The case is Gonzales v. Raich (PDF format), better known as the medical marijuana case. The Supreme Court ruled, 6-3, that the federal government can (in effect) outlaw medical marijuana use despite the fact that some states (ten of them) have made it legal. What the case is about is federalism and the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. For … Read More
Freedom On The March?
Another Middle East Country, another election. BINT JBEIL, Lebanon – Hezbollah and its Shiite allies claimed victory in southern Lebanon in Sunday’s second stage of national elections, a vote the militant group hopes will prove its strength and send a message of defiance to the United States. Hundreds of Hezbollah supporters drove through the streets of Beirut waving the group’s … Read More
Another Gets Unplugged From The Matrix
Read the whole thing: Two years ago I was a neocon. I supported Bush’s war on Iraq and I called everyone who didn’t a liberal Kool-aid drinker. I voted for Bush in 2000 and I listened to Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and just about any right-winger on the radio that I could get a four-word talking point from to use … Read More
Get Ready For The Kristian Kook Backlash
For those not in the know, ICANN is the organization which decides, among other things, Internet domain handles. They’re the folks who literally gave us “dot-com”, and more recently “dot-org” and “dot-gov”, to name a few. And now—as blogged about here—ICANN has approved the use of “.XXX” as a top-level domain. Yup. It’s for porn sites. The blogger at the … Read More
Finally!
"When I go back (to Washington) on Monday, I am going to raise the issue,” he said of the memo, which has not been disputed by either the British or American governments. “I think it’s a stunning, unbelievably simple and understandable statement of the truth and a profoundly important document that raises stunning issues here at home. And it’s amazing … Read More
Questions Answered
How did Bob Woodward know Mark Felt? How did they arrange their meetings? Watergate buffs and/or students of history need to read this article by Bob Woodward in today’s Washington Post. It sheds light on some of the mysteries surrounding “Deep Throat” (and leaves a few questions still unanswered).
Another Bad Bill
Senate Bill 1113 hopes to do the following: “NO FEDERAL FUNDS FOR DRUGS PRESCRIBED FOR THE TREATMENT OF SEXUAL OR ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION”. You can read the full text of the bill by going here, and doing a search. The bill, sponsored by Senators Santorum, Lott, Ensign and Grassley (no surprise), was obviously written in response to the recent discoveries that … Read More
It Was Only A Matter Of Time
. . . and easily foreseeable. The revelation that former FBI #2 man Mark Felt was “Deep Throat” has spawned an unintentionally funny, um, headline: Bush Anxious to Learn More of Deep Throat Does Laura know?
Religious Degradation
Deborah Pearlstein ties the ends together and gives the big picture: Newsweek’s missteps in reporting particular allegations of religious degradation initially obscured the broad truth that religious degradation was a tactic expressly approved by the Department of Defense. A memo signed by Rumsfeld in November 2002 listed “removal of clothing” as a permissible interrogation technique, along with “removal of facial … Read More
Re-evaluation of GWOT
An important WaPo piece discusses a possible shift in the administration’s terrorism policies. Apparently, the Global War On Terrorism thing just isn’t working, as we find ourselves “drifting” and lacking a sense of what to do next. Digby takes his scissors to the possible policy change. Here’s WaPo: Much of the discussion has focused on how to deal with the … Read More
Hiding The Truth
Why is the White House refusing to hand over NSA documents regarding Bolton, so that the Senate can confirm/deny him as UN Ambassador? Is it national security, or is someone’s ass being covered? In tomorrow’s New York Times, an article will appear suggesting that the White House is holding the documents tight to the chest because they contain the names … Read More
Supreme Court Gets It Right
As if on cue in the wake of the Koran desecration debate, the Supreme Court—unanimously—talks about religion and prisoners in this recent ruling: The Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Tuesday that a new federal law requiring prison officials to meet inmates’ religious needs is a permissible accommodation of religion that does not violate the separation of church and state. The … Read More
The Education President
Republicans just shouldn’t be in the education business. Not since Quayle instructed a student to spell the word potato incorrectly, have we seen a boner like this: It seemed like to me they based some of their decisions on the word of—and the allegations—by people who were held in detention, people who hate America, people that had been trained in … Read More
Worse Than Appeasement
Not long ago, the right-wing blogosphere was chastizing the left because (supposedly) we all wanted to “appease” Saddam. Of course, “appeasement” in our view meant inspections, fly-overs, sanctions and a whole host of other active efforts which—let’s be honest—are just the opposite of appeasement. Today’s LA Times has a piece by former NSC director Steve Andreasen which takes Bush to … Read More
