From TPM: In expressing his deep skepticism Wednesday for the constitutionality of a centerpiece of the Voting Rights Act, Justice Antonin Scalia questioned the motivations of Congress for repeatedly reauthorizing it since it was initially passed in 1965. “I don’t think there is anything to be gained by any Senator to vote against continuation of this act,” Scalia said during oral arguments in Shelby … Read More
Quote Of The Day
During U.S. Supreme Court oral argument on the constitutionality of a key section of the Voting Rights Act this morning, several justices expressed extreme hostility to the civil rights statute, according to early reports from the courthouse. Justice Antonin Scalia called it “perpetuation of racial entitlement.” That's right. Why should black people be entitled to vote, and why perpatuate it? … Read More
The Memo
NBC got a hold of a white paper which provides the legal justification for assassination of an American not on American soil, without the constitutional protections of due process. You can read the original here (as a PDF), or read the wiki transcription. The nub of the white paper is this: [t]he Department of Justice concludes only that where the following three conditions … Read More
How Crazy Is The Gun-Crazy Right?
Pretty crazy. After all, how fringe do you have to be to criticize Justice Scalia's views on gun control? Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, said Sunday that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was wrong to assume that the government had the right to place limits on the Second Amendment. "He was not speaking from a constitutional perspective," Pratt … Read More
“Gun Rights” Doesn’t Mean That Guns Have Rights
Thanks to the Second Amendment and some recent (bad) Supreme Court decisions, it is the state of the law that gun ownership is a constitutionally-protected right (albeit with some as-yet-defined limitations). But some NRA members don't get that: Todd Rathner, an Arizona lobbyist and national board member of the National Rifle Association, has threatened to sue over the city of … Read More
Over-reactions From The Excitable Right
UPDATE from Wonkette: Now that poors can get health insurance because the demon Supreme Court sided with that commie muslin NOBAMA fella, the only way to defend our freedom is armed insurrection! Mount up and ride to the sound of the gun says former Michigan Republican Party spokesman Matthew Davis. Matthew Davis, an attorney in Lansing, sent the email moments after the … Read More
Live Blogging The Supreme Court Healthcare Decision
9:46 am: Here is the question before the court, in plain English: Does it violate the Constitution for Congress to require virtually all Americans to obtain health insurance by 2014 or pay a penalty? If the Court's answer is yes, then it has to decide whether just the requirement — the so-called "individual mandate" — is invalid, or whether part … Read More
School Did Not Violate Anti-Gay Counselor’s Rights When They Fired Her
A federal judge in Georgia has ruled that Jennifer Keeton’s constitutional rights were not violated when Augusta State University expelled her from its counseling program for her unwillingness to abide by its professional ethics. Keeton insisted that homosexuality is an “immoral personal choice” and refused to affirm a gay client’s behavior as “right or healthy.” The 11th Circuit previously dismissed Keeton’s appeal for a preliminary injunction, … Read More
Where Have You Gone, JPS?
Even though he retired from the bench, former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, 92, is still giving it good. He's an outspoken critic of Citizens United, saying yesterday: "If the First Amendment does not protect the right of a graduate of Harvard Law School to spend his own money to support the candidate of his choice simply because his … Read More
Yes On Amendment One Still Ahead, But Weaker
A new Public Policy Polling poll shows that support for North Carolina’s discriminatory Amendment One continues to fall, standing now at 54 percent down from 58 percent a month ago. Opposition is also at its highest at 40 percent, but many voters are still confused about just what the Amendment does, with 10 percent believing it actually legalizes same-sex marriage instead of banning all … Read More
Newt Gingrich Speaks Out For Amendment One
Transcript: Blah blah blah Saul Alinsky blah blah blah Preamble to the Declaration of Independence says the Creator hates gay people blah blah blah guns are great for defending the home blah blah blah blah blah Marriage between a man and a woman is at the heart of our civilization. It’s a belief that is now under attack, yet it’s … Read More
Obama Needs More Backbone
Obama is in North Carolina again today. He's speaking at UNC to talk about college loans…. But President Obama is not expected to touch the subject when he appears in Chapel Hill on Tuesday — even though it is roiling the electorate there…. His delicate sidestep of Amendment One, a ballot initiative to be decided May 8 that would recognize marriage between a man … Read More
The Future Is Here, Rose
From today's Letters To The Editor of the Winston-Salem Journal (emphasis added): The civil-rights argument for gay marriage is a smokescreen ("Same-sex marriage a civil-rights issue, Barber says," April 18). Gay marriage has nothing whatsoever to do with civil rights. Does anyone really believe if the "marriage amendment" is defeated on May 8, we will not soon see gay marriage … Read More
The Obama “Gaffe”
Here's what Obama said: MR. SINGLETON: Mr. President, you said yesterday that it would be unprecedented for a Supreme Court to overturn laws passed by an elected Congress. But that is exactly what the Court has done during its entire existence. If the Court were to overturn individual mandate, what would you do, or propose to do, for the 30 … Read More
A 15-Year-Old Interviews Church Members About Amendment One
More like this please: This is from 15-year-old, Carter Smith, interviewing people in his (her – Sorry, Dad) church. We need to get on the air with commercials featuring the voices of people who oppose Amendment One. They are needed to educate voters about the harms and impact of the amendment — and the latest PPP poll suggests many voters do not … Read More