Category: Courts and law
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ALEC, the Tea Party and the Feral GOP
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in Business and Economy, Children and Families, Courts and law, Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement, Demographics, Economic development, Education (higher ed), Energy, Environment, Government Finance, Gun rights, Immigration, Insurance, Labor and Workforce, LGBQT, Media, Money in politics, Politics, Public safety & health, Race and Race Relations, Social Services and Entitlements, Taxes, TransportationBy Peter Galuszka Virginia’s conservatives have gone through a spasm of controversy as they struggle to find their message. They desperately need to balance their ideas of fiscal discipline and limited government with a wide spectrum of unrelated hard-right social issues. The clearest evidence yet of the quandary for their soul involves the American Legislative…
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What Do You Know, There Is Electoral Fraud in Virginia
by James A. Bacon Not long ago, I dissed the need for a Voter ID law in Virginia on the grounds that it was a solution in search of a problem. Electoral fraud in the Old Dominion, I suggested, was such a rarity that there was no need to get people riled up. It just…
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Five Ways Virginia Sucks
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in Blogs and Blog Administration, Children and Families, Consumer Protection, Courts and law, Demographics, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Energy, Environment, Government Finance, Gun rights, LGBQT, Money in politics, Science & Technology, Social Services and EntitlementsBy Peter Galuszka An alternative blogger is listing five ways Virginia may be the worst state in the union, a.k.a. “Bob Land.” Tara Lohan of AlterNet notes that generally, watching the news these days is like going through a time warp when it comes to debates about birth control or teaching science in the classroom.…
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Hate ObamaCare? Try Social Media
By Peter Galuszka For all the chatter before the U.S. Supreme Court and pundits, ObamaCare has raised critical questions striking at the heart of individual rights and the Constitution. Yet there’s another, far more powerful and potentially more sinister force out there that is far more ominous along similar grounds: social media. True, “social media”…
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Virginia Government Scores an “F” for Transparency, Accountability
Virginia transparency and accountability report card. (Click for more legible image.) by James A. Bacon Virginia scores 47th out of 50 states in a ranking of transparency and accountability conducted by the State Integrity Investigation project. In case you were wondering, a score of 50 is the absolute worst. In other words, 46 other states…
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Richmond’s Arab Spring
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in Business and Economy, Children and Families, Courts and law, Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement, Demographics, Economic development, Education (higher ed), Education (K-12), Electoral process, Energy, Government Finance, Health Care, Immigration, Infrastructure, Labor and Workforce, LGBQT, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Social Services and Entitlements, UncategorizedBy Peter Galuszka What seems one of the wildest General Assembly sessions that ended on Saturday was actually a healthy display of democracy in action. It could presage a fundamental way that things are done in Richmond. True, a new Republican and conservative majority in the House of Delegates pushed odious wedge issues at the…
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¡Viva la Revolución!
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in Business and Economy, Children and Families, Consumer Protection, Courts and law, Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement, Demographics, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Education (higher ed), Education (K-12), Electoral process, Energy, Government workers and pensions, Gun rights, Health Care, Housing, Immigration, Infrastructure, Insurance, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, LGBQT, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Property rights, Public safety & health, Race and Race Relations, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Science & Technology, Social Services and Entitlements, Taxes, Transportation, Uncategorized, Water-waste waterEstimado Jefe! Usted nunca debe salir de la ciudad, señor! Ahora que usted está ausente, la revolución comienza! Amados lectores de ya no ver los artículos que glorifican a los ricos y privilegiados. Vamos a ayudar a la tierra y los pobres y redistribuir los fondos de cobertura. ¡Viva la Revolución!
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Cooch Loses a Case, but Hockey-Stick Man Not Off the Hook
The Supreme Court of Virginia has ruled against Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s bid, on the grounds of investigating fraud, to obtain the email files of former UVa climatologist Michael Mann. The court stated that the university and other state agencies cannot be considered “persons” under the Virginia’s Fraud Against Taxpayers Act. “From the beginning, we…
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“Our Bodies; “Our Idiot Selves”
By Peter Galuszka Forty two years ago, a feminist group titled “the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective” got together to start researching their own books about female health since they distrusted what they considered the male-dominated medical establishment. A substantial part of their research had to deal with birth control since the pill had been…
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The Cooch’s Personal Cops?
By Peter Galuszka Virginia’s zany attorney general wants to create his own armed, flying squad of crime-busters. In what could be a 21st century version of “Dragnet,” Kenneth Cuccinelli wants to create his own police force. He wants to arm 40 of the 83 members of his Medicaid fraud investigative arm. They’d have badges, too. Cuccinelli…
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The Ultrasound Abortion
By Peter Galuszka Abortion is always a very unpleasant topic just as it must be horrendous for a woman to be in a position to make such as choice. Still, it is her constitutional right, the law of the land. So, after years of trying, Virginia’s conservative legislators are on the verge of putting themselves,…
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Virginia: Mother of Bad Ideas
By Peter Galuszka The Mother of Presidents is back at it again. Through some legal quirk — typical for the Old Dominion — only Mitt Romney and Ron Paul will be on the ballot for the March 6 Republican primary. Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry did not meet the state’s onerous requirement for 10,000 petition signatures…
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The Wonk Salon, October 20, 2011
The Free Market Case for Opposing Caps on Medical Malpractice Heritage Foundation The insurance industry does a better job than government of punishing bad doctors. Capping malpractice awards undermines mutes incentives for physicians to reduce the risk of negligent injuries. Texas Halts Erosion of Property Rights Texas Public Policy Foundation Texas courts let the state’s…
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Yet Another Mongolian Crossroads
By Peter Galuszka (Third in a series) ULAN BAATOUR, Mongolia — Flying into this capital city nestled among treeless, light brown mountains brought back memories of a grimy, industrial Soviet city from 30 years ago. Along the tarmac are rows of cannibalized Antonov 2 biplanes used as crop dusters after World War II along with…
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The weak suit that could undermine challenges to the health care law
By Norm Leahy Ken Cuccinelli is worried. It’s not a familiar feeling for Virginia’s Attorney General. Mid-way through his first term in office, Cuccinelli has translated his firm conservative beliefs into a series of court cases challenging what he, and his supporters, sees as federal government excesses. So often has he taken the feds to…