Some Florida Democrats think minorities are too stupid to vote:
"For whatever reason, minority voters have been shown to have more difficulty voting on the punch-card technology. I don't know why the pattern is that way," Sancho said, adding that now that the state has done away with punch cards, voter education needs to be strengthened. "It's been the neglected stepchild of the election process."
...Democrats and minority leaders learned something. It's important not only to get blacks to the polls but also to help them understand what to expect.
Does that even need translating? W
When I first read this, I thought, "WTF?!?!?!" Then I thought about it a little more and calmed down. The Justice Department has decided to listen in on calls between those in prison and their attorneys, in order to prevent detainees from using their lawyers to further acts of terrorism. Liberals have assailed this as a violation of constitutional rights and a revocation of the attorney client privilege. The plan is neither, although it is certainly unsavory.
Lesson one: Attorney-client privilege is not a constituional right; it is a rule of evidence excluding those conversations from court. In order to apply, the attorney and the client must have a reasonable expectation that their conversation is confidential. No one can seriously tell me that anyone has a reasonable expectation of privacy on a prison phone. First of all, every other call made from a prison phone is monitored, and lawyers know that. Second, any phone which is in a place where others can hear either end of the conversation - other inmates, guards, etc. - is by its very nature not a private phone. With no reasonable expectation of privacy, no privilege attaches. Even if there were a reasonable expectation of privacy, the attorney-client privilege does not prevent other people from attempting to listen in - it merely prevents anyone from admitting the contents of the conversation into court. So, to those who say that the Justice Department has "revoked" the attorney client privilege, you're flat-out wrong.
Does this new rule implicate the constitutional right to counsel? Only if you think the constitution guarantees you the right to speak to your lawyer on the phone as opposed to in person. As long as one has the opportunity to retain a lawyer (or be represented by a public defender) and confer with them in person from time to time, the right to counsel has been fulfilled.
So... most of what you'll hear from the liberal left is simply hysteria. Sure, it may be a bad political move, but there's nothing illegal or unethical about the new rule. W
While sitting in an estate-planning seminar, I recently thought of another reason the death tax should die, and found that others have already reached the same conclusion. The death tax, like many other taxes, discriminates against gay and lesbian couples. Los Angeles tax attorney Afshin Asher puts it succinctly:
The laws generally do not recognize the same rights and privileges for same-sex couples.
Another commentator, Stephen Miller, sees the opportunity for politics to make strange bedfellows, in his article entitled An Economic Agenda for Gay Couples."
How about a gay political movement that tells conservatives they'll have our support for repeal of the "death tax" and for private Social Security accounts, in return for support on some of OUR civil rights issues? Now there's an original idea on building alliances that just might produce tangible benefits in the here and now.
Note to Miller: See Pink Pistols and Log Cabin Republicans for examples of gay activists who have found common ground with traditionally conservative thought and broken the chains of how they are expected to think. W
Is an economic recovery around the corner? Consumer sentiment suddenly shot up at the same time wholesale prices dropped a record 1.6 percent over the last month. W
Patrick Ruffini analyzes the Virginia elections. Virginia isn't, even under Warner, Dem country anymore. W
When Creative Labs Disc Detector gets nuked by the newest beta version of WinAmp, follow these steps:
First, you will want to ensure that Disc Detector is enabled. Click the Start button and then Settings, Control Panel. Double click the Disc Detector icon. The box next to Enable Disc Detector should be checked. If it is not, check it and then click Ok.
If this fails to fix the problem, uncheck Enable Disc Detector. Click the Start button and then Find, Files or Folders. If you are running Windows ME or Windows 2000 it will Start, Search, for Files or Folders. In the Named field type MEDIADET.LOG. The Look In field should say (C:), if it does not click the down arrow and select the (C:) drive. Click Find Now or Search Now. Delete the file named Mediadet.log by right clicking on the file name and selecting Delete. Now reopen Disc Detector. Recheck Enable Disc Detector and click Ok.
Worked for me. W
Today in many neighborhoods across the country, schools and churches and civic centers are set up in celebration of America’s great experiment. Even in the wake of national tragedy and even in times of war, Americans have the right to go to the polling place and choose how they want to live their lives and how they want their leaders to act on their behalf. Not everyone exercises that right - today, as the precinct worker instructed me to review my choices prior to pressing the VOTE button - "Ever since last year, we ask everyone to review their choices…" - there were only a handful of people around. But I went, and I voted, because that is the single best way to reaffirm that Americans are different from everyone else, but that we are not that much different from the way we were before September 11. The government of the United States is still run ultimately by the people.
I voted for every Libertarian on the ballot. In these troubled times as Americans struggle to figure out how to best defend ourselves, it is crucial for us to remember that if we fail to defend our liberty first, the rest is ashes and sackcloth - an empty promise no longer worth defending. I sent a message in the best way possible, better than a letter or a phone call, to our elected leaders that if they fail to defend our liberty I will choose to fire them and hire someone who will. I will continue to vote this way until the people we elect actually do act to protect our liberty. Then I will still vote for those who so act, regardless of party affiliation.
I sent a message today, to our enemies and to out leaders, that America is still strong, and that I want to keep it that way.
I voted. Did you? W
Somehow I missed this: On October 16, the United States Court of Appeals (Fifth Circuit) issued a ruling in United States v. Emerson. The court conducted a lengthy analysis of the Second Amendment - the right to keep and bear arms - and whether it enumerates an individual right or a collective right. After analyzing prior court decisions and the text of the Second Amendment itself, they concluded:
... It appears clear that "the people," as used in the Constitution, including the Second Amendment, refers to individual Americans....We turn now to the Second Amendment's preamble: "A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State." And, we ask ourselves whether this preamble suffices to mandate what would be an otherwise implausible collective rights or sophisticated collective rights interpretation of the amendment. We conclude that it does not.
Sarah Brady, phone your office. W
Bookmark: little green footballs. W