Friday, July 06, 2007

News of the Day, Friday, July 6, 2007

  • I realize I harp on the atrocious DAs regularly giving their profession a horrible image and crippling effective crime reduction so, when one is truly impressively good, it should be noted prominently as well. Grits for Breakfast has a great post up on that Dallas Co. DA who’s caught our eye here a couple of times before (primarily through Grits). The guy has a lot going and will hopefully serve as a model not just in TX. Thanks for keeping us up-to-date on him, Grits.
  • More testosterone = More justice? Looks like. Really. (Maybe.) And does this mean we can blame the decline of the importance of justice in our legal system on the prevalence of married men who apparently contain less hormone, although you’d never prove that by me. Really. (Maybe.)
  • I think it’s clear by now that I’m critical of cigarettes and nicotine being legal when other drugs with less harmful profiles are sending folks to prison for life, but I’m a little skeptical of anyone claiming “instant addiction” to a drug, even if it’s nicotine. Still, this story has the scare pattern that we normally attribute to the illegal drugs so it’s only fair that we should note the contradiction (aka hypocrisy) again. (And while you’re at Science Daily, check out this very thorough report and analysis of the recent finding that 30% of US adults have had an “alcohol use disorder.”)
  • Don’t Let This Happen to You!!!! How would you like to have been the judge?
    A man who was arrested in a park wearing a woman's wig and a bikini accepted a plea deal Thursday that dropped a charge of public indecency.
    Steven S. Cole, a former volunteer firefighter, pleaded guilty to a charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and disorderly conduct.
    Municipal Court Judge George Parker sentenced Cole to attend a mandatory driver intervention program and placed him on two years' probation. Cole was ordered to stay out of the city's public parks during that time and pay a $250 fine.
    Parker also suspended Cole's driving privileges for six months, except for work, counseling sessions, family appointments and visits with his probation officer.
    Police arrested Cole on April 4 in his truck as he was leaving Heritage Oak Park in this Cincinnati suburb after parents complained about a man dressed in women's clothing.
    Police said they found an open, half-empty bottle of beer in the truck, along with a gym bag containing wigs, bikinis, silver go-go boots and other women's garments.
    Cole's blood-alcohol test registered 0.17, more than twice Ohio's legal driving limit of 0.08, police said.
    The arrest report said Cole told an officer he was on his way to a bar in Dayton to perform as a woman in a contest offering a $10,000 prize.

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