Israel is in the midst of an interesting struggle over separation of temple and state. An Israeli court ruled that stores could sell bread and religiously forbidden foods during Passover. This has led to an uproar in the Knesset over its authority to dictate such religious-based practices. It is a debate and has elements of an early debate in the United States over the role of Congress on constitutional questions. Continue reading “Separation of Temple and State: Special Session of the Knesset Called Over Passover Food Controversy”
Category: Congress
Great America has been criticized in a state agency for violating the “10/20 Rule”: after allowing 4-year-old Carlos Flores to float on the surface of the Great Barrier Reef Wave Pool for 39 seconds. With the approaching summer, such negligent rescue cases arise with disturbing regularity. Continue reading “Great America Faces Possible Lawsuit Over Drowning under the “10/20” Rule”
In light of the recent hearing on mandatory asset freezing and restitution, Congress should look at the on-going controversy over an asset forfeiture in Lima Ohio. Luther and Meredith Ricks were victims of a break-in at their home by two burglars. Luther was able to kill one of the men and called police. The police, however, were quickly drawn to a small amount of marijuana in the house: used by Luther to deal with pain from arthritis and a recent surgery. The result? The feds (who were not involved in the case) have seized $400,000 of their life savings. Continue reading “Proving Forfeiture is an Ass – et: Feds Seize Couples $400,000 Lifetime Savings After Small Amount of Pot Found”
Hillary Clinton’s superdelegate strategy has highlighted the flaws in our electoral college system — and the need to finally embrace democracy in its truest form in the selection of the President of the United States. The column below explores the controversy.
Continue reading “De-Accrediting the Electoral College: The Real Costs of a Constitutional Relic”
The tobacco industry won a major appeal today when the Second Circuit threw out an $800 billion class-action lawsuit based on allegedly misleading light cigarettes ads. While light or low-tar cigarettes have proven the most promising area of litigation for plaintiffs, there is a strong trend against massive class actions. Continue reading “$800 Billion Up in Smoke: Court Throws Out Massive Class Action on Light Cigarettes”
Today, I testified in the House Judiciary Committee (Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security), on the new proposed changes to the rules governing federal restitution. They are quite extreme. Continue reading “Testimony on New Federal Restitution Law”
Leslie Hagan, it appears, was a bit too outstanding for the Justice Department. The attorney worked as a liaison between the Justice Department and the U.S. attorneys’ committee on Native American issues and received consistent “outstanding” marks on her evaluations. However, she is also a lesbian as well as a Republican. It was the first part that allegedly bothered people like Monica Goodling, the oft-ridiculed former Justice official involved in the firings of U.S. Attorneys. Continue reading “A Bit Too Outstanding: Inspector General Investigating Whether Justice Fired Successful Because She Is A Lesbian”
Yet, another prostitution scandal was triggered today with the disclosure that the husband of U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, Thomas Athans, allegedly admitted to police that he used the Internet to arrange for a prostitute to come to his hotel and paid for services. Continue reading “Sen. Debbie Stabenow’s Husband Implicated in Prostitution Arrest”
The White House finally released some of the torture memos to Congress — justifications of coercive methods by Professor John Yoo. What is most striking about the memo below is its rather low-grade effort to justify torture — citing a type of self-defense theory for why an isolated detainee might have died or been injured during rough interrogation. Continue reading “Torture Memo Released: Yoo Argues Self-Defense in Cases of Interrogation Deaths or Injuries”
In a startling development, the FBI announced on April 1st that it has finally analyzed the recently discovered parachute in Washington and found DNA evidence establishing the identity of the famed D.B. Cooper. To the astonishment of many (except readers of this blog), the DNA matches Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, who has vowed to continue his presidential run despite the disclosure.
Continue reading “Parachute Evidence Confirms Ron Paul is D.B. Cooper; Paul Vows to Continue Race”
In yet another loss for the Bush Administration in the case of accused Rep. William Jefferson, the United States Supreme Court today denied its appeal on the issue of the constitutionality of its raid of a congressional office. Continue reading “Supreme Court Denies Review in the Jefferson Case”
It is beginning to look like all new hires in the Bush Administration receive with an office, security pass, and list of available criminal defense counsel. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson resigned today in the midst of a criminal investigation into favoritism in government contracts. He is only the latest in an impressive list of Administration officials fleeing on the heels on pursuing constables. Continue reading “All the President’s Men: HUD Secretary Latest to Resign Amid Criminal Investigation”
10-year-old Nebraska girl Jayci Yaeger died not long after she was given her last wish: to see her father Jason Yaeger who is serving time on a drug offense. There remain questions about why federal officials in Yankton, S.D. fought any extended furlough for so long and only relented after a national outcry over their position. Continue reading “Little Girl Dies After Getting Last Wish to See Prisoner-Father”
Larry Silverstein, president and CEO of Silverstein Properties, the developer of the World Trade Center in New York is seeking $12.3 billion in damages from the airlines and other companies for damages related to the September 11 terrorist attacks. The defendants include American Airlines, United Airlines, Continental Airlines and Boeing. Continue reading “Developer Lawsuit Seeks $12.3 Billion in 9-11 Damages”
“Real Time With Bill Maher” is not usually the forum for legislative proposals, but Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) used it to announce legislation in Congress that would strip the federal government of its authority to arrest for some cannabis violations. Continue reading “Rep. Frank to Introduce Legislation to Decriminalize Some Pot Violations”