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“Breaking in and Renting”

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Thursday, May 16th, 2013

Some questions only have answers that are even more confusing.

The is a case that is that and more. This from a USA Today story about a former NBA and Old Dominion basketball player.

Chris Gatling ran the following ad on Craigslist for a home in Arizona:

“$800/4 br – EX NBA-Paradise Valley Home for rent with Pool & Utility included … Going back to Miami, Mexico City, Italy for a year or 2 need someone to watch my home here in PV and what a great place, close to everything and Very Very Quite! Really looking for a Woman, but guys can feel free to contact as well … (Just Like a Women’s touch).”

That would seem like a good ad if you want to rent a house. The problem that Chris faced is that he did not own the house and had no right to that house.

Records do show that Gatling had obtained an Arizona driver’s license using this residence as his home address. So, he certainly believed that it would be fine to claim the place as his own. In fact, he even rented the house to a tenant and cashed the first two cashier’s checks. Then, the renter found out from the real owner that Gatling did not own the property and had no right to rent it to her. That immediately caused her to realize why Gatling had never given her a key to the home. It also made her probably think… “now I know why I only paid $800 for this something that should cost $2,000.” Or, maybe she just read the facts and were as confused as I am.

The facts show that Gatling had originally tried to personally rent the home in 2010. He was turned down because of his bad credit. Then, Gatling broke into the lock box to gain access to the residence, which was fully furnished with running utilities. He got away with it from July 2010 to May 2011, apparently because of the housing market and that the owner never saw him there.

Now, Gatling is charged with two counts of theft and forgery, and one count of taking the identity of another and one count of fraud. His attorney says, “We believe this to be a misunderstanding, and we are working to resolve the matter.”

Gatling played in the NBA for 10 years, averaging about 10 points and five rebounds per game. He even was an NBA all-star in the 1997 game. He last played in 2002.

I hope you have a great weekend. I can imagine a fortune cookie with the following: “Beware of anyone selling a car or renting a house who cannot give you a key!

And for pic o’ day, let’s stay with the theme of a crazy explanation after getting caught:

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Categories : Uncategorized

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Bible Verses for Cheerleaders

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Sunday, May 12th, 2013

Here is a story from Utah’s Deseret News with an unusual combination. It is a pairing of cheerleaders and Bible verses. Plus, the cheerleaders won.

A Texas judge has ruled that Kountze High School cheerleaders were not violating the Constitution by displaying spirit banners at football games, that included Bible verses. This ruling occurred after an attorney on behalf of an Atheist group had filed a complaint that originally started the court case.

Judge Steven Thomas ruled that the school district can permit the banners under the establishement clause, but it is not required to do so. The judge left a crack in the door for additional argument after stating that there was still a basis for the school board to exercise editorial control over such displays as banners.

Those responding on behalf of the cheerleaders are calling it a victory because the banners remain displayed. Their attorney added that, “The message that this decision sends is, it is impermissible for the government to ban the private speech of students”.

The opponents of the decision continue to argue that, “In our opinion, this court just said that Christianity is an official school religion”. They also indicate that they may look to Federal Court for relief. For now, the fifteen banner-hanging cheerleaders are the winners.

One final note unrelated to the blog subject; I truly got to celebrate Mother’s Day. I was so fortunate to spend Saturday with my mother and then Sunday with my mother-in-law. As the old proverb/saying says, “A mother understands what a child does not say”.

And for pic o’ day, I am posting one from my Mom… one from the country!

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Categories : Current Affairs, General Law, Political

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A Claim for Insomnia

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Tuesday, May 7th, 2013

From 2004 through 2007, attorney Victoria Anderson worked for Discovery Communications. She was commended for her strong technical, legal and drafting skills. Her annual reviews did note that she needed to improve her organizational and interpersonal skills. She needed to do better in getting along with others.

Acccording to an article in ”Virginia Lawyers Weekly” (Deborah Elkins), in October of 2006, Anderson took a leave of absence from her employer under the Family and Medical Leave Act. She was having difficulty sleeping.

Testing ruled out sleep apnea. Her physicians determined that she was suffering from fatique, sleep deprivation and insomnia and prescribed her Ambien, to help her sleep. Anderson then returned to her job in November. She came with a doctor’s note that advised that her daily work schedule had to be limited to eight hours. After two follow-up doctor appointments, in December she was then released without any work restrictions.

When Anderson returned to work, she advised her employers that she could only work between the hours of 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Her employers advised that they needed her to work a full 40-hour work week because their core business was during the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

In December of 2007, Her employer fired Anderson, claiming that she had entered inaccurate time entries for her work; refused to accept a performance plan, and had a ”combative, difficult, and manipulative” nature.

Anderson sued her employer. The case was styled Anderson v. Discovery Communications LLC. Her lawsuit was based on her claimed rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The Federal Court judge granted summary judgment for the employer. She appealed to the 4th Circuit. The 4th Circuit upheld the lower court’s dismissal; and the appellate panel, in an unpublished opinion, ruled that “sleep patterns vary between individuals and even during a person’s lifetime. On this record, Anderson simply failed to present evidence creating a genuine issue of material fact as to whether she was ‘substantially impaired’ in December 2006, as a result of her insomnia”.

Separately, Anderson had also brought an action for retaliation and an interference claim. That also was dismissed because she remained employed and was given full benefits until her termination. According to the Court, the employer had a legitimate reason to terminate her; based on her untrustworthiness in completing time sheets and poor communication skills.

In simple terms the Court was saying… The End.

And this pic o’ day just seemed topical!

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Categories : Current Affairs, General Law, Legislation and Politics, Workers Compensation

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Woes of an Ex-Doctor

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Wednesday, May 1st, 2013

This is a tale of woe from Staunton, Virginia. (NewsLeader.com) Charles K. Weisman had his medical license suspended after the Board of Medicine determined that he had smoked marijuana at his practice, kept alcohol in his office, prescribed testosterone to himself, swore at patients and kept faulty records. I know, you almost have to read that sentence a second time to take it all in.

Like a bad ad, imagine hearing the voice that says, “But wait, there’s more”. Weisman was also accused of misdemeanor sexual assault against two female employees. Those charges were later amended to simple assault and then ultimately dropped. Then, in his continuing events of life; in 2009, a Staunton store owner accused Weisman of trespassing after the two men argued over storage space. (2009)

I know you’d rather hear that exciting voice screaming, “set it…and forget it”. Instead, let’s stay with the same theme…”But wait, there’s more”. In 2011, a judge found Weisman not guilty after Weisman was initially charged on a misdemeanor charge of obtaining money by false pretenses, after he was accused of giving a man a foot rub but trying to charge him for an X-ray at his Day Star Medical Center.

A month later, his girlfriend brought an assault and battery charge against him,; Ultimately, that was taken under advisement and dismissed.

Now, what is going on in his life?… Yes, there is more.

This past Tuesday, he was found to be operating a heating, ventilation and air-conditioning business without a license, and was convicted on a misdemeanor charge of violating Virginia’s Profession and Occupation act.

So, I guess we are all caught up. Maybe we should check in on him in a couple of weeks!

And for pic o’ day, I thought I would stay in a bit of the theme:

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Categories : Current Affairs, General Law, Medical Malpractice

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No, Yes I Didn’t When I Did

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Sunday, April 28th, 2013

The creator of the Peanuts comic, Charles Schultz, described his life as, “My life has no purpose, no direction, no aim, no meaning, and yet I’m happy. I can’t figure it out. What am I doing right?”.

When I read that quote, it seemed to go along with the strange Richmond Times-Dispatch story of “the School Board Doctor“. After the story, my thoughts.

Richmond School Board member Shonda Harris-Muhammed can no longer use the title of “Dr” in any of the Richmond school materials. About a month ago, Richmond television station WTVR-Channel 6 reported that they had researched Harris-Muhammed, and found that she had not completed the necessary course work for a doctorate. She had claimed to have done so through Walden University.

When the reporter contacted the university, the University reply by email indicated that Harris-Muhammed “received her M.S. in Education degree on April 24, 2005. She has not earned a doctoral degree from Walden University”.

In response, Harris-Muhammed contradicts the email by stating that, “I have always been honest and upfront. I did the work, I have earned it.” After not being able to produce any documentation to the School Board Chairman, it was announced that all school board materials would be changed to reflect the removal of her previously indicated title. For now, she continues to teach and serve on the School Board.

The news article indicates additional facts. Still it always ends up that this lady apparently improperly made claim to being a doctor. Tomorrow, I may wake up and decide to call myself Ambassador or Senior Chief or Chef Boyardee. It doesn’t make it so.

I led the blog with a quote of very simplistic thinking. I’m not exactly sure that the answer is in that life riddle. Here, a person in education wants to pretend to be more educated. It has not brought her happiness. A reminder that happiness is not in trying to be something that we are not.

For pic o’ day, Brandie sent a funny response to dog owners who are always asking the question, “whose a good boy?”.

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Categories : Current Affairs

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Some Random Blog Thoughts

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Thursday, April 25th, 2013

Like an unexplained collection of “my little ponies”, sometimes I collect thoughts for the blog that never make it to the blog. So, for a Friday, here is part of the collection:

Here is an unusual headline from South Carolina’s paper “The State”. ”Pimp Stick Quezzy’ pleads guilty to prostitution”

From Florida TV station WESH, a story about a mom who left her 8-year-old at home… with a gun, as he got dressed up and went out. When the police arrested her she simply stated, “I knew it was wrong, but I didn’t think it would be a big deal”.

From Rochester, Pennsylvania, the Associated Press reports on a school bus driver who was charged with endangering children, after the bus surveillance video showed how he handled fighting on the bus. Police say that the driver can be heard telling students to “clear the aisle and let them fight.”

Yes, these stories do bring us confusion in the form of pic o’ day:

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Categories : Current Affairs

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Hoarding and Collecting

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Wednesday, April 17th, 2013

Sometimes I feel that I should give you a break by being a “brief blogger”. So, here is a shorty on collecting and hoarding. First, the collecting part.

A USA Today article on change that is left at airports. Last year, over 500K in change was left in those little baskets. The article speculates on some of the reasons… running late, forgetfulness and even just not wanting to be bothered with change. Maybe Lincoln should be bothered about being on the penny! It also gives a breakdown on the amounts per airport.

And for the hoarding part here is pic o’ day:

Hoarding

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Categories : Current Affairs, The Human Spirit, Web/Tech

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Comcast Bans Gun Advertising

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Sunday, March 24th, 2013

I received two items over the weekend that had financial news about Comcast Cable. First, “The Motley Fool” emailed an investment video with the question, “Imagine What Cable Companies Would Do If Everyone Stopped Watching?”. The investment analysis went on to conclude that losing viewership would cause Comcast to lose about 2.2 trillion dollars, and that Apple TV and Google are on a path to cause the “Death of Cable”.

Then, my email inbox brought me an article from USA Today about Comcast. They are choosing to turn down advertising… any advertising about firearms and ammunition. No more gun and ammo commercials on the nation’s largest cable-TV provider.

Comcast made this announcement after their recent purchase of NBC. Chris Ellis of Comcast’s advertising and sales division reasoned that, “Consistent with long-standing NBC policies, Comcast Spotlight has decided it will not accept new advertising for firearms or weapons moving forward”.

Currently, they do apparently distinguish TV advertising from their web advertising. Comcast, Cox and Time Warner do not list any firearms ad restrictions on their websites.

In response to this Comcast announcement, gun sellers have been expressing mixed emotions. Rick Oliver of Haley’s Lodge, which sells guns, knives and ammunition in Indiana said, “Frankly, I’m a little confused. I’ve been running ads for 30 years. But, if they don’t want my money, I’ll take it elsewhere.”

Greg Hasek, manager of Four Guns, counters that he thinks it’s ridiculous to single out one industry like that. He suggested the widespread advertising for alcohol, despite the many “drunken-driving deaths”. Then, he really went for the metaphor punch, “Buffets are so unhealthy, they can lead to death by obesity complications. Are we going to stop advertising buffets?”

While Washington wrestles over gun legislation, this shows one response in the private sector. Private business has the right to turn down such advertising and business has the right to take their money elsewhere. No word on whether other cable channels will stop advertising the success of investing in gold because it just keeps going up, despite it trading down 6% in 2013. (I just threw in one of my pet peeves right there. They will sell you gold coins and then “hold them for you” or let you hold your investment in your own hands…come on)

Of course, the private sector can run gold ads … if they want. For me, just don’t take away those ads for Golden Corral!

And then, we turn to pic o’ day. Mom sent me another one that she knew would tickle my funny bone:

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Categories : Current Affairs, Legislation and Politics, Political, Web/Tech

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The Coffee Weapon

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Wednesday, March 6th, 2013

I just read about an unusual use for a pot of coffee. A story about coffee and a robbery.

The Connecticut Police Department reports that a man tried to rob a Dunkin’ Donuts in West Haven last week. When he pulled up to the drive-through, he asked for change for a $100 bill. When the clerk refused to make change, the man said that “this is a robbery” and tried to climb through the drive-through window.

The clerk tried to close the window but the man put his arm through the window and tried to grab the clerk. That’s when she threw a pot of hot coffee at his face. Then, the man took off and started driving away. The clerk told the police that she screamed at him as he drove off, “Go run on Dunkin.”

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Categories : Current Affairs

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Dog Shooting Settlement

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Wednesday, February 27th, 2013

If you walk out to your car tonight and you see a Giraffe sleeping under your car, what should you do? Can you coax it out with a banana. Or, since they like vegetation, could you simply offer a Portobello sandwich?

Where am I going with this? Exactly! This is senseless. That’s the feeling I had when I read this story in The Seattle Times.

In 2010, a family had gone out of town for the day while leaving their dog Rosie, in the backyard. The 4-year-old dog got out of the fenced backyard and police were called by someone in the neighborhood, to get the escaped dog.

Much of the police activities were caught on the car dashboard camera. One of the officers can be heard asking, “Once we get him, what are we gonna do with him?” One officer discussed using a taser; the other officer commented that they should just “choke her out”.

The audio on the camera suggests that within ten minutes of arriving to the neighborhood, the officers were talking about shooting the dog; even though there was no indication of danger except that the dog had been reported as barking and was a large animal. (Newfoundland)

They eventually saw the dog when it ran into the backyard of a home about four blocks from its home. Then, one of the officers shot the dog with an assault rifle. According to the audio, the gun was fired three more times.

The family returned home later that day, unaware of what had happened to Rosie. They called friends and police to see if anyone could find her. The police did not report any information. Only after a taser dart was found in the backyard that law enforcement marked, did the police acknowledge that officers had killed the dog.

Soon, a freedom of information request was sent for all information relating to the shooting. That is when the audio and camera footage became available.

A civil rights lawsuit was filed in federal court against the police department, with a claim that the family’s civil rights had been violated The basis of the suit was that the Fourth Amendment guarantees citizens to be secure in persons and effects.

The police department of Des Moines, Washington, responded that they had investigated the shooting and concluded that the officer’s actions were justified.

The community was outraged over the shooting of this friendly dog. It didn’t help that the only reason that the police admitted to the shooting was the taser dart left in the yard. The lawsuit has now settled. The town agreed to pay $51,000. A story of animal rights in Washington state.

This kind of story stirs me up as a dog lover. So, for pic o’ day, I am staying random with some giraffes. How about a working giraffe

Or a giraffe with an apple pie. Yes, I know, it would be exciting if I had a pot pie too.

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Categories : Current Affairs

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The Joel Bieber Firm

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Joel Bieber’s Blog

Archive for News

“Breaking in and Renting”

Bible Verses for Cheerleaders

A Claim for Insomnia

Woes of an Ex-Doctor

No, Yes I Didn’t When I Did

Some Random Blog Thoughts

Hoarding and Collecting

Comcast Bans Gun Advertising

The Coffee Weapon

Dog Shooting Settlement

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