This may not be what the McCain/Palin campaign meant by carrying on the Bush legacy, but Gov. Sarah Palin has refused to comply with subpoenas in the investigation of her firing of Alaska’s former public safety commissioner. Now, her Attorney General has refused to comply with the lawful legislative subpoenas. That sounds vaguely familiar.
Continue reading “Half-Baked Alaska: State Attorney General Cites Loyalty to Palin in Refusing Lawful Supoenas”
Category: Politics
In the video below, Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin credits and praises a Kenyan Minister named Thomas Muthee with helping her to achieve the Alaskan governorship through prayer. It turns out the Muthee also hunts down witches and makes Rev. John Hagee look positively normal.
Recently, a study from one of my former colleagues at Tulane Law School attracted national attention, including on this blog. The study by Tulane Law Professor Vernon Palmer and Loyola assistant professor of economics John Levendis found a disturbing correlation between contributions and voting on the Court. The Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Pascal F. Calogero Jr., has now released a letter from Tulane Law School Dean Lawrence Ponoroff apologizing to the Court for errors in the study.
Continue reading “Tulane Law School Issues Apology for Errors in Study of Louisiana Supreme Court”
Not to be outdone by extremists in Israel today, leading Saudi cleric Sheikh Saleh al-Fozan in Riyadh has called for the execution for people who read horoscopes on television as “sorcerers.” This follows another leading cleric, Sheikh Saleh al-Lohaidan, calling for the death of television station owners for unIslamic programming in the form of comedies and soap operas.
I just watched this clip of Tina Fey playing Sarah Palin. The likeness is so uncanny that it is now clear that Saturday Night Live (SNL) must have been behind her selection. Continue reading “New Television Classic: Fey as Palin Clip”
The American Civil Liberties Union has an interesting challenge on behalf of the Echota Cherokee Indian Tribe: contesting the need for a permit for a Powwow from Santa Rosa County for a ceremony on private land.
Thailand’s prime minister Samak Sundaravej was found guilty of violating the countries constitution and forced to resign along with his Cabinet on Tuesday. His offense? He hosted a cooking show. It appears to take a bit more in this country and Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to defend Samak that his regular appearance on the show is no evidence that he had a cooking show.
Russia seems intent on making itself and its leaders into cartoon caricatures of late. Thus, it should be no surprise that the Russians are actually fighting cartoon characters in court. Russian prosecutors have filed an action against the South Park series after “experts” concluded that it “bore signs of extremist activity.” The prosecutors are seeking to ban the program.
Continue reading “Russians Move Against South Park; Kenny in Hiding”
Dozens of conservative pastors are defying the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ban on ministers using their pulpits to endorse political candidates. Organized by the Alliance Defense Fund, the ministers are effectively daring the IRS to take away their tax-exempt status. The effort is an obvious set-up for litigation, though they may put conservatives like Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito in a tough position. ADF advocates insist that the ADF’s “Pulpit Initiative” is to intended to show that the “proper role” of pastors is to try to direct the voting of the faithful.
Continue reading “Endorsed by God: Religious Right Defies IRS on Church Endorsements”
Saira Nusrat Bibi has become the latest victim in the barbaric cycle of arranged marriages and honor killings in Pakistan and other Middle Eastern countries. Forced into a marriage at age nine to a 45-year-old man, she had taken the extraordinary step to fighting for an annulment. She was winning in that effort, but (now 17) was denounced by many in the country as an heretic against Islam. Her parents have now killed her in the latest honor killing.
Continue reading “Honor Killing: Parents Kill Girl Who Sought Annulment After She was Forced to Marry 45-Year-Old Man — at Age 9”
Swaziland may be one of the poorest countries on Earth, but that did not stop its King Mswati III from throwing a massive birthday party for himself or send his various wives on a shopping blasts to Europe on private planes. Despite his control of the country’s finances, the King enjoys about $30 million was set aside for “royal emoluments.”
Continue reading “Swaziland Is For Lovers: Protests Over Consumption of Expanding Royal Family”
John McCain’s campaign is getting a lot of flak over showing a picture of Walter Reed Middle School, located in Los Angeles rather than Washington’s Walter Reed Medical Center. Of course, it was a lot better than Senator Sen. Lindsey Graham speaking about how successful the Administration has been with a backdrop of row after row of graves.
Continue reading “Walter Reed Middle School Becomes Political Backdrop and National Talking Point”
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has agreed to plead guilty to two obstruction of justice counts tied to his perjury as a witness on an affair with a former aide. He will also give up his law license, resign as mayor, and turn over his pension to the city.
Continue reading “Kwame Kilpatrick Pleads Guilty and Agrees to Jail Time for Obstruction”
I have long said that, when I die, I want to come back as a political rather than a legal commentator. Political commentators seem to be able to say the most predictable facts so long as they follow a scripted Democratic versus Republican persona. However, this week Mike Murphy, an former McCain aide, and Peggy Noonan, a former Reagan speechwriter, were caught speaking off script about Gov. Sarah Palin: it wasn’t pretty, in fact (according to Noonan) “it’s over.”
Kenneth Smith will think twice when he next dresses to go out in Riviera Beach, Florida. The twenty-nine-year-old was arrested for the unspeakable offense of wearing baggy pants, the most recent example of the over-criminalization of life in America.
Continue reading “Belt or Bust: Florida Police Arrest Man for Wearing Baggy Pants”