Stupid people of the week

Man caught drunk driving twice in 24 hours: forgot how much the original fine was and drove back to the police station to inquire

A man in Kaohsiung City compounded his problems after driving to the police station while drunk to inquire about how much he would have to pay for a drunk driving fine he incurred the previous day.

According to China Times, the 47-year-old man, named Chiou, was caught drunk driving on the morning of May 17. Chiou was tested and found to have a blood alcohol concentration of 0.22 mg/l. Chiou’s blood alcohol level was above the legal limit of 0.15, but less than 0.25, and therefore Chiou was issued a fine, and not charged with the crime of endangering the public.

Chiou, who is unemployed and relies on odd jobs for a living, was depressed about the fine, and consumed four bottles of beer to drown his sorrows. Chiou then forgot how much the fine was, so he rode his scooter to the police station to ask the officers how much he would have to pay.

Police officers saw Chiou riding on the wrong side of the road, and on the sidewalk, before stopping his scooter at the door of the police station and asking to see the policeman who had issued the fine.

When police officers went out to talk to him, they noticed that Chiou reeked of alcohol. An alcohol breath test showed that Chiou had a blood alcohol level of 0.62 mg/l, and Chiou was promptly arrested and taken to the District Prosecutor’s Office to be charged for endangering the public.

Chiou was also found to be driving without a license, and will be punished for riding on the sidewalk and other offences.

Source; Taiwan English News

Man Charged With DUI After Pulling Up To Crash He Wasn’t Involved In

A man with a prior drunk driving conviction was arrested Saturday after pulling up to a scene he wasn’t involved in and chatting up the deputies while allegedly intoxicated.

Zachary Forshee, 30, pulled over next to the scene of a one-vehicle rollover in Cayuga County, New York, on Saturday night and walked up to the crash, telling deputies that he knew someone involved in the accident, The Citizen reported. Cayuga County Sheriff Brian Schenck said that Forshee appeared to be checking on the person involved in the crash.

As Forshee interacted with the patrol deputy, he appeared to be intoxicated, the officer said. The deputy asked Forshee to hang out at the scene “for a few minutes so that the deputy could get back to him.” Evidently this was enough of a tip to suggest that Forshee should get the heck out of there, which he proceeded to do.

Forshee got into his car and drove off, forcing deputies at the initial scene to pursue him, The Citizen continued.

Forshee was caught and subsequently charged with driving while intoxicated with a previous conviction in the last 10 years, use of a motor vehicle without an ignition interlock device, and first-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle … and a seat belt violation and another charge related to his alleged failure to notify the local DMV of an address change. Wow.

Source; Daily Caller

Berkeley professor apologizes for falsely identifying as Indigenous, admits she’s “a white person”

An anthropology professor at the University of California, Berkeley, whose identity as Native American had been questioned for years apologized this week for falsely identifying as Indigenous, saying she is “a white person” who lived an identity based on family lore.

Elizabeth Hoover, associate professor of environmental science, policy and management, said in an apology posted Monday on her website that she claimed an identity as a woman of Mohawk and Mi’kmaq descent but never confirmed that identity with those communities or researched her ancestry until recently.

“I caused harm,” Hoover wrote. “I hurt Native people who have been my friends, colleagues, students, and family, both directly through fractured trust and through activating historical harms. This hurt has also interrupted student and faculty life and careers. I acknowledge that I could have prevented all of this hurt by investigating and confirming my family stories sooner. For this, I am deeply sorry.”

Hoover’s alleged Indigenous roots came into question in 2021 after her name appeared on an “Alleged Pretendian List.” The list compiled by Jacqueline Keeler, a Native American writer and activist, includes more than 200 names of people Keeler says are falsely claiming Native heritage.

Hoover first addressed doubts about her ethnic identity last year when she said in an October post on her website that she had conducted genealogical research and found “no records of tribal citizenship for any of my family members in the tribal databases that were accessed.”

Her statement caused an uproar, and some of her former students authored a letter in November demanding her resignation. The letter was signed by hundreds of students and scholars from UC Berkeley and other universities along with members of Native American communities. It also called for her to apologize, stop identifying as Indigenous and acknowledge she had caused harm, among other demands.

“As scholars embedded in the kinship networks of our communities, we find Hoover’s repeated attempts to differentiate herself from settlers with similar stories and her claims of having lived experience as an Indigenous person by dancing at powwows absolutely appalling,” the letter reads.

Janet Gilmore, a UC Berkeley spokesperson, said in a statement she couldn’t comment on whether Hoover faces disciplinary action, saying discussing it would violate “personnel matters and/or violate privacy rights, both of which are protected by law.”

“However, we are aware of and support ongoing efforts to achieve restorative justice in a way that acknowledges and addresses the extent to which this matter has caused harm and upset among members of our community,” Gilmore added.

Hoover is the latest person to apologize for falsely claiming a racial or ethnic identity.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren angered many Native Americans during her presidential campaign in 2018 when she used the results of a DNA test to try and rebut the ridicule of then-President Donald Trump, who had derisively referred to her as “fake Pocahontas.”

Despite the DNA results, which showed some evidence of a Native American in Warren’s lineage, probably six to 10 generations ago, Warren is not a member of any tribe, and DNA tests are not typically used as evidence to determine tribal citizenship.

Warren later offered a public apology at a forum on Native American issues, saying she was “sorry for the harm I have caused.”

In 2015, Rachel Dolezal was fired as head of the Spokane, Washington, chapter of the NAACP and was kicked off a police ombudsman commission after her parent told local media their daughter was born white but was presenting herself as Black. She also lost her job teaching African studies at Eastern Washington University in nearby Cheney.

Hoover said her identity was challenged after she began her first assistant professor job. She began teaching at UC Berkeley in the Fall of 2020.

“At the time, I interpreted inquiries into the validity of my Native identity as petty jealousy or people just looking to interfere in my life,” she wrote.

Hoover said that she grew up in rural upstate New York thinking she was someone of mixed Mohawk, Mi’kmaq, French, English, Irish and German descent, and attending food summits and powwows. Her mother shared stories about her grandmother being a Mohawk woman who married an abusive French-Canadian man and who committed suicide, leaving her children behind to be raised by someone else.

She said she would no longer identify as Indigenous but would continue to help with food sovereignty and environmental justice movements in Native communities that ask her for her support.

In her apology issued Monday, Hoover acknowledged she benefited from programs and funding that were geared toward Native scholars and said she is committed to engaging in the restorative justice process taking place on campus, “as well as supporting restorative justice processes in other circles I have been involved with, where my participation is invited.”

Source; CBS News

Yellowstone National Park visitor seen taking selfie inches from bison in video

A tourist at Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park was caught on video taking a selfie dangerously close to a bison last month.

The encounter was captured on video on May 20 in Biscuit Basin and shows a woman standing over a bison that was lying down in the grass.

The person who recorded the video told Storyful that they were in a “bit of disbelief” as they stood in a parking lot and witnessed the woman risk her well-being and the bison’s for a selfie.

“We felt horrible for the bison,” the witness said. “We knew if it just inadvertently stood up, she would be gored, and it would most likely have to be euthanized through no fault of its own.”

The National Park Service (NPS) warns visitors to stay at least 25 yards away from all wildlife, including bison. Those who disregard the park’s regulations may face fines, potential injury and even death, according to the agency.

“The safety of these animals, as well as human safety, depends on everyone using good judgment and following these simple rules,” NPS says.

Park officials have said bison have injured more visitors in Yellowstone than any other animal. The park described bison as unpredictable and noted that the animals can run three times faster than humans.

The video was taken on the same day that another tourist was recorded trying to pet a bison that was grazing by a pathway. That bison was seen lowering its head and lunging at the woman with its horns. The animal snagged the tourist’s sweater, but she managed to break loose and appeared unharmed.

In another recent incident, a Hawaii man is facing charges after Yellowstone staff euthanized a newborn bison calf that he is accused of interfering with, causing the herd to reject the baby.

Last year, a bison at Yellowstone gored a 25-year-old Ohio woman and tossed her 10 feet into the air after she got too close to the animal as it was walking near a boardwalk at Black Sand Basin, just north of Old Faithful.

Source; FOX News

Category: "Teh Stoopid", Crime, Stupid Criminals