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Author: William A. Jacobson

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William A. Jacobson

William A. Jacobson is a Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Securities Law Clinic at Cornell Law School.

He is a 1981 graduate of Hamilton College and a 1984 graduate of Harvard Law School. At Harvard he was Senior Editor of the Harvard International Law Journal and Director of Litigation for the Harvard Prison Legal Assistance Project.

Prior to joining the Cornell law faculty in 2007, Professor Jacobson had a highly successful civil litigation and arbitration practice in Providence, Rhode Island, concentrating in investment, employment, and business disputes in the securities industry, including many high profile cases reported in leading newspapers and magazines.

Professor Jacobson has argued cases in numerous federal and state courts, including the Courts of Appeal for the First, Fifth and Sixth Circuits, and the Rhode Island Supreme Court.

Professor Jacobson has a national reputation as a leading practitioner in securities arbitration. He was Treasurer, and is a former member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association, a professional organization of attorneys dedicated to protecting public investors. He frequently is quoted in national media on issues related to investment fraud and investor protection, and in the past has served as one of a small number of private practice attorneys who trained new arbitrators for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

Professor Jacobson is co-author of the Securities Arbitration Desk Reference (Thomson-Reuters), updated annually.

Professor Jacobson is frequently quoted in the media on political and legal topics, has authored many Op-Eds in major publications, and appears on television and radio to discuss politics and the law.

A more complete listing of Professor Jacobson's professional background is available at the Cornell Law School website. The views expressed here are his own and not those of any employer or organization,

The best way to reach Prof. Jacobson is by e-mail here.

The most sought after facial recognition in memory. The real woman behind this sadly-iconic photo from healthcare.gov was a mystery for weeks:  Healthcare.gov Girl Now she has been located by ABC News. She's a Colombian with permanent resident status who didn't get paid for the photo shoot. She complains that she is being bullied by the publicity:

Booking fictitious sales, or sales that are contingent, falls within a common definition of accounting fraud. In yet another example of how poorly things are going, the Obama administration will count as enrollees people who have completed the application process, but not yet paid, via WaPo:
The fight over how to define the new health law’s success is coming down to one question: Who counts as an Obamacare enrollee? Health insurance plans only count subscribers as enrolled in a health plan once they’ve submited [sic] a payment. That is when the carrier sends out a member card and begins paying doctor bills. When the Obama administration releases health law enrollment figures later this week, though, it will use a more expansive definition. It will count people who have purchased a plan as well as  those who have a plan sitting in their online shopping cart but have not yet paid. “In the data that will be released this week, ‘enrollment’ will measure people who have filled out an application and selected a qualified health plan in the marketplace,” said an administration official, who requested anonymity to frankly describe the methodology.
Does this mean I have to pay for all the stuff in my "cart"? To top it off, James O'Keefe mounted an undercover operation which caught a "navigator" trainee suggesting a fraudulent application be submitted:

Lori Gottlieb, a writer at The Atlantic found out that she can't keep her plan even though she liked it, and the new one will cost $5400 more. Writing in The NY Times, she explained that her friends insisted her sacrifice was small compared to easing the suffering of millions helped by Obamacare, Daring to Complain About Obamacare:
THE Anthem Blue Cross representative who answered my call told me that there was a silver lining in the cancellation of my individual P.P.O. policy and the $5,400 annual increase that I would have to pay for the Affordable Care Act-compliant option: now if I have Stage 4 cancer or need a sex-change operation, I’d be covered regardless of pre-existing conditions. Never mind that the new provider network would eliminate coverage for my and my son’s long-term doctors and hospitals. The Anthem rep cheerily explained that despite the company’s — I paraphrase — draconian rates and limited network, my benefits, which also include maternity coverage (handy for a 46-year-old), would “be actually much richer.”

I, of course, would be actually much poorer. And it was this aspect of the bum deal that, to my surprise, turned out to be a very unpopular thing to gripe about.

We reported over the weekend that Two Gonzaga students alive but facing expulsion because ignored gun-free policy. The students just found out that they will not be suspended.  Via KREM.com, Gonzaga Univ. students allowed to stay following gun incident
Gonzaga University will not expel two students for using a gun to defend themselves in an off-campus and Gonzaga owned apartment. They will be placed on probation for the rest of their time at the university. Students Erik Fagan and Dan McIntosh were originally threatened with expulsion after they flashed a gun at a man with outstanding felony warrants who came to their door asking for money. That man was later arrested. Fagan and McIntosh were told by campus security that they violated school policy by having a firearm on Gonzaga University property. Gonzaga said the building is part of university property even though it is off campus. The Gonzaga President sent an open email to students on Saturday acknowledging calls to reevaluate the school’s rules on guns.

The Ithaca Journal has an investigative article on the rollout of Common Core in the upstate Southern Tier region of New York State, Common Core fix for schools has broken parts. The article is in depth and frank in the assessments from school administrators and teachers. Here's the summary at the beginning,
The newest fix to public education known as Common Core is arriving with incomplete plans in schools and at a rapid pace that leaves some students behind. While the controversial educational standards have been blessed by hundreds of educators and adopted by 45 states, including New York, cracks are opening in the Common Core foundation that are raising concerns for teachers, parents and school administrators. “The reality is implementation at the state level is just a disaster,” said Tom Phillips, of Hector, and Watkins Glen school district superintendent. While Phillips said he agrees public education needs reform, his major beef with Common Core is the complex program is being rolled out too quickly.
The problems ranged from the one-size fits all curriculum, to chasing the funding money. In a situation eerily similar to subsidies for state health care exchanges that may dry up, there are concerns about Common Core funding drying up:

Time Magazine recently ran a cover with a silhouette of Chris Christie with the headline, The Elephant in the Room. It was, of course, a play on Christie's weight without coming right out and saying it. There's also an elephant in Elizabeth Warren's room, but you can't weigh...

From commenter Henry Hawkins: Attached are photos of bumper stickers seen Tuesday, 11/05/13 on a van in Nashville, NC. Keep up the very fine work! ...

Just a collection of links, for now. Carl at Israel Matzav has gathered the explanation as to what went wrong in Obama's Iran deal strategy. Here's one of the tweets in a series of 9, go to the link for the rest: https://twitter.com/Doranimated/statuses/399501983528124417 Netanyahu was on TV this morning, explaining his point of view: There's a Buzzfeed v. Max Blumenthal war brewing. Stacy McCain has details. It all relates to this Buzzfeed post about Blumenthal's anti-Israel book (details in our prior post). I'm taking sides:

Thanks to reader Michael for the heads up about this story. Gonzaga Students Face Possible Expulsion After Pulling Gun On Home Intruder:
Two Gonzaga students are facing possible expulsion from the University after they pulled a weapon in self defense as a six time felon attempted to get into their on campus apartment. According to the student handbook, students may not possess handguns on campus or university owned property. On Friday a university discipline board decided to move forward with sanctions, including possible expulsion, for using the weapons. The students will learn in the near future about their future with the school. It all happened late in the night on October 24th when roommates Erik Fagan and Dan McIntosh were hanging out in their university owned apartment. At 10:15 Fagan answered the door and was greeted by John Taylor. Taylor is a felon with an extensive criminal history and when he arrived Fagan said Taylor showed him what appeared to be an ankle bracelet as he tried to intimidate him. Fagan said Taylor then demanded money and was frustrated when he was turned down.

NGO Monitor keeps watch on anti-Israeli non-governmental organizations, and provides valuable research contesting many of the outlandish claims made by these mostly left-wing groups financed by European governments. The NGOs, some of which are staffed by Israeli leftists, subject Israel to a microscope no society could...

With a fevered and frantic breathless pace, Obama via John Kerry has been pushing to sign a sell-out deal with Iran that would ease sanctions without shutting down Iran's nuke program. Benjamin Netanyahu was furious when he found out that Kerry had misrepresented what the proposed agreement would be, not to mention Kerry running at the mouth to bash Israel on the talks with the Palestinians. Netanyahu was not alone.  France was uncomfortable with the deal Kerry wanted to sign, even as Kerry huddled with the Iranians trying to get 'er done. Thank you France for at least buying us some time to prevent the historic sell out of Israel that was in the offing as recently as early today. Via NY Times, Talks with Iran Fail to Produce a Nuclear Pact:
In the end, though, it was not only divisions between Iran and the major powers that prevented a deal, but fissures within the negotiating group. Earlier in the day, France objected strenuously that a proposed deal would do too little to curb Iran’s uranium enrichment or to stop the development of a nuclear reactor capable of producing plutonium.

“The Geneva meeting allowed us to advance, but we were not able to conclude because there are still some questions to be addressed,” the French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, told reporters.

The Times of Israel reports:

We have written many times before about the "white privilege" industry, a collection of self-perpetuating activists and academics who, not being able to demonstrate racism to justify their salaries and conferences, invent it. The lack of ability to prove racism becomes the best proof of racism.  It's everywhere, unspoken, unseen, lurking behind everything and every person with white skin (whatever that is). It is .... White Privilege. White privilege is adopted wholesale as Salon.com and elsewhere in the left blogosphere as well because it can't be disproven.  It is a prime example of Kafkatrapping -- the denial is the proof. Particularly when combined with maleness and Christianity, white privilege becomes the Swiss Army Knife of race cards. Or maybe the Energizer Bunny is a better reference, because it just keeps going, and going, and going. It's easy to laugh, except when you consider how deeply these theories have has permeated into society. So much so that the Pentagon is preaching the evils of "white privilege" and a male club, as part of its training materials for Equal Opportunity officers. Pentagon training manual: white males have unfair advantages:
A controversial 600-plus page manual used by the military to train its Equal Opportunity officers teaches that "healthy, white, heterosexual, Christian" men hold an unfair advantage over other races, and warns in great detail about a so-called "White Male Club." “Simply put, a healthy, white, heterosexual, Christian male receives many unearned advantages of social privilege, whereas a black, homosexual, atheist female in poor health receives many unearned disadvantages of social privilege,” reads a statement in the manual created by the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI). The manual, which was obtained by Fox News, also instructs troops to “support the leadership of people of color. Do this consistently, but not uncritically,” the manual states.

What do you call 8-9 million people losing health care coverage they like in a nation of 300 million? A rounding error? Actually, probably more like 15 million at the low end, several tens of millions at the high end. But I'm not going to quibble over a few million people here or there. You know who else didn't quibble over a few million people here or there? Via MaggotAtBroadAndWall in the Tip Line
The first minute of his clip needs to be embedded on every blog, facebook page, etc. to ensure that everyone knows with unequivocal certainty that Obama deliberately and repeatedly lied to facilitate passing Obamacare under fraudulent conditions. Everybody in his administration was complicit in the fraud. As was much of academia.
Transcript via John Nolte who also has a longer video clip:

From Kurt Schlichter, "thanks, suckers": Young Obama Supporters Get Straight Talk from Conservative California Lawyer Tin Soldiers coming: Kent State Says “Aloha” to $17,000 for Hawaiian Sex Week Hey Tin Soldiers, don't lean forward: Gay Sex Pundit’s $24K Lecture on Fisting and Fetishes [Pro tip: The two links above are what...

I have been telling you for at least a year that Elizabeth Warren will be a serious challenger to Hillary, if she wants it. You have to realize that Democrats in general, and particularly the liberal base, don't give a hoot about Warren's rip-off of Cherokee...

Hi Professor, These photos might not seem extraordinary except I took them in Malibu. I spoke with the owner -- lovely woman immigrant from Eastern Europe communism. She laments the insanity of Americans who vote to make the US like the hell hole from which she escaped. Best, Bruno...

We are on the cusp of the most historic sell-out of Israel by any United States administration. We told you all along that in his second term Obama would impose a settlement on Israel according to what he viewed as reasonable: Obama will force his vision of a...