There is a troubling case out of New York where U.S. District Judge Mae D’Agostino of Albany threw out a lawsuit alleging the denial of free speech after the government banned a food truck from a vendor program because its name was an Italian slur. The slur is “dago.” It appeared on the food truck “Wandering Dago” owned by Andrew Loguidice and Brandon Snooks. I am half Sicilian and I may share that heritage with Judge D’Agostino. However, while we may both view the slur in the same way, we may see free speech protections differently. Judge D’Agostino wrote a comprehensive and interesting opinion that carefully looked at the governing precedent over forums and free speech. Moreover, it is important to note that Judge D’agostina was applying cases that she felt compelled this result as a lower court judge. She ultimately found no protection for barring a truck based on the sensibilities of others. The case is Wandering Dago, Inc. v. Destito, 1:13-cv-1053 (MAD/DJS), UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26046.
Category: Society
We have been discussing the crackdown on speech deemed offensive or insulting to anyone or any group on U.S. campuses. The latest example can be found at Bowdoin, one of the country’s oldest and leading colleges. Two student government members are facing calls for punishment and impeachment for attending a party where some people wore tiny sombreros.
Continue reading “Bowdoin Students Facing Impeachment For Attending Party With Sombreros”
We have previously discussed the troubling use of statutory rape charges in cases where two teenagers have consensual sex. It is even more problematic when only the boy is charged. Yet, that appears to be the case in Kildare, Ireland where two sixteen year olds had consensual sex but the boy was then charged with rape. Judge Desmond Zaidan expressed “serious concerns” over the charges but the prosecutor has persisted in the case.
Continue reading “Irish 16-Year-Old Boy Charged With Statutory Rape For Consensual Sex With 16-Year-Old Girl”
Below is my Sunday column yesterday in the Washington Post on reforming our political system. We are certainly, as the Chinese curse says, “living in interesting times.” We seem to be in the midst of an American revolution where citizens have arisen in collective disgust of the establishment and the status quo. For years, citizens have objected to a political system that is dysfunctional and detached. The two parties have largely ignored these objections and many have objected to this “doupoly” on power. For many, answer of the two parties to the American people seems to be the same as Henry Ford to customers of the Model T Ford: “you can have any color so long as it is black.” In the United States, you can have any party so long as it is red or blue; Republican or Democrat. Yet, in 2016, the public has responded with a deafening rejection of the establishment. The most obvious is Donald Trump who is the perfect personification of an angry electorate. On the democratic side, a 74-year-old Democratic Socialist has rocked the Democratic party, which overtly rigged a primary system to guarantee the selection of the ultimate establishment figure: Hillary Clinton. However, we seem to go this cathartic exercise every four years rather than seek some changes to break down the insularity of government. There is another way. Instead of just choosing some personality that matches our angry politics, we can really change the system . . . for the better. The Framers gave the public the power to solve our own problems, including the ability to circumvent Congress with a constitutional convention. We have the anger. The question is whether we have the answer.
Below is the column. There are a host of other changes that can be made to improve the system, including many that can be down without a constitutional amendment. However, there is a value in focusing on a few basics that could have a transformative effect on the respective branches of government.
Continue reading “Voters Want A Revolution. Here’s What It Would Take.”
As China continues its crackdown on dissidents and journalists and lawyers, it appears to be slipping back into its old habits from the cultural revolution. Chinese censors have issued new regulations banning all depictions of gay people on television. Other depictions banned as “vulgar, immoral and unhealthy content include content showing extramarital affairs, one night stands and underage relationships as illegal on screen. The new censorship regulation also extends to “smoking, drinking, adultery, sexually suggestive clothing, even reincarnation.”
There is a recent controversy over Whole Foods that pushed the buttons for many of us who object to over packaging and unnecessary used of plastics. The United States continues to generate more garbage than any other nation and does not have the type of laws as in Germany where countries must internalize the costs of such packaging (giving them an economic incentive to reduce excess material). Now her twitter account Nathalie Gordon in London found a humorous but effective way to same Whole Foods into dropping a product of pre-pealed oranges sealed in little plastic boxes.
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
While I am usually in agreement with Professor Turley’s views on free speech, I must disagree in large part with his opinion as he states in his article concerning England moving to bar support of local governments to boycott Israel and by extension other governments.
I do agree with his concern and objection of governments jailing individual citizens for engaging in boycotts of various entities. Allowing local governments to enact legislation calling for boycotts themselves is however problematic.
Continue reading “A Dissenting View On Our Host’s Article “England Moves To Bar Support For Israeli Boycott Movement””
We have recently discussed how Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia have arrested and flogged atheists under medieval Sharia legal systems. However, the most recent case is not out of the Middle East but rather Russia. Viktor Krasnov has been arrested for simply stating his belief that “there is no God” during an argument on social media. For his atheist views, Krasnov has been charged with “offending believers feelings.” He is the latest victim of the political alliance of Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church.
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Sharissa Turk, 25, is dead. If you do not recognize the name, your kids might. Turk was the “blue drug fairy” in a YouTube video that went viral entitled “My World Is Blue.” The video was made by Staten Island’s White Trash Clan and produced by Turk’s one-time fiancé Incite DaRiot.
Continue reading ““Blue Drug Fairy” From Viral YouTube Video Found Dead From Reported Overdose”
There is a disturbing case out of Snaresbrook Crown Court in England where an Islamic studies tutor raped his 14-year-old pupil and left her pregnant. Mohammed Islam, 31, reportedly started molesting the schoolgirl in 2010 when she was just nine while teaching her the Koran. He has been sentenced to 19 years.
Ok, this would seem a straightforward case. A student at in Union, South Carolina, steals his teacher’s phone and then accesses her private photographs. He finds semi-nude pictures that she took for her husband for Valentine’s Day and shared them with other students. Result? Union County schools superintendent David Eubanks (left) and his colleagues demanded her resignation. I can certainly understand why teacher Leigh Anne Arthur might be a tad confused.
Continue reading “Student Steals Teacher’s Phone and Posts Semi-Nude Private Pictures . . . School Demands Resignation of Teacher”
Just when you thought you could not get more depressed about the state of humanity. Uganda officials are dealing with a rash of mutilations and murders of children. The reason is chilling. Some Ugandans believe that mutilating and murdering children can bring you good luck. With the recent Ugandan elections, people appear to have tried to rig the outcome through child ritualistic murder. Makes you feel a little better about the current crop of candidates in our elections. Ritualistic child murder is perhaps the only thing that they have not accused each other of.
Renee Rabinowitz, a retired lawyer with a Ph.D. in educational psychology who lives in Jerusalem, has finally had enough with having to deal with sexist rules imposed by Orthodox men. The 81-year-old woman has filed a discrimination lawsuit against Israeli airline El Al after she was allegedly forced to move seats after an Ultra-Orthodox man complained about having to sit next to a woman. As have previously discussed such cases where religious men have forced delays and movement of women without penalty from El Al — requiring everyone else to accommodate their extreme religious views. Even Delta airlines did nothing after ultra orthodox men prevented a flight from taking off until women were moved from the seats that they rightfully purchased.
Three black female college students in Albany have been accused of assault after originally claiming they had been the victims of a racist attack from “10-12 white men” on a city bus. The alleged attack happened on January 30th and Ariel Agudio, Alexis Briggs and Asha Burwell (all 20) claimed that they were the victims of a racist attack. However, after the videotape was reviewed the police found that it was the three students who allegedly initiated the attack and then participated in rallies denouncing racism in America. Hillary Clinton tweeted support for the women in their claim as victims of racist.
Saudi Arabia is again reminding the world of the medieval demands of its religious, Sharia legal system. Recently, Saudi Arabia enacted a law making atheism a form of terrorism. It was an act that reaffirmed the Kingdom as one of the most oppressive government’s in terms of free speech and free exercise of religion. The law was particularly ironic since Saudi Arabia and its extreme Wahhabi brand of Islam has been a major contributor to Islamic extremist and terrorism around the world. However, it is atheism that the Kingdom believes is the source of terrorism. Making good on that threat, a Saudi court has sentenced an atheist to 10 years in prison and 2,000 lashes for expressing his views on Twitter posts.
Continue reading “Saudi Arabia Sentences Atheist To 10 Years In Prison and 2000 Lashes For Speaking About His Values On Twitter”