As discussed last night with Megyn Kelly (below), there are stories out this week of professors excusing students from classes or even exams due to the trauma caused by the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States. It is the same response that we saw to the Ferguson, Missouri riots, which I also criticized at schools like Columbia. I cancelled class so that everyone could participate in this historic election. Many of my students were poll watchers and campaign workers. However, we all returned the next day and, even my students upset with the results, directed that energy told their education and moving forward. I was proud of them. We do our students a disservice by reinforcing this modern version of the vapors, where students emotionally collapse when legal or political events do not go their way. Ironically, one of the things I most respect about Hillary Clinton is her fighting spirit. She tended to stand her ground and, when knocked down, to pick herself up immediately and fight again.
Category: Society
It appears that that “basket of deplorables” was a bit larger than Hillary Clinton expected. I was up to 4 am at Fox participating in the coverage of the election from New York. This was my fourth such presidential election as part a media team and it was fascinating to watch unfold at the campaign headquarters at Fox. History will judge the decisions of Democrats leaders in this election. As I have previously written, many in the Democratic National Committee and establishment (including allies in the media) did everything they could to engineer the election of Hillary Clinton. While they had an extremely popular candidate in Bernie Sanders as well as Vice President Joe Biden, they insisted on advancing Clinton despite her being deeply disliked and the ultimate symbol of the establishment that the public was rallying against. As the close race indicated, the selection of a Sanders or Biden might have produced a sweep of both the White House and the Senate for the Democrats. We will never know of course but what is clear is that Clinton was the least likely candidate to prevail in this environment. Democratic leaders lost possible control of both the Senate and the White House by forcing voters to vote for someone with record negatives. Voters were clear that they did not want Clinton, but the Democrats assumed that the “lesser of two evils” approach would again prevail. They were wrong. Many people voted for third party candidates and many people on the fence refused to pick the candidate most associated with the establishment and the status quo. I expect that history will judge the work of figures like Debbie Wasserman-Shultz and Donna Brazile harshly in the roles that they played and more generally in the failure of Democratic leaders to heed the clear demand from voters for a change in leadership. Hillary Clinton was a talented and historic nominee. However, she was also the very symbol of the establishment and heavily laden with the type of associations that the public was clearly reacting against.
Continue reading “DONALD TRUMP WINS THE PRESIDENCY IN HISTORIC VICTORY”
If there is one lesson that has already been learned from the 2016 election, it is that the media does actually matter . . . just not in the way that we had hoped. There has been a pronounced and rising bias against Donald Trump in the media. Some of the negative stories can be laid at the candidate’s own feet for controversial statements and actions. However, it has taken me back how consistent and aggressive the anti-Trump coverage has been in the mainstream media. It is as if Trump was declared the sole exception to the cherished media neutrality rules in this country. However, there has been an interesting response from the public, which views the mainstream media as a critical part of the “establishment.” The more the media drumbeat the call to defeat Trump, the more the public seems to swing toward the candidate. At the end of this election, the media needs to seriously examine its conduct in coverages, including the many Wikileaks emails showing both bias and coordination in favor of the Clinton campaign. One start would be something that I have long advocated: the media must stop endorsing political candidates.
I have long been a critic of Rolling Stone magazine and its contributing editor Sabrina Rubin Erdely (right) in its handling of the infamous campus rape story as well as the University of Virginia in not protecting the fraternity and its students in the controversy. (here and here and here). A jury has found that Erdely and Rolling Stone did defame Nicole Eramo, a U-Va. administrator who oversaw sexual violence cases at the time of the article’s publication. It is a victory for students and academics who are critical of the loss of due process rights for those accused of wrongdoing at universities, the subject of a prior column.
One of the issues that was raised repeatedly by Bernie Sanders and later by Donald Trump is the alliance between Hillary Clinton and David Brock, the founder of Media Matters. Brock has been widely attacked for what critics view as sleazy and vicious work on behalf of Hillary Clinton. You may recall Bernie Sanders denouncing Clinton for her continued alliance with Brock and use of his controversial PAC organizations. Sanders referred to Brock as simple “scum” but Clinton refused to denounced Brock or to discourage Democrats from working with or contributing to his PACs. It turns out that even Clinton aides were disgusted by Clinton’s refusal to cut off Brock or to denounced his work. In the latest batch of Wikileaks, Neera Tanden, the President of Center for American Progress, allegedly emailed John Podesta that “I hope Hillary truly understands now how batshit crazy David Brock is.”
Below is my column in USA Today after the Chicago Cubs won the World Series. It was a victory that demanded more than hits and pitches . . . it required goats.
Continue reading “THE REAL STORY BEHIND THE CHICAGO CUBS WINNING THE WORLD SERVES AFTER 108 YEARS”
Four same sex couples are seeking more than $233,058 in legal costs from Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in Rowan County last year. The demand raises some interesting questions over the right to recover fees and costs in such a case.
Continue reading “Same-Sex Couples Seek Fees and Costs For Suing County Clerk Kim Davis”
I have waited over five decades, but I can check off one of my bucket list items. This evening I was able to watch the Chicago Cubs win the World Series with a commanding performance. We can now begin our new era as the “lovable losers winners.” The USA Today has posted my column on the victory.
Continue reading “CURSED NO MORE: THE CHICAGO CUBS WIN THE WORLD SERIES AFTER 100 YEARS”
One can understand why Paula D’Amore is a tad confused. The South Florida mother gave birth in a car in a hospital parking lot. When the bill from the hospital came in, she was charged the full cost for a hospital delivery of $7,000. It is a story that sums up what many of us view is the inherent dishonesty in hospital charges.
Continue reading “Florida Woman Has Baby In Car . . . Hospital Charges Her The Full Delivery Costs”
The Justice Department is under fire for allowing the involvement in the investigation of a high-ranking official with close ties to Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. Now, in the latest disclosure of emails, it appears that Peter Kadzik, the assistant attorney general for legislative affairs, proved tips to Podesta on developments in the email controversy.
We previously discussed how Dallas Police Chief David Brown quietly changed a rule that would require officers involved in a shooting to wait 72 hours before making a statement. I was highly critical of the change, which treats officers differently from other witnesses to shootings and seeks to avoid contradictions in accounts — difference that might reveal culpability or collusion. Now, Pennsylvania is about to go one better. A new law would prevent the release of the names of officers involved in shootings by 30 days. The bill by Rep. Marina White (R) is designed as a “basic protection from threats” Supporter Rep. Dominic Costa (D) declared, “We are the protectors of our protectors.”
There is an interesting potential tort lawsuit in an incident at New York City’s Metropolitan Opera, which canceled its Saturday afternoon performance of “Guillaume Tell” after an audience member sprinkled what is believed to be the ashes of a deceased relative or friend. Update: The man involved in the incident has come forward and apologized. Dallas resident Roger Kaiser explained that he had promised his friend in 2012 (an opera lover) that he would scatter his ashes at various opera houses after his death.
Continue reading “The Met Cancels Shows After Man Spreads Ashes In Orchestra Pit [UPDATED]”
Here is our annual list of Halloween torts and crimes. This holiday remains a favorite for personal injury lawyers around the world and this year’s additions show why. Halloween has everything for a torts-filled holiday: battery, trespass, defamation, nuisance, product liability and more.
So, with no further ado, here is this year’s updated list of actual cases related to Halloween.
Continue reading “Spooky Torts: The 2016 List Of Halloween Litigation Horrors”
A recent story involving Boston Latin School recently caught my attention. First, I attended Latin School in Chicago, which like its Boston cousin is an elite private school. Second, the story confirmed my rising concern over the trend in elementary and high schools to instill a hyper-sensitive culture. At issue is something that many of us experienced in our childhood: dress codes. The students of Latin Boston however, have risen up in disgust over such dress codes as sexist attacks on women and even a cause for a rape culture.
Continue reading “Students Object To Dress Code At High School As Sexist”
As our presidential campaign de-evolves into petty name calling and calls for prosecution, the French are having a quintessentially French scandal of their own. French presidential hopeful Jean-François Copé has found himself in deep fondue after admitting that he did not know the price of pain au chocolat and then radically understated the price. Sacre Bleu. The French have not been so incensed since “The Terrors” and many have denounced Copé as an out-of-touch elitist.
Continue reading “Let Them Eat Pain Au Chocolat: French Presidential Candidate Triggers Controversy Over The Price of Pastries”