News organizations are beginning to reveal the name of the high school kid who went on a murder-suicide rampage in Minnesota yesterday, but bloggers have known that his name was Jeff Weise. This is a link to a Google-cached page (an page on the web which no longer exists, but has been preserved by Google) in which the kid writes … Read More
James Madison on Schiavo
"Bills of attainder, ex post facto laws, and laws impairing the obligations of contracts, are contrary to the first principles of the social compact, and to every principle of sound legislation. … The sober people of America are weary of the fluctuating policy which has directed the public councils. They have seen with regret and indignation that sudden changes and … Read More
Judge Wishes He Stayed In Bed
U.S. District Judge James D. Whittemore, whom Clinton appointed in 1999, received the lawsuit filed by Terri Schiavo’s parents via email about 4:30 a.m. — about a half-hour after he was assigned the case via random computer selection.
Gun Safety
This is a remarkable video. A police officer is in a school, giving a talk to kids on the subject of gun safety. And he accidentally shoots himself in the foot. Trying to pass it off as nothing, he then asks his assistant to show a rifle to the kids. The kids, scared to death of being accidentally shot, ask … Read More
Bush Administration Loves Orwell
From WaPo: Administration Rejects Ruling On PR Videos GAO Called Tapes Illegal Propaganda By Christopher Lee Washington Post Staff WriterTuesday, March 15, 2005; Page A21 The Bush administration, rejecting an opinion from the Government Accountability Office, said last week that it is legal for federal agencies to feed TV stations prepackaged news stories that do not disclose the government’s role … Read More
The Ten Commandments Case
It’s been a long while since I got legal on yo’ ass, but I’m a lawyer and a Constitutional afficando, so it is high time I write something of substance on constitutional law. For a background on the Ten Commandments case being argued in the Supreme Court, read here. The case (at least the "Kentucky" part of it) involves the … Read More
United States Finally Catches Up (A Little) to the Rest of the World
After today’s Supreme Court decision, the following countries are now the only ones in the world that execute minors: United StatesCongoIranChinaPakistan Before today’s ruling the following states allowed minors to be executed: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah, Texas and Virginia. (Number of Red States – … Read More
Kill the Wabbit, kill the wabbit . . .
Somebody asked me if this — a guy threatening to kill a bunny unless he receives $50,000 — is legal. It sounds like it oughta be illegal, doesn’t it? But I racked my legal brain and, off the top of my head, I couldn’t find any reason why it is against the law. Unless of course, he doesn’t meet his … Read More
Conservatives Have A New Enemy
Spongebob. You know, sometimes reality is so stupid that it is satire-immune. This is one of those times.
Homeland Security For Sale
Not surprisingly (to most of us), it is now becoming apparent that 9/11 was viewed by many Republicans as simply a way to make money for those with connections. No, I’m not talking about Halliburton (although they certainly fit the bill). I’m talking about this: WASHINGTON – As the Homeland Security Department was starting up, Secretary Tom Ridge twice stayed … Read More
The Heat Rises On News-For-SaleGate
Senators Lautenberg, Kennedy, and Reid write to President Bush about the $240,000 in tax dollars given to a right wing journalist to write news stories in favor of Bush’s No Child Left Behind policy. Excerpt: In addition to the illegality of these actions taken by your Administration, we believe that the act of bribing journalists to bias their news in … Read More
The Torture General and the Commander-in-Chief Override
To me, the most troubling thing about Gonzales is not his understanding (or lack thereof) on the "legal" use of torture, but his apparent lack of understanding on the powers of the Presidency. One thing is for sure: what ever "torture" is — and I am willing to concede that we can have open debates about that — the President … Read More
Dirty Tricks
And illegal, too. A GOP registration group called Voters Outreach of America (a.k.a. America Votes) registers voters, but then throws away the Democratic registrations. Two former workers say they personally witnessed company supervisors rip up and trash registration forms signed by Democrats. "We caught her taking Democrats out of my pile, handed them to her assistant and he ripped them … Read More
Cheney Implicates Himself
Well, it’s bound to happen when the wheels of the spin machine fall off. Speaking of the Duelfer Report, Cheney says: "As soon as the sanctions were lifted, he [Saddam] had every intention of going back. . . . [T]he sanctions regime was coming apart at the seams. Saddam perverted that whole thing and generated billions of dollars." (Emphasis mine) … Read More