It truly sounds like something out of Saturday Night Live: the Taliban inadvertently revealed their contacts when someone hit the “reply all” button on an email which showed their entire mailing list. The Taliban are known as cave dwelling Troglodytes who destroyed ancient artifacts and pushed much of Afghanistan back into the dark ages. Thus, it could not happen to a more deserving group of guys.
Continue reading “Taliban Spokesman Inadvertently Discloses Whole Mailing List In Email”
by Gene Howington, Guest Blogger
On a recent thread, the topic of politically correct speech as it relates to free speech came up. As with many of the more interesting threads on this blog, the topic came about from meandering rather than the subject proper of the thread. The subject was brought back to fore in my mind this morning when I read this: How Free Speech Died on Campus by Sohrab Ahmari, published on The Wall Street Journal (online.wsj.com). It seems there are a lot of misconceptions about what constitutes free speech, the limitations thereon and the consequences thereof.
The core of the American free speech right and tradition is codified in the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Congress shall make no law [. . . ] abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press[.]”
The U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Art. 19, states:
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
This has implications that apply to public discourse. Let us consider these implications.
This weekend, the Turley clan and our friends from around the country gathered in the Irish American Heritage Center to mourn our loss of Kate Turley Mooneyham who died recently after a car accident. Kate was 24. She had had a relatively minor car accident and did not realize that the accident had caused internal damage. She went home to rest and my sister, Ange, found her unconscious later that night. Her family and her friends came together on Saturday to share our loss and our memories of this extraordinary person. Many others could not attend. For them, below are pictures of Katie and my eulogy. Many of the pictures show Kate modeling her mother’s clothes from “Turley Road”in Chicago.
Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger
While the United States of America is many things to many people, it is not as is popularly conceived a Democracy and it never has been. This view is not coming from a perspective of politics, but one of stark reality. The thinking of the overwhelming majority of our Founding Fathers, as embodied in the Constitution they wrote, was certainly not to give power to the masses. I don’t believe this point is in dispute by the majority of Constitutional experts, despite their various positions on the political spectrum. Most politicians with self-awareness and intelligence have always known that we are not a Democracy as a country, despite the fact that most also proclaim it to be a Democracy. The problem with what I just wrote is that defining Democracy is a very slippery process and as I will show, the word means very different thing to many different people.
Permit me to begin by defining Democracy in terms of the myth that has been created around it in American parlance: “Democracy represents both the Will and the Rule of the People over their government. As such it is the best form of government for all”. Whether we believe it or not all Americans have grown up under this national myth and its’ use is ubiquitous to both domestic and foreign policy. The many wars this country has fought were prosecuted in the interests of this myth of Democracy, whether in destroying the Axis in World War II to save the world, or to nurture its creation and existence in numerous foreign lands. A student of history understands that the reasons for the wars America has fought are far more complex and ultimately self-serving than protecting Democracy. Nevertheless, to initially go to war, a populace must be energized by the belief that it will be fought for a higher purpose, in order to send it young adults to fight and potentially die. This energy in America usually has come from a combination of the myth of protecting democracy and a general threat to all the people. The simple rubric in my lifetime and in the history before it, is that we are fighting for Democracy. I will explore this myth, so central to our lives of citizens and discuss its implications. Continue reading “Democracy in America: What Does it Mean?”
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
CEO Gregory Rayburn of Hostess Brands, maker of Twinkies, Ho Ho’s, and Sno Balls, has announced plans to liquidate the 83-year old company. The company is in its second bankruptcy in a decade. Hostess sold about $2.5 billion worth of snack products last year with Twinkies leading the pack. However, the company has nearly $1 billion in debt and has $2 billion in unfunded pension obligations.
We previously discussed how the United States was sharply criticized in a government-supported newspaper in China for the long lines of voters who had to wait for hours to cast their ballots. Now, the happiest place on Earth, has announced its new leader: Xi Jinging. Xi was selected without any lines of citizens, who of course were not allowed to vote at all.
George Washington University has been formally moved from the ranking as 51st among colleges to the “unranked” category by U.S. News and World Report after the University admitted that it had misreported statistics for years that inflated its standing. It is a disgraceful admission for the school and faculty are demanding more information from the Administration on who was aware (and who is accountable) for this latest academic scandal in annual reporting.
The people of Brasstown, North Carolina have been ordered by Judge Fred Morrison that they need to stop playing possum and just kill wild animals rather than capture and release them as part of their New Year celebrations. The town has a tradition called “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” which includes a “possum drop.” The possum is not actually dropped. A possum is caught in the wild and lowered in a plexiglass cage for about ten seconds. It is then released back into the wild. Judge Morrison held essentially kill the possum and then lower it or spray paint a cat to look like a possum. A video of the brief descent is below.
Grant Hayes, 33, should have a great deal more on his mind as he faces a trial for the murder and dismembering of his ex-girlfriend in North Carolina. However, Hayes has fired his second court-appointed lawyer and demanded a “black attorney from Durham.” Hayes, 33, and his wife, Amanda Perry Hayes, 40, face first-degree murder charges.
If Arnhem was the “bridge too far” for General Montgomery, Nutella may be a tax too far for President François Hollande. I have been admittedly critical of the massive tax increase by the Hollande government on the top earners in France. I just do not believe it makes economic sense. However, the latest tax is not simply designed to acquire more revenue but to fight the fat in France — part of a trend inside and outside the United States. The French Senate tripled the tax on palm and some other vegetable oils — a move that will significantly raise the cost of such French favorites like Nutella.
Continue reading “Let Them Eat Cake . . . And Pay Taxes: France Government Proposes “Nutella” Tax”
A case out of Ohio raises in my view some highly disturbing questions on the expanding reach of pornography laws. The Sixth Circuit has upheld a $300,000 award against an Ohio lawyer for his use of a trial exhibit in a child pornography case. Dean Boland wanted to show how an innocent picture can be converted into a pornographic picture without actually causing a child to engage in the displayed conduct. In order to avoid federal prosecution, Boland had to apologize publicly and admit to possession for child pornography. He was then hit with the damage award from the featured children despite his statement in court that these children did not participate in the depicted acts.
There is an interesting case out of Minnesota where alleged gang member Antonio “Savage” Jenkins has been charged with terroristic threats against a police officer. The vehicle used for the alleged threats is rather novel: his arm. Jenkins’ posted a picture of his arm with a tattoo on Facebook that showed a pig with a gun in its mouth, wearing a uniform with a badge number and an officer’s name.
Yesterday we reported the allegation brought against Kevin Clash, the voice of Elmo, that he had had sex with a 16-year-old boy. Clash denied the allegation and insisted that the accused, now 23, was 18 when they started having an intimate relationship. (The age of consent in the state is 17). Now, the accuser has withdrawn the complaint and said that indeed it was an “adult consensual” relationship. The question is whether Clash should not sue the individual for defamation and whether, if the accuser gave a statement to the police, whether he should be prosecuted for a false police report.
Continue reading “Accuser Recants Criminal Allegations Against Sesame Street Actor”
With have previously discussed calls for Islamic extremists to destroy or cover up the Pyramids as an offense to Allah. Now, islamic leader Murgan Salem al-Gohary has called for the destruction of the iconic structures as well as the Sphinx — citing the Taliban as a model for such destruction when they destroyed the famous giant Buddhas of Bamiyan to the disgust and anger of the world community. Murgan Salem al-Gohary is clearly an extremist and not someone that most Egyptians or Muslims would follow. However a far more worrisome development is the huge demonstration in Egypt a few days ago calling for the country to impose Sharia law on its citizens.
Below is my column today in USA Today on some of the state referendum votes last week. While the presidential election was understandably the focus of media commentary, state referendum votes held some surprises. At a time when a majority of citizens view our political system as dysfunctional and unresponsive, these referendums show that citizens can still take direct action in seeking change. Here is the column:
Continue reading “Will We Tolerate Democracy?”