By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
Most individuals at some point in their lives will for themselves or a close family member require the services of a social worker. While we usually think of social workers as state or hospital employees, there are significant benefits in hiring a private social worker to better protect and advocate for the loved one.
This article will introduce the reader to a few of these benefits.
Continue reading “The Benefits of Hiring a Private Social Worker”As many of you know, I am a huge advocate of hiking and particularly our national parks. We have amazing parks and most of us take great efforts to avoid leaving traces or causing damage to our natural areas. That is why a recent arrest is so alarming. Recently, three South Korean nationals were charged after an arrest at Los Angeles International Airport with a van filled with more than 3,700 Dudleya succulents. The spiky blue-green plants are prized in Asia. The men were tracked as they stripped parks of the plants and stuffed them into backpacks.
Continue reading “South Koreans Arrested After Stripping National Parks Of Succulents For Illegal Export”
Today I have the honor of delivering a keynote speech to the 2019 Judicial Conclave in New Mexico at the Hyatt Regency in Albuquerque. I will be discussing the history, cases, and evolution of the “cultural defense” in federal and state courts. The speech is at 11:15 am on Friday at the conference held at the Hyatt.
Continue reading “Turley To Speak At 2019 Judicial Conclave In New Mexico”
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on rejection of the lawsuit by the House of Representatives against the order issued by President Donald Trump to build the wall on the Southern border under the National Emergencies Act. I had previously testified against this lawsuit as a reckless and unnecessary move by the house. It is part of a litigation strategy that is clearly driven more by political than legal calculations.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “The Politics and Pathology of The House Litigation Addiction”
If you were in New York yesterday, you would have seen more than 40 ice-cream trucks being towed away. It was a crackdown on New York Ice Cream which allegedly has been running a scheme to avoid millions in tickets. The culprit was ice cream mogul Dimitrios Tsirkos, founder of New York Ice Cream. Long Island officials say that Tsirkos has been racking of millions in tickets and then creating new companies to avoid payment.
Continue reading “Rocky Road: New York Officials Seize 40 Ice Cream Trucks In Ticket-Avoidance Scheme”
In the 2004 slapstick comedy Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, character Patches O’Houlihan insisted “If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.” Perhaps, but can you dodge hundreds of academics declaring your sport a tool of “oppression”? That was the message at the annual Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences held in Vancouver.
Continue reading “Educators Denounce Dodgeball as “Oppressive” and “Miseducative””
We have been discussing how the free press is under attack in both the United States and Europe. Like free speech, Western nations appear to have lost patience with free press protections. The latest example is an outrageous raid on a leading media organization in Australia. On the heels of the Assange case and other attacks on media protections, the raid on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation raises a chilling prospect that the free press could soon go the way of free speech in the West.
Continue reading “Australian Government Raids ABC Headquarters After War Crimes Story”
The U.S. military spent $20 million on parkas that were supposed to counter night vision googles and allow our Air Force personnel to move undetected in combat. Instead, the parkas were counterfeited Chinese products that lacked any night vision capabilities — exposing any troops to detection by the enemy. The persons responsible for this potentially lethal fraud were not just our friends in China but Ramin Kohanbash, 49, and other associates, operating a Brooklyn, New York, clothing and goods wholesaler. They are now criminally charged. If proven, the depravity of this crime is truly overwhelming. Kohanbash allegedly conspired with the Chinese to get rich at the possible cost of the sons and daughters of other Americans who are serving in war zones.
Continue reading “U.S. Military Buys Defective Chinese -Made Parkas That Would Help Enemy See Troops”
There is something about controlling information and censoring any criticism that can blind you to irony. That seems to be the problem this week when a Chinese spokesperson objected that a statement by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre as a violation of international law. So massacring thousands is a purely domestic matter but criticizing it is an international law violation.
Continue reading “China: Commemorating Tiananmen Square Massacre Is A Violation Of International Law”
Today is a sad anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. It is all the more sad due to the success of the Chinese regime to wipe out memories of the massacre in the country while crushing dissent. It falls to the rest of the world to keep the memory alive in the hope that truth, like water, will find its way through the most formidable walls.
Continue reading “Tiananmen Square 30 Years Later”
According to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University, the much discussed crackdown on illegal immigration policies of the Trump Administration does not extend to one notable group: employers. With increases in arrests and deportations, the Justice Department has notably not prosecuted the employers who hire illegal immigrants. Only 11 employers in the entire nation were prosecuted last year. Eleven.
Continue reading “Justice Department Only Prosecuted 11 Employers and No Businesses For Hiring Undocumented Workers In The Last Year”
Two crew members of an Icelandic fishing vessel have caused a global outrage after they filmed themselves hacking off the tail of a shark and then laughing as they threw it into the river. The disturbing video captures the utter cruelty of the men as they enjoy the scene of a suffering creature trying to swim without a tail.
Continue reading “Icelandic Fishermen Under Fire After Posting Cruel Video of Mutilated Shark”
I wrote recently about the demand from the White House that the military move the USS McCain from Yokosuka Naval base during Donald Trump’s visit to Japan. It was a disgraceful insult to McCain, our military, and the country. My hope was that the White House would do that right thing and fire the staffers responsible for treating an active U.S. warship as a petty prop. Instead, Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said Sunday that it wasn’t “unreasonable” for the demand to be made. In doing so, Mulvaney confirmed that the White House cares little for the principles of separating our military from politics or pettiness. Thus what might have been denounced as a terrible mistake is now embraced by the Trump White House as a reasonable use of our military to protect the President’s sensibilities. It not only makes Trump look like a unhinged egotist but also his Administration as cringing sycophants. It also contradicts the position of the Acting Secretary of Defense. That is quite an accomplishment even for a White House known for self-inflicted wounds.
Continue reading “The Mark of [Mc]Cain: Mulvaney Declares That Ordering The Removal Of The USS McCain Was “Not Unreasonable””
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the press conference held by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his refusal to answer questions from the media (or any questions from Congress beyond what is written in his Report). Mueller not only demanded silence but faith from the media, which surprisingly obeyed. Few reporters noted the direct contradictions in Mueller’s brief statement or the many unanswered questions that he left in his imperious wake. Since Attorney General Bill Barr has already testified on the process and his decisions related to the Report, there was nothing preventing Mueller from answering questions about his own decisions. Instead, Mueller simply said that the media would listen and remain silent . . . and the media dutifully complied.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “Mueller’s Mount Sinai Moment Leaves Media With A Crisis of Faith”
Many of us have criticized President Donald Trump when he contradicts himself or calls facts “fake news.” On Sunday, Trump left many scratching their heads when he categorically denied referring to the the American-born Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, as nasty. What is strange is that (unlike many) I was not particularly aggrieved when Trump made the comment. He was responding to a personal attack attributed to Markle. I would prefer the President not to respond to such comments (particularly before a State visit). I also do not consider it appropriate to attack the London mayor as “a stone cold loser” and comment on internal policies on a State visit. However, the Markle comment was actually restrained for this President. What really bothered me was the denial of the comment just days later.
Continue reading “Trump Denies “Nasty” Statement Made On Tape Just Days Earlier”