Are consumers and employees getting a fair shake from the courts when they institute legal challenges against corporations? Many legal scholars would say no, arguing that the justice system has become skewed in favor of corporate interests and that the average American cannot expect to get a fair hearing from the court system when fighting corporate adversaries. This disparity … [Read more...] about Corporations and the Courts
The BBC and science reporting: avoid “false balance”
[icopyright one button toolbar] Update 2: 10:55 am Pacific, 8 July 2014 BBC admonished for giving climate change deniers equal air time BBC staff told to stop inviting cranks on to science programmes Stop Giving Airtime to Crackpots BBC to Censor Scientists that Question Global Warming BBC's "Crank-less" Science Policies May Lead To Censorship BBC strives for … [Read more...] about The BBC and science reporting: avoid “false balance”
NSA’s misguided mission
WASHINGTON -- Even those who believe the National Security Agency's vacuum-cleaner surveillance of electronic communications does not trample privacy rights should be troubled by this practical implication: If you try to know everything, you end up knowing nothing. An investigation by The Washington Post, which examined a cache of intelligence reports provided by … [Read more...] about NSA’s misguided mission
Mike Peters Guest Cartoon: Businesses Respond to Hobby Lobby Decision
Businesses Respond to Hobby Lobby Decision by Mike Peters [icopyright one button toolbar] Of related interest: --Hobby Lobby case empowers millions of businesses to sue government, experts say --Why the Hobby Lobby Decision Is a Stunning Setback for Women's Rights --Will Hobby Lobby decision affect business owners who don't want to serve gay weddings in Oregon? --Too … [Read more...] about Mike Peters Guest Cartoon: Businesses Respond to Hobby Lobby Decision
Legislative Measures Needed To Keep Illegal Wild Elephant Trade At Bay
Legislative Measures Needed To Keep Illegal Wild Elephant Trade At Bay … [Read more...] about Legislative Measures Needed To Keep Illegal Wild Elephant Trade At Bay
Cartoon: Gerrymandering
See great cartoons by all the top political cartoonists at http://cagle.com. To license this cartoon for your own site, visit http://politicalcartoons.com … [Read more...] about Cartoon: Gerrymandering
Our progressive Constitution
WASHINGTON -- You cannot talk for very long to a conservative these days without hearing the words "constitutional" and "constitutionalist." Formulations such as "I am a constitutional conservative" or "I am a constitutionalist" are tea party habits, but they are not confined to its ranks. Many kinds of conservatives contend that everything they believe is thoroughly … [Read more...] about Our progressive Constitution
Israel confronts ‘moral crisis’ after burning death of Arab teen
Israel confronts 'moral crisis' after burning death of Arab teen … [Read more...] about Israel confronts ‘moral crisis’ after burning death of Arab teen
Mine Eyes Have Seen the Gory
The slide towards inevitable armed conflict can be seen from far away. I even predicted it a long ways out (See "The Rush-ians Are Coming, The Rush-ians Are Coming" December, 1994). Now, a Federal Judge discusses the fundamental madness of this Supreme Court's 100+ 5-4 majority, The Alter Boys: Remembering Alexander Bickel's passive virtues and the Hobby Lobby cases RGK … [Read more...] about Mine Eyes Have Seen the Gory
Thoughts on Democrats Winning The House And Republicans Winning The Senate
The conventional wisdom is that the Democrats have no chance to take control of the House, and the Senate is up for grabs. Is there any chance for a better outcome? Since winning the presidency, Obama acted quickly to prevent the full fledged depression which George Bush’s economic policies were pushing us towards. Since then we have seen record corporate earnings and stock … [Read more...] about Thoughts on Democrats Winning The House And Republicans Winning The Senate
Conservative Publication Claims Obama To Back Warren Over Clinton
Conservative publications often report on a Bizarro World, fact-free version of the real world. I'm sure readers know about the general outlines of their alternate reality. In conservative publications Barack Obama is a Muslim Socialist born in Kenya, Republicans support limited government, and the generally accepted principles of science and economics do not exist. There are … [Read more...] about Conservative Publication Claims Obama To Back Warren Over Clinton
The Mysteries of ISIL and the ‘American Hand’ (L’Orient Le Jour, Lebanon)
Ironically, the widely held belief that America is manipulating events in the Middle East appears to be making the region's political leaders complacent about the threat posed by ISIS [aka/ISIL]. For Lebanon's L'Orient Le Jour, columnist Scarlett Haddad writes that political authorities in Lebanon, Jordan, and other countries, are so certain that ISIL is a tool of the United … [Read more...] about The Mysteries of ISIL and the ‘American Hand’ (L’Orient Le Jour, Lebanon)
Bundestag’s NSA Investigators Blast Music – Just to be Safe! (Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Germany)
How paranoid are German lawmakers about NSA spying? According to this news item from the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, after news broke that a German intelligence officer was arrested for spying on the Bundestag's NSA Committee of Inquiry, committee chairman Patrick Sensburg took to playng Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto in A Minor during secret sessions. For the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, … [Read more...] about Bundestag’s NSA Investigators Blast Music – Just to be Safe! (Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Germany)
Missouri Baseball Fans Can Sue Mascot for Negligence
[icopyright one button toolbar] Although most media attention focuses on the United States Supreme Court's opinions addressing constitutional issues, the vast majority of law that affects people's day-to-day lives is decided by state courts. Accordingly, this post represents the first in a hopefully extensive category of posts examining interesting, important, or just … [Read more...] about Missouri Baseball Fans Can Sue Mascot for Negligence
6 arrested in burning death of Arab teenager in Israel
6 arrested in burning death of Arab teenager in Israel … [Read more...] about 6 arrested in burning death of Arab teenager in Israel
“Mad Men” Era Swagger Epitomized: Sinatra and Count Basie do “Pennies from Heaven” (VIDEO)
I've met a lot of young people who are fascinated with the era they see depicted on "Mad Men." No song better epitomizes the era than this swaggering 1960s version of Pennies from Heaven by singing legend Frank Sinatra with jazz legend Count Basie and his Orchestra. The genesis was a "historical" album Sinatra did in 1962 with Basie. The two had long admired each other and … [Read more...] about “Mad Men” Era Swagger Epitomized: Sinatra and Count Basie do “Pennies from Heaven” (VIDEO)
SciFi Weekend: The Leftovers; Under The Dome; Community; Arrow; Better Call Saul
Two shows based upon novels about a change to a small town premiered, The Leftovers and the second season of Under the Dome. Both have aspects which are bound to be frustrating to viewers who prefer to see hard science fiction. The Leftovers, based on Tom Perotta' novel, is about a town in upstate New York three years after a rapture-like event in which two percent of the … [Read more...] about SciFi Weekend: The Leftovers; Under The Dome; Community; Arrow; Better Call Saul
Fast Food Dietary Habits Can Be Passed Down In DNA, Hurting Your Kids
Fast Food Dietary Habits Can Be Passed Down In DNA, Hurting Your Kids … [Read more...] about Fast Food Dietary Habits Can Be Passed Down In DNA, Hurting Your Kids
Richard Mellon Scaife’s sins live on…
[icopyright one button toolbar] I doubt there's a truly thoughtful person alive today who mourns the death of one of radical conservatism's supporters -- Richard Mellon Scaife. Focus on that middle name first, because that's the family and the money that made him possible. A radical crank and one of the most vicious political funders, he paid the Republican party to attack … [Read more...] about Richard Mellon Scaife’s sins live on…
Buffer Zones for Hypocrite Justices
Buffer Zones for Hypocrite Justices By Dick Polman If only the women at abortion clinics could get the same deal that the high court justices have arranged for themselves. As you know, all nine members decreed last week that Massachusetts was wrong to carve out a 35-foot buffer zone to protect women from the abuse routinely heaped upon them by anti-abortion protestors. … [Read more...] about Buffer Zones for Hypocrite Justices