CNN: It Is Illegal For Voters To Possess Wikileaks Material

2000px-flag_of_minnesota-svg_-10-e1476639955707There was an interesting segment on CNN last week where CNN anchor Chris Cuomo reminds viewers for it is illegal for them to “possess” Wikileaks material and that, as a result, they will have to rely on the media to tell them what is in these documents. The legal assertion is dubious, but the political implications are even more concerning. Polls show that many voters view the media as biased and this is a particularly strong view among supporters of Donald Trump who view CNN and other networks openly supporting Clinton or attacking Trump. More importantly, the mainstream media has reported relatively little from the Wikileaks material and has not delved deeply into their implications, including embarrassing emails showing reporters coordinating with the Clinton campaign and supposedly “neutral” media figures like Donna Brazile, formerly with CNN, allegedly slipping advance question material to Hillary Clinton. The credibility of the media is at an all-time low and most voters hardly feel comfortable with this material being reported second-hand or interpreted by the mainstream media. So is it really illegal for voters to have this material?

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Et Tu Ron Klain? Wikileaks Releases Alleged Email From Top Biden Aide To Clinton Campaign Professing A Key Role In Biden’s “Demise”

220px-Biden_2013vincenzo_camuccini_-_la_morte_di_cesareThe Wikileaks disclosures have confirmed what many voters believe about Washington as insiders craft dishonest accounts, betray friends, and coordinate with the media to engineer elections. It is the Game of Thrones without the redeeming characters. However, one of the most raw passages of alleged double-dealing comes from an email sent by Vice President Joe Biden’s closest aide to Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. In the email, Klain pledges fealty to Clinton and seems to remind Podesta that he paid dearly to show his allegiance . . . by helping guarantee “the Biden demise.” While not reported in the mainstream media, the Washington Times and conservative sites have been reporting a surprise email exchange. I cannot find a response from Klain as to whether this is an authentic email or what he allegedly meant by the exchange.

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Gallup Says Only 28 Percent of Voters Are Satisfied With The Election . . . Who Are These People?

495px-Donald_Trump_by_Gage_SkidmoreHillary_Clinton_Testimony_to_House_Select_Committee_on_BenghaziThe release of the latest Gallup poll was hardly surprising in finding that most Americans are deeply upset about this election and the state of our political system. After all, the two major parties that control this nation have given voters the two most unpopular candidates in the history of presidential politics to choose between. In speaking around the country, I have been struck with how angry people are in both liberal and conservative areas. Yet, what really surprised me is that there are 28 percent of Americans who are actually satisfied with our political system and this election. Who are these people?

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Dodge That: Cubs Take The First Game In National League Series 8-4

chc_1200x630I am in Chicago this weekend for a speech and have the added benefit of watching the game with my 89 year old mother in my hometown. We live close to Wrigley and we had the back door open to hear the roar of the crowd. Montero’s grand slam in the Eighth as a pinch hitter was a thing of utter beauty. The key was clearly my mother who intensified her prayers just before the breakout.

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Is Eight Enough?

is8enough

Cara L. Gallagher, weekend contributor, and James Coll, adjunct professor of Constitutional History at Hofstra University

The vacancy on the Supreme Court that materialized with the death of Associate Justice Antonin Scalia this past February, and endures into the current term that began last week, has Americans perplexed about the kind of Supreme Court we want to have. It also has us revisiting the kind of Supreme Court the U.S. Constitution requires us to have. These distinctly different contemplations, although both deserving of our attention, are all too often mistakenly confused as being the same concern.

Given the choice, I favor a nine-member Court. The downside of an even-numbered bench has been evident to most Americans as recently as the last term when important decisions about executive powers, immigration, and unions were left with 4-4 deadlocks for us to see the obvious benefit a ninth justice on the bench would have provided.

Yet just because I would rather have—and simple math would prefer—a fully-staffed Supreme Court doesn’t mean the Constitution requires it. Continue reading “Is Eight Enough?”

Turkish Government Raids Judiciary, Arrests 189 Judges And Prosecutors

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor.

220px-Erdogan_croppedYesterday, police in Turkey served arrest warrants on one hundred, eighty nine appeals court judges and prosecutors in the latest post-coup attempt purges. Since the July, 15th military coup, seeking the ouster of dictator Recep Erdogan, thirty-two thousand individuals are currently in jail and over one hundred thousand were sacked from their jobs under the questionable accusation of aiding dissident Fethullah Gulen.

Ankara’s chief prosecutor attacked the judiciary, members of the justice ministry, the Court of Cassation (Turkey’s top appellate court), and the Council of State (the highest administrative court).

The purges are part of seemingly never ending act of paranoia by a dictator bent on returning Turkey to authoritarianism.
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Government Agencies Should Reconsider Using Facebook And Twitter

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor.

Twitter LogoThe increasing trend of Facebook and Twitter to censor speech based often on political ideology gives government agencies cause to reconsider using these providers for disseminating official information and publications. Moreover, privacy issues inherent with these social media companies could do harm to vulnerable individuals who simply request information from their government.

In articles featured on this website, we described content based censorship on Twitter & Facebook (Suspension of Conservative James O’Keefe, filtering negative comments about President Obama, outright banning Milo Yiannopoulos, and allegations of associates of Facebook suppressing conservative views{via Gizmodo}and numerous others.)

Facebook LogoThe increasing regularity of bias and removal of content presents a concerning environment where political views of these companies bring into question their reliability and objectivity for which government and government agencies provide information.

Perhaps it is time to shift away and take back control of the messaging.
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Conservative Filmmaker James O’Keefe Suspended By Twitter

James O'Keefe
James O’Keefe
Twitter LogoAs we previously discussed, Twitter has become a lightening rod for the free speech community — repeatedly accused of content-based censorship and a liberal bias. Twitter was recently accused of a departure from the policy of unfettered free speech in the filtering of negative comments against President Barack Obama. Then Twitter banned Milo Yiannopoulos in a very disturbing move against a conservative speaker. Now, Twitter is back in the news targeting another conservative. After releasing two viral videos, Project Veritas Founder and President James O’Keefe was barred from access to his Twitter account for 12 hours (with review for a permanent ban). Twitter again appears to have little explanation for suspending another conservative other than the content of his speech.

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Federal Judge Lifts Injunction To Allow The Twirling and Killing Of Chickens To Take Away Sins During Yom Kippur

200px-kapparot_lithographyThere is an interesting ruling in Los Angeles where United States Judge Andre Birotte Jr. has lifted a temporary restraining order against a California synagogue performing Kapparot, a ritual where chickens are twirled in the air and then slaughtered. We previously discussed the controversies surrounding the Yom Kippur ritual.

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Turley To Speak To The Seventh Circuit Bar In Chicago

seal_of_the_united_states_court_of_appeals_for_the_seventh_circuit-svgToday I will have the honor of addressing the Seventh Circuit Bar Association and the Federal Bar Association in Chicago. I will be speaking at 2:30 pm on the Supreme Court’s history and current issues. I will be flying in this morning from Houston and look forward to seeing my home town. I will be in Chicago for the first two games of the National League Championship so I do not want any former classmates or childhood friends to hesitate to unload that extra ticket to Wrigley.

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The Murder of Professor Dan Markel: Confession of Contract Killer Raises Questions Over Role of Wendi Adelson

1405809806000-Dan-MarkelWe have been following the investigation of the murder of Florida State Professor Dan Markel – a case that has cast suspicions on the family of his ex-wife and fellow professor Wendi Adelson. Much of this suspicion has been drawn to Adelson’s brother, Charlie Adelson. Charlie Adelson was reportedly romantically involved with Katherine Magbanua, who just happened to be the mother of two children with Sigfredo Garcia, one of the two accused hit men (with Luis Rivera). Magbanua was arrested recently and then Rivera has cut a deal to cooperate in a guilty plea. Now Rivera has reportedly given evidence that further implicates the Adelson family. Rivera pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and told police that the motive for the murder for hire was because “the lady wants her kids back.” In a truly chilling added element, Rivera said that he saw Wendi Adelson before killing her husband and that she stared directly at him and Garcia.

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Libertarian Presidential Nominee Gary Johnson Names Top Pick For The Supreme Court . . .

johnson_transparentYesterday, I had the odd experience of walking into my torts class only to have a student proclaim “all stand for Justice Turley.” Unbeknownst to me, Libertarian Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson had publicly stated that I was on the top of his list for Supreme Court nominees. While I am not ditching my day job just yet, I am honored by Governor Johnson’s consideration. If nothing else, it got my students to stand up as I entered the class. I had assumed that the class was recognizing the achievement of my Chicago Cubs in clinching of a spot in the National League Championship, but this is even better.
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Turley to Speak At Brazosport College

brazosport_college_seal-svgToday it is my honor to give the keynote address of the Women’s Lecture Luncheon Series at Brazosport College in Texas. It is a particular pleasure to speak at Brazosport because I have previously had events at this wonderful campus located in Lake Jackson Texas. Indeed, I have watched the college grow on its pristine 156 acres in to a broad based educational institution. My address will be at 11:00 AM and is entitled “Separation Anxiety: The Rise of Presidential Power and the ‘Fourth Branch’ in the Madisonian System.”
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