Congress, Politics

When Pigs Fly: Congress Inserts over 4,000 Pork Earmarks in Spending Bill

For years, Congress has dispensed with the pretense of informed legislative process when it comes to major bills and appropriations. The new $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill, however, took the notion of blind legislating to a disgraceful degree. Democratic leadership dumped the almost 3,000 page bill on the members (and the public) on Wednesday with only a couple days to review the massive spending. That includes over 4,000 pork projects in earmarks.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech

Ninth Circuit Rules Against Las Vegas Officer in Anti-Police Protest Case

There is an interesting free speech case out of Nevada this week where Ninth Circuit Judge J. Clifford Wallace (joined by Chief Judge Mary Murguia and Judge Carlos Bea) ruled that police may have violated the First Amendment rights of protesters who were arrested after writing “F**k Pigs” and “F**k the Cops” in chalk on sidewalks. Notably, in Ballentine v. Tucker, the Ninth Circuit did not view the ban on chalking to be unconstitutional but the selective enforcement of the ban.

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Academia, Free Speech

“Woke Dysphoria” at Concordia? University Suspends Professor After Criticism of Diversity Priorities

There is a major free speech fight brewing at Concordia University in Wisconsin where Professor (and Minister) Dr. Gregory Schulz was suspended after he criticized “woke dysphoria” as part of the search for a new university president. Ironically, Schulz is still listed as one of the approved candidates for the position. Continue reading ““Woke Dysphoria” at Concordia? University Suspends Professor After Criticism of Diversity Priorities” →

Academia, Free Speech, International, Politics

Should Universities Take a Stand on Ukraine? UChicago is Facing That Question
It has become increasingly common for universities to take political positions in support of everything from Black Lives Matter to D.C. Statehood. As such positions increase, there is more and more pressure for official positions to be taken on other subjects. Now, the University of Chicago is being asked to affirm its support of Ukraine after controversial statements from Professor John Mearsheimer. (For full disclosure, I am a graduate of UChicago and Mearsheimer was one of faculty when I was doing strategic studies research at the department). Continue reading “Should Universities Take a Stand on Ukraine? UChicago is Facing That Question” →
Academia, Free Speech, Politics

Jeh Johnson Withdraws as Vassar Commencement Speaker After Protests
Free Speech, International

Bolshoi Conductor Resigns Over Free Speech Controversy as the Crackdown Continues for Artists and Athletes

We recently discussed controversies involving Russian artists and athletes being told that they will be cancelled or blacklisted if they do not expressly denounce the Russian invasion of Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin. Now that assault on free speech has reached the highest levels of ballet after Tugan Sokhiev, the chief conductor at Bolshoi Theatre and the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, resigned rather than be coerced into such public statements. The Munich Philharmonic also dismissed chief conductor Valery Gergiev after he failed to condemn the invasion. Continue reading “Bolshoi Conductor Resigns Over Free Speech Controversy as the Crackdown Continues for Artists and Athletes” →

Free Speech, International, Uncategorized

Flagging Free Speech or Nepotism? Formula One Team Drops Russian Driver Over Ukraine Invasion

I recently wrote about the Metropolitan Opera Manager Peter Gelb cancelling  soprano Anna Netrebko after she failed to condemn Vladimir Putin. Netrebko, who denounced the Ukrainian invasion, has appeared in pictures with Putin and has said that she will take a hiatus from performing after the controversy. I drew heated objections to my column for defending a supporter of Putin. I was defending free speech rather than Putin but it is an old saw used against civil libertarians when they object to public or private censorship. Now we have a different story out of Formula One racing where Russian driver Nikita Mazepin was dropped by Haas F1 despite a FIA ruling he could compete in Formula One races.  The controversy has some unique elements tied to the racing but raises similar issues of compelled speech. Continue reading “Flagging Free Speech or Nepotism? Formula One Team Drops Russian Driver Over Ukraine Invasion” →

Columns, International, Military

Yes, Foreign Fighters in Ukraine are Covered Under the Geneva Conventions as “Combatants”

We have been seeing new reports for foreign volunteers joining the Ukrainian forces, including Americans, to fight against the Russian invasion. There now appear a sizable number of such volunteers in a modern version of the Lincoln Brigade that fought against fascism in Spain before World War II. The similarities to the Spanish Civil War are striking with the fascists controlling the skies, fielding advanced weaponry, and engaging in war crimes.  Back then, Russia supported the Republican forces against fascism. Now, however, Russia is declaring that foreign volunteers are not considered covered “combatants” under the Geneva Conventions. That is not true. Continue reading “Yes, Foreign Fighters in Ukraine are Covered Under the Geneva Conventions as “Combatants”” →

Courts, Politics, Supreme Court

Why Judge Jackson Needs to Recuse Herself in the Harvard Case: A Response to Noah Feldman et al.

In an earlier column, I wrote about what I saw as an insurmountable conflict of interest for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson if she is confirmed to the Supreme Court. One of the most important cases on the Court’s calendar is a racial discrimination case involving Harvard admissions policies. I was surprised, therefore, to read that Harvard Law Professor Noah Feldman and others believe that Jackson has strong arguments against any recusal in the case. I wanted to address those arguments in greater detail.

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Columns, Free Speech, International

Getting the Hook: The Met Cancels Opera Singer for Refusing to Condemn Putin

“It is a great artistic loss for the Met and for opera.” Those words from the Metropolitan Opera Manager Peter Gelb makes it sound like soprano Anna Netrebko has died or lost her voice in some accident. In reality, Netrebko was cancelled for failing to denounce Vladimir Putin. As with the criminalization of support for Putin in some countries, the termination of Netrebko is an attack on free speech. It is perfectly bizarre for the Met to stand against tyranny by attacking free speech, the very right that combats tyranny in all forms. This is not just the day that the music died for Netrebko, it is the day that free speech died at the Met.

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Free Speech, International, Media, Politics

Czech Republic Reportedly Moves To Criminalize Speech in Favor of Putin or the Russian Invasion

This week, the Supreme State Attorney Igor Striz of the Czech Republic announced that the country is moving to criminalize speech supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin or the Russian invasion with sentences of up to three years. It is a curious way to fight tyranny . . . with tyrannical measures against free speech.

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Academia, Free Speech

University North Texas Protesters Cancel Event on Child Gender Transitioning

We have been following campaigns on college campuses to prevent dissenting or conservative views from being heard, including the recent successful effort to block a Georgetown professor from speaking at Hastings College of Law. Now a new videotape has been posted on conservative sites of protesters shouting down a father who is an opponent of child gender transitions at the University of North Texas.

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Columns, Congress, Courts, Lawyering, Politics, Supreme Court

The Crimson Tie: Why Judge Jackson May Have An Ethical Problem To Address

Below is my column in the Hill on the possible conflict of interest faced by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson if she is confirmed to replace Justice Stephen Breyer. If Judge Jackson becomes Justice Jackson, her service on a Harvard governing board will be a barrier to her sitting on one of the most significant cases of the term. While the Harvard Crimson quotes Professor Noah Feldman as saying that there is a “strong argument that she would not need to recuse,” I cannot see how she could ethically sit in judgment on the case given her board position.

Here is the column:

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Academia, Free Speech

Students Block Shapiro From Speaking at Hastings College of Law

We have been following the controversy at Georgetown over the effort to fire conservative law professor Ilya Shapiro. Now, the campaign to cancel Shapiro has extended to other schools, including law schools where free speech should be most fervently and faithfully defended. Yet, students at the UC Hastings College of Law in San Francisco shouted down Shapiro to prevent others from hearing his views on the upcoming confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. What is particularly chilling is to see the support of some faculty in this campaign.

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Res ipsa loquitur – The thing itself speaks