A Georgia grand jury has indicted former police officer Justin Gregory Craven (left) for the shooting death of an unarmed driver, Ernest Satterwhite, 68, through his car window following a car chase. What is interesting about the case is the grand jury rejected homicide charges and the prosecutors then asked and received a charge for discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle.
Continue reading “Georgia Officer Indicted In Shooting Of Unarmed Driver”
At 10 a.m. tomorrow morning, Judge Rosemary M. Collyer of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia will hear argument on the motion to dismiss filed by the defendants in U.S. House of Representatives v. Burwell, et al., No. 1:14-cv-01967 (D.D.C.). The defendants are the Departments of Health and Human Services and Treasury, and the secretaries of those two executive branch agencies. The Administration is seeking to prevent the Court from reaching the merits of this historic case, which was authorized by an affirmative vote of the entire House of Representatives on July 30, 2014, and which the House filed for the purpose of protecting our constitutional structure.
Continue reading “FEDERAL COURT TO HEAR HISTORIC CHALLENGE OVER SEPARATION OF POWERS”
For those of us who have been vocal critics of the flagrant and open corruption of FIFA, there is finally some good news. Swiss authorities swooped into a hotel Wednesday and arrested some of the top soccer officers on corruption charges in the United States. The police notably went to one of the most expensive hotels in the world where these officials were treating themselves to another gold-plated over-the-top meeting with views of the Alps and Lake Zurich. They were led from the five-star hotel in an early morning raid, but many will be disappointed that one official remained in his luxury hotel room untouched: Sepp Blatter (right), FIFA’s longtime president who has ruled over one of the most corrupt organizations in sports for years. While the slogan of FIFA is “For the Game. For the World,” it has been run for the benefit of its leadership for decades. This prosecution, not FIFA, can be properly embraced as “For the Game. For the World.” Continue reading ““For the Game, For the World”: Swiss Police Raid FIFA Meeting And Arrest Senior Officials in Corruption Investigation”
Best wishes to all on this Memorial Day. It is a sobering holiday as we think of all of the brave men and women that we have lost around the world. I went this morning for dawn hike on Billy Goat trail for a quiet start of the day as the sun was coming up over the Potomac. It was glorious.
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
The Dutch Cabinet voted to draft a bill to enforce a ban on wearing the Islamic burqa in various government buildings and institution. Citing what were described as security concerns, the government in a statement declared “Face-covering clothing will in [the] future not be accepted in education and healthcare institutions, government buildings and on public transport.”
Prime Minister Mark Rutte stated to journalists: “The bill does not have any religious background.”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
With all constituencies reporting, the Irish citizenry approved a constitutional amendment recognizing gay marriage: Yes 1,201,607; No 734,300.
The Constitution of Ireland permits amendment only by popular vote. A vote of the people for such amendments can provide more legitimacy and acceptance by the public and judging by the margin gay marriage will probably gain acceptance more readily. Nevertheless it does not necessarily engender full acceptance of such partnerships as over seven hundred thousand voters chose otherwise. Some institutions in Irish society will struggle to come to terms with the new direction Ireland is pursuing.
Continue reading “Gay Marriage Referendum Passes In Ireland. Unresolved Issues Will Remain”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
On Friday Irish Citizens went to the polls to vote by referendum on a constitutional amendment allowing same-sex marriage. If passed Ireland will join nineteen other nation states who have legalized such marriages and will be the first to enact the petition by popular referendum.
The topic of the referendum garnered such strong interest it is expected that a large percentage of Ireland’s 3.2 million registered voters will go to the polls. In fact, reportedly, unexpectedly high numbers returned home at their personal expense to cast votes.
Continue reading “Irish Voters Abroad Returning Home To Vote On Same-Sex Marriage Referendum”
There are new calls for the termination of incoming Boston University sociology professor Saida Grundy after disclosure that she has a criminal record from Michigan. Grundy has become the best known academic at BU before even starting her academic career at the institution . . . for all the worst reasons. However, at the risk of being called an apologist, I again believe that this is not grounds for termination and that BU should allow Grundy to assume her teaching post.
Membership of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council (HRC) has always been a rogue’s gallery of some of the world’s most oppressive nations trying to obstruct its work or artificially rehabilitate their images. Now to add insult to countless human rights injuries, Saudi Arabia wants to head the HRC. That’s right. The country that will not allow any other religion to build a simple church or place of worship in the Kingdom. The country that executes people for apostasy for simply praying to the God of their choice. The country that imprisons and flogs women for driving, adultery, or people accused of sorcery. The country that is the greatest exporter of the extreme Sharia values that are stripping away rights in various countries. The country that cuts off the hands of thieves. The country that denies free speech and executes people in intersections for things like drug dealing. That country.
Continue reading “Saudi Arabia Moves To Take Over Top Spot On The U.N.’s Human Rights Council”
Police have identified and have an arrest warrant for the man suspected in the gruesome murder of a family and their housekeeper in Washington, D.C. Police are seeking Daron Dylon Wint, 34, in the murder of Savvas Savopoulos, 46, his wife Amy Savopoulos, 47, their 10-year-old son, Philip, and housekeeper Veralicia Figueroa, 57 in the family’s Northwest Washington home. What is most striking about the story is that the lead came from the crust of a pizza ordered to the house during the family’s long ordeal in captivity before they were beaten to death. The DNA reportedly matched Wint who have a long criminal history.
Like many around the country, I went late last night in watching the overtime win of my Chicago Blackhawks over the Anaheim Ducks. I was fading on the couch despite some of the best hockey playing that I have seen in years but it was all worth it to see Andrew Shaw turn the game into a soccer match and headbutt the puck into the net past Frederik Andersen. Not only was it a very cool thing to watch, it introduced a wonderful legal dispute in the championship for lawyer fans like myself to feel part of the game.
Continue reading “Ice Soccer? Blackhawk Shaw Uses His Head To Score Against Ducks In Overtime”
There is an interesting scandal growing in Miami where more than ten police officers have been implicated in a fraud conspiracy to clear the bad debt records of individuals with the filing of false police report. At the center of the conspiracy, according to police, were Vanessa and Mario Perez who reportedly made more than $322,000 from the fraud. The officers allegedly received $200 to $250 per report to record identity theft — which the subjects could then show companies to disclaim debt. The officers also allegedly were able to use the system to clear the records of themselves and family members.
Continue reading “Police Officers Arrested In Miami In Sweeping Fraud Case”
This is shaping up for another bad week for Hillary Clinton with stories on another undisclosed and unofficial email account that was used during tenure as Secretary of State as well as a New York Times story on the role of Sidney Blumenthal in seeking business with the State Department while continuing as an unofficial and controversial adviser to Clinton. However, the story that I found most interesting is a report that unions have been pouring significant money into the Clinton Foundation. The Foundation has been accused of being a conduit for donors and foreign governments to give money to the Clinton, who have used the Foundation to hire loyalists (like Blumenthal) and pay for luxury travel for the Clinton family. While some have denounced the Clinton Foundation a “slush fund,” the New York Times has offered a more tempered criticism of the Foundation for its business dealings and advancement of Clinton’s political interests. Yet, Clinton supporters insist that the Foundation has done important work around the world. The use of union funds to support the Foundation would in my view be the most serious of the past disclosures, though it has received less attention than the huge sums paid by corporate and foreign figures trying to influence Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State.
Continue reading “Report: Labor Unions Contributed To Clinton Foundation”
We have been discussing the racist tweets of Saida Grundy, an incoming assistant professor of sociology and African-American studies at Boston University, who used twitter to denounce white men as the central problem at universities and described how she tries not to do business with white people. After an outcry from alumni, Boston University president Robert Brown expressed “disappointment” with her statements and Grundy herself apologized for what she called “indelicate” wording. She has called the statements “indelicate” and says that they were in response to unidentified events. The response has been withering with many saying that few would view the comments “indelicate” if a white professor encouraged people not to buy things from black people or calling black males as the problem on colleges. She now stands accused of a fairly unhinged exchange with a white woman who expressed her personal feelings over an article attacking actress Patricia Arquette for her call at the Oscars for equal pay for women.
We have previously discussed how schools have rejected students with substantially higher scores for college admissions to allow the admission of African-American and hispanic students. Some academics, myself included, have raised concerns about the significant differences in academic scores — a difference that is particularly great with regard to Asian Americans. For that reason, I share the concern that this constitutes a form of discrimination based on race. While there remains a permissible range in which schools can select students to achieve a diverse and pluralistic student body, the differential of admissions scores can be alarming in some cases and suggest that students are being rejected simply because of their race.