Maxim Lott's Articles

Climategate Bombshell: Did U.S. Gov't Help Hide Climate Data?

2011-12-16T15:20:00.000-08:00

Are your tax dollars helping hide global warming data from the public? Internal emails leaked as part of “Climategate 2.0” indicate the answer may be "Yes."

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After 9/11: How to Build a Safer Skyscraper

2011-09-11T07:44:00.000-07:00

The 9/11 attacks threw the architectural world into shock. “The age of skyscrapers is at an end,” city planner Howard Kunstler declared just after the tragedy, and Donald Trump reduced the height of a planned tower in Chicago, citing security concerns raised by 9/11.

But since the tragedy, architects have used advances in construction materials and new designs to make tall buildings safer -- and more likely to withstand a 9/11-style attack.

Continue reading at FoxNews.com...

Top 5 Union Work Controversies

2011-09-06T17:57:00.000-07:00

Government work rules restrict what public employees can do, often in the name of safety. But critics say the rules have, over the years, been manipulated for political ends by bureaucrats and unions. Sometimes, the rules restrict public employees so much that they put lives in danger.

From an incident in California in which police and firefighters watched as a man drowned himself, to a public school teacher in Texas who stood by as one of his pupils was beaten up by another student, government and union work policies have had tragic consequences.

FoxNews.com takes a look at five of the most serious cases.

1) Firefighters Not Allowed to Save Drowning Man...

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California Police Sticking to Guns in Defense of Letting Kids Hold Automatic Weapons

2011-08-18T13:43:00.000-07:00

Would you let your kid touch a machine gun?

Photos of officers from the Santa Rosa Police Department letting kids handle the department’s SWAT team weaponry at a community event has sparked a debate over how much exposure to guns is healthy for kids.

Community organizer Attila Nagy, who took the photos, told FoxNews.com that he was concerned it might encourage kids to use guns in the future.

"My main concern is for kids who handle these things. They're fascinated by them, and it makes them familiar with guns," he said

Proposed U.N. Treaty to Regulate Global Firearms Trade Raising Concerns for U.S. Gun Makers

2011-08-05T18:47:00.000-07:00

A controversial U.N. proposed treaty aimed at regulating guns worldwide has been shrouded by confusion and misinformation.

Known informally as the 'Small Arms Treaty,' its detractors have charged the proposed agreement with secretly trying to take guns out of the hands of Americans and circumventing the 2nd Amendment.

While that is unlikely, a working draft proposal obtained by FoxNews.com contains language that some gun advocates say could have a real impact on American gun makers.

Continue reading at FoxNews.com...

Whistleblower: ATF Wants To Fire Me Over Scandal

2011-06-27T15:02:00.000-07:00

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is being accused of retaliating against an agent who helped publicize the agency’s role in allowing thousands of guns to cross the U.S. border and fall into the hands of Mexican drug gangs.

The agent, Vince Cefalu, who has spoken out about the ATF's so-called "Project Gunrunner" scandal, says he was served with termination papers just last week, and he calls the move politically motivated.

Continue reading at FoxNews.com...

Billionaire George Soros Trying To Stack the Courts, Critics Say

2011-06-27T14:05:00.000-07:00

Billionaire George Soros spends tens of millions each year supporting a range of liberal social and political causes, from drug legalization to immigration reform to gay marriage to abolishing the death penalty.

But a less well-known Soros priority -- replacing elections for judges with selection-by-committee -- now has critics accusing him of trying to stack the courts.

Continue reading at FoxNews.com...

Changing Tides: Research Center Under Fire for 'Adjusted' Sea-Level Data

2011-06-17T08:25:00.000-07:00

Is climate change raising sea levels, as Al Gore has argued -- or are climate scientists doctoring the data?

The University of Colorado’s Sea Level Research Group decided in May to add 0.3 millimeters -- or about the thickness of a fingernail -- every year to its actual measurements of sea levels, sparking criticism from experts who called it an attempt to exaggerate the effects of global warming.

"Gatekeepers of our sea level data are manufacturing a fictitious sea level rise that is not occurring," said James M. Taylor, a lawyer who focuses on environmental issues for the Heartland Institute.

Continue reading at FoxNews.com...

University Insiders: Illegal Immigrants Get Affirmative Action

2011-05-17T15:16:00.000-07:00

This week, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley signed a bill to require the state's public universities to give undocumented aliens -- generally illegal -- in-state tuition privileges.

The bill, known as the Dream Act, is already the law in ten other states, including California, New York, Texas and Illinois.

But critics argue that the bill will give illegal aliens better treatment than Americans and legal immigrants -- thanks to existing diversity policies at universities.

University of Maryland (College Park) computer science Prof. James Purtilo told FoxNews.com that, during his time as an associate dean, he frequently saw admission officers favor students because of their “undocumented” status.

"They favor students with special circumstances. 'Undocumented alien' would be one of these special circumstances... They help fill out the diversity picture for the admissions office."

Continue reading at FoxNews.com...

Senator Calls ATF on Allegations Agency Is Allowing Guns Into Mexico

2011-02-02T17:03:00.000-08:00

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms -- the agency tasked with keeping U.S. guns from being smuggled to Mexico -- has come under fire for allegedly allowing firearms to cross the border into Mexico.

Last Friday, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) sent a letter to the ATF stating that his office had "received numerous allegations that the ATF sanctioned the sale of hundreds of assault weapons to suspected straw purchasers, who then allegedly transported these weapons throughout the Southwest border area and into Mexico." ...

Continue reading at FoxNews.com...

To Boldly Go: What Made 400 People Volunteer for a One-Way Mission to Mars?

2011-01-10T11:52:00.000-08:00

An interplanetary trip to Mars could take as little as 10 months, but returning would be virtually impossible -- making the voyage a form of self-imposed exile from Earth unlike anything else in human history.

What would inspire someone to volunteer?

Continue reading at FoxNews.com...

Eight Botched Environmental Forecasts

2010-12-30T12:08:00.000-08:00

A new year is around the corner, and some climate scientists and environmental activists say that means we're one step closer to a climate Armageddon. But are we really?

Predicting the weather -- especially a decade or more in advance -- is unbelievably challenging. What's the track record of those most worried about global warming? Decades ago, what did prominent scientists think the environment would be like in 2010? FoxNews.com has compiled eight of the most egregiously mistaken predictions, and asked the predictors to reflect on what really happened.

1. Within a few years "children just aren't going to know what snow is." Snowfall will be "a very rare and exciting event." Dr. David Viner, senior research scientist at the climatic research unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia, interviewed by the UK Independent, March 20, 2000.

Continue reading at FoxNews.com...

Obama Administration Reverses Course, Forbids Sale of 850,000 Antique Rifles

2010-09-01T13:56:00.000-07:00

The South Korean government, in an effort to raise money for its military, wants to sell nearly a million antique M1 rifles that were used by U.S. soldiers in the Korean War to gun collectors in America.

The Obama administration approved the sale of the American-made rifles last year. But it reversed course and banned the sale in March – a decision that went largely unnoticed at the time but that is now sparking opposition from gun rights advocates.

A State Department spokesman said the administration's decision was based on concerns that the guns could fall into the wrong hands.

"The transfer of such a large number of weapons -- 87,310 M1 Garands and 770,160 M1 Carbines -- could potentially be exploited by individuals seeking firearms for illicit purposes," the spokesman told FoxNews.com...

Continue reading at FoxNews.com...

Immigrant Who Voted Illegally on Road to Becoming a U.S. Citizen

2010-08-26T09:09:00.000-07:00

Can an immigrant who resides legally in the U.S. on a work visa but who voted illegally in a presidential election year still become a naturalized U.S. citizen?

Yes, actually. Especially if the Department of Homeland Security sends a letter instructing him to request removal from the voter rolls.

That happened this summer in Putnam County, Tenn., where County Administrator of Elections Debbie Steidl says an immigrant who illegally registered to vote – and then voted – in 2004 is now seeking to become a U.S. citizen...

Continue reading at FoxNews.com...

Advocates of Anti-Shariah Measures Alarmed by Judge's Ruling

2010-08-05T15:49:00.000-07:00

A New Jersey family court judge's decision not to grant a restraining order to a woman who was sexually abused by her Moroccan husband and forced repeatedly to have sex with him is sounding the alarm for advocates of laws designed to ban Shariah in America...

Continue reading at FoxNews.com...

Memo Purportedly Urges Dems to Keep Quiet on Critical Health Care Topics

2010-03-19T16:28:00.000-07:00

As the leadership in the House tries to persuade fence-straddling Democrats to push health care reform over the finish line, a "talking points" memo is being widely circulated in Washington that purports to show that those same leaders and the Obama administration are secretly planning to push for an increase in Medicare payments -- an increase that would alter the cost of the bill...

Continue reading at FOXNews.com...

White House Christmas Decor Featuring Mao Zedong Comes Under Fire

2009-12-23T17:51:00.000-08:00

Mao Zedong is in the White House, hanging out with a drag queen. Not far away, Barack Obama is making a play to have his head etched in stone.

Critics of President Obama are setting their sights this week on the official White House Christmas tree, which features controversial ornaments including an orb depicting the late Chinese dictator, another that shows drag queen Hedda Lettuce, and yet another that shows a picture of Mount Rushmore -- with Obama's head pasted to the side of Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson and Roosevelt's.

Continue reading at FOXNews.com.

Obama's Safe Schools Czar Tied to Lewd Readings for 7th Graders

2009-12-14T17:24:00.000-08:00

President Obama's "Safe Schools Czar," already a target of social conservatives for his past drug abuse and what they say is his promotion of homosexuality in schools, is under fresh attack after it was revealed that the pro-gay group he formerly headed recommends books his critics say are pornographic...

Continue reading on FOXNews.com.

Patients Sue for Right to Buy Life-Saving Bone Marrow

2009-11-08T21:28:00.000-08:00

Among the thousands of Americans with leukemia and other serious health conditions who are on waiting lists for bone marrow donations, there are some who are willing — and can afford — to pay for the marrow that could save their lives.

Continue reading on FOXNews.com.

New York Eagle Scout Suspended From School for 20 Days for Keeping Pocketknife in Car

2009-10-13T17:10:00.000-07:00

A 17-year-old Eagle Scout in upstate New York has been barred from stepping foot on school grounds for 20 days — for keeping a 2-inch pocketknife locked in a survival kit in his car.

Matthew Whalen, a senior at Lansingburgh Senior High School, says he follows the Boy Scout motto and is always prepared, stocking his car with a sleeping bag, water, a ready-to-eat meal — and the knife, which was given to him by his grandfather, a police chief in a nearby town...

Continue reading at FOXNews.com.

German Publisher, Fearing Muslim Retaliation, Cancels Honor-Killing Novel

2009-10-09T17:08:00.000-07:00

A German book publisher has canceled a novel about Islamic "honor killings," fearing that the book would offend the Muslim community and put him in danger. Critics of the decision call it a cowardly move, but others say the publisher is simply being responsible...

Continue reading at FOXNews.com.

Former Student Defends Obama's 'Safe Schools' Czar Against Allegations

2009-10-03T15:03:00.000-07:00

An update on the Jennings controversy:

The ex-student at the center of a controversy involving "safe schools czar" Kevin Jennings is defending the U.S. Education Department official against accusations he failed to report an alleged underage sexual relationship between a former high schooler and "an older man."

Continue reading at FOXNews.com.

Many Medical Devices Still Taxed Under Baucus Health Bill

2009-10-02T20:02:00.000-07:00

Tucked into the Democrats' proposal to partially fund health care reform is a provision to tax medical appliances -- including some manufactured replacement parts for your body.

Under pressure, the Senate recently exempted medical items that cost under $100 -- such as tampons and condoms. But the tax, expected to raise about $40 billion over the next decade, is still in the bill and includes items like:

Continue reading at FOXNews.com

Obama's 'Safe Schools' Czar Admits He Poorly Handled Underage Sex Case

2009-09-30T21:58:00.000-07:00

President Obama's "safe schools czar," under fire from critics who say he's unfit for his job, acknowledged Wednesday that he "should have handled [the] situation differently" years ago when he was a schoolteacher and didn't report that a 15-year-old boy told him that he was having sex with an older man.

Continue reading at FOXNews.com.

Radio Interview On Safe Schools Czar

2009-09-29T05:29:00.000-07:00

I was interviewed on nationally-syndicated America's Morning Radio this morning about my Fox News piece on Kevin Jennings. Audio here.

Critics Assail Obama's 'Safe Schools' Czar, Say He's Wrong Man for the Job

2009-09-23T20:10:00.000-07:00

President Obama's "safe schools czar" is a former schoolteacher who has advocated promoting homosexuality in schools, written about his past drug abuse, expressed his contempt for religion and detailed an incident in which he did not report an underage student who told him he was having sex with older men.

Continue reading at FOXNews.com

Silent No More? Conservative Books and Blogs on the Rise

2009-09-05T16:04:00.000-07:00

Book sales ... blog visits ... tea parties ... town halls ... a national poll ... There is increasing evidence of a shift in the political winds: the nation is swinging right after President Obama's victory last November.

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Obama Merchandise a Big Seller at NBC Store

2009-08-25T05:33:00.000-07:00

Can you celebrate the Obama presidency at NBC?

Yes you can.

If you're a fan of all things Obama, NBC Universal's online store has no fewer than 29 options for your buying pleasure -- from a shirt with the president's picture proclaiming "YES WE DID"...to both of his books...to a special inauguration DVD...to a refrigerator magnet of the first couple.

Continue reading at FOXNews.com

'iPad': Analysts Expect Apple to Release Tablet Computer

2009-08-11T17:39:00.000-07:00

Rumors about an "iPad" — an Apple "tablet" computer that would be similar to a large iPhone —are picking up steam.

Gene Munster, a highly respected senior research analyst at the investment firm Piper Jaffray, says representatives of an Asian component manufacturer told him that they had received orders from Apple for parts to build a tablet computer — a project code-named "Touch."

Continue reading at FOXNews.com

Drug Offenders To Get Federal Student Aid Under New Bill

2009-08-07T16:11:00.000-07:00

College students convicted of drug possession may soon get access to federal student loans due to a little-noticed provision in the 181-page Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009.

The bill, which makes major revisions to the student loan system, was introduced by California congressman George Miller, a Democrat. It is expected to pass in the House of Representatives.

Continue reading at FOXNews.com

iPhone Apps for the Lawbreaker in You

2009-07-29T16:13:00.000-07:00

You're driving along the highway, maybe exceeding the speed limit, when your iPhone calls out to you: "Police often hide here."

Glancing at the phone, you see a road map that pinpoints your exact location and, very close to it, an icon of a police car. It's time to ease the pedal from the metal.

This is why you've downloaded "Trapster," one of several "apps" — programs available for the Apple iPhone — that can help users get a leg up on the law.

Continue reading at FOXNews.com

Arab Christian Group Claims First Amendment Rights Denied On Public Property

2009-07-21T16:16:00.000-07:00

The leader of an Arab Christian evangelical group filed suit against the city of Dearborn, Mich., claiming the city violated his First Amendment right to distribute literature on public property.

The incident occurred last month at the city's annual Arab International Festival, an event that attracted 300,000 visitors and has provided a favorite evangelizing venue for the group, Arabic Christian Perspective, whose members have attended for the past five years.

Continue reading at FOXNews.com

Sixth Grader Sues School Over Right to Wear Pro-Life T-Shirt

2009-07-06T16:17:00.000-07:00

A California mom says her public school administrators violated her daughter's First Amendment rights when they ordered the sixth-grader to take off her pro-life T-shirt.

Anna Amador has gone to court on behalf of her daughter, who she says was ordered by her principal to change her shirt on "National Pro-Life T-Shirt Day." The shirt the 12-year-old was wearing displayed two graphic pictures of a fetus growing in the womb.

Continue reading at FOXNews.com

Critics Assail Congress for Using Subpoena Powers and Strong-Arm Tactics

2009-05-27T16:18:00.000-07:00

On Oct. 23 last year, William Frey, the president of a company that puts together mortgage-backed securities, told the New York Times that he had been contacting banks and threatening to sue them if they renegotiated mortgages for homeowners facing foreclosure.

Providing better terms for homeowners, Frey explained, would mean reducing the value of the mortgage-backed securities held by investors like himself.

Continue reading at FOXNews.com

Bigger Government to Make Food Safer Isn't the Answer, Critics Say

2009-04-07T16:20:00.000-07:00

The Food and Drug Administration has been the subject of withering criticism in recent years for its failure to protect the nation's food supply in the wake of bacteria outbreaks in such products as peanut butter, peppers, spinach and, just recently, pistachio nuts.

Now the FDA is getting a new boss, and President Obama's appointment of Margaret Hamburg, 53, to head the agency suggests that the White House is concerned that food poisoning could someday be more than just natural contamination.

Continue reading at FOXNews.com

The Myth of 90 Percent: Only a Small Fraction of Guns in Mexico Come From U.S.

2009-04-02T16:21:00.000-07:00

By William La Jeunesse and Maxim Lott

While 90 percent of the guns traced to the U.S. actually originated in the United States, the percent traced to the U.S. is only about 17 percent of the total number of guns reaching Mexico...

Continue reading at FOXNews.com

Defense Department Reverses Directive to Stop Selling Used Ammunition Shells

2009-03-20T16:23:00.000-07:00

The Defense Department has reversed a directive issued last month to stop selling used ammunition shells to manufacturers, after gun owners and Montana's two U.S. senators complained that it would increase the cost of ammunition and kill a revenue-generating program for the government.

Continue reading at FOXNews.com

Free Market Meltdown? Economists Fret Over Return to Price Controls

2009-03-16T16:24:00.000-07:00

It isn't only the federal government that is trying to fix the economy. Across the country, from Vermont to Alaska, state and municipal governments are doing what they can to ease the burden for Americans who are increasingly out of work and unable to pay their bills.

One controversial solution being considered is a move back to price controls. The New York Legislature and the San Francisco City Council are considering expanding rent controls. Some politicians in Vermont are trying to limit the price of milk. And in Alaska, a bill to cap oil prices is pending in the state legislature.

Continue reading at FOXNews.com

Professor Takes Heat for Calling Cops on Student Who Discussed Guns in Class

2009-03-04T16:26:00.000-08:00

A professor in Connecticut reported one of her students to the police after he gave a class presentation on why students and teachers should be allowed to carry concealed weapons on campus. Now, free speech activists say the professor’s actions are what really need to be investigated.

Last October, John Wahlberg and two classmates at Central Connecticut State University gave an oral presentation for a communications class taught by Professor Paula Anderson. The assignment was to discuss a “relevant issue in the media,” and the students presented their view that the death toll in the April 2007 Virginia Tech shooting massacre would have been lower if professors and students had been carrying guns.

Continue reading at FOXNews.com

Top Ten Deadliest Stretches of Road in America

2009-02-11T16:27:00.000-08:00

While Congress is busy hammering out the details of the $838 billion-and-counting economic recovery bill, the 50 states are already releasing their wish lists for the projects they want to see funded. Among those are numerous roads and highways that they want to see improved.

But where do you start? Which pothole do you fill first?

FOXNews.com analyzed data from crash reports over the last five years to determine which stretches of the nation's roads had the highest number of deadly accidents.

Continue reading at FOXNews.com

Free Speech in Canada

2008-12-01T22:20:00.000-08:00

As noted here, Canadian journalist Ezra Levant has been ordered by a Canadian court to remove several blog posts in which he criticized a lawyer for the Canadian government.

I have re-posted those blog posts below in full. I do not endorse their accuracy. But people should have the option of reading Levant's side of the story.

To give both sides, I have also noted below where the Canadian court disagrees with Levant's claims.

***

Good grief. Now Giacomo Vigna is threatening to sue me!

By Ezra Levant on April 28, 2008 9:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (46)

It’s hard to believe, but I’ve received yet another threat of a lawsuit from a member of the human rights set. This one is from Giacomo “Serenity now!” Vigna, a lawyer for the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

Here is a copy of Vigna’s home-made libel notice. It’s Cherniaky in its logic and Kinsellian in its command of the law.

Vigna’s letter is a classic case of why lawyers should not represent themselves, even if they think they’re saving a few bucks: their judgment is clouded by their emotions.

I mean, seriously, look at why Vigna says he’s going to sue me. On page three of his threat, he’s underlined what he says makes him really mad at me. He complains that I made fun of his courtroom antics, when he told a tribunal chairman that the whole hearing had to stop because Vigna didn’t “feel in a serene state of mind”. I compared Vigna’s lame series of excuses – a discussion that went on for twenty pages of court transcripts! – to a student who pulled the fire alarm to get out of writing an exam.

You’d think that Vigna would want to forget about that awful, awful day when he turned the tribunal hearing into his own therapy session. But not Vigna – he says he’s going to sue me for calling his drama audition a “farce”.

Alright, readers, skip the next few paragraphs. They’re a private message from me to Vigna, barrister to barrister, and friend to friend.

Pssst. Giacomo. If you’re embarrassed by me poking fun at you on my little blog, how are you going to handle a whole trial about your Dr. Phil moment? There was nobody paying attention to your hearing last year – certainly not Richard Warman, the nominal plaintiff, who didn’t even bother to show up that day. Nobody really cared that you had an “episode”. Do you really want to have a full-blown trial, in a real court, about your statement that:

“I don’t feel very well. I feel dizzy, I feel anxiety, and I am not in a serene state of mind to proceed with this file today. I have a lot of things worrying me right now and I don’t want to elaborate… I am not dying, Mr. Chair, I don’t have the flu, but I am not mentally capable of proceeding under these circumstances.”

Don’t you see that, if you want to get even with the fellow who made you look like a fool, you would have to – geez, how do I put this gently – sue yourself?

Giacomo: Don’t. Aim. The. Gun. At. Your. Own. Foot.

OK, everybody else, you can start reading again.

Vigna’s demand letter continues in the same vein for quite some time. On page four and five, he again underlines what really made him mad – the video montage of George Costanza’s dad shouting “Serenity now!” on Seinfeld. I’m not sure what legal defence I’d use on that one – truth or fair comment. I think the judge would be too busy laughing to even listen. Again, I can’t believe that anyone would actually want to have a trial on the important legal question of whether or not his whimpering merits a comparison to a Seinfeld character. Maybe we can call in some expert witness to testify about just how badly Vigna embarrassed himself that day. Was it a Seinfeldian humiliation? Or did it reach South Park levels of self-degradation? I could talk about that for a week at trial, but I don’t know if Vigna could, without – you know what’s coming – losing his serenity.

But page eleven of his threat gets interesting. That’s where Vigna moves from merely beclowning himself to actually endangering himself.

Last week I blogged about revelations uncovered by John Pacheco showing that Vigna and Warman switched a key piece of evidence at a tribunal hearing, and didn’t tell the tribunal chairman why they were doing it. I called that unethical, and I stand by it. [NOTE: A CANADIAN COURT RULED THIS SENTENCE DEFAMATORY. SEE PAGE 25 OF THE RULING.]

It’s a lawyer’s duty to tell a tribunal the whole truth – to bring even damaging information to the tribunal’s attention, especially when asked. Vigna was asked by the chairman why he was switching a piece of evidence, and he didn’t explain the real reason why. He led the chairman to believe there was no substantive reason, when there was. That’s unethical.

Look, I’m not the type to lodge a complaint against Vigna with the Law Society of Upper Canada about it. But for Vigna himself to voluntarily bring on a full-blown trial over that matter? I’d call that professional suicide. It’s one thing for a defamation court to laugh about Vigna for a week, deciding whether or not he’s a fool like Seinfeld's Kramer. But it’s more serious when the subject at hand is his unethical conduct. The man should really get a lawyer to give him cool-headed advice.

I suppose my favourite part of Vigna’s libel notice is the very last page, page 13. I’m not just talking about Vigna’s use of the royal “we” to describe himself. (We all do that. Sometimes when I’m at Tim Hortons and I order two donuts, I say “we” want two donuts, because I don’t want the cashier to think I’m eating them both myself). And I’m not just talking about Vigna’s suggestion that I hire a lawyer to get good advice – this from a fellow who has clearly not shown his own letter to anyone who will talk him down from his ledge.

No, my favourite line is his last sentence. After 13 pages of threats, 13 pages of trying to strike terror into my heart, what is Vigna’s coup de grace? What is his “or else”?

Vigna threatens to have the trial… in French!

Whatever turns his crank, I guess. The French do have a theatrical tradition of farces – I pick up a real Jerry Lewis vibe from Vigna, though his serenity monologue was a little bit more Three Stooges.

(It's not surprising that Vigna threatens to use Canada's official bilingualism as a weapon against me. It's similar to his use of "human rights" law as a weapon of censorship. Official bilingualism and human rights commissions were supposed to make Canada better, to protect minorities -- at least that's how they were sold to us. That they are now used cynically and abusively by people like Vigna tells you that even government bureaucrats don't believe the propaganda of Trudeaupian idealism. Those policies are just one more weapon with which to attack their political opponents.)

Vigna’s threatened lawsuit is so obviously frivolous and vexatious, it’s laughable. I hope it goes no further. But, unfortunately, if he really does proceed with a suit, I won’t just be able to laugh – I’ll have to run a defence, and that costs money. And even if I beat Vigna in court – in a year or two – I’ll still have to shell out money for lawyers along the way. I really don’t see how even a quick trial would cost less than $30,000. And remember, that’s on top of Richard Warman’s lawsuit against me and my fellow bloggers, and that’s on top of the human rights commission complaint against me, which still continues.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Vigna has piled on. Other bloggers have written about Vigna’s tomfoolery but, as far as I can tell, I’m the only one he’s threatening to sue. And I don’t doubt there will be more suits on top of those.

There’s a term for this: SLAPP, or strategic lawsuit against public participation. It’s Richard Warman’s specialty, and now Vigna’s getting in on the game. And, I’ll be candid: if it weren’t for the support of the blogosphere, I’d probably crumble under the pressure of it.

But so far, so great: I’ve been able to fight these bullies. As I’ve said before, I’m up for the fight, and I believe in it. I actually think I’m suited for it. The only thing I’m missing is financial strength.

I hate to ask again, so soon after asking for help to fend off Warman’s suit, but if you want to chip in to help me fight off Vigna, please do. Even a bare-bones defence is going to cost me tens of thousands of dollars – and I’ll have to come out to Ontario for the trial, too.

I didn’t ask for this suit. But it’s clear to me that the human rights industry can’t win through arguments, so they’re going to try to bludgeon me (and others) into submission.

Well, I’m not rattled – I’m still serene. I’m going to fight them as long as it takes. Please help me if you can.

Yours gratefully,

Ezra "Tranquility" Levant

***

CTV's Mike Duffy Live

By Ezra Levant on May 21, 2008 1:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (29)

I was invited on CTV's Mike Duffy Live today to talk about the RCMP's investigation of the Canadian Human Rights Commission's conduct. You can see the clip here.

Watching that clip, I'm reminded of how insane the facts are here, and how just a few months ago I would have written off anyone describing such malfeasance as some sort of conspiracy theorist or other nutbar.

I think, in fact, that is going to be the CHRC's spin here: not to try to explain themselves (how do you explain hacking into a private citizen's Internet account? How do you explain strutting around the Internet, pretending to be a Nazi, spewing anti-Semitic, anti-Black and anti-gay venom?) but to just deny everything, and hope the charges against them sound too surreal to be believed.

That's the first possible theory to explain the CHRC spin doctor's comments in the clip before me: the CHRC is just going to brazen it out. It wouldn't be the first time they've lied to the public -- or under oath, for that matter.

The only other explanation I can think of that squares the CHRC's flat denial with the incontrovertible facts here is that the CHRC is going to argue that they, as an organization, didn't do anything wrong, and didn't approve of anyone doing anything wrong -- and that any bad behaviour was the act of a rogue individual. Perhaps their fall guy will be someone the CHRC has already thrown overboard, like Richard Warman, their former investigator who was let go in 2004, or Giacomo Vigna, the CHRC lawyer who was fired from the Lemire case in 2007. [NOTE: A CANADIAN COURT RULED THIS SENTENCE DEFAMATORY. SEE PAGE 27 OF THE RULING.]

If that's their strategy, I just don't think it will work -- as we learned from the March 25th hearing, CHRC management knew all about Jadewarr and other abusive practises. They never did anything to stop it -- and it's a touch late, now that the RCMP are calling.

***

CHRC lawyer threatens me with another lawsuit. (I'm still "serene")

By Ezra Levant on July 22, 2008 7:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (73)

An employee of the Canadian Human Rights Commission has threatened me with another lawsuit, because I criticized his conduct at the CHRC.

So now the government is suing its political critics. Sorry – are we in Russia or Canada?

The CHRC staffer is Giacomo Vigna, one of the CHRC lawyers who prosecutes section 13 "hate speech" cases. And he’s also a bit of a buffoon. One day last year, he stopped an entire tribunal hearing because he said he wasn’t feeling “serene”.

Nobody could understand what he was talking about, but they stopped the trial anyways, at enormous cost to the taxpayer – the government had to pay for all of the other lawyers' costs for travelling across the country to be there. The tribunal chairman demanded a doctor’s note, which Vigna gave his solemn professional undertaking to provide. It’s been more than a year, and Vigna hasn’t complied with his promise. [SEE LEVANT'S CORRECTION HERE. A CANADIAN COURT RULED IT DEFAMATORY DESPITE THE CORRECTION.] The CHRC had to drop him from the case and hire a new lawyer at great expense, because the trial couldn’t continue until Vigna kept his promise. How embarrassing.

I learned all of the above from reading a transcript of the trial. You can see the details here, for yourself, starting at page 4867. I’m not quite sure what Vigna's legal argument is. Is he disputing the facts, as captured by the court stenographer?

Just to keep track, this is the second lawsuit threatened by Vigna. And it's on top of the lawsuit already filed by Richard Warman, the former CHRC employee who remains the heaviest user of the CHRC's section 13 "hate speech" law. Out of 13 Internet cases to have gone to a full hearing, 12 of them have been Warman's. Vigna and Warman were a team at the CHRC, in fact -- Vigna was the CHRC's lawyer prosecuting Warman's complaint against Marc Lemire.

And then there's the defamation threat against me by Warren Kinsella. Kinsella has been the CHRC's lonely defender in the public square. He's friends with Warman -- they even share the same defamation lawyer against me. Kinsella is also part of the "human rights" industry himself, if marginally, having written a loving book about it. And he once gave a keynote speech to the "human rights" industry's luxurious annual convention in Banff. Nice gig.

So that's four defamation suits, all filed or threatened by members of the "human rights" industry. And then there's the two "human rights" complaints themselves (one of which was abandoned, one of which continues against me). And then there are other legal assaults (twelve of them, actually) that have been thrown at me, which I’ll describe another day.

And then there’s the odd death threat.

If that sounds excessive, you're getting the picture. It's a strategy. It's called "lawfare", and it's an attempt to smother me under so many hassles and costs that I abandon my criticism of Canada's HRCs and their abuse of real human rights, like freedom of speech.

They're not even subtle about it. Warman calls his strategy "maximum disruption". He boasts he files legal actions against his enemies just to cause them a hassle. Kinsella calls it “Kicking Ass”. Now you'll understand why I'm putting "human rights" in quotation marks when talking about them.

Instead of rebutting my criticisms, these folks think that if they just throw enough nuisance suits at me I'll pack up and leave.

Not bloody likely.

And not as long as I have the support of the blogosphere to cover my legal fees. I know that support frustrates my antagonists. See, this is the part in their fantasy where I'm supposed to crumple under the weight of their lawsuits, and beg for their forgiveness -- like so many of their previous targets have done. This isn't where I'm supposed to say "not bloody likely.”

Enough preamble. Let me show you Vigna's new legal threat. You can find it here. It was served on one of my lawyers in Toronto.

You will see that it is written entirely in French. My translation of it is here.

Vigna speaks perfect English. My lawyer is unilingually English. The words I wrote that he complained about are in English. The fact that Vigna chose to write his demand to my lawyer in French tells you that he is trying to do a little "maximum disruption" of his own. I don't dispute that Vigna technically has the legal right to file a lawsuit in Ontario in French -- though that will add some cost and hassle to my defence, which is clearly his intended effect.

But he is going much beyond that. He is writing his general correspondence – not his court pleadings, but his day-to-day communications with my lawyers – in French. He's using bilingualism as a weapon. He probably thinks he's pretty tricky. I'd say it proves my point -- he's a little off balance and a lot unprofessional, the very things he's denying in his suits. And it shows a larger sickness in the CHRC: instead of using laws like “human rights” legislation and “bilingualism” as shields to protect people, they’re being used as weapons, to battle people. They’re being abused – especially by activist-bureaucrats.

I’m not going to fisk the whole demand. I think it’s pretty clear that Vigna ought to get himself a lawyer other than himself. He’s not particularly experienced at civil litigation – he’s more used to the shooting-fish-in-a-barrel practice of prosecuting hate speech cases, where a 100% conviction rate suggests that the work isn’t particularly challenging. I’m not sure how he’ll do in a real court – where, unlike section 13 hate speech cases, truth and fair comment are defences. But even if Vigna had experience and expertise in defamation law, it’s clear that he’s -- uh, how can I phrase this – not serene enough to use good judgment in his own case.

I don’t propose to go through all of Vigna’s minutiae. But there are a few points I’d like to address.

Vigna – like so many people in the “human rights” industry – characterizes people who disagree with him as law-breakers. Either you agree with him, or you're an outlaw. In particular, he’s mad about this blog entry I made about the harassment that Vigna’s private investigator subjected my parents to. It takes an extra helping of chutzpah to harass my parents, and then threaten to sue me for complaining about that harassment, and even call my complaint itself harassment.

(I note that his private investigator, one Gaby Saliba, has sworn a false affidavit. Saliba swears that my father told him that I still live at my parents’ house. It’s hilarious in a way; I haven’t lived there since I was a teenager, and my parents kept telling the trespassing Saliba this. Saliba’s perjury makes it a little less funny. But the CHRC isn’t exactly known for its ethics.)

Vigna also complains that his antics – first his antics in the courtroom, and then his ham-fisted antics on my parents’ property – were reported elsewhere on the Internet. He says I’m acting in concert with other websites to intimidate him. Apparently, he thinks there should be some sort of publication ban when he wants to sue people. (I note that Kinsella, too, demanded that I not publicize his legal threats against me. Sorry -- I'm not interested in being threatened in secret.)

I note that one of the websites cited by Vigna is the white supremacist site, VNN. I’m a Jew. I’m not a member of white supremacist Internet communities. I don’t have any dealings with them.

But Vigna can’t say the same, can he? Vigna was one of the CHRC staffers who knew about their secret memberships in neo-Nazi groups. Vigna even knew the passwords and account details for such neo-Nazi memberships, including one called Jadewarr. [NOTE: A CANADIAN COURT RULED THIS DEFAMATORY. SEE PAGES 28 AND 29 OF THE RULING.]

You’d think that a man who had access to membership privileges on neo-Nazi websites wouldn’t exactly be bringing that up in court, especially when the suit is about his reputation. I don’t know about you, but whenever I hear about some shocking “news” on Stormfront or VNN that just happens to justify the latest CHRC tyranny, my first thoughts are “the CHRC planted it themselves.” That’s because the secret accounts that Vigna, Warman and others at the CHRC had access to were in fact used to plant hundreds of hateful messages online, and were used to entrap the CHRC’s targets. I’ve never had the access codes to a neo-Nazi website. Vigna has. It’s just creepy that he’d try to tag that on me.

I’m not going to dignify Vigna’s response with any more time. I’m going to put a top defamation lawyer on the case, and tell him to fight Vigna hard.

I'm going to make sure we subpoena all the CHRC's own records that touch on the case. Vigna is Jennifer Lynch's man. Let's get her on the record about his conduct. Let's get their internal files about why Vigna was sacked from the case. And what the whole "serenity" nonsense was really about. Vigna's direct boss, the great Ian Fine, was part of the whole "serenity now" business, too. I've debated against him. Prediction: not a strong witness.

I'm going to fight hard. Not just because it’s so obviously a nuisance suit from Vigna (two, now). Not just because it’s my right as a Canadian to criticize the government, and the on-the-job conduct of government employees like Vigna (and when they harass my parents in retaliation).

But because Vigna is part of a larger pathology: an out-of-control “human rights” industry that feels it can squash criticism, rather than have to answer to it.

Dear reader, I know you’re probably growing tired of helping me out. I’m a little tired of spending my time fighting back against such suits, too. But I know that I can’t back down. I have to fight these fights all the way to the end.

Not just to win them for my own sake, but to send a message to the HRCs that the way they bully their opponents is not acceptable. That message will be sent by the trial judge to Vigna. But I want that message to go to Vigna’s boss, Jennifer Lynch, the Chief Commissioner of the CHRC, too. She presides over a corrupt, ethically-challenged swamp, that is under investigation by the RCMP, the Privacy Commissioner, Parliament, and even an internal review. Lynch smiles for the media, and pretends she’s fine with it all – but the fact is, her own staff and former staff are her attack dogs, suing and harassing her political critics. I blame Lynch as much as I blame Vigna and Warman, for Lynch has created a corrupt corporate culture where abuse of process and vindictive lawsuits against political critics are just a normal day at the office.

My legal fights are about beating Vigna, Kinsella, Warman, etc. But they’re also about standing up to the poetically named Ms. Lynch and her petty tyranny.

***

My defence in Vigna v. Levant: Vigna beclowned himself

By Ezra Levant on August 1, 2008 1:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (57)

This is a half-siren post. Thanks to RR for providing me with the image!

Giacomo Vigna is a failed politician. He has run for public office three times. His last adventure with the unwashed masses was in Ottawa, where he ran for city council. He spent $17,600 and came in fourth, with just 582 votes. That's $30/vote, and he still got creamed.

Vigna is now betting his money on Michael Ignatieff, to whom he gave $1,000. I'm guessing that's as good as lost, too.

Vigna is best known, however, for his antics before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal. He appeared before that tribunal as the Canadian Human Rights Commission's lawyer, prosecuting section 13 hate speech cases, such as the Warman v. Beaumont and Warman v. Lemire hearings.

It was in the Lemire hearing that Vigna had -- how can I put this gently? -- a bad day. You can read for yourself, from the court transcripts of that day, starting at page 4867 here:

MR. VIGNA: Sorry. Mr. Chair, I don't have the flu but I don't feel in a serene state of mind to proceed with the file today. I don't feel very well. I feel dizzy, I feel anxiety, and I am not in a serene state of mind to proceed with this file today.

I have a lot of things worrying me right now and I don't want to elaborate, but my colleague said, Mr. Fine, there are some certain incidents that have occurred which I don't feel at liberty to elaborate right now, which have had an impact on my ability to proceed in a professional way on this file, at least for today, because I wouldn't be rendering the Commission a just service by proceeding in this condition.

I am not dying, Mr. Chair, I don't have the flu, but I am not mentally capable of proceeding under these circumstances.

THE CHAIRPERSON: But the witness is here?

MR. VIGNA: The witness is here. It's not the question of the witness. The witness is here. I thought until this morning that I would proceed, but I really don't feel primarily mentally able to proceed, and physically too.

...MR. CHRISTIE: I have heard two explanations which are as frivolous as any I have ever heard in justifying an adjournment of a whole proceeding… To say I am not feeling well, but sit here and talk about it, is inconsistent. There is no medical certificate, and I heard very faintly Mr. Vigna say I'm not physically sick, I don't have a serene state of mind. Very few of us in the difficulties we face always have a serene state of mind. I don't know what that means.

This is not a case of a nervous breakdown or a mental state justifying a psychiatric examination. I am certain of that. To say I don't feel like doing it today is insulting...

MR. VIGNA: Mr. Chair, I will provide a medical certificate.

THE CHAIRPERSON: Please sit down, Mr. Vigna.

MR. VIGNA: I feel insulted by that comment.

THE CHAIRPERSON: Please sit down.

Not good. Vigna gave his professional promise -- called a lawyer's undertaking -- to give the tribunal a copy of his doctor's note. He never did [SEE LEVANT'S CORRECTION HERE. A CANADIAN COURT RULED IT DEFAMATORY DESPITE THE CORRECTION.] and the tribunal has not let him off the hook. So the CHRC -- besides having to pick up the tab for all of the other lawyers who flew to the hearing -- replaced Vigna, also at great cost.

Vigna is apparently still not serene, because he's suing me for mentioning the above facts. He doesn't dispute those facts; he just doesn't like me repeating them.

Well, that's tough. Vigna was a government lawyer, prosecuting a political lawsuit. And his lack of "serenity" cost taxpayers countless thousands of dollars. I would think it's a textbook case of the public interest.

Vigna sued me, with this 86-page monstrosity of a lawsuit -- written in French. (Here is a smaller translation of it.) That's a hoot in itself, because Vigna is fluent in English, I speak English, and the words he's suing me about are in English, too. But it's just his own lame attempt at "maximum disruption". He lacks the "grand vision" of Richard Warman, who schemes with street hoodlums to throw pies in the face of his opponents. Vigna just punishes me with the language of love!

Here's my statement of defence, filed and served today. It has some similarities to my defence in the Warman matter, but obviously the meat of it is different. I'll keep you posted on what happens next -- and in what language.

I should warn Vigna, though: I know Yiddish, and I'm not afraid to raise the stakes in this battle of the mother tongues!

Moral of the story: if you don't want to be called a schlemiel, don't act like a schlemiel. What a goyishe cop.

Folks, this is the second enormous expense I've incurred in a week, the first being the defence in the Warman nuisance suit. If you agree with me that Vigna's mishugenah behaviour was fair game for criticism, and if you hate the fact that, like Warman, Kinsella, Syed Soharwardy and the Edmonton Council of Muslim Communities, Vigna is resorting to "lawfare" to fight his political battles, in an attempt to bankrupt me, then please consider chipping in. I'd appreciate the help. The lawsuit isn't fair, and I think I'll win. But that's probably $50,000 down the road -- and Vigna et al. are hoping I won't be able to survive that long. Please help me prove him wrong.

I remain grateful to you and the many supporters who have helped me survive so far. I promise to keep fighting.

Critics Decry Plans for a Movie Depicting Life of Prophet Muhammad

2008-11-25T16:30:00.000-08:00

If film producer Oscar Zoghbi has his way, Americans will be soon be flocking to movie theaters to see a film about the Prophet Muhammad and his followers that Zoghbi hopes will clear up misconceptions about Muslims, including what he says is "the understanding that all Muslims are terrorists."

Zoghbi says he hopes to shoot some scenes for his movie in the holy cities of Medina and Mecca, and he predicts his film, "The Messenger of Peace," will rival Mel Gibson's "The Passion of The Christ."

Continue reading at FOXNews.com

Automakers' Jobs Bank Program Pays Laid-Off Workers to Do Nothing

2008-11-25T16:28:00.000-08:00

Thousands of laid-off auto workers get paid $31 an hour to sit around and do nothing all year under a controversial program that could continue even if American taxpayers bail out the American auto industry.

The program, called "Jobs Banks," has been around for 24 years. Some of the employees at jobs banks choose to do community service, but others do crossword puzzles and watch TV all day -- or just stare at a wall. If you're a laid-off auto worker, it's what comes with your pink slip, thanks to a deal struck in 1984 between the United Auto Workers and the Big Three carmakers.

North Carolina Teacher Caught on Tape Teaching Pro-Obama Lessons

2008-11-07T16:32:00.000-08:00

The election may be over, but more allegations of political bias in public schools are surfacing.

A North Carolina superintendent said Friday that he was "shocked" after viewing video footage of an elementary school teacher harshly questioning a student in class for supporting John McCain.

Continue reading at FOXNews.com

Obama's Education Groups Funded Controversial Organizations in the 90s, Tax Returns Show

2008-10-29T16:33:00.000-07:00

[Note: Originally published at FOXNews.com. The article was taken down along with the election 2008 website.]

By Maxim Lott

The Annenberg Challenge and the Woods Fund of Chicago funded numerous controversial groups while Barack Obama served on their boards between 1995 and 2002, an analysis of their tax returns shows.

In 2001, when Obama was a part-time director of The Woods Fund of Chicago, it gave $75,000 to ACORN, the voter registration group now under investigation for voter fraud in 12 states.

The Woods Fund also gave $6,000 to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's Trinity United Church of Christ, which Obama attended. The reason for the donation to the church is unclear -- it is simply listed as "for special purposes" in the group's IRS tax form.

It gave a further $60,000 to the Children and Family Justice Center at Northwestern University, which was founded and run by Bernardine Dohrn, the wife of domestic terrorist William Ayers and, with her husband, a former member of the 1960s radical group the Weather Underground.

Other controversial donations that year included $50,000 to the Small Schools Network -- which was founded by Ayers and run by Michael Klonsky, a friend of Ayers' and the former chairman of the Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist), an offshoot of the 1960s radical group Students for a Democratic Society -- and $40,000 to the Arab American Action Network, which critics have accused of being anti-Semitic.

The Woods Fund did not respond to questions about the funding. When Obama co-chaired the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, which calls itself "a public-private partnership improving education for 1.5 million urban and rural public school students," it gave to some of the same groups -- partnering with ACORN to manage funding for schools and giving over $1 million to the Small Schools Network.

It also gave nearly $1 million to a group called the South Shore African Village Collaborative, whose goals, according to Annenberg's archived Web site, are "to develop more collegian relationships between teachers and principals. Professional development topics include school leadership, team building, parent and community involvement, developing thematic units, instructional strategies, strategic planning, and distance learning and teleconferencing."

But the group mentions other goals in its grant application to the Annenberg Challenge:

"Our children need to understand the historical context of our struggles for liberation from those forces that seek to destroy us," one page of the application reads.

Stanley Kurtz, a Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, found the collaborative's original application when going through Annenberg's archives.

Asked to comment, Yvonne Williams-Kinnison, executive director of the collaborative's parent group, the Coalition for Improved Education in South Shore said, "I don't want to put more fuel on the fire. You can call us back after the election.... I don't want to compromise the position."

Late Afrocentrist scholars Jacob Carruthers and Asa Hilliard were both invited to give SSAVC teachers a training session, the Chicago Annenberg Challenge noted in a report, adding that the "consciousness raising session ... received rave reviews, and has prepared the way for the curriculum readiness survey session."

But Carruthers has been a controversial figure because of inflammatory statements he made in writing.

"The submission to Western civilization and its most outstanding offspring, American civilization, is, in reality, surrender to white supremacy," Carruthers wrote in his 1999 book, "Intellectual Warfare."

"Some of us have chosen to reject the culture of our oppressors and recover our disrupted ancestral culture."

In the book, he compared the process of blacks assimilating into American culture with rape.

"We may not be able to get our virginity back after the rape, but we do not have to marry the rapist," Carruthers said.

Hilliard has come under fire for advocating what many consider an extreme Afrocentric curriculum.

He selected the articles for the "African-American Baseline Essays" published in 1987 and first used in the Portland, Ore., school district. The essays have been criticized for claiming, among other things, that ancient Egyptians were the first to discover manned flight and the theory of evolution.

An Obama spokesman called investigation of these ties "pathetic."

"This is another pathetic attempt by FOX News to distract voters from the economic challenges facing this nation by patching together tenuous links to smear Barack Obama," Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt told FOXNews.com.

"The Annenberg Challenge was a bipartisan organization dedicated to improving the performance of students and teachers in Chicago Public Schools that was funded by a Republican philanthropist who was friends with President Reagan and launched by Republican Gov. Jim Edgar."

But Kurtz says those founders of the Annenberg Challenge would not have known the details about to whom their Chicago office -- one of 18 around the country -- was giving money.

"If you read Ayers' proposal to Annenberg, it doesn't sound radical. But if you actually read Ayers' education writings, they are very radical indeed," Kurtz said. "Ayers, like so many other savvy professors, knows enough not to state his actual views frankly when applying for money. But you can find the truth in his writings."

The controversial donations make up only a small portion of the overall amount doled out by the Annenberg and Woods funds. The Woods Fund gave over $3.5 million to 115 different groups in 2001, and the Annenberg Challenge dispensed nearly $11 million to 63 groups at its height in 1999.

Most of the groups are mainstream and well respected, ranging from the Jazz Institute of Chicago to the Successful Schools Project.

But Kurtz says that this should not obscure what he describes as controversial donations.

"If John McCain had given to white supremacist groups and people said, Hey, the majority of funding didn't go to supremacist groups' -- that wouldn't even cut the ice," Kurtz said.

"I feel certain [Obama] knew about these radical groups," Kurtz said. "We know that he read the applications because he made statements about the quality of proposals."

FBI Removes 'Honor Killing' From Murder Suspect's 'Wanted' Poster

2008-10-24T16:36:00.000-07:00

The FBI removed all mention of the controversial term “honor killing” from the wanted poster of a double-murder suspect after FOXNews.com ran a story announcing the use of the term.

Yasser Abdel Said, wanted for the murder of his two daughters, has eluded authorities for almost a year. The bodies of the young women — Sarah Said, 17, and Amina Said, 18 — were discovered in the back of a taxicab in Irving, Texas, on New Year's Day.

Continue reading at FOXNews.com

First Time FBI Calls Case an 'Honor Killing'

2008-10-14T16:37:00.000-07:00

Almost a year after two teenage girls were found dead — allegedly executed by their father — in the back seat of a taxicab in Texas, the FBI is saying for the first time that the case may have been an "honor killing."

Sarah Said, 17, and her sister Amina, 18, were killed on New Year's Day, but for nine months authorities deflected questions about whether their father — the prime suspect and the subject of a nationwide manhunt — may have targeted them because of a perceived slight upon his honor.

Continue reading at FOXNews.com

'Potatoe Boy' Weighs In on Dan Quayle's Election Gaffe

2008-10-03T16:38:00.000-07:00

[Note: Originally published at FOXNews.com. The article was taken down along with the election 2008 website.]

By Maxim Lott

Sarah Palin and Joe Biden may have made a few mistakes during Thursday night's vice presidential debate, but it remains to be seen whether their mistakes will stick in voters' minds like one infamous vice presidential gaffe from the 1992 election.

Few political gaffes are as memorable as Vice President Dan Quayle's misspelling.

Quayle told a grade-school boy in New Jersey that he had misspelled the word "potato" during a photo-op spelling bee. With the cameras rolling, Quayle directed the boy to add an "e" to the end of the word.

"Potatoe" became a defining moment in the election, and it turned Quayle into political laughingstock.

But it also was a life-altering event for 12-year-old William Figueroa, who that day earned the nickname "Potatoe Boy."

Now a 28-year-old father, Figueroa says he doesn't talk with people much about what happened. He says he rarely brings it up.

"It always comes out somehow. I really can't escape it, to be honest." he told FOXNews.com from the store he manages in New Jersey.

During the staged spelling bee, Figueroa was asked to come to the blackboard and spell a word that was included in flash cards that had been presented to Quayle. Figueroa spelled the word right, but Quayle corrected him.

"You're close," the vice president told Figueroa, "but you left a little something off. There's an 'e' on the end."

Figueroa added an "e" and sat back down.

Quayle was lambasted for the incident. He claimed he had misspelled the word because he was referring to incorrect cards prepared by his staff. But the damage was done.

When George H.W. Bush named him to be his running mate in 1988, Quayle was only 41 and was criticized as being young and inexperienced. Bush and Quayle won that election. But in 1992, they lost re-election when voters picked Bill Clinton and Al Gore.

Figueroa doesn't see Quayle's gaffe as indicative of the former vice president's intelligence.

"Me, personally, I think it was an innocent mistake. It was blown out of proportion by the media," he said. "They already had an image of who he was, and what I did was just another stepping stone adding to that."

Figueroa said that after the gaffe, he was inundated by media requests. He was invited onto David Letterman's TV show and was asked to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the 1992 Democratic Convention.

He told Letterman he knew Quayle was wrong, "but since he's the vice president, I went back to the blackboard and put an 'e' on the end. ... Afterward, I went to the dictionary, and there was potato like I spelled it."

But out of the spotlight, Figueroa was having big troubles of his own.

"There were a lot of opportunities that I missed because of problems with home life when I was younger," he said. "My father was a drug addict -- still is. I was just a young man, so in order to get anywhere, be driven to an interview or anything, I had to give him monetary compensation. All the money I made (from interviews and ads) was basically stolen for drugs."

Figueroa said he occasionally talks with his father, but he said they are "not on good terms" and generally leave each other alone. Attempts to reach his father were unsuccessful.

Figueroa said he works long hours with his job as a manager at a Verizon store in New Jersey. He has three daughters, and a stepson with his fiancee, Coco.

"They are all on the school honor roll -- except for the baby," he said, laughing. "They are good at spelling."

Watching the vice presidential debate wasn't an option -- work keeps him busy -- and he also hasn't had time to look into the candidates' platforms.

"Before the election, I plan to sit down and take a full day to do research before I decide who I think would make best president," he said.

But he's looking for a good leader, not a good speller.

"I don't believe in the Democrat and Republican labels," he said. "I just care about who would be the best person to run the country."

New Film Lifts Veil on Effort to Kill ABC Docudrama on 9/11

2008-09-11T16:40:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON — Out in time for the seventh commemoration of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, a new documentary alleges that powerful politicians and a biased media effectively censored the controversial ABC miniseries “The Path To 9/11."

The new release, titled “Blocking “The Path To 9/11,'” claims that powerful Democratic figures and popular left-wing bloggers managed to scuttle an earlier version of the 2006 docudrama after spreading several baseless allegations in an attempt to get the program cut from ABC's prime time line-up.

Continue reading at FOXNews.com

Top 7 Myths, Lies and Untruths About Sarah Palin

2008-09-05T23:37:00.000-07:00

[Note: Originally published at FOXNews.com. The article was taken down along with the election 2008 website.]

By Maxim Lott

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has been subjected to an intense amount of media and public scrutiny since she was named as John McCain’s vice presidential pick one week ago. Many of the attacks have come in the form of unconfirmed reports on the Internet. Among them:

1) Palin “Joined a Secessionist Political Party”

The Charge: Unsubstantiated Internet reports insisted Palin was once a member of the Alaska Independence Party, which critics call a secessionist political movement and supporters say is dedicated to seeking greater state control over federal lands across Alaska.

The Facts: Palin has been a registered Republican since 1982. There is no record of her ever being a member of the AIP, or any party but the GOP. Palin’s husband has been a member of the AIP in the past, but since 2002 has been a registered independent.

(See: Party Official Says Palin Was Not a Member)

2) Palin Supported a “Nazi Sympathizer”

The Charge: “Palin was a supporter of Pat Buchanan, a right-winger or, as many Jews call him: a Nazi sympathizer,” Obama Florida spokesman Mark Bubriski was quoted as saying in a Miami Herald article.

The Facts: While mayor of Wasilla, Palin wore a Buchanan button during the sometimes presidential candidate’s 1999 visit. But Palin actually supported Steve Forbes in 2000, and served as a co-chair on his Alaska campaign.

In the weeks after the 1999 report of her wearing the Buchanan button, Palin said: “When presidential candidates visit our community, I am always happy to meet them. I’ll even put on their button when handed one as a polite gesture of respect. Ö The article may have left your readers with the perception that I am endorsing this candidate, as opposed to welcoming his visit to Wasilla.”

(See: Obama campaign advisor quote from an e-mail sent to the Miami Herald)

3) Palin “Wants Creationism Taught in School”

The Charge: Palin opposes the teaching of evolution, and would mandate the teaching of creationism in the state’s public schools.

The Facts: Palin said during her 2006 gubernatorial campaign that she would not push the state Board of Education to add creation-based alternatives to the state’s required curriculum, or look for creationism advocates when she appointed board members. She has kept this pledge, according to the Associated Press.

Palin has spoken in favor of classroom discussions of creationism, in some cases. “I don’t think there should be a prohibition against debate if it comes up in class. It doesn’t have to be part of the curriculum,” Palin told the Anchorage Daily News in a 2006 interview.

(See: ‘Creation science’ enters the race; Palin is only candidate to suggest it should be discussed in schools. By Tom Kizzia, Anchorage Daily News, 27 October 2006)

4) Palin “Was Nearly Recalled” While Mayor

The Charge: Palin was so controversial as mayor of Wasilla that she was almost recalled by a popular voter movement.

The Facts: The Wasilla City Council considered but never took up a recall motion after she fired a longtime police chief, who subsequently brought a lawsuit. A citizen’s group dropped their recall bid, and a judge ruled Palin had the authority to fire the chief.

(See: Foes Back Off Push to Recall Mayor)

5) Palin “Opposes Sex Education”

The Charge: Palin opponents say she supported the end of all sex education in public schools. In light of her daughter’s presumably unplanned teen pregnancy, this has been a particularly well discussed Internet topic.

The Facts: “The explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support,” Palin wrote in a 2006 questionnaire distributed among gubernatorial candidates. Palin favors abstinence-based sex education programs.

(See: McCain fought money on teen pregnancy programs, By Sharon Theimer, Associated Press, Sept. 2, 2008)

6) “This Picture Proves Palin is Ö”

The Charge: A slew of fake, Photoshopped or misdated photographs on the Internet purport to show Palin in any number of embarrassing or compromising poses. One photo claimed to show Palin standing poolside, wearing an American flag-themed bikini, toting a rifle with telescopic sight.

The Facts: The various photos are being discredited and shown to be fake on a number of Web sites. The original of the so-called bikini shot, probably the best-known of the pictures, was shown to have been taken of another woman, with Palin’s head Photoshopped above the body.

(See: Call to Arms)

7) Palin is the grandmother, and not the mother, of Trig Palin

The Charge: The most salacious rumor of all, this theory holds that Palin did not give birth to her son Trig in April, and was actually covering up for her daughter, Bristol.

The Facts: There are a number of photographs showing an apparently pregnant Sarah Palin, as well as a number of published eyewitness accounts of her pregnancy. These include First Lady Laura Bush, who says she spoke with a pregnant Palin at a governor’s conference in February. An assignment manager for KTVA news in Anchorage, Cherie Shirey, has also been quoted saying: “We worked with Governor Palin many times in 2008. Our reporters worked her on location and in the studio and I worked with her myself. She was definitely pregnant. You could see it in her belly and her face. The whole idea that Sarah Palin wasn’t pregnant with Trig is completely, absolutely absurd.”

The McCain campaign, in an apparent effort to counteract the rumors, announced last weekend that Bristol Palin is five months pregnant, which indicated she would have become pregnant before Trig was born.

(See: Palin Rebuts Rumors, Says Daughter Pregnant, Anchorage TV Station: Palin Was ‘Definitely Pregnant’ With Trig’ )

Foretelling the Future: Online Prediction Markets

2008-05-09T23:40:00.000-07:00

By JOHN STOSSEL and MAXIM LOTT

ho will win the Democratic nomination? Who will be the next president? When might Britney Spears go back to rehab? And who will be the next "American Idol"?
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