Courts, Society

“Trust Me, I’m A Doctor”: Ninth Circuit Rules “Diet” Dr. Pepper Does Not Mean Diet Dr. Pepper

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit may have answered a question for all those who cannot understand why they are not losing weight when drinking diet sodas. The answer is that it is really not a diet drink. That is the ruling of the panel against the claim of Shana Becerra who proffered that the moniker is deceptive advertising in a lawsuit against Diet Dr. Pepper. By the way, remember the slogan “Trust Me I’m A Doctor?” It turns out that he is not even a real doctor. Lies upon lies.

Continue reading ““Trust Me, I’m A Doctor”: Ninth Circuit Rules “Diet” Dr. Pepper Does Not Mean Diet Dr. Pepper” →
Academia, Columns, Congress, Constitutional Law

Pelosi’s Half Right Constitutional Claim Leaves The House All Wrong

Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the position of Harvard Law Professor Laurence Tribe that the blocking the submission of the impeachment to the Senate by Speaker Nancy Pelosi is both constitutional and commendable. He is half right but the House is entirely wrong in its gaming of the system in this fashion.

Here is the column:

Continue reading “Pelosi’s Half Right Constitutional Claim Leaves The House All Wrong” →
Bizarre, Media, Politics

Moore: Most White People Are “Not Good People” And Are Dangerous If Encountered On The Street

Filmmaker Michael Moore recently showed how polarizing our national dialogue has become over race. Moore declared that the vast majority of whites in this country “are not good people” and that others should “be afraid” of them in an interview on The Rolling Stone podcast “Useful Idiot.”

Continue reading “Moore: Most White People Are “Not Good People” And Are Dangerous If Encountered On The Street” →
Congress, Constitutional Law, Media, Politics

Rep. Green Tells MSNBC That The “Genesis” For Trump’s Impeachment Began Before He Was Elected

Rep. Al Green (D, Tex.) has remained the most quoted Democratic member . . . . by Republicans. Green has given Republicans quotable gems to show a long-standing and unending effort to impeach Trump from his very first day in office. His most popular GOP talking point is “I’m concerned that if we don’t impeach this president, he will get reelected.” However, Green has also said recently that the House may continue to impeach Trump and has called for an array of clearly illegitimate articles of impeachment. Now, Green has given Republicans a quote to reinforce its narrative by declaring that the “genesis” of the impeachment began before Donald Trump was even elected. That is likely to be added to the top Green quotes for the upcoming Senate trial.

Read more
Bizarre, Criminal law, International, Society

Homicidal But Not Homophobic? Mafia Reportedly Embraces Gay Mobsters

I wanted to start the New Year on a positive note and one legal story stood out. The Italian Mafia has reportedly opened its doors to gay men for the first time. However, La Cosa Nostra has adopted a type of organized crime “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy implemented by the Clinton Administration.

Continue reading “Homicidal But Not Homophobic? Mafia Reportedly Embraces Gay Mobsters” →
Society

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Happy New Year to everyone on our blog! We rang in 2020 at home in McLean, Virginia.  New Year’s eve is also my wedding anniversary. Twenty-one years ago,  Leslie and I eloped in Old Town Alexandria after dating eight years. Once again, we will celebrate two anniversary dates. I count the anniversary as our 30th while Leslie insists on counting this year as our 22nd anniversary.  We will toast our anniversary and the New Year (as we did 22 years ago) with a bottle of Schramsburg Cremant.

Continue reading “HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!” →
Media, Society

STATE OF THE BLOG (2019)

Happy New Year to all of our blog community from around the world. As has been our tradition on this blog, with the start of 2020, I thought I would share our annual “State of The Blog” statistics from the last year. It has been a great year for the blog with the highest traffic in the history of our blog. We continued our expansion internationally. While I usually post a separate blog when we passed another million mark, the crush of impeachment meant that our passage of the 38,000,000 view mark went unheralded and we are well on our way to 39,000,000.

Thanks to all of our regulars and particularly Darren Smith who continues to monitor the blog and write on the weekend. We also now have an email following of over 105,0000 and a twitter following of almost 100,000.

Continue reading “STATE OF THE BLOG (2019)” →
Bizarre, Media, Politics

Chuck Todd Asks Whether Trump Supporters Simply Want To Be Lied To

NBC News anchor Chuck Todd is under fire for an openly derisive comment about Trump supporters as effectively delusional drones who want to be lied to. He even added a dig at belief in biblical accounts like Noah’s Ark. It is the latest example of how open bias has become the norm on mainstream media. Imagine if Todd said Obama supporters are ignorant voters who just want to be lied to. This is precisely why the media is now driving some voters to Trump and reinforcing echo-journalism on both sides.

Continue reading “Chuck Todd Asks Whether Trump Supporters Simply Want To Be Lied To” →
Academia, Columns, Congress, Media, Politics

The Eleventh Commandment: Thou Shalt Not Testify For Republicans

Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the perils of professors who agree to testify as Republican witnesses, particularly in an impeachment. It is not the continuing threats against me and my family. That happened when I testified in the Clinton impeachment. No, it is the response of fellow academics and the degree of flagrantly false stories in the media. As a lawyer, I have worked with accused murderers, polygamists, spies, terrorists, and others. However, nothing produces the unhinged rage as appearing as a Republican witness.

Here is the column:

Continue reading “The Eleventh Commandment: Thou Shalt Not Testify For Republicans” →
Justice, Politics, Society

Tax Avoidance: A Moral Duty

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

While it is a truism that in many respects some form of taxation is needed to provide necessities to a society, in practice many government and social detriments arise as either a consequence to or are derivative of tax policy. I’ve found for myself that fostering a personal goal of avoiding specific taxation or in many cases excessive taxation generally comports with a greater advocacy of morality in several beneficial forms.

Continue reading “Tax Avoidance: A Moral Duty” →
Columns, Congress, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Lawyering

What If Monica Actually Had Taken The Stand?

Below is my column in the Wall Street Journal on the issue of witnesses at impeachment trials and how they can have a determinative impact on the outcome of such trials. The best example remains the Senate trial of Bill Clinton and the ultimate “what if.” What if Monica Lewinsky actually took the stand in the Senate trial?

Here is the column:

Continue reading “What If Monica Actually Had Taken The Stand?” →