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Monthly Archives: April 2009

Another step back

Thursday, April 16, 2009

This is quick. After writing the previous post, I learned that Obama has explicitly barred prosecutions of those who did the torturing, officially approving the “just following orders” defense that we (as it turns out) self righteously rejected at Nuremberg. The idea that anyone would have a “good faith” belief in the validity of a […]

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One step forward, after some steps back

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Like many of his supporters, I was more than disappointed when Obama, through his “Justice” Department, took a legal position in favor of unlimited presidential power to wiretap. It was a sad day for the country, and we on the left have put principle over person by loudly disapproving. Today, Eric Holder and his department […]

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Numbers

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Yesterday I searched in vain for some authoritative accounting of the number of teabaggers that showed up for the demonstrations yesterday. It should certainly have occurred to me to check with Nate Silver at 538.com, which I did today. He says the total, across the entire country, was 262,025, with some smaller venues yet to […]

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Comfort Zone

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

When I was in college I used to amuse myself by reading the John Birch magazine, which was available in the school library. Even then it struck me that the extreme right had a pronounced paranoid streak. Nothing makes them happier than portraying themselves as beleaguered, under attack, or victims. If possible, all three. They […]

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British girl makes good

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Watch this: Half the world has seen it already. If you don’t shed a tear you’ve got a harder heart than me. Some pertinent thoughts here.

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A few announcements

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Two events this weekend. Saturday the Groton Democrats will honor Nancy DeMarinis and Nancy Driscoll, both of whom richly deserve the recognition. Nancy DeMarinis is a former state representative of long standing, and Nancy Driscoll is a union activist and campaign worker extraordinaire. If you want to learn how to make get out the vote […]

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Noted in Passing

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

According to the print edition of today’s Day (page B4), property owned by Susette Kelo, located at 6 Chappell Street, is about to be sold at a marshal’s sale due to non-payment of taxes. Can’t someone find a way to help her extort a few bucks from New London because of this?

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Verbal Gymnastics

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

We lawyers are often called upon to formulate rather elaborate ways of avoiding saying something that we would rather not say. It’s a bit of an art, really. The trick is to avoid conceding a point while sticking to the literal truth. Sadly, when you need to do such a thing, you’re probably fated to […]

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The Day Shills for the Right

Monday, April 13, 2009

The right wing population in this area is small, but it has disproportionate influence with one of our institutions: the New London Day. Over the years the Day has been inundated with letters accusing it of right wing bias (while it was endorsing Republicans such as Simmons and George Bush). In response, the Day has […]

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Leave Tom Paine alone

Monday, April 13, 2009

Some people can never rest easy. Consider Poor Tom Paine. During the latter years of his life he was hounded, even on his deathbed, by what passed at the time as the American right-both secular and religious. His name was mud from the early nineteenth century until the mid twentieth, despite all he had done […]

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