Academia, Media, Politics

“It Needs To Be Hard For People To Remain Unvaccinated”: Making The Case For Covid Challenges
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Dr. Leana Wen, CNN analyst and Distinguished Fellow at the Fitzhugh Mullan Institute of Health Workforce Equity at George Washington University, has caused a stir due to her recent declaration on CNN that “it needs to be hard for people to remain unvaccinated.” With France implementing a mandatory “health pass” and private companies like Morgan Stanley requiring vaccinations for employees to return to work, we can expect more protests and challenges around the world. Those cases are likely to focus on whether mandatory requirements are based on medical or political imperatives. Wen’s comment is likely to be repeated in many filings as another case of “saying the quiet part out loud.” She appears to advocate measures defined to coerce people to take vaccinations due to the continuing refusal of a sizable number of people. Continue reading ““It Needs To Be Hard For People To Remain Unvaccinated”: Making The Case For Covid Challenges” →

Travel Blog

The Gulf Shores: The Jewel of Alabama

As I mentioned yesterday, I came down to the Gulf Shores for a speech and I have decided to stay a couple days to explore this unique area. I am staying at The Lodge at Gulf Shores Park a unique property that I will be discussing later on the travel blog.  I wanted to start with some pictures taken at dawn during a long walk down the beach running along the Gulf Shores Park. We had a heavy storm come through last night and the birds were out getting their breakfast. This is also a major sea turtle nesting area so you are given stickers to go over your phone lights (Baby sea turtles can confuse cellphone lights of the moon and head in the wrong direction). The beauty and sense of natural power of this place is overwhelming particularly on an abandoned beach at dawn. Continue reading “The Gulf Shores: The Jewel of Alabama” →

Columns, Congress, Constitutional Law, Torts

The Illusion of Action: Cuomo’s New Gun Manufacturer Liability Law is a Colossal Misfire

Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the declaration of a gun violence emergency by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.  The centerpiece of Cuomo’s plan is a new law to allow victims of gun violence to sue gun manufacturers under a nuisance theory. If it sounds familiar that is because it is painfully familiar.  It has failed repeatedly in various states, including New York. It is doubtful that Cuomo truly believes that the law will make a significant, if any, impact on gun violence. However, that is not the point. The point is the appearance of action, not the ultimate result of such action.

Here is the column: Continue reading “The Illusion of Action: Cuomo’s New Gun Manufacturer Liability Law is a Colossal Misfire” →

Events

Turley Speaks To Alabama Business and Political Leaders on The Gulf Shore

Today I have the pleasure of addressing Alabama political and business leaders in Alabama as the keynote speaker at the Electric Cities of Alabama Conference. The conference is being held at the Lodge at Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, Alabama. I will be speaking this morning on “Institutional Faith and Failure in the Age of Rage”, a discussion of how our institutions have functioned during these difficult times. Continue reading “Turley Speaks To Alabama Business and Political Leaders on The Gulf Shore” →

Criminal law, Free Speech

Utah Woman Charged with Hate Crime for Stomping on “Back The Blue” Sign

There is a troubling case in Panguitch, Utah where a woman has reportedly been charged with a hate crime for allegedly “stomping on a ‘Back the Blue’ sign” at a gas station.  There is a national movement to add attacks on police as a category of hate crime in various states. This case is an example of the serious free speech concerns raised by such prosecutions. Many of us find this conduct to be offensive and obnoxious. However, it is also a classic form of protest and political speech.

Continue reading “Utah Woman Charged with Hate Crime for Stomping on “Back The Blue” Sign” →

Media, Politics

Former New York Times Editor: “I’m a Biased Journalist and I’m Okay With That.”
We have been discussing the movement in journalism to discard out-dated notions of objectivity and define journalism as a form of advocacy. Now, Lauren Wolfe, the recently fired freelance editor for the New York Times, has not only gone public to defend her pro-Biden tweet but published a piece titled “I’m a Biased Journalist and I’m Okay With That.” It is a full-throated endorsement of the new journalistic model of open bias and advocacy. Indeed, Wolfe may have only been undone by her expressly declaring bias as opposed to reflecting bias in her writings.

Continue reading “Former New York Times Editor: “I’m a Biased Journalist and I’m Okay With That.”” →

Academia, Free Speech

Connecticut History Professor Under Fire for Objecting to 1619 Project in Public Schools

It is not uncommon for university professors to share their views on the curriculum of public schools. At least, that may have been the view of Jay Bergman, a professor of history at Central Connecticut State University, when he wrote to the state’s superintendents to criticize the inclusion of “1619 Project curriculum” in schools. Fellow professors have now asked for Bergman to be disciplined and even fired for expressing his views of the project, which is most associated with former New York Times writer and now Howard University Professor Nikole Hannah-Smith. Continue reading “Connecticut History Professor Under Fire for Objecting to 1619 Project in Public Schools” →

Academia, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Media, Politics

The Rising Generation of Censors: Law Schools are the Latest Battleground Over Free Speech

Below is my column in The Hill on the rise of a generation of censors with attacks on both academic freedom and free speech throughout our educational system. This trend has reached law schools, which is ominous since these students are the future judges and lawyers who are expected to defend these core principles.

Here is the column: Continue reading “The Rising Generation of Censors: Law Schools are the Latest Battleground Over Free Speech” →

Academia, Free Speech

Twitter Flags Foreign Policy Expert Tweeting Criticism Of China
Twitter LogoWe have previously discussed Twitter’s robust censorship program that repeatedly has been denounced for bias in taking sides on scientific, social, and political controversies. The problem is that, when you have an army of censors with their thumbs on buttons to flag or bar comments, the tendency is ever expanding levels of censorship. Indeed, much censorship is not thumbless through automatic systems to remove certain comments. That was evident this week. Not only did Twitter flag a picture of a veteran wishing the country a Happy Fourth of July (presumably due to his combat scars) but it flagged New Zealand foreign policy expert Anne-Marie Brady who mocked the Chinese government.  The incident is particularly notable after Twitter recently admitted to censoring criticism of India’s government.

Continue reading “Twitter Flags Foreign Policy Expert Tweeting Criticism Of China” →

Bizarre, Criminal law, Torts

Court Rules Air Force Is More At Fault For Mass Shooting Than The Shooter

There was a remarkable decision by a Texas federal judge this week when U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez for the Western District of Texas ruled that the Air Force was legally at fault for the 2017 mass shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas by Devin Patrick Kelley.  The Air Force failed to enter a prior offense into the federal background check database to bar him from purchasing a firearm. The liability alone is notable but Rodriguez found the Air Force more at fault that Kelley for the killing of 26 people and wounding of 22 others in the massacre at the First Baptist Church.

Continue reading “Court Rules Air Force Is More At Fault For Mass Shooting Than The Shooter” →

International, Politics

Das Kapital, Dude: Polling Shows Sharp Rise In Support For Socialism Among The Young

Polling in the United States and internationally is showing a sharp increase in support for socialism among young people.  Support for capitalism is waning as a new generation embraces views of collective economic policies and programs. Two hundred years after the birth of Karl Marx, his views are now coming back into vogue despite a long history of economic failures in socialist countries. Continue reading “Das Kapital, Dude: Polling Shows Sharp Rise In Support For Socialism Among The Young” →

Academia, Society

Nikole Hannah-Jones Turns Down Tenure at UNC and Accepts Chair At Howard University

We have been discussing the controversy over the University of North Carolina’s Hussman School of Journalism and Media offering a chair and tenure to New York Times writer Nikole Hannah-Jones. After the university rescinded the tenure offer, Hannah-Jones agreed to accept the position on a non-tenured basis.  She then later demanded tenure and the board changed its position after a national campaign. Now, Hannah-Jones has denounced the university and accepted a position at Howard University. Continue reading “Nikole Hannah-Jones Turns Down Tenure at UNC and Accepts Chair At Howard University” →

Free Speech, International

Comedian Sentenced to Prison for “Public Insult of an Antisemitic Nature”

We previously discussed the prosecution of controversial French comedian Dieudonné M’Bala M’Bala for antisemitic jokes and comments. The comedian has now been sent to prison for four months for “public insults,” including “public insult of an anti-Semitic nature” and “contestation of a crime against humanity.”  M’Bala’s jokes and comments are deeply offensive to many of us but the prosecution for such comments is a further attack on the core principles of free speech. Continue reading “Comedian Sentenced to Prison for “Public Insult of an Antisemitic Nature”” →

Academia, Bizarre, International

Is French Cuisine a Gateway Food to White Dominance?
In recent years, there has been an explosion of academic work declaring everything from meritocracy to math to be racist or vehicles of white dominance. Offering statistical analysis to support such claims is itself problematic since statistics have also been declared racist. Now however Law professor Mathilde Cohen of the University of Connecticut has found an untapped area of white dominance.  In a talk at Sciences Po Paris and the University of Nanterre, Cohen explained how “French eating habits reinforced the ‘dominance’ of white people over ethnic minorities.” Continue reading “Is French Cuisine a Gateway Food to White Dominance?” →
Columns, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Justice, Lawyering, Media, Politics, Supreme Court

Justice or Just Deserts? Trump, Cosby and Georgia Cases Show Rising Cost of Political Litigation

Below is my column in the Hill on a series of cases that appear propelled by political rather than legal considerations.  The costs to the legal system, the public, or victims in such cases are often overlooked but they are considerable.

Here is the column:

Continue reading “Justice or Just Deserts? Trump, Cosby and Georgia Cases Show Rising Cost of Political Litigation” →