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August 2017

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on August 25, 2017 11 Comments
On today's Morning Joe, after accusing President Trump of "impairment," Howard Dean said that "people keep talking about" the 25th Amendment as a means to remove the president from office. But Dean immediately poured cold water on the notion, saying "I personally think that's probably hooey." Law professor Jonathan Turley agreed with Dean: "Yes, indeed, that falls under the constitutional doctrine of hooey." Turley went on to describe the complicated procedures under the 25th Amendment, which would ultimately require a two-thirds majority in both houses of congress. Concluded Turley: "the 25th Amendment is not a really good option."

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 25, 2017 22 Comments
Amazon passed two major hurdles on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and Whole Foods' shareholders cleared the way for the internet giant to acquire the grocery chain. With that out of the away, Amazon is going all in and has already announced it plans on slashing Whole Foods prices as early as Monday.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 25, 2017 34 Comments
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., in discussing the limits of free speech, wrote in Schenck v. U.S. (1919):
"The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic."
A lot of people mess up the quote, saying that "you can't yell fire in a crowded theater." Actually you can yell fire in a crowded theater, if there really is a fire.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 24, 2017 18 Comments
I've been covering the manipulative "hate" lists put out by the Southern Poverty Law Center for almost eight years, long before it was fashionable to do so. I took an interest in it because as a past contributor to SPLC, I was deeply offended by the use of these lists to target political opponents who posed no threat of violence. SPLC's tactics are the exact opposite of what I was taught, that the best anecdote to offensive speech is more speech, not less.

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 24, 2017 23 Comments
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) spoke to CNBC today about financial situations that Congress will face once lawmakers return from their recess. In the interview, Ryan expressed the same views on the debt ceiling as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY):
 the Wisconsin Republican told CNBC from a Boeing factory in Washington state, where he was promoting tax reform.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 24, 2017 29 Comments
The dramatic resignation of the Obama-era holdovers from President Trump's administration continue, as a UC Berkeley professor who was the science envoy for the State Department officially gave his notice.
A prominent UC Berkeley energy professor resigned his post with the U.S. State Department on Wednesday in response to President Donald Trump’s “attacks on the core values” of the country. “Your actions to date have, sadly, harmed the quality of life in the United States, our standing abroad, and the sustainability of the planet,” wrote Professor Daniel Kammen in his resignation letter to Trump on Wednesday.

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 24, 2017 22 Comments
Officers in Laguna Beach have arrested Richard Lousy who allegedly sucker punched a black Trump supporter at a rally on Sunday. R.C. Maxwell told FOX 11 the attack was unprovoked:
"If the optics were completely different and I was a black lives matter supporter and I was attacked on the Trump side of a protest I would be in the spotlight on CNN right now," Maxwell said. "I went over to the left side to see if I could engage them with dialogue and I was instantly encircled by the so called anti fascists."

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 24, 2017 17 Comments
CBS News obtained medical records from U.S. diplomats in Cuba that show doctors diagnosed them with brain injuries from possible sonic attacks while in Havana. From CBS News:
The diplomats complained about symptoms ranging from hearing loss and nausea to headaches and balance disorders after the State Department said "incidents" began affecting them beginning in late 2016. A source familiar with these incidents says officials are investigating whether the diplomats were targets of a type of sonic attack directed at their homes, which were provided by the Cuban government. The source says reports of more attacks affecting U.S. embassy workers on the island continue.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on August 24, 2017 18 Comments
Following last week's terrorist attacks in Europe, Poland has reiterated its position not to take anymore Muslim migrants into the country. “We are convinced, looking at the recent attacks that where a large number of poorly integrated Muslims live, it is [also] a natural base for terrorism,” said Pawel Soloch, the head of Poland’s National Security Bureau (BBN).

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 24, 2017 55 Comments
A federal judge has once again struck down the Texas voter ID law, stating that the changes the lawmakers made over the summer did not eliminate the discriminatory language. From The Hill:
U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos ruled that the law was enacted with the deliberate intent to discriminate against black and Hispanic voters. Ramos said that it violates the Voting Rights Act and the 14th and 15th Amendments of the Constitution.

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on August 24, 2017 38 Comments
The liberal media's contempt for people who support President Trump was on display on CNN this morning. After a clip was aired of a panel discussion Alisyn Camerota conducted with six Trump supporters, Chris Cuomo disparaged them:
"You have a fundamental problem with this group of people, with the difference between fact and feeling. What they feel is true versus what is actually true . . . they absorb what [Trump] says, even though they clearly don't fully comprehend it."
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