Bloomberg: Manafort Alerted Authorities About Russian Meeting

New_Bloomberg_Logo.svgBuried in a new article out of Bloomberg is an understated but potentially significant statement: “In fact, Manafort had alerted authorities to a controversial meeting on June 9, 2016, involving Trump’s son Donald Jr., other campaign representatives and a Russian lawyer promising damaging information on Hillary Clinton, according to people familiar with the matter.”  That would be a huge development in this controversy if true, particularly if the notice occurred before the Russian meeting occurred.

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Trump Attorney Blasts Mueller Over Manafort Raid

582px-US-FBI-ShadedSeal.svgWhite_House_North_Side_Comparison2After just recently sending the President’s “appreciation and greetings” and triggering new allegations of criminal acts, one of President Donald Trump’s lawyers, John Dowd, is now denouncing Mueller for the pre-dawn raid on the Alexandria home of former campaign manager Paul Manafort.  I have commented that the raid seemed intentionally heavy handed and meant to convey a message to Manafort. However, I fail to see why the President’s counsel (rather than Manafort’s counsel) should be making such objections. It, once again, removes any perceived separation between President Trump and obvious targets like Manafort.

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Oregon Schools Strip “Lynch” Name From Three Schools Because They Sound Like “Lynching”

cropped-Lynch-Logo-Empower2It appears that the Centennial School District is really appreciative to the Lynch family for their generous donation of land for the establishment of public schools.  However, it appears that their name is simply unacceptable because, when used as a noun, it brings up painful images of lynchings.  We have previously discussed the same lunacy in higher education with buildings named after a Lynch.  It appears that even if a school wants to name itself after Loretta Lynch, the first female African American Attorney General, she will have to change her name.  Ironically, the first word in the motto of the Lynch Elementary School is “learn” but the learning curve appears too steep in the view of the board.  Under the same logic, animal rights activists could object that the school symbol is calling for the lynching of lion cubs — a highly disturbing and traumatic image for young children.

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Malaysian Minister Calls For Atheists To Be “Hunted Down”

400px-1922_hunting_license85px-Coat_of_arms_of_Malaysia.svgMalaysian Minister Shahidan Kassim has made international news by proclaiming that atheists should be “hunted down” and that constitutional rights do not apply to them. He is not alone in the heavily Islamic nation in this hateful view and many support such a crackdown.

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The Demonic Dab: Saudi Arabia Arrests Artist For Dabbing In Public

screen-shot-2017-08-09-at-4-03-58-pm-700xSaudi Arabia is once again in the news with another example of the extremist religious dogma that characterizes its Wahhabi traditions.  The latest lunacy came with the arrest of TV host, actor, and aspiring artist, Abdallah Al Shaharani, who committed an unIslamic and shocking act.  He dabbed. That’s right.  He did a dab during a musical contest. WARNING: THE VIDEOTAPE BELOW SHOW A DISTURBING DAB.

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FBI Conducts Pre-Dawn Raid Of Paul Manafort’s Home

136px-US-FBI-ShadedSeal_svg440px-Director_Robert_S._Mueller-_III-1In a move that should concern the Trump legal team, FBI agents raided the Alexandria home of President Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort a couple weeks ago despite Manafort’s reported cooperation with investigators.  Given the fact that Manafort was turning over requests documents, it is notable that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators would want to carry out such a heavy handed and public display of power.  I have long maintained that the most important developments in this investigation will likely concern Manafort and Gen. Michael Flynn, who are the most vulnerable to criminal charges and prosecutorial pressure.  They are the weakest links in this chain for prosecutors interests in trying to coerce cooperation of key witnesses.  What is clear is that the relationship between Manafort and the Special Counsel has materially changed.  A pre-dawn, unannounced raid on your home is meant to concentrate your mind on where you want to be during a rapidly approaching storm.  A raid tends to concentrate the mind of a witness on the future.

 

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IT IS TIME FOR ROD ROSENSTEIN TO RECUSE HIMSELF

Rod_Rosenstein_Official_DAG_PortraitBelow is my column in the Hill Newspaper on the growing need for Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to recuse himself from the Special Counsel investigation.  Rosenstein has alluded to the possible need for his recusal but continues to participate in an investigation that could have direct bearing on his own role and decision-making.  If he has material evidence on obstruction, he should not delay his recusal until he receives a formal request to appear before a grand jury.  His relevance to the obstruction investigation is obvious and he should not be determined questions of scope when his own conduct could fall within the jurisdiction of the Special Counsel.

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Urine A Lot Of Trouble: California Man Arrested For Burglary For Failure To Flush

Burglar_Bathroom_Break_44480It appears that poor manners comes with some particularly high costs forAndrew David Jensen, 42.  After a burglary in Thousand Oaks, police found that the burglar had used the toilet without flushing.  That meant a bowl full of DNA which the police used to identify Jensen from the DNA data bank.

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Polls Shows Both Trump and Macron Down In Popularity

Emmanuel_Macron_in_July_2017donald_trump_president-elect_portrait_croppedWhile President Donald Trump has claimed that his “base” remains strong and is growing, the polls indicate that the reality is quite different.  Two additional polls continue to show a decline in support with one, the Investor’s Business Daily Poll, showing Trump at a remarkably low 32 percent.  There is however an interesting comparison with a politicians who is the polar opposite of Trump in style and substance: French President Emmanuel Macron.  Polls show Macron at the same not-so-sweet spot in polling: 36 percent.  That is even lower than the CNN poll for Trump out this week at 38 percent.  That is also one percent higher than Bill Clinton around this time.

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University of Georgia Professor Institutes A “Stress Reduction Policy” Where Student Can Pick Their Own Grades

CWP_5381_cropped_portrait_largeIt a fairly common joke among academics in discussing “campus life” policies that we should just let students pick their own grades.  University of Georgia professor Dr. Richard Watson appears to have taken such suggestions seriously with his new “stress reduction policy.”  Under that policy, students who “feel unduly stressed” can simply choose their own grades.   Continue reading “University of Georgia Professor Institutes A “Stress Reduction Policy” Where Student Can Pick Their Own Grades”

Comedian Chelsea Handler Under Fire For Tweet On Arresting Racists

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The Movie “Dunkirk” Denounced For Its “Maleness”

Dunkirk_Film_posterYesterday, I finally had a chance to see the movie “Dunkirk.” My son Jack had already seen the film but liked it enough to go back with me.  As a military history buff, you can imagine my reaction: I loved it.  It captured the dire acts of survival on that beach and in those ships while under constant air and ground attack.  Yet, despite overwhelming critical acclaim, some have objected that the film was too white and too male.  Mehera Bonner of Marie Claire magazine objected that “Dunkirk felt like an excuse for men to celebrate maleness — which apparently they don’t get to do enough.”  Continue reading “The Movie “Dunkirk” Denounced For Its “Maleness””

NPR Under Fire For Calling Woman A Rape “Survivor” Despite Settlement In Favor Of The Accused Columbia Student

NPRLogoWe recently discussed the case of Emma Sulkowicz who gained fame as the “Mattress Girl” for her protest about the handling of her alleged rape by another Columbia student. Columbia not only cleared the male student,Paul Nungesser, of charges but the police refused to bring criminal charges.  Columbia recently settled a civil action brought by the male student and reaffirmed that it found no evidence supporting discipline for sexual assault.  Now,  the Boston-based National Public Radio  station is under fire for a story byNPR correspondent Tovia Smith that continued to refer to Sulkowicz as a “survivor” despite the countervailing findings of the university under the lower “preponderance of the evidence” standard advocated by the Obama Administration. The reference also indicated that Nungesser had indeed raped her.  While the declination to punish Nungesser by the school or the declination to prosecute him does not mean that no rape occurred, it does show that there was insufficient evidence against Nungesser who has always maintained his innocence.

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Chinese Tourists Arrested For Doing Nazi Salutes In Front Of The Reichstag

480px-ReichstagsbrandWe have previously discussed the German laws barring certain expressions and symbols connected to Nazi Germany.  Germany like much of the West has continued to criminalize speech in a gradual erosion of free speech.  Most recently, the German police arrested two Chinese tourists for making illegal Hitler salutes in front of the Reichstag building that houses the German parliament. It was obviously a joke but in Germany it is a crime.  The problem is that most tourists will not assume that such a picture could be a crime because it is such a senseless denial of free speech.  It is ironic that the arrests would involve Chinese citizens who probably assumed that in the West they could enjoy free speech.

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Res ipsa loquitur – The thing itself speaks