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Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 23, 2013 35 Comments
These are good days for George Zimmerman. He's selling art for big bucks, he got his guns back, and ..., um, well, he's back with Samantha Sheibe. Becca Lower brings us all this news which may portend more blog posts here in the future. From the L.A. Times:
How much is a painting created by George Zimmerman worth? For one EBay bidder, $100,099.99 was just the right price. The user’s prize: A signed 18-inch-by-24-inch oil painting of a blue American flag featuring a part of the Pledge of Allegiance, which had a starting bid of $0.99. The identity of the buyer is unknown, but according to the listing, the winning auction bid was one of 96 by 24 users when bidding closed at 9:55 a.m. Saturday. Using the EBay account “therealgeorgez,” Zimmerman, 30, put his artwork up for auction early this week. "Everyone has been asking what I have been doing with myself," the listing reads. "I found a creative way to express myself, my emotions and the symbols that represent my experiences. My art work allows me to reflect, providing a therapeutic outlet and allows me to remain indoors :-)"
Becca also points to this news at Bob Owen's Bearing Arms blog (via ABC)(emphasis added):

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Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 22, 2013 25 Comments

The universities and colleges below are confirmed to reject the academic boycott of Israel passed by the American Studies Association. This list is based on positions expressed by the Presidents of such Universities or others in a position to state a university's position (e.g., communications staff). We are...

Posted by Mandy Nagy on December 22, 2013 24 Comments
It's been reported often that enrolling enough young healthy people in Obamacare will be a critical part of the program in order to offset the costs of insuring the rest of enrolled Americans.  And we've seen in recent weeks that the administration (and advocacy groups) are certainly targeting the "young invincibles" crowd. Overall numbers of signups have been improving, but the numbers still have fallen far short of original targets.  And that's had some asking what the backup plan might be if enough young healthy people don't enroll. Byron York at the Washington Examiner reports:
Now, it's becoming apparent why Obamacare advocates are putting on such a confident face: They have no backup plan if their national health care scheme fails.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 22, 2013 98 Comments

I've been learning more, over the past few days, about Duck Dynasty. This narrative makes a lot of sense: Duck Dynasty is not the show that they wanted, it is the show that got away from them. It seems what the producers intended and what A&E envisioned with...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 22, 2013 9 Comments
Note: This post originally was to list just a few statements from university Presidents, but as it has expanded it now will be the repository to gather the statements as a source for others. The title -- but not the url -- has been changed as has some of the text. Check our other post for the complete list: List of Universities rejecting academic boycott of Israel The list of Universities condemning the academic boycott of Israel passed by the American Studies Association and two smaller academic groups is growing.  New announcements are being made daily, although I expect a lull in new announcements as most universities are closed until after New Year's Day. Here are some of the announcements and email statements: Indiana University (additional statement below)
.... As you may know, President McRobbie has publicly voiced his opposition to any boycott of Israeli institutions. The AAU and the AAUP have both voted to oppose any such boycotts and we fully support both actions. We are investigating the nature of the IUs institutional membership in the ASA and will continue to monitor this situation closely.... Kelly A. Kish, Ph.D. Deputy Chief of Staff Office of the President Indiana University
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University is deeply troubled and dismayed that the American Studies Association (ASA) , among others, has engaged in a boycott of Israeli academic institutions We believe strongly that a boycott of academic institutions directly violates academic freedom, which is not only one of our university’s fundamental principles but one of American higher education in general. This boycott clearly violates the academic freedom not only of Israeli scholars but also of American scholars who might be pressured to comply with it. We have made this position clear to the ASA.... Washington University is a member of the Association of American Universities which issued a statement today. I completely endorse their statement.... Mark S. Wrighton, Ph.D. Chancellor and Professor of Chemistry

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Posted by Mandy Nagy on December 22, 2013 5 Comments
This story has started making the rounds the last day or two, and I thought it would make a nice feel-good story to share with LI readers.  Be sure to watch the video after the jump for the full story. A little girl's Christmas wish will be answered after a red balloon carrying her letter to Santa floated its way through the sky to a good samaritan with an interesting connection to the girl's first name. From FOX 5 San Diego:
A kindergarten class sent Santa their Christmas wish lists, but one letter didn’t make it to the North Pole. Instead, a man working in downtown San Diego stumbled upon it as it literally fell out of the sky. Terry Hardin was on his way home Tuesday when he spotted a red balloon with a half-torn letter attached slowly descending towards him. Hardin had no clue where the balloon came from, but after reading the note attached to it, he knew he had to find out. “It was from some young lady, a 5-year-old named Joie,” Hardin said. The note read: “Dear Santa, I would like to have a mermaid doll with a bow for Christmas. Thank you, Love Joie.” Hardin turned to Facebook and with a little help, he was able to track the little girl to Mrs. Garay’s kindergarten class at St. Rose of Lima School in Chula Vista.

Posted by Mandy Nagy on December 22, 2013 6 Comments
Claire Davis, the Arapahoe High School senior who was shot by a classmate on December 13th in Colorado, died Saturday afternoon. From NBC News:
The 17-year-old senior who was in a coma after being shot point-blank at a Colorado high school last week died Saturday with her family at her side, hospital officials said. Claire Esther Davis, a senior at Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colo., was critically injured when student gunman Karl Halverson Pierson, 18, entered the school building on Dec. 13 armed with a shotgun and multiple rounds of ammunition. In a statement posted on the Littleton Adventist Hospital's Facebook page, officials said Claire's injuries "were too severe and the most advanced medical treatments could not prevent this tragic loss of life." The teen passed away at 4:29 p.m. local time (6:29 p.m. ET).

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 21, 2013 47 Comments
Yesterday was the worst Twitter day of all time. Or at least the worst that I remember. Some lady no one had ever heard of and who had about 100 followers at the time sent the Tweet above. The tweet went viral.  Some guy at Gawker is claiming credit for finding it, although a lot of people credit the big viral boost to someone at Buzzfeed who has over 100,000 followers: https://twitter.com/BuzzFeedAndrew/status/414103011464454145 https://twitter.com/danielwein/status/414103716892250112 https://twitter.com/BFriedmanDC/status/414420362042941440 Whoever started it, plenty of websites picked up on it and ran with it to feed the mob and not miss out on clicks and eyeballs. By the time I saw it, long after she became a hunted woman, my first impression was similar to that of John Nolte at Breitbart.com: Looks like the type of "white privilege" claptrap we read almost weekly at Salon.com or Slate.com.  Some liberal white person coming to grips with her privilege and wanting the whole world to know about it.

Posted by Mandy Nagy on December 21, 2013 20 Comments
Authorities announced today that four men have been arrested and charged in connection with a carjacking outside an upscale NJ mall last Sunday that left one victim dead. From the Star Ledger / NJ.com:
Nearly a week after 30-year-old Hoboken lawyer Dustin Friedland was gunned down in a deadly carjacking while returning to his vehicle in an upper level parking deck of the Mall at Short Hills, police this morning arrested four men on charges of murder. The four, were identified as Karif Ford, 31, Basim Henry, 32, Kevin Roberts, 35, all of Newark, and Hanif Thompson, 29, of Irvington. All were being held at the Essex County Correctional Facility on $2 million bail each. Thompson was taken into custody at his home in Irvington. Ford and Roberts were arrested in Newark. Henry was arrested, by an FBI task force, at a hotel in Easton, Pa., said Anthony Ambrose, chief of detectives for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. He said the arrests began around 9 p.m. Friday and concluded at about 3 a.m. today.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 21, 2013 10 Comments

Guilty until proven innocent, if they even let you prove your innocence: The Unfairness of Judicial Proceedings in Academia Where in America do we have quasi-judicial proceedings rivaling those of the English Star Chamber or Spanish Inquisition of the 16th century, in terms of lack of fairness...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 21, 2013 1 Comment

From frequent photographer Ulises: The sticker on top say “You can give peace a chance, we’ll cover you if it doesn’t work out”. For some reason this sticker does not come out really well in pictures, but here it goes. Now, the one on the bottom is...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 20, 2013 7 Comments

Just a word of thanks to Legal Insurrection readers. The pushback against the anti-Israel academic boycott is gaining momentum. An increasing number of universities and University Presidents are stating their positions against the boycott. Not a single university or major academic group has come out for...

Posted by Mandy Nagy on December 20, 2013 7 Comments
The remains of a missing POW returned home this week after more than 60 years, and a widow who never remarried will finally be able to say goodbye to her husband. From the LA Times:
Army Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Gantt told his wife to remarry if he didn’t come back from the war. She told him no. He had a hard enough time getting her to say yes. He was it. For 63 years, the World War II and Korean War veteran was missing in action and presumed dead, but Clara Gantt, 94, held out hope and never remarried. On a cold, dark Friday morning on the Los Angeles International Airport tarmac, the widow stood from her wheelchair and cried as her husband’s flag-draped casket arrived home. “I am very, very proud of him. He was a wonderful husband, an understanding man,” she told TV reporters at the airport. “I always did love my husband, we was two of one kind, we loved each other. And that made our marriage complete.” Joseph Gantt joined the Army in 1942 and served in the South Pacific during WWII. He met his wife on a train from Texas to Los Angeles in 1946 and they married two years later. They had no children.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 20, 2013 14 Comments
I previously sent an email to President of Princeton regarding academic boycott of Israel and specifically inquired as to whether Princeton would drop its Institutional Membership in the American Studies Association so long as ASA imposes an academic boycott on Israeli academic institutions and scholars.  Both Penn State Harrisburg and Brandeis have dropped their Institutional Memberships.  The Association of American Universities has come out with a strongly worded denunciation of the academic boycott oof Israel. I just received the following statement from Princeton's press spokesman on behalf of President Christopher L. Eisgruber:
Thanks for your email to President Eisgruber about the American Studies Association’s boycott of Israel. In correspondence with Princeton alumni who have asked about the boycott, President Eisgruber has said,
I share your dismay at the American Studies Association's misguided boycott. Academic boycotts are almost always bad policy--scholarly engagement helps to sustain and build liberal democratic values. For that reason, among others, I believe that Princeton should continue to work constructively with scholars and institutions throughout the world, whether one admires or dislikes the government under which they operate. And, whatever one thinks of boycotts in general, to single out Israel alone is indefensible.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 20, 2013 2 Comments
Willamette University joins an increasing number of universities rejecting the anti-Israel academic boycott, but in a twist, denies having any knowledge as to why ASA lists it as an Institutional Member. The ASA considers Institutional Memberships to be important indicators of university support which is why it highlights the list:
Institutional members help to insure the continuity, development, and enhanced usefulness of a dynamic, professional, scholarly organization dedicated to broadening and intensifying the study of American life and civilization. They help to promote interdisciplinary activity and programs, working toward the lowering of rigid barriers of approach and technique, and the cooperation of scholars in various disciplines in a vital, international field of study. Institutional members also help to stimulate intellectual and professional activity among their own faculty. We depend on institutional dues to carry on many of our current activities and to develop new programs and services.
Willamette University is listed as one of the Insitutional Members of ASA in the ASA Quartely and Annual Meeting materials. Stephen Thorsett, President of Willamette University, communicating with a Legal Insurrection reader, rejected the boycott and indicated that Willamette was unaware of its Institutional Membership.  Here is the exchange, in part (emphasis added):
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