People Are Loving This Ohio Judge Who Gives A Taste Of Their Own Medicine To Animal Abusers

February 7, 2020

Animals have rights just like us and they should be respected. And no animal deserves to be treated with cruelty. These sound like two very basic ideas, right? Unfortunately, there’s an unseemly number of people who enjoy abusing animals or don’t even realize they’re doing it. Some of them even escape the long arm of the law.

But those who don’t may have ended up in front of judge Michael Cicconetti of Painesville, Ohio. The now-retired judge used to give out creative and unusual punishments to animal abusers as a way to give them a taste of their own medicine. That way, the lesson that hurting animals is wrong is more likely to stick.

Just to be clear, the judge never gave out illegal or dangerous punishments. But he did want to teach people who are cruel to animals something about not being utter jerks.

More info: Facebook | Twitter

Judge Cicconetti used to give out very creative sentences where the punishment actually fit the crime

He made one woman, who left 35 kittens in the woods, spend a night in the woods all by herself

Meanwhile, a woman who kept her dog in filth spent the day in the town dump

You can hear the judge talking to the defendant right here

But what kinds of punishments did the judge give out? In one case, a woman abandoned 35 kittens (yes, you read that right—35) in the woods. So the judge knew she needed some help understanding that what she did was wrong.

He sentenced her to spend a night in the woods. Here’s what he said to her that time: “How would you like to be dumped off at a metro park late at night, spend the night listening to the coyotes, listening to the raccoons around you in the dark night, and sit out there in the cold not knowing where you’re going to get your next meal, not knowing when you are going to be rescued?”

Meanwhile, the judge sentenced another woman whose dog was living in filth to spend a day at the local dump. “I want you to go down to the county dump, to the landfill, and I want them to find the stinkiest, smelliest, God-awful odor place they can find in that dump and I want you to sit there for eight hours tomorrow, to think about what you did to that dog while you smell the odor. If you puke, you puke.” Now those are some seriously Biblical punishments.

Here’s a video that goes into more detail about the judge

Judge Cicconetti started doling out these punishments when he realized that jail time only leads to offenders repeating their crimes. According to the judge, he always makes sure that the sentence fits the crime. Judge Cicconetti absolutely adores animals. That love for all living things started when he got his very first dog, Herman (he was a Dachshund). Now, the judge has a 10-year-old Bernese mountain doggo named Kasey.

Here are some more of the judge’s unusual sentences:

-A man who committed child abuse was sent to a school in a dog outfit and had to talk about child safety.

-During heavy blizzards, he ordered defendants to clear snow at a retirement home.

-A man caught with a loaded gun was sent to a morgue to see corpses.

-A young man who stole a bicycle spent 10 days riding a bicycle to support a local charity.

-A man who shot a dog was sentenced to donating 40 lbs of dog food on every holiday to the Lake County Animal Shelter.

-Two teenagers who scrawled 666 on a nativity figure of Jesus had to lead a donkey through the streets, with a sign saying: “Sorry for the jackass offense, but he is soooo cute!”

-Teenagers who flattened tires on school buses were ordered to throw a picnic for the primary school children whose outing was canceled due to the prank.

-A man who committed a traffic violation while shouting “pigs” at police officers was made to stand on a street corner with a 350-pound pig and a sign that said “This is not a police officer.”

-An 18-year-old male who stole pornography from an adult book store was ordered to sit outside the store wearing a blindfold and holding a sign that read “See no evil.”

-Three men soliciting sex were ordered to wear chicken suits holding signs that read “No Chicken Ranch in Painesville.”

-In January 2008, Cicconetti sentenced a man who stole a red collection kettle holding about $250 from the Salvation Army to spend 24 hours homeless.

-A woman who was convicted of stealing from a church was ordered to spell out the sentence “I stole coins from this church” entirely in coins and apologize to each worshipper as they entered the church.

-A woman who skipped out on a cab fare was ordered to walk 30 miles in 48 hours. Thirty miles was the distance the cab driver had driven her before she skipped out on the fare.

-A woman who pleaded guilty to assault for using pepper spray on a man was given the choice to serve 30 days in jail or serve three days of community service and be shot herself with pepper spray. After agreeing to the latter she was sprayed and found out it was only water.

-A nanny accused of hitting a boy with a belt was compelled to read articles on the consequences of child abuse, and then discuss them in the courtroom in front of the judge, the victim’s mother, and spectators.

Internet users thought that the judge’s sentences were spot-on

Time To Get Your Business up and Running

January 22, 2020

Wake Up! It’s time to get that struggling business of yours up and running! It is no secret that trying to establish a business is a lot of hard work, from consulting banks, finding a location, figuring out your market, and everything else in-between. There is so much that goes into it, and it can be quite stressful. Luckily, there are many helpful solutions and business guidance available that can assist you with your journey. If you are in the middle of getting your business off the ground, here are some excellent tips for you to get it up and running. You can’t be sleepy though, so grab that cup of Joe, and let’s dive in!

Plan to Succeed

If you question your ability to succeed, you already have a problem. You must go at this with your sleeves rolled up ready to scrap. You will be investing a lot of cash into developing your business, so make your plans foolproof to prevent failure. Know your business goals and create the best roadmap to reach them. Mark out your milestones and address plan changes as you progress throughout the process. Dive in deep and establish your business plan so well that you have no other option but to succeed.

Know the Operational Needs

Though focusing on what you are selling and whom you are selling it to is essential, do not neglect your operational needs. To create a thriving work environment, you need to figure out precisely what your business needs to operate. This could be organizing your staffing needs, your payment options, human resource procedures, creating a website, and much more. Have all the internal rhythm details nailed down ahead of time to ensure a smooth system from day one.

Do Not Procrastinate

Oh, the P-word! So dangerous in business. Some areas of planning may be great to work on, while others can be dull and boring. For those, it can be tempting to put it off, which will only push your grand opening day out to a later date. It can be daunting but do your best to avoid procrastination and focus more on your overall goal to find the motivation to push through.

Learn from Others

Don’t be a know-it-all. Take some time and expand your knowledge in business areas that you may be lacking in or want more details about. You can find great online courses, conferences, or perhaps consult a mentor who has experience in that area. Learn more about the fulfillment process, accounting, or managing people. By doing this, you will gain tremendous insight into the business realm and learn from people who have been there before so you can optimize your business’s success. Leverage software and automation to get more work done during the day. You can find great sales CRM’s and accounting applications to manage your prospects, clients, and your staff through HCM software.

Be Open to Change

With the evolution of online businesses, be open to changing your marketing methods and even altering your products to stay in high demand. For instance, if your customer base is asking for a new service or product that you do not have, consider adding it to your offerings to fill that demand gap.

The Never Ending To-Do List

The to-do list for new business owners seems to be everlasting. There is always something that needs to be done. But with the right mindset and proper planning, all that hard work will pay off in the end. Even though businesses can be a challenge to start, knowing exactly what you need to do and how to do it will ensure that it will be successful the moment you really WakeUp and get this thing up and running!

Instead Of Taking Their Unappreciative Kids Out, This Family Took Their Modem On A Day Trip To The Seaside

January 16, 2020

Parenting is difficult in the 21st century. With easy access to technology, it’s harder and harder to keep your kids away from screens and get them to be active outside and with their family members. However, there is always a solution!

Like when your kids refuse to go on a fun family trip, you get rid of their internet connection by taking your modem on the trip instead. That’s exactly what Australian parents Cassie Langan and her husband did. Not only that, they took a whole bunch of photos of the modem having the time of its life. The story was so awesome, it went viral.

Bored Panda reached out to Cassie in order to hear more about her story, how her kids reacted, and what the internet’s response was like. Cassie was happy to talk to us. Scroll down for the full interview.

While we’re on the topic of tech, after you’re done with this post, why don’t you check out our in-depth article about a mom who forbids her kids from using phone and TV screens and the positive effects this has.

More info: Facebook

Two Aussie parents took their modem on a trip to the beach when two of their three kids refused to spend some quality family time together

Image credits: Cassie Langan

According to Cassie, her husband works as a truck driver. That means that he’s on the road all week and only comes back home to his family on the weekends. Meanwhile, Cassie said that her “daughter works weekends and I work in retail, so I often work weekends too.”

Image credits: Cassie Langan

“It’s not often that we are all home at the same time,” she noted. “So Chris and I thought we’d take the kids on a day trip to Warrnambool to go to the model train show that was on there, as hubby and the boys love trains.”

Image credits: Cassie Langan

However, things did not go as planned: “Our 17-year-old daughter refused to go and our 10-year-old son had a tantrum listing all the reasons why it was unfair that we were making him go.”

Image credits: Cassie Langan

Cassie continued: “Our 13-year-old son was the only one who reluctantly agreed to go. In the end, we said to the kids that if they weren’t going to go, we’d take the modem instead and they said ok.”

Image credits: Cassie Langan

When they all got back home from their trip, something magical had happened. “When we got home, our 17-year-old was so bored she actually cleaned her room and spent time with her younger brother.”

Image credits: Cassie Langan

“When I showed my 10-year-old the photos, he said that ‘it’s not fair, we hate him and love the modem more,’ and stormed off to his room,” Cassie told us about her children’s reactions to what happened.

“The reason I made the post public is that there is so much on social media at the moment about politics, bushfires, drought, and people having a hard time in general that I thought if my post brightened one person’s day, it would be worth it,” she said. And we’ve got to say, it’s working. It certainly brightened up our day.

“I am absolutely blown away by how many times it has been shared and the number of people who it made a difference to their day. As for my kids, after the post went viral…. they finally see the funny side.”

The story took the internet by storm

Donating Blood and Stem Cells

December 24, 2019

People need blood, and people need stem cell transplants, so it’s time for us to WakeUp as a culture and does some donating, especially this time of year.

The numbers don’t lie, blood transfusions and bone marrow disease are real, and you can do something about it!! There are about 35,000 pints of blood used in the U.S. every day, according to BNL Blood Drives. That is insane, and if you never been on either side of it, you wouldn’t fathom how massive that is. There are people in need of blood every day for life-saving reasons, so if you have never donated, now is the time to step up and give back. There are blood donation centers all around the country, click that link, and you can find one in your area.

There are many reasons for receiving blood; some people wind up in horrific accidents and lose significant amounts of blood. In contrast, others need transfusions because of complications from disease and health-related issues. Regardless of why they need it, just knowing that 35,000 pints of blood are used each day should wake you up like a blast of NARCAN and get you running to your nearest donation center.

Knowing that could be you one day if you accidentally run a red light, or your child if they are injured in some freak accident on the playground. Who knows when, and who knows how? We don’t, so it’s best to be prepared. Giving your blood to others will ensure that there is a local supply in your community for your blood type, and that could mean something if you find yourself in the emergency room one day in need of a few pints of Dracula juice.

Blood talk aside, bone marrow donors are also needed as more than 44,000 Americans will need a bone marrow transplant this year alone. Bone cancer is killing people, and you can do your part saving a life by donating. The technology behind it all is getting better; it’s less painful and has a faster recovery time than ever before.

The new year is almost here, step up, and donate blood and bone marrow. People need you, and one day it could be you in need. It’s time to WakeUp and smell the coffee people, the disease is real, and it could happen to you or a loved one anytime. So make the right decision and start looking into some of these resources on donating blood and marrow.

stem cell donation services for cancer patients

Blood Donation Resources:

• Find a Blood Drive
• Blood Donation Overview
• Donation and Transfusion Education

Stem Cell Donation Resources:

• Find a Stem Cell Donation Center
• Stem Cell Donation Overview
• Stem Cell Donation Education

These are just a few national resources that anyone can access and review. Do your research, find local donation centers that represent a definite cause, and their not just a profit-hungry organization getting into the business for financial gains. Plenty of these donation centers were built because loved ones have been lost, make sure you are giving for the right cause, and to the right organization so that you know your blood or stem cell donations wind up helping the right people.

I’m Honestly Fed Up With All The Bad News, So I Illustrated 50 Of The Best Ones From 2019

December 7, 2019

We are often bombarded with fear-mongering and shocking headlines that make us feel that the world is falling apart.

However, while it’s important to report on problems and issues, I believe there is so much good in this world that it needs to be found and promoted just as widely.

Because of that, I started The Happy Broadcast. It’s an anti-venom to the vitriolic rhetoric that pervades our media. Also, this year, I’ve illustrated even more happy news than in 2018.

We need more positive news to acknowledge that the world is actually getting better little by little.

More info: Instagram

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