Bizarre, Criminal law

Retail Therapy Gone Bad: Michigan Woman Sentenced For Trying To Hire Killer on “RentAHitman.com”

Wendy Lynn Wein pleaded guilty on Friday to trying to hire a hitman to kill her husband last year through what turned out to be a fake murder-for-hire website. (Monroe County Jail)

With the pandemic, most people are shopping online and there are growing accounts of “doom shopping” dangers for many who are becoming heavily indebted through retail therapy.  Wendy Lynn Wein’s retail therapy, however, involved shopping for someone to kill her ex-husband. She found a convenient site called “RentAHitman.com” without realizing that it was a fake operation. The site owner turned her into the police and she has now been given a 7 to 20-year prison sentence. Continue reading “Retail Therapy Gone Bad: Michigan Woman Sentenced For Trying To Hire Killer on “RentAHitman.com”” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Criminal law

The Oath Keepers: What the Indictment Says and Does Not Say About the January 6 Riot

The indictment of eleven individuals associated with the “Oath Keepers” produced an immediate deluge of the postings that an insurrection had finally been established on the January 6th attack at the Capitol. The charges do not establish an insurrection. It does reveal how extremist groups show the protest as an opportunity and hoped that it might trigger greater unrest. However, the indictment does not offer the long-sought proof of an insurrection to fulfill the narrative of many commentators and politicians. While I would not be surprised by additional charges against other co-conspirators and more details could emerge, the indictment does not support the prior allegations of a coordination or collusion with the Trump campaign. Here is a first take on what the indictment says and does not say.

Continue reading “The Oath Keepers: What the Indictment Says and Does Not Say About the January 6 Riot” →

Media, Politics

“We’re Breaking Her, Keep Going”: ACLU Strategist Issues Chilling Tweet Against Sinema

While President Joe Biden has portrayed anyone supporting the filibuster as a virtual confederate sympathizer and Bull Connor wannabe, the attacks did not sway senators like Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz. who defiantly went to the floor to deliver a speech calling for the end of the politics of division. She, and her colleague Sen. Joe Machin, D-W.V., stood firm in support of the filibuster. The response from the commentators on the left was pure unadulterated rage. Many like MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell cruelly mocked her for appearing emotional. However, one of most chilling attacks came from a reported staff member at the ACLU, Sarah Michelsen, who encouraged people to keep up the pressure to “break” Sinema. The senator has been continually harassed by activists, who even followed her into a bathroom to berate her.

Continue reading ““We’re Breaking Her, Keep Going”: ACLU Strategist Issues Chilling Tweet Against Sinema” →

Columns, Constitutional Law

Produce over Politics: Whole Foods Fights for Right to Bar Political Advocacy in Workplace

Below is my column in The Hill on the NLRB complaint against Whole Foods to force the company to allow workers to wear Black Lives Matter masks. The decision could have sweeping implications for business with uniform policies or bans on political advocacy in the workplace.

Here is the column: Continue reading “Produce over Politics: Whole Foods Fights for Right to Bar Political Advocacy in Workplace” →

Academia, Free Speech

UW Professor Triggers Free Speech Fight Over “Indigenous Land Acknowledgement”

There is a major fight unfolding over free speech and academic freedom at the University of Washington where computer science Professor Stuart Reges has been ordered to remove a statement from his syllabus. After the university encouraged faculty to add a prewritten “Indigenous land acknowledgement” statement to their syllabi, Reges decided to write his own statement. He has now been told that, while the university statement is optional, his statement is unacceptable because it questions the indigenous land claim of the Coast Salish people. Continue reading “UW Professor Triggers Free Speech Fight Over “Indigenous Land Acknowledgement”” →

Criminal law, Society, Torts

Royally Eschewed: Court Rejects Prince Andrew’s Motion to Dismiss Giuffre Lawsuit
Florida Southern District Court

Prince Andrew lost a major ruling in his litigation with Virginia Giuffre (née Roberts), who claims that the Duke of York sexually assaulted her as part of the sex trafficking crimes of the late Jeffrey Epstein. In his 46-page decision, Judge Lewis A Kaplan of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York adopted an extremely narrow reading of the settlement and eschewed the defense arguments on threshold barriers to any lawsuit. Kaplan declared the “defendant’s motion to dismiss the complaint or for a more definite statement is denied in all respects.” Continue reading “Royally Eschewed: Court Rejects Prince Andrew’s Motion to Dismiss Giuffre Lawsuit” →

Bizarre, Politics, Torts

The “Old Gray Lady” Versus The Masked Singer: The Times Seeks To Use Palin Music Video in Libel Trial
YouTube

We previously discussed a major ruling restoring the defamation lawsuit of Sarah Palin against the New York Times over a false claim related to the shooting of former United States Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Now, the New York Times is trying to introduce footage of Palin on “The Masked Singer.” The effort to introduce the video would seem to have no probative value and clearly is meant to ridicule Palin. Continue reading “The “Old Gray Lady” Versus The Masked Singer: The Times Seeks To Use Palin Music Video in Libel Trial” →

Constitutional Law, Politics

Democracy, Autocracy . . . or Hypocrisy? Biden Calls for Changing the Filibuster Rule

According to the Associated Press, President Joe Biden today will support changing the filibuster rule for voting rights legislation — a move widely viewed as effectively killing the rule. The report says that Biden will portray the choice starkly as one between democracy and autocracy. The AP, however, does not reference the third option of hypocrisy by failing to note that Biden vehemently opposed such moves for decades. He previously denounced killing the rule as “disastrous” for our democracy but now will declare the rule itself to be an existential threat to democracy. It is the latest example of President Biden’s embrace of “whatever it takes politics.” Continue reading “Democracy, Autocracy . . . or Hypocrisy? Biden Calls for Changing the Filibuster Rule” →

Media, Supreme Court

No, Justice Gorsuch Did Not Say Hundreds of Thousands Die From Flu Each Year

After the argument over the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandates before the Supreme Court, many on the left condemned Justice Neil Gorsuch for spreading disinformation on flu fatalities. This criticism seemed to grow after the three liberal justices on the Supreme Court were themselves criticized for false or misleading statements about Covid-19. In reality, Gorsuch was correct in his statement on flu rates despite attacks that are continuing by liberal commentators and bloggers. (For full disclosure, I testified in favor of Gorsuch’s confirmation before the Senate). Continue reading “No, Justice Gorsuch Did Not Say Hundreds of Thousands Die From Flu Each Year” →

Columns, Congress, Constitutional Law, Supreme Court

The Vaccine Mandate: The Supreme Court Considers a Trip To “Major-Questions-Land”

Below is my column in the Hill on the vaccine mandate cases before the Supreme Court. Businesses and groups are still waiting to see if the Supreme Court will issue an injunction in the OSHA case. The mandate goes into effect today. The issue is not what the decision should be on mandates but who gets to make that decision. That question takes some justices to a place that they would prefer not to go …”Major-question-land.”

Here is the column: Continue reading “The Vaccine Mandate: The Supreme Court Considers a Trip To “Major-Questions-Land”” →

Free Speech, Politics, Supreme Court

Will Justice Sotomayor Be Banned On Twitter? Don’t Bet On It.

Twitter Logo

During the oral arguments over the Biden vaccine mandates last week,  two largely disconnected views emerged from the right and left of the Supreme Court. Conservative justices hammered away at the underlying authority of the Biden Administration to issue these mandates, particularly after President Joe Biden’s own Chief of Staff admitted that the agency rules were “workarounds” of his constitutional limitations. Conversely, the liberal justices used the “equity” aspects of an injunction to raise more emotive, if not apocalyptic, arguments on the dangers of Covid-19. That led Justice Elena Sotomayor to make a claim about children with Covid that even the Washington Post called “absurdly high” and worthy of “four Pinocchios.”

Continue reading “Will Justice Sotomayor Be Banned On Twitter? Don’t Bet On It.” →

Bizarre, Criminal law

“A Hapless Car Thief”: Nevada Man Caught with Dismembered Body Claims to Have Stolen The Wrong Truck

There is a bizarre case unfolding in Las Vegas, Nevada where Eric Holland, 57, was arrested after police found a dismembered body in his truck. Holland is now arguing that it was a terrible coincidence. He stole a truck that just happened to have a dismembered body in the back. He was, in the words of his counsel, “a hapless car thief.’

 

Continue reading ““A Hapless Car Thief”: Nevada Man Caught with Dismembered Body Claims to Have Stolen The Wrong Truck” →

Criminal law

Rittenhouse Friend Reaches Plea Deal For Fine With Prosecutors

Dominick David Black, the friend who bought Kyle Rittenhouse an assault-style rifle when he was only 17, has been facing two felonies in Wisconsin. The hefty charges were clearly meant to force his cooperation in the prosecution of his friend. With Rittenhouse now acquitted, the prosecutors have thrown in the towel and agreed to a fine of $2000 in exchange for dropping the two counts. He pleaded no contest to contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a non-criminal citation.

Continue reading “Rittenhouse Friend Reaches Plea Deal For Fine With Prosecutors” →

Constitutional Law, Politics

Democratic Governor Calls For Criminalizing “Lying” About Election Results

For years, I have lamented how the Democratic party has embraced censorship and the criminalization of speech. I come from a liberal Democratic family in Chicago and the Democratic Party once championed free speech as the defining value of the party. Democratic politicians now lead calls for censorship to silence their opponents and corporate regulations to protect citizens from dangerous choices in reading material. The same concerns were raised this week after Washington Gov. Jay Inslee called for the criminalization of “lies” about election results. Inslee wants to convict people who raise election challenges or allegations. Such a law would threaten political speech and create a chilling effect for those who want to raise such concerns in contested elections.

 

Continue reading “Democratic Governor Calls For Criminalizing “Lying” About Election Results” →

Bizarre, Politics, Society

The Eight Degrees of Ignorance and Stupidity

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

Our host on numerous occasions makes a strong case in labeling today’s zeitgeist as “The Age of Rage”. It would certainly seem to be so if one focuses on what stereotypically comes out of the news media and political figures we lend our ears to. Yet I would go a step further and suggest the root cause of some of this rage is composed of two elements: power-lust and simple human stupidity.

I believe many people fail to recognize how intertwined is the lust for power and the enabling forces of stupidity. Stupidity can be manipulated to achieve that power. It is said that money is the blood of the powerful. Yet, why spend money when too many can be so easily controlled or recruited for free simply by instead appealing to ignorant or stupid individuals.

Both sadly and obviously however, ignorance and stupidity is not limited to the news or politics, it is manifest in human society generally. The trick is to recognize and extricate it from our lives whenever possible. So in a mostly cynical and possibly comical study of the problem, I propose there are levels and flavors of both ignorance and stupidity and to apply such a study is a first step toward minimizing its damaging potential.

Continue reading “The Eight Degrees of Ignorance and Stupidity” →