Nearly 9 months after the election, there appears to be some light at the end of the tunnel for Minnesota.
From the AP:
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - The Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered that Democrat Al Franken be certified as the winner of the state’s long-running Senate race.
The high court rejected a legal challenge [...]

A bombshell story broke today about the Obama administration drafting an executive order that could be used to hold terrorism suspects indefinitely.
First, here’s the story…
Obama administration officials, fearing a battle with Congress that could stall plans to close the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, are crafting language for an executive order that would reassert presidential [...]

Watch the following video of George Tiller’s suspected murderer and tell me if you don’t see something wrong with this picture.

Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that Roeder actually did kill Tiller. Does that guy look like he has even a shred of remorse? It sounds like he’s getting directions to a restaurant, not being [...]

Number six is now official.
From MSNBC:
CONCORD, New Hampshire - New Hampshire became the sixth state to legalize gay marriage after the Senate and House passed key language on religious rights and Gov. John Lynch — who personally opposes gay marriage — signed the legislation Wednesday afternoon.
After rallies outside the Statehouse by both sides in the [...]

“I think that freedom means freedom for everyone. As many of you know, one of my daughters is gay, and it is something we have lived with for a long time in our family. I think people ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish. Any kind of arrangement they [...]

Wish fewer people smoked? Maybe it’s time for visual warnings on packages.
Cigarette packages should show graphic images of yellow teeth, blackened gums, protruding neck tumors and bleeding brains to alert smokers to their disease risks, the World Health Organization said on Friday.
WHO says 20 nations already use some form of visual warning and evidence suggests [...]

This was a bit of a surprise when I heard about it, but apparently Ted Olson has joined forces with the Equal Rights Foundation and they’ve just sent out a press release about yesterday’s decision.
Here are some key excerpts (.pdf) …
“Yesterday, the California Supreme Court said that the California Constitution compels the State to discriminate [...]

Anybody who reads this blog knows where I fall on the gay marriage issue, but the Supreme Court of California wasn’t reallly deciding the validity of gay marriage itself, so the ruling was actually dead on in my opinion.
This article from Bloomberg points out why…
The court legalized gay marriage a year ago before California voters [...]

No doubt you’ll be hearing A LOT about this decision…
Although Sotomayor has not had a case dealing directly with abortion rights, she wrote the opinion in Center for Reproductive Law and Policy v. Bush, 304 F.3d 183 (2d Cir. 2002), a challenge to the “Mexico City Policy,” which prohibited foreign organizations receiving U.S. funds from [...]

The unusual case of a cancer-stricken thirteen year-old who is refusing treatment is quickly becoming one of those unusual and unfortunate legal cases that mix religion, law and the rights of the individual.
With the support of his parents, the thirteen year-old in question is refusing chemotherapy because the family believes in “natural” healing (they are [...]

“Having two parents who can feel and express love for each other, and give it in abundance to their children, that’s what matters. It doesn’t matter what the identities of those parents are.”
- Heidi Nortonsmith, one of the original gay couples to marry in Massachusetts in 2004.
Here’s more about how things have gone for the [...]

Thankfully, the trend continues…
AUGUSTA, Maine — In a banner day in New England for advocates of gay marriage, Maine legalized the practice Wednesday, and the New Hampshire Legislature voted to do the same.
Maine Gov. John Baldacci, a Democrat, signed LD 1020 shortly after the legislation passed the Senate with a 21-13 vote — a margin [...]

When I read the following I have to ask, “Who’s lying here?”
Because haven’t we heard from some pretty high profile folks that these techniques worked, most notably former VP Cheney?
I guess maybe Hillary was right.
First, from NY Times, what traditional interrogation tactics gave us:
Along with another F.B.I. agent, and with several C.I.A. officers present, I [...]

Are we really ready to do this to kids? And the important part here is that the student in question was on the honor roll and they were searching her for prescription-strength ibuprofen pills.
Yes, ibuprofen.
From Wash Post…
An important case at the Supreme Court sometimes informs as much about the justices as the issue at hand, [...]

First, let me say that I respect Sonny Bunch. A lot. I rarely agree with Sonny, but he is clearly and genuinely interested in engaging those with whom he disagrees.
That said, the posts (and subsequent responsive comment) with which E.D. and Mr. Schwenkler take issue is emblematic of something that has been [...]

[...] imagine if an American operative out of uniform were captured by the Iranians tomorrow. Imagine he were put into a coffin for hours with no light and barely enough air to breathe, imagine if he were then removed and smashed against a plywood wall by a towel tied around his neck thirty times, imagine [...]

“The United States is a nation of laws. My Administration will always act in accordance with those laws, and with an unshakeable commitment to our ideals. That is why we have released these memos, and that is why we have taken steps to ensure that the actions described within them never take place again.”
- President [...]

This could anger a lot of folks on the left, but I think it’s an incredibly dangerous precedent to prosecute folks for following orders.
More from AP:
WASHINGTON -Attorney General Eric Holder says the government won’t prosecute CIA officials for using waterboarding and other harsh interrogation tactics on terror suspects.
The decision comes as the Obama administration releases [...]

Since I covered the Tea Parties today, I figured I should also cover a protest that’s much more in the spirit of what the Boston Tea Party stood for.
From NY Times:
KABUL, Afghanistan — The young women stepped off the bus and moved toward the protest march just beginning on the other side of the street [...]

And of course Coleman will appeal, but it’s looking more and more likely that we’ll be calling the former SNLer Senator Franken in the very near future.
From Star Tribune:
After a trial spanning nearly three months, Norm Coleman’s attempt to reverse Al Franken’s lead in the recount of the U.S. Senate election was soundly rejected today [...]