Category: Congress

Bizarre, Congress, Constitutional Law, Politics, Society

Scalia Agrees To Speak To New Conservative Members on the Constitution

Associate Justice Antonin Scalia is again in the midst of controversy with his decision to accept an invitation from Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) to speak to incoming conservative members about the Constitution as part of their training. Bachmann, the founder of the House’s Tea Party Caucus, is leading efforts to repeal health care and seek new legislation based on a more conservative view of the Constitution. The decision to participate in such an event shows exceedingly poor judgment.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Justice, Military, Politics

Resolutions and Dreams for 2011

SUBMITTED BY LAWRENCE RAFFERTY, GUEST BLOGGER

Now that the end of the year is just hours away, I thought it would be nice to put into writing some of the New Years resolutions that I have for 2011. This year has been a year of highs and lows for myself and for the country. These resolutions are my hopes and dreams for myself, the country and the world in the coming year.

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Congress, Courts, Politics

Republicans Obstruct the Judiciary

Submitted by Guest Blogger, Lawrence Rafferty

After a wonderful Christmas weekend spent with my family and my two Grandsons, and after celebrating the Bears victory over the Jets, it is time to get back to work.  I was not surprised to read that the Republican minority in the United States Senate have been trying to prevent President Obama’s nominations for the Federal Judiciary from receiving a vote on the Senate floor.  However, I was shocked to see the extent of the intentional obstruction.  The Obama Administration has the lowest judicial confirmation record since before the Carter administration.  Almost one of every nine judicial judgeships is currently without a Federal judge on the bench.  How could a minority in the Senate derail the nominations of so many judges to the Federal bench? 

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Congress, Environment, Politics, Society

EPA Moves Toward Limits on Greenhouse Gases

In what could be one of the most significant regulatory changes since its founding, the EPA has moved toward imposing limits on greenhouse gases with a finding that such gases now present a “serious problem . . . for future generations.” The move could have widespread environmental benefits apart from climate change in forcing more fuel efficient cars and greater limitations on power plants and industrial sources.
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Congress, Environment, Politics, Uncategorized

WHAT DOES THE US CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HAVE AGAINST 9/11 FIRST RESPONDERS?

 

SUBMITTED BY LAWRENCE RAFFERTY, GUEST BLOGGER

Earlier in the week, the legislation that would have provided medical help for 9/11 first responders was killed by Republicans.  I was shocked to see that any political party would be against getting medical help for true American heroes.  You can imagine my surprise when I found out who was helping the Republicans defeat this humanitarian bill.  The United States Chamber of Commerce was quietly working behind the scenes to make sure this bill was defeated.  The immediate question that came to my mind was why?  Why wouldn’t the Chamber want the heroes of 9/11 to get the medical help that they need to fight the many health problems that they have incurred due to their work on 9/11 at Ground Zero? Continue reading “WHAT DOES THE US CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HAVE AGAINST 9/11 FIRST RESPONDERS?” →

Congress, Military, Politics, Uncategorized

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Policy Repealed

Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger

NOTE: A correction has been made to this post.

This afternoon, the United States Senate voted to end Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell—a policy that banned gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military for seventeen years. According to CBS News: “Eight Republicans joined nearly every Democrat to vote for repeal. The Republicans voting for repeal were Sens. Scott Brown (Mass.), Susan Collins (Maine), Olympia Snowe (Maine), Mark Kirk (Ill.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), John Ensign (Nev.), Richard Burr (N.C.) and George Voinovich (Ohio).”

The final vote was 65-31.

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Bizarre, Congress, Constitutional Law, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

Mandatory Health Care Provision Struck Down As Unconstitutional

U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson in Richmond, Virginia had struck down the centerpiece of the national health care plan: the mandatory requirement that all citizens get health care coverage. The lengthy 42-page opinion details how the law falls outside of interstate commerce jurisdiction — the concern that I previously voiced in a column.

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Congress, International, Politics

Ron Paul Speaks about Wikileaks on the Floor of the House

Recently, Republican Rep. Ron Paul of Texas took to the floor of the House to talk about Wikileaks, transparency in government, and the case of Daniel Ellsberg, the Pentagon Papers, and the New York Times. He spoke about how the Iraq War was based on lies.  He asked how the U. S. government should prosecute a citizen of Australia for publishing classified U. S. documents that he did not steal. Paul also said the following: “Revealing the real nature and goal of our presence in so many Muslim countries is a threat to our empire, and any revelation of this truth is highly resented by those in charge.”

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Bizarre, Congress, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, International, Media, Politics, Society

Whose Pal Are You Anyway? Company Cuts Off Financial Support for Wikileaks Through PayPal

The pressure continues to find ways to cut off support and access to WikiLeaks material. PalPal was the latest company to move against Wikileaks by cutting off the ability of people to make donations to support the whistleblower disclosures. The company waited until Friday (when coverage would be reduced) to make the move.
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Academia, Congress, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Lawyering, Politics, Society

THE PORTEOUS IMPEACHMENT: THE CLOSING ARGUMENTS TO BE HEARD ON TUESDAY

The United States Senate will convene with all 100 members on Tuesday, December 7th for the final arguments in the impeachment of Judge G. Thomas Porteous. Our weekend crew of contributors has agreed to keep the shop going until after the final vote — likely on Wednesday, December 8th.
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Congress, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, International, Politics, Society

Is the United States Engaging In Unlawful Cyber Attacks Against Carriers of Wikileaks?

A day after Amazon was forced to block Wikileaks, the site is again offline in an alleged campaign by the United States to prevent the public from seeing the whistleblower material. This includes a disclosure, discussed last night on Countdown, that the Obama Administration has been misleading the public and actually moved to force Spain to drop its prosecution of American officials for war crimes and torture.
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