Colorado middle school teacher on paid leave after being accused of assaulting a student for sitting during the Pledge of Allegiance.

Courtesy of the Times-Call:

A Lafayette middle school teacher is on paid leave pending the outcome of a police investigation into allegations that she assaulted a student who refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance on Thursday. 

Boulder Valley School District spokesman Randy Barber said that Angevine Middle School physical education teacher Karen Smith, who he called a 20-year veteran of the school district, is on paid administrative leave.

Beating students into showing respect for their country, gee that's a good idea. 

Having grown up in the 60's and 70's I know that approach to behavior modification quite well.

As it turns out the Boulder Valley School District has a policy which allows students to sit during the Pledge, but apparently physical education teacher Eva Braun did not get the memo.

Clearly Donald Trump's poison is spreading through the country.

Track Palin arrested!

Courtesy of KTUU: 

Court records show the son of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has been arraigned on three charges Sunday morning, all are domestic violence related. Track Palin, 28, faces a Class B Felony charge of first-degree burglary, one charge of assault in the fourth degree and one charge of criminal mischief in the fourth degree 

According to CourtView, the charges were all committed on Saturday, Dec. 16. Palin was arraigned in the Palmer Courthouse at 10:00 a.m., Sunday morning. 

Records indicate he previously faced domestic violence charges in 2016. At that time, Palin faced fourth-degree assault charges, a weapons charge and a charge of interfering with a domestic violence report. He was allegedly intoxicated. Former Gov. Sarah Palin spoke about those accusations against Track Palin, suggesting post-traumatic stress disorder may have been a factor from his service in the army.

Well now we know what got Palin so fired up about those old stories about her family yesterday.

So you want to hear something really funny?

Dennis Zaki and I were just joking around on Friday that Track was definitely going to end up back in jail anytime now.

And lo and behold.

Update: According to Court View Track is currently in custody.

Perhaps nobody is interested in bailing his drunken ass out this time. 

Update 2: Court View also did not identify WHO Track assaulted, so right now we do not know if it was another hapless girlfriend or a family member.

Anybody seen Todd lately?

Two Fox News photographers accuse Roy Moore campaign workers of "assaulting" them.

Courtesy of CNN Money:

Two Roy Moore campaign staffers "manhandled" two photojournalists from Fox News in Alabama on Monday night, the network said. 

Videos of the altercation backed up the network's account of what happened. 

The camera crews were trying to get a shot of Moore arriving at a rally in Henagar, Alabama -- his first public campaign event in 11 days. 

The Moore staffers "decided to push the cameras back and physically manhandle two Fox News photographers, pushing them away and grabbing their cameras," Fox News correspondent Jonathan Serrie said on the air Monday night. 

A Fox producer intervened. The photojournalists were not injured.

I want to have sympathy for these photojournalists, I really do, but when their network has supported and defended this pedophile for such an extended period of time it is hard to get worked up over a little assault directed at them.

Perhaps now they have at least some inkling of what it has been like for all of those Roy Moore victims.

Utah nurse arrested for following protocol and not allowing a police officer to take blood from an unconscious patient. Update!

(That is a very troubling video to watch.)

Courtesy of the Salt Lake Tribune: 

A nurse says she was assaulted and illegally arrested by a Salt Lake City police detective for following a hospital policy that does not allow blood draws from unconscious patients. 

Footage from University Hospital and officer body cameras shows Detective Jeff Payne and nurse Alex Wubbels in a standoff over whether the policeman should be allowed to get a blood sample from a patient who had been injured in a July 26 collision in northern Utah that left another driver dead. 

Wubbels says blood cannot be taken from an unconscious patient unless the patient is under arrest, unless there is a warrant allowing the draw or unless the patient consents. The detective acknowledges in the footage that none of those requirements is in place, but he insists that he has the authority to obtain the draw, according to the footage. 

At one point, Payne threatens to take Wubbels to jail if he doesn’t get the sample, and he accuses her of interfering with a criminal case. 

“I either go away with blood in vials or body in tow,” Payne says. 

After Wubbels consults with several hospital officials and repeats the policy, Payne tells her she is under arrest and grabs her, pulling her arms behind her back and handcuffing her. The footage shows the detective dragging Wubbels out of the hospital and putting her inside a patrol car as she screams, “Help! Help! Somebody help me! Stop! Stop! I did nothing wrong!”

This nurse is extremely professional in how she interacts with the police, and even has her supervisor backing her up on the phone, and still this asshole manhandles her and treats like a common criminal.

That is a man who became a cop, not to help people, but to use the uniform and the authority it represents to bully people into submission.

It should be noted that the nurse never said no to the officer and instead was simply relating to him the hospital restrictions on what she could do to comply with his request when he arrested her.

Heavy.com relates that the officer, Jeff Payne, has NOT been fired and remains on active duty, though there is an internal investigation.

There are also reports of other officers in the area harassing medical staff in hospitals and this seems like a fairly widespread problem in Utah.

No lawsuits pending as of yet, but I think the hospital and this nurse have a very strong case for one.

Personally I hope that the hospital gives this woman a commendation for doing her job in the face of such a terrifying situation, and perhaps a nice raise would not be out of the question as well.

Update: The two officers have been placed on leave.

White nationalist Christopher Cantwell is now in jail cell. Where he absolutely belongs.

Courtesy of the New York Times:  

A white nationalist whose behavior at the violent gatherings this month in Charlottesville, Va., brought him notoriety after he appeared in a widely viewed documentary remained held without bond on Thursday, one day after the police said he had turned himself in to the authorities in Virginia. 

The man, Christopher Cantwell, 36, was charged with two felony counts of illegal use of tear gas and one felony count of malicious bodily injury by means of a caustic substance, the Albemarle County prosecutor, Robert Tracci, said in a statement. A preliminary hearing was set for Oct. 12. 

In a statement released late Wednesday, the university police said they had been notified that afternoon that Mr. Cantwell had turned himself in to the Lynchburg Police Department in Virginia. The brief statement did not say when Mr. Cantwell turned himself in. 

He was being held at the Blue Ridge Regional Jail in Lynchburg, Va., pending transport to Charlottesville, the university police said.

According to the Chicago Tribune this Cantwell guy is being held without bond, but he has a reason for why he pepper sprayed that counter protester:

He insisted he was defending himself, saying he did it "because my only other option was knocking out his teeth." He said he looked forward to his day in court.

Boy he sure talks tough doesn't he?

Sadly for him we know the truth.

Oh yeah, he's going to do great in prison. 

All eyes are on the Montana special election and their body slamming GOP candidate. Update!

Even before last night's incident this race was pretty close according to Five Thirty Eight: 

Most pollsters gave Gianforte the lead. Gravis Marketing had him up 49 percent to 35 percent. A Change Research poll put Quist closer, with Gianforte ahead 49 percent to 44 percent. Two Google Consumer Surveys put into the field over the last three weeks actually had Quist up by 7 and 14 percentage points, respectively. In other words, there’s a wide spread in the publicly available data.

However since Gianforte went all  roid rage on that Guardian reporter there has been a significant shift in perceptions of the race.

For one thing Gianforte lost a newspaper endorsement: 

We're at a loss for words. 

And as people who wrangle words on a minute-by-minute basis, that doesn't happen often. 

What happens even less — hopefully never again — is a Montana candidate assaulting a reporter. While there are still questions left unanswered about GOP House hopeful Greg Gianforte's altercation with Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs, eyewitness accounts, law enforcement investigations and records are all shocking, disturbing and without precedent. 

That's why The Billings Gazette editorial board is also doing something without precedent: We're rescinding our editorial endorsement of Greg Gianforte.

And that was only one of three.

Of course as reported yesterday the Gianforte campaign is asserting that THEY were the injured party.

And of course the Right Wing media has been quick to jump to their defense.

What kind of a wuss files charges over broken glasses? Someone who wants to influence an outcome, that's who. #JournalismIsDead

— Derek Hunter (@derekahunter) May 25, 2017

Sadly for them however there was a local Fox affiliate who were eyewitnesses to the incident:  

As the time for the interview neared, Gianforte came into the room. We exchanged pleasantries and made small talk about restaurants and Bozeman. 

During that conversation, another man — who we now know is Ben Jacobs of The Guardian — walked into the room with a voice recorder, put it up to Gianforte's face and began asking if he had a response to the newly released Congressional Budget Office report on the American Health Care Act. Gianforte told him he would get to him later. Jacobs persisted with his question. Gianforte told him to talk to his press guy, Shane Scanlon.

At that point, Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him. Faith, Keith and I watched in disbelief as Gianforte then began punching the reporter. As Gianforte moved on top of Jacobs, he began yelling something to the effect of, "I'm sick and tired of this!"

"Then began punching the reporter." Boy there's a bumper sticker for you.

The Fox News team also added this:

To be clear, at no point did any of us who witnessed this assault see Jacobs show any form of physical aggression toward Gianforte, who left the area after giving statements to local sheriff's deputies. 

In response to these statements Gianforte has been charged with misdemeanor assault.

Now this being Montana, apparently beating the shit out of someone for asking a question is not necessarily the end of your campaign, so Gainforte could still win this.

But if he does win it could be the worst possible outcome for the GOP.

Courtesy of CNN:

If Gianforte loses, he -- and the story -- disappear. Republicans would immediately blame his last-minute implosion for the defeat, allowing them to avoid the idea that the race should be properly read as a national referendum on Trump and the recently-passed American Health Care Act. (Worth noting: Before Gianforte's choke-slam on Jacobs, the race had been tightening due to the corroding national environment for Republicans.) 

Now, consider what happens if Gianforte wins. Some time between now and June 7, he will have to appear in court to face the assault charge. And based on the audio provided by Jacobs as well as the eyewitness reports from a Fox News crew, it's hard to see how he doesn't get convicted. (Nota bene: I am not a lawyer.) 

What do Republicans do then? Every member of leadership will be asked, daily, whether seating Gianforte represents a willingness to look the other way. And for a party already struggling with branding issues, that's not the sort of story House Republicans need bouncing around Washington. 

If they don't seat Gianforte, then what? Can they force him to resign? And would that mean -- as I suspect it would -- another special election where the Democratic nominee, Rob Quist, would almost certainly run and might well start as the front-runner due to the controversy surrounding Gianforte? 

Gianforte losing is a bad story for national Republicans. Gianforte winning might well be a worse one.

Those are good points.

All I know is that an election in Montana that had once been well off my radar, has now become much too fascinating to ignore.

Update: Gianforte won. Proving that this is indeed Trump's America.

That is until we rise up and take it back from him.

Former DNI James Clapper says that our institutions are under assault internally. Under assault by Donald Trump.

Former DNI James Clapper: Our institutions are "under assault" internally by President Trump https://t.co/sDW8NzuwDq https://t.co/sVWYdol733

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) May 14, 2017

Courtesy of CNN: 

Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper issued a stern warning Sunday about the state of the US government after President Donald Trump's decision to fire FBI Director James Comey last week, saying he thinks US institutions are "under assault." 

"I think in many ways our institutions are under assault both externally -- and that's the big news here is the Russian interference in our election system -- and I think as well our institutions are under assault internally," Clapper said on CNN's "State of the Union." 

Pressed by anchor Jake Tapper if he meant US institutions were under assault internally from the President, Clapper responded, "Exactly." 

Clapper called on the other branches of the federal government to step up in their roles as a check on the executive. "The founding fathers, in their genius, created a system of three co-equal branches of government and a built-in system of checks and balances," Clapper said. "I feel as though that is under assault and is eroding."

There is really no way to argue with this.

And that is why we need to appoint that special prosecutor and start taking steps to have this orange cancerous tumor removed from the White House.

Somebody is finally reporting that Track Palin has a serious alcohol problem. Well that's a start.

Courtesy of Radar Online:  

Sarah Palin’s son is heading into treatment instead of jail after his January domestic violence arrest — and his own lawyer told RadarOnline.com he needs help for his alcohol problem! 

Track “has been assessed” by the VA, his attorney, Kevin T. Fitzgerald told Radar, and at a hearing later this month, he will receive his proposed treatment plan. 

“I would expect it has some alcohol component,” Fitzgerald said. “In all candor, Track could be well-served by treatment.”

That is a fairly significant admission since up until now Sarah Palin has refused to admit that Track has a substance abuse problem, instead blaming his most recent difficulties on PTSD and oddly enough President Obama.

Fitzgerald had more to say: 

Getting the domestic violence assault charge dropped was “not an insignificant dismissal,” he said, insisting that the possession of a weapon while intoxicated charge “really more accurately tracks what went down” when Track was accused of drunkenly attacking his girlfriend in January. 

Still, Fitzgerald said they weren’t altogether pleased with the final charge that stuck. “I believe it’s got constitutional infirmities because it precludes people form possessing firearms, even unloaded firearms, in their own homes if they’re under the influence,” he insisted. “We weren’t going to make a big constitutional issue of it, but that’s what the situation was.” 

(Yeah, after all what is a Palin without their guns? Besides you know a drunken asshole who abuses women?)

Now, Track, 27, will enter a therapeutic program through the VA, which could last “several months,” the Anchorage DA, Clinton Champion, told Radar. 

Said Fitzgerald, “If he completes the treatment, the last charge too will be dismissed. If he doesn’t then he’s looking at 180 days … with two years of informal probation.”

I will argue that the chances of Track finishing this treatment program successfully are slim.

Because while they seem willing to admit that Track has a drinking problem from what I have heard from just about everybody is that alcoholism is only the tip of the drug addicted iceberg.

And Track has been abusing these substances since he was in high school, so the idea that he can suddenly break the addiction cycle is a high bar to set in my opinion.

I mean do not get me wrong, I really do hope that he is successful because he has two small children to care for, but working on all of this while living with his ever ready to enable, excuse making parents, seems like a recipe for disaster.

A round up of news stories dealing with Track Palin's plea deal to avoid facing justice for punching his girlfriend in the face.

So I figured I would let a day or so go by and then gather up the majority of the news coverage over the dropping of charges in the Track Palin case.

First thing to note is that it was covered quite extensively. And most of them did not let Track off very easily.

Almost all of them include an account from the original police report describing Track's alcohol intake and exactly what he did to Jordan.

Courtesy of Raw Story: 

Track Palin, 27, was arrested back on Jan. 18 at the Palin compound after a woman said he had punched and kicked her during an argument over an ex-boyfriend. According to the woman, Palin punched her in the face, then threw her phone away before pulling a gun and threatening to commit suicide. 

When police arrived, Palin had marks on his face and claimed the woman hit him with her elbow. According to police, Palin was given a breathalyzer test that measured his blood alcohol level at .189.

Alaska Dispatch is the source many of the papers used to describe the plea deal:  

"As a condition of his entry into that court the state dismissed the first two counts," Fitzgerald said. "Track pled to misconduct involving weapons (in the fourth degree), concerning being under the influence and having a firearm." 

Track Palin will have to complete a regime of "alcohol-related" treatment under the terms of this week's agreement, Fitzgerald said. Upon successful completion of the treatment, the weapons-misconduct charge will be expunged from his record. But if that doesn't happen, Palin will receive a 180-day suspended jail sentence and be placed under informal probation for two years.

It should be noted that almost all of the news coverage shied away from giving Track a free pass.

In fact the Daily Mail wrote this right below their headline: 

Track Palin agrees to rehab and avoids jail for 'punching his girlfriend in the face and drunkenly threatening to shoot himself dead with an AR-15' 

Yeah, no free pass there.

The Mail also added this:

The charges were filed on the same day his mother Sarah Palin, who was the GOP vice presidential candidate in 2008, endorsed Donald Trump before primary voting began with the Iowa caucuses. 

As media covered her son's arrest, she told reporters her son returned from Iraq 'a bit different' and blamed the incident on post-traumatic stress disorder. 

She also used the opportunity to criticize the Obama administration's policies towards veterans for her son's problems. 

Other news outlets which covered the story included Radar Online, USA Today, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, and a handful of others. (By the way if you want to see what people really think about Sarah Palin, and her violent drunken offspring these days just spend a little time at the comment sections on those sites. To put it bluntly they are no longer buying her shit.)

However it should be noted that only here on IM, and over at Joe My God, did the story of the changes on Court View receive coverage.

Though we were the only ones to note that the remanded portions was removed, and the July 11th additions did not show up, until July 14th, only as the story of Track's incarceration started to spread across the internet.

Which means that for all intents and purposes Sarah Palin was able to change the narrative again.

And that is really too bad because as all of us here know Track Palin has a long history of violent behaviors, predating his time in the military, and he really DOES need to face some consequences and to get professional help.

Because the next time it might be a whole lot worse than simply punching his girlfriend in the face and kicking her while she lay at his feet.

Next time somebody could be killed.

And I don't think that even Sarah Palin can snap her fingers and make that go away.

Sarah Palin celebrates the fact that her oldest daughter is now hawking t-shirts to make a buck, while behind the scenes she pulls strings to keep her son from facing justice.

Courtesy of the Mat-Su Manipulator's Facebook page:

I absolutely love this!!! Bristol Palin teamed up with Lifehouse Maternity Home in Louisville, KY to create these awesome shirts. Please support this great cause, get your shirt today; boldly show how you really feel about life, God & our 2nd Amendment! 

I love seeing all my kids still smiling and thriving, despite all the false and negative crap still thrown their way by the media. From all that negativity comes good like this - their productive efforts for great causes just like this. Nothing makes me prouder!

Ah yes, one day you're teaching your little one how to get rich without lifting a finger, and the next day they are out selling t-shirts like a hippie cult member on a street corner.

And what a message these shirts send.

I mean it's not often that you see the Ammosexual, Bible thumper, and anti-abortion slogans plastered together in one seemingly incongruous message across a person's chest like this.

How incredibly disturbing.

But hey, I guess it makes a certain tragically under educated Methamphetamine fueled kind of sense. I guess.

In other Palin news it appears that Track Palin has once again allowed his mommy to rescue his warrior bodied ass.

The earlier Court View entry read like this:

Notice that bottom portion where Track was remanded to custody?

Well now that is gone and the entries are as follows:

07/11/2016 
Charge Dismissed by Prosecutor 
Charge Dismissed by Prosecutor Charge(s) 1, 2 disposed with a disposition of 
Charge Dismissed by Prosecutor Charge #1: Originating - AS11.41.230(a)(1): Assault In The 4th Degree - Recklessly Injure 

07/11/2016 Notice of: Notice of: Plea Agreement (Veterans's Court) 

07/11/2016 Motion for Initial Opt-In and Order Wellness Court Motion for Initial Opt-In and Order Anchorage Veterans's Court 
Attorney: Fitzgerald, Kevin T (8711085) 
Filing Party: Palin, Track 
Case Motion #3 

07/11/2016 Order Granting Motion Order Granting Motion 
Case Motion #3: Motion for Initial Opt-In and Order Anchorage Veterans's Court

That's right the remanded portion is missing like it never even happened.

When calls were made to the courthouse to ask what the hell happened with the remanded part this was the response:

"Accidental entry."

Radar Online has more:

Track’s attorney, Kevin T. Fitzgerald, told Radar, “We got a very favorable resolution.” 

The dismissal of the domestic violence charge is “not an insignificant dismissal,” he said, praising the veterans court option. 

The possession of a weapon while intoxicated charge “really more accurately tracks what went down,” he said.

Yeah, THAT more "accurately tracks what went down."

Except no it does not.

That text by the way was also backed up by the initial report as ADN reminds us of in its reporting on this story: 

Wasilla police arrested Palin, 27, on the night of Jan. 18 at the Palins' home on Lake Lucille. A woman at the residence said he had punched and kicked her during a dispute over her contact with an ex-boyfriend, then threw her phone and threatened to commit suicide with a rifle. 

Police said Palin, who also suffered facial injuries that evening, told officers the woman struck him with an elbow. He later provided a breath sample with an alcohol content of .189.

However now that those domestic assault charges have been subjected to "Wite-Out" this as the only justice that Track Palin will have to face: 

Track Palin will have to complete a regime of "alcohol-related" treatment under the terms of this week's agreement, Fitzgerald said. Upon successful completion of the treatment course, the weapons-misconduct charge will be expunged from his record — but if that doesn't happen, Palin will receive a 180-day suspended jail sentence and be placed under informal probation for two years. 

Anchorage District Attorney Clint Campion, a military veteran who oversees the Veterans Court, said Friday the outcome of Palin's plea agreement is consistent with similar cases the court has handled. 

"Mr. Palin is getting no special treatment from the state, and I'm not treating his case any different than I would anyone under the same charges or circumstances," Campion said.

Bullshit!

You know somebody asked me just today if Sarah Palin actually still had the power to make all of this go away.

Well I guess we have our answer, don't we?

Yep, Track Palin is in jail! Update!

Track Palin and his now pregnant punching bag.

So as many of you started pointing out late yesterday FINALLY a Palin is doing time.

Of course this is due to that incident back in January where Track Palin, with blood alcohol level of 0.189, attacked his girlfriend Jordan Loewe, punching her in the face, throwing her cellphone out of reach, and kicking her at least once while she was helpless at his feet.

Track also waved around some kind of firearm (According to Loewe he was threatening to kill himself.) which forced his girlfriend to crawl into the house and call 911.

Track was then charged with three misdemeanors: assault, interfering with reporting of a domestic violence crime, and a weapons charge.

He plead not guilty (Of course.)  and was bailed out by a family friend (Mom was busy pimping Donald Trump back when Alaska was not too far away from which to fly to the lower forty eight.) for $1,500.

Then the next thing we heard was that Track had his case moved out of the regular court and to the Veteran's Court on June 27th, where his hearings kept being continued until July 13 when apparently the hearing was finally held and he was immediately remanded into custody. (Remanded means locked up without bail.)

Source

Of course in the interim we also heard that Track's, now fiance Jordan Loewe, is expecting his child (A boy.) so there will be yet another Palin family member terrorizing Wasilla in the years to come.

I must say that if one were to believe in Karma that it would certainly seem to have come back on Sarah Palin in spades.

• For one thing her husband came close to dying in a recent snowmachine accident.
• She was summarily dumped by her new boyfriend Donald Trump.
• Her eldest son is now in jail for beating the shit out of his now pregnant fiance. 
• Her eldest daughter has been revealed to be a bitch on ice who has used her son to punish her ex-boyfriend for almost a decade now.
• She is now considered radioactive by most conservative politicians. 
• Her name has been reduced to nothing more than a punchline for late night comics.
• Oh, and her SarahPAC quarterly report shows that she is hemorrhaging money at an alarming rate. (More on that in the next post.)

Yeah it seems that Sarah Palin's version of winning is reminiscent of this guy.

People continue to ask me, when are you going to bring this bitch down?

And once again my response would be, "How much further is it to "down?"

Update: Okay so I have been in contact with other folks following this case carefully and learned that the Anchorage jail is denying that Track is being held there.

However I also learned that Track actually showed up for his hearing on June 27th, but became "very uncomfortable" and had to leave.

I don't know what that means exactly but they ended up pushing the hearing forward.

There is also some confusion as to why Track was remanded into custody on the 13th, when he was not scheduled for a court visit again until July 25th.

If I had to take a guess I think I would go with failed drug test, but once again no confirmation on that.

Yet.

Update 2: Oh hell, the "remanded" part was just removed from Court View.

It looks like Snowdrift Snooki CAN still pull some strings.

(Too late though, it was captured in that screenshot up above.)

Track Palin succeeds in having his assault case moved to the Veteran's Court in Anchorage.

According to Court View tomorrow's court date in Palmer has been vacated, and Track's case has now moved to Anchorage.:

3PA-16-00145CR Crim Dist Ct Misd (3PA) 01/19/2016 

Palin, Track Defendant 06/13/2016 

Unopposed Motion for: 

Unopposed Motion for Transfer of Case File 
Attorney: Fitzgerald, Kevin T (8711085) 
Filing Party: Palin, Track 
Case Motion #2 

06/14/2016 

Order Granting Motion Order Granting Motion 
Case Motion #2: Unopposed Motion for Transfer of Case File 

06/15/2016 Temporary Transfer of Case to: 

Temporary Transfer of Case to: Anchorage

My assumption is that this is called a "temporary transfer" just in case Track does not show up or does not agree to the treatment that the court will insist upon in exchange for less jail time.

So another Palin finds a way to circumvent justice in Alaska.

Same old story that I have been telling for over eight years now.

(H/T to the Anonymous IM commenter who sent me this information. Thanks.)

Now even members of Congress are calling for the removal of Judge Aaron Persky.

Judge Aaron Persky

Courtesy of HuffPo: 

Members of Congress are joining a growing chorus of people demanding the removal of the judge who handed down a six-month jail sentence to a former Stanford University student who sexually assaulted an unconscious woman. 

Over 1 million people signed a petition on Change.org asking the California legislature to start impeachment proceedings for Aaron Persky, the judge in the case. Meanwhile, more than 1 million people have signed separate petitions circulated by UltraViolet and MoveOn.org to ask the California Commission on Judicial Performance to remove Persky from the bench. Organizers spoke with with sexual assault survivors in San Francisco on Friday afternoon. 

As the petitions continue to rack up signatures, prospective jurors are also boycotting serving under Judge Aaron Persky, and elected federal officials are adding their support that Persky lose his job. 

Rep. Jackie Speier, a Democrat from California who sponsored legislation to reform how sexual assaults are handled on college campuses, told The Huffington Post this week that Persky should quit. 

“I think he should resign,” Speier said. She added, however, that it’s “a decision for the voters of Santa Clara County to make.”

Of course this is just the latest news in a case that has almost completely taken over social media outlets.

Just in case you have been living in a cave and do not know the story, a Stanford University student, assaulted a female student on the ground outside of a frat party

During the trial the victim read an incredibly personal and heart churning statement to the court: 

On January 17th, 2015, it was a quiet Saturday night at home. My dad made some dinner and I sat at the table with my younger sister who was visiting for the weekend. I was working full time and it was approaching my bed time. I planned to stay at home by myself, watch some TV and read, while she went to a party with her friends. Then, I decided it was my only night with her, I had nothing better to do, so why not, there’s a dumb party ten minutes from my house, I would go, dance like a fool, and embarrass my younger sister. On the way there, I joked that undergrad guys would have braces. My sister teased me for wearing a beige cardigan to a frat party like a librarian. I called myself “big mama”, because I knew I’d be the oldest one there. I made silly faces, let my guard down, and drank liquor too fast not factoring in that my tolerance had significantly lowered since college. 

The next thing I remember I was in a gurney in a hallway. I had dried blood and bandages on the backs of my hands and elbow. I thought maybe I had fallen and was in an admin office on campus. I was very calm and wondering where my sister was. A deputy explained I had been assaulted. I still remained calm, assured he was speaking to the wrong person. I knew no one at this party. When I was finally allowed to use the restroom, I pulled down the hospital pants they had given me, went to pull down my underwear, and felt nothing. I still remember the feeling of my hands touching my skin and grabbing nothing. I looked down and there was nothing. The thin piece of fabric, the only thing between my vagina and anything else, was missing and everything inside me was silenced. I still don’t have words for that feeling. In order to keep breathing, I thought maybe the policemen used scissors to cut them off for evidence.

Despite the fact that the statement left the courtroom in tears, the Judge Aaron Persky, a former student at Stanford himself,  only gave the attacker, Brock Turner, a six month sentence because "A prison sentence would have a severe impact on him."

Brock Turner

As you might imagine outrage has been sweeping the nation ever since, and it is only growing in intensity, and will likely see this judge lose his job.

Which seems more than fair.

Just yesterday the Daily Mail revealed that not only did this Brock Turner drug and rape this young woman, he also sent nude pictures of her to his friends:Stanford rapist Brock Turner sent a photo of his victim's breasts to friends after the attack outside a frat house party.

To be honest since this was receiving so much attention I was going to take a pass on covering it.

But the more I read, the angrier I became, and I eventually realized that it is a story that really everybody needs to publicize in order to help send a message to punk kids like this Brock Turner, and incompetent judges like this Aaron Persky, that the world is watching you.

And that world demands justice.

Now why is Track Palin's attorney talking about moving his case to a Veterans Court in Anchorage?

Jordan Loewe and Track Palin, Before all the hitting started.

Courtesy of ADN: 

Track Palin, the 27-year-old son of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, may face criminal domestic violence charges in a special court for military veterans. 

Palin, a U.S. Army veteran, was arrested in Wasilla in January after what police described as a drunken altercation with a woman at his family's home on Lake Lucille.

Of course we all know that the woman is in fact Jordan Loewe Track's fiance, and now soon to be baby mama.

The article goes on to describe the events of that night in January which I think all of us here are pretty familiar with, including all of the hitting and kicking, and then lists the charges against Track: 

Track Palin was charged with three misdemeanors: fourth-degree domestic violence assault; interfering with a report of domestic violence; and fourth-degree weapons misconduct.

The article also points out that there was a "no contact" order given by the courts which Jordan tried to have lifted, though it apparently stayed in place.

Of course since Jordan is now pregnant we will assume that Track ignored that guideline as well.

The next question to ask is why does Track's attorney think this is a good idea for Track?

Here are the prerequisites for having the case moved to the Veterans Court according to their website:

The veteran must reside in the Municipality of Anchorage. 

• The veteran must be eligible for VA services, as defined by federal law and con firmed by the Veterans Administration. 

• The veteran must be charged with a criminal offense. A veteran charged with a felony offense will be considered on a case by case basis to ensure public safety. Considerations will include the seriousness and the class of the current offense, and offender’s criminal history. 

• The veteran must voluntarily agree to waive his or her right to a speedy trial while they participate in Anchorage Veterans Court. 

• The veteran must have no other pending cases in district or superior court. All open cases must be heard at Anchorage Veterans Court hearings. 

• The veteran must have a treatment need (related to the criminal conduct charged) that the VA can address through one of its programs in order to participate in the Veterans Court Program.

Well first off Track does NOT reside in Anchorage which should immediately make him ineligible, though according to the ADN article the court has the ability to make exceptions to that rule for special circumstances.

Also according to ADN Track would have to plead guilty, or no contest, to at least one of the charges in order to qualify for this program, but he could receive a lesser sentence if he agrees to a treatment program. (Aha!)

I have also been told that these court proceedings are open to the public so there would be no expectation of a media blackout.

My guess is that the Palins know that Track is screwed if he goes to regular court and that this Veterans Court is his only hope of avoiding some serious time.

This also explains all of those continuances. They were looking for a way out.

As usual.

Hey look who finally broke her vow of silence.

Courtesy of the Wasilla Wendigo's Facebook page.

Wait is today Memorial Day?

No, that's not until Monday.

So without a Facebook ghostwriter this idiot cannot even read a calendar?

Well maybe she is just distraught because tomorrow is the long awaited beginning of Track's trial for assault.

Yep even knocking her up does not erase the fact that you beat her ass in a drunken rage.

You know it must really rub salt in the wound to read about Chris Christie and Newt Gingrich making time with your boyfriend while you are stuck up here waiting for yet more embarrassing details about your fucked up family to be reported by the media.

I'd feel sorry for her but, you know, I don't.

Rumors confirmed. Jordan Loewe has registered at Babies R Us.

I just received a notice that Jordan had registered on something called The Bump for baby shower items from Babies R Us.

Here is the registry.

The due date is listed as October 7, 2016.

That means that Jordan would have been impregnated in February.

That was about one month AFTER Track assaulted her and she had to crawl away from him and hide. (Update: Unless of course the impregnation happened in January, which I am being told might be the case. Oops.)

A woman who can take a beating and make a baby, should fit in just fine with that family.

Female artist who painted unflattering nude of Donald Trump claims to have been assaulted.

Courtesy of the Daily Dot: 

The artist's painting, which depicts the Republican presidential hopeful unflatteringly nude, attracted bids of over £100,000 at the London gallery. According to the Guardian, Gore has been threatened with a lawsuit if she sells the work of art, however, due to its resemblance to Trump. 

Gore, who travelled to the U.K. after reporting a slew of death threats, said her proceeds from the sale will go to benefit Safe Place for Youth, a homeless shelter in Los Angeles.

Though it is always possible that this young woman is making this up for publicity, somebody DID threaten to sue her, her personal information including her address WAS made public, and these ARE Trump supporters we are talking about, so it is certainly well within the realm of believability. 

That Texas school district police officer who body slammed that twelve year old girl has been fired.

A lot of you saw that video right here on IM last Thursday and were as sickened by it as I was.

Well there has been an update: 

A Texas school police officer who became enmeshed in controversy after he was captured on video seemingly body-slamming a sixth-grade girl has been fired from the San Antonio Independent School District. 

District officials said officer Joshua Kehm was terminated Monday amid an investigation into an incident last month at Rhodes Middle School, in which he appeared to restrain and then throw down 12-year-old Janissa Valdez. 

“We understand that situations can sometimes escalate to the point of requiring a physical response; however, in this situation we believe that the extent of the response was absolutely unwarranted,” Superintendent Pedro Martinez said in a statement. “Additionally, the officer’s report was inconsistent with the video and it was also delayed, which is not in accordance with the general operating procedures of the police department. 

“We want to be clear that we will not tolerate this behavior.”

Well I would certainly hope that they do not "tolerate his behavior." 

Personally I would like this officer to face some jail time as well for assault, but I recognize that is unlikely to happen, so I guess we will have to be satisfied with the fact that he has been fired and will not be in a position to do this to anybody else.

I would also hope that it serves as a wake up call to the school districts and police forces around the country that officers placed in schools need specialized training to know how to deal with the students.

Actually considering the aggression demonstrated by this police officer, they should probably also have a mental health screening to determine if they have issues with rage.

Bristol Palin, famous for constantly claiming that somebody is abusing her, tells the female reporter who was roughed up by Donald Trump's campaign manager to "toughen up."

Over on the blog that Bristol actually has virtually nothing to do with, Nancy French posted this tweet from Piers Morgan, and then followed it up with these mean girl remarks:  

Did you watch the video? 

An assault charge against this guy??? 

Ridiculous. 

I bet Michelle Fields feels like an idiot after this video was released. 

This was NOT an assault. 

As Piers Morgan wrote, “A man would have been condemned as a laughing stock for complaining” about that slight event. 

He’s right. Toughen up.

The video that Brancy is referring to is this one which clearly shows Corey Lewandowski grabbing Michelle Fields by the arm and jerking her back.
Of course that is by now actually old news since we have all moved on to the ignorant things that Donald Trump said about punishing women for having abortions, but perhaps Nancy/Bristol/Sarah is just a little slow on the uptake.

Of course the irony of Bristol "They took my $300 sunglasses" Palin telling anybody to toughen up is mind numbing.

Let's not forget that this is a woman who once claimed to have been raped in Juneau, wrote in a book that the father of her child got her drunk and raped her in a tent, testified in a court of law that she was terrified of crank calls because "We live in the middle of nowhere in Alaska," and then hit Korey Klingenmeyer in the face multiple times, without making a dent, after which her father and brother attacked him and got their asses handed to them as well.

However even more pathetic than that is the fact that Nancy French, who is vocally supporting the #NeverTrump campaign,  is still selling her "skills" to Sarah Palin for some SarahPAC crumbs.

I keep wanting to use the word pathetic to describe these people, but honestly it just does not seem pathetic enough.

Donald Trump's campaign manager charged with battery for manhandling female reporter.

Courtesy of TPM:

Local Florida police charged Donald Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski with misdemeanor battery Tuesday after a former reporter for Breitbart accused him of manhandling her. 

Michelle Fields filed a police report with Jupiter, Florida police on March 11 alleging that Lewandowski forcefully grabbed her by the arm, nearly pulling her to the ground, after a campaign press conference. 

Lewandowski turned himself over to police just after 8 a.m. on Tuesday, according to the arrest report. He has a mandatory court appearance scheduled for May 4 at 8:30 a.m. 

Police obtained video that appears to definitively show the campaign manager grabbing Fields' arm on March 12 from Trump's security at the Trump National Golf Club, where the campaign hosted the press conference, the report also said.

Here is that video.

As you can see Lewandowski lunges at Fields who is walking and talking with Donald Trump at the time.

However despite that evidence not only is Trump still supporting Leweandowski, but he is even suggesting that it was the female reporter who was assaulting HIM.

Wow, Corey Lewandowski, my campaign manager and a very decent man, was just charged with assaulting a reporter. Look at tapes-nothing there!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2016

Victory press conference was over.
Why is she allowed to grab me and shout questions? Can I press charges? pic.twitter.com/qbW2RjkINX

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2016

Why is this reporter touching me as I leave news conference? What is in her hand?? pic.twitter.com/HQB8dl0fhn

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2016

I saw a reporter on MSNBC addressing the charge that Fields had something in her hand, by saying that all of the reporters who attend these events are screened by the Secret Service so there is no possibility that she had anything in her hand that could endanger the Donald.