South Carolina Judicial Corruption

Family court corruption is rampant. Lawyers and judges are for all practical purposes immune from discipline from the the legal system as well as prosecution from law enforcement. This is the sad reality. In South Carolina one woman is fighting for justice. 

The ‘Murdaugh Murders’ crime and corruption saga has brought unprecedented scrutiny on how lawyers conduct themselves in South Carolina – with the integrity of the Palmetto State’s judicial system rightfully coming under fire. During the trial, international audiences gained insight into how the corrupt good ol’ boy system enabled institutional malfeasance – with convicted killer Alex Murdaugh’s murders of 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh and 22-year-old Paul Murdaugh ostensibly intended to cover decades of illegal activity that suddenly rose to the surface. 

But broader questions remain: Do those upholding South Carolina’s judicial system really want to change it for the better? Are they genuinely committed to building a system founded on integrity? Are they truly willing to do what is necessary to restore confidence in the impartial administration of justice?

The Dark Side

The Dark Side - I've experienced it. It is truly sad just how corrupt our family courts system is. Even more sad is the suffering and cost such corruption entails. 

Attorney Caroline Douglas, talks about her book, "The Dark Side", exposing legal corruption at The Capitol, Washington, DC.      

Feminine Advantage - for Some Things

In the obvious but rarely thought of category and right up my alley given I have a shifted septum from my ex-wife's fist come a study titled, "A feminine advantage in the domain of harm: a review and path forward".

Abstract

Despite well-documented disparities disadvantaging women (e.g. discrepancies between men and women in salaries and leadership roles), we argue that there are contexts in which disparities disadvantage men. We review the literature suggesting harm to women is perceived as more severe and unacceptable than identical harm to men, a bias potentially rooted in evolutionary, base rate, stereotype-based and cultural shift explanations. We explore how these biases manifest in protective responses toward women and harsher judgements toward men, particularly in contexts of victimization and perpetration. Our review aims to complement the existing literature on gender biases by presenting a balanced view that acknowledges men and women face unique challenges. By understanding these biases, we hope to foster a more equitable discourse on gender and harm, encouraging empathy and validation of suffering irrespective of gender. This holistic approach aims to de-escalate gender-based conflicts and promote effective interventions for both men and women.

The study focuses on physical harm however women have quite a few advantages over men including:

• Not being eligible for the draft.
• Lesser punishment for equal crimes.
• Far more likely to receive alimony (98%+) than pay alimony.
• Hiring advantage in some areas.
• Societal expectation they be less exposed to danger than men. 

Gender Differences

Many people I know who would categorize themselves as feminists (men and women by the way) are often not so subtly sexist.  If they need to remove a mouse from a trap that is their husband/boyfriend/brother/guy next door's responsibility. 

I have had some plumbing issues at my house that took a good 12 hours to fix. I had no idea how to do it but the internet is great for learning so I figured it out. Unfortunately, I have many female friends who would never even attempt such a project but would be happy to call a guy to do it. The thing is they don't even recognize they are being sexist. 

Alimony is probably the best example of sexism. Apparently women (and 98+ recipients are women) need to be taken care of by a man even if the man is someone they left. Early feminists hated the whole concept of alimony but present day pretty much zero women's organizations are fighting to abolish it. 

Men and women are much more naturally equal that many people. Take the example of hunter-gatherers. Not much of a difference is their roles. 

Divorce, Warbler Style

I found this interesting. Some birds divorce. Take Seychelles warblers for example. The reason they divorce is rain. The warblers divorce more when it rains too little or too much. So I presume that means stress. 

Key Findings:

Rainfall and divorce: The study identified a quadratic relationship between rainfall and divorce rates, with the highest rates of divorce occurring in years with either extremely low or high rainfall during the breeding season. 

The 1997 El Niño effect: An extreme rainfall event in 1997 was a significant outlier in the data, with exceptionally high rainfall correlating with a sharp increase in divorce rates. When this event was excluded from the analysis, a clearer negative relationship between rainfall and divorce emerged. 

Reproductive success: Despite rainfall impacting divorce rates, the study found no direct link between reproductive success (i.e., the number of offspring produced) and the likelihood of divorce, suggesting that other, as yet unidentified factors may be influencing partnership stability.