Brickbats
? Project Life, an anti-abortion group, put up leaflets throughout Carolyn Sadler's Silver Spring, Maryland, neighborhood calling on her neighbors to urge her to end her "slaughter of children." Sadler was miffed, and more than a little perplexed. She's an anthropologist. Seems the anti-abortionists confused her with gynecologist Cynthia Sadler, who doesn't perform abortions anyway.
? When Michael Moreci was stuck in traffic, he began revving his engine. Another driver, Sam Amirante, asked him to stop. Moreci, a corrections officer, replied, "I beat up guys like you for a living. Get out of the car and I'll leave you bloody in the street." Bad move. Amirante is a judge. Moreci pleaded guilty to assault, which covers verbal threats. He faces a $500 fine, but he still has his job with the Cook County, Illinois, sheriff's department.
? Al Gore's mission is to reinvent government. He seems to have started with the office of the vice president. His staff is 48 percent larger than Dan Quayle's was.
? On the cutting government front: Roll Call reports that the new dorm for Senate pages cost just under $8 million. That works out to $264,200 per bed. According to Roll Call, the median cost for a university dorm is just $22,600 per bed.
? When Charles Hayden of Pittsburgh learned his son was in danger of failing seventh grade at Harrold Middle School, he took action. He tutored the 13-year-old two hours a day for 11 weeks. The boy finished with an 85.8 average. And the elder Hayden was arrested for taking his son out of study hall for the home teaching.
? Washington, D.C., has big financial troubles, but that didn't stop it from assigning police officers to guard Mike Tyson when he came to town recently. Tyson, who may make $50 million for his next fight, is not in financial trouble. Said Police Captain Reggie Smith, "It is important for the city to make a positive impression on celebrities such as Tyson so they will visit the city again."
? Lisa Herdahl of Ecru, Louisiana, has sued her children's school for broadcasting daily prayers over the school intercom. That doesn't sit well with House Speaker Newt Gingrich. He told a Roswell, Georgia, town meeting that this suit favors people with a minority viewpoint over the majority. Lord knows we wouldn't want individuals to have any rights the majority disapproves of.
? In a story we've been following for some time, a court in Cairo, Egypt, has finally annulled the marriage of Nasr Abu Zeid and his wife. Neither Abu Zeid nor the little missus wanted a divorce. But fundamentalists convinced the court that Abu Zeid was a heretic and could not remain married to a Muslim woman.
? In Pasadena, California, a private nurse applied for unemployment insurance. This prompted the state to send a letter to her former employer asking to verify the nurse's reason for leaving her job. The letter threatened action if the employer didn't respond within 10 days, but the employer disregarded the notice. As the nurse noted on her application, the reason she left was that the employer had died.
? Robert Lee Brock is serving 23 years in a Virginia prison for breaking and entering and grand larceny. He has decided to sue the person responsible for his plight: himself. He wants $5 million in damages. Since he doesn't have the money, he wants the state to pay it for him.
? Sari Mintz's 20-pound jungle cat mauled her 2-year-old niece. The cat had previously bitten three other people, so animal authorities wanted to test it for rabies. That meant the cat would have to be killed. So Mintz defied a court order and whisked the cat out of state. That means her niece will have to be treated for rabies as a precaution. But, hey, a few injections in the head and abdomen probably won't seem that bad after the 200 stitches the girl received from the cat's attack.
? Finally, in Roanoke, Virginia, Warren Smith has sued his palm reader for giving him losing lottery numbers. He's asking for $3 million, the amount he would have won if he'd had the right numbers, plus punitive damages.