Not surprising, though on the brighter side, it’s going to be an accelerated appeal, which, by the peculiar math of federal courts, means that there will be a hearing on December 6.
The stay is not surprising, and neither is the accelerated schedule, so I am not in a position to read any tea leaves.
He has now officially lifted his stay of his ruling that Prop 8 is unconstitutional, but has made effective on August 18, giving the bigots an opportunity to get a stay from the appellate court.
So effective August 18, gays can get married in California.
Unfortunately, we just got money manager, and Corproatocrat Michael Bennet won the primary for Colorado Senate.
He’s bad on policy, and he was a money man who as superintendent, allowed the Denver School District in invest in disastrous interest rate swaps, when he should have known better, and that will be a real vulnerability.
In Connecticut, crotch kicker, and co-conspirator in steroid distribution, Linda McMahon won the GOP Senatorial primary, should make for a fun election.
Also, in the CT Governor’s race, Ned Lamont lost the primary to Dan Malloy, which makes me mildly disappointed, I still appreciate Lamont saving the Democratic Party in 2006 by showing that running against the Iraq war was a winner, but I really have not followed this race too closely.
In Minnesota, Keith Ellison, the only Moslem in the Congress, resoundingly wins renomination, good for the people of Minnesota.
Additionally, Bachmann ran unopposed, so we will have plenty we w the crazy from her as she continues to campaign.
So Barack Obama gets his 2nd Supreme Court Justice through the Senate.
I think that she’ll be depressingly conservative, but I’m a fan of Kagan’s old mentor, Thurgood Marshall as a good place to put the ideological center of the court.
I hope that her lack of judicial record will mean that she is a pleasant surprise, but I would take 2:1 odds against it.
Federal District Court Judge Vaughn Walker has ruled that California’s anti-gay marriage initiative is unconstitutional:
A federal judge in San Francisco struck down California’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage on Wednesday, handing a temporary victory to gay rights advocates in a legal battle that seems all but certain to be settled by the Supreme Court.
Wednesday’s decision is just the latest chapter of what is expected to be a long legal battle over the ban — Proposition 8, which was passed in 2008 with 52 percent of the vote — and proponents were already promising to appeal, confidently predicting that higher courts would be less accommodating to the other side than Vaughn R. Walker, the judge who issued the ruling.
You can be sure of that last bit.
While I cannot speak to the proclivities of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, I know that they are a rather liberal circuit, but that is it, but I am aware of the proclivities of the Supreme Court, and I cannot see this ruling surviving there.
My assesment of the court:
What worries me is that if Roberts has the votes, he will cast the broadest net possible, as he did in the Citizens United and Heller, and so do his level best reinstitute the criminalization of homosexuality, and probably take a big hack at Roe v. Wade.
It’s a good decision, and I support it, but I think that the ratf%$#ers on the Supreme Court will do whatever they can to turn this to evil.
What needs to be done now is to put Scalia on his back heel. He has prejudged the case, and has admitted it in public, so he must recuse himself.
Of course, he won’t, not unless the pressure placed on him forces him to.
We need to go after him the way Scientology went after judges they targeted, though obviously no one should drown his pet dog.
I am saying that it is clear that on numerous occasions, in numerous public events, Antonin Scalia has stated that his mind is made up on gay marriage.
As such any rudimentary understanding of legal ethics mandates that he recuse himself, and that Antonin Scalia does not posses even a rudimentary level of legal ethics, so unless there is a constant drum beat pointing out this fact, he will sit on the case with no intention of reviewing either the facts of the law fairly.
*Proposition 8=H8=Hate, OK?
Courtesy of Wikileaks, which received something on the order of 90,000 US documents about Afghanistan, pretty much the whole of military logs from January 2004 until December 2009, which it then released to the New York Times, der Speigel, and The Guardian, some weeks ago, and has now made publicly available on their site.
Much like the Pentagon Papers, the revelations this far are also generally known:
These are all well known facts, though these have not been presented in US government documents before, which is also much like the Pentagon Papers.
Needless to say, the Obama White House, notwithstanding its promises for more openness has gone full throated in its denunciation of the release of data, saying that the release of the documents could, “could endanger lives and U.S. security,” even though the facts are so well known that even I have blogged about most of them.
There is no danger to any lives or US security, but it does make it more difficult for Barack Obama to prosecute this deepening fiasco, he will see increasing push-back from his own party on this, and this likely seen as a serious political, threat: It is clear that Obama is terrified of being cast as a peacenik in the 2012 elections.
I guess that is no surprise that John Kerry and Harry Reid have given up on climate change legislation.
The only bright side is that it was a pretty sucky bill which would have handed the Vampire Squid* and Their Evil Minions™ a new market mechanism to rape.
If Obama has any balls, and he doesn’t, he will get moving to have the EPA draw up regulations, ones with real teeth make the coal, oil, and gas state Congressmen sweat.
In order to capture legislators hearts and minds on this issue, you need to get them by the balls first.
*Alas, I cannot claim credit for the bon mot describing Goldman Sachs as a, “great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money.” This was coined by the great Matt Taibbi, in his article on the massive criminal conspiracy investment firm, The Great American Bubble Machine.
Dick Cheney just had a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implanted to bypass his failing left ventricle, because his heart was failing.
Because it’s a constant flow device, an impeller that spins at around 9000 RPM, it means that he has no pulse.
It also means that he is in a very, very, bad way health wise.
Realistically, it means that he will either be a heart transplant recipient, or he will be dead by 2011.
I won’t make a prediction on which way that cuts, though my guess is that Dick has been pulling strings to get to the head of the list, but I will predict that when Dick Cheney dies, Barack Obama will be offering an over the top obsequious eulogy calling him a “great American” or somesuch crap within 48 hours of his passing.
Me, I want him to live long enough to die in prison.
Well, Obama has yet another piece of paper that is far less impressive than it appears on which to affix his name.
Not only is it weak tea, but Timothy “Goldman Sach’s Bitch” Geithner will be central to drawing up the regulations that will make real day-to-day effects of this bill.
So I am a “glass half empty,” kind of guy on this.
Specifically, I mean Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston.
Whether or not they get married or not, they are just a couple of kids who had kids way before they should have, and notwithstanding her mother and his soon to be mother-in-law, it’s none of our f%$#ing business.
I wish them the best.
That is all.
Here is a remembrance.
There is a lot that I could say, but, on the theory that it’s classless to speak ill of the dead, let me just add the following:
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Why yes, I am a Boston Red Sox fan, why do you ask?
Or the World Cup?
I don’t know what exazctly is going on, but the issuing of corproate bonds has basically fallen off a cliff in the past few days:
The corporate bond market is in the middle of a slump as the appetite for riskier assets has once again dwindled.
No companies issued corporate debt on Friday — the day before Memorial Day weekend — and only five sold bonds the day after the long weekend, according to Dealogic, a financial analytics firm. The last time that happened on a trading day was Sept. 4, 2009 — the Friday before Labor Day weekend.
While this could be partially attributed to the Memorial Day holiday, the slump in corporate bond sales, coupled with rising prices to insure those bonds against default, could be signs that credit markets are tightening again.
I’m a cynic, so my guess is that the insiders know something, but I am not sure what.
The Israeli Defense Forces have intercepted a convoy of ships intending to run the Israeli blockade on Gaza, and at least 9 deaths have been reported.
Considering that at least one of the passengers in the convoy was a Nobel Peace Prize winner, it looks like this an absolute disaster for Israel, and a victory for the “Free Gaza Movement”.
My first thought is that, on the part of Israel, “It is worse than a crime: it is a mistake,”* because there will be significant negative repercussions for years on Israel’s foreign policy and public diplomacy.
It’s particularly problematic because the ship was Turkish flagged, and many of the passengers and crew were Turkish, which will serve to further worsen relations with the only majority-Islamic nation which has warm diplomatic relations with Israel.
If there is something that people on both sides of the Israel/Palestinian issue can agree on, it is that Benyamin Netanyahu’s fascination with “looking tough” for his personal political advantage has always resulted in serious damage to the interests of Israel.
The “Free Gaza Movement” is not friend of Israel, nor would I expect them to be, and I think that a significant portion of their leadership has little interest in any potential de-escalation. If this were a significant interest of theirs, they would not have refused to bring letters and a package to Giliad Shalit, but realistically, work toward de-escalation is not really a big consideration for any of the 3rd party non-state actors who choose to involve themselves in the politics of this matter. (AIPAC can go Cheney themselves)
Still, I wonder how much the old saying, “luck is a residue of design,”† might figure in the events of this morning in terms of the planning of this convoy.
Certainly, if the report that the boarding party was sent in carrying just pistols and paint ball guns‡ is true, there are any number of people involved in this operation who should be fired by the IDF forthwith.
On a related note, I have had a back and forth on by invitation only Stellar Parthenon BBS, regarding whether the interception itself was illegal, since it took place in international water, and I have concluded that with a formally announced blockade, it probably was.
The interdiction of shipping with armed boarding parties in international waters is routine for both drug smuggling and human trafficking.
Still, it’s a stupid thing, and the deaths are senseless.
*Joseph Fouché
†Branch Rickey
‡And the source (Debka) is a thoroughly unreliable one.
He was invited to speak before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, and politely declined, so now he has been subpoenaed to testify:
When Warren Buffett testifies before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission next Wednesday, it will be because he was subpoenaed. If you don’t know how a subpoena works, this one begins with capital letters, “YOU ARE HEREBY COMMANDED to appear and give testimony.”
As Buffett characterizes it, “This is an offer you can’t refuse.”
………
But ah, it was. Buffett could by then see the likely end of this argument. But he was also determined to stick to his belief that the “private interview,” followed by hearings, would neither be beneficial to anyone nor a good use of his time. So Buffett told Cohen in a phone call that he would not be volunteering to testify — and if that meant a subpoena was in the cards, let it happen.
The subpoena — that command in capital letters — came on May 25. But the continuing, urgent wish of the commission to avoid coercion was contained in an accompanying letter, also dated May 25, that “respectfully” requested Buffett’s testimony at a hearing on June 2 in New York City.
My guess is that the net effect here is that the board won’t get its private interview, and so won’t know what he intends to say until he testifies in public, which might make for some good theater.
On a more salient legal note, now that Buffet has been compelled to testify, he can say anything, and not be held liable for those statements, since it is compelled testimony, which might make it even better theater.
Personally, I think that Buffet should bring the Geico Gecko with him. (Buffet owns Geico)
Cantwell of Washington and Feingold of Wisconsin continued to vote against cloture, but Republicans Olympia J. Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, and as well as Scott Brown of Massachusetts, who voted against cloture yesterday, voted for cloture, and with Harry Reid switching his vote, it means that the debate has been ended on the bill, and it can proceed to a vote.
It’s better than the status quo, but still crappy, which is what Barack Obama would call “post partisan,” I guess.
It’s official, Joe Sestak has defeated Arlen Specter for the Democratic nomination for Senate in Pennsylvania.
Rather refreshingly, Specter is staying relatively classy:
Specter also said he called Sestak to congratulate him and tell him he thinks it’s vital to keep the seat in the Democratic Party.
I don’t expect him to aggressively stump for Sestak, first, he’s an 80 year-old cancer survivor, and second, he lost in large part because of his unpopularity, but I expect a joint press conference in the next few days.
And in the Democratic primary for Senate in Kentucky, Conway beats Mongiardo in a close one, so the good Dem beats the faux (anti-abortion, etc.) Dem.
In the special election in PA-12 to replace Murtha, Mark Critz defeated Tim Burns, which means that the Dems hold on to the seat, but Critz is the a seriously right wing Dem, rather far to the right of Murtha, who he worked for as a staffer.
On the other hand, both Congressional campaign committees dumped a lot of money on this, so it’s a good sign that Critz won, and that it was not particularly close.
It’s still to soon for Arkansas, but right now, it looks like it will be headed to a runoff, because neither Blanche Lincoln nor Bill Halter will get 50% of the vote.
As it stands right now it’s Bill Halter with 42.65%, Blanche Lincoln 43.26%, and DC Morrison with 14.09%, with 53% reporting, which means that Halter or Lincoln would need to get somewhere around 58% of the remaining votes to avoid a runoff, which is not going to happen.
The only question now is who will finish in 1st place.
(on edit)
There will therefore be a runoff on June 8.
They are calling the Republican Senate primary for Rand Paul, the son of tea-party godfather Ron Paul:
Political novice Rand Paul rode support from tea party activists to victory in Kentucky’s Republican Senate primary Tuesday night, delivering a jolt to the GOP establishment and providing fresh evidence of widespread voter discontent in a turbulent midterm election season.
Paul had 59 percent of the vote — with returns counted from 29 percent of the precincts — to 37 percent for Secretary of State Trey Grayson, who had been recruited to run by the state’s dominant Republican, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Make no mistake about it: This is a major loss for McConnell and the Republican machine in Kentucky.
This may make the seat more winnable for the Dems, though it is still a long shot, because the Republican establishment, led by McConnell, is not going to pull the lever for Paul, and might even pull the lever for a Dem.
And, at least in the preliminary numbers, it looks like the Dem won’t be a blue dog type, as, at the time that I am typing this, “Attorney General Jack Conway led Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo, 49 percent to 39 percent.”
Conway is pro choice, pro-union, etc.
I think that this improves the Dems’ chances here, because people will vote for a real Democrat, Conway, ahead of a fake blue dog, Mongiardo.
Again, this may be a reaction to the party machine, which backed Mongiardo.
Between the rain, it’s raining in Maryland too, and a dispirited Democratic base, there is not a meaningful contest on the Repulbican side, primary day turnout is very low.
Bad for Specter. He has always drawn significant support from the minority community, particularly the AA community, and if this is a a low turn out day, it is highly unlikely that Specter can pull this out.
Happy dance.
Representative Mark Souder (R-IN) will resign after it was revealed that he had an affair with one of his staffers, one Tracy Jackson:
Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN), a champion of abstinence education and traditional family values, will resign effective Friday after an affair with a female staffer in his district office, he announced today.
He said in a statement that he “sinned against God, my wife and my family by having a mutual relationship with a part-time member of my staff.” …
(emphasis mine)
If this video does not appear on The Daily Show‘s moment of Zen, I will send a strongly worded letter of complaint Comedy entral about this.