The California Supreme Court has upheld Prop 8, which bans same-sex marriage.
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$13 Trillion and Counting
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
The price tag for the Wall Street bailout is about $13 trillion!
Medical MJ Wins at Supreme Court
Monday, May 18, 2009
The US Supreme Court has declined to hear San Diego’s appeal of California’s Compassionate Use Act. This is good news.
DUI Breath Machines Blow
Friday, May 15, 2009
The Minnesota Supreme Court just ordered that the source code to the state’s alcohol breath test machines be released for scrutiny by defense lawyers.
Last year, the New Jersey Supreme Court reinstated thousands of DUI convictions after two independent testing labs examined the software.
Obama’s Budget: Criminally Insane
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
The President’s new budget for 2010 is obscene. Half of it will be borrowed money, and an unconscionable amount of money is about to be wasted on violence and on socializing private losses of shareholders and bondholders. It’s a disaster.
Good Money After Bad
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Everybody agrees that the banking system is in trouble. The incoming Obama team and some European governments want to take toxic assets off of private bank balance sheets. This will be incredibly expensive and there’s no reason to think it has much chance of success.
There’s no reason to save a corrupt, failed system. The big banks should be nationalized. The Federal Reserve should be modified according to the terms of the American Monetary Act. This is legislation I discussed on this website late last August.
Benefit of Doubt Goes to Cops
Thursday, January 15, 2009
The US Supreme Court just narrowed the 4th Amendment’s protections against unreasonable searches and seizures in a case called Herring v. United States.
This is a case about the Exclusionary Rule. Writing for the 5-4 majority, Chief Justice Roberts argues that the mistakes of law enforcement are not serious enough in the case to justify excluding the evidence. This is not an outrageous argument, and it is not wildly out of line with the relevant cases.
I don’t think this is a wise decision. Why should law enforcement be rewarded for being careless?
Don’t take my word for it. Read the decision and the dissents for yourself and think about the issues presented.
Judicial Reform in France
Thursday, January 8, 2009
French President Nicholas Sarkosy wants to do away with Investigating Magistrates. This would end a 200-year legal tradition in France. Although the move gives lip service to the presumption of innocence, the practical result will be more power to the government and less justice for the people.
This important story has been discussed widely. Read some of the coverage for yourself at The Times, the Telegraph, the Guardian, the Washington Post, the Independent, Expatica, and Nasdaq.
Israel: Suicide for Fear of Death
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
I oppose the Israeli attack on Gaza.
My father and uncle were born in Bath, England and raised in Baghdad, Iraq. Both of them spoke Arabic fluently. My wife is a Rabbi. (I consider myself Quaker; my wife thinks I’m basically Catholic.)
The lesson I take from the Holocaust is that silence equals complicity. I add my voice to those who call for an end to the Israeli bombardment and siege of Gaza.
This is a good time to stand up and be counted. Gaza is the Warsaw Ghetto of our time. It’s wrong to be silent in the face of this crime against humanity, being committed with American weapons and official American support.
If there’s anything we hear less about in America than Dead Arab Children, it’s Israeli Peace Activists. There are a lot of courageous, dedicated Israelis and Arabs who are working tirelessly for peace and reconciliation. Although I oppose Israeli aggression and occupation, I think it’s equally important to recognize the importance of supporting the most idealistic of Israelis.
Here are links to Jewish Peace News, and Jewish Voice for Peace, and to Israel’s young conscientious objectors. I encourage you to learn from these people and to give them your support.