What Are Your Pants Worth?

Here's a real gem for your daily outrage moment.

Meet Roy Pearson. He is suing a dry cleaner for $65 million, all because his pants were lost.

A customer got so steamed when a dry cleaner lost his trousers that he sued for $65 million. Two years later, he is still pressing his suit.

The case has demoralized the South Korean immigrant owners of the mom-and-pop business and brought demands that the customer -- an administrative law judge in Washington -- be disbarred and removed from office for pursuing a frivolous and abusive claim.

Never mind the pants were later found, never mind that the dry cleaners have offered to settle for outrageous, unjust, and highly undeserved amounts just to make this go away. No, this jerk is still using the legal system to harass hard-working people. But the clincher is, this man's job is to render legal judgments and no doubt has had to toss out some frivolous complaints, during his tenure.

Apparently he has a history of frivolity, as can be seen here in his appeal of his divorce decree. (Hat Tip: Overlawyered)

From the court document:

Roy L. Pearson, Jr. (husband) appeals from a final decree of divorce awarded to Rhonda S.
VanLowe (wife) on the ground that the parties lived separate and apart without cohabitation for one
year pursuant to Code  20-91(A)(9)(a).  Husband contends that the trial court erroneously:
1) granted the divorce based on a separation date of October 15, 1999, or October 21, 2001;
2) denied his request for sanctions pursuant to Code .01-271.1; 3) denied his request for spousal
support; 4) failed to grant him a reservation of future spousal support; and 5) awarded wife
attorney's fees.  He also requests recusal of the trial judge on remand.  For the reasons that follow,
we affirm the trial court on all issues except husband's request for a reservation of future support.

An attorney wanted spousal support, how ridiculous is that?

But now as the story grows some legs, the call from most decent people is for Mr. Pearson to be removed from his position, so he can pursue his dream of abusing the legal system, in private practice.

In my mind, he should not only be removed, but he should be disbarred, made to pay the dry cleaners' legal expenses, and given a prominent place in the Mike Nifong Memorial Hall of Fame for arrogant jerks that once had a law license.

Le Président Sarkozy

Most of you probably already know the results of today's French presidential election. I doubt many of you hit the PYY link for up to the minute news coverage. If you do, I have to say you are not quite right. But if you don't know the result yet, Sarkozy won.

I have to say that I am surprised by the results. In the back of my mind, I thought Bayrou's first round voters would swing towards Royal and there would be little turn-out by Le Pen's. I am not sure of the exact demographics, but it would appear that enough of them did turn out and swung it Sarko's way.

Now, the new president has chosen to claim a mandate.

"The French people have called for change. I will carry out that change, because that's the mandate I have received from the French people."

Before we get carried away here, the new leader must maintain support in the legislature to be most effective. Those elections are in June. So celebrating too long is not a viable option. Sarkozy cannot afford allow the left coalition to overtake the right, if he really expects to have a chance of making any real meaningful change.

If the French people vote the same way and give support to the new direction, I look for a long and tough battle towards reform, anyway. With the left being relegated to being the opposition, their voice would be heard, but their cries of disagreement would not necessarily be considered. If that turns out to be the case, I would expect to see more protests than under the Chirac government. That will be their only hope.

In the meantime, many are now taking a breath of collective relief that Royal didn't win. Not only do many Brits and Americans do so, but so does 53% of the French citizenry. In the end, it would appear that more people thought the nation needed to change directions, both at home and on the world stage.

From what I see, it's relatively simple. A vote for change? Yes. A mandate? We''ll have to wait for June 10 to answer that one.

Another Blast From The Past

Realizing that many may not have a particular taste for a lot of the music I have showcased in this regular feature, it's now time to demonstrate how wide my tastes in music really are. I have said many times before, I love rock music. And that includes going all the way back to the early days of rock and roll.

But that is not to say that I remember all of it, when the craze first hit. As a baby, you do not have an awareness of the Billboard Top 100, so to say that a lot of early hits were a part of my past would not be accurate, in the least. Many of the best songs in rock history do not bring back memories of a malt shop or a sock hop. Those are things best remembered by those a little older than me.

Take my good friend Mustang from Social Sense, for instance. Now here's a guy that will identify with the videos posted here. Since he came of age in this era, I will dedicate them to him and his cohorts. (Impish grin)

The first video is by an artist that blended the vocal style of a big band songstress with rock and roll. She made the transition from the genre that was so popular during her childhood to the new wave of music that was sweeping the nation, and she did it with class and ease. Many people do not realize just how many hits this lady had during her career. For those that don't, take a look here to see.

Here's Connie Francis with two of her biggest hits:



AND



The next artist had his life cut ever so short, he needs no introduction:



The last artist also needs no introduction. Although he had many, many hits that he will be forever identified with, this one is by far the best song he ever recorded:



Enjoy.

Cinco De Mayo

When I was younger, it was just another excuse to party. Many in America look at it as the Mexican St. Patrick's Day. One thing I always liked about it? Another excuse to listen to Herb Alpert:



Have a safe one. If you drink, don't drive. If you drive, don't drink.

Attention: 2007 Graduates

Yes, it's that time again. It's time for new grads to hear boring speeches full of BS and delightful half-truths on a wide-scale. Time to hear how to go out and get the world by its tail and change it for the better, en masse and ad nauseum. From coast to coast, sea to shining sea, it's time for college commencements to commence.

I moved my son out of his dorm today, thinking about how fast his freshman year went. My son even mentioned how fast it seemed to go (now that it's over). We all got through it somewhat unscathed, but we did experience a change of major after the first semester (glad it was done early though).

But as I reflected after I got him back to his mother's house safe and sound (with more junk than he went up with), I began to think back just a year ago about his graduation from High School. I thought about how fast it went and began to think ahead to 2010, when he gets his degree. Most likely, it will be here before I know it. They grow fast.

Anyway, since it's that time of year, I'd like to once again link to Neal Boortz's famous commencement speech that no one will ever hear at any graduation (at least not with any real expectation that they will be invited to address one, ever again). If you haven't read it, I recommend it.

The Final Stretch: Sarkozy Holds Lead

It's crunch time in the republique. And if the polls are to be believed, Sarkozy is solidifying his lead over Royal. I, myself, do not put much stock in pre-election polls unless they show overwhelming support for one candidate, over another. The only one that counts will be Sunday's poll.

One thing is plain for all to see. As it is in America, so it is in France. Presidential elections usually end up being popularity contests. The goal is to make yourself look good, while making your opponent look bad. And from what I have been reading of late, it sounds like Royal is making Sarkozy's job easier.

More than anything, both candidates sound like they could head up the two major parties here in the U.S. Sarkozy is nothing more than a French Republican and Royal, a French Democrat. Their ideologies are strikingly similar. One wants to create business opportunities, the other wants to promise the world to get elected, whether it's doable or not.

What the French must do is decide whether or not they want to continue to travel down the same path, albeit more forcefully. They must decide if it's a shift more towards free market and a better relationship with the American government, or a straight path towards more government intervention that results in more regulation and bureaucracy (and a more contentious relationship with Washington).

But rest assured, I do not expect that if Sarkozy is elected, he will immediately proclaim all of the foreign policies of the Chirac regime to be null and void. I cannot believe that he will immediately send troops to Iraq either. And I think it's a very safe bet, he won't be toasting George Bush in Paris, anytime too soon.

But I do expect that the undermining and the sniping behind our backs will slow considerably. I would realistically expect that Sarkozy will continue the true Gaullist tradition of being independent and not in the pocket of anyone, but France. I cannot fathom that he will sell out to America, just because he wants better relations.

If Royal gets elected, not much will change in the way of foreign policy, we can count on that. In fact, it may get a bit colder than it already is. This will especially be the case if Madame Royal decides that it would be in the republique's best interest to attend more photo-ops with Hezbollah leaders.

Obama's Hostile Takeover

In the "what a mean-ass thing to do" department, comes this story:

Is MySpace always mine or can it belong to someone else? At the cost of losing 160,000 friends, Democrat Barack Obama's presidential campaign has taken over control of the MySpace page listed under his name on the popular social networking site.

For the past two and a half years, the page has been run by an Obama supporter from Los Angeles named Joe Anthony. At first, that arrangement was fine with the Obama team, which worked with Anthony on the content and even had the password to make changes themselves.

But as the site exploded in popularity in recent months, the campaign became concerned about an outsider having control of the content and responses going out under Obama's name and told Anthony they wanted him to turn it over.

Needless to say, Obama has lost at least one vote and maybe more. 160,000 may be a drop in the bucket to Barack, but he risks losing more.

But that's not the point. Obama raised $26 million and he won't pay a guy that worked on something that he believed in, to help the cause. To top that off, he wrests it by force with the same spirit as Hugo Chavez did with the Venezuelan oil fields. Such class.

Oh well Joe. Stand pat.

Al Gore will be jumping in soon. Expect an announcement after he wins the Nobel Peace Prize.

Thirst For Trivia?

I have to say that I have been busier than a one-armed wallpaper hanger this week, and haven't had time to blog like usual. But, nevertheless, here is a link to the latest Victor Davis Hanson column, which as usual makes some pretty sound points.

Hope to be back to normal here very soon. Thanks for reading.

Le Pen Delivers Blow To Sarkozy

National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen has called for all of his supporters to abstain from the upcoming presidential runoff. Mr. Le Pen is considered by many to be a fascist and a racist bigot that is discontented with France's immigration policies. The opposite of Le Pen's ideology can be found in that of Madame Royal, the Socialist candidate that stands to gain from Le Pen's call.

So, why would Le Pen deliberately move in such a way as to strengthen one that is such a polar opposite?

Maybe, Le Pen is waging his bets that a Royal presidency will result in a further decline into what he feels is already an abyss, as far as French policy goes. If Royal makes more of a mess of the republic than what he feels has already been made, he or his movement will be strengthened more in the future. The one thing that fascism depends on is, reactionaries need an enemy (and that usually means communists and socialists) to react to. Mussolini was able to gain power by using the inefficiencies (brought on by the futile attempts to implement their failed ideology) against them.

If France elects Royal, that is what Le Pen is hoping will happen here.

As a footnote to all of this, Anne Applebaum of WaPo has an interesting analysis of who Sarkozy is appealing to.

News In Brief (And The Usual Opinionated Commentary)

Not much going on right now. There is no one story dominating the headlines right now, so this is always a good time to do this periodic feature.


The Demonization Of Sarkozy Continues.

Ségolène Royal intensified a desperate final effort yesterday to tar Nicolas Sarkozy, her presidential opponent, as a dangerous tyrant whose election would threaten the peace of France.

Ms Royal, the left-wing candidate who is about four points behind the conservative Mr Sarkozy in polls, denounced her opponent for the “great violence” and “brutality” of a campaign that she maintained was frightening away voters.

It's interesting to see that anywhere there is a battle for the "heart and soul" of a nation, there will be negative campaigning. When desperation sets into a campaign, it gets worse when the election is only a few days away. In many ways, this election is being made out to be a referendum on America.


Prince Harry To Deploy (For Now).

The on again, off again relationship Harry has with Iraq, is on again.

I am opposed to it for this reason and this reason only: I believe that it will create a heightened state of danger for those that serve around him. He creates a higher value target, just by his presence. If he isn't there, interest is not created.

But beyond all of that, I think he has a death wish. He has to know that he will stand a chance of getting killed or kidnapped. Call it suicide by combat.


Newspapers Continue Circulation Decline.

If you are observant, you will note that the overwhelming majority of those papers showing a decline in circulation are liberal leaning (with many guilty of publishing some extremely irresponsible pieces over the past few years). Freedom of the press is guaranteed and should always be. But with that freedom, comes freedom of the individual to choose whether or not to buy. And with this data we can safely conclude that less are buying these days. As a result, the trend of heading south continues.


More:


Chavez Nationalizes Venezuelan Oil Industry.

What else is there to say here? As per textbook Marxist ideology, private industry puts up the capital, does the hard work necessary, and some Marxist seizes it, declaring it to be a government-owned entity from this point forward.

Latin America will suffer most by this move. American investors will not be apt to risk money in the underdeveloped continent, if there is an increased risk that someone will seize the fruits of that labor.

Mark it down, this will not help the plight of Latin Americans at all. Chavez and his cronies will run this into the ground, in five years.