Snarky Tom's Rants, Raves and Ruminations

Now before we get too deep into this subject. I have absolutely no intentions in marrying any cousin be it first, second or third or first cousins once or twice removed. If you don't know the levels, more on this shortly. Many years ago, I used to make crude jokes about people from Arkansas and other southern states marrying their cousins. Because those of you know who have read my blogs or know me, know that I have no love for the south. I still blame them for much of the grief in this country dating back to the  secession  from the motherland. I did some research and was amazed by the things I learned about marriage, our country, our states' laws and feelings about marriage between blood relatives. I was quite unimpressed and underwhelmed. And of course anybody who is a fan of Game of Thrones knows about the incestuous marriages among some of the families in that fictitious world. That brought me to seek out more information about our real world. I don't ...

There is something wrong with our legal system---Part II. How does a man who has raped one person get out of prison EVER? Why do we permit these monsters to live? They can't be cured. If you haven't read my first posting of a similar crime, see it here . I once dated a woman who I claim was a serial "breaker-upper". After the first break-up, it became easier for her with each subsequent break-up. Yeah, I know, I'm an ass for ever taking her back after the first break-up. When she became disenchanted with the relationship, she would boogie on down the road. As she became more comfortable with the break-up process, it got easier for her to do each time. She got so callous about it that there was no hesitation, no tears, no emotion or nervousness. As people get more comfortable with a repeated behavior (no matter how anti-social), it becomes easier to perform. How does this equate to rape? Once you've experienced a certain behavior or experience, it becom...

Anyone who knows me knows I like mystery and crime stories, especially true crime. So, I am a huge fan and viewer of the Investigation Discovery network. I view many programs and have my favorites. One show I recently stumbled upon was "Surviving Evil" hosted by the stunning actress, Charisma Carpenter , who herself a crime survivor. She and two friends suffered at the hands of a violent serial rapist and police officer Henry Hubbard, Jr. on San Diego's Torrey Pines State Beach in 1991. I don't want to go on about her, her surviving her attack or even the ID program, which airs Thursdays at 9 pm and re-airs throughout the week and is available On Demand. Well, actually, I do want to speak about one episode from the current season (the 3rd season), but not the show as much as how the law failed to truly punish the perpetrator of this crime. The show titled "Escaping The Arroyo" interviews the one surviving victim and tells the horrific story about two whi...

As I mentioned in yesterday's post , that I have been called upon to serve jury duty for the fifth time in 10 years.  I enlightened you a little and commented about how the Philly court system works and your average Philadelphia jurist's lack of a dress code.  Today I would like to tell you the story of my fifth visit to 1301 Filbert Street . I took the 56 bus from the Torresdale Loop to the Erie-Torresdale station on the MFL (Market-Frankford Line).  I rode the El to the 13th Street station and arrived top side.  Picked up a Subway breakfast and arrived early just before 8 a.m to the courthouse.  The notice said 8:15 so I felt good for being on time.  (I may have danced a little with a homeless man outside the courthouse to celebrate my punctuality.)  It was obvious to me when some jurors stumbled in 15, 20, 30 minutes late that they not only didn't care about their appearance, but punctuality was not an issue either.  Refer to...

A sign that Summer is finally here is that th e sun is up far too soon for many of us.  Another sign of Summer is another jury duty notice from the Philadelphia Courts-First Judicial District of Pennsylvania.  It's  the second year in a row.   It seems strange that in the 10 years that I've lived in Philadelphia I have been called for jury duty five times.  Yes, five times. The first time was about eight years ago.  A murder case where a cabby was murdered in a robbery by several young men in West Philadelphia.  One of the young men was on trial.  B ecause I had my own court hearing scheduled the following week in north Jersey,  I requested to be excused because the trial was gaged to run longer than I was available .   The second time about a year or so later I was called upon but wasn't needed and was sent home after lunch.  However, it was around Christmas and I caught the light show in the Macy's ga...