I am speaking today at the Oklahoma City Town Hall and have enjoyed returning to this wonderful city. Yet, while this city never ceases to amaze me, it was the flight to Oklahoma that proved overwhelming. Before my flight, an older man called me over at the gate to say hello. It turned out to be Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson, the Super Bowl champion and Pro Bowl linebacker. It then turned out that we were not only flying on the same flight but were seated next to each other. What followed was an incredible conversation with the former member of the “Doomsday defense.” Continue reading “A Flight to Remember with Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson”
Category: Society
While it is unlikely to pass, new legislation criminalizing the refusal of parents to affirm their children’s LGBT identity would trigger a likely successful constitutional challenge. WJLA reported that Democratic Virginia Delegate Elizabeth Guzman will introduce a bill that will expand the state’s definition of child abuse and neglect to include parents and guardians who do not affirm the gender identity declared by their children. In the meantime, a journalist, David Leavitt, reported Virginia state senate candidate Tina Ramirez to Child Protective Services over a tweet celebrating Columbus Day as creating an abusive environment for her children. Such unhinged efforts are further pushing parental rights higher among the top concerns for voters. Continue reading “Virginia Becomes Ground Zero in Battles Over Parental Rights”
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has finally crossed the line into infamy. No, it is not because of the record level of border crossings with millions pouring into the country. It is not the obvious lack of confidence of the rank and file officers in Mayorkas. It is not even past controversies like his Orwellian “Disinformation Governance Board.” Continue reading ““Something That Horrified Us All”: Emails Reveal Mayorkas was Warned that Migrant Whipping Story was False”
Former President Donald Trump is suing CNN in a $475 million defamation lawsuit, according to a complaint filed in federal court in the Southern District of Florida on Monday. The lawsuit faces significant challenges under the governing precedent for public figures. For counsel, those challenges likely seem steeper in a week when Trump unleashed reckless and offensive attacks on Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and his wife former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao as well as journalist, Maggie Haberman. It is not exactly the context that counsel would want when seeking to hold CNN liable for defamatory comments in a difficult legal action. Continue reading “Trump Sues CNN for $475 Million in Defamation Lawsuit”
Below is my column in the Wall Street Journal on the New York plan for subsidizing marijuana businesses with a preference for those with prior criminal records — or their family members. Legislators yielded to every political temptation in piling on dubious tax burdens and class-based preferences on this new market.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Reefer Madness: The New York Law on Legalized Marijuana is a Triumph of Politics over Logic”
The undocumented migrants who were transferred to Martha’s Vineyard have quickly adopted one common American practice: litigation. A firm, Lawyers for Civil Rights, in conjunction with the migrant-led nonprofit Alianza Americas, filed the action on behalf of Yanet Doe, Pablo Doe and Jesus Doe who are using pseudonyms for the action “on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated.” The filing is a Jackson Pollock of legal claims with twelve claims thrown against Florida from false imprisonment to intentional infliction of emotional distress to misuse of the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund. The splattering of claims face considerable legal barriers based on the consent of the migrants, as shown in a waiver released by Florida.
Continue reading “Three Martha Vineyard Migrants File Lawsuit Against DeSantis”
Below is my column in the Hill on the claims that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) and other governors are committing crimes ranging from kidnapping to human trafficking in shipping undocumented immigrants to other states. The claims are legally baseless. While MSNBC regular Elie Mystal said this week, “kidnapping is a thing,” it is just not “this thing.” While insisting that migrants should be seen as a “blessing,” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has declared the free trips to be “crimes against humanity.” Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Cal.) has also demanded criminal investigations even though Newsom, as mayor of San Francisco, shipped homeless people “back home” to other cities with free bus tickets. There are now threats of some blue states suing as well as New York City but those lawsuits are likely to fail absent evidence of systemic fraud or coercion. These migrants are allowed to engage in interstate travel and other states can facilitate such travel.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Democrats Allege Crimes Ranging from Kidnapping to Human Trafficking to “Crimes Against Humanity” in Migrant Transfers”
There is a controversy in the Denver Public School system as students were shown a video telling them not to call police if they see a violently racist or homophobic incident because police are perpetrators of such violence. What is particularly shocking, however, was the response of the school district to the showing of this insulting and dangerous film. The district said that nobody at Denver South High School actually watched the video before showing it to the students under their charge. Continue reading “Denver Public Schools Show Video Telling Kids to Avoid Police “as Perpetrators of Violence””
It is a sign of our times. It used to be that the key criterion for college roommates was whether you are a “partier v. non-partier.” Now, it is just your party.
A new NBC and Generation Lab study of the class of 2025 showed that roughly half of college students refuse to live with someone who voted for a member of a different political party. That percentage is notably much higher with Democrats rather than Republicans.
Below is my column on recent effort to boycott states over their abortion laws, a growing push for states to punish other states with measures like travel bans. While boycotts are an important expression of free speech by citizens, it raises more difficult questions when done by states seeking to coerce other states. It can create a morass of boycotts and tit-for-tat measures. This column suggests a way to end the practice through a simple deterrent measure based on Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. It would be to the benefit of all states (and our federalism system as a whole) to remove state-to-state boycotts from the political arena.
Here is the column:
Below is my column in The Hill on a shift in the rhetoric in the aftermath of the overturning of Roe v. Wade. From politicians to pundits, pro-life positions are being treated as virtual hate speech. The demonization of those with pro-life views is meant to cut off any debate on the basis or scope of abortion rights. It is the latest attack on free speech as critics seek to silence those with opposing views.
Here is the column:
The South Carolina legislature is moving to enact a new law with deeply troubling free speech implications. Following the Jackson Women’s Health Organization v. Dobbs decision overturning Roe, the legislators have sought to criminalize any effort to ”aid, abet or conspire with someone” to obtain an abortion. That apparently includes sharing information over the Internet or other communication systems. In my view, the law violates the First Amendment and should be scuttled by the legislature. Otherwise, it would likely be struck down by the courts.
Continue reading “South Carolina Legislators Move to Criminalize Sharing Abortion Information”
Below is my column in the Washington Times responding to the controversy over changes at the home of James Madison. While I have not been to Montpelier since the reported changes, I wanted to respond to the condemnation of Madison as “an enslaver.” He was indeed an enslaver but the truth is far more complex than presented by critics.
Here is the column: Continue reading “The Truth About Madison and Slavery”
There is a major verdict in a free speech case out of Texas where Charlene Carter, a former Southwest flight attendant won a verdict of more than $5 million for her wrongful termination after a posting on social media criticizing her union on its abortion stand. Both Southwest and the Transportation Workers Union of America (TWU) (Local 556) are named as defendants. Ironically, the TWU insists that it is “offering working people a voice.” However, it is accused of working with the company to terminate this worker who spoke up against the union.