In 2010, I (and others) criticized the Democratic leadership (including then Majority Leader Harry Reid and many of the continuing Democratic senators) for their use of the “nuclear option” in curtailing the power of the filibuster. I was equally critical of Republican leaders who previously suggested such a course of action. It was remarkably short-sighted and, like so many moves during this period, impulsive. The Democrats acted with little concern that they might ever be in the minority and need this critical power. They muscled through the Affordable Care Act on a marginal vote that cost various members their seats and passed a highly flawed bill that was plagued by problems of bad drafting and poor planning. Moreover, they secured relatively few confirmations to federal office. Now, however, the bill will come due for the Democrats as they long for the minority rights that they so blithely threw away. The first such cost will likely occur in the waiver that will be given to Gen. James N. Mattis who has not satisfied the requisite seven years to pass since retirement in order to become Secretary of Defense.
Continue reading “A Bill Comes Due For Democrats: The Use of the “Nuclear Option” Will Now Curtail The Powers Of The Democrats In The Senate”
Category: Society
We have previously discussed the banning of masterpieces due to contemporary objections to language or content. It is an assault on classic works that threaten the foundation for education in our country. A recent decision from a Virginia school to temporarily remove “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain and “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee is a tragic case in point. The school reportedly pulled the books after a parent said her high school-age son was negatively affected by the inclusion of racial slurs in the books, which deal with racism in those periods.
Hampshire College in Massachusetts caused a national outrage when the Administration ordered the placing of the American flag at half staff after Election Day. It then ordered the the removal of all flags after the flag was found burned on the ground. The flag has now been returned and College President Jonathan Lash is insisting that it was all a positive exercise of free speech. I disagree.
Continue reading “Hampshire College Raises American Flag After Weeks of Controversy”
As I mentioned yesterday, I am visiting Orlando to give a keynote speech at the Federal Bar Association on the Supreme Court. I have brought my youngest with me for the trip. Madie and I have had a ball visiting the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom on the first two days. The Association was generous enough to put us at the Waldorf-Astoria near the parks, which I will describe later for those interested in Orlando hotels.
Continue reading “Orlando: The Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom”
We recently discussed the courageous stand of the University of Chicago in favor of free speech (a position followed by schools like Purdue). We can now add the Cardiff University in Wales as a school standing with free speech principles over demands for censorship and “safe zones”. Conversely, student leaders at Tufts University unanimously voted against a measure protecting free speech by addressing the vague and fluid terms used to curtail free speech.
Continue reading “Cardiff and Tufts Universities: Two Divergent Paths On Free Speech”
Donald Trump has set off a new controversy with a signature early morning tweet. Trump lashed out at those who burn American flags and said that they should be punished for their actions. The problem is that this question was already answered by the Supreme Court, which found that such acts (while despicable) are constitutionally protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Continue reading “Trump Calls For Punishing Those Who Burn The American Flag”
There is an interesting case out of Denver where Heidi Hemmat at KDVR Fox 31 has resigned after death threats tied to her investigation of a local business. The threat however was not made to her directly but reported by the psychiatrist treating the owner. It appears to be a direct application of the ruling in Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California, 17 Cal. 3d 425, 551 P.2d 334, 131 Cal. Rptr. 14 (Cal. 1976), requiring doctors to disclose threats made by patients to their potential victims.
Continue reading “Reporter Resigns After Receiving Threats Over Investigative Story”
George Washington (where I teach at the law school) has become the focus of national attention due to a letter sent out by a collection of student groups that declared the security supplied by campus police to be an “act of violence” because police are viewed as supporting President-elect Donald Trump. It is an absurd and insulting position — part of a tirade by the groups calling for everything from providing sanctuary to undocumented immigrants to breaking down patriarchy, Islamophobia, and a myriad of other social ills. The deep sense of community and societal concerns reflected in the letter is a good thing and something that this university has always fostered. However, the gratuitous slap at our campus police is neither productive nor warranted.
Continue reading “GW Student Groups Denounce Campus Security Protection As “Act of Violence””
The beating of women in Islamic countries remains a serious concern, particularly after Islamic clerics advised men how to beat their spouses in Islamically correct ways (here and here and here). With the rise of Islamic parties in Morocco, women are particularly concerned. This concern was magnified recently with the airing of a state television program on how women can use makeup to cover bruises left by domestic violence.
Ok, what is wrong with this picture? A video taken by passenger Emma Baum shows an obnoxious man yelling support for Donald Trump on her flight and calling other passengers “Hillary bitches.” Delta proceeds to take the man off the plane but then returns the man to his seat and allows him to take the flight. Come again? A passenger yells profanities and abuses other passengers and Delta still reportedly allows him to take that flight with those passengers? Update: Delta has now banned the man from Delta flights for life.
We have yet another example of the barbaric application of Islamic Sharia law — a medieval system that is used in many Muslim nations to impose Islamic values on citizens. The latest example comes from Saudi Arabia where two women were sentenced by a Sharia “judge” to 20 lashes after having been found guilty of using bad language over WhatsApp.
Continue reading “Saudi Sharia Court Orders Two Women Flogged For Over Bad Language on Social Media”
University of Arkansas’ Dean, Michael Schwartz, has resigned after a backlash to his reaction over the election of Donald Trump. Schwartz, who has served four years as Dean, free counseling services to students who “feel upset” following the “most upsetting, most painful, most disturbing election season of my lifetime.”
Continue reading “Arkansas Dean Resigns After Trump Election Controversy”
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. We begin this day with the 50th Turley Turkey bowl with a couple dozen neighborhood kids and their families. It is an early game with copious amounts of hot chocolate, donuts, and treats. We then follow with my favorite meal of the year with roughly a large assemblage of friends and family. It is hard to imagine a better day (beyond the other Bears prevailing in a towering victory for Monsters of the Midway).
In celebration of Thanksgiving, I give you our annual Turkey Torts of civil and criminal cases that add liability to libations on this special day (with past cases at the bottom). Many criminal defense attorneys and torts attorneys give special thanks for a holiday that can involve copious amounts of alcohol, strained family relations, over-the-hill amateur football players, “Black Friday” sale stampedes, and novice cooks. The result is a horn of plenty for litigators. Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!
Donald Trump is under fire for saying this week that he is not legally bound to avoid conflicts of interest because such ethical standards do not apply to him. Various commentators objected but Trump insisted “The law’s totally on my side, the president can’t have a conflict of interest.” Trump is legally correct. There is a public disclosure rule that applies but not a binding conflict of interest law. The federal law exempts not just the President but also the Vice President.
Continue reading “Trump Is Legally Correct: Ethics Rules Do Not Apply To Him”