Dr. X's Free Associations

Police Officer Reprimanded for Being Human?

Was an official reprimand really called for in this case?

Memorial Day

Vietnam veteran Jim Zwit spent four decades tracking down family members of eight men of his Delta Company unit who perished in a brutal firefight on April 15, 1971. Movingly told by Mary Schmich for the Chicago Tribune, Mr. Zwit's story is a jaw-dropper.

Tweeters KO Urban Outfitters

On Thursday, when I was scheduling some Illinois news links for Friday posting, I had no idea that one of the stories was erupting nationally on twitter. Chicago artist Stevie Koerner complained on Wednesday about Urban Outfitters stealing the design of one of her jewelry lines. Not only did UO rip-off the design, they lifted the name of the line and even some of her ad copy.

According to Ms. Koerner, this is not the first time Urban Outfitters has copied the designs of independent artists trying to make a living. How do these people sleep at night?

Anyway, the story quickly picked up steam, and Urban Outfitters was given a richly deserved, electronic drubbing.

The company responded by removing the stolen design from their catalogue.

The negative publicity also revived an old controversy. The billionaire president of Urban Outfitters, Richard Hayne, was a supporter of radical, anti-gay, former senator Rick Santorum--a revelation that was not well-received by the customer base UO actively courts (scroll down this post at the UO "blog").

All in all, it's been a very bad end to the week for Urban Outfitters, but the week ended very well for Ms. Koerner. She reports that she has been overwhelmed with support and orders for her merchandise.

More on the twitter eruption here.

Vintage Snuff Photo

Photo by Harris and Ewing, Washington, DC, 1937

One of the Capitol pages of the Senate is shown filling the snuff boxes that are in the Senate Chamber which have been there for years and from tradition are always filled at the opening of Congress. These snuff boxes are in the niches around the Senate chamber in places for easy access of all the Senators.

McDonald's Samurai Pork Burger

The Samurai Pork Burger is sold in Thailand.

Other McDonald's menus items from around the world.

Is Reduced Lead Exposure Behind Falling Violent Crime Rates?

Economist Rick Nevin finds evidence that lead abatement may account for falling violent crime rates in recent years. Nevin was interviewed for an article in WAPO:.

"I began with the city that was the crime capital of America," Giuliani, now a candidate for president, recently told Fox's Chris Wallace. "When I left, it was the safest large city in America. I reduced homicides by 67 percent. I reduced overall crime by 57 percent."

Although crime did fall dramatically in New York during Giuliani's tenure, a broad range of scientific research has emerged in recent years to show that the mayor deserves only a fraction of the credit that he claims. The most compelling information has come from an economist in Fairfax who has argued in a series of little-noticed papers that the "New York miracle" was caused by local and federal efforts decades earlier to reduce lead poisoning.

Arrêtez, Monsieur!

The Obamas meet Dominique Strauss-Kahn at the G-20 official dinner, September 2009. International Monetary Fund Photograph/Stephen Jaffe.

Friday Links

The value of Oprah's audience giveaways since 2002: $23.8 million, according to Tracie Egan Morrisey.

A fox relaxing in Chicago's Bucktown neighborhood.

Chicago jewelry maker Stevie Koerner says Urban Outfitters steals stuff from independent artists trying to make a living.

Shit my students write.

Illinois Senate passed a bill requiring contraceptive education in grades 6-12. Currently, only abstinence education is required by law.

Vintage Photos: 1938

Photo by Harris & Ewing. Left click to enlarge.

Washington, DC: Exhausted after wage-hour fight in senate, Senator Allen Ellender Democrat of Louisana and onetime Lieutenant of the late Huey Long, is snapped by news cameramen as he rests in his office after leading the victorious fight for the compromise in the wage-hour bill. The compromise is expected to make wage differentials possible for many southern industries. He has threatened a filibuster unless the south got what it wanted in the measure. 6/13/38

Shocker of the Day: Blagojevich Testifying In His Corruption Trial

Here's a real surprise in the Rod Blagojevich corruption trial: Blago took the stand this morning. Did the defense decide that Blago's only remaining hope would be a legal Hail Mary pass?

Highlights from the Chicago Sun-Times:

Rod Blagojevich called himself a “narcissist” and an “effin’ jerk,” admitted he was on academic probation in college and didn’t learn anything in law school, and acknowledged he flunked the bar exam.

Then, on his first morning on the witness stand at his trial on federal corruption charges, the former governor of Illinois grew emotional when asked to talk about the woman he met when he was in his 20s and struggling with a fledgling legal career.

He looked across the room at the woman, who is now his wife, and pointed to her — but choked up and apparently became too emotional to say her name.

The real fun begins when Blagojevich is cross-examined by the prosecution, probably next week.