Category: Society

Anthony Scaramucci Threatens Tufts With Defamation Lawsuit

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A speech by Anthony Scaramucci at his alma mater, Tufts University, has been delayed after the former Trump White House spokesman threatened the student newspaper with a defamation lawsuit.  I previously wrote a column on Scaramucci and his controversial outbursts. This threat against the students at Tufts is legally meritless and undermines whatever credibility Scaramucci retained following his disastrously sort stint at the White House.

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Indiana University Reportedly Removes Nurse After Disturbing Tweet

download-3Indiana University Health employee Taiyesha Baker is reportedly out of a job after a tweet from an account named “Night Nurse” was traced to her.  In the tweet, Baker reportedly called for white male children to “be sacrificed to the wolves.” We have previously discussed the issue of when it is appropriate to punishment people for conduct outside of the work place. We have followed cases where people have been fired after boorish or insulting conduct once their names and employers are made known. (here and here and here and here).  I often come down on the side of free speech, but some cases directly impact the employer and the underlying business or services.  This may be one such case, but it, again, raises the question of what political and social views are protected for employees to express in social media or on their personal time.

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Kellyanne Conway Hit With Hatch Act Complaint Over Moore Comments

 

Screen Shot 2017-11-26 at 10.09.44 PM.pngWe previously discussed the violation of federal rules by White House counselor Kellyanne Conway in the endorsement of a commercial product.  Now an even more serious allegation has been raised in a complaint filed by Walter Shaub, the former director of the Office of Government Ethics.  Shaub charges that Conway violated the ban on federal employees using their positions for political purposes and the allegation is not without merit.  Conway has possible defenses but the statements on Fox against the election of Alabama Democratic Senate candidate Dough Jones used poor judgment.  When reviewed in the context of past cases, the complaint raises credible claims.  For full disclosure, Conway is one of my former students at George Washington University Law School (she graduated in 1995).

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Ohio Hunter Mistakes Brown Pickup For Deer and Disables Vehicle

We just discussed the tragedy in New York where a man hunting deer after sunset with a high-powered handgun shot and killed a woman walking her dogs.  If you wonder how a hunter could fire at a woman walking her dogs, you might want to consider the arrest of Marvin C. Miller, 26.  The Ohio hunter is charged with bagging a brown pick up truck that he mistook for a deer.  Just for a point of reference, these are representations of the two different targets for any future hunters.

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Vogue Columnist Under Fire After Dismissing Concerns Over The Innocence of Men In Sexual Harassment Cases

Screen Shot 2017-11-24 at 9.23.05 AM.pngTeen Vogue columnist Emily Lindin is under fire this week after writing how she is “not at all concerned about innocent men losing their jobs” over false allegations of sexual assault or harassment.  Lindin dismissed the dangers of false claims as low in joining other feminist writers in arguing that women must be believed in such cases. Indeed, Lindin wrote that even raising false claims could be a sign of hostility to women. I wrote recently how this standard was not used during the Clinton presidency where leading feminists not only supported Bill Clinton but continue to flock to events featuring the alleged  sexual harasser and assaulter.

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New York Man Stabs Another Man After Argument Over Guest List For Thanksgiving Dinner

_Freedom_From_Want__-_NARA_-_513539David Williams, 56, finally resolved who will not be invited to Thanksgiving.  He is clearly off the list.  The Queens man became angry about who would be invited, specifically whether his girlfriend would be included.  When his sister Dianna Gadson, 66, objected, he grabbed a knife.  The rest is Norman Rockwell meets Jerry Springer.

 

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. We begin this day with the Turley Turkey bowl with our neighbors and family.  This is a tradition that has been held for over 50 years. It is an early game with copious amounts of hot chocolate, donuts, and treats. (It was 32 degrees this morning but blue skies). We then follow with my favorite meal of the year with roughly a large assemblage of friends and family. It is hard to imagine a better day (beyond the other Bears prevailing in a towering victory for Monsters of the Midway).

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NFL Considering New Rule To Keep Players In The Locker Rooms During The National Anthem

AmericanFlag300px-National_Football_League_logo.svgMany fans are debating today whether to watch football in a long-standing American tradition (including in my house) on Thanksgiving or join the growing boycott of the National Football League over the continued national anthem protests.  Viewership and stadium attendance continues to drop around the country.  Recently we discussed how the NAACP proposed simply dropping the national anthem as a way to resolve the controversy — a position that some of us strongly objected to.  Now the NFL is proposing an equally bizarre solution: if you cannot get rid of the anthem, get rid of the players.  The NFL is working on a proposal to keep players in the locker room for the national anthem. No players, no protest.  It is an idea that President Donald Trump rejected for good reason.

 

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UC Riverside Student Charged With Grand Theft After Swiping MAGA Hat Of Fellow Student

 

 

UCR-490x315University of California -Riverside student Edith Macias achieved a degree of fame (or infamy) when she was involved in an ugly incident in September with a fellow student wearing a Make America Great Again hat.   Macias ripped the hat off the head of student Matthew Vitale and then spouted profanities in a college office.  Now Macias is looking at a charge of misdemeanor grand theft with the possibility of jail time.

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Harvard Faces Federal Investigation Over Racial Discrimination In Admissions

 

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“Don’t Stop”: Democrats Celebrate Bill Clinton’s 25th Election Anniversary As New Allegations Surface Of Sexual Assault and Harassment

download-1225px-Bill_ClintonYesterday, the Hill posted my column on the hypocritical responses by both Democrats and Republicans to sexual harassment and assault allegations against figures ranging from Harvey Weinstein to Al Franken to Roy Moore.  In the last 24 hours, CBS anchor Charlie Rose and Rep. John Conyers have been added to the list.  However, the most glaring disconnect in the response to such allegations remains Bill Clinton, who was just accused of additional incidents of sexual harassment and assault after his presidency.  Putting aside the veracity of such new claims (which remain based on anonymous sources), Clinton has a long and well-documented history of affairs and allegations ranging from sexual harassment to rape.  However, Democrats gathered in Little Rock, Arkansas to hold an adoring tribute to Clinton on the 25th anniversary of his election as president. The event, headed by James Carville, failed to mention a single allegation of his assaulting women even as Democratic politicians and commentators have begun to acknowledge that these women should have been believed and Clinton held more accountable.  Indeed, opening the Clinton fest with Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop” was rather ominous given the allegations of ongoing misconduct.

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RES IPSA HITS 33,000,000

Audience_Frontier_FiestaWe have hit another milestone today with over 33,000,000 views. We are also expected to reach 35,000 followers on Twitter.  That hardly makes us competition for the largest sites but it is still an impressive collection of people seeking a place for civil but passionate discourse on legal and policy issues  of our time (and perhaps a few wacky stories).  We often use these milestones to look at the current profile of the blog and its supporters around the world.

As always, I want to offer special thanks for our weekend contributors: Mike Appleton, Larry Rafferty, Darren Smith, Kimberly Dienes, and Cara Gallagher (particularly Darren who continues help up with periodic technical problems etc).

I particularly want to thank our regular commentators and readers.  We try to keep this blog as an open forum with as little interference or monitoring of the comments as possible.  Given our free speech orientation, we try not to delete comments and, for that reason, we are deeply appreciative of how most people avoid personal or offensive comments in debating these issues.  We have had to delete a handful of comments with personal attacks or profanity but the number remains quite low for a blog of this size.  The success of this blog is due to the fact that we offer something more than the all-too-common troll-driven, angry, and insulting commentary of the Internet.  Thank you for voluntarily assuming restraint over the tenor and content of your comments. Continue reading “RES IPSA HITS 33,000,000”

The Not So Goodman: Ohio Religious Right Legislator Resigns After Tryst With Man In Capitol Office

b62e592ba2199bfd88b51afdf13c49afWes Goodman  is the Republican state legislator for Ohio who ran on a religious right agenda of opposing LGBT rights and same sex marriage.  His career ended last week after the discovery of Goodman having sex with a man in his office.  Things that makes this legislator less of a good man is not his apparent homosexuality but his dishonesty and hypocrisy.  He is not only married to a woman but has been a leading voice against homosexuals.

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Rev. Jim Bakker: Buy My Pancake Mix Or Make Flapjacks In Hell?

Screen Shot 2017-11-18 at 6.26.28 PM.pngJim Bakker was last seen by most people after his sex scandal and then sentencing for fraud.  Now he is back and he will totting pancake mix.  Bakker is shilling for people to call a 1-888 phone number to give him $60 (plus shipping) for a bucket of pancake mix.  The alternative appears to be starving your children and handing them over to the Biblical Beast.

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