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A presidential Trump lands at Normandy

“These are the boys of Pointe de Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs … These are the heroes.” — President Reagan These are the presidents of Pointe du Hoc. These are the leaders who come to the cliffs that overlook the beaches of Normandy, France, on special anniversary years, and honor the heroes who took the cliffs, liberated France and waged the war that saved the world. It was Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, then Allied Supreme Commander and later America’s 34th president, who ordered the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, and sent those men and boys on their ...

Where’s bioethics commission?

Hardly a week seems to pass without a major news story about another controversy in bioethics: A scientist in China uses CRISPR to produce genetically edited twins, an Italian surgeon recruits a potential patient for a human head transplant, a Nebraska woman gives birth to her own granddaughter. These cases cry out for the wisdom of experts in medicine, law and philosophy — knowledgeable authorities who can shape public discussions and advise policymakers. And yet, more than two years since President Donald Trump’s inauguration, the United States remains without a bioethics ...

The president walks into a bar

How sense of humor has changed forever during the Trump era So, Bill Clinton walks into a bar with a parrot on his shoulder. Bartender says, “Does he talk?” Parrot says, “Not for less than 500 grand.” That’s an old-fashioned political joke — old-fashioned as in the 1990s. It takes a recognizable slice of truth, gives it an unexpected twist and out comes a little laugh that leaves no mark. Today’s American political humor is different, reflecting a drastically different country than the one late-night legend Johnny Carson bid farewell to 27 years ago this ...

From convicted murderer to exoneree to law grad

What would you do if you were falsely accused and convicted of a brutal rape and murder you didn’t commit? How would you handle a violent maximum-security prison, sentenced 16 years to life, at age 17? And what would you choose to do, if you won your freedom back after exoneration? Jeffrey Deskovic, 45, graduated from Pace University School of Law three weeks ago to rousing cheers from friends, family and faculty. On its own, the achievement warrants celebration. Any graduation does. But Deskovic’s feat is just one of an extraordinary set of milestones in the extraordinary ...

Are some ‘trying to childproof the presidency?’

That was a pretty stunning story about the White House asking some Navy officials to move the warship USS John McCain “out of sight” during President Donald Trump’s recent visit to Japan. The obvious fear was that sharing any stage with the war hero would unhinge the president. McCain died last August from brain cancer. This is pretty wild stuff. Higher-ups in the Navy reversed earlier efforts to cover the ship’s name with a tarp. Trump denies he knew about the request, as does acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan. Believe them, or don’t. What cannot be denied is ...

Robert Mueller’s upside-down variety of justice

It’s a familiar quote from Charles Dickens’ classic “Oliver Twist,” but with special contemporary relevance in light of a statement last week by Special Counsel Robert Mueller: “’If the law supposes that,’ said Mr. Bumble… ‘the law is a ass — a idiot.’“ But it isn’t so much that the law is fractured, rather it is practitioners who sometimes do it an injustice. In a statement at the Justice Department during which he resigned and announced the closing of his office, Mueller said this about indicted Russian hackers who attempted to influence the outcome of ...