Bizarre, Politics

Mumpsimus: Merriam-Webster Taunts Trump With Definition Of Obsessional Stubborn Person

Merriam-Webster seems to have found the bizarre controversy over President Donald Trump’s insistence that he was right that Hurricane Dorian was on a path to hit Alabama on September 1st. Trump continues to tweet about being right while the Washington Post is reporting that, despite Trump’s denial, he was the person who altered the hurricane path map with a Sharpie. So Merriam-Webster tweeted the definition of mumpsimus, or “A stubborn person who insists on making an error in spite of being shown that it is wrong.”

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Media, Society

Jemele Hill Calls For Black Athletes To Avoid Predominantly White Colleges

After she was disciplined by ESPN for repeatedly violating the its social media rules by attacking President Donald Trump as a “white supremacist”, Jemele Hill was picked up by The Atlantic as its new columnist. In their first column, Hill is continuing her controversial record with a piece calling on black athletes to leave predominantly white colleges and universities despite such schools offering enhanced opportunities and free educations to many players. Thus, players like Michael Jordan (shown here in his signature style from high school) who went to schools like North Carolina are not models for younger athletes but cautionary tales.

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Bizarre, Politics

“Don’t Do It”: Author Calls For People To Stop Wearing Red Hats To Avoid Traumatizing The “Disenfranchised”

Author, Rebecca Makkai, 41, is calling for people to stop wearing red hats. Any red hats. The reason is that she believes that “disenchanchised” people are being traumatized by the color due to its use in Make American Great Again (MAGA) hats. At first I thought that this was another example of derangement in the Trump era, but, as a fellow Chicagoan, I am just assuming that Makkai has found clever way to dissuade people from wearing hats for the Cincinnati Reds and the Nats.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Society

Manafort Spotted In Video Of Nickelodeon Game Show

It is not uncommon for otherwise innocuous videotapes to take on a more sinister meaning with the appearance of a later notorious figure. That is the case of the rather bizarre discovery of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort in an episode of a cheesy game show on Nickelodeon called “What Would You Do?” The show features Kathleen Manafort trying to win a prize by emptying out her purse, including her husband’s wallet The host notes the excessive number of credit cards for her husband, a problem that would later become a criminal matter for Manafort. Manafort was recently convicted of bank and tax fraud after his indulgent lifestyle led to mounting debt. To answer the shows question, “what he did” was fraud and the episode caught a laughing Manafort at the very time that he was courting some of the world’s more blood-soaked figures to pay for those cards.

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Free Speech, International, Politics, Religion

Finland Investigates Politician For Quoting Bible In Opposition To Church’s Support For LGBT Parade

We have previously discussed the alarming rollback on free speech rights in the West, particularly in Europe (here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here). The latest example of hate speech laws curtailing free speech is found in Finland where a politician is under criminal investigation for sharing a Bible verse to criticize a church for participating in a LGBT Pride festival.

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Bizarre, Media, Politics

“Sharpiegate”: Trump Ridiculed For Altered Hurricane Forecast

Fox News joined other networks yesterday in ridiculing a truly bizarre moment from the Oval Office where Trump appeared to show a forecast map of Hurricane Dorian with a hastily drawn extension into Alabama. Trump previously claimed that Alabama was in the hurricane’s projected path and was widely contradicted (including by federal officials). He then showed up with the map that seemed to have an extension written by a Sharpie. It was another bizarre misstep that expanded a minor story into a major embarrassment. Trump had to personally deny that he took a Sharpie to the altered map in what people are humorously calling “Sharpiegate.“

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Media, Military, Politics

Biden Claims That He Voted For Iraq War And Then “Immediately” Opposed It

For those of us who opposed the war resolution on Iraq, the later spins by presidential candidates John Kerry and Hillary Clinton left us incensed. At the time, many of us criticized the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq as a blank check to President Bush that jettisoned the responsibilities given to them by the Framers. When they voted for the war, it was popular and that seemed the only determinative factor. When thousands died or were wounded and hundreds of billions of dollars wasted, they followed the polls in belatedly opposing their own prior positions. Kerry and Clinton later insisted that they were tricked about the resolution despite such objections in the press. Now we can add presidential candidate Joe Biden who is raising objections over his insistence that he never really supported the war and that he “immediately” opposed it.

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Uncategorized

Kentucky Principal Who Banned Books For Their “Soft Pornography” Is Arrested For Child Pornography
Phillip Todd Wilson

Former Kentucky school principal, Phillip Todd Wilson, 54, made national headlines 10 years ago when he banned six classroom books for what he described as “soft pornography” and “homosexual content.” Now Wilson sits in a jail after being arrested for possession of child pornography.

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Academia, Bizarre, Religion

Riddikulus! Catholic Pastor Bans Harry Potter Books Because They Contain “Actual Curses and Spells”

The Reverend Dan Reehill is the pastor of St. Edward Catholic School in Nashville, Tennessee and he has banned Harry Potter books because he believes that the books contain “actual curses and spells” that “risk conjuring evil spirits.” Reehill is a grown man who thinks that actual magic or evil spirits may be summoned by reading the books. Moreover, he is in charge of a school of children.

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Academia, Columns, Politics

Inclusion By Exclusion: The Twisted Logic Of Educators Achieving Equality

Below is my column in Tthe Hill Newspaper on the recent proposal by a diversity panel appointed by Mayor Bill De Blasio to eliminate much of the Gifted and Talented programs in the school system. It is part of a broader trend of achieving equality by eliminating opportunities or recognitions.

Here is the column:

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Animals, Bizarre, International

New Photos Show British Hunters Who Came To South Africa And Killed Hundreds Of Baboons and Monkeys
Trophy hunter Alan Nicholson smiles as he holds up the corpse of the baboon he killed
Trophy hunter Alan Nicholson smiles as he holds up the corpse of the baboon he killed
Credit: Facebook

As regulars on this blog know, I am no fan of such trophy hunts.  British hunters came to South Africa with more of a massacre in mind. South Africans helped the hunters mow down 500 baboons and monkeys over a 30-year period. While the fun of shooting monkeys for pure blood lust ended two years ago, new photos show how hunters brought their children to wantonly kill the animals.

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Columns, Society, Torts

Too Much Rope, Too Much Hope? The Oklahoma Case Against Johnson & Johnson Might Not Stand

Below is my column in USA Today on the recent massive damage award in the opioid case in Oklahoma. I remain quite skeptical about the underlying theory of liability as well as other elements in the case.

Here is the column:

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Media, Politics

Wrong By Two Noses: Will The Washington Post Now Perform Journalistic Rhinoplasty on Sarah Huckabee Sanders?

Two years ago, I wrote a column in the Hill concerning a “fact checker” column by the Washington Post.  At the time, I was surprised by the column by Glenn Kessler in criticizing White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders over her references to James Comey and his actions following his termination.  I had written a column about the lack of objectivity in the media just before the article. As if on cue, the Washington Post assigned Sanders two “Pinocchios” for saying that Comey’s actions “were improper and likely could have been illegal.” I used the article as an example of the bias in reporting on these controversies. Those comments have now been reaffirmed by the Inspector General in its recent report. Will the Post now issue its own correction with the removal of two noses? More is at issue than political cosmetics in correcting the record on Comey’s conduct.

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Society

The Number Of New Yorkers Leaving City More Than Doubles In One Year

 While New York Mayor de Blasio has pledged to “tax the hell out of the rich” and claimed unprecedented successes in the city, the number of New Yorkers leaving the city continues to rise. Indeed, the number has more than doubled in the last year. However, at the same time, the number international migrants to the city has risen sharply.

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