Mike's Blog

"Googling Justice Scalia"

Googling Justice Scalia

Nice hack:

Last year, when law professor Joel Reidenberg wanted to show his Fordham University class how readily private information is available on the Internet, he assigned a group project. It was collecting personal information from the Web about himself.

This year, after U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia made public comments that seemingly may have questioned the need for more protection of private information, Reidenberg assigned the same project. Except this time Scalia was the subject, the prof explains to the ABA Journal in a telephone interview.

His class turned in a 15-page dossier that included not only Scalia's home address, home phone number and home value, but his food and movie preferences, his wife's personal e-mail address and photos of his grandchildren, reports Above the Law.

And, as Scalia himself made clear in a statement to Above the Law, he isn't happy about the invasion of his privacy:

"Professor Reidenberg's exercise is an example of perfectly legal, abominably poor judgment. Since he was not teaching a course in judgment, I presume he felt no responsibility to display any," the justice says, among other comments.

Somehow, I don't think "poor judgment" is going to be much of a defense against those with agendas more malicious than Professor Reidenberg.

"Gay Marriage, Religious Freedom and Hypocrisy"

Gay Marriage, Religious Freedom and Hypocrisy

Category:
Posted on: April 20, 2009 9:16 AM, by Ed Brayton

This is an absolutely brilliant Youtube video about gay marriage, religious freedom and the hypocritical arguments from the religious right on both. I don't even know who the guy is in the video, but his arguments are absolutely devastating and I agree with him on every point. Video below the fold.

Mainstream conservative calls for secession

Would they really go way? Secession might actually be nice - just leave, go away.

In Case You Missed It: Glenn Beck Calls For Secession

April 14, 2009 11:05 pm. 19 Comments | Conservatives, Fox News and Glenn Beck

Folks, this is the mainstream of the conservative movement, not some fringe nut in his or her compound with a shortwave radio and a stock of provisions.

And of course, as Abraham Lincoln could tell you, no secession is not a viable constitutional option. Idiot.

Florida - your legal rights don't matter if we don't approve of your lifestyle

It sounds like they had a medical power of attorney in place (they didn't use those words in the article below though) but since this was a lesbian couple they decided that laws and rights don't apply. "We don't like you therefore we do it our way and we don't care about the legal stuff." 

This is an important case as it shows how important not only gay and lesbian marriage is but also if you have a medical power of attorney make sure all the i's are dotted and t's are crossed - and most importantly don't get sick in Florida.

Why Gay Marriage Matters. Again.

Category:
Posted on: February 17, 2009 9:30 AM, by Ed Brayton

A woman sues a Florida hospital that refused to allow her to be at her partner's bedside while she died:

As her partner of 17 years slipped into a coma, Janice Langbehn pleaded with doctors and anyone who would listen to let her into the woman's hospital room.

Eight anguishing hours passed before Langbehn would be allowed into Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center. By then, she could only say her final farewell as a priest performed the last rites on 39-year-old Lisa Marie Pond.

But since she wasn't legally related, they wouldn't let her in:

Jackson staffers advised Langbehn that she could not see Pond earlier because the hospital's visitation policy in cases of emergency was limited to immediate family and spouses -- not partners. In Florida, same-sex marriages or partnerships are not recognized. On Friday, two years after her partner's death, Langbehn and her attorneys were in federal court, claiming emotional distress and negligence in a suit they filed last June.

And guess what? They had all that paperwork that we hear makes it unnecessary to allow them to be married:

At Friday's hearing, Langbehn's lawyers argued the case should be tried because Langbehn had the proper documentation to make medical decisions on behalf of her partner, and was not consulted about Pond's condition for hours despite seeking answers every 20 minutes.

''This is not just about same-sex couples,'' said attorney Donald Hayden, who is also representing the Langbehn family. ``This is about protecting the legal access that a parent has to see a child, or an essential loved ones right to be aware of what is going on with their loved one.''... (link Dispatches from the Culture Wars)

McCain writes his own constitution - becuase he doen't have a clue as to what is in the US Constitution

Says - explicitly - on camera - "they didn't mean separation of church and state"  He doesn't know a fucking thing about the constitution and makes up his on version of what he wants it to mean. This asswipe needs to go away - my preference would be in a box - as soon as possible. Then the GOPers would have absolutely nothing to run with in November. The "partY' would be dead. Even if this evil lying fuck lives until November he will be a final nail in the coffin of the GOP for some time to come. He's a stupid. lying, two-faced, flip-flopping, hypocritical, adultering, brown-nosing, ass - the Vietnamese  should have been a bit more thorough in their treatment of him and helped the world out when they had a chance. (or "gooks" as McCain refers to them - of course I guess that's not really out of line for someone who calls his wife a cunt in public because "he had a long day") It would be kind of fun to see what would happen if all the reporters in a press conference started to jangle their keys :-).

Saturday, June 7, 2008

John McCain: The Constitution Established America as a Christian Nation

 

more 2 year old absurdity from the fundies

More idiotic rantings from the wackjob fundies and more of their 2 year old persecution conspiracy rantings. ...if you're not 'fer us yer agin us... I don't think there would be much support from Hillary's "white Americans" if this group were Muslim and talking about the Koran. The specific reason this is nonsense is that no, Muslims can not make similar false claims and extend similar lies to law. Just as people who believe in fairies or unicorns can't either.

The United States is NOT a christian nation - thank god. Just as it is not a Muslim nation, Atheist nation, Pink Unicorn nation etc. It is a nation based on a constitution which no where mentions their "10 commandments".  The fundies often ramble about a "Judeo-Christian" nation. That is a complete lie. There were very very few Jews in the early years of the US.

More Ten Commandments Nonsense

Category:
Posted on: May 16, 2008  9:23 AM, by Ed Brayton

In yet another pointless display of absurdity, a coalition of religious right groups is demanding that Congress pass resolutions declaring a Ten Commandments Weekend:

Bill Murray, son of deceased atheist leader Madelyn Murray O'Hair and chairman of the Religious Freedom Coalition, is part of the pro-Ten Commandments coalition. "Both of these [resolutions] would authorize a Ten Commandments weekend in order to recognize the Ten Commandments as the foundation of law in this country," Murray explains. "But with Nancy Pelosi in charge of the House and Harry Reid in charge of the Senate, we can't have a voice. We can't get these out and open and celebrate the Ten Commandments," he contends.

Bullshit. You can celebrate the ten commandments as much as you want. You can gather with your friends every single day for the rest of your life and throw a ten commandments party if you want. No one will try and stop you. I love this notion that if the government doesn't endorse an idea, it violates our right to believe that idea. Just plain idiotic.

Almost as idiotic as claiming that the ten commandments are the "foundation of law" in America. The foundation of law in this country is the constitution, which doesn't mention the ten commandments anywhere. In fact, 7 of the 10 commandments would be blatantly unconstitutional if passed into law in this country. 7 of the 10 commandments are religious law, not civil or criminal law, and they have nothing to do with government. (Dispatches from the Culture Wars)

Bush admits to knowlege, consent and approval of war crimes

Why is Bush not impeached and in prison! He admits to war crimes and just doesn't give a shit as he knows he is immune. Bush admits to being a criminal and guilty of war crimes and thumbs his nose at the world.  I'm very thankful that most people in the world judge Americans as individual people and do not necessarily judge me solely because I am an citizen of a country who's government commits and openly admits to war crimes.

I can not see how anyone can "support the troops". I do not have any animosity for individual troops nor do I blindly "support" them. They are a pawn of the government. But I see no reason to praise and support them. Just as I do not see any reason to hate any older Germans just because they were part of the Nazi party in Germany. Other actions may rile up some hostility but I don't feel any sort of retroactive "support"for Nazi soldiers. The same feelings go towards Japanese WWI soldiers, Israeli IDF or Iraqis who feel they are fighting against oppression by occupying forces.,\

Bush Admits To Knowledge of Torture Authorization by Top Advisers (4/12/2008)

                   

ACLU Calls for Independent Counsel to Investigate Administration's Approval of Torture and Abuse

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (202) 675-2312, [email protected]; (917) 251-8654 or [email protected]

TAKE ACTION Demand Accountability for Bush's Top-Down Torture Policy

WASHINGTON – In a stunning admission to ABC news Friday night, President Bush declared that he knew his top national security advisers discussed and approved specific details of the CIA's use of torture. Bush reportedly told ABC, "I'm aware our national security team met on this issue. And I approved." Bush also defended the use of waterboarding.

Recent reports indicate that high-level advisers including Dick Cheney, Condoleeza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld, Colin Powell and George Tenet were part of the National Security Council's "Principals Committee" that met regularly and approved the CIA's use of "combined" "enhanced" interrogation techniques, even pushing the limits of the now infamous 2002 Justice Department "torture memo." These top advisers reportedly signed off on how the CIA would interrogate suspects – whether they would be slapped, deprived of sleep or subjected to simulated drowning. ...(link)

Bush Aware of Advisers' Interrogation Talks

President Says He Knew His Senior Advisers Discussed Tough Interrogation Methods

By JAN CRAWFORD GREENBURG, HOWARD L. ROSENBERG and ARIANE de VOGUE
April 11, 2008

178 comments

FONT SIZE

EMAIL

PRINT

SHARE

President Bush says he knew his top national security advisers discussed and approved specific details about how high-value al Qaeda suspects would be interrogated by the Central Intelligence Agency, according to an exclusive interview with ABC News Friday.

(ABC News Photo Illustration)

"Well, we started to connect the dots in order to protect the American people." Bush told ABC News White House correspondent Martha Raddatz. "And yes, I'm aware our national security team met on this issue. And I approved."

As first reported by ABC News Wednesday, the most senior Bush administration officials repeatedly discussed and approved specific details of exactly how high-value al Qaeda suspects would be interrogated by the CIA.

The high-level discussions about these "enhanced interrogation techniques" were so detailed, these sources said, some of the interrogation sessions were almost choreographed -- down to the number of times CIA agents could use a specific tactic.

These top advisers signed off on how the CIA would interrogate top al Qaeda suspects -- whether they would be slapped, pushed, deprived of sleep or subjected to simulated drowning, called waterboarding, sources told ABC news....(link ABC)

 

More BushCo lies - these are important

BushCo is aggressively pushing their lies about surveillance

Bush's Dishonest Fear Mongering

Category:
Posted on: February 27, 2008  9:30 AM, by Ed Brayton

The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.  HL Mencken

Watching the Bush administration posture and preen about how terribly unsafe we are since the House didn't vote for telecom immunity is like a perfect case study in just how brazenly the government can lie to people and have them believe it. Bush declared in a speech this week:

"To put it bluntly, if the enemy is calling into America, we really need to know what they're saying, and we need to know what they're thinking, and we need to know who they're talking to," Bush said at the start of his annual meeting with the nation's governors at the White House.
...

And the new lie from the administration is that without telecom immunity the phone companies will be sued for "billions of dollars." Bush even lied and said that it's already happening:

"Our government told them that their participation was necessary," Bush said. "And it was, and it still is, and that what we had asked them to do was legal. And now they're getting sued for billions of dollars. And it's not fair."

They are? Name the lawsuit, Mr. Bush. Name the lawsuit seeking "billions of dollars" from the phone companies. Here's the full complaint in the ACLU's lawsuit against AT&T over this issue on behalf of several prominent scholars. You'll notice that it does not ask for a dime in either punitive or compensatory damages, only that if the company loses the suit they pay the legal fees. Such suits seek injunctive and declaratory relief, not "billions of dollars." Just another lie.

... (link Dispatches from the Culture Wars)

Now can we ask about Mitt's magic underwear?

Some of the comments on Wonkette are pretty disgusting. Some people want ALL candidates for president to display their underwear, especially those who wear Victoria Secrets'.  There may be  a few but I'm  betting  that it's not Hillary.  But if it is I really really don't want to see that either. Yuck!

                  Romney has just made his Mormon faith fair game                   
by John Aravosis (DC)                   ·  11/28/2007 10:00:00 AM ET
  Discuss this post here: Comments (80) ·  digg it · reddit · FARK ·  · Link

                                     
                  

TPM Election Central reports that this week wasn't the first time GOP presidential candidate, and serial flip-flopper, Mitt Romney said that he wouldn't permit Muslims to be appointed to the presidential cabinet because of their religion. I'll be writing more on this later, but suffice it to say that Mr. Romney has now made his own belief in Mormonism fair game. If we are to look at Muslims' religious beliefs before placing them in the presidential cabinet, then why not look at a Mormon's beliefs before placing him in the Oval Office? Especially when that Mormon is running as a religious (right) candidate, someone who is promising to inject his religion into our politics. And he calls Muslim's radical. To paraphrase an argument so popular on the original-intent right, "Did the Founding Fathers really intend to hand the scepter of power to a Mormon?" Romney can't have it both ways. Either religion in politics matters or it doesn't. Romney says it does matter, but only when someone else's religion is the subject of scrutiny. His religion only matters when he intends to jam it down our throats after he's elected. Then again, both ways is the way Romney lies it best. First pro-gay, then anti-gay. First pro-gun, then anti-gun. First pro-choice, then pro-life. And now he's flip-flopping on whether the religion of a nominee is a relevant factor in their employment.

Actually, I'm less worried about Romney's religion than I am the growing sense that the man has no substance beyond his hair gel. (link AMERICAblog)

 

Mitt Romney's Underwear Cover-up

 

The Mormon Masshole and his bid for the White House are in serious trouble, due to the fact that Americans are creeped out by Mormons. New polls show 43% of voters will never pick a Mormon for president, because the Church of the Latter Day Saints isn’t crazy in the same exact way as Christianity.

That’s why Mitt Romney has launched a Mormon Charm Offensive by … refusing to to say whether or not he wears the magic Mormon underwear (link Wonkette)

The BushCo Blueprint

1 Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy
2 Create a gulag
3 Develop a thug caste
4 Set up an internal surveillance system
5 Harass citizens' groups
6 Engage in arbitrary detention and release
7 Target key individuals
8 Control the press
9 Dissent equals treason
10 Suspend the rule of law

Ten Steps To Close Down an Open Society

Last autumn, there was a military coup in Thailand. The leaders of the coup took a number of steps, rather systematically, as if they had a shopping list. In a sense, they did. Within a matter of days, democracy had been closed down: the coup leaders declared martial law, sent armed soldiers into residential areas, took over radio and TV stations, issued restrictions on the press, tightened some limits on travel, and took certain activists into custody.

They were not figuring these things out as they went along. If you look at history, you can see that there is essentially a blueprint for turning an open society into a dictatorship. That blueprint has been used again and again in more and less bloody, more and less terrifying ways. But it is always effective. It is very difficult and arduous to create and sustain a democracy - but history shows that closing one down is much simpler. You simply have to be willing to take the 10 steps.

As difficult as this is to contemplate, it is clear, if you are willing to look, that each of these 10 steps has already been initiated today in the United States by the Bush administration ... (link The Huffington Post)