Riley Taylor, 54, accidentally shot and killed his wife at a family function in Georgia. This follows another recent case of an accidental spousal shooting by an officer. Continue reading “Another Police Officer Shoots Wife Accidentally”
Feminist leader Gloria Steinem attracted considerable attention this weekend after she rejected John McCain’s heroic period as a POW in the Hanoi Hilton as over-rated and suggested the Hillary Clinton was a better president because she was not “trained to kill.” McCain cannot lift his arms above his shoulders due to the beatings and torture that he endured in Vietnam. Continue reading “Gloria Steinem Says McCain’s POW Experience Over-Rated”
According to Amnesty International, the good people in the Iranian justice system are about to add another outrage from their prehistoric legal system. The group says that two gay men, Tayyeb Karimi and Yazdan, will soon be killed by throwing them off a cliff. The group estimates that 4000 lesbians and gay men have been executed since the Iranian revolution. Continue reading “Iran to Kill Two Gay Men By Throwing Them Off Cliffs”
Civil libertarians are alarmed by Sunday’s interview with the House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Silvestre Reyes, suggesting that the House may surrender on the telecom immunity question. For a short period of time, it appeared that for once members of Congress would actually stand on principle and refuse immunity. Now, Reyes is saying that he is open to “compromise” and that a deal may be close. Continue reading “House Intelligence Chairman Indicates that House May Capitulate on Telecom Immunity”
Animal rights advocates (and virtually every other human being) are in shock over this video showing U.S. soldiers showing a puppy off a cliff for fun. Bloggers have allegedly identified the culprit as a David Motari, but this has not been confirmed by the military and there remains the identity of the other soldiers. It is also not the first such video of animal cruelty by our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
.
Continue reading “Shocking Video Shows U.S. Soldier Throwing Puppy Off Cliff”
There is an interesting controversy brewing at Harvard University. The university has banned men from one of its gyms to create women-only hours – to accommodate Muslim women. While the effort is a commendable effort to accommodate a part of the Harvard community, it also constitutes a serious question of gender discrimination. Continue reading “Religious Tolerance or Gender Discrimination? Harvard Goes to Women-Only Hours at Gym”
A divided Virginia Supreme Court upheld the conviction Jeremy D. Jaynes under the state’s 2003 Anti-Spam Act. While many of us hate to admit it, he may have a point that the law is constitutionally flawed. This is one that may be heading to the Supreme Court. Continue reading “Spam and the First Amendment: Virginia Supreme Court Upholds Anti-Spam Law”
A recent disclosure raises the disturbing question: is the president gets a call at 3:00 am for a joke, who do you want to answer the phone? Apparently, not John McCain. McCain was asked in 2003 for his funniest joke and this was the unnerving response. Continue reading “A Question of Competence: Is McCain Funny Enough to be President?”
Entries on Sunday will be delayed due to my deployment on the Cutter U.S.S. Taney (USCGC Taney (WPG/WHEC-37)). Continue reading “U.S.S. Taney Bound”
In a remarkable ruling, U.S. District Judge Paul Borman has ordered firebrand attorney Geoffrey Fieger to pull TV commercials critical of the Bush Administration. Borman ruled that such ads threatened to influence the jury pool in Fieger’s upcoming trial for making illegal contributions to the John Edwards 2004 presidential campaign. It is an extremely rare ruling that pits judicial administration against the first amendment. Continue reading “Federal Court Orders Geoffrey Fieger to Pull Anti-Bush Administration Ads from TV”
All of the major candidates – including Clinton, Obama, McCain, and Huckabee – have made plays for the religious vote by voicing positions on faith and seeking the endorsement of religious leaders. However, they are also discovering that mixing politics and religion is a risky business. This week, both McCain and Obama face some serious baggage that came with religious allies. Continue reading “Getting Entangled in Church-State Relations: Faith-Based Politics Causes Problems for the Leading Presidential Candidates”
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D., Mo.) has introduced legislation that would declare that any child born abroad to citizens serving in the United States military to be natural born citizens for the purposes of the constitution. It is a admirable bipartisan effort to resolve any questions about McCain’s eligibility under Article II. However, it is not the first time such legislation has been introduced and it is not clear if it would be sufficient. Continue reading “Legislation Introduced to Remove McCain’s Panama Problem in Seeking Presidency”
Tim Goeglein, special assistant to the president and deputy director of public liaison, admitted this week that he has published plagiarized work. His undoing was at the hands of a blogger, Nancy Nall, who found that one column was lifted from the writings of a former Columbia and Dartmouth professor, Jeffery Hart. Nall and others now claim that there were other columns. Late Friday, reports indicated that Goeglein has resigned. Continue reading “Blogger Uncovers Plagiarism by Senior Bush Official”
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”
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?”