The Mattress Defense: How Robert Menendez May Be Putting his Money on a Hung Jury . . .Again

Below is my column on the Menendez indictment and the curious “Mattress Defense” put forward by the senator. For most people, it seems like a defense that is unlikely to win over a jury, but that may not be the purpose. Menendez may be trying to replicate his “win” six years ago by securing not an acquittal but a hung jury.

Here is the column: Continue reading “The Mattress Defense: How Robert Menendez May Be Putting his Money on a Hung Jury . . .Again”

Trump Pledges to Investigate Comcast for “Country Threatening Treason”

In a chilling message, former President Trump pledged to investigate Comcast if he is elected in 2024. Trump insisted that the parent company for NBC and MSNBC “will be thoroughly scrutinized for their knowingly dishonest and corrupt coverage of people, things, and events.” The stated grounds are “country threatening treason.” The pledge is not simply a threat to these news organizations but to the Constitution. While Trump has a history of reckless rhetoric, the statement on Truth Social is an attack on core First Amendment values that define us as a nation. Continue reading “Trump Pledges to Investigate Comcast for “Country Threatening Treason””

Robert Menendez Broke the ‘Goldilocks Rule’ of Corruption

Below is my column in The Hill on the indictment of Senator Robert Menendez for bribery, again. As predicted in this column, his colleagues are now expressing disgust at his corruption. However, make no mistake about it, Menendez is not being abandoned due to his corrupt inclination but his conspicuous consumption.

Here is the column: Continue reading “Robert Menendez Broke the ‘Goldilocks Rule’ of Corruption”

Forty Percent of Baltimore’s Public Schools Do Not Have a Single Student Proficient in Math

I have previously written about the near total meltdown of our public education system in some major cities. Prominent in these discussions has been Baltimore, which continues to fail inner city children in teaching the most basic subjects. This week, that failure is on full display with a report that forty percent of Baltimore’s schools lack a single student who has achieved grade-level proficiency in math.  In various cities, the response of administrators has often been to lower the standards to continue to move kids out of the system without the skills needed to thrive in this economy. Continue reading “Forty Percent of Baltimore’s Public Schools Do Not Have a Single Student Proficient in Math”

Gov. Newsom Attacks Federal Judge as Child-Killing, Extremist, Right-Wing Zealot Owned by the NRA

It seems that we continue to struggle with a chief executive who goes on social media to personally attack judges who have ruled against his laws or policies. No, it is not Donald Trump. This week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) went on Twitter/X to denounce U.S. Judge Roger T. Benitez as “an extremist, right-wing zealot with no regard to [sic] human life.” Four years ago, I wrote how Democrats were becoming more Trump-like in their attacks on judges and hyperbolic rhetoric. There is no better example than Gavin Newsom. Continue reading “Gov. Newsom Attacks Federal Judge as Child-Killing, Extremist, Right-Wing Zealot Owned by the NRA”

The Defunct Disinformation Governance Board Sought to Censor Opposing Views on Racial Justice, the Afghan Withdrawal and Other Political Subjects

We previously discussed the defunct Disinformation Governance Board and its controversial head Nina Jankowicz. After the outcry over the program, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas finally relented and disbanded the board while insisting that it was never about censoring opposing views. Jankowicz has sued over the portrayal of her views. Now, Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFPF) has exposed just how broad the scope of the censorship efforts were under the board in combatting “misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation (MDM). This range of authority in what the agency called the “MDM space,” included targeting views on racial justice and the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. Continue reading “The Defunct Disinformation Governance Board Sought to Censor Opposing Views on Racial Justice, the Afghan Withdrawal and Other Political Subjects”

Tree Cutting Dispute Leads to Murder Charges in Florida

Edward Druzolowski, 78, is facing a second-degree murder charge in Florida after gunning down his neighbor over a tree cutting dispute. Brian Ford, 42, was on Druzolowski’s property trimming limbs from a tree between their property when Druzolowski told him to leave. What unfolded led not only to murder charges, but may lead to a controversial defense. Continue reading “Tree Cutting Dispute Leads to Murder Charges in Florida”

Harvard’s Jacinda Ardean Calls on the United Nations to Crack Down on Free Speech as a Weapon of War

Jacinda Ardern may no longer be Prime Minister of New Zealand, but she was back at the United Nations continuing her call for international censorship. Ardern is now one of the leading anti-free speech figures in the world and continues to draw support from political and academic establishments.  In her latest attack on free speech, Ardean declared free speech as a virtual weapon of war. She is demanding that the world join her in battling free speech as part of its own war against “misinformation” and “disinformation.” Her views, of course, were not only enthusiastically embraced by authoritarian countries, but the government and academic elite.

Continue reading “Harvard’s Jacinda Ardean Calls on the United Nations to Crack Down on Free Speech as a Weapon of War”

Backpackers Abandon Seriously Injured Friend in Grand Canyon After Calling Sheriff

In torts, we discuss the “no duty to rescue” doctrine in torts. Under the common law, you are not legally required to assist a person in peril if you had no responsibility for their injury. A recent incident in the Grand Canyon National Park raised some of the underlying issues that we debate in our discussion of this doctrine. A 63-year-old hiker was rescued after he was injured in a fall and his friends left him behind to continue their “backpacking adventure.” Continue reading “Backpackers Abandon Seriously Injured Friend in Grand Canyon After Calling Sheriff”

Pro-Life Display Shut Down at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University

RES IPSA HITS 75,000,000

crowd vj dayThis morning, Res Ipsa passed the 75,000,000 mark in views on the blog.  We have used these moments to give thanks for our many regular readers around the world and share our traffic data to give you an idea of the current profile of readers around the world. We do not have a running data page so these periodic postings allow our community to see the traffic profile of our blog. So let’s get at it. Continue reading “RES IPSA HITS 75,000,000”

How The Surgical Charging of Hunter Biden Ignores a Pattern of Concealment

Below is my column in The Hill on the impeachment inquiry and one striking pattern among the alleged crimes facing Hunter Biden: they all served to conceal the influence peddling efforts to sell access or influence to his father. The investigation and charging of Hunter Biden has, thus far, been strikingly surgical in avoiding this pattern of concealment.

New York Times columnist (and my former classmate at The University of Chicago) David Brooks said this week that the corruption scandal “merits an inquiry. It does not merit … an impeachment inquiry.” While I understand the distinction, I do not understand the basis for it in this situation. There are a variety of alleged crimes related to this corruption that may involve the President. There are also allegations like abuse of office that have been cited in past impeachments. We do not know if those connections exist but, if they do, they would clearly constitute impeachable offenses. Moreover, it is unlikely that we will get those answers without an impeachment inquiry. An impeachment inquiry does not inevitably lead to impeachment, but it does tend to lead to answers on whether impeachable conduct has occurred.

Here is the column: Continue reading “How The Surgical Charging of Hunter Biden Ignores a Pattern of Concealment”

Murder, They Wrote: Bush and Tlaib Publish Column Accusing Police of Covering Up Killing of Protester

The Nation is under criticism this week for another column that appears to entirely discard the facts in advancing a narrative of police misconduct. Despite its writers supporting forms of censorship to fight “disinformation,” Nation columns regularly omit or misrepresent key facts in national controversies. The latest example is a column published from Reps. Cori Bush and Rashida Tlaib, who accuse the Atlanta police of covering up a police killing during the “Cop City” demonstrations. They claim that the evidence shows that “Georgia State Patrol officers shot and killed Manuel ‘Tortuguita’ Terán, a nonviolent activist” after one officer accidentally killed another. The Nation and the members omit evidence that directly contradicts those claims.

Continue reading “Murder, They Wrote: Bush and Tlaib Publish Column Accusing Police of Covering Up Killing of Protester”