I have been a long critic of the erosion of free speech on college campuses and the use of the ill-defined concept of “micro aggressions” to sanction students and faculty alike. Those concerns were magnified with the release of a guide by The New School, a university in New York City, on avoiding microaggressions. There are now a variety of such aggressions from “microinsults” to “microassaults” to “microinvalidation.” Microaggressions can now include having seats that are deemed too small or sitting too far from a homeless person on the subway.
Below is my column in the Hill newspaper on the most recent suggested crime committed by President Donald Trump or his family. This allegation focuses on a greeting sent through President Trump’s attorney, John Dowd, to Special Counsel Robert Mueller. It appears that Trump is obstructing if he voices criticism or appreciation of Mueller. Dowd was in the news again yesterday in taking it upon himself to object to pre-dawn raid on the home of Paul Manafort.
Here is the column:
Below is a chilling CCTV videotape of a male jogger who pushed a 33-year-old woman head-first into the path of the bus. The woman was only saved by a quick response from a bus driver to avoid killing her.
Continue reading “Jogger Captured On Videotape As He Shoves Woman Under Bus”
Buried in a new article out of Bloomberg is an understated but potentially significant statement: “In fact, Manafort had alerted authorities to a controversial meeting on June 9, 2016, involving Trump’s son Donald Jr., other campaign representatives and a Russian lawyer promising damaging information on Hillary Clinton, according to people familiar with the matter.” That would be a huge development in this controversy if true, particularly if the notice occurred before the Russian meeting occurred.
Continue reading “Bloomberg: Manafort Alerted Authorities About Russian Meeting”
After just recently sending the President’s “appreciation and greetings” and triggering new allegations of criminal acts, one of President Donald Trump’s lawyers, John Dowd, is now denouncing Mueller for the pre-dawn raid on the Alexandria home of former campaign manager Paul Manafort. I have commented that the raid seemed intentionally heavy handed and meant to convey a message to Manafort. However, I fail to see why the President’s counsel (rather than Manafort’s counsel) should be making such objections. It, once again, removes any perceived separation between President Trump and obvious targets like Manafort.
Continue reading “Trump Attorney Blasts Mueller Over Manafort Raid”
It appears that the Centennial School District is really appreciative to the Lynch family for their generous donation of land for the establishment of public schools. However, it appears that their name is simply unacceptable because, when used as a noun, it brings up painful images of lynchings. We have previously discussed the same lunacy in higher education with buildings named after a Lynch. It appears that even if a school wants to name itself after Loretta Lynch, the first female African American Attorney General, she will have to change her name. Ironically, the first word in the motto of the Lynch Elementary School is “learn” but the learning curve appears too steep in the view of the board. Under the same logic, animal rights activists could object that the school symbol is calling for the lynching of lion cubs — a highly disturbing and traumatic image for young children.
Malaysian Minister Shahidan Kassim has made international news by proclaiming that atheists should be “hunted down” and that constitutional rights do not apply to them. He is not alone in the heavily Islamic nation in this hateful view and many support such a crackdown.
Continue reading “Malaysian Minister Calls For Atheists To Be “Hunted Down””
Saudi Arabia is once again in the news with another example of the extremist religious dogma that characterizes its Wahhabi traditions. The latest lunacy came with the arrest of TV host, actor, and aspiring artist, Abdallah Al Shaharani, who committed an unIslamic and shocking act. He dabbed. That’s right. He did a dab during a musical contest. WARNING: THE VIDEOTAPE BELOW SHOW A DISTURBING DAB.
Continue reading “The Demonic Dab: Saudi Arabia Arrests Artist For Dabbing In Public”
In a move that should concern the Trump legal team, FBI agents raided the Alexandria home of President Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort a couple weeks ago despite Manafort’s reported cooperation with investigators. Given the fact that Manafort was turning over requests documents, it is notable that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators would want to carry out such a heavy handed and public display of power. I have long maintained that the most important developments in this investigation will likely concern Manafort and Gen. Michael Flynn, who are the most vulnerable to criminal charges and prosecutorial pressure. They are the weakest links in this chain for prosecutors interests in trying to coerce cooperation of key witnesses. What is clear is that the relationship between Manafort and the Special Counsel has materially changed. A pre-dawn, unannounced raid on your home is meant to concentrate your mind on where you want to be during a rapidly approaching storm. A raid tends to concentrate the mind of a witness on the future.
Continue reading “FBI Conducts Pre-Dawn Raid Of Paul Manafort’s Home”
Below is my column in the Hill Newspaper on the growing need for Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to recuse himself from the Special Counsel investigation. Rosenstein has alluded to the possible need for his recusal but continues to participate in an investigation that could have direct bearing on his own role and decision-making. If he has material evidence on obstruction, he should not delay his recusal until he receives a formal request to appear before a grand jury. His relevance to the obstruction investigation is obvious and he should not be determined questions of scope when his own conduct could fall within the jurisdiction of the Special Counsel.
Continue reading “IT IS TIME FOR ROD ROSENSTEIN TO RECUSE HIMSELF”
It appears that poor manners comes with some particularly high costs forAndrew David Jensen, 42. After a burglary in Thousand Oaks, police found that the burglar had used the toilet without flushing. That meant a bowl full of DNA which the police used to identify Jensen from the DNA data bank.
Continue reading “Urine A Lot Of Trouble: California Man Arrested For Burglary For Failure To Flush”
While President Donald Trump has claimed that his “base” remains strong and is growing, the polls indicate that the reality is quite different. Two additional polls continue to show a decline in support with one, the Investor’s Business Daily Poll, showing Trump at a remarkably low 32 percent. There is however an interesting comparison with a politicians who is the polar opposite of Trump in style and substance: French President Emmanuel Macron. Polls show Macron at the same not-so-sweet spot in polling: 36 percent. That is even lower than the CNN poll for Trump out this week at 38 percent. That is also one percent higher than Bill Clinton around this time.
Continue reading “Polls Shows Both Trump and Macron Down In Popularity”
It a fairly common joke among academics in discussing “campus life” policies that we should just let students pick their own grades. University of Georgia professor Dr. Richard Watson appears to have taken such suggestions seriously with his new “stress reduction policy.” Under that policy, students who “feel unduly stressed” can simply choose their own grades. Continue reading “University of Georgia Professor Institutes A “Stress Reduction Policy” Where Student Can Pick Their Own Grades”
Yesterday, I finally had a chance to see the movie “Dunkirk.” My son Jack had already seen the film but liked it enough to go back with me. As a military history buff, you can imagine my reaction: I loved it. It captured the dire acts of survival on that beach and in those ships while under constant air and ground attack. Yet, despite overwhelming critical acclaim, some have objected that the film was too white and too male. Mehera Bonner of Marie Claire magazine objected that “Dunkirk felt like an excuse for men to celebrate maleness — which apparently they don’t get to do enough.” Continue reading “The Movie “Dunkirk” Denounced For Its “Maleness””