By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
We feature another installment of photos from my recent holiday in Ireland–some things old, some things new, and some things seemingly eternal.
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Even in the authoritarian era of Vladimir Putin, the arrest of Mikhail Romanov, a reporter for the Yakutsk Vecherniy, was notable. Romanov has been accused of “controlling minds” by merely referencing George Orwell’s novel “1984.”
Continue reading “The Crime Of “Affecting Human Subconscious”: Russians Arrest Reporter For Referencing Orwell Under A Truly Orwellian Law”By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
I returned from Ireland having experienced the beauty of Donegal and Sligo Counties at the North West of the republic. The countryside has a nature unto its own. Here are some photographs.
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For those of us who are still upset with the decision of Nike to pull sneakers showing the Betsy Ross flag, there is now an alternative from a competitor. Brooks Running shoes has launched a limited-edition Old Glory Collection shoe emblazoned with American flag-inspired style. As someone who has worn Brooks for years, I do not have to change but many are likely to do so. Nike left a lasting and indelible stain on its company for many Americans. Nike made a calculated decision to curry favor with Nike embraced Colin Kaepernick and his supporters by showing disrespect to this national symbol. For those who are enraged by Nike’s decision, the Brooks line reminds us that there are other shoe companies and some are less craven in their business decisions.
Continue reading “Brooks Offers Old Glory Collection After Nike Controversy”
Yes, we have come to this. Yesterday the White House was the setting for a scene that seems to capture the total loss of decorum in our politics and press. Playboy reporter and CNN contributor Brian Karem can be shown heaping scorn on fathering conservative social media figures like some Internet troll. Former Trump official Sebastian Gorka then responds by heaping insults on Karem. It was an utter disgrace, but President Trump responded by praising Gorka. Never side deserves praise of any kind.
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There is a curious pattern in the Trump Administration that you need to beware of presidential praise which often proves the swan song for cabinet members. The latest is Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta who tried to keep his job with a press conference that was widely panned as trying to shift the blame for the sweetheart deal that he gave Jeffrey Epstein, the serial sex abuser. Since I previously called for Acosta’s resignation (and opposed his confirmation) based on his role in the Epstein scandal, I will not feign sympathy.
Continue reading “Acosta Resigns Amid Mounting Questions Over Role In Epstein Scandal”
Below is my column on the charging of Jeffrey Epstein and the complex connections raised by his prosecution. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta gave a press conference where he attempted to show that 2007 was a different century where victims rights did not exist and transparency was just a word used in window glazing. It was a ridiculous performance as Acosta sought to justify a sweetheart deal that has been universally condemned. Acosta attempted to shift the blame to state prosecutors who came out after the press conference to angrily contest his account. Previously, in 2011, Acosta insisted he yielded in the case because of “a year-long assault on the prosecution and the prosecutors” by “an army of legal superstars” like Dershowitz and Starr. He also wrote “The defense strategy was not limited to legal issues. Defense counsel investigated individual prosecutors and their families, looking for personal peccadilloes that may provide a basis for disqualification.” That is bizarre. Most prosecutors would have the backbone to double their efforts in the face of such pressure. Instead, Acosta’s defense came off as a whining or whimpering excuse for letting these big bad lawyers scare him off.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “SIX DEGREES FROM JEFFREY EPSTEIN: WASHINGTON GRAPPLES WITH A WEB OF EMBARRASSING ASSOCIATIONS”
Stephen Jennings, 41, is certainly a memorable pullover for the Guthrie, Oklahoma police. The officer spotted an expired tag and what he found was . . . well . . . unique.
Continue reading “Police Arrest Oklahoma Man With Radioactive Material, Rattlesnake, and A Bottle of Kentucky Whiskey In Stolen Car”
There is a bizarre case in English Bar Beach in Vancouver, British Columbia where the wife of a Chinese multimillionaire is suing the government over a $200,000 tax bill for leaving her $20.4 million mansion empty. There were a couple of notable facts in the story that attracted my attention. First, this is a uniquely stupid law that fines you for not living in your own home. Second, this home is owned by He Yiju and her husband Zheng Jianjiang, a top politician in China’s National People’s Congress. That’s right. This is a humble dwelling of a dedicated Communist public official.
Continue reading “Chinese Billionaire Fined $200,000 For Not Living In $20 Million Mansion”
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday dismissed the emoluments cases filed by Maryland and the District of Columbia against President Donald Trump. I have long been critical of the filings as advancing largely undefined and unwieldy interpretations of emoluments. The Fourth Circuit made fast work of the filings and reversed the lower court for embracing attenuated and unsupported theories of standing. Other judges correctly dismissed these claims in the past. Continue reading “Fourth Circuit Dismisses Emoluments Cases Against Trump”
The growing tension between Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has suddenly exploded into open warfare over race. Ocasio-Cortez has accused Pelosi of attacking her because of her race. Race has been regularly raised by Democrats against President Donald Trump and the Republicans, including Pelosi’s recent attack that Trump wants to “make American white again.” I considered that attack to be inciteful and reckless and beneath the office of the Speaker. Now she is the subject of the same type of attack. I have often been critical of Pelosi but I do not consider her to be a racist. Yet, this is an example of how it is difficult to confine race-based attacks once you use them for political ends.
Continue reading “Ocasio-Cortez Accuses Pelosi Of “Persistent Singling Out . . . Women of Color””
(Dixon PD)
Jennifer A. Janus Yeager, 49, may have the distinction of the most reckless driving incident in recent memory. She was pulled over in her Audi Q5 at Dixon, Illinois with an inflatable pool having two children inside. When asked to explain herself, Yeager said that the two children were helping hold the pool to the top of the car.
Democrats have hit hard on the narrative that President Donald Trump is taking children from parents and holding people in cages. That narrative has largely gone unchallenged in the media despite that fact that the Obama Administration had the same facilities and also separated families. Now, the Democrats on the House Oversight Committee had the ultimate tweet disaster by posting pictures of the objectionable conditions. The pictures turned out to be from the Obama Administration. They deleted the first picture after people noted the problem, but then reportedly posted an additional Obama-era picture.
While the headlines have been occupied with the Epstein matter and the other news, there is something curious happening in federal court with Michael T. Flynn, the former national security adviser. Flynn was just listed as an unindicted co-conspirator by the Justice Department. That itself is odd since Flynn is a cooperating witness facing sentencing before a fairly hostile federal judge. Nevertheless, Flynn now says that the government was trying to get him to give false evidence in the the trial of a former business partner, Bijan Kian, who is accused of violating foreign lobbying disclosure laws. The move by Flynn (following his replacement of counsel) could indicate an “all in” position for a pardon.
Continue reading “Flynn Takes Sudden Turn Against Government In Pending Case”
When an Ambassador calls you “inept,” “insecure,” and “incompetent,” one would think that you would take efforts to respond in a way that showed you are professional, controlled, and dispassionate. Yet, after the secret communications of Britain’s ambassador to the US, Kim Darroch, were leaked, Trump went on the attack and declared that Darroch is a “a very stupid guy” and a “pompous fool.” Moreover, he declared that, because he insulted Trump, no one in the Administration would deal with the representative of one of our oldest and closest allies. It is important to note that Darroch is not only widely respected throughout the world as a diplomat but never intended for these comments to be made public. He was sharing his unvarnished views with his government — something that all ambassadors are expected to do. Update: Darroch has now resigned.