Seven Billion People: Over-Population or Birth Dearth?
In what was perhaps the biggest global birthday celebration in decades, our planet welcomed its seven billionth person.
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Entries posted on “October, 2011”
Saliva Left on Blood Alcohol Test Mouthpiece as “Abandoned” DNA?
(Orin Kerr) Three weeks ago , I blogged about a Maryland case holding that a defendant had no reasonable expectation of privacy in his DNA left in a chair at the station house. Here’s a related decision: A new California case holding that a defendant “abandoned” his DNA, relinquishing his Fourth Amendment rights, left on a mouthpiece of a blood alcohol test. (Hat tip: FourthAmendment.com ) The case is People v. Thomas , and it involves a burglary suspect. A DNA sample of the burglar was found at the scene of the crime. Although the opinion downplays this, it seems the police were trailing the suspect and waiting for a moment to collect a DNA sample from him to find a match. They got the chance when the police had reason to think the suspect …
From Clarence Thomas to Herman Cain
(John Hinderaker) Politico’s attack on Herman Cain this morning, and subsequent events, have been eerily reminiscent of the Democrats’ ambushing of Clarence Thomas during his confirmation hearing. Has anyone checked to see whether Anita Hill ever worked for the National Restaurant Association? Cain, like Thomas, is defended vigorously by everyone who knows him: “It’s just not Herman,” says Sibby Wolfson, who was Cain’s executive assistant from 1997 through his first campaign for office in 2004, in a phone interview. “He’s got a lovely wife, a lovely family.” Did Wolfson ever see Cain act in a way that could be construed as sexual harassment? “No, God, no,” she says. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing. In fact, I think Herman was careful to act in the opposite way.” … “Never once have I…
Arab Spring: Al-Qaeda Flag Planted Above the Libyan Courthouse in Benghazi (Video)
“Whomever speaks ill of this flag, we will cut out his tongue.” Al-Qaeda Flag Planted On Libyan Courthouse… From the video: According to multiple eyewitnesses – myself included – one can now see both the Libyan rebel flag and the flag of al Qaeda fluttering atop Benghazi’s courthouse. Earlier this week, I went to the Benghazi courthouse and confirmed the rumors: an al Qaeda flag was clearly visible; its Arabic script declaring that “there is no God but Allah” and a full moon underneath. When I tried to take pictures, a Salafi-looking guard, wearing a green camouflage outfit, rushed towards me …
Leftist ProPublica Questions Politico’s Decision to Publish Cain Allegations
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For those who don't know, ProPublica (bold is mine) “is an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. Our work focuses exclusively on truly important stories, stories with 'moral force.' We do this by producing journalism that shines a light on exploitation of the weak by the strong and on the failures of those with power to vindicate the trust placed in them.” It has received predominant funding from the Sandler Foundation (yeah, those Sandlers ; Herbert Sandler is Chairman )…
Cain’s Defense
Herman Cain continued to defend himself against sexual harassment charges in an interview that aired on PBS tonight. Keep reading this post . . .
The Broccoli Slippery Slope vs. the Epidemic Slippery Slope
(Ilya Somin) At Balkinization, Gerard Magliocca raises a possible slippery slope argument against striking down the individual health insurance mandate (this argument was, I think, first raised in an article by Mark Hall ): The most powerful argument against upholding the constitutionality of the individual mandate may be that this will open the door to compulsory broccoli purchases. Many people are unfamiliar with the relevant Commerce Clause cases, but everyone seems to know about the broccoli hypothetical. The hypothetical on the other side of this litigation, though, is just as powerful. Suppose that a dangerous epidemic breaks out that reduces…
Sexual Harassment Thread (Tips & Tricks)
A lot of people tried to get the comedy ball rolling on this general topic but the thread is so contentious (consisting chiefly of people demanding that other people believe things they have no firsthand knowledge about) that the humor…
“Islam Is of the Devil” T-Shirts in Junior High School and High School
(Eugene Volokh) Sapp v. School Board of Alachua County (N.D. Fla. Sept, 30, 2011) , which was just made available on Westlaw today, holds that (1) a public school properly restricted the wearing of “Islam is of the Devil” T-shirts because they led to substantial disruption, and (2) the school’s broader policy banning “clothing or accessories that … denigrate or promote discrimination for or against an individual or group on the basis of age, color, disability, national origin, sexual orientation, race, religion, or gender” was constitutional. Decision 1 strikes me as correct, given Tinker v. Des Moines Indep. Comm. School Dist. (1969) , which allows speech in K-12 schools to be restricted if it seems likely to cause substantial disruption. To be sure, this allows a “heckler’s veto” that wouldn’t be allowed outside K…
“Islam of the Devil” T-Shirts in Junior High School and High School
(Eugene Volokh) Sapp v. School Board of Alachua County (N.D. Fla. Sept, 30, 2011) , which was just made available on Westlaw today, holds that (1) a public school properly restricted the wearing of “Islam of the Devil” T-shirts because they led to substantial disruption, and (2) the school’s broader policy banning “clothing or accessories that … denigrate or promote discrimination for or against an individual or group on the basis of age, color, disability, national origin, sexual orientation, race, religion, or gender” was constitutional. Decision 1 strikes me as correct, given Tinker v. Des Moines Indep. Comm. School Dist. (1969) , which allows speech in K-12 schools to be restricted if it seems likely to cause substantial disruption. To be sure, this allows a “heckler’s veto” that…
The First Amendment and the Government as K-12 Educator
(Eugene Volokh) Since First Amendment controversies involving the government as K-12 educator often come up on the blog, I thought I’d summarize the Supreme Court’s precedents on the subject: 1. The government acting as K-12 educator (i.e., kindergarten through 12th grade) may restrict peech if it a. “materially and substantially interfere[s] with the requirements of appropriate discipline in the operation of the school,” Tinker v. Des Moines School Dist. (1969), or b. “inva[des] … the rights of others,” id. (query what rights these are — the Court has never discussed this, and the majority and Justice Alito’s concurrence in Morse v. Frederick (2007) described Tinker by reciting only the disruption prong), or …
Oh Dear Lord: "The View" Looking To Host a Republican Debate
Well, Huntsman might show up at least. A spokesman for “The View” confirmed that requests have been sent to Republican campaigns but declined to speak further about any interest so far. The debate would take place during the show’s 11…
‘Witch Hunt’
Over on the home page, my day with Herman Cain .
A Good Move For The Palestinians?
Today UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) voted to admit “Palestine” as a member. Consequently, the US pulled its funding of the organization (about 22% of their total budget). I have to admit, I am of mixed feelings on the matter. On the one hand, the Palestinians have done nothing to make
Re Re: On Our Backs, Ourselves
Ramesh , I wasn’t saying that the simple observation that the poor (defined, apparently, as nearly half the tax-filing population) already pay “payroll” taxes was boilerplate blather. Rather, it’s blather to say that because they pay into the Ponzi Scheme they should therefore be exempt from federal income taxes. The two issues — Congress’s power to tax under the 16th Amendment, and the New Deal “retirement” monstrosity — are conceptually unrelated. Unless one wants them to be. I’ve noticed in some of the comments that the ol’ whipsaw is already in …
DOJ Official Regrets Not Connecting Bush-Era Gun Walking Tactics To Fast And Furious Concerns
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A top Justice Department official said Monday that he regretted not informing others in DOJ’s leadership about a Bush-era operation that used the flawed “gun walking” tactic like the technique used in Operation Fast and Furious . Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, who heads DOJ’s Criminal Division, said in a statement released by DOJ that he first learned of “unacceptable tactics used in Operation Wide Receiver” in April 2010. He instructed one of his deputies to schedule a meeting with ATF’s Acting Director Ken Melson to bring the issue to his attention. “When the allegations related to Operation Fast and Furious became public earlier this year…
Cain Timeline (Work in Progress)
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I’m trying to put together a Herman Cain harassment timeline. This is a work in progress because I’m having a hard time keep track of it all. So bear with me. 1. Politico allegations are false. Story is crap. 2. Yes, there were allegations. But they were false. 3. Yes there were allegations that were false and I don’t know what money was paid. 4. I don’t know whether money was paid. And it would be wrong for me to find out whether money was paid because it’s confidential. 5. There was a in-depth investigation. And I was cleared. But I don’t know anything about it. 6. Here’s the gesture that led to my getting accused of harassment. 7. Okay, I remember some discussion of a settlement number. This baby is enough of a moving target I think …
Costa on Kudlow
Tonight at 7 p.m. (Eastern) on CNBC discussing Herman Cain.
DOJ Files Suit Against South Carolina Immigration Law, Says Others Could Come Soon
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The Justice Department filed suit on Monday to block South Carolina’s immigration law, saying that the law interfered with the federal government’s supremacy on the issue of immigration. South Carolina’s statute, enacted by the state on June 27, criminalizes the presence of an illegal immigrant in the state. DOJ’s complaint says that the Constitution and federal law “do not permit the development of a patchwork of state and local immigration policies throughout the country.” South Carolina’s law, DOJ officials claimed, “clearly conflicts with the policies and priorities adopted by the federal government and therefore cannot stand…
Unsettling
I am no fan of 9-9-9 and not particularly of Herman Cain, but his present woes say more about us than him. Nobody other than the participants knows what went on in his “encounters” with these complainants, and the entire episode is a cautionary tale in the perils of the odious and far too widespread practice of “settling”. But honestly : There were also descriptions of physical gestures that were not overtly sexual but that made women who experienced or witnessed them uncomfortable. Keep reading this post . . .