In a highly disturbing and inappropriate tweet, President Donald Trump retweeted an image that accused his own deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, of treason as well as special counsel Robert Mueller, former FBI Director James Comey, former national intelligence director James Clapper, Bill and Hillary Clinton and others. The image is accompanied with the question “Now that Russia collusion is a proven lie, when do the trials for treason begin?” Such an image and question, even made in jest, would be deeply insulting and below the office of the presidency. The President has previously called the media “the enemy of the people” and used equally intolerant language toward judges. Regardless of how one feels about the Special Counsel investigation or the role of some of these people, people of good faith must speak out against such attacks on the character of these individuals. I have been a critic of some actions in this investigation and specifically Rosenstein’s conflict of interest, but I would never question their loyalty to this nation. Continue reading “Trump Tweets Image Accusing His Own Deputy Attorney General and Others Of Treason”
Category: Bizarre
In my column yesterday, I discussed the major news story out of the Guardian that former Trump Campaign Chair Paul Manafort repeatedly met with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The Guardian reported that Manafort visited Assange in Ecuador’s London embassy in 2013, 2015 and in spring 2016. That last visit allegedly occurred around the same time as Manafort’s selection as Trump campaign chair. Ecuador’s Senain intelligence agency reportedly said that the logs include “Paul Manaford [sic]” and mentioned “Russians.” Now however Manafort and Wikileaks have completely denied the story and Manafort charged that the story is “totally false and deliberately libelous.” If so, that could lead to an interesting defamation lawsuit that should be relatively easy to prove either way. Continue reading “Will Manafort Sue The Guardian? Former Trump Campaign Chair Declares Assange Story “Totally False and Deliberately Libelous””
Some families actively try to avoid political discussions at Thanksgiving dinner, which I have never truly understood. Yet, it appears that even discussions of sports today can devolve into politics and Jorge Luis Valencia Lamadrid, 51, shows just how far that can go. Lamadrid got into an argument with his son over the kneeling controversy in the NFL . . . and proceeded to allegedly shoot him at Thanksgiving dinner. Continue reading “Father and Son Debate The NFL Kneeling Controversy Over Thanksgiving Dinner . . . Father Ends Debate By Shooting Son”
It may be the single least self-aware statement of the year. Prince Turki al-Faisal has insisted that the CIA assessment that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi can be dismissed because “the CIA is not necessarily the highest standard of veracity or accuracy in assessing situations.” This is coming from a government that has issued a series of bold-faced lies about its murdering of the journalist from claiming that Khashoggi was actually alive to blaming him for a brawl in the consulate to now insisting that a group of men (including those closely tied to the Crown Prince) carried out the murder without his knowledge. Of course, even President Trump cannot decide if he will believe his own intelligence officials or the Crown Prince. Trump said continued to say that it is not clear that the Crown Prince ordered the killing despite incriminating tapes and overwhelming evidence to the contrary — as well as leading Republicans saying that continued denials are unbelievable and embarrassing for the country. Continue reading “Saudi Prince: “The CIA Is Not Necessarily The Highest Standard of Veracity””
Gambling in Vegas is always precarious when playing against the house. It appears the same is true in both the courts and the casinos. Glenn Richardson sued Mandalay Bay resort for personal injuries sustained near the hotel pool. The hotel offered a $2.5 million offer and Richardson surprisingly turned it down and instead opted to go to a verdict. He received just $524,000 from the jury — a $2 million loss. Continue reading “Bad Bet: Plaintiff Turns Down $2.5 Million Offer From Mandalay Bay . . . Jury Then Awards Just $500,000”
President Donald Trump continues to refuse to accept the findings of his own Administration and overwhelming evidence of the guilt of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the savage murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Trump’s refusal has continued despite the report of a tape of a “smoking gun phone call” of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with an alleged instruction to “silence Jamal Khashoggi as soon as possible.” In a new interview, Trump has suggested that perhaps we should all just agree on blaming a “vicious world.” Continue reading “The Khashoggi Murder: Trump Suggests “The Vicious World” May Be More To Blame Than The Saudi Crown Prince”
I have been a critic of the alarming criminalizing of speech in Great Britain through hate speech laws. Such laws create an insatiable appetite for greater and greater speech regulation and create a sense of empowerment among citizens to silence those with whom they disagree. The most recent statistics from the Metropolitan Police for 2015 and 2016 seem to confirm those concerns. The over 2,500 alleged “hate incidents” in just that one jurisdiction show a vast array of everyday gripes being reported as hate crimes from a dog pooping near a house of a disputed tennis match. Hate speech arrests have according to one account risen by 900 percent and now involve thousands of such cases each year. Nine people a day are being detained.
Continue reading “Hate “Incidents” Soar In England From Dog Poop To Disputed Tennis Line Calls”
We previously discussed whether England was becoming a “Nanny State,” including the effective banning of nannies. The concern is that well-intentioned measures are creating climate of governmental control and the gradual reduction of rights in England, here, here, here, here, here, and here. Now a school in England has been students from wearing “expensive” jackets because it may “poverty shame” other students. It is not clear who will make the judgment of a jacket that is too expensive to wear or wear parents are to shop to guarantee that they are not dressing their kids too well. Continue reading “English School Bans Expensive Coats To Prevent “Poverty Shaming””
Nathan Sharp, 28, gives family business a bad name. The son of the owner of Superior Crane Corp., a construction equipment company in Waukesha, Wisconsin, Sharp is accusing of “humping” employees and regularly exposing himself, including laying his genitals on the shoulders of employees. When an employee objected, Sharp allegedly responded “Don’t you know who the [expletive] I am? I’ll just go talk to my dad.” I expect that conversation has now occurred because Sharp is now a criminal defendant in a case of fourth-degree assault. Continue reading “Not-So-Sharp: Wisconsin Man Faces Criminal Charges Over Bizarre Exposure Claims”
We have previously discussed flights delayed by Jewish ultra-Orthodox who refused to sit next to women (here and here). The latest incident occurred on two Israel-bound El Al planes that took off from New York on Thursday. Ultra-Orthodox men caused a small riot and even assaulted a flight attendant because the delayed flights would cause them to land after the start of the Jewish Shabbat when they are not supposed to be using cars or aircraft. They caused one of the aircraft to be diverted to Athens. The other was going to divert to Rome but a medical condition of a passenger required the flight to continue.
While President Donald Trump repeatedly denounces the “witch hunt” in Washington, it may becoming more and more easy to find them. According to a report from the Christian Post, the number of witches and wiccans has increased dramatically since the 1990s. Indeed, the figures is taken from studies from a Trinity College and the Pew Research Cente that found that there are at least 1.5 million witches in the United States,. That would put them 100,000 over the 1.4 million mainline Presbyterians in the country. Continue reading “Report: Witches Now Outnumber Presbyterians In The United States”
In a truly astounding misstep, the United States Attorney’s Office in Eastern Virginia filed a document that referenced an indictment against the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange. The filng in an unrelated court filing seems to confirm that charges are pending or planned against Assange but the Justice Department will only say that “The court filing was made in error.” The charges would raise serious first amendment questions over whether it is a crime to publish hacked emails if you were not a party to the hacking. Wikileaks maintains that it was performing a journalistic function.
Continue reading “DOJ Filing Mistakingly References Sealed Criminal Charges Against Assange”
Broward County continues to struggle with the most basic demands of being a functioning democratic system. In fairness to Florida, all but a couple counties showed that they are prepared for democracy. However, Broward (which has been accused of mismanagement for years) fulfilled the worst expectations by filing its recount results two minutes late. It might have been two days for all that it matters. That is the problem with legal deadlines. There are generally no mulligans. Broward released an announcement that none of its recount would count. Despite the defense of Brenda Snipes by Democratic leaders like Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, the latest failure of her office removes any question about the level of mismanagement of the county (as well as those responsible for Palm Beach and Hillsborough counties). Snipes recently boasted that she never missed deadlines. To miss a deadline by minutes just shows a complete lack of supervisory competence.
Continue reading “Broward County Recount Results Tossed For Being Filed Late By Two Minutes”
One of the year’s most bizarre stories just got even more so. You may recall the lawsuit of a homeless man against a New Jersey couple who raised $400,000 off a heart-warming story of how Johnny Bobbitt supposedly gave Kate McClure his last $20 when she was stranded on a road in Philadelphia. Kate McClure and her boyfriend Mark D’Amico then went public with the GoFundMe effort — only to be accused by Bobbitt of using the money for themselves. Police now say it was all a cynical hoax on the public. If so, this could prove a case of “when thieves fall out, honest men come by their own.” Donors will be given back their money.
A hunter in Arkansas, Dale Williams, is under criminal investigation after shooting 72-year-old Jane Rust when he mistook her for a deer. As we discuss in torts, such accidents are relatively common and often do not result in criminal or even civil liability. Continue reading “Hunter Shoots 72-Year-Old Woman Mistaken For Deer”