Dave Wilson, a white conservative candidate for the board of the Houston Community College System, pulled off an astonishing victory over the African-American incumbent, by distributing campaign materials that made him — Wilson — appear to be black. The photos of black supporters that appeared in Wilson’s brochures were all, he said, taken from the Internet.
The Jerky Neuroscientist
Neuroscientist James Fallon is fascinated by the brains of serial killers. He experienced a seminal career moment in 2005 when he realized his brain scan was a dead-on match for the typical psychopath’s. Subsequent examination revealed him to be, he said, a “pro-social psychopath” — one that displays traits similar to a killer’s (aggressiveness, low empathy) and different (“killing” opponents only in games and debate, and with little compassion for their haplessness). He explained to The Smithsonian, “I do jerky things that piss people off.” Fallon failed to break bad, he guesses, because he “was loved (growing up), and that protected me.” He strives “to show to everyone and myself that I can pull (this balancing act) off.”
Sucker’s Game
— Homeless man James Brady had his New Jersey state benefits cut off for “hiding” income. He’d found $850 on a sidewalk in April and turned it in. When no one came forward, it was returned to him. He was then penalized for failing to report income.
— A 16-year-old Fox Chapel, Pa., youth realized at a football game in September that he was carrying a pocket knife and conscientiously turned it in to a security guard. This act earned him a 10-day school suspension. The school’s zero tolerance rule, said the boy’s father, “sends a message that you should probably lie.”
— Betty Green was fired as clerk at the Speedway gas station in Lexington, Ky., in November when she just said no to an armed robber, who smiled and walked out. Company rules require that clerks always give up the money. Said Green, “I don’t think anybody knows what you are going to do until it happens to you.”
Tolerance Reported
In November, the senior class president of Northwest Christian University in Eugene, Ore., came out — as an atheist. Eric Fromm, 21, is popular on campus. An ABC News report revealed he was under no pressure to resign or drop out. Said the director of university relations, “All of our students are on a journey. … We as an institution meet students where they are at.” Fromm said he was impressed with the school right from his initial visit. “No one was speaking in tongues or handling snakes, so I decided to stay.”
Bright Ideas
— The vandalism of Marion County High School in Jasper, Tenn., on the eve of a big football game wasn’t the work of arch-rival South Pittsburg. The South Pittsburg graffiti were apparently made by Marion County teacher-coach Michael Schmitt, who was arrested. He told officers he was only trying to inspire the team (which lost anyway, 35-17).
— Police in Urunga, Australia, charged teacher Andrew Minisini with taking three female students to a motel, giving them alcohol and convincing them to vandalize the residence of one of Minisini’s educational rivals.
— A government-subsidized program for alcoholics in Amsterdam announced a “welfare/work” program that offered the city’s drunks $14 a day and five free cans of beer for several hours of street-cleaning. Some beneficiaries told London’s The Independent, that, of course, they intended to use the cash to buy even more beer.
Recurring Themes
In 2001, German computer repairman Armin Meiwes captured world attention when he was convicted of killing, sauteeing and eating parts of a Berlin engineer who had offered himself on a German cannibal-fetish website. In November 2013, police in the German state of Saxony were investigating human body parts found at a bed-and-breakfast run by “Detlef G.,” suggesting the parts were from “Wojciech S.,” who frequented a cannibal-fetish website and who had traveled to meet Detlef. The parts had been found in an area of the grounds used for “grilling.” The investigation is continuing.
Suspicions Confirmed
During the Guantanamo Bay trial of five people charged in the 9/11 attacks, defense lawyers complained that their confidential client information was being leaked from the poorly secured “classified” Pentagon computer network. Said the lead defense counsel (Air Force Col. Karen Mayberry), the normal Dept. of Defense “classified” network is so porous she’s been forced to use the Wi-Fi at the local Guantanamo Starbucks, which she regards as more secure.
Armed And Clumsy
Americans who accidentally shot themselves recently: A 31-year-old man, showing off his high-powered rifle to friends, shot off part of his face, Waterville, Maine. A 22-year-old woman, handing her brand-new assault rifle to her husband, shot herself (fatally) in the head, Federal Heights, Colo. Two police chiefs shot themselves (Medina, Ohio, and Washington, N.H.). A 66-year-old firearms instructor in Winona, Minn., shot his finger while explaining to his wife that it was impossible to pull the trigger while the gun is holstered. A Columbia, Mo., man shot himself in the “posterior” while removing his gun from his back pocket; a 23-year-old man in Charleston, W.Va., shot himself in the groin while holstering his weapon; a 43-year-old man in Norfolk, Va., shot himself in the groin while he was waving his gun at a speeding driver.
People With Issues
— A condominium association in Niles, Ill., is debating whether to pursue Norman Kazmierski, who has moved. As a resident, he was accused of keying cars, egging hallways, disabling the emergency sprinkler system and leaving several pounds of excrement in buildings in protest of alleged mistreatment. The association said it all started when one resident asked Kazmierski to park his car between the lines so that parking spaces could be used efficiently.
— Police in Mayville, Wis., arrested John Grant, 42, for shooting his wife, Nicole, three times with a Taser gun. The couple tried to explain that Nicole (a Green Bay Packers fan) had bet John (a Chicago Bears fan) on a game, with the winner getting to Taser the loser. She sheepishly said she didn’t think John would actually shoot her. According to breath tests, neither of the Grants could have lawfully driven a car.
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