An Arrest Warrant For What?

There was an arrest warrant issued for Ric Flair for failing to pay spousal support or alimony - thousands of dollars per month.

If you don't know who Ric Flair is, read on.

Regardless of what anyone thinks of what is known as professional wrestling, it is not an easy profession. It is part of show biz, live theater-in-the-round, and that is where my mostly sporadic, casual interest has come in over the years. I've read a couple of Mick Foley's nonfiction autobiographical books and own the documentary "Beyond the Mat". Making it big in the industry not only takes skill and lots of hard work, but it takes luck and an ability to navigate the politics. Making it big can be lucrative, but it also means a lot of hard work, working day in and day out almost every day of the year, lots of traveling to get from one venue to the next, and a lot of pain from very real strains and injuries.

Ric Flair is someone who had a major back injury in (if I recall correctly) an airplane crash, but he managed to go on to have multiple of a top-notch career after that. Men and women like him have worked liked dogs. This guy is going to be living with serious aches and pains the rest of his life.

Like many other top professionals in his industry, his personal life has not been a smooth one. His latest wife he married in November 2009. About 34 months later (less than three years, Sept. 2012) it was over and Flair was headed for his fourth divorce.


Why is he supposed to pay a grown woman thousands of dollars each month because she was married to him for almost three years? Is that part of a prenup? If so, it is a lousy one. This isn't the 1920s. She has access to education and employment and banking so she can make and manage her own money. It isn't like he's had her at home for the last 20 years cranking out babies and raising them. His income today is based on scores of years of literally backbreaking work on his part, accumulating a professional legacy and achieving legendary status as a money-making draw for his employers. He's to pro wrestling what Kobe Bryant is to the NBA or what John Williams is to the world of Hollywood film scores. She played no part in that. Why is she entitled to his earnings?

I'm not saying he shouldn't live up to contracts or abide by court orders.

I'm saying there's a problem with premise that she is entitled to $4,000 a month to begin with.

Clooney's on a Marriage Strike

[I am bumping this up because Clooney continues to prove this to be true with a recent breakup.]
 
I saw on my online portal something about "why George Clooney won't get married". I didn't need to read the story. The reasons why Clooney won't get married should be readily apparent. He's considered one of the sexiest men alive. He's rich and famous. In my estimation, he won't get married because there's nothing in it for him, in his way of thinking. He can get everything he wants without being married. In fact, not being married makes it easier for him to get everything he wants. Nobody in the public or the media is going to give him grief no matter how many women he has sex with. Contrast that with Tiger Woods. Because Tiger Woods was married, it was a problem. Nobody would have given Woods grief over all of his flings and affairs if he hadn't been married.

Clooney is one of those men who women will admit they would have sex with him if all the time they'd ever have with him would be ten minutes. Some of these women insist they need romance, wining and dining, and a lot of foreplay, maybe even a "committed relationship" to have sex, but within a minute of meeting Clooney they'd be naked and on top of him.

George's retort: "I hate to blow your whole news story, but I was married, so I gave it a shot."

This is not why he won't remarry. If failing or having a bad experience at something caused Clooney to quit it, then he would have stopped acting long ago, because even the best actors have the projects they regret – if not because of the final product then because of the process of creating it.

Clooney and Italian actress/model Canalis, 32, have been dating since 2009.

And when he's done with her or she's done with him, he won't have to pay her alimony. If they actually stay together, then what has he lost (in his eyes) by not being married to her? (When we no longer shame sex outside of marriage, this is a natural result.)

Actually, by saying he's not going to get married, it's like a challenge to some women who are convinced that if they just try hard enough (= give him a lot of good sex and doting and no drama), then he'll change his mind and marry them.

All kidding aside, I have heard from someone who has dealt with him in person. We're not talking about a model or someone Clooney needed to butter up. From what she said about him, it sounds like he's a genuinely nice guy who really does care about people. I wish him the best, and I hope he's gotten snipped. If he doesn't want to get married, he should make sure he's not going to get anyone pregnant. Especially at his age.

Knocking Up Teacher

Melissa Pamer and Tony Shin at NBC’s Los Angeles O & O has this story which has been all over the news around here:

A Redlands high school teacher accused of having a baby allegedly fathered by a teen student pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 41 counts of sex and oral copulation with a minor.

Laura Elizabeth Whitehurst, 28, was arrested July 1 after the mother of a Citrus Valley High student contacted school officials about the suspected relationship between her son and the English teacher.

She was charged Monday with crimes alleged to have involved the boy -- who was 16 when the relationship began, according to police -- and two other teen students who are now adults.

Later:

Authorities said Whitehurst had given birth June 18 to a baby fathered by the student with whom she had had a nearly year-long affair. The boy attended the baby’s birth, according to court documents.

Later:

Then, at least two other men came forward and said they had had sexual relations with Whitehurst in 2007 and 2008.

One of the alleged victims spoke to NBC4 Southern California, saying he never felt victimized but wanted to share his story so that others might come forward to tell police about their experiences with Whitehurst.

Finally:

Whitehurst is charged with 30 counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, and 11 counts of oral copulation of a person under 18.

If convicted as charged, Whitehurst could face up to 29 years in state prison, the District's Attorney's Office said.

So there's yet another criminal case that's hit the news lately about a young female teacher "having sex" with multiple minor male students. Unless the teacher is decidedly unattractive (this latest one isn't), one of the common responses to this is along the lines of: