Minnesota has seen the best and worst of its society in the debate of a constitutional amendment to limit marriage to heterosexual couples. The best was Sen. John Kiesel, who was a profile of courage. The worst was the pastor invited to give the opening prayer, Bradlee Dean, a profile of perfidy (as in a deliberate breach of faith when you agree to give a nondenominational prayer and then give a sectarian diatribe). Dean’s record of hateful and bigoted statements was well-known before he was invited to the legislature to start off the day of debate on the rights of homosexual citizens to marry.
Continue reading “Meet Bradlee Dean: Profile of Perfidy”
Author: jonathanturley
Politicians in Texas are addressing what appears to be a pressing threat to public order: tall fish tales. Texas Sen. Glenn Hegar has introduced a bill to make it a crime to misrepresent the size or weight of a fish caught in a tournament. It is the latest example of the criminalization of American society.
Continue reading “Liar Law: Texas Makes Tall Fish Tales A Felony”
At a time of intense intolerance and homophobia in American politics, Minnesota GOP Rep. John Kriesel took the floor to beg his colleagues not to vote for a constitutional amendment that would ban same sex marriage. Kriesel’s simple words and humanity offer a true profile of courage to politicians across the country.
Continue reading “Meet Rep. John Kriesel: A Profile of Courage”
This is the amazing double rainbow after the disastrous F4 tornado struck Joplin Missouri, killing 116. It is the great paradox of nature, the potential for both great destruction and beauty.
While the United States and its allies continue to pour billions into Afghanistan, the widespread corruption continues unabated and unashamedly. The most recent such report is coming from the Department for International Development in England where it has found that hundreds of “nation-building” projects were completely fraudulent loans to conceal thefts.
Continue reading “Kabul Bank Officials Cited In Secret Report For Stealing A Billion Dollars in Aid”
In England, Katie Dagley, 19, died in an accident as bizarre as it was tragic. In something out of a proximate cause question on a torts exam, a traffic light-controlled bridge malfunctioned after a slug cause the lights to malfunction. That’s right, investigators believe that the slug left a trail across a circuit board that caused it to short out. That caused the lights to malfunction and Dagley proceeding against traffic on a one-land bridge in Tamworth, Staffordshire.
Continue reading “Slug Causes Traffic Death in England”
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may have been blocked in his effort to become oil minister, but he is still angling for national meteorologist. In a speech this weekend, Ahmadinejad accused Europe of emptying clouds and depriving Iran of rain.
Continue reading “Cloudy With A Chance Of Jihad: Ahmadinejad Accuses Europe of “Emptying Clouds””
The Dutch Catholic Church and the Salesian order are under fire this week after it was disclosed that a priest not only served on the board of a pro-pedophilia organization but defended adult-child sex. To make matters worse, high ranking officials were apparently aware of the 73-year-old priest’s activities. The priest is known only as “Father Van B.” Moreover, Superior Jos Claes says that he does not believe that such activities would present a serious problem for the priest.
It is the type of thing that only teens would come up with as a way of celebrating the continuation of times on Saturday, May 21st. Many people were having fun with the bizarre delusions of Camping and his followers predicting Judgment Day with parties and postings. A group of five teens in Michigan, however, decided to celebrate the end of the world by jumping into the Kalamazoo River, including Anthony Thompson who notably could not swim. Well, you can guess the rest.
Continue reading “End of Times Tragically Comes True For Michigan Teen”
Well, I went off to my annual trip to Shrine Mont for the rapture (leaving our weekend editors to face the Judgment alone), only to face another Monday with no pre-arranged blog stories. Who would have known that you couldn’t trust an 89-year-old religious fanatic foretelling the End of Times? In Alameda, California, Harold Camping will only say that “It has been a really tough weekend” and he is “flabbergasted” that the world has continued to exist. Talking about a tough Monday to have return to work and face our office mates around the water cooler.
Continue reading “Failing Out Of Rapture: Turley Blog Re-Opens After Unexpected Continuation of Times”
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
President Obama’s middle east speech contained this exact quote: “The borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states.”
So started the insanity. The fact that this has been the U.S. policy over several administrations seems to be lost on the outraged.
Continue reading “The Right’s Nutty Reaction to Obama’s Middle East Speech”
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
Republicans have decided that their talking points should be about the national debt instead of, say, job creation. To that end, Rep. Paul Ryan, on one of those Sunday morning talk shows, said “We need to address the drivers of our debt.”
That’s a great idea.
Continue reading “Rep. Paul Ryan Wants to Address the Drivers of Our Debt”
Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels is the subject of much speculation as a potential contender for the GOP presidential nomination. The former Eli Lilly executive turned politician has taken the conservative state to even lower lows of right-wing foolishness by sponsoring legislation to deny children of undocumented workers in-state tuition rates and increasing fines on Indiana employers who hired their parents. Daniels is also no foe of big business as he famously leased the Indiana Toll Road for 75 years to a Spanish conglomerate for $3.85 Billion dollars.
Continue reading “Republican Presidential Hopeful Loses Bout To Gym Door”
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
One of the legacies of J. Edgar Hoover, who severed as Director of the FBI for 48 years, is a federal statute enacted in 1976 — Pub. L. 94–503, quoted in the historical and revision notes following 28 U.S.C.A. § 532: “A Director may not serve more than one ten-year term.”
The current FBI Director is Robert Mueller and his ten-year term of office expires in September. President Obama wants to extend his term by two years. It appears that President Obama doesn’t have the stomach for a messy confirmation fight with Republicans. Not that it will make any difference, but, the statutory term limit is clearly unconstitutional.
Continue reading “Is the 10-Year Term Limit for the FBI Director Constitutional?”
Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
Former President George W. Bush has a strange way of keeping a low profile. Following his reported sore ego for not being afforded enough credit in the demise of Bin Laden, Bush declined an invitation to go to New York and appear with President Obama at “ground zero.” The ex-President, it was said, wanted to keep a “low profile.” That desire didn’t stop him though from traveling to New York the following week and giving three speeches to hedge fund managers for a cool $450,000.00.