A twin cities television station reported today about “swastikas” being found on the campus of the University of Minnesota.
Police say they were done in marker on Halloween and were probably just a prank, according to KSTP Eyewitness News 5. Police also said there is no indication specific students were targeted.
The station reported that students were sent an email from the school warning about hate crimes.
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Organizers of a fundraising mission for troops say they won’t be soliciting donations this year.
“We are pleased to announce that we will not be raising funds for our Wounded Warriors Christmas Leave Program this year,” a press release stated. “Your donations were so generous last year, that there is enough money for this year’s program. The release also mentions that more that $200,000 was raised last year.
Organizers went on to say, “We thank you for your generosity…[and] hope and pray that there will be no need for funds in 2009.”
When asked if the Craven County Republican Party intends to support Bill Harper, who is facing accusations of voter intimidation, chairman Michael Speciale said, “I intend to stand by him.”
By showing his support, Speciale sent a letter to the Sun Journal and the Independent Register criticizing the actions taken by Sheriff Jerry Monette and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Here is that letter:
By Andy King
Let me tell you how I feel about elections. They don’t matter. We are voting to make ourselves feel better. We are not solving problems based on our core belief systems by supporting a candidate who is our avatar in Washington. If you think you are, please take a go at Russian roulette with a semi-automatic.
If they in Washington were your avatar, how much would they make a year? Does an associate at Walmart get to retire after four years of poor performance and pull a pension? Every time I hear a candidate say they are for Joe the Plumber, I wonder how much of their salary or retirement will be diverted to support social programs.
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It’s hardly asking too much of law enforcement officers to understand and obey the laws they’re sworn to enforce. So, it’s with more than a little frustration and outrage that I report two incidents where police ignored the law and ordered shoppers to show their receipts before allowing them to leave Walmart stores.
Widespread and increasingly controversial, the practice of store employees checking customers’ receipts post-purchase is legal only if it’s voluntary. Merchants cannot detain someone suspected of shoplifting without meeting the necessarily high legal burden of probable cause or reasonable suspicion (depending on your state). Some customers find receipt checks and bag searches offensive and routinely decline the inspections.
On Saturday, a woman bought a microwave from Walmart Supercenter 605 in Savannah, Ga. and was prevented from leaving after she politely refused a store greeter’s request to check her receipt. Managers were summoned, and she asked repeatedly if she was suspected of shoplifting. They replied she wasn’t, but insisted that they see her receipt, as it’s store policy to verify all unbagged purchases.
The woman, who identified herself as Hayden on the Standuptowalmart.com message board, called police, informed them she was being detained illegally and asked for charges to be filed against the assistant managers who prevented her from leaving.
In direct defiance of Georgia law, police allegedly took the store’s side.
For two states, green may be a more appropriate color on the electoral map than red or blue.
Massachusetts residents voted Tuesday to decriminalize possession of one ounce or less of marijuana, while Michigan became the 13th state to allow marijuana for medicinal use. The third-most popular recreational drug in the United States behind alcohol and tobacco, marijuana is smoked regularly by an estimated 11 million Americans.
The Massachusetts measure won’t have midnight tokers lighting up outside the police station. Possession of an ounce or less will become a civil offense punishable by a $100 fine and forfeiture of the marijuana.
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