I’ve been a bit puzzled as to why neocons have been accused so often of being motivated by fear in taking the policy positions they do (see this, for example). When I’ve written here about the evolution of my own … Continue reading →
The controversy over yesterday’s David Irving conviction, and the more general question of whether Holocaust denial should be a criminal offense, seem on the surface to be no-brainers, easily resolvable by saying that the principle of free speech dictates that … Continue reading →
I haven’t written yet about the controversy over government wiretaps designed to eavesdrop on conversations with terrorists. That’s partly because so many have covered the story already, and partly because I like to do a lot of reading on a … Continue reading →
They seem like strange bedfellows: Bianca Jagger and Ramsey Clark. But I think something the former said can shed a bit of light on the dark and murky thought processes of the latter. Writing in Friday’s NY Post, Amir Taheri … Continue reading →
Here’s an update on the post “Calling all lawyers”: The call has been answered. I consider the following e-mail response from a trusted legal source to be definitive: There’s no question that perjury can be prosecuted if the defendant lied … Continue reading →
It’s about perjury. “Perjury” is a term that’s being used in connection with the Libby indictment. It’s often loosely defined as “lying under oath.” But it turns out that lying under oath is a necessary, but not sufficient, element of … Continue reading →
Methinks I hear the fat lady singing for Ms. Miers, and it’s an ugly sound–a cross between a squawk, a whine, a groan, and a croak. I don’t believe we have any real way of knowing whether Ms. Miers is … Continue reading →
In my last post, about Saddam as press hero, I wrote about transmuting the very human desire for personal revenge into the desire for a different sort of justice, the justice of a trial. No sooner said than done, apparently. … Continue reading →
I have some questions for those who are clamoring for a strict originalist to be appointed to the Supreme Court. A little background: in 1973, the Supreme Court famously ruled in Roe v. Wade that states could not outlaw abortion … Continue reading →
Not being a conservative myself (I just play one on TV every now and then), I’d initially been surprised by the degree to which conservatives are angry at Bush for the Miers nomination. But I guess I shouldn’t be. When … Continue reading →
Until now, I’ve kept out of the Miers Supreme Court nomination brouhaha. But I do have a few observations, mostly about the reaction to her nomination, and about Supreme Court nominations in general. It seems to me that, ever since … Continue reading →
Let’s see if I’ve got this straight: US District Court Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein has ordered the release of more Abu Ghraib photos to help the ACLU prove that prisoners have been abused, and it’s OK because the terrorists don’t … Continue reading →