In an important case concerning personal autonomy, the Montana Supreme Court stayed an alarming order from Montana state judge for a woman to be forced to undergo an hysterectomy to save her life.
Continue reading “Montana Supreme Court Stays Order To Force Woman To Have Hysterectomy”
Category: Society
In yet another slap at civil liberties and civil libertarians, President Barack Obama signed an executive order Monday that will resume military tribunal proceedings at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Continue reading “Obama Orders Resumption of Military Tribunals”
Four years ago, I wrote a column on the controversy over boys and toy guns. In my column today in USA Today I return to the issue to discuss some recent research in the area.
Continue reading “The War on Toy Guns: Boy, Girls, and the Games They Play”
Heart Attack Grill, owned by Jon Basso, brags about some of the highest caloric, artery-clogging food. They even enlisted Blair River (a 572-pound obese man) as their spokesman. River, 29, has now died from pneumonia — a death connected to his obesity by critics.
Continue reading ““Heart Attack Grill” Spokesman Dies At 29″
Rep. Charles Rangel just recently was reprimanded by the House of Representatives. He has now moved on to the judicial branch where Judge Edward McLaughlin reprimanded him for his conduct in the bail hearing of one of the alleged members of the 137th Street gang, a high school student named Afrika Owes.
Continue reading “Rangel Reprimanded Over Conduct at Bail Hearing”
Folks at the National Rifle Association are celebrating what some are calling the “Palin effect” — a sharp rise in female membership in the NRA and gun ownership generally due to the rise of Sarah Palin. According to the article below, the Palin effect has encouraged new design and marketing efforts by gun manufacturers vis-a-vis women customers.
Continue reading “Sarah Palin: The Rosa Parks of Guns?”
Here is today’s column in the Los Angeles Times (Sunday) on the recent remarks from Justice Clarence following criticism for his disclosure violations and alleged conflicts of interest.
Continue reading “Justice Thomas’ Dangerous Conceit”
Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
Wisconsin Republican leaders are law and order types indeed. Unhappy that fourteen Democratic state senators are boycotting Governor Scott Walker’s union busting party, they have authorized the Senate Sergeant at Arms to round-up the legislative desperadoes “with or without force.” The Gang of 14, of course, are holed up in the neighboring Illinois badlands but Sheriff Walker wants to get his men (and his agenda railroaded through) so niceties like democracy and respect for the rights of the opposition need not be observed.
This is one of the saddest stores of the year. Wes Leonard, 16, had just achieved the dream of a basketball player — scoring the winning basket in overtime for his high school. He then collapsed and died.
Continue reading “Michigan High School Player Dies After Scoring Winning Basket in Overtime”
Defense lawyer Sam Schmidt, defense attorney for Julio Chavez has his work cut out. His client is looking at a first-degree murder charge but helped create the perfect case for a prosecutor: a murder in front of witnesses after which he displayed MS-13 gang signs and allegedly proclaimed “The beast has eaten!” It turns out that the man Chavez allegedly killed, Maurice Parker, 21, was not, as Chavez believed, a Blood. Just a guy wearing a red sweatshirt.
Continue reading ““The Beast Has Eaten!”: MS-13 Member Offers The Nation An Example of the Rising Gang Carnage in the United States”
A new law in Westminster (London), England would make it illegal to lie down in a public place and to give away food. It is another example of cities criminalizing or banning conduct that includes routine behavior. It is an invitation for arbitrary enforcement since I doubt the police will be arresting folks resting in the parks outside of their offices. The law can be used as an easily available justification for stopping and potentially arresting individuals.
Continue reading “Westminster (London) Moves To Ban Lying Down in Public and Giving Away Food”
We have been following the widening practice of police arresting citizens for filming them in public. Both courts and commentators have denounced the practice. These concerns explain some unease over a measure proposed by Illinois State Rep. Tom Holbrooke (D-Belleville) who wants to ban some filming in public — of any accident scenes. There is an obvious concern that such laws could be used to push for expanded criminalization and would give officials broad discretion in arresting some citizens seen with cameras.
Continue reading “Illinois Legislator Moves To Ban Filming Accident Scenes”
After U.S. District Court Judge Roger Vinson struck down the healthcare law, we discussed a curious part of his opinion where he declined to grant injunctive relief but then stated that it was not necessary because his declaratory judgment served the same function. I disagreed with that view and recently the Justice Department decided to call the bluff and ask if Vinson believed that he had barred the implementation of the law nationally. They won. Vinson ruled yesterday that the Administration could continue to implement the law — despite various states citing his opinion as the basis for refusing to work with the federal government in implementing the law.
Continue reading “Florida Court Stays Decision on Healthcare — Allowing Continued Implementation of the Law”
Famed Christian Dior designer John Galliano will face a criminal trial over an alleged anti-Semitic rank against a rival. As previously discussed in a column and a line of blog stories (here and here and here and here), various Western governments have been curtailing free speech by prosecuting blasphemy and speech against various groups. This is an example of that dangerous trend. While the alleged statements are repugnant, these laws cut deeply into free speech.
Continue reading “Ready to Wehr: Famed Designer Galliano To Face Criminal Charges Over Alleged Anti-Semitic Remarks”
Jill McGlone, a former administrative worker at the Norfolk Community Services Board, is hopping mad and I don’t blame her. She has alleged that she was wrongly terminated from a job that she had not done in 12 years while receiving full pay. McGlone was suspended back in 1998 but somehow got lost in the system — left with the dream job of all pay and no work for over a decade. She reportedly received more than $320,000 before being terminated. The case brings new meaning to the CSB’s slogan “A Stable Force in a Turbulent World.”
Continue reading “Norfolk Employee Fired After Receiving Pay for 12 Years While On Administrative Leave”