Dominica Hit Hard, Preppy Convicted

Heavy Weather: Tropical storm Erika is weakening as it heads to Florida after causing the death of 20 people in Dominica. Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency in preparation.

In Dominica, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said in a televised address late Friday that storm damage has set back the island by 20 years. Hundreds of homes, bridges and roads were destroyed. Skerrit said, “This is a period of national tragedy. We have, in essence, to rebuild Dominica.”

The Preppy Handbook: A spring graduate of the St. Paul’s prep school in New Hampshire was acquitted on charges that he raped a 15-year-old underclassman, but was convicted on other charges likely to put him in prison. In a case that revealed a repulsive side of the privileged and academically demanding private school, a jury of nine men and three women found 18-year-old Owen Labrie guilty of misdemeanor statutory rape, and using a computer to entice a minor, which is a felony.

Engaging in a somewhat secret tradition called “senior salute” in which seniors rack up sexual conquests, Labrie invited the girl to meet him in a school building. Although the girl agreed to meet Labrie, she said he forced himself on her. Text messages between the two after the encounter left doubt, although 15 is below the age of consent in New Hampshire.

Labrie, who had been admitted to Harvard, faces up to 11 years in prison and will have to register for life as a sex offender.

Party Politics: Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley said yesterday that he thinks his own party “rigged” the debate schedule to favor Hillary Clinton and limit the exposure of her opponents. In his speech at the Democratic National Committee meeting, O’Malley criticized Democratic leaders for limiting the debates to six and scheduling them at times when few people will see them.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who’s been drawing crowds out on the campaign, heavily hinted in his speech that Hillary Clinton can’t win the general election. Sanders said Democrats will not win unless they generate excitement and, “With all due respect — and I do not mean to insult anyone here — that turnout, that enthusiasm, will not happen with politics as usual.” Hillary Clinton was there.

World: At least 38 young women and girls travelling in the back of an open truck were killed in an accident as they traveled to a traditional festival in Swaziland. The truck collided with another vehicle. As many as 20 others were injured.

The Supremes: The NY Times reports that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who has not asked a question from the bench since 2006, frequently embeds the words of other people into his opinions. The headline cleverly describes him as a “Justice of Few Words, Some Not His Own.” The paper says that Thomas, whose idiosyncrasies rarely reflect a majority opinion, is often assigned the opinions nicknamed “dogs” … the stuff that involves taxes, bankruptcy, pensions and patents, that frequently require boilerplate. Thomas’s greatest distinction on the court has been his brutal 1991 confirmation hearings in which he was accused of sexual harassment while holding a post at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In his opinions Thomas frequently uses language lifted from the lawyers appearing before the court, but in fairness, all the justices do that.

Post Time: Triple Crown winner American Pharoah takes a run this afternoon at becoming only the second horse to win the triple and the Travers Stakes to be run at Saratoga this afternoon. Post time is 5:46 pm EDT on NBC.

Ghost Train: In a tale that sounds like a paperback thriller, Polish officials say they think that ground-penetrating radar may have found a long-rumored Nazi treasure train buried near the southwestern city of Walbrzych. Locals who survived the war circulated the tale that a train filled with gold, gems, and guns went missing near the city in 1945. Earlier this month a Pole and a German told authorities they know where the train is hidden.

Deputy Culture Minister Piotr Zuchowski said radar images appeared to show a train equipped with gun turrets, but he warned treasure hunters not to go looking because it could be booby-trapped.

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