Obama fires shot across the Supreme Court's bow

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Monday April 02, 2012 · 1:15 PM PDT

2012/04/02 · 13:15

Short and simple.

Whereas some Democrats in Congresss have remained inappropriately deferential to the Supreme Court and others have hinted a possible lack of legitimacy for the Court were it to impose its ideology on the country, President Obama was clear in what his 'expectations' were of the Supreme Court.

Full statement below.

Geekesque

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Friday March 30, 2012 · 10:17 AM PDT

2012/03/30 · 10:17

"This court would not only have to stretch, it would have to abandon and completely overrule a lot of modern precedent, which would do grave damage to this court, in its credibility and power. The court commands no armies, it has no money; it depends for its power on its credibility. The only reason people obey it is because it has that credibility. And the court risks grave damage if it strikes down a statute of this magnitude and importance, and stretches so dramatically and drastically to do it.”

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Con.

The power of anticipation is much greater than that of reaction. While it is good to learn from mistakes, it is much better to avoid a mistake in a first place, and even better yet to be correct ahead of time.

With that in mind, we must contemplate what will happen in late June regarding health care reform, with both feet firmly grounded in logic and evidence. There is no time for wishful thinking or accounting for principles, right and wrong. "Should" is not a relevant word. Trying to read judges' values and principles is a waste of time that serves as a Rorscach test rather than an analytical tool.

If one ignores abstractions and distractions like law and principle, actual facts and data make it clear what is going to happen in June, to anyone with both eyes open.

The question is whether we keep our heads in the sand, or execute a counter-offensive.

Geekesque

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Wednesday March 28, 2012 · 8:26 PM PDT

2012/03/28 · 20:26

Nancy Pelosi just issued an invitation to the Supreme Court to strike down the ACA. If people thought her "impeachment is off the table" comment was a preemptive surrender, check this nonsense out.

Geekesque

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Thursday March 08, 2012 · 9:56 AM PST

2012/03/08 · 09:56

You have to hand it to Senate Republicans. While their fellow travelers in the Tea Party House are brazenly and idiotically rightwing, at least they believe the stuff coming out of their own mouths.

The Senate Republicans, on the other hand, oscillate between lying about their reasons for stiffing the base (no more votes on HCR repeal) or stiffing the American people (the contraception wars). Or both, in the case of Lisa Murkowski.

And then there's lying just, well, maybe for the purpose of lying. A game of then and now below the fold.

Warning: The second quote is not The Onion, it's a real news story.

Geekesque

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Tuesday December 06, 2011 · 10:27 AM PST

2011/12/06 · 10:27

The West Indian American Day Parade, held every Labor Day in the heart of Brooklyn, is one of the largest cultural events in the country. Attended by upwards of 2 million spectators, it's Carnival combined with jerk chicken and the pride of the city's Caribbean community.

On some years, there is violence. As one would expect when you gather 2 million people in the same place.

But, this is a parade for black people, which leads to some rather repulsive racism.

And some of New York's finest were recently busted excreting it on a public Facebook page before it was erased.

Geekesque

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Wednesday November 23, 2011 · 9:26 AM PST

2011/11/23 · 09:26

Given that Ben Ali is a free man living the good life in Saudi Arabia while Hosni Mubarak is rotting in jail and Muommar Gaddafi is pushing up daisies, it shouldn't be surprising that Ali Abdullah Saleh decided to head for the escape hatch by surrendering power with little fanfare.

Geekesque

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Friday November 18, 2011 · 9:34 AM PST

2011/11/18 · 09:34

The subject of the First Amendment and its scope has been the subject of many discussions and even more claims.

But, most discussions do not revolve around how to determine the balance between a government's right/obligation to manage public areas for the benefit of all versus the right of free expression.

Rather, the discourse involves condemnations of the government's actions which impede or restrict the expressive conduct of protestors.

If the First Amendment means anything, it must mean that the same rule applies to all people, regardless of how offensive their views are. The government's job is not to determine whose views are acceptable, and whose are not.

So, let us change the facts in the scenarios facing city and protestors in a few hypothetical, and see if the same outcome holds. The sort of exercise law school students endure across the country.

NOTE: This scenario is not a statement of equivalency or comparison of the merits of different political messages or of the messengers. It is a hypothetical based on real life possibilities, such as Nazis marching through Skokie.

Geekesque

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Wednesday November 16, 2011 · 12:02 PM PST

2011/11/16 · 12:02

Well, I certainly wasn't expecting to read anything enlightening beyond the usual hippy-bashing in the NY Post when they posted their "why Bloomy dunnit" article today.

And, there was a little of that ("scabies, lice, ewwww!") but mostly it's incredibly unflattering to Mayor 1%.

And, while he made sure to keep his actions within the letter of the law, the motivation was well below that which we would expect from a public servant.

Geekesque

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Monday November 07, 2011 · 3:12 PM PST

2011/11/07 · 15:12

Let me get this straight.

Jack Abramoff is a convicted liar. He is a felon. He is a fraudster.

His name is synonymous with corruption. He is also a lifelong Republican partisan hack. His best buddy is Tom DeLay.

So, naturally, we have two Rec List diaries promoting his 'words of wisdom'and used as a thin pretense to broadly and dishonestly smear the Democratic party.

People are even saying that this is why OWS should be anti-Democrat as well as anti-Republican.

Excuse me, but that the f@ck?

Geekesque

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Wednesday November 02, 2011 · 2:21 PM PDT

2011/11/02 · 14:21

Seeking perhaps to replicate the success of the Sarkozy-Cameron coalition against Gaddafi, it appears that David Cameron and Benjamin Netanyahu are pushing hard for an imminent strike on Iranian facilities thought to be nuclear.

Will they succeed in drawing the United States into another middle eastern war?

The signs are ominous.

Geekesque

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Sunday October 30, 2011 · 4:47 PM PDT

2011/10/30 · 16:47

It seems to be taken as an article of faith here and in the Twitterverse that Janet Napolitano and the Department of Homeland Security are orchestrating local police departments in their crackdowns on Occupy Wall Street protests across the nation.

It is often cited as if it had been proven.

Remarkably, it is incredibly rare for anyone here to express even the tiniest bit of exception (yours truly being an exception).

It is reminiscent of the paranoia on the right under Clinton, in which Black Helicopters bearing UN operatives enforcing the edicts of the New World Order, were cracking down on patriots.

A challenge to those running with this conspiracy theory below the fold.

Geekesque

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Tuesday October 25, 2011 · 3:47 PM PDT

2011/10/25 · 15:47

In a development that was entirely predictable, President Obama essentially struck another one of his trademarked compromises with Republicans, giving them stuff they wanted while not getting anything that Democrats want or that will create jobs.

Oh, yeah, and it screws poor people too.

The fecklessness below.

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