For years I’ve been arguing that the government should simply get out of the institution of marriage all together, and some folks in Cali are trying to put that idea into motion.
From The Herald:
California’s top election official gave two Southern California college students the go-ahead Tuesday to start collecting signatures for a proposed ballot initiative [...]

I can’t believe this thing is still going on, and it’s now going to be decided by the courts…which is an awful way of doing this.
But hey, if it’s good enough for the Oval Office…
Still, Franken can’t be happy that this is how it’s going to go down. Talk about a cause for Minnesota Republicans [...]

We all know Cramer has a big mouth, but back in 2006 he gets dangerously close to admitting that he has engaged in “fomenting” the market, which he calls “blatantly illegal.”
First, most of the quote:
You can’t foment. That’s a violation. [...]
You can’t create an impression yourself that a stock’s down, but you do it [...]

I think they should just have another revote, but I’ve heard that’s a tough nut to crack because of costs and legal issues. So I understand why some want to lean on the courts.
From Minnesota Independent:
“The most obvious, clean resolution is resolution by the [current] three-judge court, with no appeal,” says [Guy] Charles, a University [...]

CNBC with a great look at the ins and outs of the “industry” in Marijuana, Inc.

Listen, I can understand bans on harder narcotics, but not marijuana. Everybody knows that marijuana is FAR less dangerous to your health and the public’s safety than alcohol. I could literally go out right now and buy enough alcohol to [...]

I honestly thought he’d have more problems, but it became pretty clear last week that the Marc Rich stuff really wasn’t as big of an issue as many thought.
Long story short, he sailed through with 75 votes for and 21 against.
NY Times has more…
At one time, Republicans indicated that they wanted to give Mr. Holder [...]

Just when I didn’t think I could be shocked by the previous administration’s decisions…
From Wash Post:
President Obama’s plans to expeditiously determine the fates of about 245 terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and quickly close the military prison there were set back last week when incoming legal and national security officials — barred until [...]

I like the idea in theory, but I always thought that Governors replaced Senators because it’s too costly to have special elections and somebody needs to serve in the interim.
Still, this seems like the type of amendment that could easily garner bi-partisan support.
From Political Wire:
The controversies surrounding some of the recent gubernatorial appointments to vacant [...]

Also, the words “we don’t torture” will finally be true.
From NY Times:
The orders, which are the first steps in undoing detention policies of former President George W. Bush, rewrite American rules for the detention of terrorism suspects. They require an immediate review of the 245 detainees still held at the naval base in Guantánamo Bay, [...]

As promised, this is one of the first orders of business. And given that we eventually freed the majority of those we kidnapped and held indefinitely without access to legal counsel, this move is yet another signal that America is starting a new chapter.
From AP:
The U.S. moved Tuesday to halt the Guantanamo Bay war crimes [...]

If you know anything about the case of former border agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, you’ll know that Bush’s commutation of the remaining amount of their sentence is justice being served.
And let’s face it, if Scooter Libby got his sentence commuted, these guys should too.
First, the backstory…
Ramos and Compean were sentenced in connection [...]

Coleman is suing to challenge Franken’s lead.
The saga continues…
Republican Norm Coleman’s trial challenging DFLer Al Franken’s lead in the U.S. Senate recount will begin Jan. 26, according to an order issued this afternoon by the three-judge panel that will hear the case.
The order did not map out when specific issues would be argued, nor did [...]

I’m not exactly sure what legal solution Obama will be applying to the enemy combatants currently being detained, but it seems that anything is better than the nothingburger they have in place currently.
From Wash Post:
A former military prosecutor said in a declaration filed in federal court yesterday that the system of handling evidence against detainees [...]

But it will happen.
Obama said as much on This Week today:
“I think it’s going to take some time and our legal teams are working in consultation with our national security apparatus as we speak to help design exactly what we need to do,” Obama said in an exclusive “This Week” interview with George Stephanopoulos, his [...]

I’ve written at length about my opinions of extraordinary rendition, Guantanamo Bay, etc., but the idea that people will vigorously defend policies that put a completely innocent man through 6 years of hell still leaves me completely baffled.
Seriously. This is one of those issues for me where there’s absolutely zero common ground because I simply [...]

“In 2006, when then-Sen. Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment, he said, “Decisions about marriage should be left to the states.” He was right then; and as I have come to realize, he is right now in concluding that DOMA has to go. If one truly believes in federalism and the primacy of state [...]

However, Norm Coleman is going to the courts to add even more rejected absentee ballots. Still, to overcome a 225 votes deficit at this point seems extremely unlikely.
Here’s more from the Star Tribune…
DFLer Al Franken held an unofficial lead of 225 votes over Coleman, according to a newspaper tally of the officials’ count of the [...]

Interest rates are at historical lows so many homeowners are calling banks and trying to get in on the action.
Only problem? Housing prices have fallen so much so that now people owe more on their homes than they’re worth…making refinancing an impossibility.
From Miami Herald…

In South Florida, four in 10 homeowners who bought or refinanced over [...]

What looked completely unlikely just a few weeks ago has turned around for the funnyman as he has won some key decisions in the past week and is now ahead by just 46 votes.
That’s right…46 votes.
From the Star Tribune:

A state Supreme Court ruling Wednesday narrowed the options available for Sen. Norm Coleman to erase a [...]

Not the current one, but he definitely had a hand in getting the spotlight directed at the Governor.
MSNBC has more…

.msnbcLinks {font-size:11px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #999; margin-top: 5px; background: transparent; text-align: center; width: 425px;} .msnbcLinks a {text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px;} .msnbcLinks a:link, .msnbcLinks a:visited {color: #5799db !important;} .msnbcLinks [...]