With the election of Donald Trump, the federal government and both local and educational authorities are on a collision course over immigration policies. Many states and cities have reaffirmed that they will oppose any deportation efforts, including another recent chest-pounding interview by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. It is likely that the federal government will squeeze federal funding for sanctuary states and cities, though such efforts can trigger “commandeering” and other legal challenges. Universities may be in a more precarious position, but some like the Los Rios Community College District in California are doubling down on plans to oppose any federal enforcement efforts. Continue reading “Universities Announce Plans to Defy Federal Immigration Enforcement”
After years of the media demonizing and attacking any scientists supporting the lab theory of COVID-19, agencies like the FBI have concluded that it is the most likely scenario. Even the Washington Post and other long antagonistic media outlets have come to admit that the theory is credible. None of that has apparently changed minds over at the Los Angeles Times, which helped lead the media mob against dissenting scientists. That includes the L.A. Times science columnist Michael Hiltzik, who is often cited as an example of the unrelenting and aggressive campaign to cancel those scientists who challenged the natural origins theory. Hiltzik and the L.A. Times just ran a column renewing attacks on those who support this theory, a column that continues to omit key countervailing information from the readers. Continue reading “L.A. Times Columnist Renews Attacks on the Lab-Leak Theory While Dismissing Criticism of China”
Last week, we witnessed yet another case of student activists interrupting a class or event. This type of action has become all too familiar on our campuses as students and faculty shout down speakers or cancel events. However, this time, something different happened: Columbia actually suspended a student for the protest. It has also identified two other students associated with Barnard, Union Theological Seminary, and Teachers College. Those referrals will raise a novel question for their respective schools. Continue reading “Columbia Suspends Student Who Disrupted Israeli History Class”
The student union of Leeds University has suspended a third-year philosophy and theology student, Connie Shaw, for what were declared “gender critical” views. Shaw’s transgression was to discuss her concerns over transgender ideology. We have previously seen student governments or bodies engage in such anti-free speech activities. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the school administration to maintain free-speech protections on campuses. Continue reading “Leeds Student Suspended for Column Questioning Gender Policies”
Every modern president seems to promise transparency during their campaigns, but few ever seem to get around to it. Once in power, the value of being opaque becomes evident. We will have to wait to see if President Donald Trump will fulfill his pledges, but so far this is proving the cellophane administration. Putting aside his constant press gaggles and conferences, the Administration has ordered wholesale disclosures of long-withheld files from everything from the JFK investigation to, most recently, the CIA COVID origins report. That report is particularly stinging for both the Biden Administration and its media allies, which treated the lab theory as a fringe, conspiratorial, or even racist theory. Continue reading “The CIA Report: Why a Low Confidence Finding is the Height of Hypocrisy”
Below is my column in The Hill on the furious response of some judges in Washington over the Trump pardons. One judge, however, may have ventured too far in effectively banishing commuted defendants from Washington, D.C. without his prior approval.
Here is the column:
Continue reading ““Blood, Feces and Terror”: The Trump Pardons Trigger Judicial Rage”
For years, scientists and commentators who questioned COVID policies were censored, blacklisted, and canceled across the country. Many of these dissenting views have since been vindicated from the lab origins theory to the lack of efficacy of surgical masks to the opposition to the closure of schools. Now, a new study in the Journal of Infection further undermines the once orthodox views of the pandemic, concluding that “reopening schools did not change the existing trajectory of COVID-19 rates.” In other words, we shut down our schools, without any demonstrable benefit to the country. We did, however, succeed in reducing free speech in the name of combating “disinformation.” Continue reading ““No Consistent Patterns:” Scientists Find No Evidence that Closing Schools Materially Reduced Transmission”
On Friday, the Supreme Court agreed to review a potentially blockbuster religion clause case in Oklahoma Charter School Board v. Drummond. However, there is a catch. While the lawyers representing St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School may need every vote they can get in this heavily contested area, they may have to prevail without Justice Amy Coney Barrett who recused herself for an unstated reason. Continue reading “Barrett-Lite: The Supreme Court Takes Up Major New Religion Clause Case With One Notable Exception”
On Jan. 2, the Minor Planet Center at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts, announced the discovery of an unusual asteroid, designated 2018 CN41.
No, that is not the name of the latest Musk child as a companion to X Æ A-Xii. However, it is Musk’s Tesla Roadster still cruising around space and briefly classified as a new comet. So much for concern over cold weather and battery time. Continue reading “It’s a Plane, It’s a Comet . . . No, It’s Musk’s Roadster”
As promised during the campaign, President Donald Trump pardoned most of the rioters from January 6th soon after taking office. The scope of the pardon was greater than expected. Indeed, many of us opposed the inclusion of those who were convicted of violent crimes against police officers. However, one recipient quickly stood out in the group for her refusal to accept the pardon: Pamela Hemphill. The right to refuse a pardon is found not in the Constitution but in a curious line of case law treating the executive action as an offer requiring acceptance. Continue reading “Hemphill and the Curious Pardon Precedent of the Supreme Court”
Below is my column in the New York Post on the latest attack on Elon Musk from the left. There is a mania on the left in calling people with opposing views “Nazis” and referencing the Third Reich. The left has jumped the Nazi shark in this rhetoric as the public tunes out these increasingly hysterical voices.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “Nazispolozza: The Left’s Third Reich Mania Collapses into Comedy”
Below is my column in the Hill on the decision of Joe Biden to end his presidency with a final act of ignominy. The use of his pardon authority to protect his own family members was the final corruption of Joe Biden.
Here is the column:
Last night, I discussed a new executive order signed by President Donald Trump that included an extension of his earlier move against “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) policies to the area of higher education. The order makes direct reference to the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, 600 U.S. 181 (2023) banning the use of race in college admissions and instructs the Departments of Education and Justice to investigate any circumvention of the prohibition by colleges and universities. The order effectively carries out the mandate declared by Chief Justice John Roberts: “Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it.” Since the EO has not been officially posted on the government website, I have included the full language below.
Continue reading “Trump Issues Major New Executive Order Impacting Higher Education”
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump stated that the roughly 1500 pardons and commutations for J6 defendants issued Monday night are not the final resolution of cases. The President indicated that some commutations may be converted into full pardons. What is now clear is that the executive action includes violent offenders. That is wrong regardless of any excesses in the handling of these cases. Continue reading “Trump Pardons and Commutations Included Violent Offenders Who Assaulted Police Officers”
Below is my column in the New York Post on the pardoning of the January 6th defendants by President Donald Trump. The scope of the pardon appears broader than some had hoped. What is clear is that any such relief should not extend to violent actors, particularly those who attacked police officers. However, the Justice Department itself may have made the strongest case for presidential pardons.
Here is the column: Continue reading “The End of Shock and Awe: How the Justice Department Made the Case for the J6 Pardons”