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Posted by William A. Jacobson on September 05, 2014 14 Comments
Media coverage of Martha Robertson's fat shaming ads against Congressman Tom Reed in the swing NY-23 district continues to grow. The ads, which deliberately use old photos of Reed when he was very heavy, have received coverage from national outlets such as Buzzfeed and national Fox News. http://youtu.be/TgOfz99Ecus In addition, local WETN and Capital Tonight News, have covered the story. http://www.mytwintiers.com/story/d/story/republicans-claim-robertson-fat-shaming-reed-with/55514/gKeceoroN0aKL7Mek9eXJA#.U_UyYlwqEOA.twitter Now WENY is on the case:

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Posted by Mandy Nagy on September 04, 2014 23 Comments
The Georgia father whose 22-month old son died after being left in a hot car earlier this summer was indicted Thursday and charged with murder. A grand jury indicted Justin Ross Harris on eight counts including malice murder, felony murder, and cruelty to children in the first and second degree. In addition, the indictment included counts of criminal attempt to commit a felony and dissemination of harmful material to minors, in relation to allegations that Harris had been exchanging sexually explicit messages with an underage girl. Justin Ross Harris has maintained that he forgot to drop off his son Cooper at day care on the morning of June 18th, and that he had not realized his son was still in the car as it sat in the parking lot where he worked. Cooper died that day after sitting in the car for several hours in high temperatures while still strapped in his car seat. At a probable cause hearing in July, the prosecution by contrast painted a portrait of a father who intentionally left his son in the car because he wanted to live a “child-free life,” referencing various online searches and viewing activity. Among that activity was alleged evidence of Harris having viewed articles posted in a “childfree” sub-forum of the popular internet site Reddit. Also referenced were allegations that Harris watched a public service announcement video about hot car deaths, and that both Harris and his wife had researched hot car deaths online. Cobb County, Georgia police Detective Phil Stoddard also testified during the July hearing that Harris was allegedly sexting with other women – including one who was underage at the time – in the weeks before and on the day of Cooper’s death.

Posted by Amy Miller on September 04, 2014 16 Comments
Berkeley has gone full California with its latest decision requiring medical marijuana dispensaries to give away at least 2% of their product to low income patients making less than $32,000 a year. The ordinance passed last month, and barring any hurdles will go into effect in August 2015. Reactions have been predictably mixed:
Bishop Ron Allen, a former addict and head of the International Faith Based Coalition, told Fox News he doesn't understand why the California city would want to dump pot on the impoverished. “It's ludicrous, over-the-top madness,” Allen said. “Why would Berkeley City Council want to keep their poverty-stricken under-served high, in poverty and lethargic?” John Lovell, a lobbyist for the California Narcotic Officers' Association, agrees. “Instead of taking steps to help the most economically vulnerable residents get out of that state, the city has said, ‘Let's just get everybody high,'” Lovell told The New York Times. But others, like Mason Tvert, director of communications at the Marijuana Policy Project, say it's a community program. Tvert told Fox News that the decision to provide the drug to some of its low-income residents is up to the community. “So it's a matter of the democratic process, people following the state's laws, and this law appears to accommodate both of those,” he said.
California dispensaries are prohibited by law from turning a profit, and some proprietors have already embraced the new program in one way or another. California legalized medical marijuana 20 years ago, and some dispensaries made the choice years ago to willingly donate portions of their product.

Posted by Amy Miller on September 04, 2014 17 Comments
A federal jury has convicted former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell on eleven of fourteen counts of conspiracy, bribery, and extortion. The trial, which lasted more than a month and spurred 17 hours of jury deliberation, laid bare charges that Governor and First Lady McDonnell used their power and influence to promote the Anatabloc supplement company, owned by Jonnie Williams, in exchange for money and gifts including a shopping spree and a $6,000 Rolex watch.
Via the New York Times:
“This is a difficult, disappointing day for the Commonwealth,” said Dana J. Boente, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, whose office prosecuted the McDonnells, who are facing years in prison. “When public officials turn to financial gain for official actions we have little chance but to prosecute the case.” Asked whether Mr. McDonnell will appeal, his lawyer, Henry W. Asbill, said “Of course.” He said he was “shocked” by the verdict. The McDonnells were indicted on 14 counts of conspiracy, bribery, extortion and related charges stemming from what prosecutors said was a scheme to sell the office of governor, which Mr. McDonnell occupied through January this year, for $177,000 in gifts and cash from a dietary supplements executive.

Posted by David Gerstman on September 04, 2014 7 Comments
Steven Sotloff, the journalist whose beheading by the Islamic State was announced earlier this week, was not only Jewish, but an Israeli citizen. Apparently Sotloff became an Israeli citizen when he attended the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya. Given the ease with which one can gather information he understood the risks involved in reporting from a part of world where Jews aren't welcome. He told his "almost-friend" Oren Kessler, "Yeah, Google definitely isn’t my friend.” Kessler was quoted further in The Times of Israel:
London-based analyst Oren Kessler, who corresponded with Sotloff, said he never shared his Jewish identity with anyone in the field, opting instead to tell locals that he had been raised Muslim but secular, without mosque affiliation. He sometimes even chose to tell people that he was of Chechen origin, and that Sotloff – a name that rings decidedly Jewish to those familiar with Jewish names – was actually a Chechen name.
The same report quoted a former hostage who said that despite the risks Sotloff feigned illness on Yom Kippur so he could fast and made efforts to pray towards Jerusalem:

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Posted by William A. Jacobson on September 04, 2014 8 Comments

Pat Roberts proving to be a weak general election candidate, after barely winning the primary....

Posted by William A. Jacobson on September 04, 2014 7 Comments
In opposing the anti-Israel boycott, divest and sanctions (BDS) movement on campuses, it's natural to frame the argument as opposition. Campus BDS is aggressive, and may get even more so this year (although there is one counter-indicator). Whether it's divestment initiatives, or attempts at academic BDS, the campus war on Israel never rests. While opposition is important and necessary, it's not the complete answer. The other half is continuing to build academic ties with Israeli academic institutions and individuals. The Times of Israel reports that expanding ties are taking place despite boycott calls, Universities profit from ignoring Israel boycott:
Anti-Israel activity and especially boycott drives make considerable noise on university campuses, but the record shows that schools that ignore or reject the pressure can profit from relationships with Israeli institutions of higher learning — and not just academically. Cleveland State University recently signed an agreement with the University of Haifa to “develop joint learning opportunities between the two universities,” an official memorandum of understanding (MoU) said. This is CSU’s first academic agreement with an Israeli university The agreement was signed by CSU President Ronald Berkman and University of Haifa Rector David Faraggi, who was in Cleveland for a two day visit. The MoU, said CSU Communications Director Kevin Ziegler, “provides an affirmation from both sides that we’re going to work together to make this happen. It’s [a way] of saying we’re serious. That we’re going to treat each other like partners on this and make things happen.... Another university already partnering with Israel is Texas A&M, which in 2013 signed a deal with to open a new campus in Nazareth. Texas A&M already has a facility in Israel; the US institution has been working with Ben-Gurion University for several years, and runs an R&D lab with BGU in Beersheba.
The Tower further reports:

Posted by Andrew Branca on September 04, 2014 46 Comments
A self-described "avid reader" of Legal Insurrection has asked us to address the issue of the confidentiality of Mike Brown's juvenile criminal record (if any), and whether these are likely to be released to the press and public. Disclaimer: Neither I nor Legal Insurrection knows with certainty whether Mike Brown even has a juvenile criminal record, nor (if such exists) what offenses might have been charged or adjudicated in such a record.  It appears that early internet claims that Brown's juvenile record contained a serious felony were in error. The collected information released by various government actors (or refused to be discussed, as by Brown family lawyers) can be interpreted to suggest that a juvenile record exists, but that it does not contain any serious felonies.  For purposes of the following discussion I will assume this to be the case. Make no mistake, however: our knowledge of any actual juvenile record of Mike Brown is merely speculative. With that out of the way, let's consider the laws, legal principles, and public policy that govern the confidentiality of such juvenile records in Missouri.

US Supreme Court: First Amendment, History Require Trials Be Public

In general, trials taking place in court rooms are public events.  In particular, the US Supreme Court has ruled that absent some compelling counter interest the press cannot be denied access to a criminal trial. See Richmond Newspapers, Inc. v. Virginia, 448 U.S. 555 (US Supreme Court 1980).  There the Court wrote:
The right to attend criminal trials is implicit in the guarantees of the First Amendment: without the freedom to attend such trials, which people have exercised for centuries, important aspects of freedom of speech and of the press could be eviscerated.

Posted by Amy Miller on September 04, 2014 11 Comments
Rasmussen released a poll this week revealing that only 25% of likely voters believe that America is heading in the right direction. Just one year ago, this viewpoint was expressed by 30% of likely voters. Via Rasmussen:
This is up two points from the week before which tied the lowest level of confidence since last October during the temporary government shutdown. The number who say the country is heading in the right direction has been below 30% for most of this year. Early last October during the shutdown, confidence in the country’s course fell to 13%, the lowest finding in five years. Sixty-six percent (66%) of voters now think the country is headed down the wrong track. This finding is down three points from 69% a week ago, the highest negative finding since last November. Eighty percent (80%) felt the country was on the wrong track in early October 2013.
Notably, 70% of likely voters not affiliated with either the Republican or Democratic Party believe that the country is on the wrong track---which exceeds the average by 4 points. This latest poll comes at a time when President Obama's approval rating is hovering above his all-time low of 38%. With just 41% of Americans willing to admit they approve of the way the President is doing his job (down 2 points since August 24,) Republicans are finding themselves with a key strategic advantage as we move into the last 60 days before the November elections. gallup approval sept 3

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on September 03, 2014 12 Comments
Advocating for foreign intervention is not something you usually hear from libertarian poster children like Senator Paul. And yet, that seems to be what he's preaching. From WaPo:
"If I were president, I would call a joint session of Congress," Paul told the AP. "I would lay out the reasoning of why ISIS is a threat to our national security and seek congressional authorization to destroy ISIS militarily."
Good. Someone should have a plan to deal with those monsters. But as WaPo points out, Paul is supposed to be the only non-interventionist in the bunch of potential 2016 contenders. Compare Paul's statement to the rest of the pack of GOP potential candidates, as compiled by WaPo:
Chris Christie: ""The ISIS situation is one that deserves a really detailed answer, which I'm not going to give you while walking down the boardwalk and taking selfies." Marco Rubio: "If we do not act now to assist our Iraqi partners and moderate Syrians who oppose ISIL, as well as utilize our own forces to directly target ISIL’s leadership, the result will be more suffering and tragedy for our people.”

Posted by Amy Miller on September 03, 2014 41 Comments
A federal judge has rejected the reigning judicial trend and held that Louisiana has the right to define marriage as one man, one woman. This is the first time since the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act in 2013 that a federal judge has upheld a state-level ban. From the opinion, via the Washington Post:
“It would no doubt be celebrated to be in the company of the near-unanimity of the many other federal courts that have spoken to this pressing issue, if this court were confident in the belief that those cases provide a correct guide,” Feldman wrote. “Clearly, many other courts will have an opportunity to take up the issue of same-sex marriage; courts of appeals and, at some point, the U.S. Supreme Court. The decision of this court is but one studied decision among many.”
You can read the full opinion here. In his opinion, U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman makes the point that most legal scholars have been---until now---unwilling to make: that the Supreme Court has never held that sexual orientation constitutes a protected class. Because of this inconvenient technicality, proper brief writing challenging same sex marriage bans should focus on whether or not the ban came about as a result of some sort of animosity toward gay people. This, of course, was not sufficiently proven:

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 03, 2014 29 Comments
Professor Jacobson just noted that voter intensity is likely to be a critical factor in the 2014 elections this November. However, I assert that a petition drive being held in San Diego, focused on revoking the City Council's minimum wage mandate, shows that voters are quite intense right now.   Given the complete collapse of effective national policy on either foreign or domestic matters, I believe the drama that is occurring shows that citizens are desperate for some control over the increasing chaos in their lives. Following the questionable lead of progressive cities like Los Angeles, earlier this summer the City Council voted to increase the minimum wage to $9.75 in January, $10.50 in January 2016 and $11.50 in January 2017.  Our newly elected mayor, Kevin Faulconer, vetoed it; however, this veto was over-ridden on August 18. At that point, fresh from the success of the petition drives organized to remove our previous mayor, Bob Filner (facing numerous sexual harassment charges), members of the San Diego community organized.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on September 03, 2014 27 Comments
She's a football flip-flopper, professing love for the Cowboys only when convenient, via Houston Chronicle:
The Abbott camp highlighted this KTCK-AM radio interview in which Davis said she grew up cheering for the Cowboys and will be doing so again this year: It contrasted that statement with Vogue interview in which Davis’ daughter described her as a Patriots fan and a shot of a “Go Pats!” comment on Facebook by Davis.
Elsewhere Davis actually continues to struggle:

Posted by Amy Miller on September 03, 2014 23 Comments
The White House has agreed to send 350 additional troops to Baghdad following a State Department request for more protection at the U.S. embassy and other installations. Via Time:
“This action was taken at the recommendation of the Department of Defense after an extensive interagency review, and is part of the President’s commitment to protect our personnel and facilities in Iraq as we continue to support the Government of Iraq in its fight against [ISIS],” [White House press secretary Josh] Earnest said. “These additional forces will not serve in a combat role.” ... “The President has made clear his commitment to doing whatever is required to provide the necessary security for U.S. personnel and facilities around the world,” Earnest said. “The request he approved today will allow some previously deployed military personnel to depart Iraq, while at the same time providing a more robust, sustainable security force for our personnel and facilities in Baghdad.”
According to CBS News, this will bring the U.S. troop count sent to Iraq to deal with the current crisis to 800, and the total U.S. troop presence in Baghdad to 1,213.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on September 02, 2014 12 Comments
I have noted before the disturbing trend of anti-Israel Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) supporters blaming Israel and/or Zionism for the recent outbursts of anti-Semitism around the world. I first noted the issue in connection with a tweet from Professor Steven Salaita, where he tweeted that "By eagerly conflating Jewishness and Israel, Zionists are partly responsible when people say antisemitic shit in response to Israeli terror." [Salaita's tweets became a big issue, although that tweet has not receive a lot of attention.] In that post, I noted that Salaita was far from alone. There has been a trend to use the "Zionism causes anti-Semitism" verbiage as a way of deflecting the grossly anti-Semitic BDS-led protests seen around the world under the guise of protesting the Gaza conflict. Fast forward to last week at Cornell, when Students for Justice in Palestine held what was to be a mobilization rally on campus related to Gaza. Casey Breznick is Editor-in-Chief of the conservative Cornell Review undergraduate journal. Casey also writes for Legal Insurrection (posts here) and College Insurrection (posts here), sustaining our long history of providing conservative Cornell undergraduates with a platform.
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