There is a highly disturbing videotape released by police in the Bronx of an innocent man being sucker punched in the middle of an intersection after two men approach him. The attacker is Luis Rivera, 22, and he later returned and robbed the victim as he laid helpless in the street — and took a videotape of his victim. Rivera only turned himself in after police released the pictures below. Continue reading “A Bronx Tale: Victim Knocked Unconscious By Thugs In New York and Then Robbed By Passersby”
Category: Society
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the Supreme Court’s decision upholding the travel ban in Trump v. Hawaii. While the case has been buried in the crush of coverage over the resignation of Justice Anthony Kennedy, the opinion is a shot across the bow for lower courts in their treatment of the relevant record for such disputes. It also answers some lingering questions over the conduct of key figures like Sally Yates.
Here is the column: Continue reading “The Travel Ban and The Court’s Red Hen Moment”
The irresponsibility of our leaders has now given the country a fiscal terminal date: 2028. That is the date that the Congressional Budget Office now calculates as the point where our debt will virtually equal the value of our gross domestic policy. As countries like Greece have gone into a free fall with such reckless spending, both parties have put the United States on the same course for economic meltdown as politicians continue to avoid tough questions with higher spending — including yielding to the Trump Administration’s demand to left balanced budget limits.
There is an interesting account of the recent controversy at the Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Va. from the father of White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders that has gone largely unreported. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has claimed that Stephanie Wilkinson “organized” a group to follow Sanders and her family to a nearby restaurant to scream at them. That is strikingly different from Wilkinson’s account and the account being offered in the media that Wilkinson politely asked Sanders to leave and nothing more. The many stories lionizing Wilkinson have cited her “passive” protest as proof of her “leadership.” If true, the account magnifies the rude and uncivil conduct of Wilkinson and it is clearly material to the story. Yet, only a few conservative sites have carried Huckabee’s account. Continue reading “Huckabee: Wilkinson Led Group Out Of Red Hen To Protest Sanders Eating At Another Restaurant”
Recently we discussed the disturbing protest carried out at the MXDC restaurant against Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. Members of Congress like Rep. Jackie Speier (D., Cal.) defended the protesters in disrupting the restaurant and forcing Nielsen to leave. It was a sad statement on the utter loss of any sense of civility in our current political discourse. Now, the owner of the Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Virginia is at the center of this debate after throwing out White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders and her family from breakfast. Many liberals celebrated the rude denial of service by the owners while conservatives have directed their anger at the restaurant. Much of the criticism has been misdirected against the Red Hen in D.C. which has gone to pains to point out that they are not associated with the Lexington Red Hen. Many critics on Yelp and other sites have unleashed on the restaurant. The co-owner responsible for the decision was Stephanie Wilkinson. Wilkinson founded the restaurant with John Blackburn, who reportedly named the restaurant after his favorite childhood story. Wilkinson is reportedly the founder and publisher of Brain, Child magazine. She lists herself as a co-owner of the restaurant. UPDATE: Wilkinson says that she is proud of her actions and would do it again.
Continue reading “No Breakfast For You: Red Hen Kicks Out Sarah Sanders And Her Family [UPDATED]”
In a major win for privacy, the Supreme Court has ruled 5-4 in a decision on Friday that police need warrants to gather phone location data as evidence for trials. The decision is a reversal of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Carpenter v. United States. Continue reading “Privacy Prevails: Supreme Court Rules That Warrant Is Required For Cellphone Location Data”
The Supreme Court overruled its prior decisions in a historic decision this week that will allow politicians to tap into Internet sales with new taxes. President Donald Trump has praised the decision in allowing Internet sales to be now subject to taxation from all 50 states. The decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair overturns the prior 1992 ruling in Quill Corp. v. North Dakota (what is it about those Dakotas and Internet taxes?). South Dakota wanted to take a cut of Internet sales even though these business have no property or employees in the state. To do so, the Supreme Court had to guy its prior requirement of a physical presence in a given state. It just did by a vote of 5-4. The opinion also contains a body blow to the doctrine of stare decisis (“to stand on the decisions”) under which the Court strives to maintain its own prior decisions. We now have a doctrine of abdicare decisis (“To ignore the decisions).
In an act of utter Parliamentary pusillanimity, members have declared that the traditional pudding served in the Stranger’s Dining Room would be stripped of its name, “The Spotted Dick.” For generations, ordering the Spotted Dick has been the subject of good-natured chuckles and teasing. However, the current members appear constantly on the lookout for any term or practice that can sanitized as socially or culturally offensive. So, the pudding will now be called “Spotted Richard” – a change that is entirely divorced from any connection to the original meaning of the dish. The proof is in the pudding, but Parliament does not give a wit for the historical meaning of eating a dick. Continue reading “The Proof Is In The Pudding: Parliament Bans “The Spotted Dick” From The Strangers’ Dining Room”
Last night, the blog hit another milestone today with over 35,000,000 views. We have also passed 50,000 followers on Twitter. We relish these “little engine that could” moments to take stock in our expanding base of readers. The blog shows that there is still an interest in a place for passionate but civil discourse on legal and policy issues of our time (and perhaps a few wacky stories). As always, I want to offer special thanks for our weekend contributors and particularly Darren Smith who continues help up with periodic technical problems etc).
Below is my column on the implications of the IG report for the obstruction allegations being investigated by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. I have previously written how the most likely explanation for actions taken by this Administration will be found in Ockham’s Razor and that theory that requires the least number of assumptions. The IG report is an example of following such logic rather than assumptions.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Why The IG Report Undermines Mueller’s Obstruction Investigation”
Democrats and media figures continue to struggle with the truth of the abuses of former President Bill Clinton who has been accused by multiple women of everything from sexual harassment to rape. Dozens of reporters have interviewed Clinton without seriousness questioning him on these past allegations until recently. Even after a year of “MeToo” stories, only this month did an interviewer risk the ire of Clinton supporters to press the former president. Clinton became immediately condescending and dismissive. The continued muted response to Clinton’s past is evident after a rather shocking claim in a new interview with PBS NewsHour where Clinton explained that “what you can do to someone against their will” has simply changed. Continue reading “Clinton: Standards Have Changed Over “What You Can Do To Someone Against Their Will””
People around the world are outraged this week by a photos of Prince George playing with a toy gun. The four-year-old was simply outside with a plastic gun in play with his sister Princess Charlotte and friends. However, many people were appalled by the pseudo-violent scene. I have written about the desire of children, particularly boys, to play with toy weapons (here and here). I faced the same type of anger for my columns on why I let my children play with such toys as well as other fantasy items. (Two are shown above from one of my columns). Continue reading “Royal Mess: People Are Up In Arms After Prince George Is Shown Playing With Toy Gun”
There is an interesting new story about a bizarre practice by President Donald Trump who reportedly rips up material given to him despite the duty to preserve the documents under the Presidential Records Act. Two staffers have recounted how they were required to spend considerable time taping the documents back together to stay in compliance with the PRA. They reportedly complained about the duty for people making $60,000 a year. They were suddenly fired. This Humpy Dumpty duty raises some serious questions of federal violations. Continue reading “Humpy Dumpty Duty: Trump Regularly Rips Up Documents, Requiring Staff To Tape Them Back Together To Comply With Federal Law”
West Point graduate and Army infantry officer Spenser Rapone has been drummed out of the military after receiving an “other than honorable discharge” from the military. He caused a stir with a posted photo of his West Point cap with the words “Communism will win” written inside. He also displayed a Che Guevara T-shirt underneath his uniform jacket. Rapone is clearly a dedicated socialist, but the action raises the issue of whether being a communist or socialist is disqualifying. His removal is widely tied to a letter sent by Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fl.). Rapone is scheduled to be a featured speaker at the conference “Socialism 2018” in Chicago this year.
Continue reading “Controversial Socialist Army Officer Given “Other Than Honorable” Discharge”
There is a tragic case out of Panama City Beach, Florida where two dogs died in the case of Jason Matthew Reece, 39. Reece however did not return to his van because police arrested him for disorderly conduct. While Reece still allegedly left the dogs in the van to go drinking, it would raise an interesting defense that the police contributed to the tragedy by taking him directly to jail. It is not clear whether he informed the police of the animals.