Sen. Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker's debate goes down tonight!

The Friday Flashpoints

Georgia U.S. Senate Debate

Later this evening, Sen. Raphael Warnock (D- Ga.) will face his Republican challenger, Herschel Walker, in a long awaited televised debate.

Georgia voters, and the world writ large, will soon see that there is NO debate as to who is the more intelligent, more focused, and more articulate candidate for the job despite the fact that we live in an era in which political and public policy novices routinely make it big on the state and national stages—to our collective chagrin.

Despite having a strong record, Sen. Warnock finds himself in a tight race as election day draws near against an opponent who seems to take great pride in displaying his wanton ignorance on the campaign trail. To me, this race perfectly captures a quote from the late abolitionist Frederick Douglass, who averred:

"Though the colored man is no longer subject to be bought and sold, he is still surrounded by an adverse sentiment which fetters all his movements. In his downward course he meets with no resistance, but his course upward is resented and resisted at every step of his progress. If he comes in ignorance, rags, and wretchedness, he conforms to the popular belief of his character, and in that character he is welcome. But if he shall come as a gentleman, a scholar, and a statesman, he is hailed as a contradiction to the national faith concerning his race, and his coming is resented as impudence..."

The difference is clear—vote for the gentleman, the scholar, and the statesman: Sen. Raphael Warnock!

Life

Nikolas Cruz, the Florida man who murdered 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas School in Broward County, Florida, was spared the death penalty yesterday by a jury that recommended life without parole. 

The anguish from some of the survivors was intense, including the following statements as reported in CNN:

The parents of 14-year-old Alyssa Alhadeff, said they were “disgusted” with the decision to recommend life in prison. Ilan Alhadeff said his family was “beyond disappointed with the outcome."

Fred Guttenberg, the father of 14-year-old Jaime Guttenberg, said the Parkland massacre victims’ families were “robbed of justice.”

The family of another 15-year-old victim, Peter Wang, says they are “shocked at the decision.” "This monster killed 17 people, how can he live another day?,” Wang's cousin Lin Chen said.

"If not now the death penalty, then when?" said Patricia Oliver, whose son was killed in the shooting.

If not now, when, indeed….

For those equally in shock, do know that death penalty cases are notoriously complicated, as jurors must wrestle with aggravating factors, such as whether the acts were “heinous, atrocious, and cruel,” against mitigating factors such as the decendant’s age, mental health status, and prior record (or lack thereof).

Having tried multiple murder cases in the past, including death penalty cases, it's hard for me to reconcile how Cruz received such leniency as his acts at the MSD School were horrifically heinous, atrocious, and cruel.

But if there’s any solace for the survivors at all I offer this—Cruz may live a very long life at Florida's toughest prison (Raiford)—if he survives long at all among a general population where someone just may seek their own form of prison retribution. 

Nevertheless, my sincerest prayers are with the survivors, and I continue to wish that all who perished due to Cruz's malevolence rest in eternal peace...

Alex Jones must pay

I have not followed the trial of Alex Jones, the infamous Infowars host, too closely, but I admit that I was ecstatic to see that a Connecticut jury hit him with a $965 million to 15 plaintiffs!

For those thinking that the victims will never see a dime, don’t conclude that too fast, my friends.

First, should Jones choose to appeal, the court will very likely require that he posts an appeals bond that would be significant enough to cover a major percentage (if not all) of the damages that were awarded by the jury. This means that should he lose on appeal, monies are already in a court registry ready for disbursement!

Secondly, whether he does or does not appeal, trust when I tell you that garnishment lawyers are very likely prepared to find and garnish as many Jones assets as possible to provide lucre for their clients.

While both will take some time, what I hope is that the Alex Jones copycats, those bloggers, podcast hosts, and social media influencers who play fast and loose with facts, will realize that even citizen journalists have the burden of being fair, balanced, and in legal matters, accurate, when speaking out on the issues of our day.

Methinks that a near billion dollar verdict will be enough to keep citizen journalists honest…

January 6th hearings conclude—what’s next?

After several public hearings that allowed the public to learn how sinister, coordinated, and deadly the January 6th MAGA riots really were, the House committee investigating the attack, led by Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Ms.) and Liz Cheney (R- Wy.), held what could be its last public hearing yesterday; the final reveal is that former President Donald Trump may be subpoenaed to testify, a reality that drew a rambling response from Trump where he reiterated his long since debunked theory that the 2020 election was stolen.

While some political and/or legal analysts have concluded that the stage is being further set for formal criminal charges to be levied against Trump, I remain skeptical for one major reason: The Hatch Act.

The Hatch Act is a federal law that was passed in 1939 and named for then former U.S. Sen. Carl Hatch (D-N.M). It was signed into law during President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s second term to address concerns that his Works Progress Administration, an agency that employed hundreds of thousands of Americans tasked to complete various public works projects during the Great Depression, had become far too politicized and was using public employees to advocate on behalf of (or detract) certain candidates for office.  

​The law’s purpose is to ensure that, “federal programs are administered in a nonpartisan fashion, to protect federal employees from political coercion in the workplace, and to ensure that federal employees are advanced based on merit and not based on political affiliation.​​​​”​​

So, how could the Hatch Act prevent a prosecution of Donald Trump for his role in the MAGA riots or other federal crimes?

Simply stated, in its modern interpretation, the Hatch Act proscribes certain behavior by federal prosecutors to discourage them from prosecuting certain cases relating to political candidates.

Meaning, with the Biden Justice Department being led by Attorney General Merrick Garland (above), and with federal prosecutors all working under Garland's (and Biden's) authority, so long as Donald Trump continues to suggest that he “may” run for president in 2024, prosecutors appointed by Biden may be hesitant to indict his possible Republican opponent, Donald Trump, due to the Hatch Act.

Stay tuned…