Straight-ticket voting helps bad candidates win.

Both republican and Democrat voters are guilty.  This is one of the reasons we can't get rid of even the worst ethically-challenged candidates.  Good editorial with some data from the Dallas Morning News.

Houston drops controversial subpoenas for pastors' speeches, sermons, etc.

This was a bone-head move from the beginning which spurred a national debate Was this an attempt to harass those opposed to the ordinance?   The merits of the ordinance are not the issue. 

Suspect in ambushing of Pa. troopers captured

After a 7-week manhunt, the suspect in the ambush of Pa. State Troopers was captured peacefully.  He may face the death penalty.

Gun Control not an issue for mid-term elections

Even Gabby Giffords can't get candidates on-board.  With so much on the line re control of Senate and House, politicians are lying low. 

"The homeland security-industrial complex" threat to American freedoms.

The author of "Pay any Price: Greed Power and Endless War" argues that our open society has become a victim of the war on terrorism.

Sacrificing 4th Amend. rights to satisfy Bloomberg's anti-gun mania.

NYPD's aggressive stop and frisk tactics were found unconstitutional by a federal court. According to the NYT:
"Under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the number of street stops soared as they became a cornerstone of his administration’s antigun efforts, each encounter documented by an officer on a form known as a 250. The stops rarely turned up evidence of criminality but became a fact of life for young black and Hispanic men in high-crime neighborhoods, and public housing projects in particular." The fallout from this sacrifice of Fourth Amendment rights to Bloomberg's obsession with guns carries on in these neighborhoods

S.Ct. to hear Fourth Amendment case on hotel registers

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided to review a Los Angeles ordinance authorizing police to examine hotel registers without a warrant.  Should be an interesting decision.  I would say that the case law leans in favor of LA. 

Federal incompetence helps fuel Libertarianism and the Tea Party

A according to Joe Nocera at the NYT:

"When you think about it, many of the Obama administration’s “scandals” have been failures of competence. The Secret Service let a man leap over the White House fence and get into the White House. The Veterans Health Administration covered up unconscionable delays in treating veterans. The error-ridden rollout of the Obamacare website was a nightmare for people trying to sign up for health insurance. The Republican right takes it as an article of faith that the national government can’t do anything right. Problems like these only help promote that idea.

And now comes the C.D.C. — the most trusted agency in government — thrust in a role for which it was designed: advising us and protecting us from a potential contagion. With every new mistake, it becomes, in the public eye, just another federal agency that can’t get it right."

 

When you throw in Obama's disastrous middle-east "policies" it's no wonder that the Tea Party and Libertarian movements are getting attention from citizens who are fed up. 

Town to mark 1862 hangings.

Seems like civil war posts get the most responses.  Here's another.  This one  about the 1862 "Great Hangings."  Here's how it started:

"
In 1861, Cooke County was one of 18 Texas counties to vote against secession. Fewer than 10 percent of area residents owned slaves. So the presence of Northern sympathizers in the area was no surprise.
When the Confederacy started a military draft a year later, 30 local men protested the exemption clause for large slaveholders — fanning fears among Confederates about rising resistance.
The formation of a “Peace Party” and rumors of plans to assault militia armories prompted the local provost marshal to order the arrest of all able-bodied men who did not report for duty.
On Oct. 1, more than 150 men were rounded up and a “citizens’ court” was convened to hear their cases. More than half the 12 jurors were slaveholders. Verdicts required a simple majority vote."

Defendants who were later acquitted were  lynched. That was not the end of it.

A disturbingly similar situation involving even less pretense of legality was the Nueces Massacre of  1862    .

Facebook v. the Feds

Social media are widely used by law enforcement to find and convict various types of offenders.  The material, is of course, false (e.g. pretending to be sexually frustrated teenage girl, porn consumer, etc.)  A woman has sued the DEA claiming they used her name and photo in drug case.  Facebook want the feds to follow Facebook guidelines and not use false profiles.  This, of course, would practically hog-tie the feds on Facebook. Stay tuned.

Officer's account of Ferguson shooting made public

The officer's side of the story of the Ferguson, MO shooting has been made public for the first time.  Why did it take them so long?  Cynics will say it is a self-serving statement.  If true, it would seem to be a lawful killing  under the Fourth Amendment.  Stay tuned.

2nd amend progress in D.C.

How serious D.C. is about allowing licensed concealed carry remains to be seen.  However, they are moving ahead after losing a Second Amendment lawsuit.

Another 2nd amend Victory!

This civil rights revolution marches on.

The mystery of the missing Iraqi cash (really U.S. cash)

Secret bunker in Lebanon with $ 1.6 billion?  No problem, it was just taxpayers money (LOL!) To paraphrase a statement made long ago, "a billion here, a billion there, and soon you're talking about real money"

Time for female college applicants to boycott schools that don't take sexual assaults seriously and don't treat victims fairly

One of our current national scandals and reform efforts involve how colleges and universities treat complaints about sexual assault (see article below).  Parents and female applicants need to start a nationwide boycott of places that do not  properly deal with this problem.  Given that females make up a majority of college students, it could have a beneficial effect. 

FSU and the cops dealing with FSU football players

The unbelievable handling of the rape accusations against  FSU star quarterback Jameis Winston has spawned a detailed NYT analysis of how FSU players are treated by their university and the local police. It is worth reading.  I'm not saying anyone is guilty or not or that they don't' deserve the presumption of innocence, I'm just saying these suspects should get no special treatment.

Notable Quotes [with quips for this blogger]

From the Dallas Morning News:

“We’re politicians. We don’t have to answer your questions.” — Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins, to a debate moderator who wanted to squeeze in more questions (The Dallas Morning News, Wednesday) [Don’t you just love politicians?]

 

 “Well, you know, President Obama, it’s been hard to figure out exactly what his policy is. It changes from time to time.” — Former President Jimmy Carter, on the president’s responses to Middle East jihadist fighters (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

“I think he’s beginning to see that we have to take a strong stand on terrorism.” — Former CIA and Pentagon chief Leon Panetta, on Obama’s foreign policy (Fox News, Tuesday)

[Two takes on Pres. Obama’s middle-east policies that are right on]

 

“It would be wonderful if we were able to give this man all of the power that he needs to pass the things that he needs to pass.” — Actress Gwyneth Paltrow, introducing Obama at a Hollywood fundraiser for Democratic candidates (Politico, Thursday)

[Don’t you just love authoritarian, Hollywood airheads?]

 

Should physician-assisted suicide be a crime?

Physician-assisted suicide is a crime in most states. However, many argue that in carefully controlled situations it shouldn't be.  See the debate at this NYT article? 

Defining consent/lack of consent in rape cases

A number of states and experts are considering changes to the definition of lack of consent/consent in sexual assault cases.  A good discussion of this and related issues is at this NYT article. According to the NYT:

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Continue reading the main story

 

"LAST month it was California, this month New York. States across the country are trying to figure out how to address the problem of sexual assault more effectively, and more often than not, they are looking to redefine the scope of sexual misconduct.

California’s new law requires universities receiving state funding to switch from a “no means no” approach to a “yes means yes” standard, requiring partners to make an “affirmative, unambiguous and conscious decision” before having sex, and making clear that silence or a lack of resistance cannot be interpreted as consent."

TX State Board of Education and the Civil War

Texans must be sick of the constant fighting by the State Board of Education over the content of texts for public schools.  If only they spent this much energy on trying to improve education.  Given that we are in the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, and in an effort to get some comments going, I offer the following. One the many controversial issues in texts involves the causes of the civil war.   According to the Dallas Morning News, SMU historian Edward Countryman concluded:
“The combination of incoherence, poor construction and attempted indoctrination is clear” in several of the books, Countryman said.
For example, he said, some of the history books closely follow the state board’s curriculum requirement that the causes of the Civil War be taught in this order: sectionalism, states’ rights and slavery. 
“Any serious historian knows that slavery was the fundamental driving issue of the war,” Countryman said."
What's your take on the Civil War?  What factor should be #1?

TIH: OJ acquited

After a long and widely televised/publicized trial OJ Simpson was acquitted of murder.  The verdict was both praised and criticized.  Some argued that the verdict represented disgust with LAPD.  Of course, OJ is now in prison on new charges

U.S. Supreme Court to hear 4th Amend traffic stop case

My guess is that the Court will rule that a mistake of law does not spoil reasonable suspicion for a traffic stop as long as it is "objectively reasonable."  This result is consistent with prior law

Interesting freedom of religion lawsuit/establishment clause lawsuit.

Interesting freedom of religion lawsuit.  Toll-taker ordered not to say "God Bless You" to toll-payers.
For better or worse, public employee on-the-job behavior does not usually get full First Amendment protection. 

2nd Amend victory for a vet

Glad to see our vets getting the respect they deserve.

2nd Amend case against U.S.P.S.

I don't see this as an especially strong case for plaintiffs, but I wish them luck.

Ethical outrage in Texas

Audit reveals how millions of dollars given to those who never filed an application. Totally outrageous.  The good ol' boy system at its worst.  At least for Texas, it doesn't look like the Repubs are any more reliable than the Dems.  I suspect this is the case nationwide as the parties give so much money to their candidates that the parties, in effect, own them.  We need more good independent candidates. We also need to carefully consider 3rd party candidates, e.g., Libertarian and Tea Party.  Let's hope these parties don't become the self-serving and dysfunctional like the two major parties.
 

Has the libertarian moment finally arrived?

See the NYT take on this issue.

Interesting upcoming Supreme Court case

The Supreme Court is getting ready to start up a new term.  Thus far, it has only decided to hear a few cases.  More will be added.  One of the more interesting new cases thus far is Warger v. Schauers involving a civil suit.  According to the NYT (see link): " The question for the Supreme Court in the South Dakota case, Warger v. Schauers, No. 13-517, is in a way quite modest. It is not whether Mr. Warger deserves a new trial but only whether he can rely on evidence from inside the jury room to try to get one. Courts have generally refused to allow such evidence on appeal. 

Second Amendment challenge to D.C.'s new gun laws

As expected, D.C.'s newest gun laws have been challenged.  It looks like D.C. really doesn't want to seriously respect the Second Amendment.  "Federal judges have upheld similar “may-issue” discretionary laws in Maryland and New Jersey, but an appeals court recently struck down a California law."  This one could go either way.

Libertarianism: A Primer

There is much I like about libertarianism.  However, I have doubts about some things, and thus label myself a "cautious libertarian." (See the link to "My philosophy" under "Additional Info." on the right side of the front page.) If you are interested in libertarian theory I strongly recommend "Libertarianism: A Primer" by David Boaz on the Cato Institute.  It's relatively short paperback (314 pp.)  with an index, suggestions for further reading and a test to determine if you are a "libertarian."
As with all primers, differences among theorists are sometimes ignored and complexities are glossed over.  But it's a great starting spot.  Not all "libertarians" may agree. If you don't, recommend a basic book for beginners.