The Red Sox management is moving aggressively in the wake of the allegation by Baltimore Orioles outfielder Adam Jones of racist taunts at Fenway Park , including the banning for life of a fan who made a racist comment to another fan during a recent game. Boston police are also looking into any possible criminal conduct, including the throwing of peanuts at Jones and others. Below is my column in The Hill Newspaper on the proposal for a new federal crime for prosecuting racist fans. Putting aside the serious constitutional issues, it is entirely unnecessary. The problem with both rowdy and racist fans is the inaction of ballparks, not the insufficiency of criminal laws.
Continue reading “Calling Out Foul Fans: It Is Time For An Unsportsmanlike Conduct Rule For Fans”
First there was that warning that our faces would “freeze like that” when we made grotesque grimaces. Then there was the thing about an apple a day keeping the doctor away. Then there was the warning that if you keep putting your finger up your nose, your finger is going to get stuck up there. Some maternal warnings are debatable from a medical science perspective and it appears that another one has just fallen. Remember Mom telling you to take your finger out of your noses and not to eat snot? 
We have previously discussed prosecutions of people who defraud caring people by saying that they or a loved one is dying. The latest such case is out of Shelby County, Alabama. Jennifer Flynn Cataldo, 37, allegedly faked terminal cancer and secured $38,000 in donations through online fundraising campaigns. She is charged with two counts of first-degree theft by deception
There is an important lawsuit that has been filed in California after four high school students were suspended for simply “liking” Instagram posts deemed racist. The lawsuit could force reconsideration of the erosion of free speech rights for students, including the widening scope of discipline for student speech outside of schools. School officials now believe that they have full license to punish students if their personal views outside of school do not conform with accepted values. This case did have troubling aspects that raised legitimate concerns (though these students were not the author of the posting). The question is one of authority to regulate speech outside of schools if they do not involve criminal threats. 
The Church of Scientology is facing renewed allegations of abusive and cult-like conditions of followers. A string of psychiatric facilities run by the Church of Scientology in Cannon County, Tenn. have been closed after police reportedly found that patients there were being held against their will in crude trailers and cabins in the woods. Former Scientologists have accused the Church of holding people against their will and adopting bizarre remedies for mental illnesses due to their founder’s opposition to psychiatry. Marc Vallieres, the operator of the facilities, was charged with two felony counts of facilitation of kidnapping and two other men working at the facility pled guilty to misdemeanors.
Below is my Hill column this week on the confirmation from both Trump’s Chief of Staff and the White House Spokesperson that the Administration is working on possible changes in our libel laws — changes that by definition would require altering the First Amendment. The decision in New York Times v. Sullivan is decades old and celebrated as one of the Court’s greatest decisions. It has never been challenged by a president . . . until now. The case clearly states that the libel standard is a constitutional rule and thus the Court would have to overturned the decision or the President would have to amend the First Amendment. Whatever must be shown under the “actual malice” standard of New York Times v. Sullivan, it pales in comparison to the actual malice shown by this Administration toward the free press. Here is the column:
We have been discussing the alarming erosion of free speech on our campuses and the increasingly twisted view of free speech by students calling for speech codes and regulations. At the same time, we have seen campus police denounced as being a “triggering” element on campuses 
Hillary Clinton has been s
There has been considerable criticism over Trump’s description of the bombing of Syria over a dinner with Chinese President Xi where he seemed to have as much recollection of the chocolate cake as he did the decision itself. (“I was sitting at the table. We had finished dinner. We’re now having dessert. And we had the most beautiful piece of chocolate cake that you’ve ever seen, and President Xi was enjoying it.”) That comment now looks decidedly presidential in comparison to the comment made by his dinner mate at Mar-a-Lago, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross that the bombing of Syria: “It was in lieu of after-dinner entertainment.” Even as a joke, speaking of acts of war like they are versions of the Roman games is distasteful. Even missile strikes involve American sailors or soldiers and airman placing themselves into harm’s way. Having them referred to as “entertainment” at a conference by a wealthy Commerce Secretary to his well-heeled friends is insulting to those who must pay the price of wars.
The call by President Donald Trump to break up the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit have been echoed by members of Congress, including 