Friday, January 16, 2015
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Las Vegas Man, 26, Gets Prison Time in Fatal Shooting
Jim Edward Johnson, who told police he accidentally shot his friend while filming a rap video at the Palms, appears in Justice Court for a prelim hearing on Tuesday, July 1, 2014. L.E. Baskow
Local news reports
A 26-year-old Las Vegas man has been sentenced to 18 months to eight years in prison for what he maintained was the accidental shooting of his friend, an aspiring rapper and former U.S. Marine.
Jim Edward Johnson was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty in August to voluntary manslaughter in the May 15 slaying of Evan Plunkett in a suite at the Palms CASINO
Resort.
Resort.
Defense attorney William Terry maintained that Johnson tried to stop a scuffle when the gun fired accidentally.
The 25-year-old Plunkett lived in Henderson and rapped as "Hollywood Will."
Police say some 50 people fled the shooting at a rap video taping party at a posh 34th-floor penthouse.
National Rifle Association Suing Pittsburgh, Philadelphia Over Gun Laws
Let no one accuse the National Rifle Association of being slow on the draw: It is suing Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Lancaster, just days after a new state law allowed it to challenge local gun ordinances in court.
“These municipalities have known for years that their ordinances were illegal, but there were no consequences,” said Jonathan Goldstein, a Chester County attorney representing the NRA. “Now it’s about to get expensive.”
While state law has barred local officials from passing their own gun laws since 1974, many municipalities have rules that, for example, ban firearms from public property. But last year’s passage of Act 192 gave the NRA new firepower in overturning such measures.
The law, which went into effect Jan. 5, allows any Pennsylvanian eligible to own a gun, or a group with such a person as a member, to challenge any local gun ordinance in the state. If the suit is successful, the municipality must pay the plaintiff’s legal fees.The complaint filed against Pittsburgh was not available Wednesday, but Mr. Goldstein said it names a handful of ordinances. One prohibits carrying firearms in a vehicle or in person without a state permit to do so. Another prohibits discharging a firearm except at target ranges, or in cases permitted by state law. A third requires gun owners to report the loss or theft of stolen firearms.
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Je Ne Suis Pas Charlie
I've been watching and reading the news about the shooting in France last week, to put it mildly. As anyone knows who owns a TV or a computer, there's been an incredible overload of coverage on all the news sources, one not seen since 9/11. The first person I saw who said anything even the least bit against-the-current was Southern Beale in her wonderful post, "I’m Not Charlie, or, Why Does Everyone Have To Be So Mean?" As was well described in her post, I find it odd that "I am Charlie" has become such an international movement. What Charlie Hebdo does with its comics is puerile foolishness which I don't find the least bit funny and to which I certainly would not want to align myself.
In addition, most of the legions of "I am Charlie" followers probably fail to see the disgusting hypocrisy. A pen or pencil has become the symbol of the freedom-of-the-press movement, but just try to print something anti-Semitic. Incredibly, Charlie Hebdo itself disallows it. What kind of freedom of the press is that?
Fox News has been slamming the president for not attending the rally to which so many heads-of-state rushed to be seen. And the coverage they received seems to have made it all worth it. The solidarity was unanimous. Everyone agrees freedom of speech and non-violence are good. But in many of those very same countries it's illegal to deny the Holocaust. In Angela Merkel's Fatherland it's illegal to display a swastika.
What hypocrites. They should be ashamed of themselves. I'm sure President Obama had his reasons for not attending, but to not appear among that confederacy of hypocrites is certainly nothing to fault him over. God knows there's plenty to complain about where our president's concerned - drone strikes against unarmed targets, indefinite detention for so-called terrorists, widespread warrant-less wiretapping, not to mention the continuing existing of our off-shore penal colony, Guantanamo, but not showing up for a ridiculous rally in Paris is not one of them.
Perhaps the biggest problem with all this, which seems to have gone completely unnoticed, is that the Charlie Hebdo shooting, as horrible and terrifying as it was, resulted in 12 deaths. We frequently have shootings in the US with death tolls close to that or greater even. The results: no international Twitter campaigns, no rallies of heads of state, no non-stop coverage of the news media, no nothin'.
This leaves me to wonder what's it all about then. Why such a phenomenal world-wide turnout? Well, my guess is it's all about scapegoating radical Islam. It, radical Islam and Islam in general, has become the boogie man that we can all look to for a legitimate target of our fears and inner need to blame. Of course there are Muslim people involved in the rallies and signing up for the Twitter campaigns, but that's little different than the NRA boasting of black and female members. The movement is really Islamophobia disguised as anti-violence and freedom of the press. It's a way of coming together against a common enemy, all the while denying our own involvement and contribution in radicalizing these misguided murderers.
In addition, most of the legions of "I am Charlie" followers probably fail to see the disgusting hypocrisy. A pen or pencil has become the symbol of the freedom-of-the-press movement, but just try to print something anti-Semitic. Incredibly, Charlie Hebdo itself disallows it. What kind of freedom of the press is that?
Fox News has been slamming the president for not attending the rally to which so many heads-of-state rushed to be seen. And the coverage they received seems to have made it all worth it. The solidarity was unanimous. Everyone agrees freedom of speech and non-violence are good. But in many of those very same countries it's illegal to deny the Holocaust. In Angela Merkel's Fatherland it's illegal to display a swastika.
What hypocrites. They should be ashamed of themselves. I'm sure President Obama had his reasons for not attending, but to not appear among that confederacy of hypocrites is certainly nothing to fault him over. God knows there's plenty to complain about where our president's concerned - drone strikes against unarmed targets, indefinite detention for so-called terrorists, widespread warrant-less wiretapping, not to mention the continuing existing of our off-shore penal colony, Guantanamo, but not showing up for a ridiculous rally in Paris is not one of them.
Perhaps the biggest problem with all this, which seems to have gone completely unnoticed, is that the Charlie Hebdo shooting, as horrible and terrifying as it was, resulted in 12 deaths. We frequently have shootings in the US with death tolls close to that or greater even. The results: no international Twitter campaigns, no rallies of heads of state, no non-stop coverage of the news media, no nothin'.
This leaves me to wonder what's it all about then. Why such a phenomenal world-wide turnout? Well, my guess is it's all about scapegoating radical Islam. It, radical Islam and Islam in general, has become the boogie man that we can all look to for a legitimate target of our fears and inner need to blame. Of course there are Muslim people involved in the rallies and signing up for the Twitter campaigns, but that's little different than the NRA boasting of black and female members. The movement is really Islamophobia disguised as anti-violence and freedom of the press. It's a way of coming together against a common enemy, all the while denying our own involvement and contribution in radicalizing these misguided murderers.
Virginia Man Charged in Child Shooting
Local news
A Richmond man faces a neglect charge following the accidental shooting of his 5-year-old son by another boy.
Police tell media outlets that the boys were playing inside a home in Chesterfield County on Sunday when they found 28-year-old William C. Griffin’s handgun. The victim was shot by the other boy, who also is 5 years old, as they handled the weapon. He suffered non-life threatening injuries and was taken to a hospital.
Police say the Hi-Point .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol wasn’t secured.
Griffin was charged with felony abuse and neglect of children.
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