Final Protective Fire

Tuesday, May 27, 2003

 

I don't have time unfortunately to blog a longer discussion of this US SCt opinion in Chavez v. Martinez. Its a fascinating case about how Section 1983 actions are framed and the US SCt made a complete hash of the opinion on the case. Eugene Volokh has a pretty good summary here which is astonishing in not only its clarity but in the speed with which Eugene put it up. Here Howard Bashman found interesting the method in which some justices joined a part of an opinion they didn't fully agree with to form a majority agreeing to something. Oh, and since its a Ninth Circuit case, of course it was reversed by at least 8 votes as Eugene counts them.

Robin 11:20 AM

Sunday, May 25, 2003

 

I'll be out of town through at least June 2nd. So be sure to go over to Steve Verdon's blog and heckle a bit for me.

Robin 5:40 PM

Thursday, May 22, 2003

 

Pejman thinks we'd like to know about this commencement event. Boy, that's an understatement, Pejman, that made my day.

Robin 5:14 PM

Wednesday, May 21, 2003

 

Stuart Buck discusses an interesting point here, regarding the lawsuit to block the recent Colorado legislation establishing a voucher program. Buck illustrates the history of the state constitutional provision and its origin in anti-catholic bigotry. I also believe that the provision cited, a state constitutional provision prohibiting aid to parochial schools, is unconstitutional under the US Constitution's First Amendment.

Robin 10:38 PM

 

Charles is having a great time in this thread, ridiculing the Zayed Center for Coordination and Followup. Typical of an Arab "think tank", its evidently dominated by irrational, dishonest and anti-semitic "thinkers".

Robin 11:18 AM

 

There are two bizarre items in this report of deliberations of the WHO body at the UN. The first is that the UN continues to deny Taiwan's existance as a nation, even when that action may cost lives. The United States should end the "One China" policy immediately and strongly pressure the UN to do so as well. Communist China is a self-declared enemy of ours and we should not cater to their political fantasies at the expense of the Taiwanese people. The second bizarre item is Communist China's assertion that it has "taken care of" SARS in Taiwan. The Communist Chinese government has done nothing but lie about this epidemic - and here we see a bizarre lie. Link shamelessly stolen from NRO The Corner.

Robin 11:13 AM

Tuesday, May 20, 2003

 

Here, Pejman discusses an example - involving the FBI investigation of the Khobar Towers bombing - that shows how inept and ineffective the Clinton administration's efforts were to pursue terrorism.

Robin 5:36 PM

 

Glenn Reynolds catches Robert Scheer in yet another dishonest column. Scheer should have been fired long ago for his lies about the Bush administration and its famine relief aid to Afghanistan. But the Los Angeles Times has found no lie too difficult to rationalize as long as it attacks President Bush or Republicans. UPDATE: Glenn points us to this wonderful Sharansky screed on Scheer, great stuff.

Robin 4:44 PM

 

CNN got caught running a piece about the so-called "assault weapon" ban that sunsets this year with more lies from VPC. Glenn Reynolds blogs about their pathetic "correction" piece. UPDATE: Eugene Volokh also notes a story about it that is ..... less than credible. This pattern of continual dishonesty by anti-gun groups is an old one.

Robin 9:07 AM

Monday, May 19, 2003

 

Here we see the Keystone Kops in action again. Geez, how much I wish we had a professional law enforcement agency instead of the FBI.

Robin 3:54 PM

 

Orin Kerr has some more examples of hysteria over the Patriot Act.

Robin 1:21 PM

Sunday, May 18, 2003

 

If you have been looking for it, the old junk science discussion forum is now moved to its own domain at www.debunkers.org.

Robin 3:41 PM

 

Steve moved off of blogger, find him here.

Robin 2:20 PM

Thursday, May 15, 2003

 

More evidence debunking the claims about second-hand smoke from the British Medical Journal.

Robin 11:13 PM

 

Kinky Friedman emulates the Dixie Chicks' cover. Thanks, Kinky, I didn't need to see that.

Robin 1:57 PM

Wednesday, May 14, 2003

 

On National Review Online, KLO points to a paragraph in a NYT piece that describes the Secret Service enforcing ex-President Clinton's no attribution rules at an appearance. The Secret Service has been getting more thuggish over the years - intervening in non-security manners increasingly. My last personal encounter with them dates back to the Reagan years when my office then overlooked the runway of the Santa Monica airport. (Although I was present at a Southwest Pistol League Steel Challenge match that the then-President of Ecuador visited - that's an amusing story.) I know that if one of these guys tried to tell me whether or not I could take notes at an appearance by anyone in their entourage, I know where I'd tell them to put it.

Robin 10:08 PM

 

Russell Korobkin of the Volokh Conspiracy writes a good posting on the litigation of attempts by Attorney General Ashcroft to use federal powers to restrict physician-assisted suicide via the federal regulation of doctors' ability to write prescriptions for controlled substances. I've written a lot to defend Ashcroft against exaggerated claims such as the misrepresentations of opponents to the Patriot Act. But this is a good example of an inappropriate action by Ashcroft. I personally am against physician-assisted suicide laws and don't support Oregon's initiative. But this is a case of federalism where the Bush administration should not be intervening.
UPDATE: Juan Non-Volokh has some thoughts on Russell's post.

Robin 3:41 PM

 

Neil Cavuto singes Krugman's tail feathers, bravo Mr. Caputo, bravo.
UPDATE: Luskin riffs more on Krugman starting with Cavuto. Luskin's blog is a great resource on Krugman's fantasy column by the way.

Robin 10:30 AM

Monday, May 12, 2003

 

A lawsuit about cookies. Yep, cookies. Now I'm tempted to just label this as the usual whacko nutjob activities in California. But this is really the result of our society allowing the continued misuse of product liability causes of action. We need drastic tort reform in this country immediately. More examples can be found at Overlawyed.com.

Robin 11:22 AM

Saturday, May 10, 2003

 

Charles Johnson is on top of the shooting at Case Western Reserver with evidence that the shooter was a member of the loony anti-war Left.

Robin 3:14 PM

Friday, May 09, 2003

 

Jacob Sullum here has a piece in Reason Online that does a pretty good job of demonstrating why the misnamed "Assault Weapon" ban should be allowed to sunset. He describes both the dishonesty of the definition of "assault weapon" and the fact that the gun control lobby is intentionally using confusion between semi-automatic firearms that look like military weapons and real full automatic weapons. Here is an old op-ed from Dave Kopel on the same issue.

Robin 7:33 PM

 

Make no mistake, I'm not a defender of Dr. Stephen Hatfill, the person that the FBI keeps anonymously sourcing news articles accusing of being the person who distributed anthrax via the mails nearly two years ago. While I happen to believe that islamic terrorists distributed the anthrax, in reality I don't have any investment in whether or not he committed those acts. However, regardless of whether or not he's guilty, I long ago tired of the shenanigans of the incompetent bunch that is the FBI. And this is another example of the FBI abuse. If you have evidence of Dr. Hatfill's involvement, charge him. If you don't, shut up and try to pretend to be the professional law enforcement organization this country wants and needs instead of the huge collection of Barney Fife's that you are already known to be.

Robin 4:37 PM

Wednesday, May 07, 2003

 

Here the MRC has some great quips from Dennis Miller.

Robin 1:53 PM

 

This is a hilarious article in Slate regarding the reliability of Seymour Hersh's predictions, most recently about whether we'll find WMD in Iraq. And while the burden of proof wasn't high given the procedural posture of the case, this judge's finding that there was a link between 9-11 and Iraq through Al Queda is an interesting rebuttal to the many cries that President Bush is somehow deceiving the american public into believing in such a link. Both links appear on today's National Review Online Corner.

Robin 1:30 PM

 

Glenn Reynolds uses a report of the treatment to which Iran subjected Iraqi prisoners of war to make a point about the hypocrisy of "human rights" organizations. Bravo Glenn.

Robin 11:03 AM

Tuesday, May 06, 2003

 

Here we have a story about the Baghdad museum not cooperating with the Marine officer in charge of recovering the supposedly looted antiquities. The article includes quotes from various Iraqi officials that certainly buttress the story. This only strengthens the impression that the looting was a later cover for earlier thefts by insiders, perhaps before the US even entered Baghdad.

Robin 8:38 AM

Monday, May 05, 2003

 

The failed UN inspectors continue to bask in their own irrelevance. I support the policy of keeping the El Baradei and Blix at more than arm's length. I believe that their entire team was compromised as much as Scott Ritter has been. Link shamelessly stolen from Steven Den Beste.

Robin 3:52 PM

Friday, May 02, 2003

 

Charles Johnson has been blogging up a storm on the recent homicide bombers' use of the ISM "peace" activist movement as cover for their entry into Israel. You will find links here, here and here. I'm going to send some copies to the ludicrous local rags that were recently filled with misrepresentations of their activities in the wake of Rachel Corrie's death.

Robin 11:15 AM

Thursday, May 01, 2003

 

Eugene Volokh has a posting here about more suppression of dissent. Amusingly enough, like the suppression of the "boycott-hollywood" website, its suppression by the dissenters.

Robin 1:10 PM