Police and the public have searched for a man shown on a video throwing a dog not once but twice into a ravine. The man was eventually identified as Andres Spancky Raya, 21, and he was charged with animal cruelty. Fortunately, the pit bull — known as Mary Jane — survived with injuries but was eventually adopted by a family. As for Raya, he is heading to prison for five years.
It takes a great deal for me to feel sympathy of Martin Shkreli, but the recent filing by the Justice Department has me wondering if he is not being treated unfairly due to this infamous reputation. The DOJ has asked for Shkreli’s bail to be revoked because he offered to pay anyone $5000 for a hair of Hillary Clinton. It was a stupid posting that Shkreli later said was “satire” but the DOJ insists that it makes him a danger to society. I do not agree. What it does (as with so much of the statements and conduct of Shkreli) is undermine his case before the Court. Indeed, in addressing any fine, the court could take that view that (if Shkreli views a hair worth $5000 of his money) the sky is the limit for a truly impactful fine.
While Shkreli gained infamy as a pharmaceutical executive due to his obscene price increase for the drug Daraprim, was actually convicted in August of three of eight fraud counts related to hedge funds he ran. He is free on a $5 million bail.
Below is my column in USA Today on the role that statements from both President Barack Obama and Donald Trump could feature greatly in the unfolding litigation over the rescinding of the DACA order. Ironically, it will be the opposing sides relying on the respective statements from these presidents.
Here is the column.
These three men are accused of horrific crimes committed against a teenage girl in Alexandria, Virginia. Police say that Thomas Barker, 32, Steven Powers, 20, and Joshua Holby, 31, kidnapped and sexually assaulted the girl over the course of weeks. The girl only escaped by swimming across a lake.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has become an international pariah for his orders to police to murder drug suspects and his bragging about his own killings. Thousands of suspected drug dealers have been killed under Duterte. Now however he might want to reconsider his extra-judicial kill order. His son, Paolo, and his son-in-law have been implicated in a massive drug conspiracy. Paulo appeared before a Senate hearing to deny the allegations but then (on the advice of his father) refused to answer the questions of the Commission.
Continue reading “Duterte’s Son and Son-In-Law Implicated in Massive Drug Conspiracy”
Below is my column in the Hill newspaper on the decision of President Donald Trump to rescind DACA and send the issue back to Congress with a six-month grace period. While I support some accommodation for those brought here as young children and hope that Congress will pass new legislation, I still view DACA as a flagrantly legislative act by President Barack Obama carried out through his unilateral executive authority.
Continue reading “DACA And The Costs Of Constitutional Short Sellers”
There is a new free speech controversy on a university campus this week. Robbie Travers, a 21-year-old third-year law student at the University of Edinburgh, is under investigation for a “hate crime” after mocking ISIS fighters targeted in a massive air strike by the United States. Esme Allman, a second-year history student, accused Travers of “blatant Islamophobia” and creating an unsafe environment for students through his mocking of the terrorists being helped to paradise.
NASA’s Juno spacecraft completed its seventh flyby of Jupiter and sent more stunning pictures of its raging beauty. The pass on September 1st put the spacecraft within 2,200 miles of the planet.Continue reading “Jupiter In Full Raging Glory: NASA Releases New Photos Of Giant Planet”
The incendiary and uncivil politics that has gripped the nation has been a long focus on this blog. I am honestly worried about how the insulting and personal attacks from both sides will change political dialogue in this country for a generation. These include some past comments made by President Trump as well as his political opponents. As the father of four children, I emphasize the need to maintain civility, but that lesson is undermined every time the kids watch the news. The latest such incident involves Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) who made troubling statements about White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, including calling the highly decorated veteran a “disgrace to the uniform.” The reason was that Kelly somehow did not prevent President Donald Trump from rescinding DACA. This age of rage appears to have given people license to vent their most insulting and unfair criticisms at one another. We can no longer have a simple disagreement over issues like immigration. People have to be labeled “terrorists” or white supremacists if they think DACA should be decided by Congress or oppose amnesty programs. Calling this man (who lost a son in the military service) a “disgrace to his uniform” is a sad moment for our country.
I have previously written about the myth created by TSA that jokes at an airport security point about bombs constitute a crime. In an odd twist, nine men have been thrown off an early-morning Ryanair flight to Madrid after one of them shouted “Allahu Akbar” “as a joke.” However, the phrase simply means “God is Great.” Nevertheless, the men appear to have thought it was funny to use the phrase associated with terrorist attacks.
In the German town of Völklingen, far-right mayoral candidate Otfried Best has promised to rid his town of one of the most insidious influences of Islam: Arabic numbering. During a debate, an opposing candidate from the satirical Die Partei party asked about the ubiquitous presence of Arabic numbers and Best pledged to change the numeric infiltration of Arabs.
Continue reading “German Candidate Suggests Dropping Arabic Numbers To Combat Muslim Interference.”
Michigan State University is being sued after it refused to rent space on campus for white nationalist Richard Spencer to speak later this month. The rental was requested by Georgia State University student Cameron Padgett for an event on-campus at the Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center.
Miami University in Ohio lost a major case in court after a student appealed his ban from the university after being accused on sexual misconduct. U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett ordered that the anonymous student known as “John Nokes” reinstated and found glaring unfairness in the rules and procedures of the university. As I have previously discussed, the Obama Administration forced many schools to limit due process rights of accused students in sexual misconduct cases.
A Chinese company, Xingbao, sells knockoff Legos as “LEGO compatible” sets for different scenes and buildings. Its traditional Chinese street series as one curious element unlikely to be approved by LEGO corporation: a house of prostitution with an assortment of Chinese courtesans. It is not clear if this is an effort to get Dads more interested in playing with the kids but LEGO’s slogan “Just Imagine” certainly takes on a new meaning.
Continue reading “Putting The Leg Back Into Lego: Chinese Company Sells Kit To Build Brothel”
Below is my column in the Hill newspaper on the recent news about Comey drafting a statement declining to charge Hillary Clinton or her staff before key witnesses were interviewed or evidence reviewed. The question is why Comey pursued the investigation if he felt comfortable months in advance in drafting the statement. I do not share the President’s view that this draft shows a “rigged process,” though some FBI agents have objected to the drafting of the statement in this context. I take Comey at his word that he did not make up his mind until after all of the evidence was reviewed. However, the draft does show a markedly different approach to the investigation of the Clinton emails and the Special Counsel investigation of the Trump Administration.
Here is the column: