David Harlow, 38, may not be a good option for a second date for a woman who met him through Tinder. After she went to the bathroom at their first face-to-face meeting, Harlow allegedly ran off with her purse.
There has been an abundance of discussion of Kendall Jenner’s “social justice” Pepsi ad that proved a disaster for the company after Black Lives Matter objected that (even though no signs in the commercial referred to BLM) the commercial trivialized BLM. The commercial showed people marching with signs saying things like “Join the conversation” and Jenner giving a police officer a Pepsi. When I saw it, I just thought it was sappy and shallow. It was an effort of another major company to sell its product on a social justice theme. Even if you want your Pepsi with a side of social justice, companies want to be praised as having a conscience without actually saying anything controversial or edgy. To corporate and media officials, Jenner wiping off her make up was a brave and edgy moment. (Apparently a starlet taking off her makeup is a brave and inspiring thing to behold). The commercial however has raised a legal question that returns to a prior subject discussed on this blog: copyright and trademark laws. It appears that not only did BLM hate the commercial, so did the police. The San Francisco Police have threatened a lawsuit stating the image of a badge looks like their official badge, and used without their permission. Once again, I do not know how we allowed Congress to put us in this place where showing a police badge (or in this case a badge resembling a police badge) can get you sued.
Pakistan continues to remind the West that it remains a country struggling with Islamic extremists — encouraged by the country’s lack of separation between mosque and state. The latest victim of such extremism is a college student named Mashal Khan who was accused of merely sharing a message on social media deemed blasphemous. The response of these self-professed godly men in the northern city of Mardan was to beat the victim to death in the name of Islamic morality. What is even more distressing is that the culprits appear to be fellow students. They no doubt learned this particular lesson from the government itself (and our ally) which still makes blasphemy a capital offense.
Continue reading “Pakistani Student Mob Beats Fellow Student To Death For Blasphemy On Social Media”
Elevators were at the center to two ironic stories this week. The first, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson’s two-day visit to Miami to discuss the challenges for public housing. His most immediate challenge was getting out of the elevator at the Courtside Family Apartments in Overtown. In the meantime in England, Australian tourists Browyn and Graham Cowan went to Court after suing over an elevator mishap with the Tower Bridge. They then missed their court date because . . . you guessed it . . . the court elevator trapped them.
Continue reading “Elevating Irony: Two Elevator Mishaps Prove Poignant Points”
I am (as many on this blog know) an avid dog lover so I cannot resist sharing videotapes of dog exploits. This videotape made my morning to watch as a 10-year-old Great Pyrenees named General decide that he has had enough with hospital food and accommodations. The dog opens a series of doors until he finally just strolls out into the world.
There is an interesting legal claim raised by Arturo Di Modica, the sculptor of Wall Street’s “Charging Bull” statue. The bull has long been the cherished symbol of Wall Street. However, recently a small sculpture of “Fearless Girl” was added to face the bull. The result is a striking image but a different image from the original art work. Di Modica says that the addition improperly changed his work and constitutes copyright infringement. The addition of “Fearless Girl” was the result of a commission by State Street Global Advisors, an investment firm, to call attention to the gender pay gap and the need for more women on corporate boards in the financial sector.
Continue reading “Creator of the “Charging Bull” Threatens Lawsuit Over “Fearless Girl””
Jon Vincent, 44, turned over a new leaf and the result could be a long stint in jail. In a modern twist to a classic criminal tactic, Vincent is accused to adopting the name of a deceased baby to assume a new identity while on the lam from a prison escape. However, the name Nathan Laskoski came up on an ancestry search of the baby’s aunt. That “leaf” led her — and ultimately the police — to the Pennsylvania man. For her, the company motto of “who will you discover” is a bit more of a surprise than that second cousin twice removed in Pittsburgh.
Below is my column on the unfolding future of the Supreme Court after the confirmation of Justice Neil Gorsuch and the elimination of filibusters in the selection of Supreme Court nominees. For years, commentators have been discussing the timing of the retirement of our older justices, including Justice Ginsburg. There was rising concern when Ginsburg decided to stay on the Court past the midterm mark of the second Obama term. Those concerns have now been magnified and realized with the Trump election and filibuster elimination. Of course, the same concerns are raised by the possible retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, the swing vote on the current Court. New rumors have arisen this week about Kennedy. However, of all of the older justices, it is replacement of Ginsburg that could produce the most profound changes for the country.
Continue reading “The Ginsburg Gamble and the Future of the Supreme Court”
In a major tactical victory for the Trump Administration, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has agreed to expedite the review of appeal of a Maryland district court judge in blocking the immigration order of President Donald Trump. The Fourth Circuit will hear the appeal en banc rather than leave the matter to a three-judge panel. That decision favors the Administration and will reduce the time for appeal.
Continue reading “Fourth Circuit Agrees To Hear Appeal En Banc Over Trump Immigration Order”
Ok this was an easy one . . . .
Continue reading “Can You Guess What This Person Was Charged With?”
Many of us have experienced the frustration of waiting to see the parade or fireworks at Disney only to be blocked by the crush of the crowd. There are However, while some may entertain the idea of strangling people blocking you, Tabbatha Mature, 41, is accused of doing just that. Worst yet, the alleged victim was a young girl.
We recently discussed how Harvard dropped its long use of “House Masters” as racially insensitive. Now it is dropping the last line of its 181-year-old “Fair Harvard” hymn as “insufficiently inclusive.” The line refers to “Till the stock of the Puritans die” and some feel the reference is problematic because it refers to white ancestors. As many on this blog know, I am an ardent traditionalist and oppose such revisionist moves whether it is the removal of names or portraits or seals. The change at Harvard is the result of the work of the Presidential Task Force for Inclusion and Belonging created by University President Drew G. Faust. Frankly, it is a Faustian bargain for Harvard in further stripping away historical elements to satisfy contemporary attitudes. I do not believe such changes are nearly as beneficial as teaching students to use history with an understanding and perspective of institutional change.
We previously discussed the falling enrollments at the University of Missouri after their Black Lives Matters (BLM) protests. The closure of dormitories has continued with three additional undergrad residence halls being shuttered. There are now seven such closed dormitories on campus.
Continue reading “University of Missouri Closes Four More Dormitories”
A new videotape has raised questions of excessive force in Colorado. The video shows Michaella Surat, 22, was thrown to the ground with such violence that it could easily have caused serious head and face injury. The sorority girl was arrested after she allegedly struck an officer who has responded to a fight involving Surat’s boyfriend. Surat is a junior at Colorado State University. The smiling mugshot below does not show any obvious injury to Surat, but the video (also below) is quite chilling.
Below is my recent column in The Hill Newspaper on the Rice controversy. Media spins for Rice continue including MSNBC “AM Joy” host Joy Reid describing the softball interview with Andrea Mitchell as a type of “Government for Dummies” lecture: “She was on with our own Andrea Mitchell yesterday trying to explain how government works, for those that don’t know.” Of course, unmasking political opponents (if the allegations are proven to be true), would not be how the government is supposed work. Nor is alleged lying about knowing nothing about the unmasking in prior interviews — a curious conflict with Reid’s take that Rice was trying to explain how government works. This was Rice’s second or third explanation.
The controversy occurs after the Washington Post gave Rice a retroactive “Four Pinnochios” for her claim that the Obama Administration got rid of all chemical weapons in Syria. (That is not the first time that Rice has been accused of false statements on national security issues, as discussed below). None of this seems to matter in the coverage of the most recent controversy involving Rice. It appears that Trump is the temptation that many journalists simply cannot resist. It is a Faustian bargain: media is so intent on pursuing Trump that they have lost any sense of their own navigational beacons of objectivity and neutrality.
Continue reading “The Rice Controversy: Is The Media Proving Trump Correct?”