Category: Politics

Supreme Court Grants Review Of Two Historic Same-Sex Marriage Cases

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The U.S. Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has accepted two cases that deal with the issue of same-sex marriage. One of the cases is that of Edie Windsor (left) challenging the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) — a law supported and signed by former President Bill Clinton to bar federal recognition of same-sex marriage. On October 18, 2012, the Second Circuit struck down DOMA in Windsor v. United States. Also accepted is Hollingsworth v. Perry dealing with “Proposition 8″ in California.

I will be discussing the cases tonight on Ed Schultz on MSNBC around 8:50 pm.

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Obama Administration Pledges To Ignore State Legalization of Pot And Crackdown On Users and Distributors

marijuana_leafPresObamaWe discussed earlier how, when trying to lure back liberal voters for his reelection, President Obama’s administration went into radio silence on its past crackdown on marijuana use, including medical marijuana. Then, the day after reelection, the Justice Department announced that it would continue its unpopular crackdown on pot distribution and possession. Now, after the legalization of marijuana use in Washington state, the Justice Department has announced that it would not yield to the citizens of the state and would continue its crackdown. The statement came from the office of the United States Attorney in Seattle, the highest ranking Justice official in the state.

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Teacher’s Union Releases Video Of Rich Urinating On The Poor [UPDATED]

unionad copyDuring the campaign, many people expressed outrage over Mitt Romney’s statement concerning the fact that almost fifty percent of the public do not pay pay income taxes. I well understood the anger, but I am a bit surprised that a video by the California Federation of Teachers has not produced the same outrage over its unfairness and frankly crudeness. The video shows a wealthy person urinating on the poor as part of a “Tax the Rich: An Animated Fairy Tale.” I readily admit that I am in the minority on our blog in opposing some of the tax increase proposals in this country and abroad as economically unwise. However, the demonization of the wealthy in this country has gone a bit far when a video of this kind is released by a major organization.

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Ballots For Bailouts: Detroit City Council Member Demand “Quid Pro Quo” From Obama

PresObamaWatsonDetroit Councilwoman JoAnn Watson is nothing if not direct. Watson is quoted this week as demanding a “quid pro quo” from President Obama — a bailout for the ballots used to reelect him. We have run a long serious of stories of the meltdown in Detroit — one of the worst run cities in the nation and a city council that often seemed to have more members either in jail or under criminal investigation. Now the council seems to be looking for a bailout and Watson is reportedly telling Obama to pony up.

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OUR STUDENTS DESERVE DUE PROCESS

600px-US-DeptOfEducation-Seal.svgBelow is my column this morning in USA Today on a campaign by the Obama Administration to pressure colleges and universities to reduce due process protections for students accused of sexual harassment and sexual violence. I have previously written a letter to my own university opposing some of these specific changes, though (like many schools) George Washington appears to be yielding to the pressure. I understand the concern of the Administration and the need to protect victims in this difficult process. We are all committed to maintaining a protective environment for both students and faculty. However, there are other ways to offer such protections without stripping away core due process protections in my view. My greatest concern is with the sexual violence cases because these adjudications will have a lifelong impact on the students (or faculty members) as well as consequences for collateral criminal proceedings. The column below is slightly expanded with material cut for space in the newspaper version.

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Definitely On The Naughty List: Police Arrest Parent Volunteer At Santa Workshop Who Allegedly Said She Would Shoot Visiting South Carolina Governor Haley

jennifer-phillipsJennifer Phillips, 46, picked a curious scene to allegedly threaten the life of South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. First, Haley was appearing to discuss bullying and the need to stop such behavior. Second, Phillips was a volunteer Santa’s helper at the Santa’s workshop event. Phillips allegedly told a third party upon learning of Haley’s visit that “I’m going to smuggle a gun in and kill this Governor.”

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Scientists Find Evidence of Oldest Dinosaur; Creationists Find Evidence That Scientists Miscalculated By 235 Million Years

_64550912_nyasasaurusprimagehighresfinal Those crazy secularists (and Pat Robertson) are at it again. While creationists (including many of our elected officials) insist that the Earth is roughly 6,000 years old because the Bible says it is, paleontologists continue to put their radioisotopic data before biblical passages in estimating the age of fossils. The scientists claim to have found the world’s oldest dinosaur, which they claim walked the Earth 235 million years ago.

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14,000,000

One hour ago, our blog passed the 14,000,000 viewer. The fact that we only recently passed the 13,000,000 viewer mark reflects the impressive growth of this blog. Congratulations everyone. Now if we could only get .000001 of those viewers to vote for us on the ABA blog competition we could crush the competition! If you (are any distant relative, incompetent ward, or pet) has not voted, you can vote here and cast your vote today!

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Islamists in Yemen Unleashed Campaigns Of Crucifixions, Amputations, and Atrocities Under Sharia Justice

220px-Traditional_Ethiopian_pictureA new report by Amnesty International reveals in chilling detail how an al-Qaeda affiliate took control of Yemen Abyan province and unleashed a “human rights catastrophe” of Sharia-based “justice” from beheadings, crucifixions, and amputations. In one case, a woman accused of sorcery (a charge we have seen in other Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia) was beheaded and her head then paraded through the streets of a town.

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Tax Man Cometh, Earners Leaveth? Two-Thirds of Brits With £1 Million or More Annual Income Disappear From Britain After Tax Increase

800px-Pieter_Brueghel_the_Younger,_'Paying_the_Tax_(The_Tax_Collector)'_oil_on_panel,_1620-1640._USC_Fisher_Museum_of_ArtWe previously discussed the exodus from France of top earners after the imposition of a confiscatory 75% tax rate. Now England is facing the same shift, according to a new report. More than 16,000 people declared an annual income of more than £1 million during 2009-10. That number fell to just 6,000 this year. This appears to be a combination of people leaving Britain and concerted efforts to avoid income.

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Obama Administration Moves To Expand Spy Network Of Pentagon in “Major Adjustment For National Security”

600px-US-DefenseIntelligenceAgency-Seal.svgCIAThe Obama Administration has announced that it will seek the expansion of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to include a wider range of espionage operations. The move which has attracted little attention would create a large spy network in the Pentagon as the same time that the CIA is moving to build more of an independent air force and military operational capacity.

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As Congress Debates Raising Taxes And Cutting Core Programs For Americans, The Obama Administration Builds Israel a $100 Million Air Complex

israel1American citizens are again bracing for a new round of deep cuts into social programs and increases in tax rates. At the same time, the Obama Administration is extending military and non-military operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan at the costs of billions of dollars. Now, in addition to billions in aid, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is seeking bids to build a five-story complex for the Israeli Air Force for as much as $100 million. This amount could literally fund thousands of needed science and math teachers around the United States or fund historical programs eliminated due to shortages of a few million dollars in Congress.

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Supreme Failure: Chicago’s Anita Alvarez and the Campaign To Criminalize Citizen Monitoring of Police

mosaic_anita143x176Below is my column today in the Sunday Chicago Tribune on the recent denial of review by the Supreme Court in the Illinois eavesdropping case that we discussed earlier.

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My How Things Have Changed

Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger

eisenhower saying

goldwater saying

One of the sad lessons one learns, if they live long enough, is that permanency is an illusion. There was a time when most Conservatives in the United States actually cared about the country and its’ people. It’s not that I’m wistful for some bygone era that exists only in my mind, because I’m well aware that the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s were tumultuous times for many including myself.  Nor do I have any great love for Dwight Eisenhower and/or Barry Goldwater who I did not vote for in 1964. Yet with all their conservative beliefs, these were men who actually understood something about the needs of people and the motives of some who would call themselves religious leaders. Many of us who have lived long lives remember when the public political discussion in this country contained actual, factual debate, containing depth of ideas, rather than the invective we hear today. The Republicans of the Eisenhower era understood that there was a social contract that existed in this country to ensure that there was a healthy, financially flourishing Middle Class, which is the engine that drives a prosperous modern society. Also  Barry Goldwater, who was known as “Mr. Conservative” understood the danger that the Religious hucksters had for his party and the necessity of politicians to compromise. He would ridicule those prominent politicians in his party who would reject the ideas of evolution and blind themselves to science. He also really did believe that government had no business prying into essentially private matters. I disagreed with him on most things, but I at least could respect him, which I can’t do for many prominent politicians of today.

What happened?  You know I’ve written about my theories in many of my guest blogs, what are yours?

Pat Robertson Declares Earth Older Than 6000 Years And Calls For Evangelists To Stop “Covering Up” Science

225px-Pat_Robertson_Paparazzo_Photography260px-Europasaurus_holgeri_Scene_2Pat Robertson remains something of an enigma. Just when you dismiss him as a religious wing nut who says that God gives him tips of who will win elections; atheists want people to be miserable; and causes earthquakes to punish Haitians as Devil worshippers. Then Robertson turns around and calls for the legalization of marijuana and now called for evangelists to stop suggesting that the Earth is only 6000 years old when every scientific fact points to the contrary. I wish he would just pick one side of the sanity/insanity line and stick with it because this is getting confusing.

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