Parents who say daughter was bullied for 4 years get $150K settlement with Waukee schools
By Kim Norvell, Des Moines Register
A former Waukee student whose parents say she was bullied for four years without staff intervention was awarded a $150,000 settlement from the district.
The parents of 11-year-old Berkley Maschka filed a federal lawsuit against the Waukee Community School District last year claiming administrators failed to protect Berkley from ongoing bullying — and then assaulted the third-grader when she refused to go to her classroom.
The confrontation left Berkley with physical and psychological injuries, parents Andrea and Brian Maschka said.
“As a parent, there is no price that can make up for what (Berkley) went through during those four years,” Andrea Maschka said this week. “For us it wasn’t about the money. It was about standing up for our daughter and doing what was right.”
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Bullying forced student to leave Farragut High; parents say Knox County Schools did nothing to help him
By Erica Breunlin, Knoxville News Sentinel
The bullying didn’t begin with fellow students shoving him into walls and pelting him with food, but it also didn’t end there.
It didn’t even end after he eventually changed schools, although it has slowed significantly since he switched his social media accounts to private settings.
Physical and verbal bullying turned into cyberbullying. And that can be difficult to stop, experts say.
Riley Schrick, 17, can tell you that himself, and all about his horrible junior year at Farragut High School.
And he and his parents say Knox County Schools did nothing to help him.
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High school hockey player files lawsuit alleging bullying by Hill-Murray teammates
By: Bisi Onile-Ere, KMSP
The Minnesota State High School League and Hill-Murray Catholic School are at the center of a civil lawsuit alleging bullying by members of the Hill-Murray School varsity hockey team.
The plaintiff is a high school varsity hockey player who alleges to have endured years of bullying by his teammates. In the 24-page complaint, the young man, known only as John Doe, accused his teammates of verbal abuse.
On more than one occasion, the teen charged that some players threatened that they would “take him out” by blindsiding him on the ice and also kicked and spit on his vehicle. The lawsuit also alleged that although some of the student’s allegations were corroborated, the players were never disciplined.
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Children as young as six falling victim to cyberbullying in UAE, says expert
By Anam Rizvi, The National
Young children are falling victim to cyberbullying in the UAE – as a growing online community makes it increasingly tough for victims to escape from their troubles.
While everything from teasing to verbal and physical abuse would once be left in the playground and classroom, the popularity of social media platforms means youngsters are still being targeted on their mobile phones and laptops, making it difficult for teachers and parents to monitor.
A child psychologist in Dubai said she has dealt with cyberbullying cases involving children as young as six, while schools are addressing the issue head-on.
The Pompatus of Trump
Some reach for the stratosphere in support, or defiance of, Trump. That includes those who see him as a hero, a savior. Millions of Americans believe Trump is God’s messenger, whose presence in the White House is God’s will. Some of his followers won’t settle for that lowly “God’s messenger” thing, and elevate him to an even higher status. They proclaim Trump “God Emperor,” or, curiously, “Big Daddy God Emperor.” (The “Notorious BDGE?”) I’ve seen excess on the left as well. Many anti-Trump commentators lapse into a dream state limned by visions of Mueller indictments, impeachment, public humiliation, maybe even prison. They don’t gather into ad hoc mobs and chant, “lock him up!” Not yet, anyway, but many get juiced on speculation that if the evidence shows, this, this and this, then Trump is guilty, guilty, guilty. Fair enough, but they forget that evidence may fail to show this, this, and this and Trump would be not guilty, not guilty, not guilty. Both sides, whether deifying Trump or slurping impeachment sauce, are practicing political voyeurism. Trump pushes them to the extremes and they rush to their crazy little happy places on opposite sides of the universe. They don’t have the word.
I do. It came to me while hauling a couple of tons of building materials for a back-yard landscaping project. Agony can make our minds play tricks on us. Or jokes, which brings me to “The Joker,” which contains the word: pompatus.
It’s perfect. Just the sound of it strikes me as Trumpian. Who among us is pompatus? Would you feel comfortable telling someone, “I’m pompatus?” Me neither. But suggest to somebody, close acquaintance or total stranger, that Donald Trump strikes you as “Pompatus,” they will more likely than not stroke their chins, gaze upward, and exclaim, “Yes! That’s it! Trump is pompatus!” You will get that reaction over and over unless, in an unfortunate twist of fate, you suggest it to Steve Miller, who will argue that it only means whatever you want it to mean. (Buzz Killer Miller.)
Steve Miller, of course, is famous for coining the term “pompatus,” which he included in the lyrics for the song “The Joker” wherein he sings of “the pompatus of love.” Wikipedia suggests he was influenced, perhaps subliminally, by earlier popular songs. He used the term previously, in a song called “Enter Maurice,” but “The Joker” made it famous. The word has no meaning; Miller simply made it up. When Dan Rather asked him what the word meant, Miller replied, “whatever you want it to mean.” I take him at his word. I want it to mean whatever makes Trump Trump.
It’s good word for Trump just because of the way it sounds, like a mash-up of “pompous” and “POTUS,” two words that definitely apply to Trump. If you were asked what famous personality best fits the term, “pompatus,” it’s hard not to visualize Trump. He looks pompatus. He sounds pompatus. He acts pompatus. He is pompatus personified. Pompatus Trump: it sounds regal, in a daffy, nitrous oxide kind of way. The “God Emperor” is pompatus. How can he not be?
Pompatus is not a real word. I checked Merriam-Webster Online and Dictionary.com and it was not within their vocabulary. Merriam-Webster suggested other terms, such as “pompous,” “vombatus” (a wombat) and, ironically, “comitatus.” Dictionary.com also suggests “pompous,” as well as “peripatus,” a worm-like creature. Both websites suggest “pompadour,” perfect for Trump, with his limoncello fright wig. “Pompous” and “pompadour” are encapsulated within “pompatus,” along with a worm and wombat. It fits Trump so well, it’s like magic.
Trump is a “space cowboy;” he wants a Space Force. And “the gangster of love?” Score! Isn’t Trump also a “lover and a sinner?” And what of these lyrics:
You’re the cutest thing that I ever did see
I really love your peaches, wanna shake your tree
Lovey-dovey, lovey-dovey, lovey-dovey all the time
Oee baby I’ll sure show you a good time
The only lyric missing is “non-disclosure agreement.” I guess that’s hard to rhyme.
© 2018 by Mike Tully
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