The foot less prompt to seek the morning dew, The heart less bounding at emotion new, And hope, once crushed, less quick to spring again. --From "Thyrsis", by Matthew Arnold So here's the deal, short and sweet: Social Security is amazingly … [Read more...]
Mimsy were the bureaucrats.*
The parent agency of TSA, Department of Homeland Security, is now partner with WalMart. Fear mongering has reached a new high (low?) in this country as "suspicious" people are to be fingered by WalMart customers. Shoppers … [Read more...]
Bill Galvin’s timely proposal
Recently the Federal electeds passed 3808 to facilitate the foreclosure process. While vetoed by the President, were it to have passed we could expect a wave of notarized fraud that would have inundated the foreclosure process. … [Read more...]
Rule of Law awaits better political climate
Glenn Greenwald reminds us of the Right-wing wailing and Left-wing accolades that greeted AG Holder's announcement a year ago that KSM and four other Guantanamo inmates would face criminal trials. Greenwald questions the depth of Democrats' … [Read more...]
Victory! Bill adding Jessica’s Law offenses to Sex Offender Registry list passes House and Senate
In 2008, Massachusetts passed “Jessica’s Law,” creating new criminal offenses with strong, mandatory prison sentences for the worst child sexual abusers, but failed to add the new “Jessica’s Law” … [Read more...]
On A Pair Of Victories, Part One, Or, “I DOMA Think Congress Can Define Spouse Anymore”
This will be too much analysis for one story; we'll be, instead, discussing the ruling in Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today; the second opinion, which decides Gill v OPM (OPM is the US … [Read more...]
Good to see the Constitution win one.
In this age of constitutional lawlessness, it's good to see a victory for the 10th Amendment. … [Read more...]
Supreme Court ends its term (sort of), reversing Sotomayor in the Ricci case
As JohnD has already noted, the Supreme Court today reversed the Second Circuit decision (in which SCOTUS nominee Sonia Sotomayor joined) that had upheld the city of New Haven's decision to throw out a test that appeared to favor white … [Read more...]
Would a super-tax on AIG bonuses be an unconstitutional Bill of Attainder?
Article I, s. 9 of the U.S. Constitution says that No bill of attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed. Exactly what does and does not qualify as a "bill of attainder" has been difficult to nail down over the years. It hasn't … [Read more...]
Truth, libel, and “reputational injury”
The woman's plea deal (which may or may not go through, but let's assume it does) would give her a very light sentence (effectively no jail time), in exchange for her promising to keep the man's name secret for her 3-year term of supervised … [Read more...]