Category: Academia

Academia, Society

Former Professor Sues FBI For Gender Discrimination

Jay Bauer, a Northwestern University doctoral graduate and former University of Wisconsin assistant professor of Communications Science, has filed an interesting lawsuit alleging that females are given unfair advantage in training for special agents. Bauer fell one push-up short of making the cut for agent and was denied a second try that was afforded to female candidates (who are required to do less than half of the push ups).

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Academia, International, Military, Society, Travel Blog

Farewell Vermont


We made it home last night from Vermont after having a glorious time. I have always said that, if I ever left Virginia, I would go to Vermont. No state has worked so hard to protect the environment and preserve the natural beauty of the land. Vermont legislators basically work for free (with a small stipend for travel) and every citizen seems connected to the local and state political system.

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Academia, Columns, Free Speech, Media, Politics, Society

Teachers Under A Morality Microscope

Below is my column this morning in The Los Angeles Times on the increasing number of cases where teachers are punished for comments or activities in their private lives — often under nebulous disruption or moral turpitude grounds. While the recent case of a teacher moonlighting as a porn star in California raises understandable concerns for school officials, most of these cases involve either past conduct or clearly protected speech. This is part of a broader number of cases that we have been following dealing with public employees ranging from city managers to police officers to firefighters. The question is how much our public employees must confirm their political and social activities to satisfy members of the public.

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Academia, Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, Justice, Lawyering, Military, Politics, Society, Supreme Court, Testimony

Defending Our Freedoms?

Submitted by: Mike Spindell, Guest Blogger

A recurring meme used in American society by leaders and politicians is that certain acts must be done to “Defend Our Freedoms”. The use of this meme has occurred repeatedly in our history as a justification for certain governmental actions, particularly in defense of war. In some cases like our Revolution, or World War II its usage has been right on point, in others like Viet Nam, Iraq and Afghanistan it’s been used as untruthful propaganda. On national and local levels the meme has also had a mixed history. It has been used to persecute radicals, as a States Rights justification of “Jim Crow” and post 9/11 to enact “security” legislation that many of us think actually diminishes freedom in the name of saving it. Continue reading “Defending Our Freedoms?” →

Academia, Bizarre, Politics, Religion, Society

New York City Department of Education Bans References To Dinosaurs To Avoid Insulting Creationists

This story is so bizarre that I had to check it twice to make sure it was not an early April Fool’s joke. The New York City Department of Education has barred the use of “Dinosaur” on tests to avoid upsetting people who believe creationism. Putting aside the fact that creationists do not deny that dinosaurs existed, the decision is to bar the use of a reference to an entire species because a fact might insult religious sensibilities.

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Academia, Bizarre, Criminal law, Society

Mitchell Adjunct Law Professor Arrested For Exposing Himself To Student

Former William Mitchell sports law professor Clark Calvin Griffith, 70, has been charged with indecent exposure in a meeting with a 24-year-old student. The son of the former owner of the Minnesota Twins, Griffith resigned from the faculty and denies the charges.

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Academia, Criminal law, International, Society

Unexplained Phenomenon: Leading North Carolina Physics Professor Arrested In Argentina For Allegedly Smuggling Cocaine

Professor Paul Frampton of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is not in his classroom his week because he is sitting in Devoto Prison in Buenos Aires for allegedly smuggling cocaine in his luggage. Frampton insists that he is innocent and that he will return to his research into “phenomenology” at the physics department. Frampton is an accomplished physicist and an adviser to the National Republican party, including drafting the science portion of the Republican platform for the 1988 Convention.

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Academia, Bizarre, Politics

Professor “Defends” Sandra Fluke As Mere Extortionist or Prostitute Not Slut; Students React Creatively

 By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Seems the far Right just can’t stay out of  – or quit throwing – the muck. The Huffington Post reports that  University of Rochester econ professor, Steve Landsburg, has launched his own attack on Georgetown law school student, Sandra Fluke, who had the temerity to speak her mind to a congressional committee discussing contraceptive services.  Landsburg apparently dabbles in English grammar when his dismal graphs Continue reading “Professor “Defends” Sandra Fluke As Mere Extortionist or Prostitute Not Slut; Students React Creatively” →

Academia, Bizarre, Environment, Politics, Science, Society

The Good News Is Jersey Shore Is Set To Be Cancelled, The Bad News Is . . .

. . . so is the entire actual Jersey shore. A Princeton study has found that global warming is causing a rise in sea levels that is far greater and more accelerated than previously thought. The report predicts that the Jersey shore could be underwater in a matter of decades and low-lying areas thrashed by increasing storm surges.

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Academia, Lawyering, Society

Twenty Additional Law Schools Accused Of Cheating On Employment Figures

New York lawyer David Anziska has been one of the attorneys pushing litigation against law schools over inflated or erroneous employment figures. He has now released a list of 20 law schools accused of fudging the books. Two top 50 schools — Pepperdine and American University — are listed. No evidence for the inclusion on the list has been given and these schools have not had the opportunity to respond. Some of the schools have been previously accused of such fudging of data in the now hyper-competitive annual rankings.

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Academia, Politics, Society, Torts

Leaving Pryde Behind: Virginia Tech Invokes State Cap To Reduce $8 Million Negligence Award To $200,000

I have previously written about my view of the clear negligence committed by Virginia Tech University in the 2007 campus massacre as well as the gross unfairness created by a state cap on damages for the families of dead students and faculty. I have also criticized the university’s litigation posture and steadfast denial of such negligence. Now a jury has added its collective voice to this criticism — finding Virginia Tech not only negligent but awarding the families of two Virginia Tech students $4 million each in a duty-to-warn case. However, due to the state’s imposition of a cap, these awards are likely to be reduced to a mere $100,000 each for their dead children. For parents like Erin Peterson and Julia Pryde, the cap must be a terrible insult as the calculation of what the state believes their child is worth in the face of lethal negligence by the school.

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Academia, Science

Frogetaboutit: New Species of Frog Discovered in the Big Apple

A new species of leopard frog has been discovered in one of the most wild and exotic places on earth . . . New York City. Having just returned from a weekend in New York with the kids, we explored our favorite spots in this unique ecosystem from the feeding hole known as Carnegie Deli to the herding areas of Times Square. We did not, however, spot this little guy despite trips to Central Park. That is probably because it turns out that this little guy prefers Staten Island to Manhattan.

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