Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty (rafflaw), Guest Blogger
In light of the all the hoopla about President Obama’s upcoming State of the Union speech on Tuesday night, I have been thinking of all of the ideas and issues that I would like the President to address in his talk with the country. Since I am a Bears fan and used to dreaming, here it goes.
Continue reading “State of the Union Wishlist”
Here is today’s column in the Washington Post on the controversy over Justice Scalia’s appearance on Monday in a Tea Party Caucus event for new House members. I view the issue as having broader implications for the Court.
Continue reading “Scalia and the Rise of the Celebrity Justice: Should Justices Have a Political Base?”
Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
JACK: Sheesh, Rudy! It looks like no one will be taking me for a walk today. Football…football…football! That’s all our folks have been talking about around here the past couple of weeks. They’ll be watching NFL playoff games ALL afternoon. What’s an energetic dog like me supposed to do?
Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Lei Li, a Chinese Christian whose request for asylum in the United States was denied by an immigration judge in 2005, should be given another chance.
Lei, who became a Christian in 1999, said he was persecuted in China for practicing his faith. He claims he was arrested and beaten “for hosting an underground Christian church in his home.” After his release from police custody, Lei says he lost his job. In 2001, he came to the United States on a visitor visa—but he violated its terms by working.
In 2003, Li applied for asylum in the United States. He filed a petition for withholding from removal under the Convention Against Torture. In 2005, immigration judge Renee Renner rejected Lei’s petition for asylum because she felt he hadn’t answered “basic” questions about Christianity correctly. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Renner didn’t have evidence to make such a judgment.
Continue reading “Appeals Court Rules Religious Test Improper in Asylum Case”
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
Last week, the Fourth District Court of Appeal of the state of Florida issued a ruling denying the motion to suppress. Ruiz v. State of Florida is a drug case dealing with “consent” to search. Freddie Ruiz, charged with trafficking in cocaine and possession of cannabis, moved to suppress, alleging that the evidence was seized unlawfully.
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
The Marine Hospital Service was an organization of hospitals dedicated to the care of ill and disabled seamen in the U.S. Merchant Marine, U.S. Coast Guard, and others. The Service was created by an act of the 5th Congress and signed into law on 16 July 1798 by President John Adams. The Marine Hospital Service was the point of origin for the Public Health Service.
The government funded the hospitals by a tax on sailors’ monthly wages.
Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty (rafflaw), Guest Blogger
Earlier this week I read on the ACLU website the Appellate Court decision in ACLU, et al v. Department of Defense, et al, which decided you and I are not entitled to learn how our government tortured detainees illegally. “A federal appeals court today ruled that the government can continue suppressing transcripts in which former CIA prisoners now held at Guantánamo Bay describe abuse and torture they suffered in CIA custody. The ruling came in an ACLU Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit to obtain uncensored transcripts from Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CSRTs) used to determine if Guantánamo detainees qualify as “enemy combatants.” http://www.aclu.org/national-security/court-rules-government-can-continue-suppress-detainee-statements-describing-tort-0 It didn’t surprise me that the ACLU lost this appeal, but what surprised me is the lack of attention this case got in the main stream media. Continue reading “Americans Don’t Have the Right to Learn Just How Detainees Were Tortured”
Not to intrude upon our weekend editors, but here is the insulting Packers joke the day.
Continue reading “Packers Joke Of The Day”
Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
Next Tuesday, President Obama will deliver his 2011 State of the Union Address. Rep. Paul Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin and chairman of the House Budget Committee, has been selected to deliver his party’s “official” rebuttal. Not one to let a media opportunity slip by, Rep. Michele Bachmann, Republican of Minnesota and founder of the Tea Party Caucus, has decided that she, too, will deliver her own post-State-of-the-Union-Address address. Her speech will “supplement” Ryan’s GOP rebuttal with a “Tea Party” perspective. It will be webcast on the Tea Party Express Web site and will follow Congressman Ryan’s speech. Anyone wondering why Bachmann is planning to do this?
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
This case was argued before the Supreme Court on 6 Oct. 2010 and we are awaiting their decision. This is the “funeral picketing” case involving Petitioner Albert Snyder, the father of Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder who was killed in Iraq, and Respondent Rev. Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church.
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
What saw manufacturer is going to want to build this device? The demonstration in the video doesn’t seem realistic. The finger detection mechanism is the key factor. It would have to work perfectly under a variety of conditions not demonstrated in the video. The manufacturer’s liability insurance could be prohibitive
Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
No more will that little babe with the angel wings shoot his arrows at love struck Iranian couples and promote the “sins” of compassion, passion, and love. The corruption that is red hearts and paper valentines has been officially banned by Iranian officials in homage to hoary Islamic law that proscribes unmarried couples from mingling.
Continue reading “There Is No Joy In Tehran-ville: Mighty Cupid Struck Out”
This evening my friend Keith Olbermann announced that he is leaving MSNBC and that Countdown will end this week. His departure will be a great disappoint for millions of viewers but I have little doubt that Keith will continue his unique brand of commentary and coverage in a different forum. I will personally miss our conversations on and off the program. Keith has been a unique voice in our society and I trust that we have not heard the last of that voice on myriad of issues confronting this nation.
Common Cause has sent the letter below to Justice Clarence Thomas raising concerns over his failure to report his wife’s income in prior years. For full disclosure, I have conferred with Common Cause on this nondisclosure issue and participated as an independent expert in the press conference yesterday on the absence of binding ethics rules for the members of the Supreme Court.
Continue reading “Justice Thomas Accused of Reporting Violations”
