A few days ago, I wrote about cynicism. Now it seems like it’s running rampant on left-leaning social media. When I try to comment on the ongoing litigation and investigations into Trump’s role in the January 6 Capitol insurrection, people (in droves) assure me that the criminal justice system is “broken,” and rich people escape …
Are you annoyed by all those lying liars—including U.S. Senators—who are still spreading the lie about the election being stolen? Yeah, me, too. Well, lying and presenting myths as a way to solidify power goes all the way back to the ancient world. Take the Behistun Inscription. In huge lettering on the side of a …
Before I talk about cynicism, an item of business. I am trying something new. People have asked me to host a podcast, but I have no time. I have 2 books in press and another in progress. But I did see value in summarizing my work over the past few years, so I recorded a …
Professor Brian Klaas observed the following: This is precisely what Yale Professor Timothy Snyder calls “governing by crisis and spectacle.” The purpose of a fascist government is to maintain order, which means keeping the ruling oligarchs rich and everyone else poor. This raises a problem for fascist leaders. How do they keep their constituents happy …
First, some news about a lawsuit, and then I’ll answer some questions. The N.A.A.C.P. filed a new lawsuit against Trump, Giuliani, the Proud Boys, and Oathkeepers on behalf of Rep. Bennie Thompson. The complaint is here. He accuses Defendants of violating the KKK act, which outlaws (among other things) preventing an official from discharging duties. …
I understand why people are saying that Trump got off on a technicality. The idea is to emphasize that most of the Senators who voted to acquit Trump did so even though they thought he was guilty. To be precise, it was a made-up technicality. The “jurisdictional” problem the Republican Senators found was not one …
The impeachment trial brought home a painful reality. Trump is only part of the problem. The larger problem is that Trump is being shielded by a major political party that believes in his tactics and everything he stands for, and will defend literally anything he does. The dramatic conclusion of the trial came when 7 …
You can read my latest piece for The Washington Post on their website, or I’ve cut and pasted it here: Suppose an incumbent president up for another term decides not to honor the result of the election. Suppose he tries every means available to keep himself in office: He pressures local officials to “find” votes, he files dozens …
On Saturday, I did an explainer of the Smartmatic lawsuit against Fox and other defendants. Today I’ll look at the Dominion suits against Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell Dominion’s complaint against Giuliani is here. The claim is similar to the Smartmatic complaint, which is no surprise since the facts are the same. Dominion asserts that …
More Fun with Defamation Law: Dominion, Rudy Giuliani, and Sidney Powell Read More »
I conclude my forthcoming book on Disinformation (to be published by Macmillan, I don’t know exactly when) with a chapter on ways to help slow the spread of disinformation. One suggestion is defamation lawsuits. The example I used was when the Sandy Hook parents successfully sued Alex Jones over his theories that the parents were …
