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January 5, 2011 6:08 pm | By Miranda Blue
The Tea Party’s Constitution
The new House GOP majority is planning to read the entire Constitution aloud on the House floor tomorrow. We can’t argue with that—our elected representatives can always use a brush-up on what’s in the document. But what’s troubling about the…
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January 4, 2011 9:28 pm | By Paul Gordon
Deferred Decision in Prop 8 Case
Earlier today, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion in the Proposition 8 case, unanimously concluding that they do not have enough information to decide if the Proposition 8 proponents…
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January 4, 2011 7:44 pm | By Paul Gordon
DC Voting Rights: First Test for Newly Elected Tea Partiers
Many of the new members of Congress campaigned under the Tea Party banner, loudly warning their future constituents about the grave dangers of tyranny.As one of the very first acts they will take as members of Congress, they will be…
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January 4, 2011 3:22 pm | By Jen Herrick
Imminent attack on the DC Delegate’s vote in the Committee of the Whole House
Today, the DC Delegate has a vote in the Committee of the Whole House.Tomorrow, this partial right to vote – the only direct representation DC has had on the House floor in its entire history – will likely be revoked…
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January 4, 2011 1:16 am | By Paul Gordon
Justice Scalia and Sex Discrimination
Justice Antonin Scalia is in the news again, having pronounced yet again that the United States Constitution does not prohibit the government from discriminating against women. The Huffington Post reports on a newly-published interview with the legal magazine California Lawyer:…
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January 3, 2011 5:33 pm | By Miranda Blue
Chief Justice Roberts Urges Senate to Confirm Judicial Nominees
Chief Justice John Roberts called on Friday for Senate Republicans to stop playing politics with judicial nominees. Referring to “the persistent problem of judicial vacancies,” Roberts urged the president and the Senate to find a way to fill the growing…
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December 28, 2010 8:50 pm | By Miranda Blue
2008’s Court
David Savage of the Los Angeles Times and Adam Liptak of the New York Times both examined this week how president Obama’s two Supreme Court picks are changing the dynamic of the high court. “Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan,” writes…
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December 22, 2010 10:02 pm | By Miranda Blue
When Even the Right-Wing Media Stands Up to the GOP
Republicans in Congress have finally backed down and have stopped blocking a bill to provide health care to 9/11 first responders. It seems that one factor in the GOP’s giving in on the bill is that the right-wing media for…
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December 22, 2010 6:58 pm | By Marge Baker
Witnessing History: the President Signs Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal
Earlier this morning I had the privilege of attending the signing ceremony for the bill repealing the infamous Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell military service policy. It was an incredibly moving experience. This is a watershed moment for the cause of…
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December 22, 2010 4:43 pm | By Miranda Blue
Sessions Puts His Lab Coat Back On
Back in September, we wrote about Sen. Jeff Sessions’ discovery of what he called the “ACLU chromosome”—according to the senator, a common genetic defect that disqualifies bearers from the federal judiciary. Well, Dr. Sessions is back at it. TPM has…
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December 22, 2010 4:22 pm | By Brian
Arlen Specter Denounces Roberts Court, Republican Obstructionism
In his farewell speech, US Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania called on Congress to move quickly to counter the burgeoning right-wing extremism of the Roberts Court and the Republican caucus. Specter, who was first elected to the US Senate in…
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December 22, 2010 12:17 am | By Jen Herrick
Speaker Pelosi sends DADT repeal to President Obama
People For the American Way attended today’s enrollment ceremony for the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal bill. Representatives and Senators stood alongside those discharged under this discriminatory policy to formally send the bill to President Obama for his signing. Each…
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December 22, 2010 12:03 am | By Paul Gordon
Haley Barbour’s Whitewash of History
Mississippi governor and potential presidential candidate Haley Barbour is now trying to backtrack his previous support for the racist White Citizens Councils that existed in the state when he was young.In a recent interview with the Weekly Standard, he made…
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December 21, 2010 11:15 pm | By Jen Herrick
White House staff: It gets better
In recent months I’ve written about various contributions to the It Gets Better Project. Dan and Terry. Ellen DeGeneres. President Obama. Secretary Clinton. Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice. Yesterday brought a video from White House staff members.The…
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December 20, 2010 9:30 pm | By Paul Gordon
NY Times Analyzes the Corporate Court
As the latest example of the evolving media narrative of the Roberts Court, Sunday's New York Times had an extensive article accurately titled "Justices Offer Receptive Ear to Business Interests." The Times article discusses the successful long-term efforts of the…
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December 20, 2010 4:24 pm | By Brian
Scalia Asked to Withdraw from Speaking to Bachmann’s Far-Right Caucus
As first reported by Right Wing Watch, Justice Antonin Scalia is set to lecture about the Constitution for the opening class of Rep. Michele Bachmann’s new Constitutional Conservative Caucus. Bachmann, a favorite of Tea Party and Religious Right groups alike,…
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December 18, 2010 8:44 pm | By Paul Gordon
Progress in Maryland Voter Suppression Investigation
There has been a development in investigating one of the Election Day efforts to suppress the Democratic vote. On Election Day, Maryland Democrats received telephone calls late on Election Day telling them that Democratic Governor Martin O'Malley had won reelection,…
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December 16, 2010 10:46 pm | By Jen Herrick
House debate: Murphy, Green, and Lewis on DADT repeal
There were many strong speeches during the House debate on repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Part 1. Part 2. I wanted to share three highlights with you now. Representative Patrick Murphy (D-PA8) is the lead sponsor of the Don't Ask,…
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December 16, 2010 10:40 pm | By Paul Gordon
The Conservative Assault on the Constitution
Last week, SCOTUSBlog had a podcast interview with legal scholar Erwin Chemerinsky, discussing his new book The Conservative Assault on the Constitution. The blog has asked Chemerinsky some follow-up questions, and his responses are worth reading.For instance, he discusses the…
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December 16, 2010 10:28 pm | By Miranda Blue
Artist Requests that his Work be Pulled from Censored Smithsonian Exhibit
The Stranger reports that AA Bronson, an artist whose work is featured in the National Portrait Gallery’s “Hide/Seek” exhibition has asked that his work be removed from the exhibit after the censoring of a video that the Religious Right was…