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Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 11, 2014 3 Comments
The Modern Language Association House Delegates voted on two anti-Israel Resolutions today. (The Resolutions are at the bottom of this post.) The main resolution, asking for the State Department to contest Israeli denials of entry visas to traveling academics: "Be it resolved that the MLA urges the US Dept of State to contest Israel's denials of entry to the West Bank by US academics...." The language was amended at the last minute to take out the word "arbitrarily" and to delete reference to Gaza. A House of Delegates vote is NOT a binding resolution that commits the organization to action. A resolution, if it passes the House of Delegates, then goes to the Executive Committee, which can reject the resolution for a variety of reasons, including that the resolution would jeopardize tax-exempt status). I would be surprised if the Executive Committee rejected it, since the operative language is so weak. We will have a post later from someone who was in the room. For now, I will post some of the Tweets from those in the room. Notice that there was significant pushback, and that the supporters of the resolution basically said take our word for it, when challenged as to the proof. That apparently was enough. The actual operative language of the resolution is not particularly damaging, and was watered down. But the "wherefore" clauses were highly anti-Israel and pretty-much propaganda. Those "wherefore" clauses will be the main victory for the anti-Israel group. The second resolution was an "Emergency" Resolution asking the MLA to denounce supposed attacks on the supporters of the American Studies Association boycott resolution. That Emergency Motion, which actually was explicitly pro-boycott, was rejected. 

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Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 11, 2014 18 Comments
Melissa Harris-Perry of MSNBC presided over an appalling segment in which panelists mocked Mitt Romney's family because of his adopted black grandchild.  She later apologized profusely. Yet for unknown reasons, Ta-Nehisi Coates in The Atlantic rushed to Perry's defense not by defending her conduct, but by attacking her critics as racist.
The Smartest Nerd in the Room: Why Melissa Harris-Perry is America's foremost public intellectual, and what she means On Saturday, Melissa Harris-Perry apologized on air for segment that made light of the Romney clan's adoption of a young black boy. On Sunday, Mitt Romney accepted Harris-Perry's "heartfelt" apology, noting, "I've made plenty of mistakes myself." I've watched the offending segment several times now. I can see how a white parent who'd adopted a black child (or vice versa) would find the segment flip and offensive. It would not have surprised me if those concerned about adoption, equality, and racism voiced some protest about the segment. Instead what we got was week of invective driven mostly by a conservative movement with less lofty concerns.

Posted by Andrew Branca on January 11, 2014 13 Comments

Based on reporting from the Florida Times-Union, it appears that Circuit Court Judge James Daniel has determined that it was the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office that is responsible for this past week's kerfuffle over the  relaxed enforcement of Marissa Alexander's home detention. In a column updated today journalist...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 11, 2014 10 Comments
Ariel Sharon has died, after almost 8 years in a coma. He led a life that was complicated, and defined by the insatiable Arab desire to destroy Israel. [caption id="attachment_75543" align="alignnone" width="539"](1953 - Commando Unit 101 - Ariel Sharon Second from Left, Second Row)(source: (1953 - Commando Unit 101 - Ariel Sharon Second from Left, Second Row)(source: YouTube [/caption] Sharon, among many others, didn't let it happen, and in the course of defending Israel made some errors of judgment that are easy for historians and politicians to criticize with the benefit of hindsight. Sharon's crossing of the Suez canal during the 1973 War to trap the Egyptian Third Army is legendary. [caption id="attachment_74807" align="alignnone" width="448"]Ariel Sharon Moshe Dayan 1973 Sinai (Ariel Sharon and Moshe Dayan, Sinai 1973)[/caption]

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Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 10, 2014 14 Comments
We previously wrote in detail about the "John Doe" investigation in Wisconsin targeting a wide range of conservative groups and Scott Walker supporters relating to the failed Democratic attempt to recall Walker.[*]  See Secret probe of conservatives makes Wisconsin ground zero in First Amendment war for the details. Good news.  The subpoenas issued in the secret probe have been quashed in a secret court ruling uncovered by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Secret ruling deals major setback to John Doe probe into recall elections:
Prosecutors in the John Doe investigation into spending and fundraising during the raucous Wisconsin recall elections were dealt a major procedural blow Friday, according to sources. The five-county investigation remains open, but subpoenas issued in the probe to conservative political groups supporting Gov. Scott Walker were quashed, sources familiar with the development said. The ruling — which is sealed — raises First Amendment concerns about the subpoenas. The Journal Sentinel has not turned up any Democratic candidates or liberal interest groups involved in the recall elections that have been contacted by John Doe prosecutors. "The John Doe is still open," said one individual familiar with the case. But other sources said Friday's ruling seriously undercuts the well-publicized probe, launched in the summer of 2012. Those familiar with the case said the decision was handed down by retired Appeals Court Judge Gregory A. Peterson, the presiding judge in the investigation who took over the case in November.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on January 10, 2014 9 Comments
College Insurrection posts are often inspired by a pithy synopsis of campus news by Professor Glenn Reynolds (aka Instapundit). So, with great joy, I wanted to share items from a new book featuring his wit, wisdom, and expertise on the subject of higher education, K-12 schooling, and possible technology-based transformations of how students learn that we may be seeing in the near future. One word for his newest publication, The New School: How the Information Age Will Save American Education from Itself: Compelling. I am the mother of a 6th grader who is currently attending public school. While my son's school is a good one, I find myself supplementing his education with trips to Kahn Academy (his math "coach" describes the program in a great article). A core theme in The New School is that online courses are one of the many new tools that will allow parents to customize an educational approach that makes sense for their children. In fact, he is an "early adapter" himself.
My daughter did most of her high school online, after spending one day in ninth grade keeping track of how the public high school she attended spent her time. At the end of eight hours in school, she concluded, she had spent about 2½ hours on actual learning. Switching to online school let her make sure that every hour counted. The flexibility also allowed her to work three days a week for a local TV-production company, where she got experience researching and writing for programs shown on the Biography Channel, A&E, etc., something she couldn’t have done had she been nailed down in a traditional school. And she still managed to graduate a year early, at age 16, to head off to a “public Ivy” to study engineering.
My boy will be doing an online course on robotics, which is a developing interest of his. He just informed me he wants to invent the "warp drive." This Halloween-time picture of us may explain why: Blake and Mom Star Trek In fact, this burgeoning industry in educational customization is counter to the 19th century approach that was the basis for today's American educational system, which was Prussian-inspired standardization during the Industrial Revolution.

Posted by A.F. Branco on January 10, 2014 10 Comments

Note: You may reprint this cartoon provided you link back to this source.  To see more Legal Insurrection Branco cartoons, click here. Branco’s page is Cartoonist A.F.Branco...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 10, 2014 8 Comments
I have obtained a copy of a letter circulating in Congress denouncing the academic boycott of Israel by the American Studies Association. The authors of the letter hope to have at least 50 co-signers (maybe more), split roughly evenly between Democrats and Republicans. Here is the text of the letter, with the initiating four Members of Congress inticated:
Mr. Curtis Marez President American Studies Association 1120 19th St NW, Suite 301 Washington, DC 20036 Dear Mr. Marez: We write in strong opposition to the American Studies Association’s (ASA) recent decision to boycott Israeli universities and academic institutions. While ASA has every right to express its views on policies pursued by any nation or government, we believe that the decision to blacklist Israeli academic institutions for Israeli government policies with which ASA disagrees demonstrates a blatant disregard for academic freedom. The ASA claims that the boycott “is in solidarity with scholars and students deprived of their academic freedom and it aspires to enlarge that freedom for all, including Palestinians.” We believe that this boycott accomplishes just the opposite. The university is an institution intended to foster, encourage, and inspire constructive dialogue and original thought. However, this boycott undermines academic freedom by prohibiting educational and cultural exchanges with Israeli universities and academic institutions.

Posted by Andrew Branca on January 10, 2014 10 Comments

Marissa Alexander will remain free on bail, ruled Circuit Judge James Daniel, albeit under tightens rules of release to account for the fact that "mistakes were made". The State, in the form of Andrea Corey's State Prosecutors office, had filed a motion this past Monday to...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 10, 2014 78 Comments

It's not about Christie, it's about how other Republican candidates will be treated by the media....

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 10, 2014 11 Comments
Media Meme to follow: These are great times to be a liberal in the U.S. of A.  Elizabeth Warren has ignited a progressive surge! The Hill: Liberal identification spikes. Gallup: Liberal Self-Identification Edges Up to New High in 2013 Well yes, if by spike and new high you mean exactly 1 point higher than in 2008, and 2 points higher than in 2010-2011. Here's Gallup's explanation:
Americans continue to be more likely to identify as conservatives (38%) than as liberals (23%). But the conservative advantage is down to 15 percentage points as liberal identification edged up to its highest level since Gallup began regularly measuring ideology in the current format in 1992.... When Gallup began asking about ideological identification in all its polls in 1992, an average 17% of Americans said they were liberal. That dipped to 16% in 1995 and 1996, but has gradually increased, exceeding 20% each year since 2005. The rise in liberal identification has been accompanied by a decline in moderate identification. At 34% in 2013, it is the lowest Gallup has measured, and down nine points since 1992. Moderates had been the largest ideological group throughout the 1990s, and competed with conservatives for the top spot during the 2000s. Since 2009, conservatives have consistently been the largest U.S. ideological group. The percentage of conservatives has always far exceeded the percentage of liberals, by as much as 22 points in 1996. With more Americans identifying as liberals in recent years, and conservative identification holding steady, the conservative advantage of 15 points ties the 2007 and 2008 gaps as the smallest.
The key finding, however, is not in the headline, but in the breakdown.  Only Democrats have become more liberal, the rest of the country, particularly amond Independents, is as conservative as ever (emphasis added):

Posted by Andrew Branca on January 09, 2014 13 Comments
Marissa Alexander will learn on Friday if her current bail and home detention will be allowed to continue, or if it will be revoked, sending her back to jail until her re-trial. Alexander is currently on bail following her earlier conviction for aggravated assault with a handgun and the resulting mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years under Florida's "10-20-Life" statute.  Her defense to the charges seems to be largely based on the notion that she "only fired a warning shot," a claim we've previously shown to be disingenuous here: The Myth of Marissa Alexander’s “Warning Shot” As I’ve previously commented, Alexander never struck me as a reasonable candidate for bail, given her previous conduct while on bail (e.g., committing battery against her husband, Rico Gray, while under an order of protection to remain away from him) resulting in that earlier bail being revoked. See my previous commentary on the subject of Alexander’s bail here: Marissa Alexander’s Bail Hearing in “Warning Shot” Case Delayed To Next Week Marissa Alexander Released on Bail Nevertheless, On November 27, 2013, Circuit Judge James Daniel elected to grant Alexander bail again, albeit while noting that “the prior judge appropriately revoked the Defendant’s bond” and that “it is not this court’s customary practice to allow continued pretrial release for defendants who commit a crime while they are out on bond awaiting trial.” As part of that bail arrangement, however, Judge Daniel imposed a number of stringent conditions, including the following:
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