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Tag: Brickbats

  • Brickbat: Just Don’t Look

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    Georgia state Rep. Joseph Gullett (R–Dallas) has sponsored a bill that would limit police body camera and dashcam videos from open records laws when they capture someone’s death. Gullet says the bill is meant to protect the dignity of people’s final moments and stop others from using the videos to get web traffic or views on social media. But critics worry it could reduce public transparency, keeping important evidence from the public and making it harder to hold police accountable when there are questions about their actions.

    The post Brickbat: Just Don't Look appeared first on Reason.com.

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    Charles Oliver

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  • Brickbat: Raising Cane

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    In Indonesia’s Aceh province, which enforces strict Islamic sharia law, a woman and her partner were each publicly caned 140 times in a town square for having sex outside of marriage and drinking alcohol. They received 100 lashes for the premarital sex and 40 for the alcohol, marking one of the harshest sentences in the 25 years since sharia was introduced in 2001. The woman collapsed during the flogging and had to be carried on a stretcher to an ambulance afterward. They were among six people punished that day, including a sharia police officer and his female partner who were each caned 23 times for being close to each other in a private place.

    The post Brickbat: Raising Cane appeared first on Reason.com.

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    Charles Oliver

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  • Brickbat: Heckler’s Veto

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    Police in London used public order laws to block a planned U.K. Independence Party (UKIP) march through Tower Hamlets because they were worried the demonstration—which was framed around immigration and deportations—could lead to serious violence from residents in the mostly Bangladeshi community. Officials claimed they were not banning the march because it could take place in other parts of the city.

    The post Brickbat: Heckler's Veto appeared first on Reason.com.

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    Charles Oliver

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  • Brickbat: Land Acknowledgement

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    A homeowner in British Columbia, Canada, who found what might be Indigenous human remains on their land, now faces huge legal, archaeological, and monitoring costs—well over $100,000 ($73,000 U.S.) and counting. Under Canadian provincial law, private landowners must pay to protect and investigate heritage sites with no government help or compensation. The Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc nation is not only claiming the property as a heritage site but also a surrounding buffer zone that affects other properties. Meanwhile, it isn’t even clear the remains are Indigenous: One archaeological firm said the bones could have been brought to the site by a previous owner as part of a sand fill deposit.

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    Charles Oliver

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  • Brickbat: Won’t Make the Cut

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    Under a draft Crown Prosecution Service document in England and Wales, male circumcision could be treated as a possible form of child abuse, placing it in the same category as other “harmful practices” including exorcisms. The proposal has alarmed Jewish and Muslim leaders who say circumcision is an important and generally safe religious tradition.

    The post Brickbat: Won't Make the Cut appeared first on Reason.com.

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    Charles Oliver

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  • Brickbat: It’s a Gas

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    Groups including the ACLU and the Sierra Club are backing Oak Park, Illinois, as it defends in federal court its ban on natural gas hookups in new buildings. A lawsuit from natural gas and construction industry groups argues the ban breaks federal laws limiting how state and local governments can limit federally regulated energy sources. Oak Park officials say the policy is necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as part of its plan to make the city carbon neutral by 2050.

    The post Brickbat: It's a Gas appeared first on Reason.com.

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    Charles Oliver

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  • Brickbat: Foraging Foul Play

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    A police officer in Leicestershire, England, was found to have committed gross misconduct for how he handled a case involving a woman accused of illegally foraging mushrooms in a protected park. Instead of speaking to her directly, as he was required to do, Police Constable Christopher Vickers gave paperwork to her partner, then falsely claimed she had signed a form admitting guilt. That form would have come up every time she underwent a background check. A misconduct panel ruled Vickers’ actions were dishonest and improper, and he is now barred from serving as a police officer.

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    Charles Oliver

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  • Brickbat: Irish Eyes Are Prying

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    Ireland Deputy Prime Minister Simon Harris says that when his country holds the presidency of the European Union next year, it will lead a push for new rules that would require people to verify their identity before using social media across the E.U. Harris says this will reduce anonymous online abuse, bots, and the spread of false information. He said it could also include age checks to keep young users from viewing content regulators say they shouldn’t. Critics say the plan could deal a big blow to user privacy.

    The post Brickbat: Irish Eyes Are Prying appeared first on Reason.com.

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    Charles Oliver

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  • Brickbat: Off the Grid

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    In 2025, the United Kingdom paid a record cost of nearly £1.5 billion ($2 billion) to keep wind farms from producing more energy than the nation’s outdated power grid can handle. When high winds cause turbines to produce more energy than power lines can safely carry, the government must pay wind farms to shut down turbines in remote areas to prevent an overload; it must then pay other sources, such as gas plants, to turn on in order to meet demand. Last year, the government spent £380 million paying wind farms to shut off, and it paid power plants £1.08 billion ($1.46 billion) to make up the difference. Without urgent infrastructure upgrades, experts warn these “constraint payments” will continue to rise, adding to customers’ electric bills.

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    Charles Oliver

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  • Brickbat: Small Town, Big Screwup

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    Marion County, Kansas, officials have agreed to pay about $3 million and issue a formal apology after law enforcement officers raided the Marion County Record newspaper, the publisher’s home, and a city council member’s house in August 2023. The raids stemmed from a dispute involving a local restaurant owner, whose driving record the newspaper had obtained while reporting on her liquor license application. A local prosecutor later said there was insufficient evidence to justify the raids. The settlement resolves five federal lawsuits and divides the payout among the publisher, former staff, and the council member.

    The post Brickbat: Small Town, Big Screwup appeared first on Reason.com.

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    Charles Oliver

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  • Brickbat: Still Waiting

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    Many Australians are waiting years to see public medical specialists. In some cases, the wait stretches more than six years for a neurologist or over three and a half years for urgent neurosurgery. Doctors warn these delays are causing “irreversible complications” and even life-threatening conditions. Under the taxpayer-funded Medicare system, patients can see public specialists at little or no cost with a referral from a general practitioner. Yet demand far exceeds capacity. Health authorities insist they are adding more specialists and improving referrals, but shortages persist, especially in the most understaffed specialties.

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    Charles Oliver

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  • Brickbat: Jailhouse Rot

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    The Caddo Parish, Louisiana, Sheriff’s Office fired Danny C. Taylor, a deputy who worked in the Caddo Correctional Center. Officials said Taylor told one inmate to walk into another inmate’s cell and beat him up. Security video showed Taylor watching the attack without trying to stop it. Taylor now faces one count of second-degree battery and one count of malfeasance in office.

    The post Brickbat: Jailhouse Rot appeared first on Reason.com.

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    Charles Oliver

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  • Brickbat: In No Hurry

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    In Franklin Township, New Jersey, Police Sgt. Kevin Bollaro has been charged with misconduct and tampering with records for his role in the investigation of a double murder-suicide on August 1. Prosecutors say Bollaro ignored multiple 911 calls reporting gunshots and screaming, and he instead went to an ATM instead of responding right away. When he did respond, he drove without lights or siren to the scene. He wrote in his report that he was canvassing the area, when he was actually at a pizzeria. The victims, Lauren Semanchik and Tyler Webb, were found dead in her home. Ricardo Santos, a state police lieutenant and Semanchik’s ex-boyfriend, was later found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. If convicted, Bollaro faces up to 10 years in prison.

    The post Brickbat: In No Hurry appeared first on Reason.com.

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    Charles Oliver

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  • Brickbat: Badge of Betrayal

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    Former Chicago police officer David Deleon was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually abusing four victims, including two boys—aged 13 and 14—whom he met while on duty. Deleon targeted the 14-year-old after the teen reported a school battery at a police station in March 2023, using Snapchat to lure him for a late-night assault. He met the 13-year-old when he arrested one of the boy’s parents in 2022, taking the boy to dinners before abusing him at his home. Both boys and at least one of his adult victims appeared to be asleep in videos and photos he took of the assaults. Investigators said they found he’d made a Google search for “drugs that makes u fall asleep.”

    The post Brickbat: Badge of Betrayal appeared first on Reason.com.

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    Charles Oliver

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  • Brickbat: Tough Luck, Grandma

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    Marty Quinn, alderman of Chicago’s 13th Ward, firmly opposes the construction of “granny flats”—small accessory dwelling units often built in backyards to house family members or provide rental income. A new city ordinance legalized construction of such buildings, but provisions pushed by Quinn gave aldermen sweeping authority to approve or block all such projects within their wards. The ordinance also mandates granny flats be built by union labor, which critics argue could drive up costs and limit affordability for homeowners.

    The post Brickbat: Tough Luck, Grandma appeared first on Reason.com.

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    Charles Oliver

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  • Brickbat: The Chicago Code

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    The Chicago City Council unanimously approved a $90 million settlement to resolve 176 lawsuits brought by 180 people who were wrongfully convicted and collectively spent nearly 200 years behind bars. The misconduct stemmed from former police Sgt. Ronald Watts. For nearly a decade, Watts ran a special unit within the Chicago Police Department accused of planting drugs, falsifying police reports, and coercing residents of public housing to pay bribes to avoid false drug charges.

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    Charles Oliver

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  • Brickbat: Head in the Sand

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    Katie Pasitney and her mother, owners of the Universal Ostrich Farm in British Columbia, were arrested for defying a Canadian Food Inspection Agency order to leave their farm and surrender their birds as part of a response to a bird flu outbreak. The agency fears the disease could spread, so it plans to cull nearly 400 birds. The farmers have resisted, claiming the remaining ostriches are immune. The case took a turn when the Secwepemc Signatory Tribe declared the property unceded land and issued its own cease and desist to protect the animals and land. The case will now go to the Supreme Court of Canada, which halted the cull in the meantime.

    The post Brickbat: Head in the Sand appeared first on Reason.com.

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    Charles Oliver

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  • Brickbat: Who’s There?

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    Responding to a disturbance call, police officers in Grand Prairie, Texas, mistakenly arrived at the home of Thomas Simpson. They say when they knocked on the door, Simpson confronted them with a gun, and they shot him in the leg. Simpson, meanwhile, says the police did not announce themselves as officers before the shooting, and he believed he was confronting burglars. Police admitted they were at the wrong house but blamed the error on 911 dispatch’s auto-populated address. Officers also referred Simpson’s case to the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office for charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon against a peace officer.

    The post Brickbat: Who's There? appeared first on Reason.com.

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    Charles Oliver

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  • Brickbat: Leno’s Loss

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    A proposed California law, Senate Bill 712, would have exempted older, collector vehicles from the state’s strict smog-check requirements—if they were insured as collector motor vehicles and had historic license plates—because these cars are driven only occasionally. The bill passed earlier committees but was ultimately halted in the Assembly Appropriations Committee, apparently over concerns about negative effects on air quality and state revenue. The law was nicknamed “Leno’s Law” after one of its backers, former Tonight Show host and classic car collector Jay Leno.

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    Charles Oliver

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  • Brickbat: Crime Doesn’t Pay (Much)

    Brickbat: Crime Doesn’t Pay (Much)

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    Former, Memphis, Tennessee, police officer Arica Hutchison was sentenced to six months in prison plus two years supervised release after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit theft from a program receiving federal funds. The program in question was Crime Stoppers, which rewards people who provide information leading to an arrest in a crime. According to court documents, Hutchison entered false information into department databases and listed an accomplice as a tipster, after which she fraudulently obtained $18,500 from the program for the fake tips. Hutchison must also pay $22,000 in restitution, get a mental health assessment and counseling, take a financial literacy class, and undergo substance abuse and alcohol treatment.

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    Charles Oliver

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