Baltimore is Showing America the Consequences of a Neutered Police Force

Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis is quoted as saying the states are the laboratories of democracy. His actual words are close: “The states … serve as a laboratory and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country.” Baltimore, Maryland is experimenting with its police, putting at risk the health and safety of its people, but fortunately not those of the rest of America or even Maryland. The question is: “Can a neutered police department maintain the peace?” We know the answer from Cincinnati and New York City (see My May 10 blog, “Baltimore Has An Impending Crime wave), but in the words of Santayana: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” The role of the police is to preserve the peace. They are called upon to use force during crimes and in arresting suspects, often having to make split second decisions on the use of force. The use of force will sometimes result in deaths or injuries. Abuses occur. Mistakes are inevitable. Decisions to arrest or use force based on reasonable suspicion or probable cause will not always be correct. The decisions are judged with hindsight. The best test of foreseeability is hindsight. We know that mistakes, even fatal mistakes, occur in the line of duty. Critics of the police make these accusations: Excessive police force is provocative and causes violence White police officers like to shoot young Blacks Police single out blacks A major problem in the inner cities is the lack of adult black males because they are excessively imprisoned. Excessive force is the norm Police forces are overly militarized Police intimidate Police alienate These accusations and beliefs are echoed by the Justice Department, which is actively investigating several police departments, including Baltimore and Ferguson. The solution to reduce violence in Black communities therefore is to reduce the police presence in the otherwise high crime, minority areas. These efforts are aided by the Baltimore political establishment. District Attorneys (States Attorney in Maryland) usually have the backs of police officers, absent egregious conduct. Prosecutors also realize juries are hesitant to convict police officers for their decisions to arrest and their proper or improper use of force. That is not currently the case in Baltimore. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, President Obama, and even Police Commissioner Anthony Batts threw the police under the bus during and after the riots after the death of Freddie Gray. State’s Attorney Mosby ordered the arrest of six police officers immediately after receiving the Coroner’s Report. The driver of the police van was charged with second degree “depraved heart” homicide. She charged three with false imprisonment because she said they had no probable cause to arrest Mr. Gray because his knife was not illegal. She was extensively criticized for over-charging the six officers. The police claimed the knife was illegal under Baltimore law. Their defense attorneys demanded to examine the knife. A grand jury formally issued indictments last Thursday against the officers. No mention was made of the knife. The false imprisonment claims were dropped, replaced by “reckless endangerment.” The Baltimore Police also know the United States Justice Department, which is biased against police, is micro-inspecting all of them, eager to issue more indictments. The Baltimore Police know no one has their backs and that they could be prosecuted for almost any error in judgment. They were ordered to stand down during the riots. 168 officers were injured during the riots. Now they are voluntarily standing down rather than risk more indictments: “heads down, by the book” policing. Look straight ahead; they can’t arrest for what they don’t see. Local residents harass them while they conduct basic police work. They are demoralized, dispirited, disgraced, scared, shell-shocked, embarrassed, and humiliated. Their superiors, the federal government and the media have neutered them. If they over-policed previously, they are now under-policing. The result is foreseeable. Arrests have dropped while violent crime has soared. A crime wave is sweeting the city, with the possible exception on the Inner Harbor tourist attraction. Crime was already bad in Baltimore. The FBI ranked Baltimore fifth in 2013 for homicide rates among large cities, trailing only Detroit, New Orleans, Newark, and St. Louis. Baltimore experienced 235 murders in 2013. Baltimore had the seventh highest violent crime rate. Baltimore police made 1,453 arrests in the three weeks after the Freddie Gray death, down 40% from 2013 and 2014. The arrest number is actually lower, since the 1,453 includes arrests during the riots. Baltimore homicides are up 40% in the period after Mr. Gray’s death and non-fatal shootings jumped 60%. 34 homicides were committed in the 30 days after Freddie Gray’s death. 19 shooting victims alone last Tuesday and Wednesday. 96 homicides were committed from January 1, 2015 to May 21, 2015, compared to 235 in all of 2013. The Baltimore Police have committed none of the shootings.. The three square mile Western District, which includes the neighborhood where Freddie Gray was arrested, has 22 killings this year, compared to a total of 21 all last year. 19 homicides and 51 shootings were in the Western District in the 30 days after the tragic death of Mr. Gray. The Western District is now today’s Wild West. Gene Ryan, who heads the Baltimore police union, says a “criminal element” has taken advantage of the police absence. The tragic lesson from the police absence in Baltimore is that a vacuum is created in a high crime city. Nature abhors a vacuum. Gangs, thugs, petty criminals have filled the vacuum. All highly foreseeable! ----------------------------------/--- Update: 29 shootings, 9 dead over Memorial Day Weekend

The Rodney Dangerfield Foreign Policy of President Obama

Rodney Dangerfield was a great comedian. His stich was “I can’t get no respect.” No matter what he did, he couldn’t get no respect. That’s President Obama’s foreign policy. No matter what he does, he gets no respect. He started his foreign policy with 1) an apology tour, 2) a reset with Russia, 3) pulling anti-missile defenses out of the Czech republic and Poland, and 4) returning the Churchill Bust to Great Britain. He wanted a foreign policy based on respect and moral principles. An aide said the President believed in “leading from behind.” The President also exercises “Strategic patience.” The President in a West Point Speech on May 29, 2014 said “might doing right.” America’s duty “is not only to protect our country, but to do what is right and just.” Flash forward to today. The President held a conference of Arab States last Tuesday at Camp David. Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates attended. King Salman of Saudi Arabia did not attend. Bahrain’s King Hamad Bin Isa al-Khalify attended a horse show in England with Queen Elizabeth. Only Kuwait and Qatar sent their leaders. The purpose of the conference was to manifest support for the Arab countries. The President informed the leaders prior to the Conference that the United States will not sell F-35’s to them. No respect! The President in June 2014 said we should look to Yemen as a model for trouble spots. He said in September that Yemen was a successful strategy. The Houthis, backed by Iran, toppled the Yemeni government. No respect! He constantly shows disrespect for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, not to mention Speaker of the House John Boehner. The Speaker responded by inviting the Israeli leader to address Congress over the objections of the White House. No respect! The President asked Congress for an Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUFM) February 11 against ISIS. Congress has not acted on it. No respect! The diminutive Russia President Vladimir Putin sized up President Obama. He responded to the reset by seizing Odessa and more of Ukraine. No respect! The President sent MRE’s to the outgunned Ukrainian forces. No wonder President Putin has no respect for the President. China and Russia refused to support the Obama Administration in a United Nations condemnation of Syria’s President Bashar Assad. No respect! Of course, President Obama drew a red line in the sand against President Assad if Syria used chemical weapons in its civil war. President Assad responded several times by using chemical weapons. The red line disappeared in the sand. No respect! China has been building four islands in areas it claims of the South China Sea. The United States mumbles about sending ships and planes to the area. China warned against “taking risky and provocative action.” No respect! Iran seized the Maersk Tigris in the Strait of Hormuz and harassed other vessels, including an American flagged ship. No respect! Iran warned Saudi Arabia and the United States against intercepting this week a vessel headed to Yemen with “relief supplies.” The warning was to not “spark a fire.” The Obama Administration is negotiating with Iran over its nuclear weapons program. The Administration announced an agreement in February. Ayatollah Khamenei trashed it. No respect! The President can fool himself, and perhaps some of the American people. Not the leaders or dictators of the world. They don’t act on respect, but real politic. They know Susan Rice and Ben Rhodes, his national security advisors, are political hacks. They have no respect for him. Nor do they fear him.

Professor Saida Grundy of Boston University Joins Professors Susan J. Douglas (Michigan), Steve Salaita (Virginia Tech/Illinois), and Ward Churchill (Colorado) as Poster Childs for Academic Intolerance

Professor Saida Grundy expressed her personal feelings on white racism on tweeter. She tweeted a few days after the racist video of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity at the University of Oklahoma became public: “White masculinity isn’t a problem for America’s colleges, white masculinity is THE problem for America’s colleges.” A white racist chant does not justify a black racist response. The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. received his Ph.D. from Boston University. His “I Have a Dream” Speech spoke to the future: “I have a dream where my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” Professor Grundy’s take on the distinguished BU Alum is: “Every MLK week I commit myself to not spending a dime in white-owned businesses and every year I find it nearly impossible.” She also tweeted that white males are “a problem population.” White males, white masculinity will pay her salary at Boston University, where she joins the faculty on July 1. Why would a highly educated, intelligent person tweet such statements on a public site? African American Studies and Sociology are not campus bastions of Western Civilization Studies. Conservatives do not teach in these programs. The faculty and students exist in a cocoon or echo chamber where they do not realize how far outside the mainstream of America their beliefs lie. They will also not usually be called to answer for these remarks, especially on campus. They know the media will crucify Paula Deen, Donald Sterling, SAE, Rush Limbaugh and even the Duck Dynasty for racist, sexist or homophobic remarks while the academic left will normally receive a pass from the media. Professor Saida Grundy now joins the ranks of Professors Susan J. Douglas, Steven Salitia, and Ward Churchill. Professor Churchill delivered an incendiary speech attacking the victims of 9/11. Professor Douglas wrote an article, which started out “I hate Republicans” and went downhill from there. Professor Salita tweeted anti-Semitic comments and Professor Grundy tweeted anti-white racist remarks. All four publicly uttered their deep-seated, intolerant, inflammatory biases. Their racism, anti-Semitism, and political intolerance were expressed outside the comfortable cocoon of academe. Universities, such as Boston University universities are too large for governing boards of regents and trustees to micromanage appointment, promotion, and tenure decisions. They depend upon Presidents, chancellors, provosts, deans, department chairs, and committees to screen the candidates. They normally approve the recommendations. Governing boards may not realize how increasingly liberal their campuses are becoming. The faculty themselves may also be unaware of how progressive they have become. Thus the faculty are used to saying statements the general public finds extremist and outrageous. They are far to the left of the general public. Then the reaction occurs. Professors Churchill and Salaita did not survive academically. The University of Colorado unceremoniously terminated Professor Churchill on grounds of academic misconduct. Professor Saliita unwisely resigned from his tenured position at Virginia Tech to teach at the University of Illinois before he executed a signed contract at Illinois. He would now be a tenured professor at Illinois if had only restrained his tweets for a few months. A BU spokesman initially supported Professor Grundy last Friday: She was “exercising her right to free speech and we respect her right to do so.” The backlash went viral. Social media does not discriminate. Disgruntled alumni raised their voices and closed their wallets. The spokesman quickly changed his perspective on Saturday: “The University does not condone racism and bigotry in any form and we are deeply saddened when someone makes such offensive statements.” That statement did not quell the unrest. BU President Robert A. Brown Tuesday emailed a letter to BU’s students and staff on Tuesday. He’s in a difficult position. He knows he cannot terminate Professor Grundy. She undoubtedly has a signed contract. Yet, he also knows that the University cannot appear to be supportive of her views. It’s a delicate balancing act. He wrote “[W]e acknowledge Dr. Grundy’s right to hold and express her opinions.” However, “Boston University does not condone racism or bigotry in any form …. We are disappointed and concerned by statements that reduce individuals to stereotypes on the basis of a broad category, such as race, sex, or ethnicity ….” But we also recognize that words have power and the words in the tweeter feed were powerful in the way they stereotyped and condemned other people ….” Professor Grundy responded Wednesday to the uproar in a letter to The Daily Free Press, the campus paper. She said she looks “forward to more dialogues about race, diversity, and inclusion in my career at Boston University ….” She should invite President Obama to another “teachable moment” in Boston. She regretted that her “personal passion about issues surrounding these events led me to speak about them indelicately. I deprived them of the nuance and complexity that such matters always deserve.” Racism is not nuanced. We hope the young professor will reflect on the backlash to her comments and have a long teaching career marked by tolerance, learning from the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

A Different Perspective on Tom Brady and Deflategate

News Flash: The Indianapolis Colts had footballs that exceeded the NFL inflation standards. News Flash: The Indianapolis Colts told the NFL before the playoff game that Tom Brady throws an underinflated ball. News Flash: The NFL did nothing. Why? Tom Brady did not cheat by the customs of professional football. There’s rules, and then there’s accepted customs in sports. Some rules are treated with a nod, nod, wink, wink, trumped by the generally accepted customs of the sport. It is well understood in the NFL that QB’s don’t abide by the stated rules with footballs. Each has a personal preference. Spitballs are illegal in baseball, but Gaylord Perry is in the hall of Fame. George Brett was caught with a pine tar bat, but is in the Hall of Fame. NBA refs allow superstars an extra step and hesitate to foul them out. The NFL understands the custom of the game. Offense, not defense, sells tickets and creates excitement for the fans. The NFL did nothing because it did not see an issue with the underinflated footballs. Then it, that is Deflategate not the football, blew up. Schadenfreude! Bring the Patriots down. The Patriots have been winning too long. Belichick plays loose with the rules. He’s always looking for the edge, an angle. Payback Watch the mighty fall. Some sportswriters, columnists, and announcers positively salivated over the Patriots getting caught “cheating.” We cheer for you on the way on, and then root for you to fall on the way down when you became too successful. The Wells Report said it was ”more probable than not” that Tom Brady “was at least generally aware of the inappropriate activities.” That’s hardly proof. There’s no smoking gun. 243 pages, but no conclusive evidence! “Generally aware?” General awareness is not specific knowledge. Ted Wells, the NFL’s attorney, is too good an attorney to think his finding would hold up in court. The NFL says the sanctions are imposed for “conduct detrimental to the integrity of the NFL.” That’s hysterical! The NFL, a league, which has historically tolerated thugs, rapists, domestic violence perpetrators, and even murderers, is sanctimonious about integrity. Ray Lewis is headed for Canton. NFL players are often alcoholics and druggies off the field. Several achieved success through steroids. Integrity? The test for the NFL was success on the field. The NFL, a league, which turned its back on concussions, is hyperventilating about .4 psi. The underinflated balls did not affect the game. The Patriots defeated the Colts 45-7, shutting them out 28-0 in the second half. Tom Brady threw two TD’s in the second half with properly inflated balls. The Patriots defeated the defending champion Seahawks, using properly inflated footballs. Tom Brady will file a grievance through the NFL Player’s Association. The odds are that the grievance will be granted and Tom Brady reinstated. If not, the suspension will probably be reduced. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell essentially punted to an arbitrator. He has general awareness the punishment will not stand.

What is the Baltimore Narrative?

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake lifted the curfew. The National Guard pulled out. Baltimore is quiet. So what did we learn? What is the Narrative? 1) Black lives matter? Of course they do, but so do white lives, brown lives, yellow lives, red lives, and blue lives, Especially when they’re being shot at or stoned. 2) (White) police are the greatest threat to young blacks? 3 of the 6 arrested cops are black The greatest threats to young blacks are other blacks, drugs, alcohol, and gangs. The homicide rate in Baltimore was 6X the national average and the violent crime rate 3X before Freddie Gray. 3) Hands up, don’t shoot? That wasn’t even true in Ferguson 4) Another example of the white power structure? The Baltimore power structure is black and Democratic 5) Racism? The New York Times editorial page today blamed Baltimore on racism – 100 years of racism at the local, state, and national level We used to call it “White Flight,” but now we know it’s middle class flight as the middle class, regardless of race, flees the inner cities when they can, for the same reasons: better schools and safe streets. The residents left behind are often in dire straits. That’s not racism. 6) Protection of the right to demonstrate? If peaceful! Demonstrating against police brutality is protected speech; arson and looting are not 7) Protecting looters has a higher priority than protecting property rights? Mayor Rawlings-Blake said: “Let them loot; it’s only property,” and “We also gave those who wish to destroy space to do that as well.” Marie Antoinette said: “Let them eat cake” That was just as effective Looting is often accompanied, as in Baltimore, by arson. Looting by itself wipes out small, minority businesses. 300 businesses were destroyed in the Baltimore riots, looting and arson rampage. New business will not move into a city where the authorities will not protect them. Think of Watts in 1965, Detroit in 1967 and Baltimore in 1968. They have not returned. Six died, 700 were injured and 1,000 buildings looted in the 1968 Baltimore riots. The desolation persists today. 8) Justice was served? A rush to prosecute is not justice, but a political reaction to mob violence 9) Freddie Gray died senselessly? So did Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Walter Scott, and Oscar Grant III. They should still be alive, but fault is not always easy to decide. 10) Baltimore was crying out? The young blacks were crying out for attention. They are poorly educated by failing schools, suffer high unemployment, live in run down residences surrounded by abandoned buildings (17,000 in Baltimore), and immersed in a gang/drug culture. Negative attention does not achieve the goals of the looters. 11) These cities need more “investment?” “Investments” is a euphemism for money. President Obama said we need “massive investments in urban communities.” Pursuant to President Johnson’s War on Poverty and Great Society, $15-22 trillion has been “invested” in these cities. Baltimore alone received $1,831,768,487 in President Obama’s Stimulus Bill (that’s $1.8 billion). $467.1 million was for education and $26.5 million for crime prevention. Look at Baltimore, Detroit, Flint, Lansing, Philadelphia, Springfield, and the South Bronx – indeed, almost all older industrial cities in the Frost Belt. Government money is not the solution. 12) Government can create jobs in these inner cities? The $1.8 billion Stimulus in Baltimore is estimated to have created 290 jobs in the 4th quarter of 2013. 20% of the jobs in Baltimore are government jobs. That’s obviously not the solution. 13) Private investment can restore the cities? Not when you loot and burn the private investors. Freddie Gray’s neighborhood, Sandtown-Winchester had a failed $130 million urban renewal project in the 1990’s. The community suffers from roughly 50% unemployment and a third abandoned homes. 14) Lack of leadership? One of the primary obligations of the public authorities is to maintain public safety. Baltimore protected gangs of looters, many with crowbars, rather than the public. Baltimore did not learn from the 1968 riots in the same community. 15) Social media can incite mobs? We’re seen that with flash mobs before 16) Toya Graham, the mother who pulled her son out of the mob? Would that it were! Toya was not the only one, but there wasn’t enough Toyas 17) History is against Baltimore? It’s a miniature version of Detroit, dropping from about 1 million residents in 1950 to around 622,000 today. Detroit can partially blame its fall on the collapse of Detroit, the auto industry, but the riots of 1967 sent it on the same death spiral as Baltimore’s 1968 riots 18) Reverend Jamal Bryant: “This is not what Baltimore stands for?” That, sadly, is what it stands for to prospective investors. What is the narrative of Baltimore? The existing solutions of the past 50 years are not working. Doubling down on failure is not a solution. No easy solution exists. The residents, especially the teenagers and young adults need jobs in the private sector – not only for earnings but also to learn a different lifestyle and culture. A raise in the minimum wage will increase their despair and unemployment. The way out for many entails education. That means charter schools because the existing public schools are failing their mission to educate. And the list goes on.

Baltimore Has An Impending Crime Wave

Baltimore’s extremely high crime rates will escalate. I am not psychic; I do not have a crystal; nor am I a fortune teller. I can read history though. The Baltimore Police will be highly selective in their law enforcement efforts over the next months, if not years. The police were embarrassed, humiliated, and stoned on Monday, April 27. Their orders were to stand down, and retreat. The command came from Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who is quoted as saying “Let them loot; it’s only property.” She explained her decision: “It’s a very delicate balancing act, because we try to make sure that they were protected from the cars and the other things that were going on. We also gave those who wished to destroy space to do that as well.” She added: “It’s not holding back. It is responding appropriately.” 43 Baltimore police officers went to the ER - so much for protecting them. The role of the police was to protect looters, and not the public. They could have acted against the looters and rioters: tear gas, pepper spray, and rubber bullets. They are demoralized. Their orders were “Stand Down,” “Back Up,” “Retreat.” The order at one point was not to put on protective equipment. First the Mayor ordered them to stand down. Then Marilyn Mosby, the State’s Attorney, threw them under the bus by rushing to overcharge six officers. She said: “I will seek justice on your behalf.” She was not seeking justice for the police. Anthony Batts, Baltimore Police Commissioner, said: “We are part of the problem.” History tells us what the police response will be. They will police by the book, slowly and selectively. They will overlook most violations. Mayor de Blasio continually showed his contempt for the New York Police Department. It blew up when a crazed gunman seeking vengeance for Ferguson killed two NYPD officers. The NYPD caught a mild version of the Blue Flu. They stopped writing tickets, summons, and infractions. Traffic tickets plunged 92%. Arrests dropped 56% from the previous year. Concerned about their safety, they made arrests only when “absolutely necessary.” Cincinnati experienced major riots April 9-12, 2001 after a police officer fatally shot an unarmed black teenager. The Cincinnati Police were vilified. The police responded by backing off. Arrests dropped 55% while violent crime jumped 29%. The Baltimore police are not only demoralized, but also confused. They have little way of knowing what they are permissibly allowed to do. They believed they had probable cause. The State’s attorney said they didn’t. A judge will decide. State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby said they lacked probable cause, but the Supreme Court has held police can briefly detain a person on reasonable suspicion. In addition a person fleeing police in a high crime area constitutes reasonable suspicion. They also know that Police Commissioner Batts, who previously served as Chief of Police in Long Beach and Oakland, has survived allegations of domestic violence. He’s hardly an exemplar for the police. Now the Mayor asked the Justice Department to investigate the Baltimore Police: “We all know that Baltimore continues to have a fractious relationship between the police and the community.” She said the federal action will be necessary to achieve the kind of “sustainable and significant reform” that the citizens of Baltimore want to see. Baltimore continues to have a high crime rate and an excessive homicide rate. The new Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, promptly agreed to undertake the investigation. She explained the death of Freddie Gray and the six arrests of the officers “led to a serious erosion of public trust.” Baltimore thereby joins the 20 police forces currently or formerly investigated by the Justice Department, which will find a pattern of discrimination against Blacks, as in Ferguson as they review policing patterns and practices. The Justice Department lawyers, inexperienced in law enforcement on the streets, but schooled in academic elitism believe that police are a major part of the problem. They will look for patterns of excessive force, improper stops, illegal searches, and unlawful arrests. They will find them using statistical analysis. Commissioner Batts now says: “My officers, how do I keep them engaged, how do I keep them focused on getting their job done as a whole?” Never forget, the thin blue lines maintain the peace. We saw on Monday, April 27, 2015 what happens when the thin blue line is gone. Politicians can bloviate, but they cannot maintain the peace.

98% of Harvard Law School's Political Contributions Go to Democrats: Who Are the 2%?

98% of Harvard Law School Political Contributions Go to Democrats: Who are the 2%? A recent report shows that Harvard Law School faculty gave 98% of their political contributions to Democrats, exceeding the general Harvard giving rate of 96% to Democrats. The Harvard contribution rate parallels the overall Ivy League political contribution rate. 96% of Ivy League professor’s contributions went to President Obama in 2012. Brown University was the most extreme with 129 faculty members donating $67,728 to the President with but one professor donating $500 to Governor Romney. The bias is not limited to the Ivys. The faculties at the great private non-Ivys, Stanford, MIT, CalTech, and Duke are similarly favorable to Democrats. University of California professors contributed $414,351 to democrats during the 2010 midterms compared to only $69,630 to Republicans. A 2009 study at the University of Oregon of 111 registered voters in the departments of journalism, law, politic science, economics, and sociology turned up only two registered Republicans. All this proves is what we already know. The Academy is overwhelmingly liberal, indeed progressive. The Academy is big on diversity: racial diversity, socio-economic diversity, sexual diversity, and gender diversity - all types of diversity, except political diversity. Conservatives are an endangered species at the nation’s elite institutions. Indeed, conservatives sometimes stay in the academic closet at institutions. Another recent study shows the currently most underrepresented groups among law professors are “Whites, Christians, Republicans, Males” - quite a change from when I started teaching law in 1972. In addition, very few women professors are Republicans. Registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans, but elections in recent years show a roughly evenly divided electorate. The legal Academy is far to the left of the American populace. Decades of diversifying the legal Academy to make it more representative have rendered it less representative of America. A survey by the University of California Los Angeles showed in 2010-2011 12.4% of full time faculty members were far left and 50.3% were liberal, with 25.4 % middle of the road, 11.5% conservative, and 0.4% far right. Professors profess objective neutrality in their teaching. Regardless of the protestations of classroom neutrality by liberal professors, the reality is that some let their biases affect their teaching. It may also show up in a more subtle way – the curriculum. Courses that can be labeled “revisionist” or “anti-American” are common. It manifests itself in liberal professors and students protesting the presence of conservative commencement speakers, regular speakers, and presentations. All too often, academic freedom is stronger for liberals than conservatives in the Academy. Anecdotes abound of conservative students being discriminated against by liberal professors. One is one too many. The Academy has become the bastion of political correctness. Where is that 2% at Harvard Law? Somewhere in the tenured ranks.