Author Archive for James Archive Page
Welcome Back, Old Friend
0 Comments Published by James October 4th, 2008 in History, Politics, Supreme Court, Church and StateTomorrow, the Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle will host the 55th Red Mass.
Tradition holds that, on the Sunday before the opening of the Court’s October term, the Catholic Church hosts a mass to bring wisdom and guidance to the Justices of the high court. Although the current Court is a 5-4 majority of Catholics, […]
Joe Biden and the Judiciary
0 Comments Published by James August 26th, 2008 in Barack Obama, Presidential Election 2008, Clarence Thomas, Supreme Court, Current EventsBarack Obama has chosen a running mate that shares his views on fiscal policy, healthcare, education, the war on terror, and…Clarence Thomas? It seems that the presumptive Democratic nominee, fresh off his remarks at Saddleback, has selected Senator Joe Biden (D-DE) as his VP. Biden is widely-respected as the Chair of the Senate Committee on […]
Surprisingly Candid McCain and Obama Discuss Current SCOTUS Makeup, Nomination Process at the Saddleback Civil Forum
4 Comments Published by James August 17th, 2008 in Presidential Election 2008, Presidential Debates, Barack Obama, Stephen Breyer, John McCain, Judicial Activism, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John Paul Stevens, Supreme Court, Antonin Scalia, Samuel Alito, David Souter, John Roberts, Justices and JudgesEarlier tonight, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama joined Pastor Rick Warren at his California megachurch for an event pegged as “The Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency.” The interviews, each an hour in length, were separated by thirty-six tense seconds in which the presumptive nominees shared the stage (and an awkward hug [video here!]). […]
Is Early Voting Constitutional?
7 Comments Published by James August 12th, 2008 in John Edwards, Election Law, Presidential Election 2008, Politics, Texas, Constitutional LawAll of this John Edwards business has got me thinking about early voting. I am registered to vote in Texas, where Election Codes 81.001 and 82.005 specify that I can ”vote early” – up to seventeen days before any federal election. Say, hypothetically, that John Edwards had rallied for a victory in South Carolina and […]
Statistics Show Obama Would Likely Redefine SCOTUS as 6-3 Liberal Majority; McCain Could Engineer an 8-1 Conservative Supermajority
3 Comments Published by James August 8th, 2008 in Presidential Election 2008, Clarence Thomas, Barack Obama, Stephen Breyer, Statistics, John McCain, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David Souter, John Paul Stevens, Supreme Court, Antonin Scalia, Samuel Alito, John Roberts, Anthony KennedyI’ve been a little surprised by how scarcely the Supreme Court is being mentioned during this election cycle. Especially as the dust was settling from Heller, I expected more talk about the role our next president may play in determining the trajectory of the Court. Recently, however, I’ve noticed that some smaller conservative blogs have […]
Looking Ahead to New York State Board of Elections v. López Torres
9 Comments Published by James August 4th, 2007 in Election Law, Circuit Courts, Supreme Court, Upcoming ArgumentsOn October 3rd of this year, the Supreme Court will entertain arguments is New York State Board of Elections v. López Torres, which centers on the method by which the state of New York selects its trial judges. Margarita López Torres, an aspiring candidate, argued in the US District Court for the Eastern District of […]
Democratic YouTube Debate Analysis
2 Comments Published by James July 24th, 2007 in Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Barack Obama, Presidential Election 2008, Democrats, Presidential DebatesI really enjoyed the YouTube debate, although I thought Anderson Cooper was a miserable, miserable moderator. Everyone talked over him even more frequently than usual, and his comments were uncommonly awkward (save his quip about no one being to the left of Kucinich). My grades:
Senator Clinton: A+++++
I thought Mlle. Clinton was extremely charming, informative, responsive, […]
20/20 Needs New Spectacles OR Why David Vitter (R-LA) Wants A New Cell Number
0 Comments Published by James July 11th, 2007 in Republicans, 2008 Congressional Elections, Celebrities, Madness (Sparta?), Congress, Current EventsEarlier this week, Deborah Jeane Palfrey – commonly referred to as the “DC Madam” – released (for public download) an unfathomably long list of phone numbers corresponding to former clients. Those of you unfamiliar with this case will be thrilled to learn that the USDOJ has alleged in the US District Court for the District […]
Dr. No, 72, Excites Our Young Blogosphere
2 Comments Published by James July 6th, 2007 in John McCain, Blogosphere, Presidential Election 2008, Madness (Sparta?)I have never seen my dear beloved blogosphere so excited!
Everyone is very anxious to weigh in on the fact that, after Q2, fringe libertarian and pseudo-candidate Ron Paul ($2.4 million) has more cash on hand than John McCain ($2 million). Curious? Excited? Read more here (or here) ((or here)) (((or here))) ((((or here)))) (((((or […]
Candidate Profile: Mitt Romney
3 Comments Published by James July 6th, 2007 in 2008 Candidate Profiles, Immigration, Presidential Election 2008, Foreign PolicyToday I have the distinct pleasure of publishing the third installment of the DailyWrit Candidate Profiles, which will examine former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. Romney, 60, attended Stanford before leaving for France on a mission trip customary in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Upon his return, he transferred to BYU and eventually […]
When Mitt Met Hillary
2 Comments Published by James July 5th, 2007 in Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Barack Obama, Presidential Election 2008, PoliticsWhen Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney ran into each other yesterday in Iowa, they smiled for the cameras. Both Presidential hopefuls hoped this wouldn’t be their last encounter – and, if current polling in Iowa can be extrapolated to national trends (and Kerry clearly showed us last year that it can), then this match up […]
Candidate Profile: John Edwards
1 Comment Published by James July 5th, 2007 in 2008 Candidate Profiles, John Edwards, Presidential Election 2008Over the course of the coming weeks (months?), Kedar and I will be profiling major candidates seeking their parties’ nominations for the Presidency. You will be able to find all of these profiles in the new category “2008 Candidate Profiles.” We hope we might be able to explain what it would take for each of […]
“Is Crack TOO Whack for Presidential Hopefuls?” asks a curious MTV
1 Comment Published by James July 4th, 2007 in Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, John McCain, Barack Obama, Presidential Election 2008, Madness (Sparta?)A recent MTV poll found that 68% of young Americans would vote for a candidate who has used marijuana. Good news for Obama. 25% would vote for a gay candidate, but only 22% would vote for a candidate who has used cocaine (bad news for Tom Tancredo). 41% of youngsters have favorable opinions of Hillary […]
Mikal Watts v. John Cornyn (R-TX): Is Markos Right about the 2008 Texas Senate Race?
0 Comments Published by James July 4th, 2007 in Blogs, 2008 Congressional Elections, Democrats, Republicans, Congress, TexasFacing South is my new favorite blog.
This post (by correctly explaining how Karl Rove’s recent GOP strategy PowerPoint (.pdf) violated the Hatch Act by being presented on federal property) intrigued me. Then I got sucked in by the observation that, in 2008, every southern state save Florida will hold a Senatorial election. Although Rove […]
Romney/Giuliani(?): Embrace Lucky Number 7
1 Comment Published by James July 3rd, 2007 in John McCain, Hillary Clinton, Blogs, Presidential Election 2008, Media, PoliticsIt has been a busy couple of weeks for all those folks runnin’ for President!
Of course, everyone has something to say about Bush’s decision to commute ol’ Scooter’s sentence (you can find a detailed and thought-provoking run down here, courtesy of DryFlyPolitics). Then, yesterday, the final fundraising numbers for the previous quarter came in. […]