From Think Progress: RedState, the influential conservative blog that has often helped shape the outcome of Republican primary elections and congressional Republican strategy, says its now time for Republicans to end their blockade of Chief Judge Merrick Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court. “Now that Donald Trump is the presumptive nominee, this is not even a close call,” the site … Read More
Breaking: Today’s Mass Murder
Peeples OH: Several fatalities have been reported in shootings at multiple locations on Union Hill Road in Pike County just northeast of Peebles, according to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. Two adults and five children have been shot to death, according to Pastor Phil Fulton of the nearby Union Hill Church. The number of fatalities is unconfirmed. Also unconfirmed … Read More
Court Opinion: 4th Circuit Sides with Transgender High School Student Suing School Board for Access to Boy’s Bathroom
The Fourth Circuit just reversed a lower Virginia court, which had tossed a lawsuit by a transgender boy against the school district which barred his access to the boy’s room. Not a final decision on the merits — the case was handed back down to the Virginia federal court. But a good harbinger, since on other federal appeals court has … Read More
The Yahoos Get Their Day In Court
Remember that 41-day occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge that finally ended with one dude getting killed? Yeah, it’s still a rallying cry for the lunatic right, who love to carry around the Constitution but haven’t bothered to have it read and explained to them (except by other lunatics). Seven men are facing federal charges of conspiracy, weapon, theft and damaging … Read More
Good News From Newtown
The lawsuit survives: BRIDGEPORT – In a shot heard around the nation’s gun makers and dealers, a Superior Court judge Thursday refused to toss out the lawsuit by the families of the Sandy Hook victims against the manufacturer of the gun used by Adam Lanza to kill the 26 school children and teachers in December 2012. Judge Barbara Bellis ruled … Read More
Distracted Driving
Put it down: BERLIN — A railway dispatcher apparently caused the deadly collision of two trains in the German state of Bavaria on Feb. 9 because he was playing a game on his cellphone until just before the accident, according to state prosecutors.
For THIS, I Finally Appear In Playbill
Sigh: In a new statement provided to Playbill.com by Schwartz’s team, the composer-lyricist takes a hard line against North Carolina Governor McCrory and encourages citizens of the stage to turn their anger into activism. It can be read in full below: First of all, I think it’s important to remember that this is not just me, this is a collective … Read More
What’s The Panama Papers All About?
The leak amounts to 2.6 terabytes of information — perhaps the largest whistleblower leak in history. Also, it might topple a country or too. So it might be interesting to learn what the Panama Papers leak is all about. It starts with a company called Mossack Fonesca. That’s a Panamanian law firm that has long been well-known to the global financial … Read More
SCOTUS Strikes Down Texas Voting Suppression Attempt
They saw what you did there, Texas. Since the 1960s — the case of Wesberry v. Sanders – to be specific — we have had a “one person, one vote” which says that state legislative districts must be drawn so they are equal in population. But the Republican asshole legislature in Texas (of course) wanted legislative lines to be drawn based on eligible … Read More
Governor McCrory Keeps Digging Deeper
The Governor takes to Youtube: Notes as I watch this: He’s talking out of the corner of his mouth and has that fakey politician smile The lip service offered to “respecting each other’s beliefs and values” is unnerving, given what he is defending here. He responds to politicians who have “demonized” North Carolina. Yeah, they’re the problem — these outside agitators. McCrory: “Frankly … Read More
Scalia’s Absence Already Having An Impact
If Scalia was alive, this case would have ended up differently: A case that had the potential to weaken public sector unions across the United States ended with a somewhat unexpected victory for unions on Tuesday, as the Supreme Court divided 4-4 on the question of requiring nonmembers to pay a fee to the public sector union that negotiates the … Read More
FBI Quietly Drops Lawsuit Against Apple
Remember that thing last month that I wrote about where the FBI wanted to force Apple’s help to break into an iPhone of the San Bernadino terrorist? It was controversial in part because many thought that the FBI didn’t really need Apple’s help. Those people include Richard Clark. The former U.S. counterterrorism official and security adviser to the White House told NPR he … Read More
Governor McCrory Attempts To Clarify HB2 . . . But Obfuscates Even More
Responding to worldwide disgust at the passage and signing of HB2, which discriminates against transgender people (and does lots of bad stuff in general), NC Governor McCrory put some shit on his website, entitled “Myths vs Facts: What New York Times, Huffington Post and other media outlets aren’t saying about common-sense privacy law” Catchy title. Can we dispense with the … Read More
The Lawsuit Begins
Two transgender people and a lesbian law school professor, along with the ACLU of North Carolina and Equality NC, filed a federal lawsuit today to challenge the new North Carolina law that blocks local governments from passing anti-discrimination rules and requiring transgender students to use bathrooms assigned to their biological sex. While I would have preferred that the lawsuit take on the … Read More
Repercussions
I know the Republican lawmakers don’t give a damn about non-straight people, but they’re supposed to give a damn about business. Apparently, they didn’t think about the effect on the economy: American Airlines and other major businesses across the state and nation are taking a stand against a bill signed into law Wednesday by N.C. Gov. Pat McCrory that invalidates Charlotte’s … Read More