Category Archives: Law
Gay Marriage Goes Viral
Supreme Court swingman, Justice Anthony Kennedy, wrote the majority opinion overturning the Defense of Marriage Act. After writing that the issue of gay marriage should be left to the states he described its opponents as bigots. Here’s Rich Lowry in Politico:
The majority held that DOMA inflicts an “injury and indignity” on gay couples so severe that it denies “an essential part of the liberty protected by the Fifth Amendment.” It is motivated by a “‘bare congressional desire to harm a politically unpopular group.’” There is, in short, nothing to be said for it or the point of view of its supporters. Period. Full stop.
Those bigots would include Bill Clinton, who signed DOMA into law (but, newly enlightened, is glad to see it go), Barack Obama (until he changed his mind “the day before yesterday”), “342 members of the House, and 85 Senators”. Actually, most members of the human race were on board with the bigots until millions changed their minds – the day before yesterday .
DNA Patent
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that natural human DNA cannot be patented. On the other hand, the court says you can patent unnatural manmade genetic material. When the patent runs out will there be generic genetic material?
Co-Conspirator
Eric Holder signed off on a warrant calling Fox News reporter James Rosen a co-conspirator even though he doesn’t think he is one and has no intention of prosecuting him. In an interview with NBC’s Pete Williams Holder bemoaned the fact that, despite his “great respect for the press”, it’s necessary to brand a reporter, “doing his very important job”, as a criminal in order to get a warrant against him. So, why did he want a warrant against such a swell guy?
Holder also says he has no intention of stepping down.
Data Mine
Ever get creeped out when you’re researching patio chair slings and the next time you log on to your favorite site there is an ad for patio chair slings? We’re used to having our minds mined by the likes of Google and Facebook. So I guess we shouldn’t mind when the government does it to keep an eye on terrorists. The NSA would never abuse its power like the IRS or the DOJ, right? Trust us.
Police State
Poor Eric Holder. He might have saved himself a lot of trouble by simply looking up reporter James Rosen’s phone records among the records of all Verizon customers collected by the NSA, as reported in The Guardian.
That action occurred under a FISA court order and was an expansion of phone surveillance of suspected foreign terrorists which began under the Bush administration Patriot Act.
Catherine Herridge at Fox News reports that, in March, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper denied that NSA intentionally collects data on millions of Americans.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that police may take DNA samples from anyone they arrest. Here’s a piece by Jeffery (the other) Rosen about Scalia’s dissent in favor of the fourth amendment.
Update: It’s not just your phone calls anymore. This morning’s Washington Post reports that the government mines your internet data too.
