The Rule of Law is almost dead in America

  Bookworm Room

"As Stanford Law School shows, the Rule of Law is almost dead in America, and it must be resuscitated if our nation is to survive."

"Progressives believe themselves above the law and conservatives below it. What happened and (at the administrative level) continues to happen at Stanford Law School is a perfect example of this intolerable reality. Meanwhile, the pearl-clutching reaction from some conservatives to Trump’s warning that arresting him on ludicrous, political charges may well lead to violence is itself counter-productive. Weakness invites more aggression; steadfast resistance ends it.

"A horrendous but all too common incident of progressives unlawfully shutting down conservative speech recently occurred at Stanford Law School. Jonathan Turley summarized the facts:

The Stanford Federalist Society invited Judge Duncan of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to speak on campus. However, liberal students, including members from the National Lawyer’s Guild, decided that allowing a conservative judge to speak on campus is intolerable and set about to “deplatform” him by shouting him down.

In this event, Duncan was planning to speak on the topic: “The Fifth Circuit in Conversation with the Supreme Court: Covid, Guns, and Twitter.” A video shows that the students prevented Duncan from speaking from the very beginning. Many called him a racist while others hurled insults like one yelling “We hope your daughters get raped.”

Duncan was unable to continue and asked for an administrator to assist him.

Dean [for Diversity Equity and Inclusion at Stanford Law School] Steinbach then took the stage and criticized the judge for seeking to be heard despite such objections.

"Alan Dershowitz gave some very important context to the incident. The plan to disrupt Judge Duncan’s speech was not a localized event that a few students planned and executed. To the contrary:

It was a well-planned and carefully orchestrated effort to prevent other Stanford students from hearing the judge’s conservative views. The disruption was organized by the local chapter of National Lawyers Guild as part of a nationwide effort to suppress conservative speech. . . .

 . . .Specifically, 18 U.S. Code § 241 – Conspiracy against rights provides:

If two or more persons conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States…[t]hey shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years….