The debate over Judge Sonia Sotomayor continues to rage this week. What is remarkable is how much is being said and how little substance can be found in the coverage. One would think that the law of averages alone would guarantee that some substantive points would be hit, if only by accident. It is becoming increasingly clear that, once again, we will not have a substantive and civil review of the qualifications of a Supreme Court nominee. Neither conservatives nor liberals seem to want (or are willing to tolerate) objective discussion of Sotomayor’s qualifications or opinions. For what it is worth, I would like to discard some of the most often heard arguments in the vain hope that we might still achieve some level of reasonable discourse in this debate.
Continue reading “Confirming Nonsense: Both Liberals and Conservatives Distort Debate Over Sotomayor”
Category: Politics
Legislators in the Knesset gave initial approval to a law that would make it a crime to deny the right of Israel to exist — mandating a year in prison for such an exercise of free speech.
Continue reading “Israel Moves To Criminalize Statements Against Israel’s Right to Exist”
Theodore B. Olson, the U.S. solicitor general under Bush and his lawyer in Bush v. Gore, and David Boies, who represented former vice president Al Gore in that case, have joined forces to challenge Proposition 8 in federal court after this week’s loss in the California state court system.
Continue reading “Olson and Bois Team Up on Proposition 8 Challenge”
In a truly bizarre scene, Royal Governor General Michaelle Jean, the representative of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II as Canada’s head of state, protested restrictions on seal products by eating the raw heart of a dead seal. It is moments like these that one wonders whether a strong letter and signed picture might have sufficed.
Continue reading “Royal Governor Eats Raw Seal Heart In Protest of EU Ban”
President Obama has selected Judge Sonia Sotomayor of United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. She has an inspiring life story and gave a moving speech at the White House. She is not the intellectual powerhouse that many academics had hoped for. However, many nominees did not find their voices until after years of service on the Court. I discussed the nomination on this segment of Countdown. [For an update on debunking conservative and liberal attacks in this debate, click here]
Continue reading “The President’s Pick: A Review of Sonia Sotomator’s Rulings”
President Obama is about to announce the creation of a “cyber czar” who will have broad authority to develop strategy to protect the nation’s government-run and private computer networks. Obama’s legion of czars has raised concerns among lawmakers about their concentration of power.
Continue reading “Return of the Romanovs: Obama Creates Yet Another Czar”
Scientology is back in court this week. Officials are facing organized fraud charges with $7 million in fines and 10 years in prison — and could be ordered to end their operations in France. The Church is viewed as a criminal organization and a dangerous cult for years in various European nations, here and here.
Continue reading “Scientology Officers Stand Trial for Organized Fraud in France”
After the recent disclosure of how Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld used biblical passages as part of the war briefings for President George W. Bush, GQ magazine has an even more disturbing account: Bush lobbied French President Chirac that the war in Iraq was foretold in the bible and told that it was the final struggle with Gog and Magog.
The United States has been vocal in its denouncing of the recent arrests of journalists by North Korea and Iran. These countries refuse to comply with American values and legal process, particularly in the treatment of journalists. The biggest difference thus far: North Korea and Iran gave the journalists trials. Reuters cameraman Ibrahim Jassam has been held since September by the U.S. military in Iraq without charges or evidence.
Continue reading “U.S. Holds Journalist For Almost a Year Without Charges or Evidence”
Paul Holden has learned that the greatest peril of having a blowout on a local highway is not the possible crash but reporting it to state officials. Holden’s truck experienced the blowout on Ohio Route 286 when a six-pound metal road reflector slashed into his tires. When he reported the debris, he started a saga that led to fines and threats from Ohio officials, including the office of Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray.
There is a shocking video showing King County Deputy Matthew Paul slamming the head of Christopher Harris into a wall in the mistaken belief that Harris was a suspect in an assault. Harris, 29, remains in a coma.
Continue reading “Seattle Police Officer Chases Wrongly Identified Suspect and Slams His Head Into Wall — Leaving Him in a Coma”
Beijing was the scene for an bizarre crime. Chen Fuchao was threatening to jump off a bridge and had hel up traffic. Veteran Lian Jiansheng, 66, broke through the police line and went over to Chen and promptly pushed him off the bridge.
Continue reading “A Helping Hand: Bystander Walks Over to Suicidal Man on Bridge and Pushes Him Off”
The late Rev. Jerry Falwell always insisted that he spoke for “the moral majority.” However, it appears that his university, Liberty University, is equally interested in silencing what they consider to be the “immoral minority.” The school this week shutdown the the Liberty University College Democrats as inimical to their moral mission. The Republican Student organization was retained.
Continue reading “The Price of Liberty: University Bans Democratic Student Organization on Morality Grounds”
Speaking to the graduating class of U.S. Naval Academy, President Barack Obama told the graduates that the best way to protect our nation is to stand up to its principles. I discussed the detainee issue last night on this segment of Countdown.
Continue reading “Obama: We Must Uphold Our Principles To Be Safe and Strong”
The Star Tribune is reporting that within hours of state officials announcing an investigation into the Metro Gang Force. Officials released a report about missing money and lack of records at the Metro Gang Force, someone turned off a computer showing who enters the building and began shredding documents.
Continue reading “Officials Announce Investigation Into Minnesota Police Unit — Within Hours Computer Trackers are Shutoff and Documents Shredded”