Morocco Prosecutes Two Women For Indecency . . . For Wearing Skirts

8._MFF_Pražský_jarmark_3919125px-flag_of_moroccosvgMorocco has added itself to the list of farcical counties in the Middle East with two women prosecuted for wearing skirts. Morocco has a significant population of modern and secular Muslims but also has a growing influence of Islamic advocates demanding greater criminalization of immoral and anti-Islamic conduct. In this case, a market trader told police that there were two women wearing skirts and a crowd formed calling for their arrest in Inezgane last month.

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YOUTUBE Takes Down Video Of Mob Taunting Beaten Man

150px-YouTube_logo.svgScreen Shot 2015-07-06 at 8.14.05 AMThere has been rising criticism of YouTube censoring content on its site and today is another example. People posted the video of a mob taunting a man nearly beaten to death at a Fourth of July event. The video has triggered a debate over hate crime investigations as well as the simple lack of humanity found in today’s society. In other words, there is a substantive debate surrounding the videotape. However, YouTube says that it has been taken down for disgusting content. It rekindles the objection that YouTube has become a private censor — rather than a forum that warns of such content but allows people to make their own choices. [UPDATE: The video appears to be going up and coming down on YouTube but appears to be currently available here with a warning. I have not problem as I stated below with the addition of such a warning and wall]

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Cincinnati Man Beaten Almost To Death As Crowd Laughs and Jeers

Screen Shot 2015-07-06 at 8.14.05 AMThere is a growing controversy in Cincinnati where police had to fight their way into a scene to rescue a white male who was nearly beaten to death at a Fourth of July concert. The video below shows the mob laughing and taunting the nearly dead man lying on the ground. Critics have asked why the beating of the white male by a largely black mob was not immediately identified as a possible hate crime. They charge that, if the situation were reversed, the reaction would have been different in the media and the police. Yet, there is no evidence that I can find that the beating itself was racially motivated. In the end, the behavior of the mob does not have to be racially motivated to shock the conscience as to the lack of humanity and cruelty. Officers were attacked and injured by the crowd as they tried to rescue the unconscious man. While the police at the scene reported the beating as “anti-white,” the police chief later stated that the attack was not racially motivated.

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Pennsylvania Judge Steals Cocaine From Evidence Room and Possibly Compromises Murder Case . . . Given Misdemeanor Deal With No Jail Time

Pozonsky-screen-grab-from-archived-Wash-Co-courts-pageThere is an interesting criminal appeal filed in Pennsylvania by a convicted murderer Robert Urwin Jr., 58 who has serious reservations about the judge who presided at his trial. He should know. Former Washington County Common Pleas Judge Paul Pozonsky was later sentenced in the same courthouse for stealing cocaine from the evidence room and replacing it with baking soda.

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Maine Man Dies After Attempting To Launch Firework From Top Of His Head On The Fourth of July

devon1A Maine man and part-time Disney cast member, Devon Staples ended his life in a senseless and careless way this Fourth of July by trying to launch a firework off the top of his head at a party. The firework exploded and killed him.

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Awkward Reunion: Judge Recognizes High School Friend . . . During His Bond Hearing

Screen Shot 2015-07-05 at 6.01.23 PMIn an obviously awkward and (for one) emotional reunion, Judge Mindy Glazer recognized a former high school acquaintance standing before her awaiting his bond decision. Arthur Booth is accused of burglary and broke into tears after Glazer identified him. Glazer clearly did not view the prior relationship (which was clearly long ended) a basis for recusal.

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OBERGEFELL AND THE RIGHT TO DIGNITY

Supreme Court Below is my column today in the Washington Post on the ruling in Obergefell on the basis for the Court’s ruling in favor of same-sex marriage. Due to limitations on space, I could not go into great depth in the opinion which primarily dealt with the notion of the “right to dignity.” The Court did not pursue an equal protection analysis beyond the following highly generalized statement:

The right of same-sex couples to marry that is part of the liberty promised by the Fourteenth Amendment is derived, too, from that Amendment’s guarantee of the equal protection of the laws. The Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause are connected in a profound way, though they set forth independent principles. Rights implicit in liberty and rights secured by equal protection may rest on different precepts and are not always coextensive, yet in some instances each may be instructive as to the meaning and reach of the other. In any particular case one Clause may be thought to capture the essence of the right in a more accurate and comprehensive way,even as the two Clauses may converge in the identification and definition of the right.

Since the Court did not substantially address whether homosexuals are a protected class or the other Equal Protection line of cases, the opinion appears to craft a right around the inherent right of self-expression and dignity in intimate affairs. That is very appealing to many in the expansion of due process concepts, but the column explores what it portends for future rights.

Here is the Sunday column:

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HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY

362px-Fourth_of_July_fireworks_behind_the_Washington_Monument,_1986I wanted to wish everyone as wonderful and safe Fourth of July. Despite our economic and political woes, we remain as a people united by a common article of faith in our representative democracy. Indeed, the disgusting abuses of extremists in other part of the world like ISIS should remind us of the enduring symbol of freedom celebrated today. It is the very rights that we celebrate that are under attack by such groups who wish to replace free thought with rigid orthodoxy.

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Iceland Repeals Criminal Blasphemy Law

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

pirate-party-iceland-logoThe Pirate Party of Iceland (Píratar) successfully introduced a bill to the Alþingi repealing Article 125 of the Penal Code—Blasphemy. The measure passed with a nearly unanimous parliamentary vote.

In the wake of the Charlie Hebdo massacre, Pirate Members of Parliament Helgi Gunnarsson, Jon Thor Olafsson, and Birgitta Jónsdóttir introduced the repeal measure.

Article 125 formerly of the Penal Code read in part: “Anyone who publicly ridicules or insults the dogmas or worship of a lawful religious community in Iceland, shall be fined or imprisoned for up to 3 months.”

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Holiday party prep: 5 reasons you hated/loved the Obamacare decision

fingerpointing

By Cara L. Gallagher, weekend contributor

5 reasons you hated/loved the Obamacare decision (King v. Burwell):

What a week last week turned out to be at the Supreme Court! It certainly was exciting and unlike last year there wasn’t just one big case, like Hobby Lobby, that got so much attention. There were several big opinions that got the public’s attention over the last week, but one in particular has come up a lot this week.

Odds are you heard bits and pieces of the decisions, but it wasn’t exactly a light week for current events so you may have some gaps in the details. There’s also a very good chance you’re going to a holiday party this weekend where family or friends will gather and try ever so hard to avoid the cardinal sin of holiday gatherings – political discussions. They’re unavoidable and they always seem to happen whether you want them to or not. Rather than squirm or awkwardly walk away from the table when the inevitable happens, be ready and poised for that moment when someone says, “Did you hear about that healthcare decision?

Such a question is not totally inappropriate. Given how recently the Court finished the term with not only controversial and timely cases, but also a spectacular array of passionate majority opinions, thundering dissents, and even one cantankerous concurrence read from the bench, it’s no surprise the subject could come up. Lots of folks fall back on current events as discussion starters at holiday parties when no one knows what else to talk about. Listen, we’re here to encourage you to resist the urge to flee either because you don’t feel confident enough to hold the conversation or you’re worried your politics may differ from the person engaging the discussion. It’s gonna be ok. Continue reading “Holiday party prep: 5 reasons you hated/loved the Obamacare decision”

Does Lighting Fireworks Constitute Free Speech?

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

180px-San_Diego_FireworksWe wish you a festive and joyful Independence Day and pose a question to you. Does the use of fireworks constitute protected free speech?

A tradition spanning multiple generations in the United States is that a large portion of our society celebrates and shows tribute to the United States through the lighting and observance of fireworks. Yet numerous municipalities and counties impose sweeping and total bans of fireworks. Some statutes regulate the type of firework allowable, such as those having a ferocity that safety requires certified technicians. Others ban benign devices such as snakes and small fountains.

But does a complete ban on fireworks regardless of size constitute an infringement on the first amendment rights of citizens?

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State Department Confirms That Over Two Dozen Emails On Clinton Server Are Now Considered Classified

225px-Hillary_Clinton_official_Secretary_of_State_portrait_cropWe have previously discussed the series of scandals in Washington where powerful individuals have been spared serious sanctions for acts where ordinary people have faced long and unrelenting prosecution. (here) It is part of America’s Animal Farm system where some individuals are more equal than others. That concern is even greater this week with the combination of the disclosure that Hillary Clinton did use a personal email system for classified communications and most media outlets appear to be ignoring the obvious import of that fact.

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Massachusetts Rules That Father Not Guilty Of Assault In Spanking 3-Year-Old Daughter

Conrad,_Giorgio_(1827-1889)_-_n._202aWe have been following rulings on spanking where parents have been arrested for the disciplining of their children. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has overturned the conviction of Jean Dorvil who was arrested after he spanked his daughter in public.

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Give Me a P, Give Me an A, Give Me a Y . . . NFL Owners Facing Legislation To Force Minimum Wage For Cheerleaders

It often seems that a day cannot go by without finding something to truly hate about the NFL. Despite being a football (and Bears) fan, I have long found the NFL itself to operate just slightly above the level of the Barbary Pirate kingdoms. We can add the abusive treatment of cheerleaders. California this month moved to become the first state to require that cheerleaders be paid minimum wage by teams. While lawyers have long insisted that they already qualify for such pay, some NFL teams have been pulling in hundreds of millions of dollars while paying cheerleaders either nothing or the equivalent of $5 an hour. The “Buffalo Jills” for example were paid nothing. Nothing by a time that featured them and pulled in millions for televised games.

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English Government Declares Unhealthy Lunches Can Be Seized and Destroyed By School Officials

Lord_John_NashWe previously discussed whether England was becoming a “Nanny State.” (here and here). As much as I love London (and Londoners), it appears to have plunged into realm of government regulation of virtually every aspect of life and family management. An example is the new directive from the British government to school officials that they can and should use their “common law powers” to search student lunches to remove and destroy “unhealthy or inappropriate.” Education minister Lord Nash issued the directive to cover unhealthy items listed by the school that are now barred. Teachers can now “confiscate, keep or destroy” such snacks.

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