We have often discussed how felons guilty of cruelty to animals are often given light sentences. An exception is Hykeem Dontavious Jabar Golson, who will rightfully spend years in jail for burning his girlfriend’s dog alive in a church parking lot. Golson was was sentenced to five years in prison for the 2016 crime (in addition to a $5000 fine). He received the maximum sentence under South Carolina law — only the second person to ever receive the maximum sentence.
As many on this blog know, I am a fan of good architecture. My father was one of the proteges and students of Mies Van der Rohe and I was raised in the Chicago circle of architects. Thus, when I heard that we were building a new embassy in London, I was truly hopeful of a unique American contribution that celebrated the history and architecture of London. Yet, in what seems a long-simmering payback for Bunker Hill (and perhaps Benny Hill), the United States just dumped a $1 billion blemish on the landscape of London. Given Prince Charles’ long (and justified) complaint of “monstrous carbuncles,” we just added a new and giant carbuncle for our English cousins.
Below is my column in USA Today on the last remaining promise for Roy Moore to fulfill from his campaign: his promised defamation lawsuit. Unless he and his lawyers were using the pledge to sue as a deflection from the merits of the allegations, it is time for Moore to make good on the promise and file. Of course, that will subject him to depositions and discovery but, if he is telling the truth, he has little to fear. In the meantime, I discussed how Gloria Allred suggested that her client will also sue for defamation. That would also be welcomed, though Allred will have to significantly improve her legal performance for an actual lawsuit as opposed to her disastrous press conference. Beverly Young Nelson has said that the lawsuit will definitely happen.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “MOORE V. WASHINGTON POST: IT IS TIME FOR ROY MOORE TO FULFILL HIS PROMISE AND SUE”
Even if Mr. Bumble in Oliver Twist is right that “law is an ass,” it can at least be a romantic ass. While Bumble was upset at the statement of the court that “…the law supposes that your wife acts under your direction.” However, a 54-year-old man found a uniquely sensitive jurist in a Dublin court where a judge excused him from jury duty to pursue “the love of his life.”
Continue reading “Prospective Juror Lost But Prospective Love Found In Irish Court”
Lal Singh Arya, 53, is the minister for happiness in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. He is also a suspect in a murder and is now believed to be on the lam as police search for him. The victim is an opposition politician who was killed in 2009.
Continue reading “Indian Minister of Happiness Sought As Murder Suspect”
A Connecticut man is recovering after he was thrown off a bridge on Thanksgiving after he intervened to protect a woman in an argument with her boyfriend. The victim and his friend told Gregory Rottjer (left) to “chill out” and allegedly Rottjer and his friend Matthew Dorso became enraged. Rottjer then threw the Good Samaritan off the Derby-Shelton Bridge — a 45 foot plunge that almost killed him. What is unbelievable is that the woman, Jennifer Hannum, was also charged in the case in resisting one of the officers who came to find her boyfriend.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has rightfully filed a police complaint over a fake sexual harassment complaint against him, including the forged signature of a former aide. This is a vicious attack on Schumer that vividly illustrates the hatefilled madness that has taken so many citizens on both the left and the right in today’s poisonous political environment. I am heartened by the filing. Finding the culprit or culprits behind this fake complaint would take a small but meaningful step to bringing a element of responsibility back to our political discourse.
Continue reading “Schumer Files Real Complaint Over False Sexual Harassment Complaint”
Doctor Simon Bramhall, 53, was in a Birmingham Crown Court admitting a truly heinous act this week: burning his initials on the livers of two unconscious patients during transplant operations. While denying assault involving actual bodily harm, he pleaded guilty to two counts of assault by beating.
We have previously discussed the alarming rollback on free speech rights in the West, particularly in France (here and here and here and here and here and here) and England ( here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here). Much of this trend is tied to the expansion of hate speech and non-discrimination laws. Once allowed to criminalize speech, individuals and groups demand more and more prohibitions. England is in a free fall over free speech and this week is yet another example. The police have indicated that they are considering making wolf whistles the latest category of hate speech.
Continue reading “UK Moves To Make Wolf Whistles and Misogynistic Speech A Hate Crime”
After an appalling performance during the election that handed Roy Moore a desperately needed claim of misrepresentation by an alleged victim, attorney Gloria Allred appeared on CNN for a victory lap — an interview that only briefly touched on the debacle over her press conference with Beverly Young Nelson. Allred ignored the fact that Jones won despite her blundering during the campaign. Putting aside the obvious lack of responsibility, Allred did agree with Nelson that this is not over because there is still the matter of defamation to address on behalf of Nelson. That sounds like a threat of a Nelson defamation action, which is precisely what my column today is calling for. Let’s find out who is lying in Alabama. Both Moore and Nelson should stop threatening lawsuit and actually sue.
Continue reading “Allred Appears To Threaten Defamation Action In Moore Controversy”
Below is my column in the Hill Newspaper on the surprising move of the Republican House of Representatives toward a contempt action against officials in the Trump Administration. While some have called for the appointment of a second special counsel to investigate the dossier controversy, I continue to question the necessity of such an appointment even though I believe that there is a need for an investigation. I believe that Congress can fully investigate the allegations of political influence in the federal investigation into the matter. However, that will only be the case if congressional committees can secure the information that they require (and are entitled to) as part of their oversight authority. Any such effort will have to deal with a long history of contempt by the Justice Department for congressional oversight investigations.
Here is the column:
I have been writing and speaking about the movement to remove statues that range from confederate leaders to Columbus to Supreme Court justices to Founders (here and here and here and here). I specifically wrote about the call for the removal of monuments to George Washington and others as the list lengthens of figures to be cleansed from public historical displays. In a particularly concerning development, hundreds of professors have now joined this movement in signing a letter calling for New York City to remove monuments honoring Theodore Roosevelt and Christopher Columbus. The open letter to New York’s Mayoral Advisory Commission on City Art, Monuments and Markers declares such historical figures as representing “white supremacy” and “objects of popular resentment.” The letter is an embarrassment for higher education as these academics adopt over-simplified and ahistorical approaches to this controversy.
There is an interesting lawsuit in Ohio against Oberlin College by a small family-owned bakery over a racially charged case of shoplifting. Gibson’s Bakery alleges that school officials encouraged a boycott over false accusations of racism after three Oberlin students were arrested at the business. What is curious is that the students pleaded guilty to the charges and the Oberlin police found no evidence of racism, but the bakery is still be accused of racial profiling and running a “racist establishment.”
To the relief of many (including many Republicans), Roy Moore was defeated tonight in a very close election. Almost 2 percent of voters elected to vote for write-in candidates. That margin may have been the determinative factor for Doug Jones to prevail. I have been a critic of Moore for many years and obviously did not hide my view that he represented both a legal and moral hazard. In my view, his defeat was far better for the GOP than his victory. His presence in the Senate would have presented a constantly corrosive and divisive element for the GOP in seeking to defend the Senate majority in 2018.
Even as a long-standing critic of Roy Moore, it has been painful to watch the embarrassing defenses of his lawyers, the truly bizarre statements of his spokesman, and defenses of his supporters. Last night however was like entering a truly twisted alternative universe as Moore’s friend countered multiple claims of Moore’s pursuit of young girls and his wife defended against his alleged anti-Semitism. The proof? Moore once turned down underaged prostitutes and one of his lawyers is a Jew. The optics and rhetoric coming from the campaign seem to struggle to fulfill stereotypes like riding to the polls on a horse named “Sassy” as reporters pursue you to answer questions over sexual misconduct.