We previously discussed the controversy over a painting by a constituent of Democratic Rep. William Lacy Clay that depicted police as pigs in Ferguson, Missouri. As we discussed, the House had a right to remove the art and eventually did precisely that. However, before that decision from the House, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R., Cal.) took down the painting. Clay called for criminal charges. When the painting was rehung, another Republican member removed it. At the time, Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said “We may just have to kick somebody’s ass and stop them. Then the architect stepped in and barred the hanging of the picture. A lawsuit challenged the actions of the House of Representatives and I expressed my great skepticism over the merits of such a case. It appears that U.S. District Judge John D. Bates agrees with that assessment. In a ruling yesterday, Bates rejected the claim that the Architect’s actions were unlawful in removing the painting by David Pulphus, a student artist from Missouri. Pulphus joined Rep. William Clay, in the legal challenge.
Category: Politics
The world has condemned the referendum that narrowly gave near dictatorial powers to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Not only was the government accused of tampering with the close results, but the referendum represents the final demise of democracy in Turkey. Erdogan is also responsible for destroying the separation of church and state. However, Erdogan did get one call of congratulations . . . from the President of the United States.
There is an interesting study out this week by two University of Kentucky researchers that the number of atheists may be twice as large as previously estimated. The number may be closer to 26 percent — an fascinating prospect given the politics surrounding faith-based initiatives and policies. As I have previously discussed, both parties have courted the religious vote and largely ignored the sizable number of Americans who are either agnostic or atheist. That number may be finally reaching a political tipping point for office holders to heed their preferences for secular government and the separation of church and state. We have previously discussed studies indicating that one out of four Americans may not believe in God. This study would seem to support those earlier estimates.
We have been discussing the erosion of free speech on our campuses across the country. Much of that trend is the result of faculty members who have taught that free speech itself is a threat to students. The erosion of free speech has come in stages. First, schools began to declare speech to be hate speech while creating “safe zones” from the exercise of free speech. Second, schools began to enforce the ill-defined “microaggressions” to punish speech that is deemed as contributing to hostile environments or fostering stereotypes. Now, faculty and students are increasing declaring opposing views as simply outside of the definition of free speech. That extreme argument was advanced this week by the editors of The Wellesley News who published a column entitled “Free Speech Is Not Violated At Wellesley.” It is chilling message from the Editorial Board composed of Co-Editors in Chief Sharvari Johari and Michele Lee and opinion editors Maya Nandakumar, Genae Matthews, and Tabitha Wilson. Once the champions of free speech, students have become the new censors and have adopted the perfectly Orwellian notion that the protection of free speech requires the denial of free speech. Continue reading “Wellesley Students Editors Endorse Silencing Opposing Speakers And Declare “Hostility May Be Warranted””
I have been writing about the surprising bias shown in coverage of the Trump Administration. While I strongly disagree with Trump’s portrayal of the media and believe that much of the negative coverage is legitimate coverage of Administration missteps and controversies, the media appears to be losing sight of its navigational beacons in pursing Trump like some “great white” out of Moby Dick. The latest example is an interview of actress Debra Messing by MSNBC reporter Morgan Radford during the Tax Day Protests. (For the record, I agree that Trump should disclose his tax records and that his rationale of being audited is not a compelling legal basis for withholding the records). In the course of the interview, Radford not only refers to “our voices” in agreement with the protesters but refers to the Trump Administration as threatening democracy.
The attack on the Syrian airfield has sent the polls for President Donald Trump into a sharp rise and he has been praised by various Democrats. Others have called for the commitment of thousands of troops. No one seems interested in speaking of the absence of congressional authorization. Indeed, when Sen. Rand Paul objected to the lack of congressional consent, Sen John McCain denounced him as a non-entity in the Senate who does not listens. Below is my column on the mounting attacks on Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D, HI) from Democrats after she called for the release of evidence on the culpability of the Syrian government in the recent gas attack on a village. Even though some (including a recent MIT professor) have questioned the evidence, Gabbard’s desire to see the evidence was viewed as inexcusable. It appears that war, like Saturn, devours its young.
We have previously discussed the inherent conflict between Islamic governments and free speech and free exercise. There is also a recognition among extremists that democracy itself is incapable with the dream of an Islamic caliphate. The head of the Tunisian Islamist Hizb ut-Tahrir movement made this point vividly clear in calling for all good Muslim to “bury” democracy.
Continue reading “Tunisian Islamic Head Calls For The Death Of Democracy”
There has been an abundance of discussion of Kendall Jenner’s “social justice” Pepsi ad that proved a disaster for the company after Black Lives Matter objected that (even though no signs in the commercial referred to BLM) the commercial trivialized BLM. The commercial showed people marching with signs saying things like “Join the conversation” and Jenner giving a police officer a Pepsi. When I saw it, I just thought it was sappy and shallow. It was an effort of another major company to sell its product on a social justice theme. Even if you want your Pepsi with a side of social justice, companies want to be praised as having a conscience without actually saying anything controversial or edgy. To corporate and media officials, Jenner wiping off her make up was a brave and edgy moment. (Apparently a starlet taking off her makeup is a brave and inspiring thing to behold). The commercial however has raised a legal question that returns to a prior subject discussed on this blog: copyright and trademark laws. It appears that not only did BLM hate the commercial, so did the police. The San Francisco Police have threatened a lawsuit stating the image of a badge looks like their official badge, and used without their permission. Once again, I do not know how we allowed Congress to put us in this place where showing a police badge (or in this case a badge resembling a police badge) can get you sued.
Pakistan continues to remind the West that it remains a country struggling with Islamic extremists — encouraged by the country’s lack of separation between mosque and state. The latest victim of such extremism is a college student named Mashal Khan who was accused of merely sharing a message on social media deemed blasphemous. The response of these self-professed godly men in the northern city of Mardan was to beat the victim to death in the name of Islamic morality. What is even more distressing is that the culprits appear to be fellow students. They no doubt learned this particular lesson from the government itself (and our ally) which still makes blasphemy a capital offense.
Continue reading “Pakistani Student Mob Beats Fellow Student To Death For Blasphemy On Social Media”
In a major tactical victory for the Trump Administration, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has agreed to expedite the review of appeal of a Maryland district court judge in blocking the immigration order of President Donald Trump. The Fourth Circuit will hear the appeal en banc rather than leave the matter to a three-judge panel. That decision favors the Administration and will reduce the time for appeal.
Continue reading “Fourth Circuit Agrees To Hear Appeal En Banc Over Trump Immigration Order”
Below is my recent column in The Hill Newspaper on the Rice controversy. Media spins for Rice continue including MSNBC “AM Joy” host Joy Reid describing the softball interview with Andrea Mitchell as a type of “Government for Dummies” lecture: “She was on with our own Andrea Mitchell yesterday trying to explain how government works, for those that don’t know.” Of course, unmasking political opponents (if the allegations are proven to be true), would not be how the government is supposed work. Nor is alleged lying about knowing nothing about the unmasking in prior interviews — a curious conflict with Reid’s take that Rice was trying to explain how government works. This was Rice’s second or third explanation.
The controversy occurs after the Washington Post gave Rice a retroactive “Four Pinnochios” for her claim that the Obama Administration got rid of all chemical weapons in Syria. (That is not the first time that Rice has been accused of false statements on national security issues, as discussed below). None of this seems to matter in the coverage of the most recent controversy involving Rice. It appears that Trump is the temptation that many journalists simply cannot resist. It is a Faustian bargain: media is so intent on pursuing Trump that they have lost any sense of their own navigational beacons of objectivity and neutrality.
Continue reading “The Rice Controversy: Is The Media Proving Trump Correct?”
We have been discussing the alarming rollback on free speech on United States campuses with the active or passive support of university and college administrators (with the exception of schools like University of Chicago). Students now treat free speech as itself a threat and seek to prevent other students from hearing from speakers with whom they disagree. The latest such example is at Claremont McKenna College where students succeeded in preventing other students from hearing from Heather MacDonald due to her pro-police views.
Continue reading “Claremont McKenna Protesters Disrupt Pro-Police Speaker”
In a blow to environmentalists and animal rights supporters, President Donald Trump has signed a new law that revokes the Obama Administration’s rule against “predator control” hunting on Alaska’s refuges. The rule prevented hunters from killing bears as they hibernated in their dens or killing wolf cubs in dens. It also bars hunting from helicopters.
I have been discussing how the Congress is again willfully ignoring its constitutional duty on the declaration of war as our intervention in Syria expands. Democratic leaders like Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer have fallen over each other to praise the attacks even though Congress never authorized the action. Hillary Clinton was calling for attacks in Syria just hours before the attack, as she did in Iraq, Libya and other past conflicts. The United States just attacked a foreign nation that had not attacked the United States. It was done with little consultation and no authorization from Congress. However, as with prior wars, the attacks remain politically popular so Congress is silent with the exception of a few members like Sen. Rand Paul. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) however has gone further to denounce Paul as simply “wrong” and virtually mock him as a nonentity in calling for such congressional authority. He is alone in the Senate, McCain insisted, in his demand that Congress fulfill its Article I duties. It is a sad moment for those who believe in a textualist or formalist approach to constitutional powers. All of those textualists who proudly embraced Neil Gorsuch are now apparently living constitutionalists as the subject turns to yet another war.
The crackdown on free speech and dissent in Russia knows few bounds. Vladimir Putin’s image or name are often treated as virtually sacred as when people were arrested for showing the authoritarian leader in underwear or spitting on his image in protest. Now the Russian Justice ministry has banned this image of Putin as a gay clown as “gay propaganda” promoting homosexuality. Of course, the greater concern may be promoting free speech in a nation rapidly replacing individual rights with a cult of personality.
Continue reading “Russia Bans Picture of Putin As Gay Clown”