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23 Feb 2011 12:42

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U.S.: More on Obama’s reversal on the Defense of Marriage Act

  • The President believes that DOMA is unconstitutional. They are no longer going to be defending the cases in the 1st and 2nd circuits.
  • A so-called anonymous source talking to the National Journal • Explaining what the whole Obama-DOJ-not-defending the Defense of Marriage Act means for current court cases. Let’s be clear, though – the law is still law, but Obama will choose not to have his people take it to court, because he feels that the law will not pass muster. This is not a step he takes lightly, though. Obama also, in a note, told Congress that if they want to defend the statute, they still can. But his folks won’t mess with it. Obama supports repeal of the bill, but the DOJ has defended DOMA in court as recently as January. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Feb 2011 12:28

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U.S.: Obama to DOJ: Stop defending Defense of Marriage Act in court

  • then Obama held onto the belief that gay marriage shouldn’t be legalized for far longer than a lot of people expected him to. Then he evolved. It was kinda weird.
  • now Now, he wants the Justice Department to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act in court, saying it’s unconstitutional. Wow, big deal kids. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Jan 2011 22:30

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Biz: Comcast + Hulu – Power to control its investment = Is that enough?

  • problemComcast wants to buy NBC Universal, but has significant reason to competitively damage online streaming site Hulu, which NBC owns a 30 percent stake in. TV fans are worried.
  • solutionThe Department of Justice is forcing Comcast out of Hulu boardroom meetings, meaning they have to allow NBC content on Hulu, but otherwise have no influence on the company. source
  • » Will this be enough? It’s too early to tell, but the Justice Department’s restrictions on Hulu essentially put Comcast in a position of wanting Hulu to succeed, because they won’t be able to sabotage it directly, but their money is still backing it. Comcast’s Executive Vice President David Cohen put it like so: “We continue to have an interest in the growth and advancement of Hulu …and we obviously prefer to maintain our ownership position and our partnership with our content.” Let’s see if this is what actually happens. (thanks popculturebrain)
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Dec 2010 10:44

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Politics: Dear Nina Totenberg: We shouldn’t have been so quick to judge

  • Jeesh, these folks need a life – and perhaps a touch of the Christmas spirit, as well.
  • Nina Totenberg • Explaining her meaning behind apologizing for calling something a “Christmas party” on PBS the other day. The explanation? She was actually ripping on the Department of Justice for calling the event a “holiday party,” essentially leveling the kind of criticism on them as bloggers leveled on her. Dear Nina: We shouldn’t have been so quick to judge. We’ll hold off until you say something outlandishly bad about Jesse Helms again. (thanks goes to hman‘s awesome tumblr for the link) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Oct 2010 21:44

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Politics: Obama’s record on gay rights pretty crappy so far, in our book

  • Obama, Obama, Obama … sigh. Look, we know you have the military in your ear. We know that the elections are coming up. We know that your party is probably going to lose a lot of seats come November. But the way you’ve handled this “don’t ask, don’t tell” mess – and gay rights in general – is pretty sad. It’s like you’re paying lip service to the idea of expanding gay rights while heading the opposite direction when the opportunity arises. Your administration’s quick appeal of a lower court’s decision repealing DADT was like dumping water all over many of your supporters. Sure, you can go on about them being unable to see the forest for the trees, but you don’t even seem to be interested in the forest at this point. And don’t even get us started on the fact that you don’t support gay marriage. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Sep 2009 14:46

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Tech: Nobody likes Google Books, it seems. Not even the DOJ.

The Department of Justice, much like every other major tech company, has zero love for Google Books’ proposed $125 million class-action lawsuit settlement. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Jun 2009 20:49

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Politics, Tech: Google: You mean the DOJ is investigating us? Pssh, whatever!

  • They wouldn’t be doing their job if they weren’t taking a look at all the industries people are telling them to take a look at.
  • Dana Wagner • Google’s competition counsel, on the Obama administration’s investigation of the search engine giant. To explain how much the government’s all over Google, we’re going to pretend to be like The Count here. One government inquiries. Ah-TWO government inquiries. NO! THREE government inquiries! • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
 
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