It appears that NASA follows the same principle of many homeowners that the last resort for any stuck machine is to give it a good kick. In the case of the NASA InSight Mars lander, the solution was to order the lander to literally hit itself with its own shovel. It worked.
Continue reading “Mars Lander Jams . . . So NASA Orders It To Hit Itself With A Shovel”
As doctors and health professionals around the world work to save lives, famed artist David Hockney, 82, decided to do his part for a world reeling from the coronavirus. Hockney sent out a new painting entitled “Do remember they can’t cancel the spring” to lift the spirits of people around the world. It worked for this humble observer. Maybe it will do the same for you.
Continue reading ““Do Remember They Can’t Cancel The Spring”: Artist David Hockney Sends Out Relief Painting For The World”
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on former Vice President Joe Biden’s pledge that he will select a black women as the next nominee to the Supreme Court.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “Supreme Identity Politics: Biden Pledges To Only Consider Black Females For Supreme Court Pick”
Fox regular and radio host Mark Steyn is under fire for outrageous remarks made while substituting for Rush Limbaugh on his program. In discussing the San Francisco’s “shelter-in-place” order due to the coronavirus, Steyn referred to the city as a “big gay town” and the order as an effort to prevent “all the gays dropping dead.” While Steyn (who is a regular and substitute host on Tucker Carlson’s show) is known for controversial statements but this is clearly beyond the pale of acceptable commentary.
Continue reading ““They Don’t Want All The Gays Dropping Dead”: Fox Regular Under Fire For Remarks On San Fran Shelter Order”
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has joined other critics of President Donald Trump in denouncing what she sees as racist language being used to “distract” the public. She is referring to Trump’s reference to the “Chinese virus.” The reference to the origin of the virus is fairly common and it is hard to see how such a reference “distracts” anyone from any aspect of the pandemic. China does appear to have failed to immediately notify the world of the virus or share accurate information in the early critical period. The response of China this week was to throw out reporters from leading media organizations for reporting on the origin and spread of the virus in China. Two Chinese experts referred to this as the “Wuhan virus” until they were pressured to take down their column. Now, it appears that others want all reference to the origins barred as an act of racism.
Continue reading “A Vast Virus Conspiracy?Clinton Accuses Trump Of “Racist” References To The “Chinese Virus” To “Distract” The Public”
Cristian Fracassi, who along with fellow volunteer Alessandro Ramaioli were tired of watching people die for lack of ventilators in Italy. The two men decided to act and made the ventilators for $1 to save lives. The company responded by saying that they were violating its copyright and may be liable for huge damages. The men are undeterred and responded “there were people whose lives were in danger and we acted. Period.”
Continue reading “Copyright Before Corona: Company Threatens Italian Volunteers Who Made Desperately Needed Ventilators On 3-D Printers”
We recently discussed how an American University professor called for the impeachment of President Donald Trump over his handling of the coronavirus outbreak. Not to be outdone, MSNBC legal analyst Glenn Kirschner is now declaring that Trump should be charged with negligent homicide over his conduct. While insisting that, as a former prosecutor, this is something he “actually know[s] too much about,” Kirschner proceeds to utterly misrepresent the controlling law and definitions of such a criminal case. While I come from the other perspective of a criminal defense attorney, the argument being put forward by the MSNBC legal analyst is devoid of any basis in the law. It does however play well for those who believe impeachment or prosecution are entirely fluid and relative concepts when it comes to Trump.
Continue reading “MSNBC Legal Analyst: Trump Must Be Investigated For Negligent Homicide And Manslaughter”
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all of the leprechauns of the blog from the Turley Clan. The leprechauns came to bring treats and tricks to the Turley house this morning. While our kids are older, we still enjoy our traditions. The leprechauns have always maintained “social distancing” so they drank our beer and left before we woke up.
It appears that trolls are enjoying St. Patrick’s Day as much as Leprechauns. The Justice Department shocked many by dropping the matinee case of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller against two Russian companies accused of funding the “troll farms” in the 2016 election. Many critics have charged that the trolling operation was laughingly ineffective and clumsy. Moreover, the evidence against the companies, including Concord Management and Consulting LLC and Concord Catering, was questioned. The prosecutors, while defending the original charges, moved to dismiss the case because they viewed the trial as threatening national security secrets. That claim seemed like more of a spin in a case that never seemed to materialize into hard evidence to support these charges. Update: The company has announced that it will sue the U.S. government for billions in damages — a move that will once again raise this same information for trial.
Continue reading “Free The Trolls: The Justice Department Moves To Drop Major Mueller Case Against Russian-Linked Companies”
Lake Superior State University student Lucas Gerhard is facing terrorism charges after he posting picture with his new AR-15 on Snapchat with a taunting message for “snowflakes.” Another student objected that she felt threatened by the posting and ultimately the police arrested Gerhard for what was clearly a simple taunting message.
Below is my column in the Hill newspaper on the recent criticism of the Roberts Court by a federal district judge. The law review article makes a stronger case for critics who view some judges are part of a deep bench movement against Trump. I do not see that pattern but I do view Judge Lynn Adelman as well outside of the navigational beacons for public commentary by federal judges.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “The Death of Irony: How A Judge’s Attack On Judicial Bias Backfired”
We recently discussed videotaped of Iranians licking the doors and objects of Islamic shrines in the belief that such traditions are protected by God from Coronavirus. Now, Greek Orthodox churches in Australia have announced that they will allow congregations of hundreds of people to sip wine from the same spoon during mass because “the holy cup cannot carry disease.”
Continue reading ““The Holy Cup Cannot Carry Disease”: Greek Orthodox Churches Announce That Shared Drinking Of Wine Will Continue Despite Corona”
Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney and “fixer” for President Donald Trump, is calling on his former client to order the release of non-violent prisoners to avoid imposing a “death sentence” on him and others. The petition is a “plea to the President of the United States to save lives” to avoid a threat of lethal exposure for inmates like Cohen. Of course, given the extreme animosity that exists between Trump and Cohen, that may not be the optimal spin for inducing presidential action.
Continue reading “The Corona Commutation: Michael Cohen Calls On Trump For The Immediate Release of Prisoners . . . Like Michael Cohen”
I admit to being no fan of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio who achieved the distinction of a zero popularity polling with a 58 percent unpopularity rating in New York city for his presidential run. De Blasio failed to generate support despite his effort to unleash class warfare with such pledges as “we will tax the hell out of the rich.” Now, de Blasio appears to have gone full for Gosplan with his call for nationalizing certain industries to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus. Capitalism again appears to be the problem; fueling the spread of corona by preventing decisive action. Call it coronalism and de Blasio is here to end it.
Continue reading “Nationalization Now: De Blasio Calls For Curtailing Capitalism To Fight Corona”
The Supreme Court has still not dismissed a New York gun case where New York City officials passed, in my view, a clearly unconstitutional gun control measure. Then, after proclaiming that they would defend the law to the Supreme Court, they tried desperately to withdraw the case after review was granted. That creates a serious question of mootness in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. City of New York. However, they may have pushed this game too far with the Court, which clearly did not like being played by politicians using the courts for grandstanding. Yet, there is a case out of Connecticut that could prove equally, if not more, important in defining the edges of the Second Amendment.
Continue reading “Connecticut’s Gun-Control Law Triggers New Challenge Under Heller”