Media mogul and one-time close Donald Trump associate David Pecker delivered testimony in the so-called hush money election interference criminal trail that experts contend was highly damaging to the former President. Pecker described a mutually beneficial relationship between The National Enquirer and Trump: the National Enquirer essentially became a propaganda magazine that ran stories favorable to Trump and smear stories – many made up – about Trump’s rivals during the 2015-2016 race for the Republican Presidential election and his campaign against Democrat Hillary Clinton. The Enquirer wou...
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World War II Army Sgt. Joe Hayashi, Medal of Honor recipient. One month ago, on the occasion of National Medal of Honor Day, we recognized eighteen service members of the Jewish faith who have been awarded the nation’s highest military decoration for bravery in combat, recipients going as far back as the Civil War. What makes such a high honor even more estimable is the fact that several of the Jewish heroes, their survivors, their supporters had to struggle against prejudice, constitutional bias and antisemitism before they were eventually awarded the honor they so richly deserve. Sadly, such...
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Former U.S. President Donald Trump enters Manhattan Criminal Court on April 22, 2024.Victor J. Blue – Pool/Getty Images Ronald S. Sullivan Jr., Harvard University Though Hollywood movies about courtroom dramas often glamorize the closing arguments given by lawyers, in reality the opening statement is likely the most important single event of a trial. Such was the case in the hush money trial involving former President Donald Trump and alleged payments to porn star Stormy Daniels when lawyers for both sides presented their opening statements on April 22, 2024, in New York. In this case, Manhatt...
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(This is an update of the original post published Sunday night) Some American universities have become hotbeds of anti-semitism. Demonstrations aren’t just against Israeli policy but Jews as a group, with some notable exceptions. And the demonstrations’ aggressive nature is increasing. Columbia University in New York City and Yale University in New Haven have been pitchforked into the headlines. Columbia is in the news due to its extended pro-Palestinian demonstrations characterized by one of the demonstrators as a university “take-over.”It’s so intense that the University’s main rabbi has urg...
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In a bipartisan vote that angered many House far-right Republicans, the House of Representives passed a $95 billion aid package that will send sorely needed help to Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and ban TikTok. All four of the measures will now to go the Senate. Meanwhile, the clock is now ticking on a promised-effort by House MAGA Republicans to remove House Speaker Mike Johnson. NBC News reports: The House on Saturday passed a $95 billion package that includes two long-awaited bills with $60.8 billion of Ukraine aid and $26 billion in aid to Israel. The Ukraine bill, which passed with 311 votes in...
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Have you ever had a song stuck inside your head? If you have, then was it one that made you happy, or was it one that annoyed you? This issue came to my mind recently when I made Twitter contact with Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Bryan Duncan. Back in the year 1982, Bryan was the lead singer and keyboardist for the Sweet Comfort Band. Sweet Comfort Band If you never before heard of that band, here is clue to its musical pedigree: Some of the band’s songs were written by John Elefante, who was the lead singer of the rock band Kansas at that time. John also wrote the Kansas song Play The Game...
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It looks as if it may finally happen. With support from Democrats, the House of Representatives is now poised to approve aid to Ukraine, which many experts contend could lose its defensive war against Russia because ammo and funds are running low. And, in a twist that most pundits didn’t forsee, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has put his speakership on the line by going to bat for the aid despite hard-liners angrily threatening his political career if he passes it. The Guardian: The US House pushed ahead on Friday with a $95bn foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and humanitarian...
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Former President Donald Trump sits in a New York courtroom as jury selection proceeds in one of his criminal cases.Jabin Botsford/Pool Photo via AP Tim Bakken, United States Military Academy West Point and Karrin Vasby Anderson, Colorado State University The second week is wrapping up in former President Donald Trump’s first criminal trial on charges from the state of New York related to paying hush money to an adult film star. So far, the jury has been selected, but no other proceedings have begun. The Conversation U.S. interviewed Tim Bakken, a former New York prosecutor and now a legal scho...
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By: David Anderson, J.D.Columnist Recently I wrote about a quick and dirty but very effective way of analyzing moral claims: Know them by the company they keep. It applies the birds of a feather theory: like attracts like. Bad guys and good guys associate with similar types. You’ve seen that in your daily life for sure. But geo-politically there’s another metric, another useful tool. That heuristic, that method focuses on backward versus forward thinking. We can judge the morality and indeed the prospects of individuals and groups by their time orientation. I’ll get to it on an international s...
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‘Fearless’ on stage ? and in introspection.Ashok Kumar/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management Jessica Flanigan, University of Richmond Taylor Swift isn’t just a billionaire songwriter and performer. She’s also a philosopher. As a Swiftie and a philosopher, I’ve found that this claim surprises Swifties and philosophers alike. But once her fans learn a bit more about philosophy – and philosophers learn a bit more about Swift’s work – both groups can appreciate her songwriting in new ways. Looking in the mirrorWhen one of the greatest philosophers, Socrates, famously said, “The unexamined l...
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