What's the differece between the SCOTUS "vacating" and "reversing" a decision?

I can't tell the difference.

Should a 3-year-old child's testimony to his teacher (on child abuse) be admitted in court?

A 3 year old with bruises on his face told his teacher that his step-dad caused the injuries. She called child protective service and the man ended up being tried and convicted. The judge ruled that a 3 year old was incompetent to testify, but his words to the teacher count as evidence.

The accused says that he should be able to exercise his Constitutional right to confront the witness ( the 3 year old) or else the kid's testimony to the teacher cannot be admitted in court. What's your say?

http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2015/02/supreme_court_case_from_clevel.html

Oregon Supreme Court to consider: Is it 'cruel and unusual' to imprison public masturbator for life?

Source: The Oregonian

William Althouse is serving a life prison sentence -- but not because, like many in that situation, he killed someone.

Althouse, 69, has repeatedly exposed his genitals in public with sexual intent. In 2012, after a Marion County jury found him guilty of that conduct again, a judge sentenced him to life without any hope of being released.

The Oregon Supreme Court, however, announced Thursday that it will consider if that amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.

The sentence is disproportionate to the offense, said Daniel Carroll, the defense attorney who represented Althouse at trial, told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Friday. "No one died," he said.

Read more: http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2015/03/oregon_supreme_court_is_it_cru.html

Cruz on the Global Cooling Myth and Galileo

"Cruz compared “global warming alarmists” to “flat-Earthers” and himself to Galileo, saying “this heretic named Galileo was branded a denier” for insisting the Earth was round. This is wrong. Galileo’s troubles with the church stemmed from his belief that the Earth orbits the Sun. The fact that the planet is round was accepted before Galileo was born."

My emphasis.

More http://www.factcheck.org/2015/03/cruz-on-the-global-cooling-myth-and-galileo/

Major publisher retracts 43 scientific papers amid wider fake peer-review scandal

Source: Washington Post


The Washington Post
Major publisher retracts 43 scientific papers amid wider fake peer-review scandal

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By Fred Barbash March 27 at 1:49 AM

A major publisher of scholarly medical and science articles has retracted 43 papers because of “fabricated” peer reviews amid signs of a broader fake peer review racket affecting many more publications.

The publisher is BioMed Central, based in the United Kingdom, which puts out 277 peer-reviewed journals. A partial list of the retracted articles suggests most of them were written by scholars at universities in China, including China Medical University, Sichuan University, Shandong University and Jiaotong University Medical School. But Jigisha Patel, associate editorial director for research integrity at BioMed Central, said it’s not “a China problem. We get a lot of robust research of China. We see this as a broader problem of how scientists are judged.”

Meanwhile, the Committee on Publication Ethics, a multidisciplinary group that includes more than 9,000 journal editors, issued a statement suggesting a much broader potential problem. The committee, it said, “has become aware of systematic, inappropriate attempts to manipulate the peer review processes of several journals across different publishers.” Those journals are now reviewing manuscripts to determine how many may need to be retracted, it said.

Peer review is the vetting process designed to guarantee the integrity of scholarly articles by having experts read them and approve or disapprove them for publication. With researchers increasingly desperate for recognition, citations and professional advancement, the whole peer-review system has come under scrutiny in recent years for a host of flaws and irregularities, ranging from lackadaisical reviewing to cronyism to outright fraud.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/03/27/fabricated-peer-reviews-prompt-scientific-journal-to-retract-43-papers-systematic-scheme-may-affect-other-journals/

Media critic schools the media on why Hillary is polarizing

"We also balk when writers refer to people like Clinton as “polarizing.”

This suggests that she created the polarization, rather than the Republican propagandists who have been seeking to drive us apart, in the dumbest possible ways, for more than two decades now."

Wesleyan student: My college discriminates against fraternities. We’re suing.

Source: Washington Post

After a series of scandals at fraternities on campus, officials at Wesleyan University in Connecticut ordered frats to admit women as members — or shut down.

The move came in the midst of a national debate over Greek life on campus, with racial incidents and sexual assaults making headlines even as membership and volunteerism surges at fraternities across the country.

At Wesleyan, Delta Kappa Epsilon is fighting back. They’re saying the mandate is sexual discrimination, from a university that promotes tolerance. The local chapter and its alumni organization sued the Wesleyan administration.

At the heart of their complaint is the contention that Wesleyan not only tolerates but welcomes housing based on specific interests. Students are required to live on campus all four years and can choose single-sex dorms or special-interest housing, including the “Women of Color House,” the “Light House” for Christian students, “Turath House” for Muslim, Arab and Middle Eastern students, and the “Open House,” which describes itself as a “safe space for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Transsexual, Queer, Questioning, Flexural, Asexual, [We can't print this one!], Polyamorous, Bondage/Disciple, Dominance/ Submission, Sadism/Masochism (LGBTTQQFAGPBDSM) communities.”

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2015/03/25/wesleyan-student-my-college-discriminates-against-fraternities-were-suing/

Ted Cruz's is most likely eligible to become President, but it's not 100% sure

The major fact-checkers (Factcheck.org, Politifact and the Washington Post fact-checker) have all interviewed scholars and lawyers that worked for both Republican and Democratic Presidents. Ultimately this is up to the courts, but her is what the fact-checkers concluded:

Factcheck.org:

Is Sen. Ted Cruz, who was born in Canada, eligible to be the U.S. president?
A: Most likely. The legal consensus is that Cruz qualifies because he was born to a U.S. citizen living abroad, making him a U.S. citizen at birth.

In 2008, we reviewed research and polled several legal experts. The consensus was that someone is a "natural born" citizen if they have citizenship at birth and don’t have to go through a naturalization process to become a citizen.

Two of the top lawyers for the Obama and Bush administrations agree on this: Sen. Ted Cruz can become president. Legally speaking, anyway.

Fraternities Lobby Against Campus Rape Investigations

Source: Bloomberg News

College fraternities and sororities, concerned that students accused of sexual assault are treated unfairly, are pushing Congress to make it harder for universities to investigate rape allegations.

The groups' political arm plans to bring scores of students to Capitol Hill on April 29 to lobby for a requirement that the criminal justice system resolve cases before universities look into them or hand down punishments, according to an agenda reviewed by Bloomberg News.

"If people commit criminal acts, they should be prosecuted and they should go to jail,” said Michael Greenberg, leader of 241-chapter Sigma Chi, one of many fraternities participating in the legislative push.

The Fraternity & Sorority Political Action Committee, or "FratPAC,'' and two other groups will ask Congress to block colleges from suspending all fraternities on a campus because of a serious incident at a single house. In addition, the Greek representatives want a rule against "any mandate'' for chapters to go co-ed.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-24/fraternities-lobby-against-campus-rape-investigations