Daily Archive: March 3, 2011

Erik Kain

/// March 3, 2011

On Free Markets

So look, I believe that free markets are absolutely the way to go. Don’t go with the central planners – who wants wage controls dictated from the top down? Things didn’t work out so...

Rufus F.

/// March 3, 2011

Obama tries to nab the Porcher Vote

Author, poet, farmer, activist Wendell Berry was recently honored at the White House for his contributions to the humanities. If you’d like to celebrate, here’s a good place to start.

J.L. Wall

/// March 3, 2011

Education and Entertainment; University and Community

(Note: this post uses terms and discusses situations that are borderline NSFW.) Strange things are happening at my dear alma mater. There is a controversy of unknown size crewing around a post-class demonstration of...

Jason Kuznicki

/// March 3, 2011

For a Dollar

The Crossed Pond has long been one of my favorite blogs. Here’s a recent post I liked a lot: I belatedly realized that I needed a calculator today so after quick stop by a...

Editor Picks

Pride and Prejudice: The Gropeless Romantic

February 2, 2020

Confronting the Radicalism of Young Men Online

April 29, 2019

Ten Second News

Weinstein Convicted of Rape

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Weinstein Convicted of Rape

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After five days of deliberation, the jury in Harvey Weinstein's criminal trial returned a mixed verdict, convicting the disgraced Hollywood producer of third degree rape and criminal sexual act in the first degree. Weinstein was acquitted of the most serious counts, a charge of first degree rape and two counts of predatory sexual assault. From the NY Times:

Harvey Weinstein, who long reigned as one of the most influential producers in Hollywood, was found guilty on Monday of two felony sex crimes after a Manhattan trial that became a watershed moment for the #MeToo movement.
But the jury acquitted Mr. Weinstein of the two most serious charges against him, predatory sexual assault.
The verdict offered a measure of justice to the dozens of women who have come forward with similar allegations against Mr. Weinstein. For many, the trial was a crucial test in the effort to hold powerful men accountable for sexual harassment in the workplace.
The jury found Mr. Weinstein guilty of two counts, criminal sexual assault in the first degree and rape in the third degree. On the two counts of predatory sexual assault, the not guilty verdicts suggested that one or some jurors did not believe the testimony of Annabella Sciorra, an actress best known for her work in “The Sopranos.”
He faces a sentence of five to 25 years on the top count.

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From Fox News: Bernie Sanders projected to win Nevada caucuses

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From Fox News: Bernie Sanders projected to win Nevada caucuses

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From Fox News:

Sen. Bernie Sanders will win the Nevada caucuses, Fox News can project, furthering the democratic socialist's lead over his Democratic rivals and raising the question as to whether he can be stopped on his path to the Democratic nomination.
With four percent of delegates in, Sanders has 56 percent.
According to the early returns, former Vice President Joe Biden is in second place with 19.9 percent, billionaire Tom Steyer has 9.3 percent, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has eight percent, and former South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg has 5.8 percent. Ultimately 36 delegates are at stake.

(Featured image is “IMG_5530” by cornstalker. Used under a creative commons license.)

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Video: Blagojevich Is A Natural

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Video: Blagojevich Is A Natural

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I thought Rod Blagojevich's presser was insanely Lynchian, so here you go pic.twitter.com/2uq8SUBalS
— Vic Vaiana (@vicvaiana) February 19, 2020

thanks @lilyslynch for flagging this bizarre moment.
It keeps going btw... pic.twitter.com/lh1D1t2qRw
— Vic Vaiana (@vicvaiana) February 19, 2020

Fortunately, because it was a commute and not a pardon, Blagojevich is not to be president. Otherwise, I would be concerned.

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Voter ID Law Blocked in North Carolina Before March 3rd Primary

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Voter ID Law Blocked in North Carolina Before March 3rd Primary

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No law is really law in the Tarheel State until it's been ruled on by at least three judges. Or so it seems. This time, it's the state's latest version of a voter ID law that has been blocked from implementation.

CNN:

North Carolina's Court of Appeals on Tuesday blocked the state's new voter ID law from taking effect, a move that will likely prevent it from being in place in time for the 2020 elections.
The ruling, coming two weeks before the Tarheel State holds its presidential primaries on March 3, is a victory for civil rights groups and advocates who have argued the law would disenfranchise poor and minority voters. A separate ruling in federal court has already issued a block of the voter ID law through the state's primaries, and Tuesday's decision all but ensures a block through the general election in November until another ruling.
In Tuesday's decision, the court said voter ID provisions "likely will have a negative impact on African Americans because they lack acceptable IDs at a greater rate than white voters."
The North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Michael Whatley called the voter ID ruling "ridiculous" and said the opinion was "invalidating the votes of more than 2 million North Carolinians who voted for a constitutional amendment in 2018."
"The opinion, issued by the North Carolina Court of Appeals, ignores the fact that more than 30 other states have enacted similar laws which have been upheld by federal courts," Whatley said in a statement on Tuesday. "An overwhelming percentage of North Carolinians of every demographic support voter ID and we are very disappointed to see a panel made up of three Democratic judges overturning their votes by judicial fiat."

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President Trump Commutes Blagojevich Sentence, Pardons Others

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President Trump Commutes Blagojevich Sentence, Pardons Others

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President Trump got busy with his pen today, commuting and pardoning several people including former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and former NYC Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik.

Via the New York Times:

President Trump commuted the 14-year prison sentence of former Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois, the Democrat who was convicted of trying to essentially sell Barack Obama’s vacated Senate seat for personal gain, and pardoned the financier Michael R. Milken and Bernard B. Kerik, the former New York City police commissioner, the president announced on Tuesday.
“Yes, we commuted the sentence of Rod Blagojevich,” Mr. Trump told reporters just before boarding Air Force One for a four-day trip to the west coast where he is scheduled to hold three campaign rallies. “He served eight years in jail, a long time. He seems like a very nice person, don’t know him.”
Mr. Kerik, the former New York City police commissioner, was convicted of tax fraud and lying to the government. And he said he had also pardoned Mr. Milken, the investment banker who was known in the 1980s as the “junk bond king” and who has fought for decades to reverse his conviction for securities fraud.
Mr. Trump commuted the former governor’s sentence on Tuesday after saying for years that he was considering intervening in Mr. Blagojevich’s case. By commuting the sentence, the president would free Mr. Blagojevich from prison without wiping out the conviction. Republicans have advised the president against it, arguing that Mr. Blagojevich’s crime epitomizes the corruption that Mr. Trump had said he wanted to tackle as president.
The president’s decision came the same day that he pardoned or commuted the sentences of eight others including Edward J. DeBartolo Jr., a former owner of the San Francisco 49ers who pleaded guilty in 1998 to concealing an extortion attempt and eventually surrendered control of his team.

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