Matt Krause is a deeply religious man who feels that people too easily divorce. That is clearly understandable view and probably speaks well of his own marriage. However, Krause is also a Texas state representative and wants to make that decision more difficult for his neighbors. He has introduced bills that should more divorces more expensive and more time-consuming and thus more difficult for couples to secure. This is a point where libertarians and some conservatives part ways. As someone with strong libertarian tendencies, I recoil at the government enforcing moral codes on a couples in making it difficult for them to divorce after they have made that difficult decision within her marriage or families. He would specifically bar no-fault divorces to protect the sanctity of marriage.
Category: Politics
There is an interesting controversy brewing on Capitol Hill where Missouri Rep. Lacy Clay, D-Mo., wants California Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Ca) criminally charged after Hunter took down a painting by one of Clay’s constituents that contains insulting images of police as pigs and other animals. The question is what the crime might be in such a circumstance since the painting was not damaged. It is analogous to the recent controversy at the University of Pennsylvania where students pulled down a portrait of William Shakespeare and replaced it with a portrait of a black feminist author. The painting (as in this case) was brought undamaged to the office. Of course, this is the removal of art from a Capitol building.
There is a highly disturbing measure under consideration in Parliament this month. The government has proposed a new ratings system where students would give popularity (or unpopularity) rankings of schools. The Higher Education and Research Bill advocated by Universities Minister Jo Johnson has made it to a legislative committee. The proposed Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) imposes the system on universities which will be awarded gold, silver or bronze medals on the basis of a range of factors including student satisfaction, teaching excellence and preparation for the world of work. It is an effort to move beyond just ranking universities by their research excellence. Many academics have denounced the TEF as an obvious effort to coerce universities into yielding to demands from students on curriculum and other issues. The system would add new pressures on schools to yield to demands of students on curriculum and policies. It is turning over higher education to a type of academic social media where quality is based on your number of “likes.” If students “like” Laurette University more than Oxford, does that make Laurette the better school?
Continue reading “English Government Proposes New Rating System For Universities”
By Mike Appleton, Weekend Contributor
“Corporation, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility.”
-Ambrose Bierce, “The Unabridged Devil’s Dictionary”
I have frequently criticized media coverage of legal issues. For example, news reports often attribute significance to orders on routine procedural motions that is wholly unwarranted. And even reporters with legal backgrounds are not clear and understandable in their explanation of court rulings to laypersons. So when I came across reports that Treasury Secretary-designate Steven Mnuchin’s bank had filed a mortgage foreclosure action against a 90 year old Florida widow over 27 cents, I was skeptical.
But the story interested me because the subject of the suit resides in Polk County, only an hour’s drive from where I live. In addition, with the advent of electronic filing in court proceedings, I knew that I could access the court files online and review the actual record in the case. I have now done so and have concluded that the stories have been misleading, but not for the reasons one might expect. What has happened to Ms. Ossie Lofton of Lakeland, Florida is worse than what has been reported.
It is with profound personal sadness that I share the passing of one of the true great commentators of our generation. I have known Nat for decades. I knew him before he knew me. When I started to write as a columnist, Nat recognized a kindred spirit and reached out to me. I was floored to be getting a call from a man who I had so long admired. We kept up the communications on hot button sides. Nat didn’t use email (indeed he continued to use a typewriter). You would just get a call out of the blue with that unique gravely voice on the other end. He would immediately delve into something he read of mine or some idea that he had. I cherished every call. Nat was a mentor and a friend. With his passing goes one of the most authentic and brilliant minds of our generation. Many of us lost a friend but more importantly this country lost something that is becoming far, far more rare and precious: an honest voice. Nat was 91
Republican Arkansas Rep. Micah Neal has pleaded guilty to a shocking bribery and kickback scheme involving Arkansas evangelical Ecclesia College, a tiny Bible college in Springdale. Neal is facing up to 20 years for taking $38,000 in bribes. The father of two ran on his credentials as a pro-life, conservative leader.
We discussed earlier how Donna Brazile, the interim chair of the Democratic National Committee, denied the legitimacy of emails that showed her leaking a question to Hillary Clinton that would be asked verbatim at the CNN downhill event. The media has largely declined to investigate the claim, including confirming the receipt of the earlier email from the Clinton staffer. Now additional emails allegedly show Brazile secretly feeding information to the Clinton campaign. Again, there has been relatively little media attention to the story and CNN initially issued a remarkably weak response that it was “uncomfortable” with the new disclosures on Brazile’s actions while a CNN commentator. While CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker later called Brazile’s actions “disgusting” and others have denounced her actions and later contradictions, the DNC stuck with Brazile even praising her post-scandal appearance before staffers (with one notable exception). More importantly, despite the ease of simply questioning the other recipients to confirm or disprove Brazile’s claims, reporters have done little to confirm whether Brazile lied or told the truth about the emails (a significant story during the campaign). Now, the declassified intelligence report appear to directly dispute what Brazile has said but it is unclear if anyone in the media is willing to pursue the story against one of the most powerful figures in Washington Democratic circles.
Continue reading “U.S. Intelligence Report Contradicts Donna Brazile In Email Scandal”
Two men and two women have been arrested after the filming of a young white man being tortured as what appears to be black assailants shout “f–k white people” and “F–k Donald Trump.” While the assailants appear African American as well as the woman filming the disgusting video for Facebook, the police refused to release the race of the arrested individuals or say whether this appears to be a hate crime. There has also been no statement from the Justice Department or agents dispatched to the Chicago to open a duel federal investigation as was the case in racially charged crimes in places like Ferguson, Missouri. The response from the local commander in Chicago is particularly curious. [UPDATE: A second video has surfaced showing the man forced to drink from a toilet.]
We have been discussing the crackdown on “fake news,” including my view that this has become the latest rationale for various countries to rollback on free speech, including most recently top lawyers in Italy. Leaders who have long fought to curtail free speech may have found the perfect vehicle to convince citizens to voluntarily surrender their right to free speech, even celebrate its passing. It is all being done in the name of “truth”, which apparently can only be found on the other side of the criminalization of speech. The debacle at the Washington Post over the false Russian hacking of the U.S. electricity grid highlights the problem with how these governments will choose between those publications deemed criminally false and those deemed merely recklessly unproven. No one is suggesting that the Washington Post would be sanctioned for this story, though some see a deeper failure in how the Post handled the controversy. I am actually sympathetic with the error, which can happen with the best of journalists. In today’s fast pace toward publications, errors can occur despite efforts to confirm sources and facts. My interest in how to distinguish between the Posts and other publications or sites. In the last few weeks, the suggestion is that governments should move against publications or sites that they deem peddlers of false news. The incident with the Post raises the question how and when government would use this new power.
While many Democrats are calling for a shift back to the left and a rejection of the Clinton establishment, a recent poll from Gallup suggests that the population is moving further away from the party’s liberal wing. Indeed, Gallup found that more Americans consider themselves conservative than liberal. Yet, the real story is the loss from the middle of the spectrum.
We have been discussing the crackdown on “fake news,” including my view that this has become the latest rationale for various countries to rollback on free speech. Now Italy has has joined this ignoble list of Western countries using the ill-defined problem of “fake news” to justify the criminalization of speech and regulation of the Internet. Giovanni Pitruzzella, head of the Italian Competition Authority (an anti-trust body), has called for a crackdown by the European Union.
Continue reading “Leading Italian Lawyer Calls For A Crackdown On “Fake News” In The European Union”
When one thinks of the countries without a separation of church and state, countries like Israel, Iran, Saudi Arabia and others come readily to mind. It is often easy to forget that India struggles with the same issue as many call for the enforcement of core Hindi values. That was on display in Mewat, India when police raided roadside food stalls to confiscate beef and arrest anyone guilty of slaughtering a cow or selling the meat. This is a new local ordinance and violators can face 10 or 5 years respectively in jail.
Continue reading “India Cracks Down On Cow Slaughtering And The Sale Of Beef In Latest Attack On Secular Government”
I recently wrote about the growing threat of government regulation of speech on the Internet under the guise of combatting “fake news.” Germany has been ground zero for civil libertarians for the rollback of free speech. 
German Chancellor Angela Merkel long ago established herself as a menace to free speech, particularly in her decision to first apologize to authoritarian Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for a satirical poem and then approve the prosecution of the comedian is a shocking and chilling disgrace. Now, Germany is considering imposing a legal regime that would allow fining social networks such as Facebook up to 500,000 euros ($522,000) for each day the platform leaves a “fake news” story up without deleting it. Governments have finally found a vehicle to get citizens to allow them to curtail or chill speech — ironically in the name of facilitating “real news” or “truth.” It is perfectly Orwellian and Merkel’s latest contribution to the erosion of free speech in the West. I recently discussed the issue as part of an interesting segment with Ted Koppel.
Continue reading “Germany Moves To Impose Crippling Fines On Social Networks For “Fake News””
Honolulu’s Café 8 ½ appears to be serving dishes with an anti-democratic relish after the election. To the delight of many of its customers, it has barred anyone who supports President-elect Donald Trump from eating at the Hawaiian restaurant. The sign on the front door reads “If you voted for Trump you cannot eat here! No Nazis.” The sign has caused a firestorm of controversy for the relatively small restaurant.
We recently discussed how rabbis have issued warnings to hotels and other businesses not to display Christmas trees as offensive to Jewish values, even threatening to pull the kosher certification from businesses. Now, a leading Muslim authority has declared that even wishing neighbors a “Merry Christmas is worse than murder. It is “haram” or forbidden. The view of Dr. Zakir Naik is not new (and he stated this view years earlier), but there is an interesting alternative take on the issue in The New York Times by a Muslim writer on the shared traditions between Christianity and Islam.
