We have previously discussed the worrisome signs of a rising generation of censors in the country as leaders and writers embrace censorship and blacklisting. The latest chilling poll was released by 2021 College Free Speech Rankings after questioning a huge body of 37,000 students at 159 top-ranked U.S. colleges and universities. It found that sixty-six percent of college students think shouting down a speaker to stop them from speaking is a legitimate form of free speech. Another 23 percent believe violence can be used to cancel a speech. That is roughly one out of four supporting violence. Continue reading “Heckler’s Veto: Sixty-Six Percent of College Students Say Stopping Speech Is Free Speech”
The American Civil Liberties Union had a curious way of honoring the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg this week by editing out her words — removing offensive references to “woman” and “she.” I expect that Ginsburg herself would have had little patience with such woke revisionism. Continue reading “ACLU Celebrates Ginsburg’s Legacy by Editing Out Her Actual Words as Offensive”
Students at California Lutheran University have filed a federal defamation lawsuit against the school for defamation and false light after the school denounced softball players and coaches as racists for a college skit. The claim is part of a broader claim alleging discriminatory treatment given to the CLU Women’s Softball program as opposed to the CLU Men’s Baseball program. In a bizarre twist, the complaint includes a picture of the former university president Chris Kimball dressed as Bob Marley.
Continue reading “Students Sue California Lutheran University For Slander Over College Skit”
We have been following various controversies involving academics who have referred to Covid-19 as the “China Virus” or the “Wuhan Virus.” There is even a lawsuit on the issue. There is now an interesting case brewing at the University of Dallas. Professor William Atto is accused of using the reference on a syllabus, which the student newspaper University News called “misnaming COVID-19” and violating the university policy on such references. In response, the head of the History Department, Susan Hanssen, came out in support of her colleague and denied that any such policy exists. Continue reading “Dallas History Professor Triggers Academic Freedom Fight Over Reference To “China Virus””
Below is my column in the Hill on the Sussmann indictment by Special Counsel John Durham. The single charge under 18 U.S.C. 1001 is not as significant as the supporting narrative and facts disclosed by Durham in this prosecution. The indictment fills in a number of blanks in how the Clinton campaign pushed a false Russian collusion narrative despite the objections of its own researchers.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Clinton Lawyer’s Indictment Reveals “Bag of Tricks””
Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law, has published a blistering opinion editorial entitled “Are Supreme Court Justices ‘Partisan Hacks’? All the Evidence Says Yes.” The column is unfortunately the latest example of how rage has replaced reason in our discussions of the Court. Chemerinsky previously declared that “Congress would be totally justified in increasing the size of the court.” He has insisted that court packing is “the only way to keep there from being a very conservative Court for the next 10–20 years.”
Continue reading “Berkeley Law Dean Calls Conservative Justices “Partisan Hacks””
We recently discussed the controversy at Washington University in St. Louis after Student Senator Fadel Alkilani pulled up flags memorializing 9/11 and throwing them into the trash. At the time, I raised the issue of whether preventing or destroying the speech of others is itself an exercise of free speech. Now, Law Professor Gregory Magarian has gone public with his view that Alkilani was indeed engaging in free speech and criticizing the position of the school in condemning his actions without also recognizing the discomfort for many in seeing the flags as a “powerful, contestable political statement.”. Continue reading “Law Professor: Tearing Down 9/11 Memorial is the Exercise of Free Speech”
In Washington, there is no greater indication of wrongdoing than the number of people denouncing efforts to investigate it. The “nothing to see here” crowd went into hyperventilation this week when Special Counsel John Durham indicted a former Clinton campaign lawyer, Michael Sussmann. Legal experts who spent years validating every possible criminal charge against Trump and his associates are now insisting that Durham needs to end his investigation. The Washington Post heaped ridicule on Durham despite an indictment detailing an effort to hide the connection to the Clinton campaign and a concerted effort to push false Russian collusion claims. Continue reading “Legal Pundits and the Washington Post Line Up To Mock Durham’s “Zombie Investigation” in Stark Contrast to The Same Mueller Charges”
Below is my column in the Hill on allegations concerning Gen. Mark Milley in the final days of the Trump Administration. Milley is expected to answer questions in full this month before Congress. However, if true, the statements made to subordinates and his Chinese counterpart would constitute serious violations for a military officer. What is striking is how many on the left applauded an account of the military unlawfully assuming control of such decisions to negate or countermand a sitting president. Much like the embrace of censorship, the embrace of such alleged a military challenge to civil control would once be viewed as anathema on the left.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Milley’s Mutiny? A New Book Raises Equally Serious Questions For The Pentagon and the Press”
Police in Poseyville, Indiana have a curious criminal case. It started when at 8:24 pm Donald Ricketts, 56, of Poseyville, drove left of center of a highway and struck the driver’s side of a tractor-trailer. He was allegedly drunk and called his wife to come get him. Cheral Ricketts, 55, then drove to the scene and crashed into her husband’s car. She was also allegedly drunk.
Today we passed the 53,000,000 mark in views on the blog. Again, we thank our loyal readers who return every day to discuss contemporary legal, political, and occasionally bizarre stories. We have used these moments to give thanks for our many regular readers around the world and give you an idea of the current profile of readers on the blog. As always, I want to offer special thanks for Darren Smith who has continued to help manage the blog and help out folks who encounter posting problems. I also want to thank our regular readers who email me to flag my signature typos or any violations of the civility or copyright policies on the blog. Continue reading “Res Ipsa Hits 53,000,000”
I have a column today in the Hill on the indictment of former Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann by Special Counsel John Durham. The indictment fills in a great number of gaps on one of the Russian collusion allegations pushed by the Clinton campaign: Alpha bank. Sussmann and others reportedly pushed the implausible claim that the Russian bank served as a conduit for communications between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. The indictment removes the identity of key actors like a “Tech Executive” who used his connections with an Internet company to help the Clinton campaign (and said he was promised a top cyber security position in the widely anticipated Clinton Administration). One of those figures however may have been identified: “Reporter-2.” Atlantic staff writer Franklin Foer wrote an article for Slate that seems to track the account of the indictment and, as such, raises questions over his role as a conduit for the Clinton campaign’s effort to spread the false story. Continue reading “The Atlantic’s Franklin Foer Allegedly Identified as “Reporter-2” in the Sussmann Indictment”
Not long after the ratification of our Constitution, the great Justice Joseph Story marveled “How easily men satisfy themselves that the Constitution is exactly what they wish it to be.” The Constitution is designed to be a type of waltz with a three rather than six-step pattern in our tripartite system of government. Many today however treat it more like an interpretative dance, an invitation for expressive individual moves. Indeed, in the last few months, President Joe Biden often seems to be dancing alone. The improvisational element to constitutional interpretation reflects more than mere political opportunism. It reflects a crisis of faith on the Constitution Day.