The Washington Post is reporting that House leaders have decided to not use the “deem and pass” rule suggested by House Rules Chair Louise Slaughter. Also, I’ve come across indications that Republicans have used the Slaughter Rule, or a similar… Continue Reading
Marco Randazza at Legal Satyricon linked to my analysis of the Ninth Circuit’s recent decision in Newdow v. Rio Linda USD. A commenter there named “Alan,” however, takes issue with not only my prohibition against anonymous commenters (for reasons which… Continue Reading
Yesterday we talked about President John Adams, Founding Father and Patriot. President Adams showed us that sometimes even the best leaders are tempted to interfere with the liberties the Constitution recognizes. President Adams signed laws called the Alien and Sedition… Continue Reading
I’ve been doing a lot of reading and re-reading of the case of Newdow v. Rio Linda Unified School District, the most recent Pledge of Allegiance case from the Ninth Circuit. It is easily the longest opinion I’ve ever read… Continue Reading
Apparently unable to muster the votes to actually pass the Senate healthcare reform bill (and Speaker Pelosi and President Obama have reason to be not so confident), so that it can then be amended by way of reconciliation and thus… Continue Reading
Why, exactly, do we have a bicameral legislature? Oh, sure, I know it’s in the Constitution. But why did the Framers want a bicameral Congress? Nebraska seems to do just fine with a unicameral state legislature. England and the UK… Continue Reading
Dale Haferty teaches shop class in the small town of Guthrie Center, Iowa. He self-identifies as a Christian, likely as his father also was. One of his students is a practicing Wiccan, as his father also is. (Thus we see… Continue Reading
There is a fourteen-day limit on the Miranda rule. You didn’t know that? Neither did I, and neither did anyone else, not until this new interpretation of the case interpreting the Fifth Amendment got handed down with this fine piece… Continue Reading
Assemblywoman Diane Harkey (a Republican, representing southern Orange County) joins Democratic Attorney General and likely Gubernatorial nominee Jerry Brown in saying that the state is “bankrupt.” Which is about right — we’re missing a quarter of our anticipated state budget and… Continue Reading
OPEN SCENE: Southaven, Mississippi. An AGNOSTIC and the MAYOR are debating. A: Hey, when I go to court, I notice that the seats in the gallery are church pews! Complete with crosses engraved in the side! That makes me feel… Continue Reading