The decision was 5-4, and I would have hoped that this wouldn’t be so evenly split because I think most people in this country acknowledge that the 2nd Amendment grants people at least the baseline right to arms themselves. I mean, we’re talking about owning a gun in your home without having to put a [...]

More about his decision…

I know at least one of my fellow bloggers here at Donklephant strongly disagrees, and while I understand and appreciate the views of those who think this FISA legislation is still a gross violation of our civil liberties, the previous incarnation of this bill earlier this year (without tougher restrictions on telcoms) [...]

Reprinted in full…
“Given the grave threats that we face, our national security agencies must have the capability to gather intelligence and track down terrorists before they strike, while respecting the rule of law and the privacy and civil liberties of the American people. There is also little doubt that the Bush Administration, with the cooperation [...]

A lot of left wing blogs are hammering Steny Hoyer and Nancy Pelosi for reaching a compromise on the FISA legislation, but this is difficult bi-partisanship at work and it ultimately means getting to a better place than we previously were.
From Wash Post:
Ending a year-long battle with President Bush, the House approved, 293 to 129, [...]

Recently, the AP decided to get all legal on the bloggers over at The Drudge Retort and demanded that content containing AP reporting be taking down, citing Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
The content in question ranged from between 17 and 79 words (yes, that’s it), and the AP apparently thinks the The Drudge Retort’s posts violated [...]

George Will takes issue with John McCain’s statement that the recent Supreme Court decision on Guantanamo detainees was one of the “worst decisions in history.”
Will’s complaint is as much about McCain’s hyperbole as it is about McCain’s opposition to the ruling. As Will notes, this is not a clear-cut matter and people of good will [...]

A new Rasmussen poll reveals that 60% of Americans believe the Supreme Court justices have political agendas. The sentiment is at about the same percent regardless of party affiliation. Only 31% of respondents said the court is doing a good or excellent job.
I’m not surprised by this poll at all. After decades of politicizing the [...]

Can you tell it’s an election year?
From Swampland comes this transcript of McCain’s statements during a town hall…
The United States Supreme Court yesterday rendered a decision which I think is one of the worst decisions in the history of this country. Sen. Graham and Sen. Lieberman and I had worked very hard to make sure [...]

Big, big news.
The Supreme Court restored habeas rights for enemy combatants, and thereby acknowledged that the “War on Terrorism” has no discernible end and so detainees should be able to challenge indefinite detention.
More from AP:
In its third rebuke of the Bush administration’s treatment of prisoners, the court ruled 5-4 that the government is violating [...]

Illinois business man and political fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko was found guilty today on 16 of 24 counts including fraud and money laundering. This, of course, is only news because Rezko has been a friend and prominent supporter/fundraiser for Barack Obama.
I expect the name Rezko to be used in attacks against Obama throughout the campaign [...]

Bravo to Governor Patterson for saying New York should recognize gay marriages from other states, but this has obviously made A LOT of social conservatives angry and they’re not going down without a fight.
First, Patterson’s reasoning…
Paterson issued a memo earlier this month saying that gay New Yorkers who marry where it is legal will have [...]

From Reuters:
If elected president, Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama said one of the first things he wants to do is ensure the constitutionality of all the laws and executive orders passed while Republican President George W. Bush has been in office. Those that don’t pass muster will be overturned, he said.
“I would call my [...]

We’ve detailed the seemingly politically motivated prosecution and conviction of former Alabama governor Don Siegelman’s in February and March of this year, and now it appears that the House Judiciary Committee wants to put Rove in the hot seat to answer questions about whether he had a hand in it.
Here’s the scoop…
Representative John Conyers Jr. [...]

I think that was basically assumed, but the media definitely used his endorsement to suggest he could be in the running.
Today, on TODAY, he puts those rumors to rest…

But Attorney General?
Well, that’s another story…

I’ve always been of the belief that the more consolidated the media becomes, the less diverse the news gets. Recently the FCC ruled that media organizations could own a TV station and a newspaper in the same town in the top 20 media markets, thereby controlling a significant portion of the news.
Troubling? I think [...]

As you all know by now, the march towards universally allowed gay marriage continued today. From my understanding, the specifics of the California case create a legal pathway to gay marriage without actually mandating the legalization of the practice. So I want to be clear, this post is inspired by today’s ruling but is not [...]

Well done…
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The California Supreme Court has overturned a ban on gay marriage, paving the way for California to become the second state where gay and lesbian residents can marry.
The case involved a series of lawsuits seeking to overturn a voter- approved law that defines marriage as a union between a man [...]

That’s right. It’s not needed and never has been
Folks, this will be sold as “don’t let illegal immigrants vote”, but that’s not the goal. Republicans are pushing it so fewer people will get to vote.
The battle over voting rights will expand this week as lawmakers in Missouri are expected to support a proposed constitutional [...]

This comes from a story about the 1,200 pieces of opposition research they had on Hillary:
By the way, to put the RNC’s opposition research effort into context, I’m told the dossier on Senator Obama is 1,000 pages in length and that Republican researchers spent a few weeks in Chicago recently collecting information on Obama’s ties [...]

As if this any surprise, but seriously…how many of these stories will we have to endure? And I have to think that even more will be coming out after Bush and company leave office.
From Reuters:
The former chief prosecutor for the Guantanamo war crimes tribunals testified on Monday that the tribunals were tainted by political influence [...]