Okay. Most of you know the drill. Sit still, look at the camera, smile, and shut up. Kennedy, shut up! He doesn't want to hear you! Sonia, can you smile, please? Clarence, don't slouch. Geez. (Every year… the same thing….) Can someone go see where Ruth is? Didn't she know… oh, hi there, hun. Didn't see you back there. My … Read More
My Take On Roman Polanski
Yes, the 13 year old victim, now in her 40's, has long since forgiven him. Yes, the victim's mother at the time was apparently some freaked out fame wannabe, and put her daughter in that position. Yes, it was a long time ago. Yes, he's famous. But here's the thing. A crime is a crime. He committed a crime. He pled … Read More
Supreme Court Cases I’m Following: At A Glance
Hearing date Case Summary Where did the case come from? Government position My position My prediction for outcome 9/9/2009 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Whether to overrule precedents upholding state and federal limits on corporate political spending. D.C. Circuit No No Yes 10/6/2009 U.S. v. Stevens Can the government criminalize selling dogfight videotapes or other depictions of animal cruelty? … Read More
Poor Orly Taitz
Orly Taitz is an attorney and a doctor and she's the one filing all these lawsuits trying to prove that Obama was actually a Kenyan. Having had one of her cases thrown out of federal court last week (with an admonishment from the judge that if she continues to waste the court's time, she'll be fined), now she's the object of conspiracy … Read More
More on the Cameron Todd Willingham Execution
A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about Cameron Todd Willingham, a Texas man executed — wrongly, it seems — for the death of his daughters by intentionally committing arson (according to Texas prosecutors). Hon. John Jackson, the judge in the case that led to Willingham's conviction, has spoken out. I've excerpted his guest column in the Corsican Daily Sun. I want … Read More
The Man Behind The Jaycee Abduction
As you probably know now, Jaycee Lee Dugard, 29, walked into an Antioch (CA) police station earlier this week, and told authorities she had been kidnapped in 1991 waiting for a school bus in South Lake Tahoe. Authorities have since arrested two suspects for the crime. Here's the blog of the male suspect, Phillip Girrado. His latest entry, from August … Read More
Texas (Of Course) Executes Innocent Man
Take a long look at the picture: That's Amber Willingham and her father, Cameron Todd Willingham. In 1992,the Willingham house caught fire. Amber and her two sisters perished. Cameron, the father, was charged with murder. He is the only person in history charged with murder where fire was the weapon. There wasn't much evidence against him. He was convicted largely … Read More
McCain Booed For His Opinion That Obama “Respects The Constitution”
Hate it for him, but he's with the wingnut party, so…. By the way, I'm looking here at five law school exams written by Obama for his Constitutional Law class. Dude knows the Constitution. Can Granny say the same thing?
Michele Bachmann on Health Care
I love her. Here she is on Hannity last night: Money quote: It is not within our power as members of Congress, it’s not within the enumerated powers of the Constitution, for us to design and create a national takeover of health care. Nor is it within our ability to be able to delegate that responsibility to the executive. Pinhead, … Read More
Should The Supreme Court Stay The Execution Of An Innocent Man?
Yes, right? Well, maybe not. Here's the story of the Troy Davis case: Twenty years ago, a late-night scuffle broke out in a Burger King parking lot in Savannah. When Mark MacPhail, an off-duty police officer, tried to intervene, someone pulled a gun and killed the officer. Soon after, Sylvester "Red" Coles, came to the police with a lawyer, accusing … Read More
Guns At Obama Town Hall Meetings
It started of in New Hampshire last week. A guy with a loaded pistol strapped to his leg in the protester crowd. Law enforcement could do nothing; the guy had a permit. It's happened a few times since then, culminating this past weekend in Arizona when some anti-Obama protester showed up strapped with a loaded semi-automatic rifle. Again, all perfectly … Read More
One More Scene From A Town Hall Meeting
Obama has a town hall meeting in Portsmouth New Hampshire today, and the nuts are out in full force. Get this: MSNBC this morning caught a live shot of a man with a gun in a holster. No, he is not a law enforcement person; he's one of the protesters. And the sign he's carrying? It's got that famous Jefferson … Read More
Squeaky Fromme To Be Released
Yeah, she's 60 now, but she hasn't disavowed Manson. So, bad idea.
The Question Is “Why”
No meaning can be ascribed to meaningless killings like the ones in Pittsburgh last night. Yet, the question still remains: "why". Why would somebody do such a thing? Revenge against a specific target? A nut job? The shooter (who took his own life) left behind an online diary of sorts. We know why. He was lonely. Here is what he wrote … Read More
“Pants” Judge Loses In Court Again
Actually, he's now an ex-judge. That was the basis of his lawsuit, in fact: It seems that our old friend Roy L. Pearson, Jr., he of the $65 million pants, has recovered sufficiently from losing that case to get on with losing another one. This one was a wrongful-termination lawsuit against the District of Columbia, his former boss (Chief Administrative Law … Read More