One of the foundational principles of American democracy is under attack.
When the nation’s Founders crafted the United States Constitution in 1787, they were careful to include a requirement that:
“The Senators and Representatives shall receive a compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury of the United States.”...
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Tags: California, California Assembly, California Budget, California budget crisis, California Legislature, California politics, Constitution, constitutional law, democracy, founding fathers, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor Schwarzenegger, james madison, Schwarzenegger, U.S. Constitution, United States Constitution
Posted in California, National-US | 5 Comments »
I have just returned from a debate on presidential power at Chapman University Law School.
In retrospect, the event should more properly have been called “The Trial of John Yoo.”
And strikingly, it was Yoo who cast himself in the role of defendant.
The debate was titled “Presidential Power and Success in Times of Crisis,” and the...
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Tags: .C. 2340, Bill of Rights, Central Intelligence Agency, Chapman, Chapman Law School, Chapman University, Chapman University School of Law, CIA, civil liberties, constitutional law, Convention Against Torture, George Bush, George W. Bush, Interrogation Techniques, Jay Bybee, John Eastman, John Yoo, Judge Jay Bybee, Katherine Darmer, Larry Rosenthal, law, Office of Legal Counsel, president george w. bush, presidential power, Terrorism, Torture, torture memos, U.S. Constitution, United Nations Convention Against Torture, United States Constitution, war on terror, waterboarding, Yoo
Posted in '08 Rep Convention, International, National-US | 4 Comments »
There’s a gunfight brewing in Orange County that would make a great John Wayne movie. But the plot of the movie depends on your political perspective and your view on gun control.
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Tags: CCW, CCWs, Chris Norby, Concealed weapons, concealed weapons permits, District of Columbia v. Heller, gun control, gun control law, gun law, gun lobby, gun owners, Heller, John Moorlach, Mike Corona, NRA, Orange County, Orange County Board of Supervisors, Orange County politics, Orange County Sheriff, Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchins, Pat Bates, Right to Bear Ams, Sandra Hutchins, Second Amendment, U.S. Constitution
Posted in California, Orange County - Local | 4 Comments »
The Obama inauguration had a unexpected consequence this week as the San Diego School Board formally apologized to folk-singer Peter Seeger for attempting to force him to sign a loyalty oath nearly fifty years ago.
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Tags: 1960s, american legion, Barack Obama, bruce springsteen, first amendment, folk music, herbert hoover high school, house un-american activities committee, huac, katherine nakamura, mccarthyism, music, Obama Inauguration, pete seeger, Politics, protest music, protest songs, San Diego, san diego school board, this land is your land, U.S. Constitution, woody guthrie
Posted in California, National-US, Obama Inauguration | Comments Off
This just in from DFA! Check out this very important action alert. Now that our Fourth Amendment privacy rights are on the line, now’s the time for us to contact our Senators and tell them to put an end to the warantless wiretaps.
TheLiberalOC.com Reader – Over the last 8 months, you and I have...
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Tags: Action Alert, Barbara Boxer, Bush, civil liberties, Civil Rights, Conservative, Democrats, DFA-Orange County, Dianne Feinstein, domestic spying, FISA, GOP, U.S. Constitution, US Senate, warantless wiretapping
Posted in National-US, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
OK, I’m sure I’m not the only one who was deeply disappointed by the recent vote to “reform” FISA by deforming our Constitutional rights. This is really lousy news. And worse, it puts us on the path toward further erosion of the basic framework that has made America such a great place.
But still, there...
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Tags: 47th Congressional, Bush, civil liberties, Conservative, Democrats, domestic spying, Election 2008, FISA, GOP, Liberals, Loretta Sanchez, Orange County, Progressive Values, U.S. Constitution, warantless wiretapping
Posted in Orange County - Local | 5 Comments »
While I have no doubt that some of the detainees being held in at the US military facility in Guantanamo Bay deserve to be there, I also believe that holding anyone prisoner for six years without charges and without trial is something our Founding Fathers would recoil at learning.
The US Supreme Court, on a...
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Tags: U.S. Constitution
Posted in National-US | 11 Comments »