Category: Politics

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

Corporate Veil and Hobby Lobby

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Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Weekend Contributor

We have heard the phrase for quite some time now.  “Corporations are people”.  It sounds so simple, but what does it mean in practice?  The corporate structure is designed to protect individual shareholder assets from creditors of the corporation.  If you maintain your corporate structure requirements and corporate book, the individual’s assets cannot be attached or claimed by a creditor of the corporation.

Corporations are also afforded special tax breaks and tax rates that individual persons cannot take advantage of.  How has the Hobby Lobby decision altered or not altered the corporate veil protection provided to corporations?  Continue reading “Corporate Veil and Hobby Lobby” →

Politics, Society

Guess Who Loves Obamacare By A 3 to 1 Majority? Republicans!

By Mark Esposito, Weekend Contributor

Full Waiting Rooms Signal Scary Times For The GOP
Full Waiting Rooms Signal Scary Times For The GOP Leadership

Even as the GOP struggles to hold onto to its wacky Tea Party base and appease the country clubbers who finance the show, it finds it can unite on one thing: It Loves the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). That’s right, the party who issued dire warnings over death panels and runaway costs, and rationing, and lost jobs just heard from its grass-roots and … they LOVE it. According to the Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that “aims to promote a high performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society’s most vulnerable,” polling shows 74% of persons who had the guts to identify themselves as Republicans “said that they were very or somewhat satisfied with their new insurance plan.” And even more remarkably for that “sky-is-always-falling” crowd, they’re optimistic .. yes, optimistic, that  “new health coverage will improve their ability to get the care they need.” What ? No waiting lines, no rationing of health care ? No shadowy board saying Grandma must die because she needs hormone replacement therapy? Continue reading “Guess Who Loves Obamacare By A 3 to 1 Majority? Republicans!” →

Animals, Bizarre, Congress, Politics

Congressional Candidate Blasts Elephant Piñata With Shotgun In Campaign Ad

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

Estakio Beltran Ad

Democrat congressional hopeful Estakio Beltran published a rather unique campaign ad on YouTube. In the video he declares: “They call me a long shot. They say I can’t win in this district. But what happens to an elephant when it stands around, doing nothing, for too long?”

The camera panned to an elephant piñata, and then back to Estakio, who blasted it the face with a pump-action shotgun.

“My name is Estakio Beltran,” he said. “And I approved this message.”

Continue reading “Congressional Candidate Blasts Elephant Piñata With Shotgun In Campaign Ad” →

Academia, Politics, Society

Duking It Out: John Wayne’s Estate Sues Over Right To Use “Duke” After Duke University Claims Ownership

240px-John_Wayne_-_1961UnknownWe have previously discussed the absurd growth of trademark and copyright claims in this country. Now, John Wayne’s descendants have had to go to court to seek the right to continue to use the legendary actor’s nickname, “Duke,” over the objections of Duke University which now claims to own the word “Duke.” The University has objected to a line of alcoholic beverages by the family called “Duke.” They appear to be using the line from the Duke’s character Wil Anderson in The Cowboys (1972) “I wouldn’t make it a habit of calling me that son.”

Continue reading “Duking It Out: John Wayne’s Estate Sues Over Right To Use “Duke” After Duke University Claims Ownership” →

Criminal law, Politics, Society

Manassas Police Refuse To Execute Warrant To Photograph Teen’s Erect Penis

94px-Manassas_Police_BadgePaul EbertIn a clear victory for both the public and basic notions of decency, the Manassas City Police have announced that they will not execute the abusive warrant discussed yesterday to force a 17-year-old boy to be photographed with an erect penis — including the authority to force an erection with the administration of drugs if the boy did not “cooperate.” However, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Claiborne Richardson is still pursing the teen for two major felonies for sending his 15-year-old girlfriend an explicit video. There is still no word from Paul B. Ebert, the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Prince William County (right).

Continue reading “Manassas Police Refuse To Execute Warrant To Photograph Teen’s Erect Penis” →

Constitutional Law, Media, Politics, Society

Coalition of Journalism Groups Denounce Obama Administration for “Politically-Driven Suppression of the News”

100px-Society_of_Professional_Journalists_logoPresident_Barack_ObamaWe have previously discussed the attacks by the Obama Administration on civil liberties and privacy. Obama has also been accused of attacks on press freedoms — resulting in a sharp decline in the standing of the United States on press rights. Now 38 journalism groups have denounced the Obama Administration for censoring media coverage, limiting access to top officials and overall “politically-driven suppression of the news.”

Continue reading “Coalition of Journalism Groups Denounce Obama Administration for “Politically-Driven Suppression of the News”” →

International, Politics, Religion, Society

ISIS Militants Take Sledgehammers To Jonah’s Tomb And Destroy Dozens of Sacred Places

article-2685923-1F81DC1E00000578-288_634x344Jonah_and_the_Whale,_Folio_from_a_Jami_al-Tavarikh_(Compendium_of_Chronicles)In a move reminiscent of the Taliban’s shocking destruction of the two massive ancient statues of the Buddha at Bamiyan in Afghanistan, ISIS militants are destroying sacred temples and art in Iraq in the name of Allah. This picture was posted on an affiliated website of their destruction of the tomb of the Prophet Jonah in Mosul. It appears that Jonah may have survived the whale but could not escape the raw hatred of ISIS. In the meantime, sectarian atrocities have continued with the discovery of 50 blindfolded bodies south of Baghdad.

Continue reading “ISIS Militants Take Sledgehammers To Jonah’s Tomb And Destroy Dozens of Sacred Places” →

International, Media, Politics

Clinton Renews Claim Of Being “Dead Broke” And Insists The Couple Had “To Work Unbelievably Hard” To Make The Mortgage

225px-Hillary_Clinton_official_Secretary_of_State_portrait_crop220px-Labor-Pearce-Highsmith-detail-1We have been following the bizarre struggle of Hillary Clinton to claim that she and Bill were “dead broke” after leaving the White House. Independent reviewers like Politifact have shredded the claim and the Clintons have become the fodder for commentators and comedians over the controversy. The Clintons made over $12 million in the first year after leaving the White House and they have made over $100 million from speaking fees and different events. CNN documented that Clinton earned $106 million by making speeches from the end of his presidency through January 2013. Hillary Clinton has pulled in $200,000 a speech and was criticized for receiving $500,000 in one week from Goldman Sachs . Yet, the Clintons have been doubling down on the claim like a bad gambler. Bill Clinton was brought out to vouch for Hillary that the statement is “factually true.” That resulted in a new round of mockery. We have discussed the controversy in terms of the interesting dynamic of American politics where exceptionally wealthy candidates struggle to identify with Americans struggling financially. The Clintons however will not accept that the pitch is simply not working. This week Hillary is again claiming to have been impoverished in a new interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel – a claim that even Germans find just as hard to swallow.

Continue reading “Clinton Renews Claim Of Being “Dead Broke” And Insists The Couple Had “To Work Unbelievably Hard” To Make The Mortgage” →

Columns, Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Media, Politics, Society

POLITICS BY OTHER MEANS: OBAMA’S WATER WAR OVER POT

President_Barack_Obama220px-Water_droplet_blue_bg05Below is my column today in USA Today on the Obama Administration’s decision to cut off water to legal marijuana growers. Notably, the business concern today for the rollout of legal pot sales in Washington is greater demand than supply. I previously wrote about how a little known board had effectively moved to end the debate over the Redskins name, an example of agencies increasingly intervening in social and political disputes. This move by the Bureau of Reclamation is a prime example of such intervention into political disputes and a troubling precedent for the future.

Continue reading “POLITICS BY OTHER MEANS: OBAMA’S WATER WAR OVER POT” →

Politics, Society

America the Crude? Fourth of July Celebrations Marred With Offensive Speech

220px-Joan_Rivers_2010_-_David_ShankboneBr9Ha6wCMAAXQiUAs many on this blog know, I have long griped about the loss of civility and basic standards of conduct in our society. Whether it is a halftime show or television broadcast or some fan or some athlete acting like a thug, we seem to be quickly abandoning any sense of decorum or decency. When M.I.A. used bad language and flipped the bird during a Superbowl game, many like the New Yorker insisted that she should not apologize and that such standards of decency that are nothing but a remnant of the fifties we haven’t shaken.” I remain unconvinced that our society has now abandoned such standards as historical relics. While I have opposed efforts to criminalize speech, I do believe that as a society we should enforce standards of civility and decency. My concerns were raised this last week again with scurrilous attacks on President Barack Obama and a profane laced Fourth of July celebration in Philadelphia.

Continue reading “America the Crude? Fourth of July Celebrations Marred With Offensive Speech” →

Constitutional Law, Politics, Society

Obama Administration Sues Wisconsin Company For Requiring All Employees To Speak English

720px-US-EEOC-Seal.svgThere is an interesting case out of Green Bay, Wisconsin where Wisconsin Plastics, Inc. (WPI) is being sued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for making English speaking a condition of employment. WPI was found by the EEOC to be in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which protects employees from discrimination based on national origin. The company fired Hispanic and Asian employees on the basis of not speaking English in the workplace.

Continue reading “Obama Administration Sues Wisconsin Company For Requiring All Employees To Speak English” →

Academia, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Politics, Society

22,000,000

We only recently passed the 21,000,000 mark last April but we just hit 22,000,000 today, according to WordPress. Congratulations everyone. This has been a banner year for the site with a continuing increase in traffic, links on other sites, and new voices on the blog. These milestones are coming faster and they give us a chance to look at the spread of our regular readers and commentators. As always, I want to offer special thanks for our weekend contributors: Mark Esposito, Eliane Magliaro, Mike Appleton, Larry Rafferty, Charlton Stanley, Darren Smith, and Kimberly Deines. The increasing traffic on the site is gratifying and reaffirms that there are many people looking for mature and civil debate. Even among the top ten sites, I believe that we offer a unique forum of different views and backgrounds in the discussion of law and politics (and a few quirky items).

Continue reading “22,000,000” →

Constitutional Law, Courts, International, Media, Politics, Religion, Society

Saudi Arabia Sentences Another Leading Reformer To 15 Years In Prison For “Insulting The Country’s Leaders and Judiciary”

Waleed_Abu_AlkhairSaudi Arabia’s medieval legal system has added a new outrage to its record: On Sunday, Saudi lawyer and reform advocate Waleed Abulkhair was sentenced on Sunday to 15 years in prison and a 15-year travel ban (to start after his release). He was also ordered to pay 200,000 Saudi riyals ($53,000). His offense? “inciting public opinion against the government” and “insulting the country’s leaders and judiciary.” The sentence once again raises the question over our level of support for Saudi Arabia and its distinction from our distinction with other countries viewed as extreme and inimical to the rule of law. Abulkhair is the head of the “Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi Arabia” organization and was ranked by Forbes magazine as one of Top 100 Most Influential Arabs on Twitter.

Continue reading “Saudi Arabia Sentences Another Leading Reformer To 15 Years In Prison For “Insulting The Country’s Leaders and Judiciary”” →

Columns, Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Lawyering, Media, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

“So Sue Me”: Presidential Taunts and Constitutional Consequences

President_Barack_ObamaBelow is my column yesterday in the Sunday New York Daily News on the unfolding controversy over President Obama’s unilateral actions to circumvent Congress. The pledge of the President to “go it alone” has already resulted in court losses for the Administration and a growing separation of powers crisis. I testified (here and here and here) and wrote a column on President Obama’s increasing circumvention of Congress in negating or suspending U.S. laws. I ran another column recently listing such incidents of executive over-reach that ideally would have included this potentially huge commitment under Obama’s claimed discretionary authority. I happen to believe that the President is right in many of these areas but that does not excuse the means that he is using to achieve these goals.

Continue reading ““So Sue Me”: Presidential Taunts and Constitutional Consequences” →

Politics, Society, Uncategorized

Supply Side Kansas and ALEC

Sam_Brownback,_official_Governor's_portrait

Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw) Weekend Contributor

In these post Recession days, we have seen various stories of state and municipalities economies make positive strides toward recovery.  According to economist Paul Krugman, the state of Kansas is not one of those success stories.  If you don’t recall, the Republican Governor, Sam Brownback, signed legislation granting huge tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy.

Brownback crowed that these tax cuts would lead Kansas into the promised land of economic nirvana.  Unfortunately for regular, non-wealthy Kansans, the recovery has not materialized.  As Krugman states, the economy in Kansas tanked.

“Sam Brownback, the governor, proposed the legislation — in percentage terms, the largest tax cut in one year any state has ever enacted — in close consultation with the economist Arthur Laffer. And Mr. Brownback predicted that the cuts would jump-start an economic boom — “Look out, Texas,” he proclaimed.

But Kansas isn’t booming — in fact, its economy is lagging both neighboring states and America as a whole. Meanwhile, the state’s budget has plunged deep into deficit, provoking a Moody’s downgrade of its debt.” New York Times  Continue reading “Supply Side Kansas and ALEC” →