Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on Twitter • Be a Facebook Fan • Tumble us!

05 Nov 2010 21:08

tags

U.S.: Preliminary “Don’t Ask” ruling winds its way to Supreme Court

  • federal A federal judge in California ruled the military’s controversial “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy unconstitutional; Obama then appeals.
  • appeals After the appeal was filed, the 9th Circuit ruled that the policy should stay in place while the case goes to trial – a win for the Pentagon.
  • supreme The Log Cabin Republicans have now appealed that decision to the Supreme Court in hopes of getting it overturned again. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Oct 2010 13:59

tags

Politics: Clarence Thomas’ ex-girlfriend: Anita Hill was telling the truth

  • He was always actively watching the women he worked with to see if they could be potential partners. It was a hobby of his.
  • Clarence Thomas’ former girlfriend, Lillian McEwen • Suggesting that the Supreme Court justice perjured himself on the stand during his contentious 1991 Senate hearing. McEwen stayed quiet throughout her career, because she was afraid that coming forward would hurt her professionally. But now she’s retired. And now she has a memoir she’s shopping to publishers about her successful career and her relationship with Thomas. She stayed mum about her relationship with Thomas, but the whole thing about Thomas’ wife Virginia cold-calling Anita Hill convinced her to speak out. Among the highlights was an admission that “he was obsessed with porn.” Why is all this crazy Clarence Thomas stuff coming out 19 years after he became a justice? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Oct 2010 21:26

tags

U.S.: Clarence Thomas’ crazy wife randomly calls Anita Hill

  • 1991 During Clarence Thomas’ Supreme Court Senate nomination hearing, Anita Bryant testifies that Thomas sexually harassed her. Thomas denies the claims.
  • 2007 Thomas releases his autobiography. During a related interview, his wife Virginia says this: “I hope she once day calls up and apologizes and I look forward to forgiving her.”
  • 2010 Hill, now a professor at Brandeis University, receives a message from Virginia fishing for an apology. Hill, ticked off at the tone, doesn’t have one to offer. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Oct 2010 11:13

tags

U.S.: Wrongful detainment suit against John Ashcroft goes to Supreme Court

  • Is John Ashcroft in trouble? It appears that the Obama Administration will have to go to bat in the Supreme Court for the controversial former attorney general, who’s facing a suit from a former college football player detained without cause for 16 days. He was held under what some critics call a radical reinterpretation of the “material witness” law. Abdullah al-Kidd, who once was a running back at the University of Idaho, claimed he was held naked at times and shackled at other times. Now al-Kidd wants to personally sue Ashcroft. If the Supreme Court favors al-Kidd, who’s already won a in a lower court, let the lawsuits begin. (Photo by Gage Skidmore) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Oct 2010 11:47

tags

Politics: Three reasons Clarence Thomas’ wife is bad for Clarence Thomas

  • one Virginia Thomas works at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that suggested appointees for Bush while the 2000 election was contested.
  • two She’s already a well-known figure among conservative activists, and now heads a new Tea-Partyish, anti-Obama nonprofit called Liberty Central.
  • three There’s no word on where the sizable funding for the organization, which she hopes “will be bigger than the Tea Party movement,” has come from. source
  • » What this means for Clarence Thomas: He may have to recuse himself from a number of politically-oriented cases because of his wife’s extracurricular activities, which, as a private citizen, she’s totally allowed to do. If Liberty Central were to take off, it could be a glaring conflict of interest for the court’s most conservative judge.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Oct 2010 22:49

tags

U.S.: The Supreme Court has a field day with the Westboro Baptist Church

  • This is a case about exploiting a private family’s grief.The question is: Why should the First Amendment tolerate exploiting this Marine’s family when you have so many other forums for getting across your message?
  • Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg • Asking the best question of the day to Westboro Baptist Church lawyer (and member) Margie J. Phelps, who represented the church in their case against the family of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, whose funeral they protested way back in 2006. While wanting to favor free speech as much as possible, the justices clearly struggled with this case, with many trying to find a narrow path that allowed them to limit the private-person-damaging hate speech of a group like Westboro while not affecting other kinds of speech. Fortunately, Phelps made it easy on them, suggesting that wounded soldiers shouldn’t have a cause of action if they’re being protested against by a group similar to hers. At that point, the justices jumped on her. It’ll still be a number of months before we know how this one plays out, guys.  source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Oct 2010 11:52

tags

U.S.: Three ways the new Supreme Court docket could affect your life

  • goods eBay could be under the gun if Omega watches wins their copyright lawsuit against CostCo regarding the sale of goods from abroad. The issue: Does the first-sale doctrine apply to imported goods?
  • games California’s ban on the sale of violent video games to minors is also under the gun in the current Supreme Court session. The EFF and the MPAA, sworn enemies otherwise, want to see the ban overturned.
  • business AT&T is trying to say that it’s allowed personal privacy in a FOIA case; the FCC disagrees. If SCOTUS sides with the phone company, businesses could get a lot more evil under the guise of privacy. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

14 Aug 2010 05:43

tags

U.S.: We may get an early Supreme Court preview of the Prop 8 case

  • firstJudge Vaughn Walker decided that Wednesday would be the day he’d take the hold off of gay marriage in California.
  • thenThe supporters of Prop 8 decided to appeal the stay to the famously liberal U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
  • now The appeals court will decide by Monday, at which point it could go to Supreme Court Justice Antony Kennedy. source
  • » Why it’s a preview: Two reasons. First, Kennedy is the swing vote on the court, meaning what he decides could be an early harbinger of the full case. Second, Kennedy may ask for guidance from the court on where to go next. So, Prop 8 followers, we may find out soon whether or not gay marriage is likely to get legalized in the U.S.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Aug 2010 20:39

tags

U.S.: Get ready: Elena Kagan officially the new John Paul Stevens

  • 63 senators voted for Kagan; the rest got  screamed “NAY”
  • 111 the number of justices that have served the court; she’ll be lucky 112
  • 3 the number of women that have served; she’ll be the fourth source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Aug 2010 12:03

tags

Culture: Conrad Black on prison: Prison really sucks and it’s unfair

  • It had been an interesting experience, from which I developed a much greater practical knowledge than I had ever had before of those who had drawn a short straw from the system; of the realities of street level American race relations; of the pathology of incorrigible criminals; and of the wasted opportunities for the reintegration of many of these people into society.
  • Formerly jailed newspaper magnate Conrad Black • In an article for the National Post discussing his time in prison. Short version: Prison isn’t a lot of fun and he learned a lot about what prisoners go through on the other side of the situation. He noted the nature of some of the injustices, specifically the disparity of cocaine versus crack-cocaine sentencing. He described prisoners as  “an ostracized, voiceless legion of the walking dead; they are no one’s constituency.” As it is, though, he learned a lot in his 28 months and 18 days. Is there a chance he’ll return? It’s possible; he’s only out on bail. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
<< newer 
top tags
older >>