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.

Hilarious!

I laughed out loud when I saw this proposed California ballet initiative:   

California Require State to Pay Spousal Support Initiative (2024)

The initiative would require the state to pay for any court ordered spousal support payments. 

I have a vivid image of a guy who, like me, experiences just how unfair family court is and decides if the judges are going to rule unjustly then the state should be the one paying. To be clear, I have know actual knowledge of the situation which participated the initiative but I suspect my vision is more likely that not. 

Note that the initiative never made it to the ballet and I can't image it ever being implemented even if voted in but, hey, it is fun to dream. 

The Seneca Falls Convention

The Seneca Falls Convention, originally known as the Woman’s Rights Convention, was a meeting held from July 19 to 20, 1848 at the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, New York which advocated for the rights of women. 

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, one of the meeting’s organizers, began with a speech on the convention’s goals and purpose:

“We are assembled to protest against a form of government, existing without the consent of the governed—to declare our right to be free as man is free, to be represented in the government which we are taxed to support, to have such disgraceful laws as give man the power to chastise and imprison his wife, to take the wages which she earns, the property which she inherits, and, in case of separation, the children of her love.”

Notwithstanding the fact that in today's world it is often men who have inferior rights, I wholeheartedly agree with the statement above. 

The 11 resolutions passed were:

1. Resolved, That such laws as conflict, in any way, with the true and substantial happiness of woman, are contrary to the great precept of nature and of no validity, for this is “superior in obligation to any other.”
2. Resolved, That all laws which prevent woman from occupying such a station in society as her conscience shall dictate, or which place her in a position inferior to that of man, are contrary to the great precept of nature, and therefore of no force or authority.
3. Resolved, That woman is man’s equal—was intended to be so by the Creator, and the highest good of the race demands that she should be recognized as such.
4. Resolved, That the women of this country ought to be enlightened in regard to the laws under which they live, that they may no longer publish their degradation by declaring themselves satisfied with their present position, nor their ignorance by asserting that they have all the rights they want.
5. Resolved, That inasmuch as man, while claiming for himself intellectual superiority, does accord to woman moral superiority, it is preeminently his duty to encourage her to speak and teach, as she has an opportunity, in all religious assemblies.
6. Resolved, That the same amount of virtue, delicacy, and refinement of behavior that is required of woman in the social state, should also be required of man, and the same transgressions should be visited with equal severity on both man and woman.
7. Resolved, That the objection of indelicacy and impropriety, which is so often brought against woman when she addresses a public audience, comes with a very ill grace from those who encourage, by their attendance, her appearance on the stage, in the concert, or in feats of the circus.
8. Resolved, That woman has too long rested satisfied in the circumscribed limits which corrupt customs and a perverted application of the Scriptures have marked out for her, and that it is time she should move in the enlarged sphere which her great Creator has assigned her.
9. Resolved, That it is the duty of the women of this country to secure to themselves their sacred right to the elective franchise.
10. Resolved, That the equality of human rights results necessarily from the fact of the identity of the race in capabilities and responsibilities.
11. Resolved, therefore, That, being invested by the Creator with the same capabilities, and the same consciousness of responsibility for their exercise, it is demonstrably the right and duty of woman, equally with man, to promote every righteous cause by every righteous means; and especially in regard to the great subjects of morals and religion, it is self-evidently her right to participate with her brother in teaching them, both in private and in public, by writing and by speaking, by any instrumentalities proper to be used, and in any assemblies proper to be held; and this being a self-evident truth growing out of the divinely implanted principles of human nature, any custom or authority adverse to it, whether modern or wearing the hoary sanction of antiquity, is to be regarded as a self-evident falsehood, and at war with mankind.