Or this LePetomane: http://www.thehumanmarvels.com/le-petomane-the-fartiste/ I think this all fits the direction this conversation has headed. The Le Petomane book was required reading for my independent study class "The Psychology of Magic" taught by C. Shaw Smith. Dr. Workman gave the class credi...

Now I understand the context, Steve. I guess that since we have no for-profit prisons in North Carolina, the issues and problems associated with them are largely off my radar. As I'm sure you're aware, there is a bipartisan movement at the Federal level to lessen the penalties for low-level drug off...

The criminal justice system is big business. In some areas it is the largest employer. Like most businesses, growth depends in part upon repeat business. They don't have time to mess with trivial things like defrauding people out of billions of dollars. Interesting assertions, but I respectfully as...

I want to see a Jimmy Patsos-inspired rule that requires a squad to double-team the opponent's leading scorer, leading to a 4-on-3 mismatch every offensive possession. It would promote good sportsmanship, because the two-on-one players can stand around and chat, getting to know each other. The tria...

Having played rugby throughout my Davidson and UNC law school years, I now shudder to think what today's proper society would think about some of the boorish and politically incorrect things we did at every post-match party, and sometimes even during matches, when the beer keg was tapped at halftime...

I want to see a Jimmy Patsos-inspired rule that requires a squad to double-team the opponent's leading scorer, leading to a 4-on-3 mismatch every offensive possession. It would promote good sportsmanship, because the two-on-one players can stand around and chat, getting to know each other.

I can understand why Miller said that. He's trying to put his errors in judgment in the best possible light, but that one little thing -- SOS -- is all he has left to work with. Sort of like the Iraqi Information Minister back in 1990 as the Coalition forces were about to enter Bagdad: "We are beati...

I'm no psychologist, but I have had, out of necessity, experiential dealings with abnormal criminal behavior for the past 13 years. I assert that Lance exhibits many manifestations of the classic sociopath, overlaid by a veneer of conceit.

Waitress wrote:I like the the word disinterested, but it's harder and harder to find people who have nothing to gain by their decisions. Maybe raptorcat?

When I make decisions indicative of my fondness for malt beverages and desserts, I do indeed gain.

Well said!

Wow. Not even Carl Hiaasen could have made that stuff up.

I haven't really followed this thread as closely as I should, but since there's a smattering of courtroom-related stories, I want to relate one that happened to me last summer in my hometown courtroom. During one afternoon session, a guy came before me to enter a guilty plea to a low-level felony. H...