Category: Politics

Bizarre, Criminal law, Politics, Society

National Anthem To Be Sung Tonight in Florida By Wrongly Convicted Man

When the the Star Spangled Banner is sung at Tropicana Field before the Rays take on the Cleveland Indians tonight, you might want to look more closely at the singer. William Dillon, 52, was released from prison to make the gig after serving 27 years for a murder that he did not commit. His story is not simply an inspiring account of one man’s struggle to prove his innocence, but illustrative of the problems in our criminal justice system.

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Bizarre, Politics, Religion, Society, Torts

Fair or Fowl? Chic-fil-A President Describes Company As Run On Biblical Principles And Agenda

Dan Cathy, the president of the fast food chain Chic-fil-A, has come out swinging against his critics who have charged that he has run his company with an anti-gay, religious based agenda. Cathy stated that he is “guilty as charged” and double downed on the issue — promising to continue to run the company according to “Biblical” dictates. I guess you just think of the Last Supper and think how Jesus would prepare your Chick-fil-a deluxe. [Update: The restaurant is now trying to dampen the rising outcry from gay rights groups while not denying any of the statements made by its chief operating officer.]

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Bizarre, Congress, International, Politics, Society

Post Service Or The Karzai Family Fund? Congress Unsure Of Whether To Save Postal Service in The United States For A Fraction of The Cost of The Afghan Budget

Many of us have been highly critical of the decision of President Obama to allow our involvement in the Iraq and Afghan wars to continue. We continue to lose men and women in these countries and spend billions of badly needed revenue in countries where we are increasing despised. Indeed, Iraq is now becoming one of Iran’s closest allies and supporting that country in conflicts with the United States. While accepting hundreds of billions, Karzai has called the U.S. the enemy and said that he wished that he was fighting with the Taliban. We have been comparing the costs bankruptcies of cities and closing of programs with the billions spent or simply lost to corruption in these countries, particularly Afghanistan where the Karzai government has reportedly allowed billions to be stolen by Karzai family and associates. Now our postal system is facing default and its future is again in doubt. While Congress is unsure of whether to save this basic service for citizens, it has done little as many billions of dollars are stolen or wasted in countries like Afghanistan. It is perfectly insane.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, Lawyering, Media, Politics, Society

Human Rights Watch Issues Report On Loss Of Civil Liberties Under Chávez

The Human Rights Watch has issued a damning report on the loss of freedoms and civil liberties under Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. HRW found a comprehensive rollback of core political and legal rights for journalists, dissidents, and the courts. As I have noted before, I am astonished how many in the liberal community in the United States have been muted in their opposition to Chávez who has modeled his government on that of Castro in Cuba while establishing alliances with some of the worst dictators in the world.
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Bizarre, International, Politics, Society

French City Demands England’s Coronation Jewels To Compensate For The Beheading of Edward Plantagenet in 1499

The French city of Angers in Loire Valley has made an interesting demand for restitution. Angers has demanded that England turn over the Royal Jewels for the murder of Edward Plantagenet in the Tower of London in 1499. The town values the termination of the Plantagenet line of kings at billions of dollars, but the city will accept the Crown Jewels in exchange for ending its string of 14 English kings, including Richard the Lionheart and Henry V.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Politics, Religion, Society

Saudi Arabia Moves Toward Expansion of Blasphemy Law To Cover Social Networks and Blogs

Saudi Arabia is moving to expand its already draconian laws concerning blasphemy. The new regulations by the ultra-conservative Shura council following the arrest of Saudi blogger and columnist Hamza Kashgari, 23, was arrested for tweeting comments deemed as insulting the Prophet Mohammad.

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Congress, Media, Politics

Scott Brown and His Royal Connections: Senator McDreamy “Misspeaks” about Having Had Secret Meetings with Kings and Queens…Etc.

Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger

Elizabeth Warren, a lawyer who is an expert in bankruptcy law and the woman responsible for the creation for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, is the Democratic candidate for the US Senate in Massachusetts. She is running against incumbent Scott Brown, aka Senator McDreamy. Brown, a Republican, won Ted Kennedy’s senate seat in a special election in 2010. He was helped in his bid to win the election by the Tea Party, lots of campaign contributions from big banks, and Martha Coakley—his Democratic opponent who proved to be a truly inept political campaigner.

We have had a number of discussions on the Turley Blawg about Brown’s opponent Elizabeth Warren this year (here, here, here, and here). I thought it time to shed some light on Scott Brown who has focused much of his campaign talk calling into question Elizabeth Warren’s credibility because of her claim that she has Native American ancestry.

Brown has been criticized by Warren—as well as by other democrats, Massachusetts residents, and members of the news media—because he has spent so little time discussing substantive issues that are of true import to his constituents and to this country.

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

Poll: Supreme Court’s Standing Falls Further After Health Care Decision

During the recent coverage on the health care decision, I had repeated occasion to disagree with co-commentators who heralded the Roberts decision as a triumph for the Court in regaining credibility and getting beyond ideological divisions. That seems curious to me since the vote was still 5-4 and was fractured into multiple opinions. The Roberts opinion in my view was also fundamentally in conflict with itself and re-wrote the federal law in a new image. It appears that the opinion did not alter the opinion of the public, either. If anything the public’s view of the Court has worsened after the decision.

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Politics, Religion, Society

Gallop: Faith In Organized Religion At All-Time Low

While both President Obama and his Republicans challengers continue to engage in faith-based politics, a recent poll shows Americans faith in organized religion at an all-time low. Nevertheless, attacks on atheists and agnostics and secularists appear at an all-time high in the West (here and here).

Ironically, while confidence in our politicians are also at an all time low, they have reached out to churches to help push the faithful to the polls.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Media, Politics, Society

Russia Moves To Restrict Internet Sites — Putin Crackdown Supported By InfoWatch CEO

While declaring the demise of the West, Russian President Vladimir Putin is close to enacting sweeping new powers to regulate the Web and block sites of his government’s choosing.  He has received support from Natalya Kaspersky, chief executive of InfoWatch, who said that the Web could use some government control and that civil libertarians are exaggerating concerns about Putin’s control of speech on the Internet. For those people signing up with InfoWatch, it may come as a bit of a surprise that the company is aligned with a man who is rolling back on basic civil liberties for millions and working to limit speech on the Internet — a threat to his authoritarian agenda. Kaspersky actually heralds the possible benefits of a Russian blacklist controlled by Putin.

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Academia, Bizarre, Criminal law, International, Politics, Religion, Society

Islamic Militants Destroy Historic Sites In Timbuktu

Islamic militants destroyed two of the historic tombs at the famous 14th century Djingareyber mosque in Timbuktu this week. The militants from the Ansar Dine group say the centuries-old shrines of the local Sufi version of Islam are idolatrous. In the meantime, some Egyptian Muslim extremists are following the victory by the Muslim Brotherhood with demands that the pyramids be destroyed for the same reason. Obviously these are extreme groups within the Muslim community. This later story is based on accounts coming from various sites but appear based on the same claimed translation of sites, though some have called it a hoax.

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Bizarre, Politics, Society

Trump Selected As “Statesman of the Year”

This week Richard Posner, the conservative icon and intellectual on the Seventh Circuit, shocked many by saying that he was estranged from the Republican Party and becoming less conservative due to the “goofy” direction that the GOP has taken in recent years. As if on cue, the Sarasota Republican Party has decided that this year’s “statesman of the year” is none other than Donald Trump. That’s right, according to the Sarasota GOP, Donald Trump is the greatest statesman this year. Some would call it “goofy,” some would say “delusional.” I am honestly curious is GOP leadership in Sarasota are just out to sell tickets at any cost to their own credibility or whether they honestly believe this widely ridiculed character is a statesman in some parallel universe.

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Academia, Bizarre, International, Politics, Religion, Society

Right Particle, Wrong God: Pakistani Nobel Winner’s Existence Erased In School Books Due To His Religious Beliefs

You would think that the claimed discovery of the Higgs boson — or God’s Particle — would lead to a new round of celebration in Pakistan over its own Nobel laureate, Adbus Salam. After all, Salam helped develop the theoretical framework that led to the apparent discovery of the subatomic particle. However, before laying the ground work for discovering the God Particle, Salam picked the wrong God in the view of many Pakistanis. Salam, who died in 1996, has been stricken from school textbooks and public acknowledgments because he was a member of the Ahmadi sect that is viewed by Muslims as heretical.

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Criminal law, International, Military, Politics, Religion, Society

Afghan Taliban Commanders Fight Over Woman Then Have Her Executed As Adulteress As Dozens Of Men Cheer

We have followed the plight of women in Afghanistan as both the Taliban and the government roll back on advances in women’s rights after the U.S. invasion. Now another disturbing video has surfaced where dozens of men cheer as a man pumps round afer round into a woman accused of adultery. As nine shots are fired into her, the men cheer “God is Great!” in ecstatic celebration, as shown in the video accompanying the article below. Notably, this killing took place not in some far off province but the village of Qimchok to the north of Kabul.

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Bizarre, International, Politics, Society

The Smith and Wesson Debate School: Jordanian Member of Parliament Pulls Gun On Debate Opponents

Jordanian MP Mohammed Shawabka has a more direct method of debate that most politicians. During a television debate with an activist, Shawabka first throws a shoe at his opponent and than pulls a gun on him — pointing it at him on live television.

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