Category: Congress

Congress, Constitutional Law

Hannity & Barton on Con Law: Required Reading at Tea Parties

Minnesota Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann has a knack for saying just the right thing. She famously educated Chris Matthews on the merits of guilt by association saying “…usually we associate with people who have similar ideas to us, and it seems that it calls into questions what Barack Obama’s true beliefs, and values, and thoughts are…I am very concerned that he [Barack Obama] may have anti-American views.” Now, Bachman is inviting conservative commentator Sean Hannity and Christian evangelical author David Barton to teach lawmakers the nuances of Constitutional law. Bachmann originally considered Supreme Court Justices Scalia or Clarence Thomas but neither could match Hannity’s honorary degree (he dropped out of two colleges) from the late Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University, or Barton’s religious education BA degree from Oral Roberts Univerity. 

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Congress, Environment, International, Politics, Society

New Report Details Obama Administration’s Editing of Scientific Report on Oil Spill and Misleading Statements By Carol Browner

Another report (this time from the Inspector General’s Office of the Interior Department) has been published detailing the Obama Administration’s editing of a scientific report to downplay the damage caused by the BP oil spill. The new information also reaffirms the clearly misleading statements made by Obama’s energy adviser, Carol Browner — an issue previously discussed on this blog.

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Congress, Politics, Society

Boehner Promises To Fly Commercial As Speaker

Speaker Nancy Pelosi was criticized on this blog and other sites for her failure to end various corrupt practices such as pork and congressional travel. Indeed, Pelosi added jets to ferry members abroad on junkets and used a personal governmental jet to go back and forward to California. Now, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) has announced that he will take commercial flights. Regardless of whether you opposed the GOP in the elections, it is important to give credit to such reforms. Boehner is to be commended for this symbolic change.

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Bizarre, Congress, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Justice, Lawyering, Military, Politics, Society

Obama Fights To Preserve Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Before Supreme Court

President Barack Obama continued his effort to preserve the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in a filing before the United States Supreme Court. A trial court had imposed an injunction to halt the discriminatory policy. The Administration could have allowed the injunction to stand pending an appeal but succeeded in getting the order reversed. Now, it is defending its intention to continue to discriminate against gays and lesbians in an appeal to the Supreme Court.

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Academia, Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Lawyering, Politics, Society

The Porteous Impeachment: Post-Trial Brief

We have filed our post-trial brief in the Senate Impeachment Trial of United States District Court Judge Thomas Porteous. The brief, linked below, presents the factual record on each of the articles of impeachment after the conclusion of the Senate trial. We are expecting final arguments to be heard in December before all 100 Senators on the Senate floor.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Politics

A Bachmann Concerto

Step into my time machine. I’ll take you back to March of 2009 when Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann of Minnesota said the following:

“I want people in Minnesota armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax because we need to fight back. Thomas Jefferson told us, having a revolution every now and then is a good thing, and the people — we the people — are going to have to fight back hard if we’re not going to lose our country. And I think this has the potential of changing the dynamic of freedom forever in the United States.”

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Congress, Media, Politics, Society, Uncategorized

More Rumble Than Earthquake: Very Little To Party About

The Tea Party made lots of noise and woke the neighbors, but precious few in-roads into the political system. True, Marc Rubio and Rand Paul were big winners but each benefited from some peculiar circumstances.  Rubio won in a three way race punctuated by former spurned Repub Governor Crist’s independent bid along with a Democratic challenger who won just enough to split the vote of the rational and give Rubio the nod.  Rand benefited from the strong conservative sentiment  in Kentucky and what Mark Twain best described this way: “When the end of the world comes, I want to be in Kentucky because it’s always twenty years behind the times.”

Other Party guests did not fair so well — even in a time of popular disenchantment with government and a bad economy. Unpopular Senator Harry Reid survived a bid from Sharon Angle of  “there is no separation of church and state”  fame. First Amendment scholar, former Wiccan, and Angle devotee, Christine O’Donnell, sank against Chris Coons by 18 points.  Even in far off Alaska, Palin-approved candidate Joe Miller looks to be a loser in a three way race to a write-in candidate and incumbent, Lisa Murkowski.

How did that poster child for The Movement and  likely 2012 Presidential candidate, Sarah Plain, do with her endorsements? Well,  that sprinkling of Alaskan tea resulted in 33 loses and 27 wins. Not exactly the “Golden Touch.”  All in all, the Tea Party can claim some measure of victory, but the win is less than satisfying.  After the Party’s hangover, the realization will set in that “winning” requires “fixing” else-wise the fickle electorate will turn you out like yesterday’s newspaper. And that, my revolutionary friends, is the hardest tea to swallow of all.

–Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Politics, Society

Obama Administration Secures Stay to Continue to Bar Gays and Lesbians From Military Service

The Obama Administration has succeeded in securing a stay of a federal court’s injunction on the don’t ask, don’t tell policy. The Ninth Circuit agreed to the demand of the Administration that it should be able to continue to bar openly gay military personnel and continue to discharge those who reveal that they are gay. The policy is now again active pending review of the lower court decision.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Military, Politics, Society

Obama Administration Loses Effort To Block Injunction of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell — Announces Appeal To Reverse Victory Over DADT

Just days after the Obama Adminstration announced that it would appeal a historic victory in favor of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, the Administration is now appealing an equally historic victory over the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips refused demands by the Obama Administration that she rescind the national injunction against the policy. Now it has announced that, while it has had to suspend further discharges of gay personnel, it will appeal the decision to be able to resume such discharges.

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Bizarre, Congress, Constitutional Law, Media, Politics, Society

Bewitched: O’Donnell on the Constitution

Now this is my type of debate. An alleged “bearded Marxist” debating an alleged “former witch” about the 17th amendment. You can imagine me wolfing down popcorn in feverish excitement while watching the debate of Delaware Republican Senate Candidate Christine O’Donnell and Democratic opponent Chris Coons.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Politics, Society

Federal Court Rules Challenge To Federal Health Care Law Can Go Forward

In Florida, U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson has rejected an effort by the Obama Administration to dismiss a challenge of the health care law and has ordered the case to proceed — even criticizing the position of the Administration as “Alice in Wonderland” arguments.
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Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Politics, Society

Federal Judge Imposes Nationwide Injunction of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell

While the Obama Administration has announced an appeal in Massachusetts to reverse the victory with regard to same sex marriage, U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips in Riverside, California has upped the ante by imposing a nationwide injunction on the policy of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell– a move also opposed by the Obama Administration. The Administration is now likely to move to reverse this victory in California — further angering those “lethargic” liberals that the Administration has been pushing to work for the Democrats.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Justice, Politics, Society

Obama Administration Announces Appeal To Reverse Same Sex Marriage Victory

The Obama administration will appeal the Massachusetts ruling in favor of same sex marriage. The Justice Department will defend the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA. This action will further alienate civil libertarians and liberals — particularly at a time when the Administration is trying to preserve the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy in a California case. Now on both coasts, the Obama Administration is fighting to continue discrimination against gays and lesbians.

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Academia, Bizarre, Congress, Politics, Society

Fed Nominee Blocked By GOP Senator As Unqualified Just Received The Nobel Prize

The Nobel Committee may think a lot about MIT economist Peter Diamond, but he is currently blocked as a nominee for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. Sen. Richard Shelby has objected that Diamond is not qualified for the Board because his specialty is not in monetary policy.
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