College of Southern Nevada Sociology Professor Mark Bird allegedly had a curious way of protesting President Trump: he shot himself in the arm. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Bird was considerate enough to tape a $100 bill inside the bathroom with a note that it was “for the janitor” — presumably for the mess left behind. Continue reading “Professor Allegedly Shoots Himself On Campus In Protest Of Trump”
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the rising pressure on Sen. Susan Collins over her vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. There is considerable anger over Collins maintaining that she would never vote for a nominee hostile to Roe v. Wade but refusing to acknowledge the widespread view of Kavanaugh as not only hostile to the reasoning of Roe but appointed by a president who promised only to nominate an anti-Roe justice. As with Neil Gorsuch, Collins appears inclined to vote for Kavanaugh despite her oft-repeated pledge. She insists that she is comfortable after Kavanaugh told her that Roe is “settled” law. However, many have put Collins’ position as falling somewhere between hopeful thinking and willful blindness. As discussed below, the unsettling thing about settled law is that only five votes make anything truly settled on the Court.
Adding to the political dimension are polls showing that the hearings did not produce a bump for confirmation. The latest polling shows 38 percent in favor of Kavanaugh and 39 percent opposed.
Here is the column: Continue reading “A Bill Comes Due: Susan Collins Faces Rising Demands To Fulfill Her Promise To Vote Against A Presumed Anti-Roe Nominee”
I will have the pleasure of participating in the annual Supreme Court review today previewing the upcoming October term. The other panelists will be former Solicitor General Gregory Garre, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund President and Director-Counsel Sherrilyn Ifill. Associate Dean (and Supreme Court litigator) Alan Morrison will moderate the panel.
“Previewing the Supreme Court’s October Term 2018” will be held in the Jacob Burns Moot Court Room, 2000 H St NW, Washington, D.C. at 9:00.m. Continue reading “GW To Host Annual Supreme Court Review”
Yesterday, we discussed the prosecution of accused Russian agent Maria Butina and how prosecutors put out clearly false allegations that she traded sex for favors. Butina’s defense counsel Robert Driscoll called out the government for the clearly baseless allegations spread throughout the media. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has now responded by gagging counsel, an order that has become all too common in federal cases. Continue reading “Defense Counsel Calls Out DOJ For Falsely Accusing His Client Of Trading Sex For Access . . . Court Imposes Gag Order On Counsel”
We previously discussed Paul Guadalupe Gonzales, 45, the so-called “dine-and-dash dater” who would allegedly order expensive meals on first dates and then stiff the dates with the bill by disappearing. Now, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has announced four new charges of extortion that will threaten Gonzales with almost two decades in prison for his bizarre career as a criminal cad. The piling of charges seems to reflect the public anger more than the crimes. We are all disgusted by these accounts but almost a dozen counts of extortion seems a bit excessive. Continue reading ““Dine-And-Dash Dater” Hit With New Extortion Charges”
We have previously discussed the alarming rollback on free speech rights in the West, particularly in France (here and here and here and here and here and here) and England (here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here). Much of this trend is tied to the expansion of hate speech. Now the South Yorkshire police department is making it clear that it does not just want citizens to report crimes but “incidents” involving offensive or insulting comments. This follows an effort to make wolf whistles a crime in England.
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the controversial declaration of Sen. Cory Booker (D, NJ) that he was taking his “Spartacus” stand in releasing a restricted, non-public document regardless of the consequences. Well, it was not quite a dramatic as suggested since the document was in fact already public. As should come as no surprise to many of you who know my love for military history, I did however appreciate the reference.
Here is the column: Continue reading “The Real Spartacus Moment: How The Kavanaugh Hearing Played Out A Familiar Tale Of Ambition and Hubris”
In a remarkable and disturbing concession, the Justice Department last week admitted that it actually has no evidence that accused Russian operative, Maria Butina, was trading sex for jobs or access. Prosecutors now say that they simply had mistaken joking texts for real offers of sex quid pro quos. If there was not ample leeway given prosecutors under defamation law, this would seem like libel due to a lack of sense of humor . . . or worse. Update: The Court has imposed a gag order on counsel.
We discussed yesterday the decision of the NFL to shelve its policy on anthem protests. In the meantime, the Burgerville chain has faced the same question and reached a very different conclusion. Its employees were wearing protest buttons reading “Abolish ICE” and “No One Is Illegal.” Unlike the NFL which did have guidelines barring such protests, Burgerville had nothing in its rules. However, the chain then formally adopted a non-retroactive rule against such protests or advocacy during work hours for its employees. It is not clear if any Burgerville employee will now be considered for the next Nike “Just Do It” campaign. Continue reading “Just Don’t Do It: Burgerville Takes Opposite Approach To NFL On Protests”
The opening day has finally arrived for many of us who are football fans. However, if there was hope to have a season without the highly divisive anthem controversy, those hopes were dashed as the NFL officially announced that it would go forward on its policy against protests during the anthem. Further fueling the controversy will be Nike’s campaign featuring “Just Do It” ad, narrated by Colin Kaepernick. Nike is referencing Kaepenick’s stand as an example of courage despite the opposition of many football fans. I have previously written about the legal aspects of these protests.
Update: The Dolphins led the protests today with players kneeling during the anthem. Continue reading “Just Do It: The NFL Backs Out Of Anthem Policy As Nike Takes A Knee With Kaepernick [Updated]”
Romance novelist Nancy Crampton Brophy, 68, has been arrested in Beaverton, Oregon for the killing of her husband. The author of “The Wrong Husband” is accused of killing her chef spouse of 27 years after praising him as “Mr. Right” and publicly grieving his murder. Update: Brophy also authored an essay entitled “How To Murder Your Husband.”
Continue reading ““Wrong Husband”: Author Arrested In Murder Of Husband”
Among some fundamentalists in the Jewish and Christian faiths, there has been an obsession of the coming of a flawless red heifer as a divine harbinger. Both Jewish and Christian breeders have been trying to engineer the harbinger by breeding a flawless red heifer in order to bring about the building of the Third Temple and/or the second coming of Christ. Continue reading “Birth of Red Heifer Hailed As The Harbinger Of The End Of Times In Israel”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
Nature can be mesmerizing when we afford ourselves the opportunity to believe such. Often we keep ourselves at a distance to the outdoors and view each element only as an abstraction: too ordinary and mundane and something simply to drive past.
In such as this example of nature before us, from afar we only see stumps in a drying reservoir. Yet for a small investment in our time and close attention, a century of nature’s craft shows some true woodworking.
Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos was sentenced Friday to just 14 days in prison for lying to the FBI despite the position of Special Counsel Robert Mueller that he should spend at least six months in jail. The position of Mueller appeared to reflect a view that Papadopoulos was not as cooperative (or perhaps productive) as a witness. In the end, Papadopoulos appeared in an almost hostile position vis-a-vis Mueller. Continue reading “Papadopoulos Gets A 14-Day Sentence Despite Mueller Demand For 6 Months”
We have often discussed the ridiculous measures taken in Islamic countries to protect their citizens from temptations from banning Zumba to renaming “hot dogs.” The BBC is now reporting that Iran’s state broadcaster has been busy making television Islamically correct, like removing images of women eating cucumbers on television. However, one particular standout is censoring images of rear ends of water buffalos.
Continue reading “Iran Censors Bar Images Of “Provocative” Buffalo Butts”