There's this… which is totally true. The headlines this week, buried in the back of your favorite newsite, said: Income Disparity Between Richest 1% And Rest Of US Biggest Since ’20s WASHINGTON (AP) — The gulf between the richest 1 percent and the rest of America is the widest it’s been since the Roaring ’20s. The very wealthiest Americans earned … Read More
How’s That “More Guns In Schools” Thing Going?
Insane: Arkansas state Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson (R), who is leading an effort to give guns to school personnel, accidentally shot a teacher during an “active shooter” drill earlier this year, theArkansas Democrat-Gazette reports. “The experience gave Hutchinson some pause, but he still supports giving schools the authority to decide how best to secure their campuses.” So, the lawmaker thinks it’s still … Read More
Legal Rationale for Surveillance
I haven't been writing much about the telephony surveillance "scandal" because unlike many liberals I know, I'm not that upset by it. I do not consider the mass collection of metadata to be an invasion of my privacy. Collection is not the same thing as searching or prying, to my mind. Anyway, the Obama Administration released a white paper which … Read More
Dear Concord NH Police Department
Seriously? You need that armored vehicle? It costs $258,000. Just sayin'. What's that you say in your application? "Groups such as the Sovereign Citizens, Free Staters and Occupy New Hampshire are active and present daily challenges," the application stated. In addition to organized groups, it cited "several homegrown clusters that are anti-government and pose problems for law enforcement agencies." Wow, … Read More
Zimmerman Found Innocent
I don't have much to say about this, although I find abhorrent the dancing on Trayvon Martin's grave that the rightwing blogosphere is engaging in. I thought Zimmerman would be found innocent — not because of any nefarious reasons (like a racist jury or anything like that), but simply because the burden of proof is so high and there were … Read More
Before The Verdict
I haven't been following the Zimmerman trial closely in part because I have a job, and in part because I believe the controversy surrounding Trayvon Martin's death has been resolved. By that I mean, that there was a moment in time where it looked like Zimmerman wasn't going to stand trial at all, and that had me concerned. Now, of … Read More
Moments Later….
Gun nut libertarian loads a gun within blocks of the White House and uploads the video on YouTube Then… Police searched the Northern Virginia home of activist Adam Kokesh Tuesday evening and took him into custody on a charge of being in possession of hallucinogenic mushrooms while also having a gun, authorities said. Kokesh, a former Marine, was held overnight at … Read More
DOMA and Prop 8 Decisions
Pretty much like I predicted: DOMA overturned, and Prop 8 booted because plaintiffs lacked standing. What happens next: Since the Court ruled that the federal government cannot discriminate against same-sex marriages under the Equal Protection Clause, all the remains is for that same reasoning to be applied to the states. After all, states cannot violate the federal constitution either. So … Read More
That Didn’t Take Long
TPM: Texas is wasting no time capitalizing on the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Voting Rights Act. Shortly after the high court issued a sweeping 5-4 decision Tuesday striking down a centerpiece of the historic 1965 law, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott vowed to immediately implement a controversial voter ID law in the Lone Star State that was blocked last year by the now-gutted … Read More
Supreme Court Cuts Voting Rights Act of 1964
Today, the Supreme Court in a 5-4 ruling, struck down key provisions of the Voting Rights Act. Basically, they eliminated the requirement that jurisdictions with a history of discrimination pre-clear election and voting law changes to ensure they do not disenfranchise minority voters. While the remaining provisions will still ban outright racial discrimination, those states and localities previously covered will now be … Read More
DOMA and Prop 8: A Prediction
This week — probably Thursday — the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) will release its opinion on two cases dealing with same-sex marriage. One case challenges the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Section III of DOMA prevents the federal government from treating same-sex couples (those legally married under state law) as "married" for the purpose of … Read More
SCOTUS Punts on Changing Affirmative Action
Big week for SCOTUS this week, with most eyes awaiting the DOMA and Prop 8 decisions. Nothing happened with those today. The Court scheduled more opinions for tomorrow (although I suspect there will be one more day after tomorrow, and that's when we'll get the gay marriage cases). Interest was also high on what the Court would do regarding affirmative action in … Read More
Monday at 10
With the session coming to a close, some thought the Supreme Court might announce its opinions today in the Prop 8 and DOMA cases. It did not. So it looks like Monday at 10, the last scheduled opinion-reading of the Court for the term, and maybe not even then. There are still several outstanding opinions, and it is likely … Read More
Here’s Why The NSA Surveillance Now Is Better Than The Way It Was Under Bush
Chart On Surveillance Oversight Prepared By Nancy Pelosi For Democratic house Members by tpmdocs
Defender of Second Amendment Taunts Father Of Killed Girl, Gets Tasered
I'm not a big fan of police tasering citizens, but in this case, I'm happy to make an exception. This all went down in Concord, New Hampshire (my home town). John Cantin's daughter Melissa was shot and killed by her estranged husband in Manchester, NH in 2009. John was also shot, but he survived. John refused to be silenced. Instead, … Read More