We have been following the increasing violence seen on college campuses, particularly directed against conservative and pro-life speakers. The latest incident occurred at Ryerson University in Ontario where a video captured Ryerson Student Gabriela “Gabby” Skwarko attacking two members of Toronto Against Abortion (TAA). Skwarko works for the school’s Office of Social Innovation. The video below shows a violent and unprovoked attack to stop an act of free speech on campus. Continue reading “Pro-Life Students Attacked at Ryerson University in Latest Assault on Free Speech”
Category: Society
Anna Ayers, a student at Ohio University and a member of the OU student senate, recently caused an uproar at the university after saying that she received threatening messages, including a death threat, due to being part of the LGBTQ community. Police now say that Ayers made the entire thing up and have arrested her for “making false alarms.” That wording seemed a bit curious so I went to the state code, which indeed has a provision that departs from the usual language of a false police report. Continue reading “Ohio University Student Arrested After Making False Claims Of Threatening Messages Due To LGBTQ Status”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
There are times when one can justifiably take advantage of a host’s generosity and access to an international audience for the selfish purpose of venting one’s frustrations. This is just such a time.
It is increasingly a problem: Whenever I elect to try out a new coffee shop, especially when out of town on business, they do not serve brewed or drip coffee. Just about every foo-foo flavor or coffee containing drink imaginable fills their menu, yet not even a simple, regular cup of coffee can be had. It’s un-American I tell you.
In these “coffee shops” wanting coffee means receiving a cheap substitute: A watered-down misfit of a beverage–the Americano.
Continue reading “The Ugly Americano, The Bane of So-called “Coffee Shops””
I have previously discussed my opposition to sugary drink bans or prohibitive taxation schemes in Chicago and New York. While Cook County reluctantly yielded to public opinion and court decisions recently, other cities have continued to penalize the unhealthy choices of consumers. Now England is considering a measure to put a calorie count on pizza, ready meals and sandwiches to combat obesity. As you might expect, I feel the same way about this measure as a denial of individual choice despite the undeniable well-intentioned purpose of the measure. It is the type of law only a Little Caesar would relish . . . other than the pizza chain of course.
The Cornell Daily Sun is reporting that Cornell Law School has started a Title IX investigation over a report that some male law students were “ranking women on their appearance.” What is most striking is that this was all done in a private group chat. Men and women have been ranking each other by looks since time immemorial. On October 5, Dean Eduardo M. Peñalver said in an October 5th email to law students that Cornell’s Title IX Office is investigating the matter, adding that “ranking women on their appearance is inherently degrading,” adding that it was “childish and unprofessional.” I agree that it is childish and unprofessional, but I still question the need for a Title IX investigation into the private correspondence of students over the attractiveness of other students. Continue reading “Cornell Law School Launches Title IX Investigation Over Male Students Ranking Female Students On Attractiveness”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
Thursday’s business trip met with the untimely demise of a close friend, my 1993 Subaru Legacy.
The untimely end came about four miles from my destination. The engine failed. I hoped for the best as each time in the past he would pull through famously. Yet after my mechanic broke the news it was not good. He required extensive repair to the engine and it wasn’t feasible to keep going. After hundreds of thousands of miles of every terrain in the state and every whether condition, my Subaru finally needed to rest.
It was not only named “Legacy”, the car WAS a legacy. He gave both his owners over 484,000 miles of reliable service, mostly to me as a second-hand buyer. If anything can be said of 1990’s Subarus, they were certainly built to last. But this Subaru lasted one of the longest.
Continue reading “In Memoriam: My Subaru, Aged 25 years 484,000 miles”
Washington’s Supreme Court unanimously struck down the state’s death penalty Thursday based on the way that it has been used in an arbitrary and racially discriminatory manner. It was a surprising basis since usually capital punishment is rejected as cruel and unusual punishment. It is the punishment, not the imposition of the punishment, that is the common argument against executions. Continue reading “Washington State Strikes Down The Death Penalty As Racially Biased and Arbitrary”
In one of the most bizarre (and frankly demeaning) moments for the White House, President Donald Trump invited Kanye West into the Oval Office for what became an unhinged and profane rave sessions in front of the world’s press. As with the high-level visits with a Kardashian to talk policy, these sessions have a freak show quality more fitting a reality show than the Oval Office. For anyone who reveres that office, West raving about how he is a “crazy motherf***er” is an utter disgrace. Not to be outdone, CNN proceeded to demean news coverage by racing to the bottom on the story with April Ryan.
Continue reading “West Wing-Nut: Kanye’s Visit To Oval Office Leads To Unhinged and Demeaning Rave”
Kuwait has continued to remind the world that, despite its advances in the modern world, it remains a religiously orthodox government imposing medieval values on its population. That fact was on display this week as the government banned such works as “The Little Mermaid” and Michelangelo’s David as unIslamic or indecent. Sounds Orwellian? Perhaps but Kuwaiti’s would not know it . . . Orwell’s masterpiece “1984” was also banned.
Continue reading “Kuwait: We Are Not Orwellian . . . We Banned Orwell”
I have previously criticized the effort to criminalize or sanction companies for using models who are deemed too thin in an effort to change the expectations for young girls. There is no evidence that these efforts have a real impact on the social preference for thin body types, but officials continue to police the body shapes and weight of models. That was the case this week with the action against Nasty Gal by the U.K.’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for using models deemed “unhealthily underweight” women in a 30-second ad.Continue reading “Nasty Gal Barred From Running Ad Featuring Thin Model”
Last year, we experienced a national debate over the right of Colorado cake shop owner Jack Phillips can refuse to make a special cake for a same-sex marriage due to religious objections in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case. I supported the position on Phillips as a matter of free speech as opposed to free exercise. Now Ireland has had its own challenge which is remarkably similar to Masterpiece Cakeshop including lower court rulings against the owners at the Ashers bakery, Daniel and Amy McArthur, in Northern Ireland by lower courts. Continue reading “UK’s Highest Court Rules In Favor Of Bakery That Refused To Make Cake Supporting Same-Sex Marriage”
I have previously criticized U.S. laws barring public contracts or employment with people who support the boycott or boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement. Those laws raise troubling questions under the First Amendment and various courts have pushed back on the constitutionality of such laws. Now Israel is holding an American university student for a week because she supported the BDS movement. Lara Alqasem, 22, was held depending appeal at Ben-Gurion Airport. She has Palestinian grandparents and was told that she could be released if she apologizes and disavows any boycotting of Israel. Continue reading “Israel’s Denies Entry and Jails American Student on Suspicion Of Supporting The BDS Movement”
If John Kerry was swift boated in 2004, the GOP appears to be Swift voted in 2016. In a measure of the power of celebrity status in our culture, Taylor Swift has reportedly caused a massive registration after she endorsed Tennessee Democrats. For the GOP hoping for a “Brett bounce” of Republicans going to the polls (with money pouring in for both parties after the Kavanaugh confirmation), Swift appears to have blunted the impact, particularly in Tennessee, with a single posting on Instagram. We remain a celebrity driven society.
There is a bizarre new rule in Scotland’s Islands Bill that bars mapmakers from showing the island of Shetland in a box. That is a standard approach to allow a large map of Scotland by not having to show the expanse of water between Scotland and Shetland. That made Shetland feel . . . well . . . boxed and isolated. So now the legislature is ordering mapmakers how to make maps — a ridiculous overreach of legislative authority in my view.
Continue reading “New Law Bans Mapmakers From Putting Shetland In A Box”
I have the honor of addressing the Federal Bar Association (Chicago) at its annual meeting today. It is a particular pleasure to come to Chicago and spend time with my 91 year old mother and siblings. I was able to watch the Blackhawks on television with my mom last night in the first game of the season. Today, I will be speaking on the Supreme Court and the unfolding Kavanaugh nomination. Continue reading “Turley Addresses Federal Bar Association In Chicago”