Scott Lemieux

To follow up on this, it’s not merely that the California court’s decision was directed entirely at state actors, and had no bearing on the actions of private churches at all. It’s that the whole category of “hate speech,” as it pertains to American law, doesn’t exist. The state cannot restrict speech solely based in […]

Mike Lillis notes the staunch commitment to the free market that underlies the principled opposition of reactionary Southern senators to the auto bailout: “You look at the South,” [Sen. Richard] Shelby said. “You take — not just Mercedes in my hometown — but BMW, Honda and all of them. These companies are flourishing with American […]

In addition to the many other ways in which it’s abominable, Reuel Marc Gerecht‘s op-ed supporting Stalinist interrogation methods and opposing the rule of law contains one of the most farcical invocations of the “ticking time bomb” scenario ever: But this third way, which is essentially where America was before the Clinton administration embraced rendition, […]

John Judis brings the appropriate level of outrage to the failure of the auto bailout. And I actually think Kevin Drum is being too charitable when he attributes Republican opposition to the bailout to “ideology.” This implies that there’s some “free market” principle at stake. As today’s news again reminds us, the GOP doesn’t seem […]

I was amused to see Ross Douthat claim that “[A]n iron law of recent American politics dictates that any Republican setback at the polls will be quickly pinned on the pro-life movement.” I certainly agree that (pace William Saletan) national elections are not referenda on the abortion issue. But in fact, the Republicans’ unpopular abortion […]

Despite their ideological dissimilarity, Stephen Harper seems to be emulating the parliamentary strategery of Joe Clark, which apparently will lead to Canada’s left-leaning electoral majority retaking power. A couple notes: This was really an incredible blunder on Harper’s part. Did he think that the opposition parties would just fail to notice the key triggering proposal […]

Via Megan Carpentier, Patricia Meisol has a very interesting article about the small number of medical practitioners who choose to become abortion providers. One factor is the fact that the skills are not easily acquired at many medical schools. (“Even in Maryland, where about 61 percent of voters approved a referendum guaranteeing abortion in 1992 […]

Judge Richard Leon — an appointee of George W. Bush — issued a major ruling following the wake of the Supreme Court’s Boumediene decision yesterday, ordering five Guantanamo detainees released “forthwith.” He also added comments that echoed Souter’s Boumediene concurrence: The judge, in an unusual added comment, suggested to senior government leaders that they forgo […]

Ed Kilgore says that “a critical plurality of Americans don’t much like abortion but care a whole lot about when and why abortions occur.” Assuming that this is true — and there’s some evidence for it — the obvious answer is that since there’s no way of inscribing “women should get abortions only when a […]

One potential list here. I must admit that I have a strong sympathy for Sonia Sotomayor, given her role in stopping MLB’s attempted bad faith union-busting in 1995, but she seems too moderate to be a good first choice on a Court with four doctrinaire reactionaries and no Brennan/Marshall/Douglas style liberal. Marshall’s former clerk Elena […]