Death Penalty Costs California $184 Millions a Year

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-adv-death-penalty-costs-20110620,0,3505671.story

Military Funerals

The Supreme Court ruled (8-1) that the First Amendment shields people from tort claims in Snyder v. Phelps. At a jury trial, the jury handed a $5 million judgment to the family of a fallen soldier for intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED). The appeals court overturned the case, and the Supreme Court affirmed, finding enough political speech in the funeral protest message for it to be shielded by the First Amendment. On one hand we don't people to face the possibility of lawsuits for expressing their political views. On the other hand, the right of those who are caused harm by words that are made with intention to cause great emotional pain should be upheld. As the lone dissenter Justice Alito pointed out much of the words seemed more like a verbal assault on the Snyder family than political speech. It was a compelling dissent, but in the court made the right decision, unpopular political views should be protected from monetary penalties.

DIY Investigator

I was fortunate to listen to a great episode of This American Life where a clever self-taught investigator was after years of work, able to free his innocent childhood friend from jail. This kind of opens my mind as to the many ways of review that are available in the legal system. Sometimes it takes perseverance, walking the streets, doing your homework, but also a belief deep down that the legal system is good enough to achieve justice in the end. You just gotta squeeze it hard.

New Standards Help Wall Street

Two recent Supreme Court cases, Twombly v. Bell Atlantic (2007), and Ashcroft v. Iqbal (2009) have made it easier for courts to dismiss suits against corporations. Raising the standards for bringing a case to "plausible on its face" a change from the 50 year standard of "fair notice" established in Conley v. Gibson (1957). Wall Street firms fending off suits over their handling of securities, have been able to take advantage of the new standards. One law professor found that cases were four times more likely to be dismissed under the new standard than under the Conley one.

[Bloomberg]

"To date, not a single victim of the Bush administration's torture programme has had his day in court,"

Suit alleging damages against Boeing subsidiary for their role in rendition flights thrown out (6-5) by 9th Circuit Appeals Court on national security grounds.

[Independent]

The Jury System

The Blagojevich "holdout" juror comes off sounding like one of the wiser and more serious jurors. At the end of the day the government's case was quite weak.

[Chicago Tribune]

Grades Trump School

A new study says grades are more important to law school than the prestige of the school.

[WSJ Law Blog]

"What Obama Should Have Said"

What Obama Should Have Said, scroll to last paragraph:

[The Atlantic]

Both Ways...

Sometimes when someone tries to have it both ways you get the worst from both sides. As in the President's case with his statements on the Cordoba House project. After all he is (a)The President, (b)a former Constitutional professor. He didn't exactly waffle, just ran away from his original statement as much as possible. His original affirmation of the Constitution was all that was needed. He then addressed the pointless debate over whether the Cordoba House "should" be located at the planned spot. By doing so the President left his comfort zone, i.e. The Constitution and common sense and handed the debate back over to to the demagogues.

Is Sarah Palin's Twitter Account Winning?

Richard Kim of the Nation wonders why the logical arguments are losing against the Sarah Palins and Pamela Gellers of the world.

[The Nation]

Kentucky Club

The Kentucky Club since 1920...

Ad Watch: Too Risky

A Republican attack ad takes aim at former Senator Mark Dayton who is running for Governor in Minnesota. The point of the ad is to tell the voters how massively insane this man is. In the ad they contend Dayton was "one of the worst Senators in America", "erratic", "perplexing", "panicky". This is apparently all common knowledge as evidenced by a Time Magazine cover article about how erratic Senator Dayton is. Clearly it captured the nation's attention for a while. What the ad is trying to do is to remind voters of Dayton's past problems with alcoholism and depression. Those behind the attack ad won't directly mention those things in fear of being seen as making egregious personal attacks and going too far. Such attacks could prove risky in the gentle Midwestern state.

Blagojevich Case

The government's case against Rod Blagojevich is the hands of a jury that is deadlocked on key charges. The one time sure conviction is now a question mark as many believe the government fell short in their efforts. This article points out that the public's views have moderated towards the former Governor.

[New York Times]

Newt Gingrich Standard

"There should be no mosque near Ground Zero in New York so long as there are no churches or synagogues in Saudi Arabia. The time for double standards that allow Islamists to behave aggressively toward us while they demand our weakness and submission is over." -Newt Gingrich

This is the Newt Gingrich standard on religious freedom. To apply the standards of Saudi Arabia to the US. This seems to be a common sentiment amongst conservatives when dealing with Cordoba House cultural center two blocks away from Ground Zero. They warn of the evils of a Muslim takeover/influence in the US yet are willing to apply similar oppressive and Unconstitutional measures in opposition.

Gay Marriage and the Supreme Court

While it is not definite, a battle over gay marriage seems to be moving to The Supreme Court soon. Many expect the Court to reverse the ruling by Judge Vaughn Walker, but this column by The Guardian's James Antle makes the case that there is chance that the ruling will be upheld. He points out that the court's current swing vote Justice Anthony Kennedy (who has a judicial philosophy close to a Libertarian) has authored two gay rights victories.

[The Guardian]

Ad Watch: Hell Knocker

Ben Quayle is running for the Republican nomination in Arizona's 3rd Congressional District(northern suburbs of Phoenix). He is the carrier of the great Quayle political name as he is the son of the buffoonish former Vice President Dan Quayle. Here we see him doing his best to keep the family legacy going. His opener is chosen carefully "Barack Obama is the worst President in history". It's a bold statement, one no doubt made after careful debate and consideration. One might think it is to early to tell, but remember who his audience is-Arizona Republicans. They likely agree with the statement for reasons possibly having to do with the President's lack of white skin. Quayle comes off as a rich kid in this, making an attempt to act tough that makes the viewer feel uneasy for him, "somebody has to go to Washington and knock the hell out of the place". Sorry, if I'm this hell in Washington, I'm just not scared of this guy. Maybe the extent of his physical prowess is to simply door knock repeatedly. Lastly he uses the word hell. Mormons make up 6% of the state which likely means a higher percentage among Republicans, so the use of hell is perhaps a bit risky here.

Florida Senate Primary

Another interesting breakdown of the Florida Democratic Senate Primary by voting blocs. A pretty strong case is made that Kendrick Meek will survive the challenge from billionaire candidate Jeff Greene (not to be confused with the fictional Jeff Greene of Curb Your Enthusiasm fame, who of course would get my vote).

[Huffington Post]

Ban Assassinations of US Citizens?

Representative Dennis Kucinich just introduced a bill(HR 6010) to ban the extrajudicial killing of US citizens arguing that the presumption of innocence is violated. A recent lawsuit brought by an American citizen alleges his right to due process was violated after he was reportedly targeted for assassination by the CIA and Joint Special Operations Command.

[The Nation]

Senate Race Breakdown

Interesting political breakdown by region of the Rand Paul-Jack Conway senate race in Kentucky.

[New Republic]

Fourth Amendment

A US Court of Appeals judge recently ruled placing a GPS device in a car without a warrant was a violation of the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable search and seizures. To me it's blatantly obvious the action was a violation.

[WSJ]

Let's Have a Bargument over Cheerleading

Is cheerleading a sport? Wanna have a bargument over it? In the end I agree with the author's view of what constitutes a sport. Which is anything that requires a judge is not a sport. Recently a judge in Connecticut ruled cheerleading was not a recognized sport supported by Title IX which requires gender equity for educational and athletic programs when taking federal funds.

The Incredible Bedbug

This op-ed explains the incredible bedbug's amazing powers... and the unrealistic potential to unify us.

Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly flirt, make plans to stalk Stephen King

Blackmail?

The Governor of Wyoming is threatening to sell part of Grand Teton National Park unless more money for education is sent to the state. It's the latest bargaining chip in a long dispute over the park.

[The Guardian]

Ad Watch: Antler Shedding

Republican Senatorial candidate Joe Miller explains why he is "true conservative choice for Alaska" while collecting antlers. All I know is that if he is making point, he has an antler in his hand. And oh yeah, his opponent is a phony.

Where is taking these antlers? Why can't he just leave them alone? Is he removing them from a trail? Is that a tag on the back of his shirt?