How much is a human life worth?
I’m reminded of that question again, because of this case out of Pasadena, TX (a relatively poor suburb of Houston). Here’s what happened:

The Supreme Court of the United States today struck down a Washington, DC ban on all handguns. I can’t say it’s one of the worst Supreme Court decisions ever, but it’s surely a bad one–both in content and in language. First, the amendment in question:
“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security [...]

I haven’t ever thought of this before, but it kind of makes sense: a federal appeals court just ruled that it is discriminatory against the blind for the United States government to produce paper currency that is completely indistinguishable for those with poor or no eyesight. Admittedly, this is a small problem in the [...]

I am certainly against the “marriage” amendment to the Constitution, and I have some serious qualms with the anti-abortion amendments that get proposed. But the constitution does need to be amended. I believe that the second amendment ought to be rescinded, and that the gray area between presidential and congressional war powers ought [...]

Michigan’s primary is today, as you may have heard. As you may have also heard, neither Barack Obama nor John Edwards appear on the Michigan ballot, and no Democrat has campaigned at all there. Neither has any Democrat campaigned in Florida, which holds their primaries in a couple weeks. The Democratic Party, [...]

In his press conference this afternoon, President Bush attacked Congress for not moving faster on the nomination of Judge Michael Mukasey for Attorney General. In a baffling statement, President Bush reportedly said that it was improper for Congress to ask the nominee how he feels about interrogation methods on which the nominee has not [...]

A federal district court ruled yesterday that the city of Hazelton, PA has no right to pass anti-illegal immigration ordinances.  At issue were two laws.  One would have fined landlords who did not require proof of citizenship or visa when renting to immigrants.  The other made English the official language of the city, even to [...]

One of the great ironies of the Scooter Libby trial was that the same conservatives who have for years fought for high mandatory minimum sentences–and against allowing judicial discretion to reduce those sentences–ended up complaining that the sentence given to Mr. Libby based on those sentencing guidelines was too harsh.  Now we have the second [...]

Michael Vick was recently indicted for a dog-fighting ring operating in a house that he owned. In response PETA and the Humane Society are trying to get his endorsement deals cut. Now, an indictment merely means that a person has been charged with a crime.
One would think with the aftermath of the [...]

President Bush’s notion of executive privilege is completely bogus. This isn’t surprising. The problem, however, is that President Bush will likely be on his way out the door by the time the courts really have a chance to rule on any of these issues. The president only has eighteen months in office, [...]