NPCT

There are good cops out there, but sometimes the news makes it seem like they’re all up to no good. Here’s a short video of a good cop doing his job well at a protest in LA. It seemed like it was worth sharing.

Stephen Colbert talks to Congressman Lynn Westmoreland about the Ten Commandments. Really funny and also sad.

The ever-insightful Slate has an article on the Jose Padilla case:

Had Padilla been charged and tried back in the summer of 2002, rather than touted as some Bond villain—the Prince of Radiological Dispersion—his case would have stood for a simple legal proposition: that if you are a terrorist, a supporter of terrorism, or a would-be [...]

I’m not one to tout “diversity” as an end in itself, but come on people. Pending confirmation of the latest conservative white male to the Supreme Court of the United States, our civil liberties will be in the hands of seven lily-white men, one African American, and one lone woman. Although we clearly [...]

In an interesting turn of events, The New York Times is reporting that President Bush’s Supreme Court Nominee John G. Roberts Jr. performed pro bono work for gay rights advocates and helped them win Romer vs. Evans, a landmark 1996 case to prevent discriminatory state laws.

Judge Roberts, at the time an appellate lawyer for [...]

The American Civil Liberties Union gets a lot of criticism for the various people whose speech they defend. It is a tribute to their integrity of purpose that they defend the most unpopular speech, even as they are faced with criticism across the board, and more recently FBI investigations. The ACLU’s criticism most [...]

If Central Ohio is too liberal for you, it might be time to rethink your political leanings: the NRA is moving its 2007 convention after Columbus passed an assault weapons ban.

“The party is canceled because last week your city council unanimously voted to revoke the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens in Columbus by banning perfectly [...]

In McCreary County vs. ACLU of Kentucky, the US Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the county must remove the Ten Commandments from county courthouses as a violation of the Establishment Clause. Slate has a discussion. I thought Justice O’Connor’s concurrence was quite insightful:

At a time when we see around the world the violent consequences [...]

Overall, I haven’t been able to decide whether GWB is legitimately unintelligent or a sellout. Now, I’m pretty sure I know the answer to that. In 1978, he ran for Congress, and made his views on abortion clear:

The Avalanche-Journal reported: “Bush said he opposes the pro-life amendment favored by Reese and favors leaving [...]

Slate has an article with a side-by-side comparison of Bush’s statements on stem cells versus his statements on the death penalty. The contradiction is impressive. Here’s an example:

“Research cloning would contradict the most fundamental principle of medical ethics, that no human life should be exploited or extinguished for the benefit of another.”

versus

“The president [...]

So, last night the Senate reached a compromise on the filibuster. This is good for Democrats and Republicans. Why? Because everyone is in the minority sometimes. You can’t eliminate the filibuster only when it is convenient. For example, Bush wants to ban stem cell research to a greater or lesser degree, [...]

If you’re like me, you might’ve been wondering what the Bush Administration intends to do with all of the detainees in Guantanamo Bay, who have access neither to the civil or military court system. Well, they finally have an answer: lifetime detainment. The Department of Defense has asked for $25M to build a [...]

The AP is reporting that a toy store owner in Oregon was approached by the Department of Homeland Security to remove a Rubik’s Cube clone that allegedly infringed that patent. The agency claims
“One of the things that our agency’s responsible for doing is protecting the integrity of the economy and our nation’s financial [...]

The AP is reporting that the House of Representatives has passed a bill to forbid federal courts from ruling on cases regarding the inclusion of the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. This is beyond my comprehension for a number of reasons. First, the proponents of the bill talk about "destroying [...]

Remember how I’ve posted about anti-Bush types being thrown out and arrested for protesting at his speeches? Well, it turns out that the Secret Service has found a law to support their case. It’s not looking good for dissenting individuals in the US these days, I’m afraid. As always, Slate has the [...]

Will someone explain to me when it became illegal in the United States to express displeasure with the sitting administration? CNN is reporting that the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq was arrested at a campaign speech by Laura Bush. The woman wanted to ask the First Lady "Why the senators, the legislators, [...]

This is seriously messed up.

The Washington Post has an interesting editorial about the implications of the current government watch lists for much more than just plane travel.

The BBC is reporting that Vice President Cheney has publicly rejected the idea of a federal law banning gay marriage. Cheney, whose own daughter is a lesbian, is publicly contradicting his own administration with this stance.
While this does not really contradict what he has said in the past, he has been notably silent while [...]

This is completely beyond my understanding. Apparently, a 16-year old girl in Iran was charged with "moral corruption," which is a strange euphemism for having been raped. So, just to be clear, she was being charged for having been the victim of rape. In her trial, she was not allowed to have [...]