Bizarro Richmond

Oh well, just another chilly Friday afternoon with less daylight than the last. Not much to comment on in today’s local news, unless, of course, one finds three stories in the Richmond Times-Dispatch to be rather bizarre. The headlines read: School Board Chair Admits Web Post; Sheriff-Elect Barred from Jail; Richmond Man First Convicted Under Expanded Child-Porn Law [to face 1,000 years in prison].

Tired of reading about the complicated performing arts center flap? OK. Try these stories for something a little different:

“Richmond School Board Chairman Stephen B. Johnson last night admitted posting a bare-chested photo of himself on an explicit male-dating Internet site. "It was stupid," Johnson said, explaining that the photo had been on the site for a "couple of days." Johnson's photo on Manhunt.net was not explicit in nature, but the text describing him was very graphic.”

Stupid? No, Mr. Johnson, this is beyond "stupid." It is way too silly to just be stupid. Read the rest of the story here.

“C.T. Woody defeated incumbent Sheriff Michelle B. Mitchell last month. While most folks can't wait to get out of their cells in the crowded and crumbling jail, Sheriff-elect C.T. Woody is having a hard time getting in the front door. In the four weeks since his upset victory over three-term incumbent Sheriff Michelle B. Mitchell, Woody says he has yet to be allowed into the facility.”

What in the world is Mitchell doing here? If she doesn't explain away what's going on soon, she's asking for nothing but trouble. To read this head-scratcher click here.

“A 53-year-old Richmond man yesterday became the first person convicted under a 2003 federal statute that makes obscene cartoon drawings as well as photographs an illegal form of child pornography. Dwight Whorley could be sentenced to more than 1,000 years in prison because a jury found him guilty of 74 counts of child pornography charges in U.S. District Court. Those counts include the obscene cartoons and charges of sending and receiving obscene e-mails describing sexual abuse of children.”

Nobody is defending child porn, but if a cartoon can be child porn, what about literature? Is "Lolita" child porn? Hey, even the Bible has racy stories that involve incest. How about an abstract painting with a title that suggests underage sex? How about a song about it? -- Chuck Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen." To find out how a man can get incarcerated for over 1,000 years for possessing cartoons click here.