We have been discussing the old West Midlands Police mugshots found in its archives, including what is believed to be the oldest mugshot in British history. Some names and charges were lost to history, including these two dapper gents.
I ran a column yesterday on the release of the report of the Inspector General’s report and its implications. Much of the report was anticipated. However, among the most notable elements, was the final confirmation that the Hillary Clinton’s use of a personal server for State Department business not only contained classified information but was successfully intercepted by at least one foreign intelligence agency. That finding directly contradicts Clinton’s repeated denials through the campaign. The media however has barely noted the finding despite widely repeating Clinton’s prior denials of both classified content and any interception by foreign powers.
There has been a rising movement in colleges and universities led by professors who are advocating speech regulation and contesting basic values of free speech. The anti-free speech movement takes many forms. I previously voiced my objections to Antifa and its anti-free speech values, including academics legitimizing efforts to violently curtail free speech on our campuses. One of the most recent examples is the writing of University of Tennessee sociology Professor Victor Ray who explained in a column in Inside Higher Ed that diversity of thought is something of a trap and is in reality “a Trojan horse for white identity politics.” Continue reading “Sociology Professor Declares Diversity of Thought Is “A Trojan Horse For White Identity Politics””
Douglas Kelly, 49, can rest assured that he was not ripped off. Kelly was convinced that a dealer had sold him fake drugs so he went to police to bring charges. He gave the police a bag of meth that he said did not feel right. The police tested the meth and found it was genuine . . . and then arrested Kelly.
We have been looking at vintage mugshots recently discovered in the archives of the West Midlands Police Department, including the oldest mugshot in British history. Today’s Victorian featured felon is William Smith, who is depicted in one of the oldest existing mugshots of a murderer.Continue reading “Victorian Mugshots: Meet William Smith, Murderer”
Much of the impetus for the current Special Counsel investigation can be attributed to two equally disastrous decisions: the decision to fire FBI Director James Comey in the midst of the Russian Investigation and the meeting of Donald Trump Jr. with Russians promising dirt on Hillary Clinton. While I continue to doubt that the meeting (or the later misleading statement issued by Trump Jr.) constituted any type of crime, I have previously written that it was an astonishingly dumb decision to go (with both Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort) to this meeting. I have little doubt that the Clintons would have eagerly accepted the same information, but they would have used surrogates as they did with the Steele dossier. Now Trump Jr. is dismissing the very idea that his father would sit down with Mueller. While this is certainly a good-faith disagreement among lawyers, Trump Jr. is wrong again about a meeting. There are perfectly good reasons for his father to go to such a meeting and interview, but it should have been done months ago as I previously discussed. Continue reading ““I Wouldn’t Do It”: Trump Jr. Declares It Would Be “Stupid” For Trump To Go To Meeting With Mueller”
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the recent Senate hearing (in which I testified) on the proposed new AUMF legislation. In the last couple days, an open battle erupted between Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., South Carolina) and Sen. Rand Paul (R., Kentucky) after Graham called for the addition of North Korea among the ever changing list of countries. Paul called him “a danger to the country.”
Here is the column: Continue reading “Congress Is Again AWOL On War Powers”
University of Southern California Associate Professor of Communication Stacy L. Smith has written a report entitled “Critic’s Choice?” with USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative which discussed the problem that film critics are “largely white and male.” The solution appears to be the selection of critics based on their race and gender — as opposed to simply their talent and writing — to achieve “inclusion among film reviewers.” We previously discussed a Canadian gender quota for directors.
As we discussed yesterday, the West Midlands Police just released a collection of early mugshots from their archives this month, including what is believed to be the oldest mugshot in British history. We previously discussed Isaac Ellery, who was convicted in March 1853 of stealing “gig’ cushions. Today’s Victorian convict is Sarah Ann Cooper, who was charged with stealing bells and door knobs in September 1861.
Continue reading “Early Mugshot: Sarah Ann Cooper, Door Knob Thief”
It appears that things got ugly in a recent meeting between Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and House oversight staff. Rosenstein reportedly threatened to “subpoena” House committee members if they went after him with a contempt sanction for failing to turn over material on the FBI’s investigation of Trump campaign officials. If the account is true, it was a mistake by Rosenstein. To quote The Godfather, oversight is not personal, its oversight business. Continue reading “It’s Not Personal, Mr. Rosenstein, Its Strictly Government Business”
It may be the ultimate expression of our overheated politics. Longtime DNC member Bob Mulholland accused a Sanders supporter of being a possible Russian stooge after she attended a meeting of the Democratic National Committee to discuss rules and bylaws. It appears that anyone can now be denounced as Russian collaborators in an environment that is increasingly picking up McCarthyite elements. The bizarre allegation from Mulholland comes after the DNC moved to effectively block Sanders from the next presidential primary unless he registers as a Democrat. The effort was later abandoned, but left bad memories of the last primary where the DNC was shown to have secretly rigged the process for Hillary Clinton.
I periodically post old mugshots which offer a gritty insight into criminal history. The West Midlands Police just released some gems from their archives including what is believed to be the oldest mugshot in British history. That distinction rests with Isaac Ellery who was convicted in March 1853 and sentenced to seven years transportation for stealing four ‘gig’ cushions.
Continue reading “First Ever Mugshot In Britain Released: Isaac Ellery, Cushion Thief”
In torts, there is a doctrine called the “egg shell thin skull rule” where a defendant can be sued for the full damages of a tort even though the victim was especially susceptible to injury. It is the concept that “you take your victim as you find him.” Blaine Manalle, 20, is now personally familiar with the criminal counterpart to that rule. She is facing a second-degree murder charge after allegedly hitting Jeffery Howell in the head. Howell just had brain surgery and the blow fell on the still healing surgery incision behind his ear.
Rachel Camille Calhoun, 24, in Forestdale, Alabama allegedly had a novel way to to rob the Regions Bank in Forestdale. Police say that she gave the bank manager a stark choice: Given her $6,000 and accept sex in return or she would accuse him of sexual assault. He opted for the third option and called police.
Democrats and media figures continue to struggle with the truth of the abuses of former President Bill Clinton who has been accused by multiple women of everything from sexual harassment to rape. Dozens of reporters have interviewed Clinton without seriousness questioning him on these past allegations until recently. Even after a year of “MeToo” stories, only this month did an interviewer risk the ire of Clinton supporters to press the former president. Clinton became immediately condescending and dismissive. The continued muted response to Clinton’s past is evident after a rather shocking claim in a new interview with PBS NewsHour where Clinton explained that “what you can do to someone against their will” has simply changed. Continue reading “Clinton: Standards Have Changed Over “What You Can Do To Someone Against Their Will””