To the body politic in a near-coma, Justices send a message that will take days to decipher and deconstruct, but the Hallmark version is a 5-4 get-well card for the health care law, surprisingly signed by John Roberts, who in six years has never before joined his liberal colleagues on a major issue. “The Court does not express any opinion on the wisdom of the Affordable Care … [Read more...] about The Supreme Court’s Get-Well Card
Elephants Never Forget
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U.S. Health Reform: Another ‘Moral Victory’ for Obama (Le Temps, Switzerland)
The Supreme Court's hugely surprising decision on the Affordable Care Act, aka/Obamacare, is being greeted in much of Europe as an embrace of common sense. For Switzerland's Le Temps, columnist Stephane Bussard writes that the decision is not only a 'courageous decision' by a 'discredited' U.S. Supreme Court, it is a testament to President Obama's commitment to get the job … [Read more...] about U.S. Health Reform: Another ‘Moral Victory’ for Obama (Le Temps, Switzerland)
Holder and Contempt of Congress
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Glenn Beck Selling Anti-Roberts “Coward” T-Shirt
Mediaite reports that former Fox News star talker and current conservative web and talk radio star Glenn Beck was furious over the Supreme Court decision on health care reform. He called George W. Bush (get ready for this now, Mr. Bush, this will be brutal)...a "progressive" and is now selling this John Roberts themed t-shirt on his website. It gives us this screen … [Read more...] about Glenn Beck Selling Anti-Roberts “Coward” T-Shirt
Stockton Files Bankruptcy
Stockton, California has officially filed Chapter 9 bankruptcy, becoming the largest city ever to file (though Orange County was larger, it is not a city). So far not a lot of details yet but updates will follow as information emerges. … [Read more...] about Stockton Files Bankruptcy
How to Keep Your Balance When There’s No Place to Stand and Nothing to Hold On To
[This is the 5th in the series Religion and Science: A Beautiful Friendship] Know you what it is to be a child? … it is to believe in belief…. – Francis Thompson, 19th c. British poet We don’t forget our first ah-ha experience any more than we forget our first kiss. The difference is we have some idea of what to expect from a kiss, but we don’t know what to make of an … [Read more...] about How to Keep Your Balance When There’s No Place to Stand and Nothing to Hold On To
Healthcare Ruling and Holder Contempt Offers Contrasts in Process
By Scott Crass twitter.com/crasspolitical You don’t find too many days like this in Washington DC. I’m not referring to the heat. That’s common for this time of year. What I am talking about are two occurrences of historic, indelible proportions. The first was the long-awaited Supreme Court decision on the Constitutionality of the Affordable Healthcare Act -- also known as … [Read more...] about Healthcare Ruling and Holder Contempt Offers Contrasts in Process
Why Did Justice Roberts Do It? The Silver Lining
Lots of back and forth today on why Justice Roberts did what he did. I think Charles Krauthammer has it right: National health care has been a liberal dream for a hundred years. It is clearly the most significant piece of social legislation in decades. Roberts’s concern was that the court do everything it could to avoid being seen, rightly or wrongly, as high-handedly … [Read more...] about Why Did Justice Roberts Do It? The Silver Lining
A Very Hollow Victory
Chief Justice John Roberts gave his approval to the ACA. Don't fool yourself - it may look like a victory for the Democrats and Obama but it's a very hollow one at best. For starters Roberts gutted the Commerce Clause. It will be far more dificult to use it for social engineering in the future. The worse part though is it just became much less likely that the Democrats … [Read more...] about A Very Hollow Victory
Rand Paul And Respect For The Rule Of Law
The quote from Senator Rand Paul speaks for itself. “Just because a couple people on the Supreme Court declare something to be ‘constitutional’ does not make it so. The whole thing [ACA] remains unconstitutional... While the court may have erroneously come to the conclusion that the law is allowable, it certainly does nothing to make this mandate or government takeover of … [Read more...] about Rand Paul And Respect For The Rule Of Law
A Win for Obama — and Roberts
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court's decision upholding the health care law is not only a huge victory for President Obama but also a moment of leadership for Chief Justice John Roberts. The court's mixed verdict could create problems, notably in its weakening of the law's Medicaid provisions in the name of states' rights. While the impact of this part of the ruling is not fully … [Read more...] about A Win for Obama — and Roberts
(Im)Proper Constitutionalism: Roberts’ Revenge?
Now that the original frenzy over the ACA ruling has died done (a little), folks are starting to dig a little deeper into the opinions (particularly Roberts') to figure out what it means for the next case (incidentally, you can read the opinions here). Chief Justice Roberts' formulation is that the individual mandate does not lie within Congress' commerce clause power (nor the … [Read more...] about (Im)Proper Constitutionalism: Roberts’ Revenge?
Obama Health Plan Bites
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Liberals Need Not Serve Crow
While certainly the Supreme Court ruling today was a victory for the Obama administration and supporters of the Affordable Care Act, conservatives need not eat crow and the left should not be saying "I told you so". There are a couple of reasons for this. One has to do with some of the hidden or largely ignored inner aspects of the ruling, and I will be discussing that in … [Read more...] about Liberals Need Not Serve Crow
The Bigger Picture
WASHINGTON -- The political impact of Thursday's stunning Supreme Court decision on health care reform is clear -- good for President Obama and the Democrats, bad for Mitt Romney and the Republicans -- but fleeting, and thus secondary. Much more important is what the ruling means in the long term for the physical and moral health of the nation. All but lost in the … [Read more...] about The Bigger Picture
CNN and FOX News Collide in SCOTUS Train Wreck
WASHINGTON - Pete Williams led MSNBC's coverage, bringing in SCOTUSBLOG for full analysis, giving new media the starring role in today's historic Obamacare ruling. Meanwhile, CNN and Fox News vied for the first to break the news, but instead not only got beat by SCOTUSBLOG, but had an embarrassing collision with both networks blowing the call completely. Howard Kurtz of the … [Read more...] about CNN and FOX News Collide in SCOTUS Train Wreck
Why Roberts Why?
That must be the question conservatives are asking themselves today. After all, the prevailing wisdom (one I signed onto) was that this was a 5-4 decision one way or the other, with Kennedy holding the swing vote. Now, I thought maybe if Justice Kennedy bit, Roberts might come along -- both to keep the decision from being yet another 5-4 ruling and to keep the opinion for … [Read more...] about Why Roberts Why?
Health Care Going Forward
Now that the Supreme Court has upheld most of Affordable Care Act under the power of Congress to tax rather than the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, where does health care go from here? Assuming that the Republicans don’t repeal the ACA in the future, people with pre-existing conditions will be able to get coverage from insurance companies at prices comparable to those … [Read more...] about Health Care Going Forward
Chief Justice Spotted Carousing With Liberals
In the span of a week Chief Justice John Roberts has twice been seen frequenting liberal hot spots. First, he jumped ship from the USS Conservative to eviscerate Arizona’s SB 1070 immigration law. By the time he and his liberal comrades were finished the only thing left of 1070 was a toothless and unenforceable right to check provision. ICE didn’t have to, and wouldn’t, … [Read more...] about Chief Justice Spotted Carousing With Liberals