She's Clearly Not Chosen Honesty Though...

A Rhodes Scholar who won a coveted scholarship at Oxford after claiming she overcame childhood abuse and grew up in foster care has been accused of lying to officials and is in fact the daughter of a radiologist who went to private school.

Mackenzie Fierceton, 24, describes herself as a 'queer, first generation, low income' student at The University of Pennsylvania. In 2020, she was given a scholarship to go to Oxford after dazzling the Rhodes Trust with her story of how she overcame welfare, an abusive mother and the foster care system.

In other words, she saw the boxes and decided to tick them all. After all, why not? It's not like anyone ever checks, clearly: 

But after a November 2020 Philadelphia Inquirer news article about the scholarship, lauded her as a 'first-generation student' who 'has been low-income throughout her life, and grew up in foster care,' an anonymous tipster contacted the Rhodes Trust and UPenn to report her for being 'blatantly dishonest'.

Ooops! 

Now, she has withdrawn from the Rhodes program and UPenn is withholding her masters degree pending further investigation.

Be sure your sins will find you out...but what does mum - sorry, mom - have to say about this? 

In a statement to The Chronicle in light of the scholarship being revoked, Dr. Morrison said of her daughter: 'Mackenzie is deeply loved by her mom and family.

'Our greatest desire is that Mackenzie chooses to live a happy, healthy, honest, and productive life, using her extraordinary gifts for the highest good.'

She could go into politics or journalism, I guess. She seems eminently qualified.  

Sometimes, It's Just As Well They Are Stupid And Incompetent...

It is alleged that, in a bid to cover his tracks, Doherty then falsified a Wikileaks document of members of the extreme right British National Party (BNP) to include Mr Hardy's name and address.

But a disciplinary hearing heard he was caught out by investigating officers who said he had 'not done a very good job at preparing the false document'.

Oh..? 

The rows of the spreadsheet did not line up, inverted commas on the faked entry were missing and Inspector Doherty added an address for Mr Hardy that he did not live at when the spreadsheet was produced, the hearing was told.

/facepalm 

Panel members were told how the alleged deceit was considered so serious that he was arrested, his home searched and electronic equipment seized.

He could not explain how he came by the spreadsheet, and allegedly claimed he had shredded and burnt the hard copy in a burner in his garden and had deleted the electronic version of it from a USB stick.

As you would... 

Inspector Doherty denies breaching the standards of professional behaviour in respect of authority, respect and courtesy, confidentiality, orders and instructions and discreditable conduct.

Do they only catch the incompetent ones? To think 'Line Of Duty' has been lying to us all these years... 

"They livin' it up at the Hotel California..."

And the residents are fleeing in their droves as a result:

Scott Thatcher and his wife Angela were born in California and love the sun-kissed Golden State. But two months ago they sold their home, packed up their belongings and travelled 1,700 miles with their three sons to start a new life in Texas.

Now the couple have a far bigger home in Fort Worth – and although they earn slightly less, they take home more money thanks to lower taxes in Texas.

As Scott says: ‘You pay a high premium for the Californian lifestyle.’

It seems to be a lifestyle that people feel is no longer worth that price. Lots of people... 

For the first time in a glorious 171-year history that attracted thousands seeking fortunes during the 19th Century Gold Rush, gave birth to the global movie industry and unleashed the digital revolution, California has seen its population – currently just under 40 million – decline.

It shrank by 182,083 last year – equivalent to all the citizens living in the coastal idylls of Santa Monica and Santa Barbara combined.

And it's not just taxes. Far from it. 

Families and firms are being driven away by the high cost of living, crime fears, hefty taxes, inadequate housing, interfering officials, persistent political failures, red tape, raging wildfires and the squalor of streets littered with homeless drug addicts.

‘It is very sad,’ said Scott. ‘I will always love California but it has changed. It is not what it was when I was a kid, or even five years ago. I could never go back.’

It's very sad - I loved San Francisco when I visited 20 years ago, but even then, the rot was beginning to set in.  

Delian Asparouhov is typical of those who turned California into such a powerhouse: a computer geek who attended the top-ranking Massachusetts Institute of Technology, launched a space start-up, was backed by a billionaire and became a venture capitalist in the state.

Yet this month the Bulgarian-born entrepreneur, still ony 27, bought a house in Miami, Florida.

He said: ‘Silicon Valley has a stifling intellectual climate with its mono-culture that only allows one viewpoint to be expressed. It seems to espouse the same socialist values as the Soviet Union.

‘So I am fleeing just like my parents fled a similar system for America when I was a kid.’

Ouch! What do the politicians think about this? Well, you guessed it...

Little wonder senior Democratic figures are on the defensive.

And how!

A senior Democrat faces the media... 

One insisted to me that the population exodus was ‘largely a myth’ spread by political enemies.

‘The whole notion that people are fleeing California in droves is false,’ he said.

Numbers don't lie.  

They're Learning, Slowly...

Judges, that is...

The judge rejected Wales's pleas of remorse and said: 'Self pity, most certainly, but remorse, none.'

Well done, judge. You've realised what most people already know. How long did it take you? 

Mr Fowlie said he now had trouble reading small writing and has been told he may develop cataracts.

He added: 'I am still confused why she and her friends wanted to fight us and what she was thinking while throwing the glass at my face.'

Probably nothing at all... 

Tony Cornberg, defending, said Wales has never been in trouble before, has good career prospects (Ed: she was working in JD Sports!) and is now nine weeks pregnant.

Forget it, her pussy pass was declined. 

Judge Prince said he was aware Wales 'is expected to give birth while serving a prison sentence.'

If we were a truly civilised nation, the child would be adopted and she'd have her tubes tied as a condition of release. 

You Don't Say, Judge...

District Judge Joanna Dickens at Swindon Magistrates Court lays into the bugling Wiltshire Police and CPS:

'This case does worry me, and trouble me, that there could be a situation where other ten thousand pound fines have been bandied about by police in circumstances where they shouldn't have been.'

'Could be'..? There almost certainly is, and likely more than one! 

But let the Blame Shifting begin! 

A spokesman for Wiltshire Police said it was 'surprised' by the dismissal and will seek a review with the CPS.

Why? They didn't threaten the fine, you did... 

'Our policing response to the ongoing public health pandemic will continue to be robust, proportionate and consistent.'

But not accurate? 

'It remains vital that everyone takes personal responsibility for their actions and adheres to the restrictions which are in place.'

What personal responsibility are you taking for your officer's ignorance of the law he or she was laying down? 

A CPS spokesperson said: "We note the judge's comments and are examining what happened in this case before deciding next steps.

"The CPS also conducts a monthly review of all finalised coronavirus cases to ensure that the right person is charged with the right offence."

I wonder what you find in most cases? No, it's OK. I already know.