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 [...]

That’s the word out today and it sounds fairly damning for Jackson because how would folks come to Blago and promise this if it wasn’t backed up by Jesse Jr.?
From Chicago Sun Times:
Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s camp was told last year that U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) would raise up to $5 million in [...]

In the wake of the Iowa Supreme Court decision last week, combined with the subsequent Vermont legislative passage of same-sex marriage, there’s been a lot of talk, even amongst more conservative pro-same-sex marriage folks, about judicial activism and whether it’s the appropriate role of the courts to get involved in deciding social hot-button issues. [...]

One thing to remember is that D.C.’s council only voted to recognize other state’s gay marriages. And maybe this is why they haven’t taken the next step.
Due to D.C.’s strange system of governance, the District’s laws are subject to approval by Congress. If D.C. passes a gay marriage ordinance, the House Committee on Oversight and [...]

More good news…
Domestic partnerships are already legal in the nation’s capital. But yesterday’s vote, billed as an important milestone in gay rights, explicitly recognizes relocated gay married couples as married.
The initial vote was 12-0. The unanimous vote sets the stage for future debate on legalizing same-sex marriage in the District and a clash with Congress, [...]

It’s all done for Coleman, and yet…
From Star Tribune:
Democrat Al Franken today extended his lead over Republican Norm Coleman in Minnesota’s U.S. Senate election, after the counting of about 350 formerly rejected absentee ballots this morning.
Franken captured 198 of the ballots, while Coleman took 111. The ballots added 87 votes to Franken’s recount lead, enlarging [...]

And this time it was done through the legislative branch. So this is a much more significant win for equal rights advocates because people can’t pin this on “activist” judges.
From WCAX:
The Vt. Senate voted to override the governor’s veto of the same-sex marriage bill. This morning, the Senate voted 23 to 5 to override that [...]

A genuine surprise from the Hawkeye State today because the ruling was unanimous.
Expect more of this type of thing to happen in the next couple years and challenge Obama’s opinion that gay marriage shouldn’t be legal…
“The Iowa statute limiting civil marriage to a union between a man and a woman violates the equal protection clause [...]

A truly dumb move by St. Louis airport employees is recorded and shared here by Fox News…

Is Missouri’s militia/Ron Paul tie still in full effect?
One note, the commentator in the middle who tries to tie this to Obama’s economic policies at the very end was a truly hacky move. He didn’t need to go there, [...]

As expected, it’s the “gateway drug” theory v. reality of human existence.
Guess which one sounds more credible…

I do still love Ron Paul in many ways, and I wish he wouldn’t have been mixed up in that remarkably dumb newsletter operation he was. Because then he’d be a viable third party candidate.
Oh well.