Category: Politics

Academia, Politics, Supreme Court

Boston University Professor Denounces Barrett As “White Colonizer” For Adopting Two Haitian Children
WhiteHouse.gov (Twitter)

It appears that Judge Amy Coney Barrett has gone from a “cult member” for being a devout Catholic to a possible “white colonizer” for adopting two Haitian children.  Where most of us saw a loving interracial family at the White House ceremony on Saturday,  Ibram X. Kendi, the new director of the Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University, saw a possible case of effective baby snatching by “White colonizers.” Continue reading “Boston University Professor Denounces Barrett As “White Colonizer” For Adopting Two Haitian Children” →

Constitutional Law, Politics, Religion

Papist or Jurist? New York Times Columnist Warns Of Inherent Conflicts Between “Catholicism and the American Ethos.” 

We have been discussing the anti-Catholic attacks on Judge Amy Coney Barrett and how various commentators are calling her a “cult member” and a religious “monster.” Most responsible writers and newspapers have condemned the attacks but the New York Times has run a column that appears to justify the attacks using the same anti-Catholic tropes.  (For the record, I was raised Catholic and attended a Catholic high school in Chicago). The column by Elizabeth Bruenig explains why the attacks may “not be entirely baseless” in exploring historical and philosophical sources. While I do not believe Bruenig holds or wants to advance long-standing anti-Catholic prejudices, the column references sources and advances stereotypes that are painfully familiar to many Catholics.

Continue reading “Papist or Jurist? New York Times Columnist Warns Of Inherent Conflicts Between “Catholicism and the American Ethos.” “ →

Columns, Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Politics, Supreme Court

Judge Amy Coney Barrett On Her Intellect, Not Her Faith

Below is my column on the fierce attacks that have mounted against Judge Amy Coney Barrett, including articles suggesting that her conservative Catholic views and support for a charismatic group makes her a virtual cult member. The announcement of the new nominee will come today and Barrett has been viewed as a frontrunner. The religious intolerance unleashed by her likely nomination has continued to grow. Last night, “Real Time” host Bill Mayer came unglued with a vulgar attack on Barrett that even brought in Trump’s alleged affair with Stormy Daniels: “We’ll be saying this name a lot I’m sure because she’s a f—ing nut. . . ‘m sorry, but Amy [Coney] Barrett, Catholic — really Catholic. I mean really, really Catholic — like speaking in tongues. Like she doesn’t believe in condoms, which is what she has in common with Trump because he doesn’t either. I remember that from Stormy Daniels.” Imagine if a conservative commentator responded to President Obama’s nomination of Kagan or Sotomayor by referring to sex with a stripper or referring to Kagan a “really, really Jewish.” These continuing attacks do not bode well for the confirmation fight ahead — regardless of the nominee.  To paraphrase Sen. Feinstein, “[Religious prejudice] lives loudly within you.”

Here is the column:

Continue reading “Judge Amy Coney Barrett On Her Intellect, Not Her Faith” →

Columns, Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Media, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

Destroying The Court To Save It: Democrats Wrongly Use Ginsburg To Push Court Packing Scheme

Below is my column in USA Today on the growing calls for packing the Supreme Court with up to six new members as soon as the Democrats gain control of both houses of Congress and the White House.  I was critical of Democratic nominee Joe Biden this week when he refused to answer a question of whether he supports this call by his running mate Kamala Harris and other Democratic leaders. Biden told reporters “It’s a legitimate question, but let me tell you why I’m not going answer…it will shift the focus.” That was an extraordinary statement since if the question was legitimate, the refusal to answer it was not. Many of us would not support a presidential candidate who supported the packing of the Court. If Biden considers this a viable option, he is not a viable candidate for many of us. This is a central issue in the presidential campaign that has been pushed by Harris and top Democrats.  Yet, Biden is refusing to confirm his position. What is particularly concerning is that Biden precisely and correctly denounced court packing schemes like the one supported by this running mate.  Just a year ago, he insisted “No, I’m not prepared to go on and try to pack the court, because we’ll live to rue that day.”

Here is the column: Continue reading “Destroying The Court To Save It: Democrats Wrongly Use Ginsburg To Push Court Packing Scheme” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

Democrats Introduce Unconstitutional Act To Limit The Tenure Of Supreme Court Justices

Democratic members are introducing a blatantly unconstitutional bill that would limit the tenure of U.S. Supreme Court justices to 18 years. In claiming to defend the Constitution, members like Rep. Ro Khanna (D., Cal.), Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D., Mass.), and Don Beyer (D., Va.) are offering a plan that is as illogical as it is unconstitutional. While the bill also includes a provision that I proposed decades ago for the expansion of the Court, the term limit would be dead on arrival at any court.

Continue reading “Democrats Introduce Unconstitutional Act To Limit The Tenure Of Supreme Court Justices” →

Academia, Politics, Society

Harvard Survey: Only Seven Percent Of Incoming Students Identify As Conservative

We have been discussing the rising intolerance for conservative, libertarian, and Republican students and faculty on campuses across the country. Faculties rarely hire conservative or libertarian professors; journals rarely publish studies from conservative authors.  As the number of conservative faculty members diminish or disappear on faculties, schools appear to be carrying out the same bias in student admissions. The Harvard Crimson has finished its annual survey of the incoming class of students and found that the already small population of conservative and Republican students has been cut by roughly half.

Continue reading “Harvard Survey: Only Seven Percent Of Incoming Students Identify As Conservative” →

Criminal law, Politics

Did Bloomberg Commit A Crime In Paying Off The Debts Of Black and Hispanic Former Felons To Allow Them To Vote?

Billionaire Mike Bloomberg has pledged to pour $100 million dollars in Florida alone to elect Joe Biden as part of his earlier pledge to pump hundreds of millions into the election.  The role of billionaires like Bloomberg and Sheldon Adelson in pouring hundreds of millions into the election for each side remains controversial, though many past critics of such windfall campaign financing are now demanding more support.  Bloomberg however is now under fire for pledging to pay off the debts of Black and Hispanic former felons to allow them to vote. The Washington Post reported that the funding of only Black and Hispanic former felons was due in part to the fact that they are more likely to vote for Biden.  That effort has led to allegations that Bloomberg may himself be committing a felony under Florida election laws. Much of this controversy is focused on the reporting of the Washington Post and an alleged Bloomberg memo. The money is actually distributed by a Florida organization committed to restoring voting rights for former felons.

Continue reading “Did Bloomberg Commit A Crime In Paying Off The Debts Of Black and Hispanic Former Felons To Allow Them To Vote?” →

International, Politics

“How Is Your Country Doing?”: Trump Draws Fire Over New Attacks On Rep. Omar

Many of us have previously denounced President Donald Trump for his disgraceful attacks on Rep. Ihan Omar’s (D., Minn.) roots in Somalia.  It is precisely the type of intolerant, anti-immigrant language that has led many former Trump voters to move away from his campaign in 2020. Nevertheless, President Trump resumed those attacks Tuesday night at a rally where he portrayed Somalia as “her country” as opposed to “our” country in the United States.

Continue reading ““How Is Your Country Doing?”: Trump Draws Fire Over New Attacks On Rep. Omar” →

Free Speech, International, Politics, Religion, Society

Turkish Feminist Jailed For Calling Erdogan “An Enemy of Women”

We have followed the rapid destruction of the secular government and civil liberties in Turkey under the authoritarian rule of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan used a failed coup to push his effort to create a de facto Islamic regime and to complete his work in arresting his critics, including forcing the resignation of thousands of secular academics, and suspending all civil liberties in a proclaimed state of emergency. Despite Erdogan’s repression of dissidents and groups in the name of Islam, there remain people of courage who defy him and his government. Sebahat Tuncel was sentenced Saturday for saying (four years ago) that Erdogan was a “complete misogynist” and an enemy of women — statements that are demonstrably true.

Continue reading “Turkish Feminist Jailed For Calling Erdogan “An Enemy of Women”” →

Academia, Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Media, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

Fact Check: New York Times Cuts Precedent for Election Year Nominations By Almost Half [Updated]

Last night, I was finalizing my column for USA Today when one of my editors flagged my reference to the roughly 30 election-year nominations to the Supreme Court as a possible error.  The New York Times ran a story declaring that there “there have been 16 Supreme Court vacancies that occurred before Election Day.” I have previously discussed glaring misstatements of cases in major media, but this was unnerving because the New York Times was suggesting that the precedent for the current nomination was roughly half as previously thought. I decided to do another rough count and, if anything, it would seem that the 29 nomination figure is arguably too low and that there appears almost twice the number cited by the New York Times.  The difference appears in part counting a calendar year rather than a year from election, but that approach causes problems in comparison given the earlier early election calendars.

Continue reading “Fact Check: New York Times Cuts Precedent for Election Year Nominations By Almost Half [Updated]” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

Yes, The Senate Can Confirm a New Nominee Before The Election

I was on CBS News today with my friend Kim Wehle on the replacement of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.  There is a legitimate debate over whether a president should wait for the next election for such a nomination to move forward. However, I disagree with Wehle that a nomination would be unlikely given the roughly 40 days left before the election. The Senate could move this nomination in that time and, judging from some past nominations, even have time to spare without setting a record.

Continue reading “Yes, The Senate Can Confirm a New Nominee Before The Election” →

Columns, Courts, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

A Kid Named Kiki: The Extraordinary Life and Legacy Of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the death of Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. We expect the nomination of her replacement this week and what could be the most heated confirmation process in history.  We may look back at Bork and Kavanaugh as examples of bipartisan tranquility by comparison. As Washington returns to its favorite blood sport, many will continue to mourn the loss of an extraordinary jurist.

Here is the column:

Continue reading “A Kid Named Kiki: The Extraordinary Life and Legacy Of Ruth Bader Ginsburg” →

Bizarre, Politics, Society

“Needs To Be Quashed Immediately”: Michigan Clerk Files Criminal Complaint Against Resident Who Mocks Mail-In Voting

A Michigan clerk appears to have taken a determined stand against lawn commode voting. The problem is not that Barb Byrum, the clerk of Ingham County is entirely humorless. Rather, she appears legally clueless in a complaint filed against a Mason, Michigan resident who put a toilet on their lawn with a sign that reads, “Place mail in ballots here.”  Byrum could have denounced it as scatological, but instead declared it unlawful on the basis of an absurd theory that people would mistake the toilet for a polling place or mailbox. However, the Democratic clerk vowed to “quash” anyone mocking the election in this way.

  Continue reading ““Needs To Be Quashed Immediately”: Michigan Clerk Files Criminal Complaint Against Resident Who Mocks Mail-In Voting” →

Congress, Politics, Society, Uncategorized

Senate Democrats Push Plan To Cancel Student College Loans Up To $50,000 Per Student

We have been discussing how both parties in Washington have been spending wildly for years in pushing the country to unprecedented and crippling debt levels.  We recently passed the “red line” of 106 percent of our GDP.  The roughly $27 trillion debt has not however deterred members who continue to push proposals to tack on trillions.  That was the case yesterday when Sen. Chuck Schumer and Elizabeth Warren are calling on President Trump to cancel $50,000 in federal student loan debt next year. Some 43 million Americans hold more than $1.6 trillion in federal student loan debt.  Such proposals may have merit but my concern is over the lack of any plan on dealing with the debt as well as the fact that this massive increase would be done by executive order.

Continue reading “Senate Democrats Push Plan To Cancel Student College Loans Up To $50,000 Per Student” →

Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, Justice, Politics, Society

The Use of Sedition Laws Against Rioters Would Be Wrong

I have been critical recently of remarks attributed to Attorney General Bill Barr, including the alleged consideration of criminal charges against a mayor for not acting against rioters and the use of sedition charges against some individuals. The latter allegation was reinforced by the Associated Press after it obtained a memo to United States attorneys.  The memo suggests a more general use of sedition for anyone opposing government authority by force. Such a use of sedition laws directly threatens free speech values and would return to dark periods of the suppression of dissent in our country.  It is also entirely unnecessary given the array of ample and severe laws available to punish looters and rioters.

Continue reading “The Use of Sedition Laws Against Rioters Would Be Wrong” →

Res ipsa loquitur – The thing itself speaks