A character on the CBS program “The Good Fight” called Alan Dershowitz a shyster. Is that libel? Dershowitz says yes. The producers of the show say no. So let’s get into it. There are really two questions here. First, can a fictional character’s statements be a cause for libel? And second, is what the character…
Here’s the news regarding Microsoft’s potential purchase of part of TikTok: Trump said Monday that part of the amount paid to buy TikTok would have to come to the U.S. Treasury Department because it would be making the deal possible. “It’s a little bit like the landlord/tenant; without a lease the tenant has nothing, so they…
Donald Trump believes that the US leads the world in successful management of the COVID-19 pandemic. His argument about that with Jonathan Swan, a reporter from Axios, was aired last night. Here’s part of it: Since it’s worth discussing how you measure success with the virus, I took a look at the statistics and how…
On Friday, Donald Trump said he would ban TikTok in the United States. There’s a lot more going on here than meets the eye — including a flex to show power to other social networks. Would a shutdown order be legal? There are obvious First Amendment reasons to object to the shutdown of a social…
According to the headline in The Guardian, the U.S. economy just shrank 32.9%. USA Today agreed, saying “the second quarter Gross Domestic Product just plunged a record 32.9% from the previous quarter.” Both of these statements are wrong. As correctly reported in the New York Times, the economy — or more accurately, the GDP estimate…
I get one or two emails a day from Trump or one of his friends. They are clearly designed for people who don’t use their brains on a regular basis. Take a look at the example below. I got on this list because I answered a “survey,” and I stayed on it because I’m curious…
Last Saturday, I received a call. The woman said her name was Ella. And she was very close to tears. Ella was begging me to remove her name from a blog post I’d written in October of last year. At the time, Ella had attempted to deceive me by stating that there was an urgent…
US Representative Ted Yoho had a heated verbal altercation with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) on the steps of the capital. According The Hill, he referred to her as a “fucking bitch.” Later, he apologized on the House floor. It was one of the worst apologies ever. AOC had made some controversial statements about why poor…
Good morning Mr. President. Let’s go. Sure. My job this morning is to administer this cognitive test. Shouldn’t take more than about 15 minutes. Most people do fine on this. So let’s get started, shall we? Great. I’m ready. Always ready. I see you’re wearing a mask. I hope that doesn’t mean you’re biased against…