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If there are rakes left to step on in Kentucky, the principal at Whitefield Academy will find them. Dr. Bruce Jacobson, head of the private Christian school in Louisville, found himself at the center of a firestorm three weeks ago when he expelled a student because her mother posted a photo on Facebook of her daughter celebrating her 15th birthday with a rainbow cake.

That action was perfectly legal, in and of itself.

But Dr. Jacobson couldn’t leave it there. After the child’s mother Kimberly Alford went to the media, Jacobson released confidential information about the child’s disciplinary record and her sexual orientation to the press.

Now, that's a lawsuit.

The good doctor should have looked up the definition of the word "confidential".

 

 

Customer Care At US Bank

In the week since her story made international news, Emily James, the banker fired from a U.S. Bank call center in Portland for a Christmas Eve act of kindness, has been “overwhelmed and emotional” from the outpouring she’s received.

On the day before Christmas, James had gotten permission from her manager to leave the call center and drive to a nearby gas station, where a bank customer was stranded. He couldn’t access the money from his paycheck at the bank, so James gave him $20 of her own money to buy gas, then went back to work.

The bank fired her a week later on New Year’s Eve, James said, calling her helpful hand an “unauthorized interaction with a customer.”

Then last week her account to The Oregonian/OregonLive went viral. She’s had several job interviews, including with other local banks, but hasn’t yet started another job. Several companies reached out over social media, wanting to hire her.

The bank, one of the largest in the USA, was founded in Portland, Oregon in 1891;  and is now headquartered in Minneapolis.

Today, U.S. Bank is the fifth-largest bank in the country, with 74,000 employees and $467 billion in assets as of December 31, 2018.

Well, they couldn't buy the kind of publicity they're receiving now.

 

Purely Coincidental, No Doubt

Captain Janeway to the command deck, please.

 

Big Labor Butts Into The Grocery Checkout

Filed in July, Initiative Petition 41 is backed by the Oregon AFL-CIO, a coalition of labor groups representing about 300,000 Oregon workers.

“We have been consistently concerned about the impacts of technology and automation on the livelihoods of working people, especially when they have no voice in how technology is used in their workplaces,” Graham Trainor, president of the Oregon AFL-CIO, said in a statement. “You can see the expansion of self-checkout machines in stores across the country and in Oregon.”

He said jobs are lost as a result.

The AFL-CIO contends self-checkout kiosks make customers feel socially isolated, particularly elderly people, and that the kiosks let stores rely more on part-time workers and leave workers “feeling devalued.” They also say self-checkout stands make it easier for minors to buy alcohol and for people to steal from stores.

But these days, there are cameras everywhere, and most self-checkout kiosks are monitored by floor employees as well, so Big Labor's arguments are just silly. The kiosks I've used flag alcohol purchases, which must be approved by a floor employee before you can proceed with checkout. So Big Labor's argument in that regard is fallacious as well as silly.

What are their next targets - ATMs and machines that sell postage stamps?

 

 

It's About Time!

The U.S. Department of Transportation could allow airlines to ban untrained animals from airplanes, possibly ending the debate over whether emotional support pets deserve the same treatment as fully trained service animals.

Airlines and passengers have been grappling with letting animals fly in the cabin on airplanes, particularly in recent years with a rise in emotional support animals ranging from dogs and snakes to miniature horses, pigs, ducks, peacocks and turkeys.

Trained service dogs make sense, and even trained miniature horses - which are often used as guide animals by disabled people with dog allergies. But snakes, turkeys, and other critters have no place in a plane's cabin. Common sense may finally take hold. And wouldn't that be nice?

If someone feels they need a turkey for "emotional support", they need to find a different mode of transportation.

 

Washington

Last week was a bad week for Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced Hollywood producer, friend of the Clintons, major Democratic donor, and defendant accused of rape, a criminal sex act, and predatory sexual assault. He is 67. If he is found guilty, he faces life in prison. My guess is he will ask for a jail cell near Bill Cosby. They appear to have a lot in common and can swap tales, possibly even swap pictures.

Harvey has taken to using a walker to hobble in and out of the courtroom, hoping he will gain sympathy from moviegoers.

As I see it, things look bleak for Harvey. Even my plan to have a Harvey Weinstein look-alike contest has been put off. I have been asking around for possible contestants, but there are no takers. Not even Michael Avenatti, and he could use a little good publicity.

Last week, all Avenatti got was bad news. Consider, if you will, Wednesday. It should have been for him a great day. The House of Representatives sent the Senate the articles of impeachment for President Donald Trump. Avenatti has been waiting for this day for well over a year. Unfortunately, when the House of Representatives moved, he was sitting in a common hoosegow and was not in a very celebratory humor. He was arrested the day before for violating the terms of his bail, and a judge ordered him held without bond until his three federal trials are sorted out. That will take a long time.

You might recall back in 2018 when Avenatti chided Donald Trump Jr. about his likely stay in the big house, possibly even the prison that Avenatti now inhabits. Tweeted Avenatti: “BTW, they don’t have silver spoons or gold toilets in the joint.” And he ended with, “Buckle up Buttercup.”

A year or so ago he was headed to Iowa and New Hampshire, testing the waters for a presidential run. He was featured on television. He had money in the bank, in several banks. Some of it was even his own, and he had the blessing for his presidential campaign from the likes of CNN and MSNBC.

Well, the Creepy Porn Lawyer isn't shooting from the lip so much, these days. He's become remarkably quiet, in fact. Given that he's a publicity hound, this is unusual behavior for him. Prison life seems to have changed him.

 

Whatever Happened to "The Smartest Woman In The World"?

Tulsi Gabbard sued Hillary Clinton on Wednesday for defamation over the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate’s claim that the Hawaii congresswoman was a “Russian asset.”

Clinton made headlines in October after she called Gabbard “the favorite of the Russians” in an appearance on former Obama campaign manager David Plouffe’s podcast, and suggested she was being groomed as a potential third party candidate, despite Gabbard stating publicly she would not run a third-party campaign.

In an interview released Tuesday detailing Clinton’s comments on Sanders ahead of an upcoming documentary, Clinton slammed the Vermont senator, calling him a “career politician” and claiming “nobody likes him.”

Umm...well, nobody likes you either, in case you haven't noticed, Hill. That includes your "husband".

“Tulsi Gabbard is running for President of the United States, a position Clinton has long coveted, but has not been able to attain,” Wednesday’s Manhattan federal lawsuit reads. “In October 2019 — whether out of personal animus, political enmity, or fear of real change within a political party Clinton and her allies have long dominated — Clinton lied about her perceived rival Tulsi Gabbard. She did so publicly, unambiguously, and with obvious malicious intent.”

“She’s the favorite of the Russians. They have a bunch of sites and bots and other ways of supporting her so far,” Clinton told “Campaign HQ” host and former Obama campaign manager David Plouffe.

“And, that’s assuming Jill Stein will give it up, which she might not because she’s also a Russian asset. Yeah, she’s a Russian asset,” added Clinton.

Gabbard is suing for $50 million, citing defamation claims.

“Tulsi is not a Russian asset. No one — Russia or anyone else — controls her or her presidential campaign. Instead, Tulsi is a loyal American servant, declaring her allegiance to the United States of America both as a soldier and as a member of Congress,” read the court papers.

Yep, Shrillary appears to have finally stepped into her own manure. And that idiot has never been a member of the armed forces (which, by the way, she despises).

 

 

Love, Australia

Zero visibility in less than a minute.

And you thought they only had kangaroos.

 

We're So Bad

Dangerous Trees In Portland

And the city has demanded that they be removed and replaced with trees that they approve of. They tried that with me as well, a few years back. I told them to take a hike.

Officials required the small business owner pay a penalty, cut down his seven maple trees, grind out the stumps and plant new trees from a list approved by the city.

Urban forestry said staff is available to answer questions about tree care and the responsibility and rules for property owners. An agency spokesperson directed community members to call 503-823-TREE or email trees@portlandoregon.gov.

Additionally, the agency explained pruning must be conducted according to city tree pruning standards available online.

KGW requested an on-camera interview with Portland Parks and Recreation Urban Forestry spokesperson Mark Ross. In an email, Ross provided a one- word response, “No.”

Interestingly, that was my response to the demand by the city of Portland.

They may think they're important - I don't.