Category: Society

Jeff Cox Responds to Criticism in Mother Jones Article

After the posting this morning over the controversy involving former Indiana Deputy Attorney General Jeff Cox, I had an opportunity to discuss the allegations with him in detail. Cox makes an interesting free speech case over his treatment and later termination for comments that he made on Twitter and on his blog. I wanted to share some of those details and the concern over a termination based on a lawyer’s statements in his private life.
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Tennessee Legislators Move To Make Adherence to Sharia Law a Felony

State Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, and state Rep. Judd Matheny, R-Tullahoma, have introduced a bill that would make it a felony to adhere to Sharia law in the state of Tennessee — punishable by 15 years in jail. The facially unconstitutional law would make Tennessee the leading state in the Union in the denial of freedom of religion.

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A Little Touch of Tripoli? Indiana Deputy Attorney General Calls For Use of Live Fire Against Protesters In Wisconsin

Indiana Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Cox has reportedly been fired after Mother Jones Magazine identified him as the source of a tweet denouncing liberals and calling for the use of live ammunition against teacher protesters in Wisconsin.

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Obama Administration Refuses To Defend The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)

For two years, some of us have been criticizing President Obama for his Administration’s opposition to same-sex marriage and the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy in federal courts. The Justice Department has now announced that it has decided to reverse its position and refuse to further defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

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Delaware Supreme Court Overturns Ruling That Movie Announcement to Turn Off Cellphones Was Racist

There is an interesting case out of Delaware where the Supreme Court overturned a decision by the state Human Relations Commission that the manager of a Dover cinema, David Stewart, was racist for asking people in a largely black movie audience to turn off their cellphones and refrain from talking during the movie. What is most interesting is the individual who appears to have helped organize the complaint to the Human Relations Commission. The decision also overturned the $80,000 fine against the Carmike 14 Theater. The case is Boggerty v. Stewart, 2011 Del. LEXIS 108 (Feb. 17, 2011)
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House Overwhelmingly Rejects Ron Paul’s Effort To End Afghan War and To Save $116 Billion Annually

We have been discussing the failure of President Obama and both parties to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan while our cities and states continue to sell off property and shutdown vital programs due to a lack of money (here and here and here and here and here). Rep. Ron Paul again showed his mettle this month and again called for an end to the Afghan war. In legislation proposed with Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina, Paul sought to withdraw funding for the war at a savings of more than $116 billion a year by ending the war in Afghanistan.
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Citizens of Utah Demand Recall of Wisconsin Senators

It appears that the people of Utah feel deeply about representation in Wisconsin. A Utah based group calling itself the American Recall Coalition has filed to campaign for the recall of Democratic senators who remain in hiding to stop legislation curtailing labor rules for teachers. It turns out that beyond a few pending matters in Salt Lake, the people of Utah are primarily concerned about matters in Madison.

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Illinois To End Funding of Alcohol and Drug Programs While Michigan Orders Detroit To Close Half of Its Schools

As we continue to spend billions every week in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, states continue to cut basic programs for lack of funding. The latest is Illinois, which just cut all funding for drug and alcohol abuse treatment in the state and Michigan which has ordered Detroit to close half of its schools (driving class size to 60 students). What is striking is the lack of any connection drawn between these states which are short hundreds of millions of dollars in their budgets and the expenditures of billions each week in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Karzai Moves to Take Over (and Shutdown) Women’s Shelters

Afghan women and public interest groups are opposing an effort of Afghan President Hamid Karzai to take over all of the shelters for abused and battered women. You may recall Karzai’s earlier feminist agenda when he initially support the legalization of rape. The new move is viewed as a way for the government to satisfy hardliners in blocking access to some women to shelters. The government is also expected to close some shelters entirely.

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Birkhead Threatens Legal Action Against Anna Nicole Smith Opera

Larry Birkhead, the father of Anna Nicole Smith’s only surviving child Dannielynn (and therefore the heir to her large estate), is threatening legal action against the Royal Opera House over its opera “Anna Nicole.” Birkhead is insisting that the portrayal of Smith is not flattering or respectful — leading to some interesting questions of how (even if Anna Nicole were living) such an opera would defame a former stripper and reality television star who courted controversy in her life.
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