportedly tracking YouTube and Facebook data without permission
• Huge swath of GCHQ mass surveillance is illegal, says top lawyer—"Legal advice given to MPs warns that British spy agency is 'using gaps in regulation to commit serious crime with impunity.'"
• Dont't be scared of phone tapping during Sochi-2014, it's for your own safety - experts

Google

• Google Plus among leaky apps with greatest privacy perils: report
• South Korea: Google Fined for Illegally Collecting Personal Data
• Google broke Canada's privacy laws with targeted health ads, watchdog says
• New Google patent suggests automatically sending your videos and photos to law enforcement
• How much am I willing to let Google stalk me?

Comply! Censorship; Law and Disorder; Educamation; Parenting; Surveillance and Privacy

Comply!

• Rutherford Institute Defends 10-Year-Old Suspended for Shooting Imaginary Arrow, Threatened with Expulsion Under Weapons Policy
• 6-year-old Colorado boy suspended for kissing a girl—"The suspension of a 6-year-old boy for kissing a girl at school is raising questions about whether the smooch should be considered sexual harassment." The boy was already told to stop before on multiple occasions, which he didn't heed, and the suspension was perhaps warranted, but calling his actions "sexual harrasment" is wrong.
• A.D.H.D. Seen in 11% of U.S. Children as Diagnoses Rise—Me-dic-ate, me-di-cate. NYT

Censorshp

• When you censor student speech, you're mostly teaching kids to live with censorship.
• Tampa 5th grader's religion speech sparks controversy
• Creativity is rejected: Teachers and bosses don't value out-of-the-box thinking.
• Decision to keep 'The Color Purple' on shelves is appealed again; hearing set
• Book bannings on the rise in US schools, says anti-censorship group—"The Kids' Right to Read Project investigated 49 book bannings or removals from school shelves in 29 states...."

Law and Disorder

• Girl resisting officer hit with Taser—"Investigators say the seventh grade girl hit a Cleveland ISD officer on the bus, and things escalated from there."
• Finger case is 'compensation culture gone mad', says judge
• Report: Oregon suspends TE Pharaoh Brown for snowball fight
• Parents stunned that union is seeking a $10K severance for teacher who molested their son
• Harvard Student Arrested For Bomb Threat Tried And Failed To Hide Identity With Anonymous Browser

Educamation

• Newly-proposed 'read-or-flunk' law for 3rd graders would have held back more than 39,000 students last year
• Sorry, Michelle Rhee, but our obsession with testing kids is all about money Salon
• Better-looking high schoolers have grade advantages—"An analysis of almost 9,000 high school students that follows them into adulthood finds those rated by others as better-looking had higher GPAs."

Parenting

• Have a kid who's out of control? A new therapy offers a kind of parental empowerment. WaPo
• This is not a selfie. This is an act of war against women.—Over-the-top rant of a mother-cum-blogger complaining about a fitness blogger's post-pregnancy photos.
• Blast from the Past: One-armed presenter is scaring children, parents tell BBC

Surveillance and Privacy

• Edward Snowden Christmas message: End mass surveillance
• Sorry, RSA, I'm just not buying it—The RSA's non-apology apology, that is.
• Judge Rules That NSA Can Only Spy On Phone Records Of 6.7 Billion Non-Americans
• A New Twist in International Relations: The Corporate Keep-My-Data-Out-of-the-U.S. Clause
• REAL ID Enforcement Begins in 2014, 21 States Compliant

Auburn vs. Alabama Aftermath; Comply! Zero Tolerance; Bullying; Rape; That's Unpossible; Educamation; Think of the Children, CPS; Parenting, Kids These Days; Obamacare, Sabotage

Auburn vs. Alabama Aftermath

• Alabama Kicker Cade Foster Sent Death Threats and Hateful Tweets After Loss
• Sister: Deadly shooting was over Alabama loss
• Parody Radio Call Detailing Final Auburn-Alabama Return Play Goes Viral

Comply!

• Boy, 13, suspended for carrying Vera Bradley purse
• Lakeview ban on memorial T-shirts backfires—"Jones said the situation was handled 'compassionately.' She said, for example, that students who were asked to turn their shirts inside-out were told to keep Caitlyn's name 'close to their heart.'" Utter bullshit.
• African-American girl faces expulsion over "natural hair"
• Tased Bastrop Student Has Head Injury—"A Cedar Creek High School student that was tased Wednesday by a resource officer during an altercation in a hallway is still in the hospital with a brain injury, according to the student's family's attorney." Noe Nino de Rivera was trying to stop a fight.
• Coach Defends Students Arrested at Bus Stop—The charges were dropped.

Zero Tolerance

• Pre-K suspensions common in Maryland schools—"Most of the students were suspended for physical attacks on teachers or students, though a handful were suspended for offenses such as sexual activity, possession of a firearm or other guns, inciting a public disturbance, and vandalism." WTF, are these charges for real?
• Pocketknives, schools, and Georgia's 'zero tolerance' ban
• Seeing the Toll, Schools Revise Zero Tolerance—"School districts around the country are rethinking their responses to minor offenses by students amid mounting evidence of the downside of get-tough policies." NYT

Bullying

• 'My daughter was bullied to death in England over her red hair'
• Iowa parents defend bullying of autistic teen
• Boy Suspended For Bullying Is Serving Unusual Punishment From Parents
• Alleged Bullying Victim Sues School District
• Band of brothers rally around boy, 6, to stop teasing

Rape

• Steubenville case: Four more charged, including superintendent, volunteer coach
• Rape case, blackmail allegations roil Hamburg School District
• Montana appeals 30-day sentence in student rape case as insufficient—Judge who made the ruling says he doesn't deserve to lose his job.

That's Unpossible

• Texas Board of Ed votes to drop algebra II mandate—"The Texas Board of Education gave preliminary approval Thursday to dropping algebra II as a requirement for high school graduation, over the objections of critics who say the state is watering down its academic standards."
• NYC high schoolers can't earn '0' even if they skip class, miffed teachers say
• U.S. students still only average on tests—"American high school students still post only average scores on a key skills test administered to kids in 65 countries across the industrialized world."

Educamation

• Government books $41.3 billion in student loan profits
• Many Young Americans Blame Colleges For Rising Student Debt
• From Shop Class To Shipyard: Oregon's Plan For Industrial Interns—"Manufacturers in Oregon want to hire high school students. But they don't want the kinds of high school students that colleges are after — the kind who have amazing test scores and will spend hours perfecting essays. They want teenagers who want to paint, weld and work with their hands."

Think of the Children

• Principal tells mom with breast cancer she can't visit kids' school—"An Albuquerque, New Mexico mother with cancer says she was kept out of her daughter's school because of the way she smells."
• Daycare gives kids crackers, fines mom for unhealthy lunch
• Dad Goes To Pick Kids Up From School, Gets Arrested Instead

CPS

• 6,000 Arizona child abuse reports not investigated—Maybe they just forgot.
• Failure to protect: More children dying of abuse, neglect in Wash.
• Child taken from womb by social services—"Essex social services have obtained a court order against a woman that allowed her to be forcibly sedated and for her child to be taken from her womb by caesarean section."
• Family can sue in child removal case involving Mike's Hard Lemonade, judge rules—"An Ann Arbor family can proceed with a lawsuit against a judge who placed their 7-year-old son in foster care after his father mistakenly gave him Mike’s Hard Lemonade at a Detroit Tigers game...."
• Prosecutors fear for evidence after DFCS pair reinstated in Georgia—"The Georgia Division of Family and Children Services has reinstated two workers arrested last year for falsifying documents at its Muscogee County office, prompting prosecutors to seek a court order Monday denying the pair access to any records related to their case."

Parenting

• Arne Duncan: 'White suburban moms' upset that Common Core shows their kids aren't 'brilliant'
• State of Play: Peter Berg on Trophy Kids—Preview of upcoming episode documentary focusing on overparenting in sports.
• 'Ghetto Mom' Shames Daughter's Bad Behavior At School. Good Parenting Or Bad Approach?
• Dorkly.com: Parental Guidance
• Blast from the Past: 'Tiger Mothers' leave lifelong scars

Kids These Days

• Brooklyn Bar Raises Drinking Age to 25 Because Young People Are Annoying
• NYC Bans Tobacco Sales to Anyone Under Age 21
• Twitter wants to check your age before you can follow booze brands

Obamacare

• More signed up for Obamacare in first two days of December than in all of October WaPo
• Healthcare.gov working: Slate's health care guinea pig tries enrolling again
• Cost of Health Care Law Is Seen as Decreasing—"Because of a slowing trend in health care spending, the government is expected to spend billions of dollars less than originally projected on the law, and future cost controls may save billions more." NYT
• Sen. Sanders: Health Care for All
• Could A Tech Giant Build A Better Health Exchange? Maybe Not—"Oregon has spent more than $40 million to build its own online health care exchange. It gave that money to a Silicon Valley titan, Oracle, but the result has been a disaster of missed deadlines, a nonworking website and a state forced to process thousands of insurance applications on paper."

Sabotage

• Republicans Nearing a Dead End on Obamacare
• Hypocrisy, dogma and sabotage: The right’s stepping into an Obamacare trap Salon
• RNC: 'Offensive' That White House Wants 'To Woo Young People' To Obamacare
• Kentucky: Third website ordered removed; 'deceptively similar' to state's health insurance exchange
• More on the California GOP's bogus Obamacare website—"Following our post on the California Republicans' misleading health insurance website, numerous readers reached out to us with examples of how the Assembly Republican Caucus, which created the thing, has been marketing it."