Rhode Island Social Science Teacher Arrested For Vandalizing Columbus Statue

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For many of us, the spasm of vandalism of public art and history has been painful to watch as mobs destroy a vast array of statues around the world, including such bizarre anti-racism vandalism like defacing Abraham Lincoln’s statue in London.  The arrest of Derrick Garforth in Rhode Island is particularly disturbing after he allegedly vandalized a statue of Columbus. Garforth is a social science teacher in Middle School who teaches history but sought to destroy a historical monument. It is a powerful lesson for his students but not one that you would expect from a history or social science teacher.

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No, Congress Cannot Force U.S. Soccer Players To Stand For The Anthem

440px-Matt_Gaetz,_official_portrait,_116th_CongressI have previously stated my personal and legal view of protests during the national anthem by athletes. I do not believe that professional athletes have a constitutional right to protest during games, any more than other employees.  However, we now have the flip side of that question after Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) announced that he plans to introduce legislation that would force U.S. Soccer players to stand for the national anthem. The announcement came after the U.S. Soccer Board of Directors voted to repeal the rule requiring players to stand during the national anthem.  Such a law would be unconstitutional.

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Res Ipsa Hits 42,000,000

crowd vj dayToday, we passed the 42,000,000 mark in views on the blog. The blog continues to grow at a record pace. The continued growth is due primarily to our loyal readers who return every day to discuss contemporary legal, political, and occasionally bizarre stories. We have used these moments to give thanks for our many regular readers around the world and give you an idea of the current profile of readers on the blog. We continue to rank with the top legal blogs in the world  and I am particularly proud of our growing international readership. As always, I want to offer special thanks for Darren Smith who has continued to help manage the blog and help out folks who encounter posting problems.

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“We Mean Literally Abolish The Police”: Activists Reject Spin On Movement’s Call To Defund The Police

SansculottesThe New York Times has run an opinion column by Mariame Kaba denouncing efforts by Democratic leaders and the media to try to spin the call for defunding the police as just a reallocation of funds and a new set of priorities and a new structure for policing.  Kaba wrote “Yes, we mean literally abolish the police.”  That opinion piece follows a warning by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., that Democrats and others trying to “repackage” the push to “Defund the Police”   Notably, while the New York Times apologized for publishing an opinion piece by a ranking U.S. Senator on the use of federal troops to quell rioting, it has now problem with publishing a column calling for the abolishment of police.  As discussed earlier, this is a movement that is moving rapidly to the left and repackaging is now considered counter-revolutionary.

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Tacoma Woman Arrested For Arson At Protest After Police Recognize Tattoos

Mugshot-Split-JUSTICE-DeptWe recently discussed the “Joker” case in Chicago where Timothy O’Donnell was arrested for arson after his tattoos were identified by police after he burned a police vehicle.  Now, a Tacoma woman, Margaret Aislinn Channon, 25, has been arrested for burning five vehicles in part due to her equally recognizable ink. There is one other similarity.  They are both not only charged with arson, but charged in federal court.  I continue to be uneasy over the broad federal jurisdictional claims underlying charges that traditionally are matters for state and local prosecutors.

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Bowser’s Historical Revision: Before Lafayette Park, There Was Pershing Park

Muriel_Bowser_official_photoBelow is my column in The Hill newspaper on Mayor Muriel Bowser’s unquestioned statements about how she is shocked by the federal actions against peaceful demonstrators.  Bowser told CNN’s Cooper “I think I’ve been shocked all week about how the federal government behaved against American citizens.” For some of us, the statement came across as a Claude Rains moment of being “shocked, shocked” that protesters are being silenced in D.C. She (and CNN) ignored the actions of her Chief of Police and her dismissal of objections of civil libertarians to Newsham’s appointment.  Now, that was truly shocking.

Here is the column

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Cornell Professors Declare “Informed Commentary” Criticizing The Protests As Racism

Cornell_University_seal.svgYesterday, we discussed the effort to remove one of the country’s most distinguished economists from his position because Harald Uhlig, the senior editor of the Journal of Political Economy,  criticized Black Lives Matter and the Defund The Police movement.  Now, Cornell Law School professor William A. Jacobson is reportedly facing demands that he be fired because he wrote a blog about the Black Lives Matter movement.  Jacobson is the founder of the conservative website Legal Insurrection.  My concerns were magnified by a letter from his colleagues that would label virtually any criticism of BLM or the protests as presumptively racist. The letter is a chilling reminder of the rapid loss of free speech values on campuses around the United States.

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Debt: $26,003,751,512,344.91 . . . In Case You Are Counting

download-7Yes, we have reached over $26 trillion in debt and members are demanding more stimulus money.  According to data released yesterday by the Treasury Department, we hit $26,003,751,512,344.91. That is the definition of ballooning and runaway debt but no one seems to be talking about it. We are now a credit card country that believes we can put the entire economy on layaway.

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“Trumped-Up”: Former Judge’s Filing Is An Example Of “Irregularity” In The Age Of Rage

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Retired federal judge John Gleeson was recently appointed by U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan to argue against dismissal of the case against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and to advise him on whether the court should substitute its own charge of charge for Flynn for now claiming innocence.  I have been highly critical of Sullivan’s orders and particularly the importation of third parties to make arguments that neither party supports in a criminal case. Now Gleeson has filed a brief that confirms the worst fears that many of us had about his appointment.  Gleeson assails what he called  “a trumped-up accusation of government misconduct.” The ultimate position advocated in Gleeson’s arguments would be a nightmare for criminal defendants, criminal defense counsel and civil libertarians.  Indeed, as discussed below, Gleeson was previously reversed as a judge for usurping the authority of prosecutors.

Gleeson actually makes the Red Queen in “Alice in Wonderland” look like an ACLU lawyer. After all she just called for “Sentence First–Verdict Afterward”  Gleeson is dispensing with any need for verdict on perjury, just the sentence. However, since these arguments are viewed as inimical to the Trump Administration, many seem blind to the chilling implications.

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Writers and Academics Call For Removal Of Chicago Professor For Criticizing BLM and Defunding Police

university of chicagoIt seems that University of Chicago professors are much in the news this week.  We recently discussed the controversy of posting by University of Chicago Professor Brian Leiter saying that military leaders should “depose” President Donald Trump and jail him. Now another Chicago professor is under fire.  Notably, while no one called for Leiter to be fired for wistfully discussing a military coup, there is a chorus of writers and academics calling for the canning of Harald Uhlig, the senior editor of the prestigious the Journal of Political Economy.  Uhlig is also the Bruce Allen and Barbara Ritzenthaler Professor in Economics at the University of Chicago.  The reason is that Uhlig had the audacity to criticize Black Lives Matters and the movement to Defund The Police. Joining this effort is New York Times’ Paul Krugman, who is striking out at someone for giving his opposing view — an intolerant position that now appears to be official policy at the New York Times.  It is all part of the new order where writers call for censorship, academics call for removing academic freedoms, artists call for art removal, and politicians call for dismantling police.

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Gone With The Wind[s]: HBO Pulls Classic After Floyd Protests

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It is considered one of the most influential (and certainly one of the most watched) films of all time.  However, HBO Max has pulled “Gone with the Wind” from its library of films because of its depiction of slavery and racism. HBO says that it will not allow people to watch the film until it can create “an explanation and a denouncement of those depictions.”  In other words, people will have to wait until they can be properly educated with the addition of a warning and introduction.  “After all”, as Scarlett O’Hara said in the film, “tomorrow is another day!”

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NoFundThem: Conservative Commentator’s Fundraising Blocked Over Floyd Criticism

500px-GoFundMe_logo.svgI previously wrote a column about the rising calls by Democratic leaders and activists for different forms of public and private censorship. Indeed, the recent extreme demands and controversy at the New York Times shows how speech controls have been a virtual article of faith for many.  Twitter’s actions against Trump tweets are another example of the inconsistent use of such controls.  Now GoFundMe has taken it upon itself to censor causes that it views as offensive in closing down a fundraiser by conservative political commentator Candace Owens in support of an Alabama cafe whose co-owner criticized the George Floyd protests.  The question again is not whether we agree with such sentiments but the free speech implications of these forms of private censorship.  Rather than respond to such controversial statements, critics today focus on silencing the speakers or barring their views or causes to be heard by others.  What is interesting is that, by abandoning neutrality, GoFundMe is now affirming that it does regulate content and will face demands for more such action. That could undermine the position of these companies against the loss of immunity under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

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UCLA Professor Suspended and Under Police Protection After Refusing To Exempt Black Students From Final Exam

Ucla_logoGordon Klein, an accounting professor in the Anderson School of Business, has taught at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) for almost 40 years.  He is now suspended and under police protection in his home.  The reason? Klein refused to exempt black students from his final exam and sent a pointed rebuttal to students asking for the “no harm” exam. The response was certainly mocking in tone, more so than I would have considered appropriate.  The school has launched a formal discrimination investigation. However, the suspension, investigation, and death threats against Klein reinforce the fear of many in the academy of a raising orthodoxy on campus and a lack of support for faculty involved in controversies.

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Bring Out Your Haters: LSU Professor Calls For Listing Of Students Engaged In Hate Speech

download-6Louisiana State University Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences Alyssa Johnson is under fire this week for asking her colleagues to create a type of listing of students who have engaged in hate speech — a list to be used to bar them from her classes.  Johnson appears to see no need for due process in the creation of such a list and her meting out punishment unilaterally.

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Trump Tweets Attack On Gugino As Possible “ANTIFA Provocateur”

Screen Shot 2020-06-09 at 1.00.06 PMPresident Donald Trump tweeted another inflammatory and reckless tweet in suggesting that man injured in the controversial Buffalo police abuse case, Martin Gugino, 75, might be an “Antifa provocateur.”  I previously discussed the case from a legal standpoint on the difficulty of proving assault in the second degree.  However, it is highly inappropriate for a president to be spreading such claims on a case pending trial and without confirmation.  We have discussed the loosely defined groups associated with Antifa but I have not seen proof that Gugino is one of those groups.  The tweet is particularly distasteful given that Gugino remains in critical condition.

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