Attorney General Michael Mukasey waited until late Friday to announce that he will block any prosecution of Bush officials for contempt of Congress. Mukasey’s protection of White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former White House counsel Harriet Miers could trigger a major inter-branch fight and advances yet another extreme legal interpretation of executive authority by the Bush Administration. It is not surprising, therefore, that he waited until late on a Friday to try to minimize media scrutiny of this controversial decision. Continue reading “Mukasey Blocks Any Prosecution of Bush Officials for Contempt of Congress”
Category: Politics
John McCain’s possible election could trigger review under an obscure part of the Constitution: the birth eligibility provision of Article II. The requirement that an American be “natural-born” has long been controversial, but few associated John McCain with the problem as opposed to other leaders like Arnold Schwarzenegger. McCain, however, may be a foreign born citizen given his birth in the Canal Zone. Due to the bar on advisory opinions, this issue might not be ripe for review until after the general election, triggering another Bush v. Gore moment in the high court. Ted Olson has even been retained for the possible fight to complete the scene for a Supreme redux. Continue reading “McCain’s Constitutional Dilemma: Native Son But Not Natural Born?”
To say the least, I am getting a bit of flack for suggesting that John McCain could have a constitutional problem under Article II’s eligibility provision. In the interest in lightening up the discussion, I offer the following as a possible rallying song for Panamanian and Panamanian-born friends alike. It appears that with a little tweaking and the indulgence of our Canadian neighbors, O Canada seems remarkably apropos. Continue reading “O Panama, We Stand On Guard For Thee”
The Connecticut Supreme Court has issued an interesting ruling that bars the widow of a judge from suing under a law designed to benefit her alone. It is like a reverse bill of attainder ruling: barring selective special benefits as opposed to punishment in legislation. Continue reading “No Special Compensation for Widow of Worked-To-Death Judge”
The United States has now passed a milestone, one of every one hundred adults are in prison or jail. This number grows even more when one considers the number of people on parole or probation. While the dollar is at a record low and our economy is collapsing, we can now at least claim that America now runs the world’s largest prison system. Continue reading “Prison America: 1 in 100 Americans Are Now Behind Bars”
The American Field Service (AFS) is facing a possible lawsuit in a shocking case of alleged abuse and negligence. Maine teenager
Jonathan McCullum lost 60 pounds while placed with a family in Egypt. When he returned he was so weak that he had difficulty carrying his luggage and had to be hospitalized . AFS has refused to comment and referred inquiries to a lawyer who has also refused to comment. This could present some novel tort issues, but it appears that AFS has much to answer for. Continue reading “Food Not Included: AFS Exchange Student Starved in Eygpt and Hospitalized Upon His Return”
The expected nomination of John McCain has been eagerly anticipated by constitutional scholars, not because of political support but selfless academic interest. McCain’s election would trigger review of an obscure part of the Constitution: the birth eligibility provision of Article II. The requirement that an American be “natural-born” has long been controversial, but few associated John McCain with the problem as opposed to other leaders like Arnold Schwarzenegger. McCain, however, may be a foreign born citizen given his birth in the Canal Zone. Continue reading “Does John McCain Have an Alexander Hamilton Problem? A Constitutional Challenge May Loom Over McCain’s Eligibility for President”
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has been trying hard — and spending millions in public funds — to bury a scandal related to his affair with a former aide. The most recent defeat for Kilpatrick came yesterday when the Supreme Court ruled that documents from a civil case could be made public — adding more evidence of Kilpatrick’s cover-up of an affair with his chief of staff Christine Beatty. Continue reading “Michigan Supreme Court Unanimously Rejects Appeals of Detriot Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick”
The Chinese government has been heralding its “train to the roof of the world,” the $4 billion Qinghai-Xizang railway to the Tibetan plains that is the latest flash point with environmentalists. Environmentalists objected on various grounds to the project, including its destruction of pristine areas and specific threat to the struggling Chinese antelope. The concerns for both were quickly extinguished with a remarkable picture of antelope gingerly running under the elevated tracks of the train in an otherwise perfect nature scene. The only problem is that Liu Weiqing’s photograph (which won various awards) is a fake. Continue reading “Where the Antelope and Super Trains Do Not Play: Chinese Admit to Doctoring Award-Winning Photograph”
A Tortured Defense;
The guessing game is over. We know the U.S. government OK’d and utilized waterboarding. So what — if anything — are we going to do about it? Continue reading “The Tortura De Bush and the Administration’s Taste for Khmer-Style Waterboarding”
Defense Department General Counsel William Haynes has resigned after a disclosure by the former chief prosecutor for the Guantanamo military commissions, Col. Morris Davis, involving Haynes’ view of the true function of the military trials: to blindly impose guilty verdicts. Davis revealed that Haynes insisted that the military tribunals only produce convictions and no acquittals — leading to the demand of various military lawyers to be transferred. Haynes is the very same person that the White House and GOP fought to be made a federal judge. Continue reading “Top Bush Official Resigns After Reports that He Demanded Only Convictions from the Military Tribunals”
Remember the horrific accounts of how Al Qaeda used two women with Down Syndrome to carry out attacks killing roughly 100 people in Baghdad in February? It turns out that there is no evidence that they had any physical or mental ailments and may not have any connection to Al Qaeda. It turns out the the account of the Down syndrome bombers was traced to Iraqi officials who reportedly based their view on the appearance of the women’ heads – which had been severed in the blasts. Continue reading “Government’s Account of Al Qaeda Using Two Down Syndrome Women as Bombers Debunked”
Michigan artist Edward Stross thought that he was painting a classic when he used exteriro wall of his studio as the backdrop for Michelangelo’s “Creation of Man.” The problem was not Adam, but (once again) Eve — or at least her exposed breast. In a legal case with biblical dimensions, it appears that both Adam and Edward were undone by Eve until a Michigan appellate court ruled that the city of Roseville could not force a cover-up. Continue reading “Cover-up Exposed: Court Rules that First Amendment Protects Artist’s Depiction of Seminude Eve”
Angela Nellany has pleaded no contest to assault with a deadly weapon in California . The alleged weapon: a can of wasps. Despite the testimony of a man who alleged that Nellany tried to hire her to kill her estranged husband, Paul Nellany, and testimony on the attempt to use a can of wasps (Paul is highly allergic), she did not admit guilt in her plea and will receive only a few more months of prison on a two-year sentence. Continue reading “Wife Pleads Guilty in Case of Assault by Wasp Case”
The fact that Jamie Lee Spears became pregnant as a minor is generally treated as an entertainment story rather than a case of child molestation for her adult boyfriend. However, even minors are now being subject to registration as sexual predators for fondling and other sexual acts with other minors under a federal law passed with the support of various members, including disgraced ex-Rep. Mark Foley (R. Fla). It is the called the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 and various states are now being compelled to put juvenile names into the system over the objections of many child advocates. Continue reading “Federal Law Compels States to Register Minors on Sex Offender Registry”