Strollerderby : georgia

Family Awarded Millions For Circumcision Mistake

Brett Singer — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 14:00:00 GMT

I know there are lots of people out there who regularly scream about how trial lawyers are destroying the world through lawsuits. And doctors are having trouble keeping up with their malpractice insurance payments. But here's a case where I think you'll agree the award isn't enough.

Four years ago, a boy had part of his penis cut off during a circumcision. The part could have been reattached if his pediatrician had acted quickly enough to do so, according to the plaintiff. A Georgia jury agreed and awarded $1.8 million to the boy and $500,000 to his mother. Their names are being kept private, but the doctors' names aren't. They are "Haiba Sonyika, the obstetrician who performed the circumcision, and Cheryl J. Kendall, the pediatrician who treated the child later." The hospital was not found to be at fault.

See, this is a big screw-up, especially the part about the pediatrician not doing enough to re-attach the, um, piece. This is assuming that the jury's verdict is accurate; I don't know the specifics of the case, so I'm going by the article I read.

I'm always curious how a jury comes up with an amount of money in cases like this. This time, the mother received $500,000 for psychotherapy, and the $1.8 million for the boy "was based on a per-day formula for the child's life expectancy."

The attorney for the plaintiffs, David J. Llewellyn, "has been representing victims of wrongful circumcision and genital injury since 1995." So calling him "some dickhead lawyer" isn't an insult. (Sorry. But sometimes they make it so easy.)

Also interesting was the defense team's strategy of loading the jury with women. Another attorney for the plaintiff, Craig T. Jones, thought this wasn't going to work. "I figured if you have one man on the jury, he can explain to the women -- if they don't know -- how important a penis is to a man's self-image." Yeah, even if they don't, I would say cutting off anything that you weren't supposed to during an operation is a bad idea.

Source: Law.com

Image: SXC

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"Free" Lunches Cost School 200 Grand

JeanneSager — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 21:32:00 GMT

A Georgia school started tallying the figures for the lunches handed out to kids who showed up without this month, and the numbers were astonishing.

The school is looking to recoup almost $200,000 as it sends bills off to parents, asking them to pony up for their kids food intake.

Shocked? You should be - these aren't kids whose parents fall within the federal guidelines for the free or reduced lunch program.

The Clayton County school district already gets federal funding to offset the cost of those lunches - enough for about seventy seven percent of the fifty thousand kids in the district. But, everyday, dozens of kids show up without a brown bag in hand or money in their pocket. They've racked up $112,633 in debt so far - a figure that the school estimates would hit $200,000 by June if they didn't act now.

The cafeteria staff has been reluctant to turn away hungry kids, says Clayton County's Chief Operations Officer Joseph Jones, because hungry kids can't learn. But with the numbers rising, the school board is considering instituting a policy that would put milk and peanut butter and jelly or cheese sandwiches in the hands of kids who come without money - rather than a full meal. They also approved billing the parents for debts already incurred.

With numbers this high, it's clear this is more than just a few kids forgetting their lunch money once in awhile. When we did that as kids, we were able to "charge" our lunch, creating a bill that would have to be paid off by the end of the year or it would be sent home to our parents. It's clear the parents should be held responsible.

But I wonder with that kind of number if this isn't a sign of deeper issues. Are parents so used to the school stepping in that they're taking advantage of the system? Are these kids being neglected? Or is this just another sign of our economic downturn hitting families where it hurts? With the information in the Atlanta Journal Constitution article, I don't know.

What I do know is that the kids shouldn't have to suffer - whether it be from their parents stupidity or their parents economic struggles. Schools are often the only places kids in those situations get a full meal. It's the reason the federal free and reduced breakfast and lunch program was instituted to begin with.

With the state of the economy and a problem that's bordering on pandemic, is it wise for a district to cut back on how much its feeding the hungry kids? The parents should be billed, but at the outset, shouldn't the district put the kids first and make sure they're fed?

Image: Family.Go

Georgia Sex Offenders Must Turn Over Passwords "For the Kids"

JeanneSager — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 18:26:00 GMT

Ever notice the words "for the children" make you feel really guilty? Vote "yes" on a ludicrous school budget; it's for the kids. Get a dog even though daddy's allergic - it's for the kids.

I guess I'm supposed to feel good that the State of Georgia has told every registered sex offender to turn over their internet passwords, e-mail addresses and screennames.

The law that went into affect with the new year was written by State Senator Cecil Staton, who says it will "keep the internet safe for children." With sixteen thousand sex offenders in the state, I can't see how the move will do much more than tax the already over-worked cops now charged with plugging random passwords into the 'net to track people who might or might not be committing a crime.

Don't get me wrong; pedophiles deserve to be strung up by their toenails in my eyes. Touch a kid, and you're worth less than pond scum. But how does requring a sex offender to pass over the information he uses to get into his online banking account making the internet safer for kids?

With the move, Georgia becomes only the second state in the nation to require pedophiles turn over their passwords (Utah was first); although there are about fifteen that require usernames and e-mail addresses be reported. If they don't do it, they'll face probation violations and possible jailtime.

Providing usernames to the police seems feasible; it allows for a Google Alert anytime "likessexygirls" shows up in a kids chat room. But what does a password provide? Free access to their private e-mails with family that haven't the hint of criminality, a look-see at their bank accounts when nary a crime has been committed. Sounds like the Patriot Act at work here folks, the state searching for a reason to charge someone with a crime. I think they call those witch hunts.

The law actually stretches to all sex offenders - not just those convicted of acts on children. So sickos who raped someone who is over age (and is less likely to have an interest in child porn or contacting kids) are being forced to give up their privacy "for the children."

The law also requires they turn over everything. Everything. So the state is now going to be responsible for keeping safe financial information that, if leaked, could potentially make these sixteen hundred people easy prey for identity thieves. Do they have the security measures to protect that? Do they have the money to put them in place?

Then there's this tricky thing called the Constitution. Like I said, pedophile = pondscum. But what ever happened to "I did the crime, I did the time"? The sex offender registry is in place already to protect people - kids - from sex offenders. Their addresses, pictures, type of vehicle, distinguishing characteristics - are already available. It's a price they're paying for their heinous acts. Should they now pay with their right to privacy?

Image: WRAL

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First Black President Triggers Rise in Hate Crimes

Brett Singer — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:00:00 GMT

On November 4th many people celebrated the fact that The United States elected our first African-American President. But not everyone is feeling the love. The Christian Science Monitor says that, "The election of America's first black president has triggered more than 200 hate-related incidents, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center – a record in modern presidential elections." For example: "In rural Georgia, a group of high-schoolers gets a visit from the Secret Service after posting 'inappropriate' comments about President-elect Barack Obama on the Web. In Raleigh, N.C., four college students admit to spraying race-tinged graffiti in a pedestrian tunnel after the election. On Nov. 6, a cross burns on the lawn of a biracial couple in Apolacon Township, Pa."

And how about this little gem? "In some parts of the South, there's even talk of secession." Secession! Alec Baldwin only threatened to move to Canada.

They only good thing that can come of this news is that maybe all of the people who have been running around saying that Obama's election will trigger a "post-racial" age will stop saying that. I'm all for thinking positive, and maybe future generations will see a reduction in racist feelings and actions. Until that happens, let's try to keep our rose-colored glasses on the shelf.

Source: Christian Science Monitor
Image: Wikipedia

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Child Alerts Family to Fire Danger

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 01:01:00 GMT

Thanks in part to a young child, 22 people were safely evacuated from a burning apartment building.

In Clarkston, Georgia, a fire started around 1:30 a.m. in the kitchen of one unit in the building. A young boy woke up when he smelled smoke. He immediately woke up his family, who rushed out of the building along with their neighbors. None of the building’s occupants was hurt.

This is similar to a recent event in Arizona, in which a nine-year-old and a seven-year-old saved their family from a house fire after they smelled smoke and heard popping noises. Their parents said that they, too, had heard the noises, but thought nothing of them and had gone back to sleep. But the kids got out of bed, noticed smoke in the living room, and immediately woke up their parents, who were able to put out the fire before it caused much damage.

Go kids! It seems their heightened awareness to any and all changes to their environment has some very important advantages.

Photo: Flickr

No Easy Answers

Adrienne Martini — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 17:00:00 GMT

Most parents on the planet want to do the right thing for their kids. But given that the world is an imperfect place, the right thing can be just so very, very hard to figure out.

Some issues are no-brainers. It is wrong to feed your kid mud or lead or glass. But is it also wrong to feed non-organic produce? McDonald's? Juice?

And vaccines? Oy. Vaccines. Just look at the comment thread on this 'derby post about an autism/vaccine case in Georgia. If nothing else, it proves that there are no universal right answers right now.

Here are two more bits of data to throw in the mix: That Georgia case probably won't set any sort of precedent for other similar cases and measles, which is life-threatening in kids, is on the rise. Before the vaccine, nearly 6 million people globally were killed each year by this disease and the rates of infection are creeping back up in developed countries.

For me, it's a case of weighing the misery and possible fatality of measles against a nebulous, frequently disproved link between vaccines and autism spectrum disorders. In a worse case scenario -- which is worse: death or disorder? There are no easy choices.

Photo credit: bbc.com

Forced Single-Sex Education

Amy S.F. Lutz — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 22:01:00 GMT

I always thought of all-girls' and all-boys' schools as quaint, Victorian throwbacks where rich students could be cloistered away by their over-protective parents from any icky real-world contamination.

But in Greene County, Atlanta - one of the poorest and worst-performing districts in Georgia - all public schools will be single-sex schools, as of next fall.

My first thought upon hearing about this was, is this legal? And it turns out, it may not be. According to Leonard Sax, who runs the National Association for Single Sex Public Education, federal law allows districts to offer single-sex options for students, but requires that parents retain the choice of sending their children to co-ed schools - a choice the parents of Greene County won't have. District officials, after consulting with attorneys, claim they've broken no laws.

The interesting question to me is, even if the district can take such an extreme step, should it?

I have to admit, officials make a compelling case as to why they should. Studies suggest that boys and girls achieve more in single-sex classrooms than in co-ed settings, and are more likely to go to college - a top priority in a district in which less than 70% of freshmen even graduate from high school.

And even though, as critics point out, single-sex schools tend to be private, wealthy institutions, with technical and material advantages the Greene County single-sex schools sorely lack, it's hard to imagine that dividing the students by sex won't help at least a little bit - especially with the district's non-academic goals of reducing teen pregnancy and discipline problems. I mean, would teenage boys ever mouth off to their teachers if there weren't girls around to impress?

Frankly, although I initially recoiled at the idea of forcing single-sex education on kids, the truth is, the vast number of kids who attend public school are forced into co-ed settings - as the Greene County kids have been, before now. And it hasn't gotten them very far. Splitting the kids by gender is no replacement for pumping much needed resources into the district, but until those resources appear, this might help students in lots of little ways - including increasing focus and confidence. Lord knows, it certainly can't hurt.

Georgia Schools Must Not Teach the First Amendment

Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah — Thu, 03 May 2007 19:51:00 GMT

I lived in Florida for 21 years and I used to get really sick of people making fun of the south for being backward. I guess there is some truth to every stereotype. Georgia has started offering state funded bible study classes. I wish I was kidding.

Even though I attended a southern college I was a Political Science major and I clearly remember learning about both freedom of religion and the separation of church and state. Look, I understand that they are offering this as an elective, and I get that it could be classified as a general religion course but something just doesn't sit right with me.

Maybe I am nervous about the direction the federal government seems to be heading. Maybe I'm still bitter because you were much more likely to get into my high school's show choir if you went to my director's church. Maybe I'm concerned for my children.

Or maybe it is the sentence: The Georgia law allowing the state-funded Bible classes won overwhelming approval last year from both Democrat and Republican lawmakers.

Either way, I think that the Georgia State legislature might need to brush up on constitutional law or strongly consider funding electives studying other religious texts as soon as possible.

Father Attempts to Defraud Campbell Soup

thezeroboss — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 14:32:00 GMT

Oh, William Allen Cunningham, you naughty father, you! I'm sure you meant well when you twice laced your kids' soup with various herbs and chemicals - the first time with hot peppers and lighter fluid, and then with Prozac and Amitryptaline. The prospect of scoring a huge settlement and putting your kids through college was too large a temptation to pass by.

Unfortunately, that was the stupidest idea ever. When you claim that antidepressants and anxiety meds somehow ended up in your kids' Chunky Chicken Vegetable...well, large corporations like Campbell's tend to ask questions. Now, instead of sending your kids to medical school, the county prosecutors for Jonesboro, Georgia are sending your scheming ass to jail for up to five years.

Next time, dude? Try setting up a 529 instead. Unlike fraud, compound interest is legal.