President Donald Trump continues to refuse to accept the findings of his own Administration and overwhelming evidence of the guilt of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the savage murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Trump’s refusal has continued despite the report of a tape of a “smoking gun phone call” of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with an alleged instruction to “silence Jamal Khashoggi as soon as possible.” In a new interview, Trump has suggested that perhaps we should all just agree on blaming a “vicious world.” Continue reading “The Khashoggi Murder: Trump Suggests “The Vicious World” May Be More To Blame Than The Saudi Crown Prince”
We have been discussing the often inconsistent approach taken to controversial statements or postings of students and faculty at our universities and colleges. The latest such case involves Rutgers University history professor James Livingston, who stated in a post that he hated all white people and wanted them out of his neighborhood. The school has now cleared him of all wrongdoing and that is a victory for free speech. However, it is not clear if the same result would have occurred if the content of the hateful message were directed at blacks or minorities. The concern is the inconsistency of a content-based approach to such sanctions.Continue reading “Rutgers Reverses Ruling Against Professor Who Wrote About Hating All White People”
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the reported interest of President Donald Trump in ordering the investigation and prosecution of Hillary Clinton and James Comey.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Trump’s Inclinations and Actions Remain Thankfully Divergent”
In celebration of Thanksgiving, I give you our annual Turkey Torts of civil and criminal cases that add liability to libations on this special day (with past cases at the bottom). Many criminal defense attorneys and torts attorneys give special thanks for a holiday that can involve copious amounts of alcohol, strained family relations, over-the-hill amateur football players, “Black Friday” sale stampedes, and novice cooks. These cases are why Johnny Carson said “Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year. And then discover once a year is way too often.”
Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. We begin this day with the Turley Turkey bowl with our tradition of a rousing football game with our neighbors and family. The Turkey bowl is a tradition that has been held for over 50 years. It is an early game with copious amounts of hot chocolate, donuts, and treats. (It was 19 degrees this morning but blue skies). We then follow with my favorite meal of the year with roughly a large assemblage of friends and family.
UCLA has departed from a disturbing trend toward speech censorship on campuses and refused to yield to demands to shutdown a pro-Palestinian conference, including demands from Congressman Brad Sherman and the Los Angeles City Council. In demanding the action, both Sherman and the city council have shown again a rising anti-free speech trend coming from the left — similar to the devastating rollback in Europe. Continue reading “UCLA Refuses To Cancel Pro-Palestinian Conference Despite Pressure From Politicians and Activists”
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the rapid return to the status quo in both parties after the midterm elections, including the rapid discarding of promises made to voters on both sides. Those massive middle-class tax cuts promised by the President before the year end? Gone. The promise of a new Democratic party infused with young members and new leadership? Gone. What remains is the establishment which has succeeded again in replicating itself. It does not matter if you are Republican or Democrat. We have become a nation of chumps.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Chump Nation: The Establishment Quickly Returns To The Status Quo After The Election”
President Donald Trump signaled today that he will simply not accept the conclusions of his own CIA which found with confidence that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the brutal murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. If true, it would represent one of the lowest moral moments for this country. Update: Trump just reportedly dismissed the issue by saying “it is what it is.” What it is is murder and the question is what we are. Continue reading ““Maybe He Did And Maybe He Didn’t!”: Trump Signals That He Will Ignore His Own Administration’s Conclusions On Culpability of Crown Prince”
I have been a critic of the alarming criminalizing of speech in Great Britain through hate speech laws. Such laws create an insatiable appetite for greater and greater speech regulation and create a sense of empowerment among citizens to silence those with whom they disagree. The most recent statistics from the Metropolitan Police for 2015 and 2016 seem to confirm those concerns. The over 2,500 alleged “hate incidents” in just that one jurisdiction show a vast array of everyday gripes being reported as hate crimes from a dog pooping near a house of a disputed tennis match. Hate speech arrests have according to one account risen by 900 percent and now involve thousands of such cases each year. Nine people a day are being detained.
Continue reading “Hate “Incidents” Soar In England From Dog Poop To Disputed Tennis Line Calls”
We previously discussed whether England was becoming a “Nanny State,” including the effective banning of nannies. The concern is that well-intentioned measures are creating climate of governmental control and the gradual reduction of rights in England, here, here, here, here, here, and here. Now a school in England has been students from wearing “expensive” jackets because it may “poverty shame” other students. It is not clear who will make the judgment of a jacket that is too expensive to wear or wear parents are to shop to guarantee that they are not dressing their kids too well. Continue reading “English School Bans Expensive Coats To Prevent “Poverty Shaming””
There is a growing concern about University’s treating students like emotional wrecks triggered by any routine terms or opposing views. Leed’s Trinity journalism department however has reached a new level of manic mollycoddling with a warning to all faculty that they need to avoid using capital letters because uppercase letters may “scare them into failure.”
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on reported completion of answers to the questions given to President Donald Trump by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The White House anticipated giving the answers to the Special Counsel before Thanksgiving. As noted below, that could put the collusion part of the investigation into high gear toward a report to Congress.
Here is the column: Continue reading ““I Answered Them Very Easily”: The Five Most Chilling Words In The Russian Investigation”
We have yet another disturbing account of a trophy hunt. This time the victim is still breathing. His name is Mufasa and he is a rare white lion who was rescued and sent to a rehab center. Now tribal leaders are refusing to give him back and instead want to sell the right to shoot the young lion among eager trophy hunters. Continue reading “Rare White Lion To Be Auctioned Off To Be Shot In South Africa”
Nathan Sharp, 28, gives family business a bad name. The son of the owner of Superior Crane Corp., a construction equipment company in Waukesha, Wisconsin, Sharp is accusing of “humping” employees and regularly exposing himself, including laying his genitals on the shoulders of employees. When an employee objected, Sharp allegedly responded “Don’t you know who the [expletive] I am? I’ll just go talk to my dad.” I expect that conversation has now occurred because Sharp is now a criminal defendant in a case of fourth-degree assault. Continue reading “Not-So-Sharp: Wisconsin Man Faces Criminal Charges Over Bizarre Exposure Claims”
We have previously discussed flights delayed by Jewish ultra-Orthodox who refused to sit next to women (here and here). The latest incident occurred on two Israel-bound El Al planes that took off from New York on Thursday. Ultra-Orthodox men caused a small riot and even assaulted a flight attendant because the delayed flights would cause them to land after the start of the Jewish Shabbat when they are not supposed to be using cars or aircraft. They caused one of the aircraft to be diverted to Athens. The other was going to divert to Rome but a medical condition of a passenger required the flight to continue.