[June 30, 2000]
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Thanks for visiting. W
Where is MetaFilter this afternoon? I miss it. W
The Campbell bill to allow doctors to collectively bargain with HMO's passes with more than 66% of the vote. While I generally disfavor unions as a burden on commerce, in this case it's simply a matter of leveling the playing field- HMO's have an antitrust exemption and have been allowed to collectively bargain with docs for decades, inevitably screwing them in the process. Who ultimately gets hurt? The patients. It's gotten to the point that I can't understand why anyone wants to be a doctor anymore. W
Is California Governor Gray Davis at the top of Al Gore's veep list? If so, this signals profound trouble for the Gore campaign. By playing the veep card to lock up a state which should already be solid in the Dem column anyway, Gore would allow Bush to essentially write off the state and plow his resources into the crucial Midwest. Instead, Gore should win California, as he should be able to do, through leveraging the Dem's natural advantages in the state, and force Bush to continue to expend his own resources there if he wants to stay competitve. Gore sacrifices too much on the "big board" of the Electoral College if he "goes nuclear" in California, when he should be able to take the state in a properly-managed war of attrition.
On the other hand, this pre-supposes that another veep pick who could help Gore somewhere else - frankly, I can't think of one. W
[June 28, 2000]
This is offically creepy: Social Security Death Index Search Results W
Fidel's victory over the U.S. is complete. Elian will return to Cuba, probably before the next sunrise. Why did this decision take so long? The negligent bungling of the Clinton adminsitration, the Department of Justice, and the INS. When Elian first arrived, the INS placed him in the custody of his nearest kin here in America, and advised them to seek a state court ruling on custody. They relied on that advice and did so. Then, for political reasons, the administration betrayed both the family and the boy, critically undermining our foreign policy objectives in the process.
Elian's future as a pawn of the Castro tyranny looks bleak indeed. We can only hope he and every other Cuban are soon freed from Fidel's rule. W
[June 27, 2000]
Columnist John Leo writes on Gary Graham's so-called weak defense:
But the defense had to tread carefully and say nothing that would open the door to testimony about Graham's other crimes. If that door opened, Graham would have had no chance.
Graham himself did more to hurt his defense than anything his lawyers supposedly did or failed to do. The fact that he was actually guilty didn't help, either. W
Jason second-guesses Kendall Coffey, attorney for the Gonzalez family:
I think that the relatives have made a huge mistake -- instead of asking the Court to decide on an issue of law, their question for the Court assumes that issue of law, and almost demands that the Court enforce their assumption... Typically, such an appeal would ask the Court to determine if such a right existed, not tell the Court to enforce said assumed right.
Two points: First, I think it is a mistake to extrapolate the thrust of an entire legal brief from a sentence fragment quoted by the media. I can't fidn the brief availble online, but I'd be interested to see if the story accurately represents the petition.
Second, based on the 11th Circuit decision being appealed, there is no question as to whether Elian has at least a statutory right to apply for asylum. The 11th Circuit said so, and why take points off the board once they're there? No, the issue here is the manner in which Elian was afforded or denied that right - the DOJ's handling of the matter. The only issue before the Court is whether the process created by the INS satisfied the statutory requirement that he be allowed to apply - that is the issue the appellate court's ruling hinged upon, and the only one these petitioners would even want the Court to review. W
Via Lance: Webs Best Designs - be sure to check out some of their work. W
Wanna know what Matt reads? W
[June 26, 2000]
This booming Florida business sounds like a porn site, but it's not: Natural Knobs.
Use our COLOR WHEEL to pick your knobs!
They're made of stone. W
In her defense of admitted, convicted, and executed killer Gary Graham, Jenn complains:
[Graham's lawyer] didn't even call to the stand the two people that submitted affidavids [sic] stating that Graham was not at the scene of the crime.... He was convicted solely based on the testimony of a woman who said she saw Graham at the scene for a few seconds.
As to the first, there are many reasons attorneys don't call witnesses, the main of those being lack of credibility. In fact, these witnesses were noted by an appellate court to so lack credibility that the court refused to re-open Graham's case on the basis of their testimony. His attorney's decision not to call these witnesses does not render the trail unfair. As to the second, Ms. Skillern saw him from thirty feet away for, as she testified, over a minute and a half. Go stare at a stranger, especially one with a gun, for ninety seconds and tell me if you'd recognize him again. Let me tell you, from personal experience, that less that 15 seconds will sear that face into your brain. I have no doubt that, when Skillern says she's positive he was the guy, that he was. And since you apparently don't know, that is more than ample to meet the prosecutuion's burden of proof - a positive identification from a competent and credible eyewitness. The jury evaluated her testimony, as was its job, and believed her. Furthermore, Graham's admissions to Sanford, Blackburn, and Breazeale, although apparently not admitted as evidence, could have been, and each would have been sufficient to convict by itself. This case has been reviewed by 22 courts, both state and federal, and none has found that the trial was unfair.
And you don't need to lecture me about justice - your shrill tone undermines the few small merits of your argument, as it does all other death-penalty opponents who have opportunistically siezed on Gary Graham's case.
W
Gore protegee Carol Browner crusades on a different fron to hammer the midwest with regulations that will drive up energy costs of all kinds. Does she not answer the little red phone from campaign headquarters, or what? W
The Surpeme Court, in Dickerson v. United States [PDF file] held that a 1968 law could not alter the Court's 1966 Miranda decision requiring explanation of the right against self-incrimination to suspects in custodial interrogations. In so doing, the court effectively held that the Miranda warnings are not a mere protective measure, as announced in the original opinion but are in fact a part of the Fifth Amendment itself. Otherwise, Congress could have eliminated the requirement, as the Court noted:
Congress retains the ultimate authority to modify or set aside any judicially created rules of evidence and procedure that are not required by the Constitution.
Surprisingly, Chief Justice Rehnquist not only voted with the majority but wrote the opinion himself. W
You will not find this in the Washington Post or the New York Times: Al Gore substantially enriched his mother by pushing for the sale of federal oil fields to Occidential Petroluem in 1998.
Shares of Occidental Petroleum jumped 10 percent after the company purchased the Elk Hills oil field in California from the federal government in 1998. Mr. Gore, whose family owns at least $500,000 in Occidental stock, recommended the sale as part of his "reinventing government" reform package.
Perhaps the Federal Trade Commission should investigate whether this consitutes an unfair trade practice? W
[June 25, 2000]
Gore says he has nothing to hide, but his flunkies accuse the Bush campaign of arranging the disclosure of the Conrad memo. Hmmmm. W
Columnist John Doggett notes that recently-executed killer Gary Graham admitted killing at least six people and threatened to kill even more.
The real tragedy is that Gary Graham admitted raping, beating, robbing and abusing people in 10 separate cases and none of his supporters cared.
If death penalty opponents really want to find a martyr for their cause, they've picked the wrong fallen angel with this one.
Ass readers who don't understand that admitting to killing six people pretty much seals the deal, read this. W