Our last full day in Kauai began for me at 5 am when I quietly left the house to greet the dawn at the nearby Shipwreck Cove. After I returned, the family got up and we took an overall one hour drive to the Western side of the island where one of the most spectacular beaches can be found at the start of the Na Poli coast in Polihale State Park. The thing about the Hawaiian islands is that everyone can be Ansel Adams with an iPhone. It is virtually impossible to take a big shot on Kauai. Continue reading “Day 11: From Dawn At Shipwreck Cove To Dusk At Polihale Beach”
Month: August 2018
There is an interesting case out of North Carolina where Justin Adams was fined $1,000 for littering. Adams is a KKK member who was distributing Klan literature on car windshield wipers. Complaints followed and police were called. Chief District Judge Mark Galloway imposed the fine, but there are serious questions raised about content-based discrimination of speech. Adams’ views are vile but it seems unlikely that others distributing literature would be subject to arrest. Indeed, Roxboro Police Chief David Hess seemed to confirm as much in his later comments.
Continue reading “North Carolina Judge Fines Klansman For Littering In Troubling Free Speech Case”
For a growing number of critics, the breakthrough verdict against Monsanto for $289 million over its Roundup weedkiller is an indictment of the company’s corporate culture but also of academics who were used by the company to discredit scientific studies linking the herbicide to cancer. Former groundskeeper, Dewayne Johnson, 46, reportedly has only months to live but he just delivered a body blow to one of the largest corporations in the world. It is not that $289 million is a crippling fine for Monsanto, but the verdict of guilt based on a finding of actions taken “with malice or oppression” will likely trigger tens of thousands of such claims. Not surprisingly, Monsanto is now ditching its name in favor of Bayer after its recent acquisition. Continue reading “Roundup The Academics? Monsanto Verdict Raises New Troubling Questions About Professors Working Under Corporate Sponsorship”
Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. issued an alarming tweet that suggested that critics of President Donald Trump including James Comey, Rod Rosenstein, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Jeff Sessions, and Loretta Lynch should be arrested. While we are living in an age of rage, such statements from a university president is deeply disconcerting. This follows a disturbing poll showing a surprisingly large percentage of Republicans believe that the President should be able to shutdown media organizations. It seems like the rising distemper in this country is turning us against the foundations of our system from due process to the free press. Continue reading “Liberty University President Calls For Trump Critics To Be Arrested”
Our tenth day in Hawaii was the most memorable with a trip up the awe-inducing Nā Pali coast of Kauai. Parts of Nā Pali are only accessible by boat though some trails and roads reach this unique area. You may be familiar with the coast without knowing it since the almost prehistoric look of its cliffs and valleys have been featured in films like King Kong. It is far more inspiring in person and we signed on with the leading boat tour outfit for the coast, Captain Andy’s Sailing Adventures. We took one of the company’s custom 65′ Star Class luxury catamarans for the tour of a lifetime. Nā Pali is one of the true wonders of the Pacific with plentiful sea creatures and wondrous cliffs. Continue reading “Day 10: The Wonder That Is The Nā Pali Coast”
There is an interesting case out of New Mexico where Jazmine Ortega, 20, is facing a charge of two counts of aggravated assault against a household member with a deadly weapon. The weapon was a kitchen fork and it does not appear that she actually stabbed her boyfriend in the attack.
On our ninth day, we ventured over to the other side of the Kauai to visit the historic village of Hanalei and its lovely cove beach. The trip across the island offers from stunning scenes but also a vivid illustration of how different the weather is on different parts of this small island. We are staying on the Southern tip where it has the most sunny days. The Northern parts including Princeville have almost constant rain, though it passes quickly. The change is quite pronounced between the two parts. The North tends to have not only more rain but it is notably more muggy and buggy. We also found the water to be more clear in the South. Continue reading “Day 9: Hanalei and the North Side Of Kauai”
The constant badgering of the media by President Donald Trump as “the enemy of the people” appears to have taken root within the Republican party if a recent Ipsos survey is accurate. The new public opinion survey found that 43 percent of self-identified Republicans said that they believed “the president should have the authority to close news outlets engaged in bad behavior.” Such a power would eviscerate the core protection of a free press in our system and fundamentally alter our constitutional guarantees.
Lauren Cutshaw, 32, had a curious defense when she was stopped in South Carolina for speeding through a stop sign. Cutshaw assured the police that she did not have to be arrested because she is a “very clean, thoroughbred, white girl.” She then became a “very clean, thoroughbred, white” arrested girl.Continue reading “A”Very Clean, Thoroughbred, White Girl” Gets Arrested In South Carolina”
It is called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. Waimea Canyon on Kauaʻi was one of the highlights of this trip. It is a 3,000 foot park is one of the most spectacular natural settings on Earth. We planned an entire day with a guide from Kauai Hiking Adventures. We were incredibly fortunate to have Jeffrey Courson, a Californian who came to Kanai decades ago and has an encyclopedic knowledge of the island’s planting, animals, history, and topography. Above is my son Jack at the very end of a cliff overlooking the canyon. Continue reading “Day 8: The Wonder Of Waimea”
Below is my column in the Hill Newspaper on the latest “smoking gun” of obstruction in the form of Trump tweets. There continues to be a categorical refusal of many to acknowledge the implications of the interpretation being advanced to implicate Trump. There is also a failure to acknowledge that the Clinton campaign received more information was Russian sources, including Russian intelligence figures. The difference is the Clinton people were smart enough to use a cut out in the form of a former British spy.
While advocates continue to maintain that agreeing to go to a meeting to review promised evidence of crimes is a federal election violation, no case like this has ever resulted in a conviction that I know of. Indeed, I do not know of any case remotely similar to this case as being brought. The First Amendment implications should bar any such prosecution.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Criminal Tweets: Trump Critics Should Not Respond To Acts Of “Fake News” With Fake Law”
We spent our second day on beautiful Kauai was visiting beaches on the South shore. We started in the morning at the aptly named Shipwreck Cove where the waves were huge but the under current quite dangerous. We went in briefly before going down the shore to Poipu Beach which was lovely but a bit crowded. At the suggestion of one of the lifeguards, we went further down the road to Salt Pond Beach which had more roasters than people. The waves were huge and we had a ball.
We left Oahu on Tuesday after a glorious visit to island hop by plane to the island of Kauai, which is actually the oldest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is only 562 square miles but it is far less developed. It is roughly five million years old and often called the “Garden Island” for its pristine beaches and rain forests. Continue reading “Farewell Oahu, Hello Kauai”
Whatever becomes clear after Rick Gates finishes his direct and cross examination is that Gates and Paul Manafort truly deserved each other. On the stand on his first day of testimony, Gates admitted to embezzling hundreds of millions from Manafort as he helped Manafort hide millions and lie to the government and banks. It was highly damaging testimony, but the most damaging in my view came earlier from Manafort’s accountants that he was in financial collapse — struggling to maintain an opulent lifestyle after his Ukrainian money machine was cut off with the flight of his main client.
This week, the City of West Hollywood council joined in the gratuitous insults and derogatory that has come to characterize our politics on both sides. The city council unanimously voted to ask Los Angeles and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce to remove President Donald Trump’s star from the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The star has been repeatedly vandalized in recent weeks. In the meantime,Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced that Austin Clay, 24, was charged with vandalism for destroying Trump’s star last month. He used a pickaxe.
Continue reading “Star Power: City Council Unanimously Calls For Removal Of Trump Hollywood Star”