In one of the most troubling orders issued by a court in years, U.S. District Judge John F. Walter issued an order on Saturday to the Los Angeles Times to remove information from an article describing a plea agreement between prosecutors and a Glendale police detective. The detective is alleged to have been in the pocket of the blood-soaked Mexican Mafia. The newspaper discovered the details in a posted order on PACER the online court database, which was supposed to be left under seal. I have been in cases when such mistakes have occurred but the court’s actions in this case drive to the heart of press freedom in this country. In my view (which will hardly surprise our regular readers), the order is a direct and dangerous violation of the First Amendment. [UPDATE: After a national outcry, the judge has rescinded his order and says that he was not sure that the LA Times had obtained the material legally.]
Category: Society
We recently discussed the seemingly endless examples of binary gender stereotypes in our society, including the scourge of hot wings. Now Virginia Tech Professor Cara Daggett seems to have found a form of toxic masculinity that is actually toxic: “petro-masculinity.” Daggett has an essay entitled “Petro-masculinity: Fossil Fuels and Authoritarian Desire” in Millennium: Journal of International Studies. She warns that fossil fuels are actually combustible mixes of “masculine identity” and “authoritarianism” among men. It seems the favorite GOP slogan of “Drill, Baby, Drill” is sexist on multiple levels. Continue reading “Virginia Tech Professor Warns Of “Petro-Masculinity””
The University of Wyoming has long rallied around it mascot of the cowboy and it markets the school with the slogan “The World Needs More Cowboys.” That marketing campaign however has triggered a backlash against the mascot and objections that it is racist and sexist and culturally insensitive. Willie Nelson warned about this in his song “Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys” when he sang “Them that don’t know him won’t like him. And them that do sometimes won’t know how to take him. But apparently not everyone agrees.”
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on continued claims about undocumented immigrants and their legal status. There is a growing misrepresentation of the status issues that are deeply concerning. While undocumented status can be treated as a civil matter, it is also a criminal matter when a person enters the country illegally. Some politicians and commentators have been stating simply that all undocumented persons are non-criminals while others have suggested that persons are “perfectly legal” if they claim asylum even if they entered illegally. The point is that not all such persons should be treated criminally, but rather these statements can be dangerously misleading for families considering an illegal crossing. The Trump Administration has shifted enforcement toward greater criminal than civil enforcement. As for asylum claims, they are not the majority of illegal entries but the numbers are clearly rising. We are required under international law to consider such applications, but that does not mean that the entry was lawful or that such cases cannot raise risks of criminal enforcement. With so many lives at risk, we need to be more accurate in how we describe the legal realities of illegal entry.
Here is the column:
Continue reading ““Perfectly Legal”: The Perilous Rhetoric Of Immigration Politics”
The wonderful thing about seeing all social and political conventions as expressions of gender bias is that there are endless number of subjects for academic exploration. University of Tulsa’s Emily J.H. Contois, for example, has found toxic masculinity served by the platter in programs like the popular YouTube show Hot Ones. Contois suggests that the host of the show, Sean Evans, has a “white, heterosexual, cisgendered, everyman brand of masculinity.” Continue reading “Toxic Hot Wings? Tulsa Professor Raises Concerns Over Chicken Wings As A Form Of Toxic Masculinity”
Below is my column in the Hill newspaper on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to replace retiring Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy. It seems likely that Kavanaugh will be confirmed absent some earth-shattering disclosure in the confirmation process.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “The Kavanaugh Nomination: Trump Selects A Robertsesque Nominee”
Last week, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) declared that it would not regulate seat sizes — thereby leaving passengers to the mercy of airlines which have been continually reducing seat size and space. Now airlines are moving to reduce those roomy bathrooms on airplanes. Arlines are designing new bathrooms to make them ever narrower. Imagine that.
Continue reading “Airlines Move To Shrink Bathrooms As FAA Refuses To Regulate Space On Airplanes”
We have been discussing the controversy at the Red Hen in Lexington, Virginia where White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders was forced out of a restaurant by the owner due to Trump’s policies. Now we have the inverse controversy at the Black Swan book store in Richmond, Virginia. Former Trump aide Steve Bannon went into the store to look at books when a woman began to berate him and call him “a piece of trash.” The owner, Nick Cooke, called 911 after trying to get the woman to leave. After he called, the woman left, but in her wake came a torrent of criticism for Cooke. Former longtime Hillary Clinton aide Philippe Reines on Saturday even posted the contact information of the bookstore.
Below is my column in the Hill newspaper on why the most creative and productive individuals are often disfavored in our modern confirmation system. With the announcement of the new nominee this evening by President Donald Trump, we will have the state of a counterintuitive process that favors those who are the least forthcoming or open about their views.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Why Big Fierce Nominees Are Rare”
Former Attorney General Eric Holder remains a controversial figure for civil libertarians and other groups after his tenure in the Clinton and Obama Administrations. He is one of the principle authors of the “Kill List” policy under which President Barack Obama claimed the right to kill any American without a charge or trial if he unilaterally determined that they are a national security risk. Despite the view of some of us that Holder deserved to be fired over his abusive investigation of journalists, he will now be given the prestigious Thurgood Marshall Award from the ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice on Aug. 4 during the ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago.
Continue reading “Eric Holder To Receive ABA Award In August”
I wanted to wish everyone as wonderful and safe Fourth of July. I love this holiday for how it brings together Americans of different political and cultural values. We celebrate our common article of faith in not just our Declaration of Independence but our Constitution. It is an important reminder of all that we have in common at a time when our divisions are all too apparent.
Below is my column in the Washington Post on the implications of the resignation of Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy and his own decisions setting aside prior precedent. Indeed, Kennedy’s last week before announcing his resignation reenforced the very arguments that could be used by a new conservative majority to strip away his legacy. Indeed, Kennedy spent the last week eagerly sawing away on the branch on which he and his legacy rests.
Below is the column: Continue reading ““Correcting The Error”: Did Kennedy Cut His Own Tow Line In His Final Decisions?”
When Che Abdul Karim Che Abdul Hamid decided to marry his third wife in Thailand, he chose an 11-year-old girl who was handed over by her Malaysian family. The problem however was that this particular marriage to a child of eleven is that it was not approved by the local Shariah court. Besides being a rubber scrap dealer, Che Abdul Karim is an imam. The girl’s father works for him as poor rubber tappers. His third wife will not attend school now that she is an 11-year-old bride.
Continue reading “41-Year-Old Man Marries 11-Year-Old Girl And The Problem Is . . .”
Police say that Ryan Felton Sauter, 39, was engaged in “rattlesnake revenge” when he took a rattlesnake, bit off its rattle, and then threw it into the RV of his neighbor Keith Monroe with whom he had had an argument. The now silent (and irate) snake did not bite his rival but it did land Sauter in jail with some interesting charges. Continue reading “Man Bites Snake: Texas Man Allegedly Bites Off Rattle and Throws Snake Into Neighbor’s RV”
The death of UCLA Professor Doran George, 48, has shaken the university after he was found dead during a bondage session at the home of a Hollywood executive Skip Chasey. Chasey is known as Master Skip in the BDSM (Bondage, Discipline, Dominance and Submission) community. George, who insisted on being called by the pronoun “their” rather than “he” or “she”, was found wrapped “head to toe in plastic wrap and gaffer’s tape, with small breathing holes at the nose and mouth.” George died in something called the “mummification” sex play.
Continue reading “UCLA Professor Dies During BDSM “Mummification” Game”