Global Spin

Finally some good news! A federal judge ruled Thursday that the government’s warrantless wiretapping program is unconstitutional and ordered an immediate halt to it. U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in Detroit became the first judge to strike down the National Security Agency’s program, which she says violates the rights to free speech and privacy. [...]

Posted by Chris in Crime, Government, Law on August 17th, 2006 | Comments Off

I’ve been trying to come up with a decent summary of why this article on the release of a “suspected terrorist” five years after his arrest depresses me, but I can’t seem to get beyond the obvious “Sixth Amendment in tatters” or hand-wringing “what are we doing here?” arguments. What really gets me is how [...]

Posted by Chris in Crime, Law on August 15th, 2006 | 2 Comments »

Faced with human rights scandals, trillion-dollar deficits, rampant corruption, and a rising death toll, our Senate finally decided to do something: They declared English the national language of the United States. Or maybe the common language. Something like that. Sigh. What exactly does this get anyone? Nothing.  Then again, what harm could it do?  Plenty, [...]

Posted by Chris in Government, Language, Law, Politics, You have got to be kidding on May 19th, 2006 | 2 Comments »

A group of Georgetown law students responded to a shill session by Alberto Gonzales in the best way possible: “they turned their backs on him”:http://insomnia.livejournal.com/652389.html. The protest is being downplayed by some media outlets, but it warranted a mention in the “Washington Post”:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/24/AR2006012401593.html: bq. Gonzales’s appearance, which was part of a three-day White House campaign [...]

Posted by Chris in Law on January 25th, 2006 | Comments Off

Nicely done, South Africa! Their highest court just “ruled that same-sex marriages have the same rights as opposite-sex marriages”:http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/02/international/africa/02joburg.html?hp. It might get overruled by the legislature, but that’s not considered likely.

Posted by Chris in Law on December 2nd, 2005 | 4 Comments »