Category Archives: government, law, and politics

Dawn of Patriot Act

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'Twould seem the greatest court in the land got duped – and we're paying the price.

How the Death of Judy's Father Made America More Secretive
Sun Apr 18, 7:55 AM ET
By Barry Siegel Times Staff Writer

"In a box delivered by rolling handcart on the morning of Feb. 26, 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court received 40 copies of a petition so unusual a clerk decided he couldn't accept it for filing. First, though, he turned through its pages."

"In a preliminary statement, he read these words: Three widows stood before this court in 1952. Their husbands had died in the crash of an Air Force plane. The lower courts had awarded them compensation. But the United States was bent on overturning their judgments, and — to accomplish this — it committed a fraud not only upon the widows but upon this Court."

A Daughter Discovers What Really Happened

"[…]To this day, U.S. vs. Reynolds represents the Supreme Court's only substantive examination of the state secrets privilege. Law professors consider Reynolds the judicial foundation of national security law."

Update 09/28/06: The most recent action taken in this case seems to be a petition to the US Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari made on December 21, 2005.

A Dying Breed

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There are far too few pro-life Democrats. On the other hand, there are far too few
environmentalist Republicans.

Pro-Life Democrats
Meet With National Democratic Party Leader
by Nat Henthoff

“U.S. Reps. James Oberstar (Minnesota) and Bart Stupak (Michigan) – members
of the Democrats for Life of America’s National Advisory Board – met with Democratic
National Committee head Terry McAuliffe, on March 4, to point out that the Democrats’
majority in Congress diminished at almost the same rate pro-life voters left the
party.”

Big Brother Bush is Watching

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It's not happening all at once, but it's happening. Perhaps that's what makes it so insidious. It's sneaking up on us.

Slouching toward Big Brother
By Bruce Schneier

"Last week the Supreme Court let stand the Justice Department's right to secretly arrest noncitizen residents. Combined with the government's power to designate foreign prisoners of war as 'enemy combatants' in order to ignore international treaties regulating their incarceration, and their power to indefinitely detain U.S. citizens without charge or access to an attorney, the United States is looking more and more like a police state."

Scared Stupid

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If these “secularity” measures go through, the faithful remnant of France
should make t-shirts, jeans, or some ubiquitous item take on religious symbolism.
Ghandi did it with the spinning wheel.

French
PM Presses on with Law Banning Muslim Veils
By Timothy Heritage

“PARIS (Reuters) – French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin vowed on Saturday
to press on with plans to introduce a law that would ban Muslim headscarves in state
schools despite growing opposition from Muslim protesters and some politicians.”

No Constitution for the Capitol?

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I no fan of guns or the NRA, but this is ridiculous and inconsistent. Are citizens of DC not Americans? Are they not guaranteed constitutional rights?

Gun Rights Aren't for District, Judge Rules
By Carol D. Leonnig

"The constitutional right to bear arms doesn't apply to the District of Columbia's residents, a federal judge ruled yesterday in rejecting the claim of several city residents who contended that a 1976 city law banning the possession of guns left them unfairly vulnerable."