Anthrax Suspect Commits Suicide
Via the LAT: Apparent suicide in anthrax caseA top government scientist who helped the FBI analyze samples from the 2001 anthrax attacks has died in Maryland from an apparent suicide, just as the Justice Department was about to file criminal charges against him for the attacks, the Los Angeles Times has learned. Bruce E. Ivins, 62, who for the last ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on August 1, 2008 11:32
Obama Plunges in Newsweek Poll!
Newsweek has released a new poll and is excited by the huge change: "Glow Fading? The latest NEWSWEEK Poll shows Barack Obama leading John McCain by only 3 points. What a difference a few weeks can make." This is quite amusing in that pretty much everyone agreed that the June 20th Newsweek poll was an outlier. No matter. In ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on July 12, 2008 06:56
Supreme Court Made Supreme Error in Child Rape Decision
A WaPo editorial takes the Supreme Court to task for a significant error in a recent decision: There was quite a goof in the court's 5 to 4 decision on June 25 banning the death penalty for those who rape children. The majority determined that capital punishment for child rape was unconstitutional, in part because a national consensus had formed against ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on July 6, 2008 09:27
Supreme Court Focus of 2008 Election
The NYT editorial board want you to know that they're very disappointed in the Roberts Court, particularly its upholding of Indiana's law requiring would-be voters to be able they are who they claim to be, allowing Kentucky to continue using lethal injection for convicted murderers who've exhausted seventeen years of appeals, and its ruling that the 2nd Amendment applies in ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on July 3, 2008 11:55
I Miss Karl Rove
Remember the good old days when everyday events were coordinated by Karl Rove? Today could have counted as one but, alas, Karl Rove is nowhere to be found. Child rapists can't be executed, Supreme Court rules The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Wednesday that child rapists cannot be executed, concluding that capital punishment for crimes against individuals can be applied only ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on June 26, 2008 00:50
SCOTUS Bans Death Penalty for Child Rape
The Supreme Court has ruled that raping a child is not sufficiently heinous a crime to warrant capital punishment. The Supreme Court on Wednesday outlawed executions of people convicted of raping a child. In a 5-4 vote, the court said the Louisiana law allowing the death penalty to be imposed in such cases violates the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. "The ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on June 25, 2008 12:19
Supreme Court: Gitmo Detainees Have Habeus Rights
Terrorist suspects detained at Guantánamo Bay (and presumably, anyplace else under American jurisdiction) have the right to file habeus corpus petitions in U.S. civilian courts the Supreme Court ruled today in a 5-4 decision. Further, Congress could not pass a law waiving these protections absent rebellion or invasion. Justices Rule Terror Suspects Can Appeal in Civilian Courts (David Stout, NYT) “The ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on June 12, 2008 12:32
McCain’s Vice Presidential Candidates
John McCain is vetting potential vice presidential candidates over the holiday weekend, Adam Nagourney reports for the NYT. Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida, Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts and a one-time rival for the Republican nomination, have all accepted invitations to visit with Mr. McCain at his ranch in Sedona, these Republicans said. This ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on May 22, 2008 08:48
Obama Personality Cult Redux
Sara Robinson has an interesting examination of the question of Barack Obama’s cult of personality. She begins by a look at the literature on actual cults and shows why the Obama campaign doesn't qualify. While worthwhile from a technical standpoint, though, that's not really what the debate is about. Perhaps "cult" is a poor word choice but people ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on February 14, 2008 08:55
Clinton: Obama Not Barbaric Enough
In the heated campaigning between Iowa and New Hampshire, the Clinton campaign has started to up the attacks on Barack Obama's record. One of the more recent is the Clinton campaign's complaint that Obama favors defendant's rights and opposes mandatory minimums.Hillary's aides point to Obama's extremely progressive record as a community organizer, state senator and candidate for Congress, his ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on January 8, 2008 01:33
