Despite her apparent corruptibility, at least Jane Harman had the cojones to object to torture when she learned about it in 2003. Nancy Pelosi and her aides cannot make the same claim. Instead, they were worried about observing “legislative formalities”… Continue Reading
The Star Trek reboot movie is a fun ride and of course you should go see it. Non-science fiction fans will enjoy it because it is centered on character development at least as much as on its space-cowboy storyline. Science… Continue Reading
So last week I drove up to Stinking Bakersfield and, as is my custom, I stopped at a fruit stand on the way back to get some fresh produce so as to salvage some value for the time spent on… Continue Reading
Working in the legal industry often exposes me to situations where I am listening to a client convey a tale of woe and suffering, one in which everybody involved (except my interlocutor) has gone out of their way to be… Continue Reading
In all the years I’ve lived in this part of California, I don’t think I’ve ever smelled or seen a skunk out on the desert floor. Up in the mountains, I’ve smelled skunks but I don’t know if I’ve ever… Continue Reading
The thing that got me interested in the separation of church and state project was the apparent dichotomy between two Establishment Clause cases in 2005 — Van Orden v. Perry and McCreary County v. ACLU. In both cases, a display… Continue Reading
Since when was it good news when 539,000 jobs were lost in one month? Since September, that’s when. The U.S. Department of Labor had projected a 620,000 job loss rate for April. But it’s still 8.9% unemployment and even if… Continue Reading
Dick Cheney at least has the intellectual honesty to say, “Yeah, I knew about torture, and I’m glad we did it.” Not that I excuse that — it’s a morally reprehensible position. Nancy Pelosi, though, was briefed about the torture… Continue Reading
What. The. Hell. I check the news before leaving the office to have some drinks with some of the other lawyers and our friends. The big story is all about how Tom Ridge isn’t going to run for Senate in… Continue Reading
The Dodgers are off to a superb start. They often start strong, but this is different. They’ve been absolutely dominating. They’re 21-8, far and away the best record in baseball, and they’ve broken the record for most consecutive home wins… Continue Reading