There is another horrific report from Pakistan where village elders ordered a “revenge rape” as a punishment. After a man was accused of raping a woman in Pir Mahal in the Toba Tek Singh district of Punjab province, the village council formed and ordered the sister of the accused to be raped by the brother of his victim as justice. They all then reportedly watched the rape.
Category: Society
Abdulah Fahmi Al Hishmawi, 34, and Hamdiyah Saha Al Hishmawi, 33, have been arrested in another appalling case involving an attempted arranged marriage of a young Muslim girl. This case however did not occur in Pakistan or Afghanistan but Texas. They are accused of beating their daughter with a broomstick and the pouring hot cooking oil on her after refusing agree to the the arranged marriage.
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the reported proposal that President Donald Trump sit down with Special Counsel Robert Mueller to address four specific areas of inquiry. Those areas just happen to be the ones where Trump has the strongest and most obvious defenses. If the deal is that this would be a one-time sit down (and any later issues would be addressed in written interrogatories), it is a deal that would be hard to pass up. It is not without considerable risks of course, particularly for any false statement allegations. However, if the President were ready to be properly prepped and listens to counsel, he could thread this needle. It would also avoid a fight over a subpoena. While the law on the question is hardly settled, Mueller could win such a court fight and force Trump into an interview. Both the political and constitutional costs of such a fight should be avoided.
Here is the column:
We recently discussed how University of Illinois math professor Rochelle Gutierrez triggered a national controversy over her work “Building Support for Scholarly Practices in Mathematics Methods” in which she criticized math classes as a “tool of whiteness.” Then we discussed CUNY Professor Laurie Rubel’s publishing of a peer-reviewed article in the Journal of Mathematics Education arguing that the concepts of meritocracy and “color-blindness” are ideological precepts that work against minorities. Now four professors denouncing the “hegemony of meritocratic ideology” and the “masculine culture” in engineering courses as hostile to women. University of California (Irvine) Professor Carroll Serron’s March 1 study insists that merit-based advancement in engineering is harming women and fails to consider political factors in recognizing engineers. The professors criticize the focus on “empirical science, technical thinking, merit, and individualism” as the cause for the isolation of female engineers.
The White House announced today that President Trump will not hire Joe diGenova and Victoria Toensing as counsel due to conflicts of interest. The announcement of diGenova’s selection led to a chorus of objections from his being a “television lawyer” to a conspiracy theorists. I recently wrote a column that noted that diGenova was the former U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia and considered one of the most experienced lawyers in the city. However, there was reportedly opposition in the White House including reportedly from John Dowd who resigned around the same time. Dowd has not spoken publicly to confirm or deny that reported position.
Continue reading “White House: diGenova and Toensing Will Not Represent Trump”
The sheer market power of China over American companies was on full display in Nebraska this month where Roy Jones lost his $14-an-hour job with Marriott for “liking” a tweet that referenced Tibet. When the hotel chain was hit with a torrent of complaints from China, Marriott not only fired Jones but assured China that all employees would be sent for retraining.
Below is my column in USA Today on the recent ruling against President Donald Trump in a civil lawsuit where his counsel sought dismissal on constitutional grounds. It was a weak argument that made bad precedent for the Office of the President. With yet another change in his legal team, Trump needs to focus on continuity among his legal team. More lawyers does not necessarily translate to a stronger case. Indeed, it can undermine a case when lawyers are advancing conflicting or reckless arguments.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “Bad Cases (and Bad Lawyers) Can Make For Bad Law”
As many on this blog know, I have long been a critic of our sprawling national debt and reckless budgets. I admit to being adverse to our long history of kicking the can down the road with new taxes and higher budgets. Well, we are about to push our kids further into debt with an obscene $1.3 trillion budget bill. The White House and Congress yielded to virtually every temptation in adding to our national debt at a time of tremendous economic uncertainties. We have added $1 trillion to our debt in just the last six months.
Continue reading “Debtor Nation: Congress Approves A Staggering $1,300,000,000,000 Budget”
Municipal Judge Wilfredo Benitez is at the center of a controversy after he reportedly shouted profanities and cited his judicial position after being found passed out by the side of a road. Benitez was later found to be intoxicated. However, his charges were later thrown out by another judge.
At the turn of the last century, surrealists had a parlor game in Paris called “The Exquisite Corpse” where writers would create collective stories by writing lines without knowing what preceded them. The lines were often nonsensical like the line that gave the game its name: “Le cadavre exquis boira le vin nouveau. ” (“The exquisite corpse shall drink the new wine.”) With minutes of his firing, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe became such an exquisite corpse with various politicians adding lines to his story that seemed entirely disconnected to his story. Former FBI Director James Comey used McCabe to pitch his upcoming book while former Attorney General Eric Holder used him to effectively attack career staff at his former agency. The point of the game in both politics and literature is not to advance a coherent narrative but insert your own lines into a collective story.
Continue reading “THE EXQUISITE CORPSE: HOW ANDREW MCCABE IS NOW PART OF THE BODY POLITIC”
Below is my column in the Hill newspaper on the implications of the termination of Andrew McCabe and his revealing public statement. The statement presents a particularly difficult problem of former FBI Director James Comey.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “Friendly Fire: Did McCabe’s Dig At Trump Undermine Comey?”
In all of the discussion of the firing of Andrew McCabe, various news outlets focused his “loss” of his pension as opposed to the fact that career officials called for his firing for serious misconduct. It now appears that what was lost will soon be found for McCabe. The firing denied McCabe early pension recovery at age 50 of roughly $60,000 a year. However, that only means that he will receive the pension like other federal officials when he reaches the federal retirement age. If Democratic members have their way, it could be even shorter than that.
Continue reading “Lost and Found: It Turns Out McCabe Never Lost His Roughly $2 Million Pension”
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the issuance of a subpoena to the Trump organization for records pertinent to Trump business dealings in Russia. President Trump previously responded to a question of whether such inquiries into his business dealings would be a “red line” by saying that it would. Whether it is a red line or a “Rubicon,” Mueller seems to have crossed it. Of course, the Trump Organization has been asked for information previously and it is cooperating. However, this is a direct demand for business records. In the best case scenario, this could be a clean up subpoena to guarantee that all available documents have been reviewed. Then again it might be a new front in the investigation. Notably, this weekend, President Trump and his counsel ramped up their criticism of the investigation — criticism that I continue to view as unwise and inappropriate.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “Trump Drew A Red Line For Mueller; Mueller Just Crossed It”
Below is my column on various proposal for gun control reforms after the latest school massacre in Florida. As the column discusses, the constitutional burden is more demanding than suggested by many politicians. This is clearly a right that is subject to reasonable limitations but it is an individual constitutional right that affords gun owners a higher protection in the court.
Continue reading “Will Court Challenges Shoot Down The Array Of New Gun Control Law?”
President Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen has moved to claim at least $20 million in damages from porn star Stormy Daniels. Cohen is alleging at least 20 violations. With the recent allegations of physical threats and post-election actions, the political costs to this strategy is likely to continue to rise. Notably, Cohen is not simply pursuing damages through his limited liability corporation Essential Consultants. An attorney for Trump is now directly calling for Daniels to be forced into arbitration . . . and silence.
Continue reading “Trump’s Attorney Files To Silence Daniels and Force $20 Million In Damages”