Free Republic

A Houston judge faces possible discipline for violating judicial ethics by reducing the bail of a recently arrested sheriff's deputy without notifying prosecutors, legal experts said. State District Judge Kevin Fine maintained that he acted within his authority when he reduced the deputy's bail by 90 percent, from $200,000 to $20,000, without notifying prosecutors. He took the action after the defendant's attorney approached him Thursday, Fine said. "I can lower the bond without any party present, sua sponte, on my own, I have that authority," Fine said. He said a $200,000 bail was essentially no bail. But legal experts said...

By changing the properties of conventional semiconductor wafers — from stiff and brittle to bendable and stretchable — engineers at the University of Illinois have opened the door to such devices as light-emitting diodes on a suture thread and even implantable biomedical tattoos. John Rogers, an Illinois engineering professor, said the researchers sliced silicon and other materials thinner by a factor of 100,000 — as if creating a sheet of paper from a two-by-four. Then, to achieve mechanics similar to those of a rubber band, they structured the material in a wavy, accordion-like shape. I spoke with Rogers last week...

Alaskans Standing Together, the independent expenditure committee funded by Native corporations, is handing out temporary tattoos at the Alaska Federation of Natives convention that say "Lisa Murkowski/Write-in for U.S. Senate." The monochrome tattoos are different from the red, white and blue tattoos that can be spotted on some Murkowski fans -- those are left over from the senator's 2004 campaign. (Check out the eighth photo in this gallery for a smoky example.) U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski is running for re-election as a write-in candidate after losing the GOP primary to Republican Joe Miller, who is backed by the Tea Party...

Tattoo artist Jamie Clinton gives 22-year-old Danielle Rondeau a tattoo of a blue bird on her ribcage at Stingray Body Art in Allston. Danielle Rondeau, 22, a senior sociology major at Northeastern University, calmly lies on her side on top of a black, padded table. She sighs quietly, her body relaxed. “Ready?” asks her aunt Marie. Rondeau lifts up her black V-neck T-shirt, revealing her midriff and a small metal post through her bellybutton. Rondeau remains still and collected, seemingly unaffected by the constant sound of needles buzzing in the narrow cubicles surrounding her. “Good to go,” she says. The...

Woman alleges 'Sox' tattooed backward on thigh By: Todd J. Behme October 08, 2010 (Crain's) — A Chicago White Sox logo was tattooed backward onto a woman's thigh, she alleges in a lawsuit filed Thursday. Eugenia “Gina” Bebis of Elmwood Park went to Mystic Tattoo Art & Body Piercing in Chicago in early June for a tattoo made up mainly of the Sox logo, according to the suit. She consulted with an employee, Micah St. John, and he worked up a proof of the design, the suit says. Mr. St. John then inked the tattoo on the outside of her...

When Joseph Lash needs to renew the license for each of his three tattoo parlors, it costs him $300 per store and his shops are then set for three years for $900. But under a bill passed by the Michigan Senate earlier this week, the cost for renewing all of his three parlors for just one year would be $1,500. This means the three-year cost to renew all of his business licenses would jump from $900 to $4,500 if the tattoo tax became law. "That sucks," said Lash, who owns The Electric Chair tattoo parlors in Flint, Clio and Bay...

"Show us your tattoo" contest draws critics BY STEVE PARKER Posted: Friday, October 1, 2010 11:36 am The Modesto Bee is reporting that it's online "show us your tattoo" contest met with some criticism. The contest -- which ended Thursday -- was aimed at attracting younger readers. Interactive media director Dan Day wrote: It's that under-30 generation we're trying to reach with the contest, hoping they'll stop by our website to view a few tattoos and maybe even pick up a copy of the newspaper. In a column explaining the contest, Day said he heard from critics: "What kind of...

Mention the 1st Amendment and an array of images come to mind: a printing press, a protest sign, a street-corner preacher, the fingers of a citizen journalist pecking out a bulletin for the blogosphere. Now there is another icon of free expression: the illustrated man (or woman). Last week the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled — correctly — that tattoos are a form of protected expression and that the city of Hermosa Beach may not impose a blanket ban on tattoo parlors. The decision arose from a challenge by a tattooist to the city's municipal code, which allows...

Why would any thinking human voluntarily be permanently stained with some cheesy "clipart" that used to be reserved for tourist t-shirt shops? Tattooing is RIDICULOUS. Wallpaper you walk around in and can never change. A blight that looks akin to a hemotoma or varicose explosion without close inspection. Tattooing is UGLY. I'll say it. It is a sideshow low class defilement of one's perfectly evolved and largest organ-- the miraculous skin. People take their gift of healthy skin and WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, BY DESIGN..unblemished, glowing...for granted. Why is this fact lost on so many? Too many have switched off...

(Tattoo artists and tattoo lovers are finding creative ways to make their mark on environmental issues.) Tattoos aren’t the first things that come to mind when I think of environmental activism, but green-minded tattoo fans from San Francisco to Melbourne are linking the two activities together with creative events. First, there’s TATZOO, an eco-contest that promises free tattoos in exchange for help protecting endangered species! Fifteen finalists were selected on Aug. 5 based on their ideas for raising awareness about the leatherback turtle, California condor, or other endangered species local to the Bay area. Those tattoo-loving finalists now need to...

These are real pictures of people who have tattoos and piercings that probably keep them from gainful employment.

Nearly one in three Britons aged 16-44 has a tattoo, according to research. A massive boom in body art has been led by celebrities, footballers and other high-profile figures over the past couple of decades. A fifth of all adults have a permanent tattoo, but this rises to a 29 per cent of men and women aged 16-44, the study revealed.

"A jury this morning found two Fresno Bulldog gang members not guilty of aggravated mayhem for inking a gang tattoo on a 7-year-old boy during Easter break 2009."

"A widely regarded Southern symbol of pride and states' rights is standing in the way of would-be Marines in their quest to serve their country – a Confederate battle flag. Straight out of high school, one 18-year-old Tennessee man was determined to serve his country as a Marine. His friend said he passed the pre-enlistment tests and physical exams and looked forward with excitement to the day he would ship out to boot camp. Shortly before he was scheduled to leave Nashville for boot camp, the Marine Corps rejected him. Now, the young man, who wishes to remain unnamed and...

A widely regarded Southern symbol of pride and states' rights is standing in the way of would-be Marines in their quest to serve their country – a Confederate battle flag. Straight out of high school, one 18-year-old Tennessee man was determined to serve his country as a Marine. His friend said he passed the pre-enlistment tests and physical exams and looked forward with excitement to the day he would ship out to boot camp. But there would be no shouting drill instructors, no rigorous physical training and no action-packed stories for the aspiring Marine to share with his family. Shortly...

A widely regarded Southern symbol of pride and states' rights is standing in the way of would-be Marines in their quest to serve their country – a Confederate battle flag. Straight out of high school, one 18-year-old Tennessee man was determined to serve his country as a Marine. His friend said he passed the pre-enlistment tests and physical exams and looked forward with excitement to the day he would ship out to boot camp. But there would be no shouting drill instructors, no rigorous physical training and no action-packed stories for the aspiring Marine to share with his family. Shortly...

<p>He is a 59-year-old great-grandfather, retired truck driver and survivor of open-heart surgeries who lives in a tidy home in north Wichita.</p> <p>He has tattoos from the top of his head to the last digits of his toes and everywhere in between. Everywhere.</p>

Less than two weeks after taking home the best actress Oscar for her role in "The Blind Side," Sandra Bullock pulled out of the film's London premiere amid tabloid reports that she is having marital troubles with husband Jesse James, according to People magazine. In a statement released to People, Bullock wrote, "Due to unforeseen personal reasons, a trip abroad to support 'The Blindside' has been deemed impossible at this time. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and thank you for your continued support of the film." According to an article in In Touch magazine, a model...

It’s either one of the more brazen and courageous judicial rulings we’ve heard of in a long time, or one of the most ill-considered examples of judicial activism we’ve heard of in a long time. Your take on it will likely depend on your take on the death penalty. The news is this, and it’s pretty striking: A state district judge in Houston granted a pretrial motion declaring the death penalty unconstitutional. The ruling, made by State District Judge Kevin Fine, came in response to a motion filed by lawyers for a man accused of fatally shooting a Houston woman...

LOUISVILLE — A 20-year-old man who police say put a tattoo on the rear end of a 1-year-old girl is facing a felony child endangering charge. Lee. M. Deitrick is accused of applying the tattoo in early November while the child was visiting his home at 1317 W. Main St. The tattoo, which is the letter “A,” could not be removed, according to a complaint police filed with Canton Municipal Court.