Author: rafflaw

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Free Speech, Justice, Media, Politics, Society, Supreme Court, Uncategorized

Is Freedom of the Press Dead?

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Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Guest Blogger

There has been a large volume of discussion on this blog concerning the loss of our personal liberties and constitutional freedoms.  One of the most important of those “freedoms” that seem to be at risk is the Freedom of the Press, especially in light of recent events.

“Following the amendment of a long-standing U.S. law, people in this country will now be exposed to news which is produced by the U.S. government.  On Jul. 2, a change to the U.S. Information and Educational Exchange Act, also known as the Smith-Mundt Act, came into effect, reversing a ban on the State Department and U.S. international broadcasting agencies which had prevented them from disseminating their program materials within U.S. borders.  The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), the U.S. federal government agency which oversees all U.S. government-supported media internationally, notes that individuals residing in the U.S. will now have access to vast amounts of new information.” Nation of Change Continue reading “Is Freedom of the Press Dead?” →

Uncategorized

Stop Funding KBR’s Excesses

Army Contracting Command

Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Guest Blogger

It has been discussed for years how expensive the privatization of military support programs can be.  It is also not news that the privatization by the military has dramatically increased since 2001.  What you might consider news is just how much one large military contractor received on its decade long contract and how much more they are demanding in a Federal Claims Court from the Army just to close out the contract! Continue reading “Stop Funding KBR’s Excesses” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Justice, Lawyering, Politics, Society, Supreme Court, Uncategorized

The Supreme Court Versus the Common Man

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Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Guest Blogger

A recent United State Supreme Court decision has made it almost impossible for small businesses and individuals to bring class action lawsuits against large corporations who may be in violation of antitrust laws. Not only did the case fly under the mass media radar, it also may allow corporations to use contractual language to insulate them from many other federal laws.  I am talking about the American Express v. Italian Colors case that was decided by a 5-3 margin.  What the Supreme Court majority did here was to allow American Express to force its small business customers to sign a contract that included language that precluded those same customers from having any viable access to judicial review of American Express’ business practices. Continue reading “The Supreme Court Versus the Common Man” →

Academia, Congress, Politics

Common Core Standards = No Child Left Behind on Steroids

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Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Guest Blogger

We have all heard the stories about the federal education policy instituted under the George W. Bush administration referred to as No Child Left Behind (NCLB).  That program required schools to continually test students in order to gauge which schools are “failing” to produce students who were making sufficient educational progress.  The outgrowth of NCLB was the need for teachers to “teach to the test”.  Schools across the country stopped teaching important subject areas because they were not deemed important enough to be on the all important test.  Now, the latest federal educational program embraced by the Obama Administration, called Common Core standards, builds on the NCLB program and continues to force testing using standards that have not even been tested and are products of corporate sponsors tied to the testing industry! Continue reading “Common Core Standards = No Child Left Behind on Steroids” →

Academia, Media, Politics, Society

Rahm Emanuel’s Reform of the Chicago Public Schools

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Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty-(Rafflaw)-Guest Blogger

We often hear the term “school reform” used often by politicians of all stripes.  Chicago’s politicians are no different when it comes to talking about and taking action on so-called school reform.  Recently, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who is a big fan of the charter school program and a former investment banker, decided that the best way to “reform” Chicago Public Schools was to close 49 schools and terminate 550 teachers and another 300 school staff employees!

“On June 14, the Chicago Public Schools sent layoff notices to 850 school employees, including 550 teachers. The layoffs will hit hardest at those teachers working in African-American and Latino communities. These are the communities that were targeted in the system’s recent decision to close 49 schools – the largest single school closure in US history.” Truth-out Continue reading “Rahm Emanuel’s Reform of the Chicago Public Schools” →

Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, Justice, Lawyering, Media, Society

What Is a Worse Crime, Rape or Publishing Evidence of the Rape?

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Respectfully Submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Guest Blogger

You may recall an article that I wrote back in January discussing the Steubenville, Ohio rape case.  It was a case where members of the town’s high school football team were charged with repeatedly raping and sexually assaulting an unconscious young girl and it also exposed the community support these alleged rapists had.  In that case a local unit of the Hacktivist group, Anonymous, published tweets and pictures of the alleged rapists.  One of the citations or links that I provided in the article has since been taken down and now the local Anonymous activist had his home raided by a FBI SWAT team and may be charged with hacking into the high school website and could face a potential 10 year sentence for the alleged crimes!  You may ask what are the sentences that the now convicted rapists are facing?  Since they were minors at the time of the alleged serial rape, they are facing 2 year sentences.   Continue reading “What Is a Worse Crime, Rape or Publishing Evidence of the Rape?” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, Justice, Lawyering, Politics, Supreme Court

It’s All About the Judges

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Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Guest Blogger

Over the years we have heard the stories about Supreme Court justices coming under fire for attending political rallies and symposiums and for taking gifts from political organizations.  Abe Fortas and his subsequent resignation from the Supreme Court is one instance that comes to mind.  More recently, of course,  Justice Clarence Thomas’ exploits come to mind.  “Justice Clarence Thomas is an ethics problem in a black robe. Just eight months after ThinkProgress broke the story of Thomas’ attendance at a Koch-sponsored political fundraiser, we learn that Thomas doesn’t just do unethical favors for wealthy right-wing donors — they also do expensive favors for him.

Leading conservative donor Harlan Crow, whose company often litigates in federal court, provided $500,000 to allow Thomas’s wife to start a Tea Party group and he once gave Thomas a $19,000 Bible that belonged to Frederick Douglass. The American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank which frequently files briefs in Thomas’ Court, also gave Thomas a $15,000 gift.”  Think Progress

What we may have missed in those earlier discussions is how important the lower courts and appeals court judges are in enforcing corporate or political legislation and policies.  What would you say if corporations and partisan foundations or think tanks and oil companies were deeply involved in making sure the judges know who their real “friends” are? Continue reading “It’s All About the Judges” →

Academia, Congress, Courts, International, Justice, Politics, Society

Do the Big Banks Control Everything?

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Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Guest Blogger

Recently I wrote an article that discussed how the FDIC and the Bank of England had written a joint paper agreeing on how to deal with failing large banks in the post Dodd-Frank world.  Banksters  In my research for a follow-up to that article, I discovered that Congress was busy at work trying to do everything in its power to water down or eviscerate Dodd-Frank.  I guess I should not be surprised that Congress might be trying to defeat a law that was passed in an attempt to make sure that ordinary citizens would not be asked to bail out the large banks once again.  While Dodd-Frank is far from perfect, it is a step in the right direction.  At least for the taxpayers. Continue reading “Do the Big Banks Control Everything?” →

Congress, Criminal law, International, Justice, Media, Politics, Society, Uncategorized

Tax Havens For the Wealthy, But What About the Rest of Us?

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Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)- Guest Blogger

Recently, the ICIJ, better known as the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists released a report detailing hundreds of thousands of off-shore companies whose sole product or service is to hide income from many countries tax authorities.  “A cache of 2.5 million files has cracked open the secrets of more than 120,000 offshore companies and trusts, exposing hidden dealings of politicians, con men and the mega-rich the world over.

The secret records obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists lay bare the names behind covert companies and private trusts in the British Virgin Islands, the Cook Islands and other offshore hideaways.

They include American doctors and dentists and middle-class Greek villagers as well as families and associates of long-time despots, Wall Street swindlers, Eastern European and Indonesian billionaires, Russian corporate executives, international arms dealers and a sham-director-fronted company that the European Union has labeled as a cog in Iran’s nuclear-development program.” ICIJ.org   Continue reading “Tax Havens For the Wealthy, But What About the Rest of Us?” →

Academia, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Justice, Media, Military, Politics, Society

Kent State 43 Years Later

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Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Guest Blogger

Yesterday was the 43rd anniversary of the day when time stood still for me.  As a freshmen in college at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale,  Illinois, I was stunned to learn of the killing of 4 young people by the Ohio National Guard during protests on the campus of Kent State University.  The protestors were using their First Amendment rights to voice their opinion on the United States participation in the Vietnam War and the military’s recent incursion into Cambodia upon orders from then President Richard Nixon.   Those events not only scarred me, but they also opened my eyes to the power of the government and more importantly, the power of the people.  Continue reading “Kent State 43 Years Later” →

Congress, International, Justice, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

Just How American Should Corporations Be?

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Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Guest Blogger

Lately we have been barraged with news stories that the recovery of the United States economy has been historically, a slow one.  We have also seen stories that state that the vast majority of the gains in the economy since the recession started in December of 2007 have been enjoyed by the very wealthy.  “According to a new analysis (pdf) of Census Bureau data published Tuesday by the Pew Research Center, since the economy officially emerged from the recession in mid-2009, the wealthiest 7 percent of households saw soaring gains of an estimated $5.6 trillion, while the remaining 93 percent—111 million households—saw their overall wealth fall by an estimated $0.6 trillion.”  CommonDreams

As the Common Dreams quote suggests, the poor and middle-income portions of our economy have been left out in the cold when it comes to an economic recovery.  Many of those who have benefitted during the recovery have their money and assets tied into shares of American corporations who are enjoying record profits, while the vast majority of Americans are unable to invest in the stock market or do not have 401K plans that could invest retirement funds in those same American corporations.

“Cha adds that the findings demonstrate, “how it is the rich, not the poor, that benefit from government handouts. It was direct government support with taxpayer funds that saved the big banks and, in turn, enriched their shareholders. It’s not social safety net programs that are bankrupting our country: it’s the rich.” -Mijin Cha, Demos  Government policies following the recession drove an even larger gap in wealth disparity as the richest 7 percent’s slice of the nation’s wealth grew from 56 to 63 percent by 2011.

“The Fed has kept things pretty good for the wealthy,” said New York University economist Edward Wolff, of the policies that supported these gains in stock and bond markets. CommonDreams   Continue reading “Just How American Should Corporations Be?” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Justice, Politics, Society, Uncategorized

Fed Up With the Fed

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Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Guest Blogger

In the past few weeks, I have written about how the FDIC along with the Bank of England had developed a plan to allow the Big banks to grab depositors funds  in order to bail out those very same big banks.  Since that article was written, I have reviewed just what role the Federal Reserve Bank plays and how can it be improved.  You may remember the role the Federal Reserve played in bailing out the Big Banks during the beginning of the Great Recession.

“As a result of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) audit of the Fed, Senate sponsor Bernie Sanders of Vermont said, “We now know that the Federal Reserve provided more than $16 trillion in total financial assistance to some of the largest financial institutions and corporations in the United States and throughout the world.” Among the investigation’s key findings was that the Fed unilaterally provided trillions of dollars in financial assistance to foreign banks and corporations from South Korea to Scotland. These decisions were all made without the public, media or elected officials’ knowledge, and they would have remained secret without an audit.” Bernie Sanders    Continue reading “Fed Up With the Fed” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Justice, Politics, Religion, Society

Drug Testing Welfare Recipients to Prevent Abuse

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Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Guest Blogger

I have seen the suggestion before that Welfare recipients need to be drug tested to make sure that taxpayers are not paying for the drug habits of those evil poor people.  I have even seen relatives allude to it in messages on social media sites and I have witnessed friends championing the idea in personal emails.  I always wondered why some people think that the poor must be abusing the state and federal aid programs and therefore must have drug tests to insure that the taxpayers money is not being wasted.  While I agree that taxpayers money should not be wasted, I have not seen any benefit from forcing people to be drug tested before they receive their aid payments.

The State of Florida tried this from 1999 to 2001 and reintroduced it in 2011.  The Florida plan was subsequently struck down by the courts because there was no evidence that poor people abused drugs more often than their wealthier counterparts.  “The state of Florida passed an almost identical testing procedure that ran from 1999 to 2001 and was reintroduced in July of 2011 that was struck down by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta the following month, citing the fact:  ‘ “there is nothing inherent to the condition of being impoverished that supports the conclusion that there is a `concrete danger’ that impoverished individuals are prone to drug use.” ‘  Crooks and Liars   Does it surprise you that it took the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals before this expensive and intrusive process was ended in Florida?  Continue reading “Drug Testing Welfare Recipients to Prevent Abuse” →

Congress, Justice, Politics, Society, Uncategorized

Bi-Partisan Support for Bill to Mandate a Higher Capital Requirement for Too Big to Fail Banks

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Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)- Guest Blogger

Last week I wrote about a disturbing joint FDIC and Bank of England plan that could allow big banks to grab depositors funds in order to balance their books.  FDIC-BOE  As a follow-up to that discussion, I saw an article discussing a proposed Senate bill that would require our biggest banks to support a higher capital requirement than their smaller counterparts.  The bill in question is co-sponsored by Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown and Republican Senator David Vitter.  I thought it was especially interesting when one of this proposed legislation’s critics seemed to indicate that this legislation is unnecessary because it disregards the role the FDIC plays in protecting depositors accounts.

‘ “I view it as a radical view of how American banks should be restructured that seems to disregard the role of the FDIC coverage, prudential regulation and the totally different structure of the 2013 economy,” Petrou said in an interview.” ‘  Bloomberg   I guess Ms. Petrou didn’t read my article or the various articles before and after mine that discussed the plan that the FDIC made with the Bank of England to completely avoid the FDIC coverage and allow bankers to take depositors funds and replace those funds with stock shares in order to keep the bank afloat.  Or then maybe she did? Continue reading “Bi-Partisan Support for Bill to Mandate a Higher Capital Requirement for Too Big to Fail Banks” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, International, Justice, Uncategorized

Could the Banksters Grab Your Bank Deposits?

200px-FDIC_2500_sign_by_Matthew_BisanzRespectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty- Guest Blogger

The recent news about Cyprus banks confiscating depositor’s funds sent chills throughout the financial world here and abroad.  I couldn’t believe that the plan in Cyprus hinged on the idea that the bank could just steal customer’s funds to balance the bank’s books.  I muttered to myself when I read the story that something as crazy as that couldn’t possible happen here in the United States.  Unfortunately, I learned that the plan to pull a Cyprus type grab here was already in the works.  Continue reading “Could the Banksters Grab Your Bank Deposits?” →