Almost Beyond Parody

There is just so much wrong with this news blurb, entitled "LA Mother Who Beheaded Son Was Allowed To Keep Him Despite Signs of Mental Illness."  Here are just the first four I have thought of:

  • Isn't the boy dead, and if so, why is custody an issue?
  • Why would a mom who assaults her child be allowed to retain custody?
  • Does the "despite signs of mental illness" clause apply to the son or the mother?
  • If the mental illness question applies to the mother, can it even be in question?

The article clears some of this up, barely.

6 Comments

  1. DKH:

    The link above points to a Volokh Conspiracy thread about the tire tariff. LA Times link:

    http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-boy-beheaded,0,7778571.story

  2. Esox Lucius:

    Throw me down the stairs my lunch.

    My wife and father are fond of backwards sentences.

  3. Bob Smith:

    Why would a mom who assaults her child be allowed to retain custody?

    Sexism.

  4. epobirs:

    The Daily News, which is the primary alternative to the Los Angeles Times in much of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, ran this gem a while back:
    http://www.dailynews.com/search/ci_12854773?IADID=Search-www.dailynews.com-www.dailynews.com

    "MARINA DEL REY — After an exhausting and sometimes harrowing 13 months at sea, 17-year-old Zac Sunderland of Thousand Oaks sailed home Thursday to a hero's welcome, capturing the record for the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe solo.

    With a large American flag unfurled behind his 36-foot vessel, Intrepid, Sunderland sailed into history at 10:30a.m. as he completed a 28,000-mile voyage with two world records - one of which will never be broken.

    He became the first person under the age of 18 to circumnavigate the world, as well as the youngest ever to do so."

    Am I the only one who has a problem with that last bit? As the first person under 18 to accomplish the feat, isn't it a given that he is the youngest? (Although his younger sister is looking to beat him at that.)

  5. Freelance Unbound:

    Key verb is: "was". Should have been: "had been".

    “LA Mother Who Beheaded Son Had Been Allowed To Keep Him Despite Signs of Mental Illness.”

    Makes somewhat more sense...

  6. PhillDoc:

    Great post as for me. I'd like to read something more concerning this matter.