Various groups are demanding the resignation or firing of Walter Isaacson, former CEO of CNN and the Aspen Institute, after allegedly assaulting a Tulane student protester, Rory MacDonald during an event to foster diversity of ideas and entrepreneurship for New Orleans Entrepreneurship Week held off campus. MacDonald is seen interrupting the event by yelling anti-Israeli and Pro-Palestinian statements. In a video, Isaacson, 72, is sitting near the student and decides to take action by pushing the student out of the room. MacDonald claims injuries as a result of the action and groups are calling it an assault. The university says that it is investigating.
Tulane Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) posted a video on Instagram.
Isaacson, who is the Leonard Lauder Professor of American History and Values in the history department, can be shown gently moving MacDonald out of the seats. However, at the door, there appeared more of a brief scuffle at the last moment before the two went out of the frame for a split second. Isaacson is then shown returning immediately. There does not appear to be more than shoving on the video to move MacDonald out of the event.
In its Instagram post, SDS claimed that MacDonald (who identifies as a “them” as a transgender student) was injured: “Isaacson, an audience member, grabbed Rory and cursed at them, battering them and leaving them with bruises on their arms and scratches on their back.”
On local media, MacDonald is shown displaying slight scratch marks. He told he was asked by New Orleans Stop Helping Israel’s Ports to speak out with the intent of “peacefully interrupting.” The protesters used a standard tactic of lining up people to interrupt in sequence. MacDonald was the eighth such person.
SDS and other groups have condemned Isaacson. MacDonald is quoted as expressing a fear of returning to campus after the incident.
Technically, shoving can be assault under both criminal and tort law. Certainly leaving scratch marks can qualify as evidence of assault. However, the situation is more complex than some faculty member spontaneously assaulting a student. Any removal of a disruptive protester will involve some firm handling or shoving. Indeed, when a subject resists, this can become a matter of self-defense for security as force is increased. As a subject resists, security is allowed to protect itself with a commensurate level of force.
If security can physically remove a protester (including shoving an individual from a room), the question is whether an audience member can do so. A professor has no special legal status to conduct security or exclude individuals from a public event. What is clear is that this is a function best left to university security. The problem is that security often does not enforce rules against disruptive behavior.
MacDonald was disrupting the event and Isaacson was seeking to remove him. In moving to the door, there does not appear to be anything more than firmly shoving MacDonald. In the final second, there appears to be a more forceful push in the hallway as Isaacson goes back inside. Isaacson can claim that he was protecting himself by shoving away MacDonald at that last minute. He is seen speaking to the student before firmly leading him to the door. Again, the university is investigating. There is no report of a criminal complaint.
If the sponsors are investigating this matter, it should also address why a faculty member felt compelled to perform security at the event. We have seen universities routinely fail to expel protesters interrupting classes and events.
Tulane contacted me to stress that the event was not technically a university event and was not being held in a university building. However, these groups insist that this was a “Tulane-sponsored New Orleans Entrepreneurship Week panel.” Protests over the alleged assault on Tulane’s campus resulted in one arrest.
Tulane has previously been criticized on this blog for its response to destructive protests.
The concern is that universities and sponsoring organizations can turn these protests into a type of “heckler’s veto” where speeches are cancelled in advance or terminated suddenly due to the disruption of protesters. The issue is not engaging in protest against such speakers, but to enter events for the purpose of preventing others from hearing such speakers. Sponsors create forums for the discussion of a diversity of opinions. Entering a classroom or event to prevent others from speaking is barring free speech.
The sponsors of this event has stated that there was security personnel present.
This has been an issue of contention with some academics who believe that free speech includes the right to silence others. Student newspapers have declared opposing speech to be outside of the protections of free speech. Academics and deans have said that there is no free speech protection for offensive or “disingenuous” speech. CUNY Law Dean Mary Lu Bilek showed how far this trend has gone. When conservative law professor Josh Blackman was stopped from speaking about “the importance of free speech,” Bilek insisted that disrupting the speech on free speech was free speech. (Bilek later cancelled herself and resigned after she made a single analogy to acting like a “slaveholder” as a self-criticism for failing to achieve equity and reparations for black faculty and students).
Years ago, I debated NYU Professor Jeremy Waldron who is a leading voice for speech codes. Waldron insisted that shutting down speakers through heckling is a form of free speech. I disagree. It is the antithesis of free speech and the failure of schools to protect the exercise of free speech is the antithesis of higher education. In most schools, people are not allowed to disrupt events. They are escorted out of such events and told that they can protest outside of the events since others have a right to listen to opposing views. These disruptions however are often planned to continually interrupt speakers until the school authorities step in to cancel the event.
Tulane clearly failed to protect this event and that led to this “self help” action by Isaacson. If he went too far off camera, there is also a question of why he had to act at all rather than campus security removing such disruptive protesters. This will continue until university administrators and sponsors have the courage to suspend or expel students denying others the right to listen and speak at events.
Absent enforcement of school rules on such disruptions, there is little hope for the open exchange of ideas and a diversity of opinions on campus. It can unleash a type of tit-for-tat pattern of retaliation as speakers are prevented from speaking on controversial subjects. Our campuses then become little more than screaming matches. The rules of most schools properly draw the line between protests and disruptions. Everyone is allowed to be heard. However, if you enter to disrupt it, you are disrupting free speech.
Chemerinsky is hardly a stand-up guy. He told his law school students he’d commit perjury if they repeated what he said in class”
“In late June, a short video of Chemerinsky was posted on social media in which he said to students: ‘I’ll give you an example from our law school, but if ever I’m deposed, I’m going to deny I said this to you. When we do faculty hiring, we’re quite conscious that diversity is important to us, and we say diversity is important, it’s fine to say that.'”
https://www.thecollegefix.com/berkeley-law-dean-caught-telling-class-hed-lie-in-deposition-now-says-he-was-joking/
After it went public, he said he was just kidding. He said his students knew he was kidding. He’s a law professor. He should know better. How does he know what they were thinking?
If you’re going to clown around about committing perjury, you’d better make it crystal clear, it’s a crime, a violation of legal ethics, and is not to be tolerated or condoned.
I believe that the appropriate resolution to this “conflict” is to take Rory MacDonald, hog-tie him, and then hang him upside down off a pole for a period 5 hours. I’m certain that MacDonald will be a better person as a consequence of carrying oout this remedy. Would this be a violation of the Eighth Amendment as a “cruel and unusal punishment”? I see nothing cruel about it. And I’d characterize this remedy as creative, rather than unusual. And besides, it’s been caught on hot mike that Letitia James and Alvin Bragg would like to do something similar to Trump if they had the chance, so that give the treatment official approval for use as deemed necessary.
I so wish for the return to my older days. Back when I worked as security and/or law enforcement we were EXPECTED to remove people like this (McDonald) as quickly as possible and as easily (non physically) as possible. However, if the person(s) decided that they were NOT going to either stop their disruptive actions OR quickly and quietly move on and, instead, chose to ignore and/or resist us/our efforts, then it was usually expected by those employing me that I (and any other officers with me) use whatever (now physical) force was necessary to remove them.
And, unlike today, we usually didn’t need to worry too much about being sued, losing our job or losing our freedom if said resisting individual(s) ended up injured.. providing the injury wasn’t too excessive. Nor did we need to worry about putting our hands on the “wrong skin color” , the “wrong gender” or using the “wrong pronoun”.
Those seeking to cause trouble for others, be they protestors or straight up criminals, KNEW the possible consequences that awaited them if they decided they were going to cause trouble and then add to it by actively resisting security or law enforcement officers, and the officers, in turn, knew that their employers, and much of the general public, had their backs. This made doing our job much easier, as did not having to worry too much about some activist DA’s office and/or Judge believing that the criminals had more rights than the victims (I mean, we did have SOME, but they were usually very rare… Unlike today) and then setting them free to go right out and do whatever all over again and possibly endangering themselves, us and/or others in the process.
I’m proud of having served 1st my country as a US Marine and then later my communities as an armed security officer before then becoming a LEO where I served another 20+ yrs before being forced to retire on disability after being wounded too many times (including being shot in the head). I used to say that, if I had the opportunity to do it all over again, I gladly would do so.
But not anymore. At least not in today’s environment. In the current environment, criminals now have too many rights vs those of their victims. There’s now too many activist AG’s, Prosecutors and Judges and many officers are now too afraid to do their jobs for fear of putting their hands on the “wrong” person (read: minority) and then finding THEMSELVES in jail and the lives of they and their families forever ruined..especially if they end up having to use deadly force. I know many, highly qualified, people who would like to become LEO’s themselves but who won’t apply because of how they see law enforcement being treated in many (usually Democrat run/controlled) cities and States… But that is another discussion for another time.
Sadly, it’s now not only security or law enforcement personnel who need to worry about activist in the criminal justice system coming after them, now even regular civilians need to worry about this, as well. Look at what’s happening here in this article. Then look at what happened (at least initially) when DA Alvin Bragg went after that Bodega worker who had to defend himself after a much younger, and stronger, black guy went behind the counter and attacked the worker (the worker had had an incident earlier where the girl friend of his attacker had tried leaving with items she couldn’t/wouldn’t pay for. When the worker tried stopping her she went and got the boyfriend. She then returned with him which is when the attack began). During the attack (which was all caught on security camera) the girlfriend can be clearly seen repeatedly reaching across the counter and stabbing the worker as he fought for his life with her boyfriend. The worker finally grabs a knife and fatally stabs his attacker. After police are called and upon hearing the story and viewing the evidence (including the security video) they decide NOT to arrest nor charge the bodega worker but DO suggest charges against the woman. However, DA Bragg orders the worker arrested, files felony charges against him and sends him to Rikers Island to be held in solitary confinement!! Meanwhile, Bragg refuses to accept ANY charges against the woman and she’s never arrested NOR EVER charged in the crime. The worker was eventually set free and had all charges against him dropped but ONLY because of the MASSIVE public outcry against Bragg once the story got out to the public and ONLY after he was forced to spend time in one of the worst prisons in the United States… All for trying to DEFEND himself AFTER being brutally and viciously attacked. And I could list MANY such recent incidents but I think you get the idea.
“Accused.”
“Alleged”
Suffered ‘injuries’ – truly?
Someone in Walter’s generation knows the importance of taking action.
Regardless of how one thinks about what Isaacson did, resignation from his position is out of the question. The student needs a lesson in behavior – his parents clearly didn’t bring him up right
It is genocide.
https://www.bitchute.com/video/9VT1cDDNYpTO/
“It is genocide.”
Genocide against Hamas terrorists
Genocide against NAZI murderers
Something is genocidal to your brain cells.
Turley Brushes Past Major Issue
The Biden administration approved the transfer of thousands more bombs to Israel on the same day Israeli airstrikes in Gaza killed seven aid workers for the charity group World Central Kitchen, three U.S. officials told The Washington Post this week after the incident elicited global condemnation.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/04/04/world-central-kitchen-us-weapons-israel/
……………………………………..
This was the top story all morning at the Washington Post. And just below this story, WaPo ran a second article reporting that hundreds of thousands of Gazan children are facing malnutrition.
That second piece proceeds to document the longterm effects of malnutrition on the human body. Said effects are almost like a form of retardation.
But in both of Turley’s columns today, the Israeli/Hamas War is only the backdrop to so-called free speech issues. In these columns, Americans incensed by this war are essentially dismissed as threats to free speech.
One might ask WHY the U.S. should want to take ownership of Israel’s war effort. No good can come of this! There is a very real chance that Israel could eventually be charged with war crimes that are impossible to refute.
What’s more, the government of Benjamin Netanyahu will almost certainly crumble in the not-so-distant future. Netanyahu was already a pariah to most secular Israelis before this war began.
Netanyahu’s far-right government has enabled Ultra Orthodox Israeli settlers. Those settlers are largely blamed for inciting the Hamas attacks that triggered this war.
West Bank Palestinians reside under extreme apartheid conditions in their own, shrinking territory. Israeli settlers have been abusing Palestinians, on a daily basis, almost as a form of sport. This had been well-documented in the months leading up to October.
Americans under 40 can scarcely grasp WHY the United States keeps providing unconditional support for Israel. Our support seems to go against everything America stands for.
Most Democrats in Congress don’t even like Netanyahu. President Biden is barely on speaking terms with Netanyahu. Yet the unconditional support continues for reasons that defy all logic.
But certain political donors, on both sides of the aisle, are driving support for Israel against America’s own interests. Which demonstrates the clout a few billionaires enjoy.
The Israeli targeting of civilians is an atrocity a war crime and it must stop
Our politicians are corrupt, craven weaklings. Biden is bad but it pains me to see his erstwhile rivals failing the same way
I say this without deny the state of Israel does have a right to exist and defend itself, but not commit genocide, and not on our taxpayer funded dollars.
Islam Judaism and Christianity can live in peace, it is the corrupt billionaires who are always stoking conflict among their hired hands
The “leadership” of America are all failures. They are the fakes and pawns of a billionaire plutocracy. We must destroy that plutocracy so our nation can live.
Its gonna be bloody but we have no choice. We’re gonna end up like the Gaza people eventually if we dont retake our system
Saloth Sar
PS here is what the billionaires will be using one day to find us and wipe us out, something like this, a murderous Frankenstein AI
https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/4/24120352/israel-lavender-artificial-intelligence-gaza-ai
“The Israeli targeting of civilians is an atrocity a war crime and it must stop.”
Saloth, documented proof shows otherwise. The best evidence of the kill ratio shows 0.5 to 1.5 civilians died for every Hamas terrorist. That is incredible in war, especially in this type of urban warfare. Consider how American bombing raids (firebombing) over Japanese paper cities could kill 50,000 civilians and almost no soldiers. Hamas numbers used by anti-Semites and the leftist malcontents count 500 at a hospital when no one died, show pictures of dead people partially covered where as soon as the known cameras leave, all the bodies get up walking away. If you buy into the terrorist numbers, you must buy into the leftist talking points that are idiotic. One has to assume some civilians are casualties when they are forced into areas where the terrorists launch missiles using women and children as shields. There have to be civilian casualties when Hamas uses hospitals and schools as central control areas where they launch missiles. There has to be inadequate water when the terrorists dig up the water pipes to use in missile and weapon production.
One has to remember terrorists blend in with civilians, and civilians blend in with terrorists. Remember October 7, when civilians participated in the murder and barbarism. Civilians also held some of the captives. Many of them bore children that kill Israeli children, so streets are named after them and their families become prosperous with the money provided to the martyrs. The more they kill, the larger the income for the family.
“Our politicians are corrupt, craven weaklings. Biden is bad …”
And your actions support Biden and the left. Anti-Semitism today is predominantly a leftist and stupid position.
“I say this without deny the state of Israel does have a right to exist and defend itself, but not commit genocide, and not on our taxpayer funded dollars.
Islam, Judaism, and Christianity can live in peace,”
If the terrorists were willing to live in peace, the Hamas Declaration would read something other than the destruction of Israel and the killing of the Jews. The schools wouldn’t be brainwashing children to kill Jews. Their streets wouldn’t be named after martyrs funding families based on how many Jews their martyred children killed. Hamas has run Gaza without Israeli control, and what do we see? Another attempt to destroy Israel and kill Jews.
Peace requires agreement on both sides. Israel has been at peace with all peaceful people and gave support to the Gazans. Hamas has wreaked death and destruction on its own people while using tens of billions of dollars not to help the people but to make war.
Take note, before 67, Israel did not have Gaza or Judea and Samaria. Did the Arabs accept that land as Israel? No. They went to war against a tiny state, fighting against many Arab nations with weapons that dwarfed the weaponry of the Jews. The Jews won, and we saw the same in the other wars. We saw peace treaties created that provided the Arabs with nearly 100% of their desires. There was no Arab acceptance because they wanted Israel destroyed. Based on history and what you presently write, you must be pretending that you support Israel’s existence, or you are extremely ignorant.
Saloth Sar is the birth name of Cambodia’s communist dictator, Pol Pot. Interesting
I have been trying to figure out why he chose Pol Pot’s name for his blog responses. Maybe Saloth is a Pol Pot wannabe.
With you exposing Saloth, do you think he is ready for another name change?
“Islam Judaism and Christianity can live in peace” throughout history there are few, if any, examples to support your statement…
While Hamas “Yahya Sinwar”, chief architect of the October 7th massacre is running around in Gaza, and nobody snitches on his location, then the IDF will bomb aid workers for aiding and abetting the enemy.
This is a repeat of what happened during WWII in France.
Klaus Barbie, aka ”The Beast” and “Butcher of Lyon” was a German SS Officer & Gestapo Chief. Finally, an “I witness” snitched on him and nailed “The Beast”.
George, Sinwar was in Israel’s sights several times. They didn’t kill him then because so many civilians were in an area that could not be isolated. Sinwar was one of the captives released by Israel in a trade for hostages.
Please, George, try to get your facts straight.
I remember when post-9/11 free speech advocates criticized some of the measures implemented or recommended by the Bush administration as part of the war on terror. Their point was that preserving the right of free speech is critical to our society and must not be compromised regardless of exigent circumstances. They were right then and Turley is right now. Whatever you may think about the war in Gaza, it is no justification to allow protestors to disrupt any person’s right to express their views.
“. . . thousands of Gazan children are facing malnutrition.”
Easy solution:
Hamas, the aggressor, unconditionally surrenders. With, of course, the permission of Iran. Until then, all that blood and suffering are on the hands of Hamas/Iran.
Sam, you hit the nail on the head with the simplest and best solution.
The question of malnutrition is a fabrication. Food supplies are low, and I don’t believe they are having Thanksgiving Feasts, but the people are not starving. Who steals the food aid when it comes in? Hamas then sells it to the civilians at a high price or uses it as bargaining power to use citizen locations to store weaponry or otherwise enhance Hamas’s ability to wage war.
One should not forget that this war is courtesy of Iran, who believes America is the big satan and deserves to be destroyed.
S.M.
Among the lunacies you mentioned, add this:
Hamas, along with its appeasers at the U.N. and throughout the West, keep demanding a cease fire.
You know when else a cease fire was in place?
October 7, 2023.
The problem with Biden is, he doesn’t care about the war or how it is waged. He only cares about his political future. His present decisions have made his political future more dismal.
“In my long career studying and advising on urban warfare for the US military, I’ve never known an army to take such measures to attend to the enemy’s civilian population, especially while simultaneously combating the enemy in the very same buildings.
In fact, by my analysis, Israel has implemented more precautions to prevent civilian harm than any military in history — above and beyond what international law requires and more than the United States did in its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The international community, and increasingly the United States, barely acknowledges these measures while repeatedly excoriating the IDF for not doing enough to protect civilians — even as it confronts a ruthless terror organization holding its citizens hostage.
Instead, America and its allies should be studying how they can apply the IDF’s tactics for protecting civilians, though these militaries would almost certainly be extremely reluctant to employ these techniques because it would disadvantage them in any fight with an urban terrorist army like Hamas.”
____John Spencer is chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point, codirector of MWI’s Urban Warfare Project and host of the “Urban Warfare Project Podcast.”
To start with, anything that comes from the “Ministry of Health” in Gaza, MUST be taken with a HUGE grain of salt as they’ve repeatedly been shown and proven as liars and spreaders of propaganda. Take, just for instance, their claim (which, sadly, was quickly spread by much of the rest of the worlds MSM before, and without, FIRST doing a proper investigation to ensure that the information they were being given was true and accurate) that the Israelis had “bombed a hospital which had killed up to 500 people”. They then showed what appeared to be a large section of the hospital having been blown up and more. The outcry against the Israel’s was immediate and immense. Only, it later turned out, and was discovered, that the whole thing was a hoax. The hospital had NOT been bombed, there had NOT been “500 people killed” (in fact, NOBODY had been killed, if memory serves me correctly) and, perhaps most importantly, while there HAD been an explosion, it had happened in the PARKING LOT NEXT TO the hospital AND it was CAUSED NOT by the Israelis… But by an errant missile fired by HAMAS ITSELF!!
And there are MANY, similar type, stories/events which prove how untrustworthy the “Ministry of Health”, and it’s officials, truly are and WHY whatever they say needs to be taken with a healthy dose of salt. Then there’s the fact that this war was STARTED BY Hamas ATTACKING ISRAEL on 7 Oct 2023 and then not only launching a sneak attack, but then ALSO committing a virtual laundry list of heinous crimes (which would certainly qualify as war crimes for those anti-Israeli’s seeking to somehow charge Israel with war crimes) such as mass rape, gang rape, sexual assault, beheading of innocent/civilian babies, infants, children, women, men and Israeli military forces. Burning of people alive, to include entire families and so much more.
Much of this was not only caught on video and then downloaded onto the internet, but it was done BY many of those serving IN Hamas AND who had actually COMMITTED these crimes. It baffles me how so many people can still claim that the atrocities committed by Hamas on 7 Oct 2023 “never happened”, even in light of the MANY videos that exist, from multiple sources (including from Hamas itself) which SHOW these atrocities being committed as well as AFTER being committed. These include such videos as the young Israeli female being manhandled by Hamas members from one vehicle to another, with her clearly bleeding from between her legs and which soaked the sweat pants she was wearing. From the look on her face and from her hair and rest of her torn clothing it was clear that she had been abused, likely raped, possibly repeatedly at that point alone.
Then there are the MANY videos of the young, 22 yr old, Israeli-German girl named Shani Nicole Louk. There are multiple videos of her which show her being badly mistreated, including sexually, and ultimately ending with her being proudly driven around by Hamas members, her body splayed out in the back of a pick up truck, clothed only in her black underwear and bra which the Hamas members allow other, what appear to be Palestinian men, to move aside so they can sexually assault her with their hands/other items as well as spitting on and striking her over and over again. In the later videos she appears to now be dead and yet these assaults on her body, sadly, horrifically, continue. Yet, incredibly, many deny even THESE horrific events/attacks took place.
Some of the hostage who have been (thankfully) returned back to their homes and families alive, report that several of the kidnapped young women still in the custody of Hamas are being made to ensure almost daily rapes and sexual assaults. Many experts believe that these women will NEVER be allowed to be returned to THEIR homes and families alive. Because they could be later on used to go after any surviving members of Hamas, including and/or especially it’s hierarchy, for various (possibly war) crimes to include a litany of sexual crimes.
As for civilian deaths in Gaza and who’s to actually “blame”, I’d have to say that, here again, the majority of these tragic deaths are being caused by Hamas, itself, as well as the Palestinians, themselves. “Why” do I say this? Easy.
To begin with, ALL civilian deaths could stop and be prevented IMMEDIATELY. All that needs to happen is for Hamas to surrender and all attacks against Israeli forces to cease. Or, the Palestinian people themselves could begin turning in/turning over TO the Israelis members of Hamas. But Hamas ISN’T surrendering NOR are the Palestinians turning in/turning over ANY members of Hamas.
THEN there is the, now VERY WELL DOCUMENTED/Videoed facts that Hamas (as has long been suspected and claimed by not only Israel, but by the intelligence agencies of other countries, including those of the US) IS currently, and has BEEN, using innocent citizens to hide behind/under as human shields in order to try and prevent Israel (or others) from attacking them. We now have irrefutable evidence of this in the form of the MANY tunnels that have now been found/confirmed to exist under the various hospitals in Gaza, much of the civilian infrastructure in Gaza and even the UN building in Gaza was found to have had a Hamas command center, complete with electricity and banks of computers (the electrical lines of the UN building had been tied into by Hamas to supply the command bunker and computer banks with its electricity. However, this has led many experts to openly express question how it could be that the staff in the UN building didn’t know it’s electricity was being stolen since it was obvious what was going on due to the fact the evidence was out in the open inside the UN building itself) built right underneath of it. It’s obvious that heavy equipment and explosives were needed in order to build not only the tunnel(s) going to/from this command center, but also the center itself. So, how is it that the UN workers right above supposedly weren’t aware of what was taking place right under their very feet?
By Dec of 2023 alone, Israel’s IDF had discovered approx 1,500 tunnels that had been built by Hamas. At least one went 50 meters deep and with many being at least 18+ meters deep and made with reinforced concrete. The IDF found weapons rooms, sleeping quarters, kitchen/eating areas etc. Where did Hamas get the money for all of this? The materials to make these tunnels, the equipment needed to dig them and then to reinforce them, the men needed to build them, to operate the machinery, to handle the explosives, the explosives themselves, the food, the firearms, missiles/other types of bombs and explosives, the various firearms stored in the rooms and the unknown (but incredibly high) number of various caliber ammunition needed FOR all the firearms, and so much more, easily would have run into the tens, if not Hundreds, of MILLIONS of dollars. The ONLY logical place/way that Hamas could have gotten that type of cash was via siphoning off much of the aid monies that are/have been sent to Gaza and which was/is SUPPOSED to be used to care for the Palestinians. The majority of that sent money came from OUR government here in the US. That’s OUR tax dollars that were SUPPOSED to have gone to helping out the Palestinian people, yet somehow ended up in the hands and bank accounts of Hamas. And I can guarantee you that untold MILLIONS of those dollars, as well, have ended up, and are sitting RIGHT NOW, in the personal bank accounts of the leaders of Hamas.
And, as for innocent civilian casualties “caused by” the IDF? Several international experts on “collateral damage” (the unintentional death and/or destruction of non combatants and property) have stated that Israel is going out of its way to NOT cause the deaths of innocent non combatants or their property. However, when Hamas is using them AND their property (be it their homes, hospital or other structures) then Israel can hardly be blamed. Israel and it’s people were horrifically sneak attacked, again BY, Hamas and has not only the RIGHT but, some would argue, the OBLIGATION to now seek out and completely and totally DESTROY Hamas, and ALL of its members.. unless they surrender 1st.. in order to ensure that they never have to worry about another such attack by this group/organization again.
Sadly, in EVERY war there are almost always unintended civilian deaths/injuries. Even WE, despite being so concerned about NOT causing ANY civilian casualties that we’ve PASSED UP attacking any NUMBER of targets just so we not only NOT cause such unwanted death/destruction, but also to avoid the condemnation from the media and other people’s and Nations that’s now sure to follow in today’s world, have STILL caused many tragic and unintentional civilian deaths/injuries, to, sadly, include children of all ages. I don’t believe that there’s so much as a SINGLE group, state, country or organization that’s entered into open conflict with an adversary that can honestly claim that they HAVEN’T caused the unintentional deaths of innocent peoples or “collateral damage”. It’s just a very sad side effect OF war. And, when you’re talking about urban warfare, such as what Israel is currently involved in a d what the US just spent over 20+ yrs involved in (again) then the possibility of unintentional “collateral damage” increases exponentially. Countries like the US, UK, France and many more, to INCLUDE Israel, go out of their way to avoid the loss of innocent lives as much as humanly possible while still trying to obtain whatever their military objective(s) might be. Yet, whenever THEY cause the unintentional and clearly accidental deaths/injuries of civilian lives and/or the destruction of non military structures, the media is usually quick to condemn them and to help bring worldwide condemnation, as well.
Yet when the same is committed by terrorist organizations, like Hamas (and many others) while the media/much of the world may, at 1st, condemn them, it doesn’t seem long before those same outlets/peoples/countries either forget or forgive THEM for THEIR actions (or both), such as is happening right now, but either WON’T and/or DON’T do the same for people/countries such as the US, Israel or our friends/allies.
I have an appt I’ve got to get to or else I’d continue. I expect to get blowback from this but, since it won’t bother me, I don’t care and will ignore all but the well thought out and non hostile responses. I do enjoy hearing from both those who AGREE with me AND those who DON’T, as I’m open to opposing viewpoints to my own. But only those that are well thought out and respectful in tone as I stated above.
Termn8or3000, that was an excellent comment. Those supporting the terrorists cannot refute anything you say. Their responses will be filled with lies and whatever else they make up.
What Would Steve Jobs Do?
That Jew needs some OJ Justice.
I wonder what this Punk (MacDonald) would do if he met Dirty Harry.
Would he make his day – Would He?
Speaking of Dirty Harry, I’d expect Queen Rory MacDonald to support his claim of being “assaulted” by replicating Scorpio’s little “trick,” as shown here:
Try this, but take out the first h: hhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFuJEwr_CTY
LOL — I LOVE how Professor Turley fails to mention that, under the law, any unwanted touching can be construed as “assault.” Under the right circumstances. merely BREATHING on someone can be construed as assault. Whether the “victim” deserved it or not, or whether there are mitigating circumstances, are issues that need to be determined if someone raises an assault claim, either criminally or civilly.
If you simply bump into someone while shopping in a crowded supermarket, that technically constitutes “assault,” and becomes a question of whether someone wants to make a big deal out of it, and whether — in the case of criminal assault — the authorities decide that it merits prosecution. Those are merely issues of LAW that exist, regardless of whether one party is a loudmouthed jerk or the other party is a former CEO of CNN — a different variety of loudmouthed jerk.
Basied on the “facts” AND absence of facts presented in the article, it’s little wonder that Turley’s gate-keeper lynch mob of hired trolls back the actions taken by the former CEO of CNN. To me, prior connection with CNN isn’t much of a character reference, and connection with the elitist Aspen Institute doesn’t help. But that doesn’t mean that I’m defending the OTHER loudmouthed jerk. To me, it sounds like the latest reenactment of the famous legal case of Loser vs. Loser. It’s a flawed legal system that feels compelled to declare either one of them a “winner.”
Construed, huh?
:arrived at by inference or interpretation:
Troll level pedantry
ALL assaults, whether civil torts or criminal offenses, require “intent,” i.e., an intentional act.
Yikes, did you pass the bar?
Another feckless Anonymous Useful Idiot put his Internet Law Degree on display with this gem of wisdom:
Yikes, did you pass the bar?
What state in the USA makes assault a strict liability or reverse onus offense?
Under the Internet Criminal Code (or here in the real world), list the elements of the offense of assault for your admiring readers here.
Anonymous bro… did you even pass the Internet bar exams for your Internet practice of law?
Another feckless Soviet Democrat Anonymous coward went full childish with this:
LOL — I LOVE how Professor Turley fails to mention that, under the law, any unwanted touching can be construed as “assault.”
What’s both pathetic and disgusting is that this Anonymous coward attempts to cosplay that it is far too stupid (and immature) to have noticed that Professor Turley pointed out that while ‘unwanted touching’ (as when you don’t want the police officer to touch you while arresting you for throwing a Black Liars & Marxists Molotov Cocktail) can be construed as assault, there are multiple reasons why what a cowardly Anonymous Soviet Democrat wants to claim is assault is in fact justifed i.e. NOT assault.
And sophomoric drivel like this is why these cowards stick with the username “Anonymous”.
Physical contact is not required to claim “assault”. If I tell you “I’m going to kick your ass”, I have committed assault. If I follow that statement up by actually kicking your ass, it is now “assault and battery”.
Maybe times have changed, but in years gone by one would have to believe that the one threatening to kick ass had the ability to do it and the recipient of the threat actually feared bodily harm. A little old lady is unlikely to make a large man fear bodily harm. 😉
A threat of physical assault is called MENACING, you MORON. If you tell someone, “I’m going to kick your ass,” and have the ability to actually do it, the charge would be Menacing. IF you tell someone I’m going to shoot you, and have the ability to actually do it, the charge would be Aggravated Menacing.
In order for the charge to stick, the supposed victim would have to convince a judge or jury that the perpetrator intend to commit the act (and wasn’t just shooting his mouth off) and actually had the ability to carry out the threat.
For a lawyer’s blog, this site attracts the dumbest, loudmouthed clowns imagineable. Turley would be embarrassed, if he ever read his own comment section.
Ohio Revised Code (and it’s basically the same law in all states):
ORC 2903.22 Menacing
“(A) No person shall knowingly cause another to believe that the offender will cause physical harm to the person or property of the other person …”
ORC 2903.21 Aggravated Menacing
“(A) No person shall knowingly cause another to believe that the offender will cause serious physical harm to the person or property of the other person …”
How about sniffing hair?
Using your ridiculous definition of “assault,” a person riding a busy subway in a standing room only train during rush hour is continually being “assaulted” by other passengers.
Many University Police Departments across the United States are “hands-off” with angry protesters and frequently take no action, much like the situation on the southern border with the Border Patrol taking no action to arrest and detain illegal aliens. When the government takes no action, it’s left up to the citizens (or in the case the southern border, Texas).
Skyraider,
Just in case angry protesters are in a parking lot & want to rumble, I recommend a survival kit everyone should have besides a spare tire & jack in the trunk. That would be a baseball bat, hammer & shovel.
I have Trunk monkey, a low monthly fee and a case of bananas. I highly recommend a trunk liner though…whew!
The sheriff issued Trunk Monkies to deputies who were allergic to K-9s (workaround for ADA mandates)
They were great: building searches, foot pursuits, yep, let the monkey do the leg work when the champing-at-the-bit rookie is not around. Suck at serving civil papers, unfortunately.
Come on guys.
Trunk Monkey deserves credit where credit is due. Especially when dealing with a State Trooper.
My favorite student heckler event occurred at the University of Florida.
The guest speaker was then Senator John Kerry. The student was asking a question which turned into a rant. Campus security drags the student to the back while Senator Kerry responds. The famous “ don’t tase bro” could be heard. Campus security can be seen laughing & Senator Kerry asks if his response was satisfactory.
John Kerry has been a bag of poo his entire adult life, even more so after becoming an ambulance chasing grifting politician… and I always enjoy watching a big baby like that “protestor” with his prepared multi-page speech in hand getting the attention that he was asking for. Apparently thought the forum and those there were provided for his benefit – much like Dennis McIntyre does here, acting as though this forum is actually his.
But this is a reminder that we could ALWAYS get compliance from some scrote we were arresting with a simple wrist lock or pen between two fingers and then squeezing. Letting them ride the lightening has some appeal, but it’s a lot faster to have them walking out under their own steam with a wrist lock. If they had to be dragged out, it was much easier to use carotid control and drag them out like the bag of poo that they were
Hammer Time…
https://youtu.be/Xzkd_m4ivmc
Since a sucker punch from a lawless subhuman into the face of a woman merits a suspended sentence in any Soros-backed Democrat-run city, this Tulane Leftist twerp can go cry a river somewhere for getting “shoved.”
So a kid disrupts an event and is removed. He then claims he was assaulted because he refuses to leave. Can someone explain to me how I get to disrupt an event, refuse to leave and then claim assault? He was removed. Now the part that makes no sense is how does a 72 year old man manhandle a 20 something man?
While I can certainly understand Rory MacDonald being upset and even protesting, I do not understand why he thinks he should not be physically removed for being disruptive especially when he is involved in the shoving.
I also wonder if MacDonald understands the irony of disrupting an event to promote diversity of ideas. Instead of joining in and defending his position, he tries to shut it down.
When the screaming starts, the listening stops. When the listening stops, there is no point in engagement. Time to move on and they did.
The Quiet Man,
Well said.
As to why it took a 72 year old man to manhandle a 20 something, the 20 something wanted to be seen as a victim.
Or he really is that much of a wuss.
I am wondering at what point are we going to see some students stand up to these snowflakes and do the job the professor did.
I would enjoy the sight of that little snowflake punk being dropped into one of Hamas’s terrorist tunnels with a rainbow flag in one hand and a planned parenthood manual in the other hand
He basically asked the disrupter to leave. Am I missing something?
Putting the question of appropriateness momentarily aside: ye gods these kids are whiny b***es. Are they capable of anything beyond the temper tantrum? That kid basically ‘told their dad’. Pathetic in the extreme. This is the babied generation we expect to participate in society? These are the ‘educated’ ones? 🙄🙄 I’ve had worse injuries pulling weeds in the garden.
See Turley’s first sentence. If Turley overcame his belief that his thoughts are so precious that they must be gifted to the world immediately, he might pause learn to correct his proclivity for dangling modifiers.
Is that all you have???
Don’t feed the trolls
Are you really serious? Try writing a column every day — to the benefit of people who want to be informed — and see how you’d do. Honestly, stick to the seriousness of the situation and keep your petty small-minded quips to yourself. Do you think hecklers have any thoughts about ‘dangling modifiers’ as they disrupt public events?
How do you know the modifiers were dangling? Perhaps they were merely resting, getting ready for their next move.
Turley’s first sentence – “Various groups are demanding the resignation or firing of Walter Isaacson, former CEO of CNN and the Aspen Institute, after allegedly assaulting a Tulane student protester, Rory MacDonald during an event to foster diversity of ideas and entrepreneurship for New Orleans Entrepreneurship Week.”
What dangled? It is a bit “run-on”, but help me here.
Thx!
I can help you with the Grammar Police. There’s a minor dangling modifier here, but most people reading the first sentence autocorrect it. The issue is the phrase “allegedly assaulting a Tulane student protestor[.]” Does it mean “[v]arious groups” were “allegedly assulating” the student, or does it mean “Walter Isaacson” was “allegedly assaulting” the student? Of course, it means the latter, and any normal person reading the sentence interprets it that way.
I’ve corrected the first sentence to eliminate any confusion that the Grammer Police may have suffered, using all caps for the corrections, as shown below:
“Various groups are demanding the resignation or firing of Walter Isaacson, former CEO of CNN and the Aspen Institute, after HE allegedly assaultED a Tulane student protester, Rory MacDonald, during an event to foster diversity of ideas and entrepreneurship for New Orleans Entrepreneurship Week.”
James,
They think they are “fighting” for something.
These are the same whiny children who go on to get their useless degrees and amount to nothing productive in society.
Good news though, a recent report shows corporation CEOs are cutting all those DEI positions, scaling back, and even eliminating some programs as they add nothing useful.
James, you just don’t understand! It is like Performance Art. You see, when someone is unable to paint, sculpt, dance, write poems, or sing or play a musical instrument – but they still want to be an artist (and maybe get a Participation Trophy?) – then whatever are they to do for attention?
Like the Greeks said, Euripides! They become Performance Artists – and they can go out and crap on the side walk, and sis boom bah! – they are Artistes!
Same with the non-binaries. A way for straight kids to be victims, or like Roary MacDonald above (That was a good pun if I do say so myself!) to be activists! Just go out and disrupt something, or march or protest or whatever, and now you are the REAL GENUINE thing.
James posted in part:
This is the babied generation we expect to participate in society?
That’s also the generation I kept seeing on my right and left on every deployment to Afghanistan over the last 20 years. And I saw some of them going home in aluminum boxes. Five of the troops killed by the suicide terrorist at Kabul were just 20; only one of the 13 was older than 25.
While many mature male Americans who were still of military age decided “I like my security, but this ain’t my war” and didn’t even sign up with their local National Guard unit while “this babied generation” signed up to go to war. How many here were of military age when 9/11 happened and then went and enlisted? Or, having left the military, returned to serve again? Statistics tell us most decided to stay home and let somebody else do the fighting and dying.
This “babied generation” are also the ones working as roughnecks and rig pigs, making their living up on the monkeyboard on a drill rigs in the oil patch. Not many 30-somethings doing all the manual labour in the oil patch, no matter how well it pays.
Not many 30-somethings just starting their apprenticeships to be the plumber who deals with your leaking toilet, the electrician that wires your house renovations, etc.
It’s not just the Soviet Democrats that attempt to present the exceptions as the rule. And the scrote in that video and the one who’s the subject of this opinion piece are not representative of this generation.