Category: Society

Poll: Majority Of Americans Oppose Removal Of Confederate Statues

Wreath_laying_at_Confederate_Memorial_Day_services_-_Confederate_Memorial_-_Arlington_National_Cemetery_-_1922-06-05The push to remove confederate statues has been spreading across the country after the protests in Charlottesville, Virginia.  House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and other leading Democrats have been making the removal of such statues a priority issue.  Pelosi has called for statues to be removed in the Capitol even though those statues were there when she was Speaker of the House of Representatives.  A Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll, however, has found that 54 percent of adults said Confederate monuments “should remain in all public spaces.”  Only 27 percent said they “should be removed from all public spaces” while 19 percent had no opinion.

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GEORGE WASHINGTON AND THE CALL FOR THE REMOVAL OF STATUES OF SLAVE-OWNING FOUNDERS

Gilbert_Stuart_Williamstown_Portrait_of_George_WashingtonBelow is my column in the Hill Newspaper on the call for the removal of the statue of George Washington in my hometown of Chicago.  This is not the first such call to remove statues of confederate figures or those who supported segregation. The most recent such removal was the removal of the statue of Chief Justice Roger B. Taney due to his authorship of the Dredd Scott decision.  There have been demands that monuments and the names of slave-owning founders be removed.

Here is the column: Continue reading “GEORGE WASHINGTON AND THE CALL FOR THE REMOVAL OF STATUES OF SLAVE-OWNING FOUNDERS”

Wreckage of U.S.S. Indianapolis Found

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“Payback Time”: “Unite The Right” Organizer Denounces Heather Heyer As “Fat, Disgusting Communist”

14xp-heather-master315An entire country mourned the death of Heather Heyer, a paralegal, who went to Charlottesville to protest the hateful march of neo-Nazis and clansmen — only to be murdered when James A. Fields, 20, allegedly rammed his car into protesters.  Now the organizer of the racist march has sent out a tweet calling her a “fat, disgusting Communist” — a tweet he later blamed on being drugged out of his gourd.  Jason Kessler explained that he has been doing some heavy drugs and drinking lately.

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DisruptJ20: The Justice Department Demands 1.3 Million IP Addresses and Other Information On Trump Critics

YC_kStF9US-DeptOfJustice-Seal_svgBelow is my column in USA Today on a troubling warrant issued by the Justice Department to force the disclosure of visitors to an anti-Trump site.  The DisruptJ20 case raises very serious questions regarding political speech and associational rights.

Here is the column:

 

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Pronoun Prison? California Moves Toward Criminalizing The Refusal To Use The Correct Pronoun For Transgender People

California flagThe California State Senate is considering a bill that would make it a crime to  “willfully and repeatedly” refuse “to use a transgender resident’s preferred name or pronouns” in a public health, retirement or housing institution.  State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) has introduced  SB 219  with a variety of transgender protections but the pronoun controversy is likely to get the most attention.  Violators face a year in jail and a potential $1000 fine.  The criminalization of pronoun misuse however could raise serious free speech and other constitutional concerns.

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Trump Administration Demands Information On Over A Million Visitors To Anti-Trump Website

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“Cafeteria Classism”: Florida Middle School Under Fire For Offering $100 Front Of The Line Food Passes

56-3688899-oliIt appears that the Lawton Chiles Middle Academy in Lakeland, Fla. is teaching its students a bit about living as the one percent.  The middle school sent out a  fundraising form to parents stating that for a $100 donation a student would be granted a “front of the lunch line pass.”   According to ABC Action News, the PTSA promised that the “last name or company logo feature on the website, as well as PTSA events AND front of the lunch line pass.”  The ad should be “Name logo sponsorship: $100; PTSA promos: $100; Lording over the unwashed: priceless.”You can imagine the response from parents to what they called “cafeteria classism.”

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Intimidation By Salutation: Trump Accused Of New Form Of Obstruction For Sending His Appreciation and Greeting To Mueller

440px-Director_Robert_S._Mueller-_III-1donald_trump_president-elect_portrait_croppedBelow is my column in the Hill newspaper on the most recent suggested crime committed by President Donald Trump or his family.  This allegation focuses on a greeting sent through President Trump’s attorney, John Dowd, to Special Counsel Robert Mueller.  It appears that Trump is obstructing if he voices criticism or appreciation of Mueller.    Dowd was in the news again yesterday in taking it upon himself to object to pre-dawn raid on the home of Paul Manafort.

Here is the column:

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Bloomberg: Manafort Alerted Authorities About Russian Meeting

New_Bloomberg_Logo.svgBuried in a new article out of Bloomberg is an understated but potentially significant statement: “In fact, Manafort had alerted authorities to a controversial meeting on June 9, 2016, involving Trump’s son Donald Jr., other campaign representatives and a Russian lawyer promising damaging information on Hillary Clinton, according to people familiar with the matter.”  That would be a huge development in this controversy if true, particularly if the notice occurred before the Russian meeting occurred.

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Oregon Schools Strip “Lynch” Name From Three Schools Because They Sound Like “Lynching”

cropped-Lynch-Logo-Empower2It appears that the Centennial School District is really appreciative to the Lynch family for their generous donation of land for the establishment of public schools.  However, it appears that their name is simply unacceptable because, when used as a noun, it brings up painful images of lynchings.  We have previously discussed the same lunacy in higher education with buildings named after a Lynch.  It appears that even if a school wants to name itself after Loretta Lynch, the first female African American Attorney General, she will have to change her name.  Ironically, the first word in the motto of the Lynch Elementary School is “learn” but the learning curve appears too steep in the view of the board.  Under the same logic, animal rights activists could object that the school symbol is calling for the lynching of lion cubs — a highly disturbing and traumatic image for young children.

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The Demonic Dab: Saudi Arabia Arrests Artist For Dabbing In Public

screen-shot-2017-08-09-at-4-03-58-pm-700xSaudi Arabia is once again in the news with another example of the extremist religious dogma that characterizes its Wahhabi traditions.  The latest lunacy came with the arrest of TV host, actor, and aspiring artist, Abdallah Al Shaharani, who committed an unIslamic and shocking act.  He dabbed. That’s right.  He did a dab during a musical contest. WARNING: THE VIDEOTAPE BELOW SHOW A DISTURBING DAB.

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IT IS TIME FOR ROD ROSENSTEIN TO RECUSE HIMSELF

Rod_Rosenstein_Official_DAG_PortraitBelow is my column in the Hill Newspaper on the growing need for Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to recuse himself from the Special Counsel investigation.  Rosenstein has alluded to the possible need for his recusal but continues to participate in an investigation that could have direct bearing on his own role and decision-making.  If he has material evidence on obstruction, he should not delay his recusal until he receives a formal request to appear before a grand jury.  His relevance to the obstruction investigation is obvious and he should not be determined questions of scope when his own conduct could fall within the jurisdiction of the Special Counsel.

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The Movie “Dunkirk” Denounced For Its “Maleness”

Dunkirk_Film_posterYesterday, I finally had a chance to see the movie “Dunkirk.” My son Jack had already seen the film but liked it enough to go back with me.  As a military history buff, you can imagine my reaction: I loved it.  It captured the dire acts of survival on that beach and in those ships while under constant air and ground attack.  Yet, despite overwhelming critical acclaim, some have objected that the film was too white and too male.  Mehera Bonner of Marie Claire magazine objected that “Dunkirk felt like an excuse for men to celebrate maleness — which apparently they don’t get to do enough.”  Continue reading “The Movie “Dunkirk” Denounced For Its “Maleness””

Trump Administration Hit With New Leak Of Transcripts Of Trump’s Call To the Mexican and Australian Leaders

donald_trump_president-elect_portrait_croppedToday Attorney General Jeff Sessions is expected to discuss a new leak crackdown, but he will have to deal with questions raised by one of the most massive leaks in recent memory. Someone has leaked the entire transcripts of two heated January phone calls  with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.  The conversations are deeply embarrassing for the Administration because they directly contradict statements made by Trump to the public.  These transcripts would also be likely classified, making their release a federal offense.

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Res ipsa loquitur – The thing itself speaks