A new Penn Wharton Budget Model report could prove a headache for Republicans voting for the bipartisan trillion infrastructure bill. Supporters insist that the bill would pay for itself. The Penn Wharton analysis destroys that claim as based on wildly absurd economic assumptions.
In a demonstrably meritless lawsuit, 22 Texas House Democrats sued some of the state’s top Republican leaders in federal court in Austin over the efforts to bring them home for a special legislative session. After fleeing to Washington, the legislators claim that the criticism and threats made by the governor and other infringed on their constitutional rights to free speech and to petition the government for redress of grievances. Despite recent calls for sanctions and disbarments for frivolous filings by Republicans (which I have expressed concerns over), none of those experts are expressing the same view of this filing, which is shockingly short of legal merit. Continue reading “Texas Democrats Sue Over Effort To Force Them Back To Austin To Vote”
Prof. Edward C. Ennels taught math at Baltimore City Community College but appears to have been offering a running lesson on supply side economic theory. Ennels reportedly was selling grades on a sliding scale depending on your worth and your ambition: $150 for a C; $250 for a B; and $500 for an A. He has now earned jail time after pleading to 11 misdemeanor charges, including bribery and misconduct in office. Continue reading ““How Much Can You Afford?”: Baltimore Professor Sentenced For Selling Math Grades”
The Biden Administration took a little discussed but significant action this month in dropping a lawsuit against the University of Vermont Medical Center for allegedly forcing pro-life nurses to participate in abortions. It is not clear if the Biden Administration believes that pro-life nurses can be forced to participate in procedures that they consider to be immoral. However, it is clear that they are not willing to protect those religious views in this important action despite the faith-based claims under federal law. Indeed, the nurse believed the procedure constitute murder of the unborn and the Trump Administration agreed that she should be able to decline. Continue reading “Biden Administration Drops Lawsuit Protecting Pro-Life Nurses”
We have previously discussed animal liability in torts. There is a tragedy in Pennsylvania which could present difficult questions for such cases after Rhoda Wagner, 60, was killed by three pit bulls. She was watching the dogs for her roommate. If litigated, the state’s nuanced dog liability laws would come into effect.
Continue reading “Pennsylvania Woman Killed By Roommate’s Three Pit Bulls”
One of the threats faced by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is the pending criminal assault allegation in the Albany Police Department. If proven, the allegation of the former staff members of being groped by Cuomo could meet the standard for criminal assault. It would however not be easy to prove and prosecutors would likely seek to bring in other women to show a pattern and practice by Cuomo. That is common in sexual harassment cases and hostile workplaces where you can get around statute of limitations when at least one case is recent or ongoing. However, as shown by the Bill Cosby case, such evidence can create reversible error in criminal cases. Indeed, if charged, Cuomo is likely to use a Cosby defense. Continue reading “Cuomo’s Cosby Defense? The New York Governor Could Ultimately Rely on the Comedian’s Defense”
Below is my column in The Hill on the selective reliance on “our constitutional principles” has become in the voting rights debate. The Biden Administration and the media often ignore countervailing principles over the right of states to establish rules governing elections. That leaves many in the public uninformed of issues that could ultimately undo parts of these bills in the courts.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Biden’s Blind Spot: “Our Constitutional Principles” Include State Rights Over Elections”
As I discussed yesterday, I was astonished by the remarks of President Joe Biden on his support for extending the eviction moratorium, which was found to be unconstitutional by lower courts. It was later preserved by a divided Supreme Court despite the view of a majority that it was unconstitutional. It was saved from being struck down merely by the fact that it was expiring. President Biden acknowledged that his legal experts overwhelmingly told him that any extension would violate the Constitution. However, he then said it was worth extending the moratorium because it would take time for a court to intervene and, in the interim, they could rush out money to renters despite the lack of constitutional authority to do so.
Physicist “Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt.” statement captures how science depends upon constant questioning and challenging of assumptions. Yet, what is healthy debate to some is criminal dissent to others. Dr. Peter Hotez, a professor of pediatrics and molecular virology at Baylor College of Medicine is calling for federal hate-crime protections to be extended to cover criticism of Dr. Anthony Fauci and other scientists. The frequent MSNBC and CNN guest wants Congress to expand hate crimes to “scientists currently targeted by far-right extremism in the United States.” Continue reading “Baylor Professor Calls for Prosecution of Criticism of Fauci and Other Scientists as Hate Crime”
Greg Piper writers for the news site Just The News and recently decided to share a story from The College Fix, where he was previously an editor. The story included the line “Vaccines are not safe for everyone.” That line appears to have prompted Twitter to suspend his account despite the fact that some people have medical exemptions from the vaccine due to the high risk posed by preexisting medical conditions. Indeed, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that some people cannot take the vaccine for medical reasons. The latest censorship controversy is reminiscent of the suspension of writer Alex Berenson after he posted the public results of a Pfizer vaccine trial.
Continue reading “Twitter Suspends Journalist Who Repeated CDC Fact on Vaccines”
The late New York Gov. Mario Cuomo once famously said “I have no quarrel with people seeing me as a sinner.” Politicians can indeed survive as sinners, particularly repentant sinners. However, his son, Andrew Cuomo, the current New York governor, moved today from presumed sinner but presumed assaulter. He is facing eleven women, including a current staffer, who have accused him of extensive acts of sexual harassment and assault. Andrew Cuomo is looking at years of litigation, including depositions as not just a sinner but a virtual predator. Continue reading “Cuomo Accused of Being Serial Harasser as Cuomo Attacks Accusers as Political Hacks”
Do you have a right to leave your home to eat or recreate? Apparently not if you are a “non-vac.” NYU Professor Arthur Caplan and Yale Professor Sarah Hull have published an essay in MedPageToday declaring that unvaccinated people should be barred from public places from airplanes to movie theaters to restaurants. What is most striking is how the two academics (who teach bioethics) declare that appearing public is a privilege, not a right. They are not alone in such views. CNN’s Don Lemon recently called for barring unvaccinated people from offices and businesses, insisting “It has nothing to do with liberty. You don’t have the freedom and the liberty to put other people in jeopardy.” The essay comes as New York announces mandatory proof of vaccines will be required for public places.
George Mason University law professor Todd Zywicki is objecting to the school’s mandatory vaccine policy for faculty and students as a condition to returning to campus. Zywicki is raising an issue that is largely being ignored by the Administration and the media in the push for mandatory vaccine rules by private companies: the millions with natural antibodies to the virus. Zywicki recovered from the virus and says that blood tests confirm that he has antibodies. Given that test, he does not want to expose himself to an unnecessary vaccine given the risk (albeit low) of complications or a negative reaction.Continue reading “George Mason Law Professor Challenges School Vaccine Mandate [Updated]”
Below is my column in the Hill on the shift from reasoned consent to coerced consent in the campaign for vaccinations. The push by the Biden Administration for private companies to enforce mandates and restrictions has increased in the last week. There is a high likelihood of a new round of litigation as pressure builds for new mandates and even lockdowns.
Just before this column ran, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky was asked by Fox host Bret Baier “Are you for mandating a vaccine on a federal level?” She responded “That’s something that I think the administration is looking into.” Later she reversed herself by saying “I was referring to mandates by private institutions and portions of the federal government. There will be no federal mandate.” It was a telling response because she was asked about a federal mandate directly. She now says she meant to say a privately enforced mandates is what they are thinking about. The reversal may be a problematic as the original. It would confirm that the Biden Administration is using private companies as a type of direct surrogate for a public mandate.
Here is the column: Continue reading “The Biden Administration Goes To War With The “Non-Vacs”: Is Coercion the Answer?”
There is a concerning case out of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit where the court reinstated the death penalty for Von Lester Taylor, a man convicted in a double murder in Utah in 1990. The crime was horrific and Taylor deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison. However, the case highlights the inconsistent application of the death penalty in our society. The person who actually killed the two victims and (unlike Taylor) did not plead guilty. Yet he was giving life in prison as opposed to the death penalty for Taylor. More importantly, it is not clear that Taylor received effective counsel before pleading guilty in the case.