Odds and ends

 

I did not know this:  Morton's Steakhouse is a national chain, like Arby's with tablecloths and an extra zero on the prices.  After Poor Brett had to flee out the kitchen entrance without his chocolate cheesecake, the one in Washington complained to Politico that "Honorable Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh and all our other patrons were unduly harassed by unruly protesters."  Because they couldn't leave well alone, or maybe it was that "Honorable," Mortons all over the country are getting phantom bookings.  Satisfying but unfair, especially to the staff who probably depend on tips to pay the rent.  

Rudolph Giuliani narrowly escaped death when a supermarket employee patted him on the back last week, and now he's fighting for his life after a coronary.  Anyway, that's what Trump told a mob in Las Vegas -- I haven't seen it from any reliable source.  It's all because of "what the left put him through."  Well, if you need to blow off a grand jury subpoena, the ICU is probably your best bet.  (Andrew G. says daddy got some cholesterol cleaned out of an artery, but I doubt "the left" put it there.  And now I'm picturing Bernie Sanders forcing cheeseburgers down his throat for thirty years...)

High-profile Chicago attorney Steve Greenberg is no longer representing Robert Crimo, Jr., and Denise Pesina, parents of America's newest mass murderer, due to a "conflict of interest."  Greenberg defended R. Kelly (unsuccessfully) but may have decided these two are beyond his help.   When he was two, Pesina left her son in a hot car for nearly half an hour and later pleaded guilty to child endangerment.  Police have answered many domestic-dispute calls to the Crimo home, which is facing foreclosure, and the kid's lawyer has also quit, leaving him with a public defender.  Definitely no red flags there.

It begins!  Brandy Bottone was pulled over by Dallas police for driving in a high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane last month.  They tried to ticket her for being alone in the car but she informed them that she was 34 weeks pregnant, and under Texas law..."It's got to be two people outside of the body," she was told.  I can't wait for her $215 citation to reach the Opus Dei Court.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the tabloids -- Amber Heard wants a do-over in her case against Johnny Depp.  Would somebody tell her about Jarndyce v. Jarndyce?

Says here that Trump might "waive executive privilege" so Pigpen Bannon can tell the House Select Committee all sorts of wonderful things about him and maybe avoid prison time.  I'm no lawyer but it seems to me that he's no longer the executive and the privilege is Biden's to waive.  But Bannon and his sort occupy a Bizarro America where Trump is president forever, so who knows?

New York may be forced to let people carry concealed weapons but it's not going into this blind.  A  new law required applicants for a permit to hand over their social media accounts so the state can review their "character and conduct."  What about (cough cough) pseudonymous blogs?  But yeah, make the Opera Dei -- that's the plural -- choose between free speech and our precious gun rights.  Go, Kathy Hochul!

Amber Heard isn't the only litigant who doesn't know when to quit.  The US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower court's dismissal of Roy Moore's defamation suit against Sacha Baron Cohen, declaring that the "pedophile detector" the filmmaker deployed was "clearly comedy."  Moore threatens to keep appealing because what else does he have to do?  He's not welcome at the mall.

As of September 24 it is illegal to record the activities of Arizona police from within eight feet.  Plenty of time for Apple to introduce a phone with a telephoto lens on its camera.  See, Doug, we can play chess, too.

Stranger things have happened.

Like this:  Ohio House bill HB 327, the "Both Sides" bill.  Specifically, "failing to fairly present both sides of a political or ideological belief" would be declared "conduct unbecoming" an Ohio educator, resulting in dishonorable discharge, I guess.  One of the Republican sponsors recently told an interviewer that the Holocaust should be taught from the perspective of "German soldiers."  Here is a list of all the suspects.  

With a little nudge from the Justice Department Christina Pushaw has belatedly registered as a foreign agent, detailing work she did for Mikheil Saakashvili, former president of Georgia.  Now she works for Ron DeSantis, obviously the Kremlin's number one choice for 2024.  They're not subtle.

 

Hunter Biden's laptop?