The gay community was rocked by the recent beating of a gay man and popular YouTuber, Calum McSwiggan, 26. McSwiggan has now been charged with making a false police report after investigators concluded that he was not attacked and caused the injuries to himself. In a case reminiscent of the recent hoax by a gay minister, McSwiggan went to social media and created a firestorm over his alleged victimization.
Category: Media
Prime Minister David Cameron has stated that he will step down after the historic vote yesterday for the UK voted to leave the European Union. It is a blow for President Barack Obama who put everything on the line to push the British to stay in the EU, including seriously overplaying his hand (and role) in issuing dire warnings to the British people as did other world leaders. The warnings backfired and only reaffirmed the feeling that there is now a world order that will not tolerate traditional democratic controls over national policies and practices.
Continue reading “BREXIT: Cameron Announces Resignation As Brits Reject Obama’s Dire Warnings”
It often seems that when the world is grieving some terrible tragedy, there are some religious extremists who will celebrate the loss. Stepping immediately into that role was Sacramento pastor Roger Jimenez of the California-based Verity Baptist Church who praised Omar Mateen’s murder of gays and lamented that he did not “finish” the job. It appears however that Jimenez will have to find another place to peddle his religious-based hate. Harsch Investment Properties has decided not to renew the church’s lease and wants Jimenez out by next March.
Continue reading “Sacramento Pastor Praises Omar Mateen and Says That God Will Finish The Job”
We have been discussing the arrest of people in other countries for participating in protests to boycott Israel and other measures. These actions raise serious free speech issues. Some states have created laws barring contracts with companies that join the boycott of Israel. Now, a controversial measure has passed the New York Senate that bars the funding of any student groups that encourage boycotts of Israel and other allies as well as those groups involved in “hate speech” and “intolerance.” However, the bill introduced by New York state Senator Jack M. Martins (R-Nassau County) is so ambiguously worded as to defy definition of the underlying violations — a critical flaw under first amendment analysis. However, over the objections of various groups, the bill has garnered growing support among politicians.
We have previously discussed the increasing appearance of graffiti in our national and state parks. As is well known on his blog, hiking is my passion and there is nothing more crushing than to see juvenile carvings and writings on trees and rocks in parks. Indeed, today I am heading to New Mexico for a speech and hope to hike in the wonderful trails outside of the city. I have written that the scourge of graffiti is due to the low detection rate and even lower penalties for those committing these crimes. The most recent case demonstrates vividly how the government still treats the crime as a minor matter. Recently, Actress Vanessa Hudgens posted a picture of her carving of a heart into a red rock wall during a trip to Sedona, Arizona on federal park land. However, when nabbed by the federal government, they allowed her to walk with just $1000 donated to a charity. Now we have another egregious case of a San Diego woman, Casey Nocket, 23, who defaced a series of national parks with graffiti and bragged about on social media. Yet, Nocket was sentenced to only two years’ probation and 200 hours of community service. The laughable sentence vividly illustrates why the destruction of our parks continues without any meaningful deterrence.
London’s new mayor, Sadiq Khan, has signaled early in his term that he will continue the state regulation of speech and images that have ravaged free speech in England. He announced an end to the appearance of what he calls “body shaming” advertisements in London’s public transport, advertisements featuring skinny bodies viewed as unrealistic for most women. While some publications have suggested the that move reflects Khan’s Muslim background (he is the first Muslim mayor of London), in my view it reflects a long and disturbing trend in Europe (and particularly England) to regulate and criminalize speech. What some people may view as unrealistic or even demeaning for women, others view as artistic expression in advertising. While this may be the only way I could end up a Benetton model, I have long opposed such rules, which puts the government in the position of policing images to determine what is not demeaning for women.
Continue reading “London Mayor Announces Ban On “Body Shaming” Advertisements With Skinny Models”
As many on this blog know, I have been highly critical of Donald Trump. However, there has been a campaign of violence against Trump supporters that is highly unnerving and dangerous. While there were a few incidents of Trump supporters acting violently, there has not been the same level of outrage at the widespread violence against Trump supporters and police at these events. Now, a liberal Huffington Post columnist Jesse Benn has defended the “violent response” to Trump — a reckless and provocative column that seeks to legitimate mob justice. What Benn is describing is not democracy but ochlocracy — a sad statement of the state of affairs in our country. While I recently wrote about liberals finding “their inner Nixon,” this seems to be a case of finding Benn’s inner Mao. Benn insists “Violent resistance matters. Riots can led to major change.” Perhaps but what is certain is that violent resistance always leads to violence.
Continue reading “Embracing Mob Rule: Columnist Calls For Violence Against Trump Supporters”
We have been discussing the rapid decline of civil liberties in Venezuela after the socialist takeover by Hugo Chavez and his successor, Nicolas Maduro. The denial of free speech and free press protections only increased as Chavez/Maduro destroyed one of the most productive economies in Latin America and turned it into an economic basket case. Now, the “red revolution” can take credit for reducing the judicial system to a virtual caricature of itself. The Venezuela’s Supreme Court ruled this week that the media cannot publish videos of lynchings because such true images would produce “anxiety and uncertainty” among citizens. The Maduro government has been trying to prevent citizens from seeing such images as it denies the social and economic meltdown in the country.
While largely ignored by the media, the Clintons have their own university scandal. Donald Trump has been rightfully criticized and sued over his defunct Trump University. There is ample support for claiming that the Trump University was fraudulent in its advertisements and operations. However, the national media has been accused of again sidestepping a scandal involving the Clintons that involves the same type of fraud allegations. The scandal involves a dubious Laureate Education for-profit online college (Walden) and entails many of the common elements with other Clinton scandals: huge sums given to the Clintons and questions of conflicts with Hillary Clinton during her time as Secretary of State. There are distinctions to draw between the two stories, but the virtual radio silence on the Clinton/Laureate story is surprising. [I have updated the original column with some additional thoughts, links, and clarifications for readers].
For months, Sanders supporters have objected to what they perceive as highly biased coverage by mainstream media. The media has been condemned for its abbreviated coverage of the Clinton email scandal (including notable failures to ask follow up questions of Clinton) as well as a steady drumbeat dismissing Sanders as a serious challenger. Now, New York Times reporter Yamiche Alcindor has infuriated even non-Sanders supporters with a bizarre suggestion that Sanders is sexist for merely opposing Hillary Clinton. Despite widespread ridicule, Alcindor insists that Sanders was the one in the wrong for expressing legitimate shock at the insulting question. She later tweeted: “Some women think @BernieSanders will be standing in way of history tmrw if HRC wins & he doesn’t concede. He got testy when I asked; Oh well.”
Below is my column in USA Today on the striking similarities between Richard Nixon and Hillary Clinton, particularly with regard to the staffers surrounding them. Both tended to blame others about being, to paraphrase Nixon, “kicked around.” However, there are deeper and rather disturbing patterns emerging that are shared by the two leaders in my view.
For those supporting the British exit from the European Union, a new video could not come at a better time. EU critics have argued that Britain is being ruled by five “presidents” that no one can name and Brits have little voice in selecting. As if on cue, one of those five –Luxembourgish politician Jean-Claude Juncker — appeared in public in what appears to be an inebriated state — even playfully slapping people.
Continue reading “President of EU Commission Caught Apparently Drunk in Public Event”
You may recall the controversy of a press conference at the State Department was later edited to remove an embarrassing question and answer regarding the Iran negotiations. When the exchange with Fox New Reporter James Rosen was found missing, Elizabeth Trudeau, director of the press office insisted that “Genuinely, we think it was a glitch.” Now, the State Department is admitting that it was not a glitch but an intentional editing of the transcript to remove the exchange. However, State Department spokesman John Kirby insists that they cannot determine who ordered the deletion.
We have been discussing the rollback of free speech on university and college campuses, particularly when it comes to conservatives or right-to-life advocates. As discussed recently, conservative speaker Milo Yiannopoulous has been the target of some of the most egregious effort to silence certain speakers and prevent other students from hearing opposing views. The latest such protest was held at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). After protesters blocked fellow students and faculty from entering to hear Yiannopoulous, campus police found an alternative avenue for the audience. However, a bomb threat was later called in and the room cleared by police. Once again, there does not appear to be outrage at the effort of students to block access to such speeches for other students and the denial of free speech on campus. I have no problem with protests but preventing speakers from being heard runs against the core values of an academic community.
I was on NPR yesterday on the Diane Rehm Show to discuss the Clinton email scandal. Appearing on the show was Brian Fallon, spokesperson for Hillary Clinton, who offered a new and rather implausible spin on the worsening scandal. Fallon said that Clinton was relying on her knowledge that Colin Powell used a personal email account as the reason that she thought her server was approved.
Continue reading “Clinton Offers New Explanation For Email Scandal”