Adam Serwer

My take on what Goodwin Liu‘s request to withdraw his nomination to the 9th Circuit means for the nomination process: The truth, though, is that in the past few years, this type of obstruction has become the norm rather than the exception. Obama has had the lowest confirmation rate for judicial nominees since Richard Nixon. […]

What MSNBC host Ed Schulz said about conservative radio host Laura Ingraham was disgusting, and his temporary suspension seems like an appropriate sanction. At the same time, this kind of sexism, while not always expressed in such crude terms, is pretty common in the universe of right–wing media, including on Igraham’s show. Part of the […]

So it looks like Sen. Rand Paul has managed to get Majority Leader Harry Reid to agree on some votes to amendments to the PATRIOT Act, which aren’t likely to get through: The Senate was set to start voting on the legislation, including possible amendments, Thursday morning. Final passage during the day would send it […]

Yesterday, Gallup released a poll showing that the largest number of Americans (56 percent) since it’s been asking the question believe that gay and lesbian “relations” are “morally acceptable.” On the question of whether they should be legal: So I think there’s good news here for marriage-equality supporters and interesting news. The good news is […]

There’s a Secret PATRIOT Act, senator says. Shelby Steele still hates Obama. About that new AUMF. Jared Lee Loughner is mentally unfit to stand trial.

I’m not the best person to comment on the results of the special election in New York’s 26th Congressional District, which Democrats are touting as a rejection of Rep. Paul Ryan‘s plan to privatize Medicare. I will say, though, if Americans really were proto-Randians then Republicans wouldn’t be on the defensive in trying to argue […]

One of the stranger arguments put forth by defenders of Arizona’s SB 1070 immigration law is that the federal government isn’t “doing anything” about illegal immigration. This is belied by, among other things, the aggressive nature of the Secure Communities program, which, notwithstanding rhetorical objections about forcing local authorities to enforce immigration laws, compels local […]

My piece on the efforts of a small bipartisan group of senators to add some small changes to the PATRIOT Act is up: The Senate’s small civil libertarian-friendly wing failed to reform the PATRIOT Act this time around, but it will have more opportunities to test its influence and sustainability in the near future. Next […]

Earlier this week, Justices Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito wrote scathing dissents to the 5-4 decision upholding an injunction that would force California to reduce its prison population because its overcrowded system violated Eight Amendment prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishment. Both rulings contained some rather vivid imagery. Here’s Scalia: It is also worth noting […]