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Liberals Tag

Posted by Jonathan Levin on March 16, 2016 26 Comments
Last week's protests and mini-riot that prompted Donald Trump to cancel a rally in Chicago were the latest example of a concerted effort to disrupt candidates' campaigns. As Trump edges closer to locking up the Republican nomination, such agitation will likely grow more frequent and more extreme. The questions, then, are what limits hecklers from interrupting campaign events, and does enforcing those limitations work.

Legal Restraints on Hecklers

Two preliminary matters, though. First, although there is some First Amendment protection for "speech" in the form of physical action, it is inapplicable for this conversation.  Storming the stage is not protected speech; it is likely assault.  If a protester crosses the line and lays hands on a candidate or somebody attending an event, that would be battery, at a minimum.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 05, 2016 31 Comments
As mentioned the other day with regard to a surge in "Move to Canada" Google Searches, there will be a collective freak out in certain places if Trump wins. The freak out has already started. The Washington Post reports Psychologists and massage therapists are reporting ‘Trump anxiety’ among clients
If there is an unofficial capital of psychotherapy, it’s New York’s Upper West Side, where it’s easier to find a therapist than a parking space. Judith Schweiger Levy, a psychologist in the neighborhood, has noticed a recent uptick in Trump references among her patients, including a middle-aged businesswoman who blurted out this week that her sister is supporting the billionaire.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 28, 2016 11 Comments
One question I frequently get is something along the lines of "How did college campuses get this way?" And by "this way" people refer to the leftist intolerance of opposing viewpoints, now expressed through the misnomered "social justice" movement and Social Justice Warriors. My response is pretty consistent, that we abandoned the campuses and what you are seeing now was one or two generations in the making. What you are seeing play out now in the intolerance at Vassar related to Israel -- and many other campuses such as Oberlin College -- is just a variation on a theme that has been growing for decades. A reader, who is a Vassar alum, send me an interesting historical anecdote. William F. Buckley, Jr.'s was invitated to be commencement speaker at Vassar in 1980.

Posted by Jonathan Levin on February 24, 2016 28 Comments

Fight Twitter management behavior, but don't leave the arena....

Posted by Jonathan Levin on February 22, 2016 43 Comments
On Saturday morning we posted a brief compilation of recent events suggesting Twitter might be targeting conservatives, Is Twitter Silencing Conservatives? The impetus Saturday was the suspension of Robert Stacy McCain's account (@rsmccain).  McCain blogs at TheOtherMcCain.com and last February published a book, Sex Trouble: Essays on Radical Feminism and the War Against Human Nature.  That followed de-verification of Milo Yiannopoulos's account (@Nero).  Like McCain, Yiannopoulos is a prominent critic of modern feminism and the Gordian Knot of accusations and recriminations known as "Gamergate."  Oversimplified, Gamergate involves issues about the poor treatment of women in the gaming community.

Posted by Jonathan Levin on February 20, 2016 51 Comments
Twitter, an invaluable news aggregator when properly run and used, has seemingly taken aim at conservatives and those advocating conservative causes. In early January, Twitter stripped Breitbart Tech editor Milo Yiannopoulos (@Nero on Twitter) of his "verification," saying he violated the anti-harassment Terms of Service. https://twitter.com/Nero/status/685601754654871552

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 20, 2016 45 Comments
The video below was released last night on Facebook by former Clinton Secretary of Labor and noted liberal Robert Reich. Reich's argument is that Cruz actually believes his conservatism. Reich is right on a big picture basis, even if he exaggerates or distorts a couple of Cruz's positions. Trump, by contrast, is someone Reich feels will make deals and has no ideological foundation so while he's a bully, there's actually less to fear. Basically, Reich is telling liberals to be afraid, very afraid of Ted Cruz. This Facebook comment reflects the general sentiment:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 17, 2016 4 Comments
I don't normally watch Stephen Colbert on the Late Show. Somehow, it turned up on my TV last night. I'm not even sure I could replicate the error. When I heard him turn to the topic of Antonin Scalia I thought, oh boy, here we go. But I was so pleasantly surprised. Colbert told of his one personal interaction with Scalia, and it was both funny and moving, as Salon.com reported:
“Whether or not you agreed with him–or made a lot of jokes about him, like I did–one thing you’ve got to admit is that he had a great sense of humor,” Colbert began. “People have actually broken down the transcripts of oral arguments, and he told more jokes and got more laughs than any of the other justices.” “I was lucky enough to have one conversation with Antonin Scalia that explained his appeal to me,” Colbert continued, describing his speech at the 2006 White House Correspondents Dinner. “Not many people laughed in the front row,” where the “important people” sit.

Posted by Jonathan Levin on February 16, 2016 28 Comments
Media discussion of Justice Scalia's death and its implications for the public unions case Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association overstates the impact and misses the larger issue. Before Justice Scalia died, it was very likely the Court would hold that it is unconstitutional for state law to require, or even simply allow, "agency shop" agreements compelling non-union members to nevertheless contribute to the union's collective bargaining and related expenses.  Now, the Court will probably affirm the Ninth Circuit's decision upholding agency shop agreements, but without setting precedent. That is obviously a better outcome for the Union, but how long will it last?  The New York Times says "a major threat to public unions has evaporated."  Reuters writes more temperately that "a 4-4 split is a likely outcome, which would hand a win to the unions as that would leave the lower court's ruling in their favor in place."

Posted by Jonathan Levin on February 12, 2016 43 Comments
"In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem."  That was Ronald Reagan in his first inaugural address, January 20, 1981, and in the years since it has become a rallying cry for small government conservatives. Last week Senator Mike Lee (R. Utah) struck the same notes in an op-ed in Forbes.  Lee writes:

Posted by Jonathan Levin on February 08, 2016 3 Comments
Bernie Sanders gave a glimpse at his potential foreign policy on Sunday, and his choices of BDS supporter James Zogby and left-wing J Street raise serious questions. Sanders, the Jewish Senator from Vermont, is infamous for his avowed socialism.  On foreign policy, he is more or less a blank slate, making his choice of foreign policy advisers a valuable window into his mindsight and the least-worst predictor of a President Sanders's policy. On Sunday, two of the three advisers Sanders chose to identify were vehemently anti-Israel.  Sanders told Meet The Press he met recently with Larry Korb, Jim Zogby and J Street.

Posted by Jonathan Levin on January 31, 2016 22 Comments
An eight-year Marine Corps veteran his wife have filed suit against their daughter’s high school principal, vice-principal, school district and board of education for violating her First Amendment rights by indoctrinating her in Islamic thought. The case filed in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland is captioned Wood v. Charles County Public Schools, et al. The Washington Free Beacon reports:
Their daughter and her fellow students were instructed to write out the Islamic creed “Shahada,” which says, “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.” When recited by non-Muslims, the creed amounts to conversion to Islam. Students were also required to memorize and recite the Five Pillars of Islam and were subjected to disparaging teachings about Christianity. “Most Muslims’ faith is stronger than the average Christian,” one worksheet read.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 27, 2016 20 Comments
Hillary has an honesty perception problem, and everyone knows it. That problem surfaced at the CNN Democratic Town Hall the other night, when a young man in the audience questioned Hillary about it: Hey, remember when speaking truth to power was a supposedly liberal ideal? Not in 2016 America. To Joan Walsh, well-known liberal writer and agitator formerly for Salon now for The Nation, the young man's question was pretty impertinent. Particularly since he's male and white. And young. (Admirably, Walsh does disclose that her own daughter works for Clinton.) In an ode to Hillary, Walsh writes, Why I’m Supporting Hillary Clinton, With Joy and Without Apologies (italics in original):

Posted by Jonathan Levin on January 13, 2016 8 Comments
The US State Department is criticizing Israel's proposed "Transparency Law," suggesting that Israelis should not know when foreign governments are influencing their domestic politics. If enacted, the current version of the Transparency Law would deem an Israeli Non-Governmental Organization ("NGO") a foreign agent if it receives more than 50% of its budget from foreign government sources.  The NGO would then be required to disclose that it is a foreign agent in publications and political tracts, and to disclose foreign donors. The impetus behind the Transparency Law is Israel's increasingly hostile NGO community, such NGO's propaganda value to Israel's enemies, and their overwhelmingly non-Israeli financing.  Gerald Steinberg of Bar Ilan University and NGO Monitor has explained the problem:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 11, 2016 21 Comments
Wow. Just Wow. This January 9, 2016 Letter to the Editor in The Boston Globe is just amazing, To the man I sat next to on the train: I am the gun owner you hate:
TO THE man I sat next to on my way in to Boston: When I boarded the commuter rail, you were already in the midst of a spirited phone conversation and didn’t seem to care about how loud you were talking. You were talking with someone about the Paris train attack and the growing epidemic of gun violence in America. You spoke about the “murderous NRA” and “bloodthirsty gun nuts” who were causing our schools to “run red with blood.” You spoke profanely of the Republicans who opposed President Obama’s call for “sensible gun control,” and you lamented the number of “inbred redneck politicians” who have “infiltrated Capitol Hill.” I found myself amazed at the irony of the situation. While you were spewing your venom, I sat quietly next to you with my National Rifle Association membership card in my wallet and my 9mm pistol in its holster. You were only 12 inches away from my legally owned semiautomatic pistol. I suppose I didn’t look like the “bloodthirsty gun nut” you thought I should be. It apparently didn’t register to you that I could so cleverly disguise myself by wearing a fleece coat, Patriots hat, and khakis.

Posted by Jonathan Levin on January 04, 2016 0 Comments
CAMERA - the Committee for Accuracy in Middle-East Reporting in America - has released its Top Ten MidEast Media Mangles for 2015. There are some doozies, from all the usual sources: The New York Times, BBC, Washington Post, MSNBC, AP, The Guardian and Ha'aretz.  There's also the perennial phenomenon of media silence regarding Palestinian incitement that is the bedrock of the Israeli/Arab conflict.  In a first, Elle made the list as well (apparently terrorist chic is in style). CAMERA's full exposition is here, but in brief the top ten are:

1. Ignoring, absolving and questioning the spate of Palestinian knife terror attacks.

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