Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, International, Justice, Lawyering, Media, Politics, Society, Uncategorized

Bail-Ins and Empty Pockets

Great_Seal_of_the_United_States_(obverse)_svg

Respectfully Submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw) Weekend Contributor

The Banksters are at it again.  You may recall an article that I wrote in March of 2013 which detailed a plan agreed to by the Bank of England and the FDIC which would allow banks to grab depositors funds in order to avoid a bank failure. The prime example given in that article was a similar plan that was put into action in Cyprus. Similar plans were on the books elsewhere, but the Cyprus grab had actually been activated.

Now it seems that the joint FDIC-Bank of England agreement from December of 2012 was not enough to make the Banksters whole in the event that their derivative gambling went south.  The idea has gone global and it puts all of our deposits, and even our pension investments at risk! Continue reading “Bail-Ins and Empty Pockets” →

Society

Truffle Mania

Submitted by Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

record-truffleAn auction for the largest known White Truffle, considered a high delicacy in culinary circles fetched about six percent of its estimated auction price of over one million dollars. This is based upon speculation with previous pre-auction inquiries from Asia and experience from previous auctions of record breaking examples.

The situation is perhaps a small echo from the Tulip Mania market speculative bubble that caused the crash of a segment of the tulip bulb industry in 1637 in the United Provinces (now The Netherlands).

Continue reading “Truffle Mania” →

Academia, Lawyering, Society

FAREWELL TO MARK LEE

MarkLee02_Courtesy-300x298-1

I am very sad to report the death of a GW law student and one of my past students, Mark Edwin Lee. Mark appears to have died on November 29th at his home in Washington, D.C. and the cause of death is not yet known.

To lose someone at such a young age is always a tragedy, but Mark was something truly special. He seemed to find the positive in any situation and any person. There are some people who can reduce stress and strife by just being themselves. Mark was one of those people. He was that rare combination of someone with a brilliant intellect and a warm and engaging personality. I saw Mark as the quiet type; a confident professional who would rise quickly in our profession. I not only thought the world of him but expected the world from him. His loss is truly our loss.

Continue reading “FAREWELL TO MARK LEE” →

Bizarre, Congress, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, Society

Stolen Valor Video: Airborne Veteran Confronts Man Falsely Claiming To Be Army Ranger At Mall

Screen Shot 2014-12-05 at 5.50.05 AMI was on BBC yesterday talking about the Stolen Valor Act and the video below that has gone viral after a man was confronted in a mall on Black Friday by a veteran who called him out as a fake. (Warning: the video contains bad language). The man, identified as Sean Yetman, 30, walked by a real veteran from the famed 101st Airborne Division who was not buying the uniform or claim that Yetman is an Army Ranger. He spotted problems right away, starting with the multiple Combat Infantry badges.

Continue reading “Stolen Valor Video: Airborne Veteran Confronts Man Falsely Claiming To Be Army Ranger At Mall” →

Politics, Society

Harkin: “We Should Have Either Done [Health Care] The Correct Way or Not Done Anything At All.”

220px-Tom_Harkin_official_portraitPresident_Barack_ObamaWe recently discussed the stinging criticism of Sen. Chuck Schumer who called Obamacare a colossal political mistake and something that was not a priority for the American people. It was a remarkable admission from the third ranking and one of the most liberal Senate Democrats. Now, perhaps the most liberal departing member has given his own departing shot at the White House and Democratic Leadership. Retiring Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa has gone public with criticism that the Affordable Care Act was badly written and should not have been passed. Like Schumer, he is not questioning the value of health care but said that the current law was not worth doing because of its inherent flaws.

Continue reading “Harkin: “We Should Have Either Done [Health Care] The Correct Way or Not Done Anything At All.”” →

Bizarre, Politics

Does Bad Music Make For Bad Politics?

Screen Shot 2014-12-04 at 3.16.16 PMBelow is the new “Stand By Hillary” song that appears an attempt to bridge the rather wide gap between Hillary Clinton (and Democratic candidates generally) and males, particularly white males. At first, I honestly thought this was a joke. I am still a bit unsure, but people are reporting that this is a real effort at reaching country music fans. My issue is not the candidate, but the music. To the constant complaint of every member of my family, I listen to country music and this is just really, really bad country music.

Continue reading “Does Bad Music Make For Bad Politics?” →

Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Media

Should Michael Brown’s Stepfather Be Criminally Charged For Inciting A Riot?

Screen Shot 2014-12-04 at 9.13.31 AM

Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson indicated this week that they are “pursuing” an investigation into whether comments made by Michael Brown’s stepfather Louis Head (shown here in the white cap) should be charged for his inciting a riot for his response to the news that there would be no indictment of Officer Darren White. While I certainly do not condone the language, I have long been a critic of such “violent speech” prosecutions and I believe that such charges would violate his free speech rights and ignore the mitigating factor of a family member in a highly emotional position that night. Warning: profane words are contained in the story below and the videotape.

Continue reading “Should Michael Brown’s Stepfather Be Criminally Charged For Inciting A Riot?” →

Media

24,000,000

220px-Bundesarchiv_B_145_Bild-F079012-0030,_Berlin,_Michael_Jackson-Konzert,_WartendeLast September, we passed the 23,000,000 mark and today we hit 24,000,000. We have used these moments to give thanks for our many regular readers around the world and give you an idea of the current profile of readers on the blog. We continue to rank in the top legal blogs in the world and I am particularly gladdened by the growing international readership. As always, I want to offer special thanks for our weekend contributors: Mike Appleton, Larry Rafferty, Charlton Stanley, Darren Smith, and Kimberly Dienes. The increasing traffic on the site is gratifying and reaffirms that there are many people looking for mature and civil debate. Even among the top ten sites, I believe that we offer a unique forum of different views and backgrounds in the discussion of law and politics (and a few quirky items).

Continue reading “24,000,000” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Media, Politics, Society

Washington Post: Obama’s Unilateral Immigration Action Is “Unprecedented”

220px-Washington_Post_buildingPresident_Barack_ObamaThe Washington Post has published a hard-hitting editorial that not only accuses the Obama Administration of fudging the figures on its unilateral immigration changes but calls the action “unprecedented” and “indefensible.” The stinging editorial from a generally favorable newspaper amplifies the criticism of others, including myself, that President Obama is doing considerable damage to the separation of powers and, more generally, our constitutional system in these actions.

Continue reading “Washington Post: Obama’s Unilateral Immigration Action Is “Unprecedented”” →

Uncategorized

“I Was Mugged, And I Understand Why”: Georgetown Student Triggers Controversy In Op-Ed On Who Is To Blame For His Being Mugged

2381DB3A00000578-0-image-7_1416962691861It is rare for a college student to trigger a national debate with an opinion column in a student newspaper but, to his credit, Oliver Friedfeld, has done precisely that. Friedfeld wrote an op-ed in the Hoya after he was mugged at gunpoint and defended the black youths who robbed him at gunpoint — a column entitled “I Was Mugged, And I Understand Why” that is drawing praise and ridicule across the country.

Continue reading ““I Was Mugged, And I Understand Why”: Georgetown Student Triggers Controversy In Op-Ed On Who Is To Blame For His Being Mugged” →

Bizarre, Criminal law

McFelony: Iowa Man Arrested After Allegedly Using McChicken As A Weapon In Domestic Assault

250px-McD-McChickenB9315352707Z.1_20141203081446_000_GOM9A6ORK.1-0We have seen a trend in criminal charges where police are defining virtually any object as a weapon to elevate the potential penalties in a given case. The charges in Des Moines against Marvin Tramaine Hill II, 21, appear to be such a case. He is charged with attacking his pregnant wife with a weapon. The weapon? A McChicken sandwich from McDonald’s.

Continue reading “McFelony: Iowa Man Arrested After Allegedly Using McChicken As A Weapon In Domestic Assault” →

Bizarre, Religion, Society

“I Actually Discovered the Cure for AIDS”: Arizona Pastor Reveals Biblically Based Plan For An “AIDS-Free World by Christmas”

Screen Shot 2014-12-03 at 12.26.44 PMA series of videos of Baptist pastor Steven Anderson of the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona have gone viral as he talks about the solution of AIDS being the exterminations of all homosexuals and bisexual citizens. He explained that AIDS could be solved by Christmas with a simple holocaust for homosexuals. The videos are below.

Continue reading ““I Actually Discovered the Cure for AIDS”: Arizona Pastor Reveals Biblically Based Plan For An “AIDS-Free World by Christmas”” →

Bizarre, Society

Chinese Cook Videotaped Pounding Meat On San Fran Sidewalk . . . Restaurant Allowed To Stay Open and Given One Month To Take A Course

23AC9EB700000578-0-image-25_1417550052164

A YouTube video has gone viral that shows what is reported to be a cook at the Lucky River, a Chinese restaurant in San Franscisco’s Sunnyside neighborhood, slamming slabs of frozen meat on the sidewalk before cooking it. Media later inspected the area of the sidewalk and reported that it was covered with blackened gum, cigarette butts, and foot-tracked bacteria of all gut-twisting varieties.

Continue reading “Chinese Cook Videotaped Pounding Meat On San Fran Sidewalk . . . Restaurant Allowed To Stay Open and Given One Month To Take A Course” →