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February 28th, 2006 - Washington, D.C.— - COLEMAN TO INTRODUCE BILL TO BALANCE NATIONAL SECURITY AND ECONOMIC INTERESTS RAISED IN PORTS CONTROVERSY Citing recent concerns over the security of U.S. ports, Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman today announced that he will introduce legislation to require U.S. operation of foreign-owned investments impacting national security and critical infrastructure such as American port terminals. The Foreign Investment Transparency and Security Act (FITSA) of 2006 will prohibit foreign government controlled entities from managing a national security related facility or investment. However, the bill will permit foreign governments to own and invest in such facilities provided...

A view from Brooklyn. Some good 'ole cursing here.

Once a thriving debating forum, a beacon for freedom of speech on the internet, SterlingTimes.com has now officially frowned on open debate and narrowed it's outlook. Many of the once regular posters who have left since the arrival of Quidnunc and his henchmen have been branded "lefties", "nazis", "pompous upstarts" and "bigots", among other labels. The moderator has turned a blind eye to abusive treatment of anyone whose opinion slightly differs from that of Quidnunc & Co. and most recently has announced that SterlingTimes is no longer a debating forum. "There are plenty of boards available for those who want...

John G. Roberts pairs a youthful demeanor with a sharp, seasoned legal mind that has impressed Ivy League professors, government lawyers and U.S. presidents. Befitting his age of 50 and limited time on the appellate court, the book on his judicial decisions remains a work in progress. President Bush on Tuesday tapped Roberts to become the nation's 109th Supreme Court justice, introducing the Harvard honors graduate, former clerk to William Rehnquist and successful Washington attorney to the nation in prime time. "He has argued 39 cases before the Supreme Court and earned a reputation as one of the best legal...

DN: As cause for the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Osama Bin Laden cited the United States' military presence since the Gulf War of 1991 in his native country, Saudi Arabia. Do you think diminishing that dependence would help the United States, and have you ever given thought to whether driving a Hummer helps exacerbate that dependence?

Thanks to the adoring press, Robert Redford recently got to remind the world that he's not a reporter but played one in a film. Redford, of course, was in the flick "All the President's Men," which co-starred Dustin Hoffman. While receiving a lifetime achievement award at the Czech Film Festival, the Sundance CEO remarked: "There are deep similarities going on, but where is the press? Where is the press?" The actor was chiding the news media for not pursuing a sequel to the investigation of Richard Nixon by launching a probe of President George W. Bush. "There are strong similarities...

Ronald Reagan, like all presidents, made a few mistakes while he was in office, and one of his more regrettable blunders was nominating a judge by the name of Sandra Day O'Connor for a position on the highest court in the land. Although many people in the left-wing media like to refer to her as a "moderate" jurist, that characterization only proves that they have no idea what a judge's job actually is. Using the word ''moderate'' to describe a judge is like using the word Jewish to describe a cat. The term simply does not apply. It is a...

The black Republican abolitionist Frederick Douglass said, “Without struggle, there is no progress.” Successful people in every walk of life grow in character and ability by seeking new and greater challenges to master. In Judging Thomas, Ken Foskett shows Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas's struggles against poverty and prejudice as well as the determination to earn respect through excellence. Justice Thomas' life has proved his approach correct—hard work prevails over prejudice. Clarence Thomas came of age when Americans were struggling to rethink their perceptions about race and their attitudes toward blacks. Forced to confront their actions, Americans chose to change...

Why don't the poll surveys have a thread dedicated solely to discussions on why we answered the way we did? They are like a sentence without a period. I am always curious as to the reasoning behind some peoples vote. Everytime we have a poll question, I always look for a thread that brings the subject up.

The recent release of Justice Harry A. Blackmun's private Supreme Court case files has starkly illuminated an embarrassing problem that previously was discussed only in whispers among court insiders and aficionados: the degree to which young law clerks, most of them just two years out of law school, make extensive, highly substantive and arguably inappropriate contributions to the decisions issued in their bosses' names. Even Roe vs. Wade, Blackmun's most famous decision, which legalized abortion nationwide in 1973, owed lots of its language and much of its breadth to his clerks and the clerks of other justices. A decade later,...

China goes undercover to sway opinion on internet 20.05.05 BEIJING - China has formed a special force of undercover online commentators to try to sway public opinion on controversial issues on the Internet, a newspaper said yesterday. China has struggled to gain control over the Internet as more and more people gain access to obtain information beyond official sources. The country has nearly 100 million Internet users, according to official figures, and the figure is rising. A special force of online commentators had already been operating in Suqian city in the eastern coastal province of Jiangsu since April, the Southern...

For 200 years the Senate carefully considered the professional track record of any judge nominated for the federal bench. That changed five years ago when ranking Democrats decided to turn the Senate Judiciary Committee into their own personal meat grinder. Despite having nearly 100 federal judgeships to fill, these Democrats resolved to torpedo most of President Bush's nominations. This partisan blood oath – as opposed to careful consideration of each jurist's record – now decides who presides over our federal courts. At least one major implication is that the dearth of federal judges (one-eighth of all federal judgeships still remain...

When property passes by probate, it means that the state courts supervise the disposition of the property. If the person left a valid will, the courts supervise to ensure that the terms of the will are followed. If the person did not leave a valid will, the courts follow the state law for intestacy. Many states have a special court that handles probate, often called a probate court or an orphans court. The difference is in name only, and they all function very similarly.

A new survey by FindLaw finds that only 33% of Americans have a living will. Sixty-seven percent of Americans lack a living will, potentially leaving them with no say over whether they wish to receive life-sustaining medical treatment in the event they should become incapacitated or terminally ill. The national survey of 1,000 adults was conducted by telephone and results are accurate to within plus or minus three percent. ------- This page provides links to legal documents, news and commentary pertaining to Terri Schlindler Schiavo.

Living in New York, I have no choice but to read the New York Times every day. I try to leaven it with the Daily News and the New York Post, but it's a witch's brew. The News has somehow cast itself as the newspaper of the underclass, so it feels obliged to report every bit of mayhem coming out of New York's poor neighborhoods. Somebody killed somebody over a jacket. Somebody got shot over a parking space. A grandmother in a housing project was killed in the crossfire by drug dealers. News about democracy demonstrations in Lebanon usually appears...

I have been inundated with requests from readers to speak out on this topic, sign and forward a petition, one supporting her parent’s wishes, another allegedly supporting her wishes, as communicated by her husband and legal guardian Michael Schiavo. Until today, I have declined to inject my personal thoughts into this discussion. There is little in this world more difficult or personal than the decisions facing the Schiavo family today. My knowledge on this matter is limited to press reports in which, as a general rule, I have no confidence at all today. Unlike anyone else with whom I have...

A few weeks ago I was watching a program on C-Span pertaining to the impact of foreign court opinions upon the U.S. justice system. The primary participants in the discussion were Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Stephen Breyer, and the event took place at the American University Law School in Washington D.C. rtsp://video.c-span.org/archive/sc/sc011305_scalia.rm The debate revolved around questions asked by a moderator named Professor Norman Dorsen, and the first multi-part question asked was, "When we talk about the use of foreign court decisions in U.S. Constitutional cases, what body of foreign law are we talking about? Are we limiting...

We keep hearing about "zero tolerance" from government officials and in government schools. Well, perhaps it is time We the People ought to demand a little zero tolerance from them. For instance, they jailed Martha Stewart for lying to an investigator. What about Bill Clinton? There are still a few matters that have not been resolved with the Clinton fiasco yet. Why isn't out and out perjury treated more seriously than lying so some stuffy investigator? We should have zero tolerance for all political lying -- for all public officials, which are public servants, actually. Turn the law around and...

Here's a quick question for all you Constitutional scholars: Which of the enumerated powers authorized to the federal government are described in the Bill of Rights? None, of course. Except in later amendments, regulatory powers given the federal government by the Constitution of the United States are listed in the body of the Constitution. The Second Amendment, then, is something else. When we are unsure about the exact meaning of a section of the Constitution, the Supreme Court instructs that we should look to The Federalist Papers for clarification. In Cohens v. Virginia the Court said: "Its intrinsic merit entitles...

I'm looking for comments based on personal experience concerning the use of hypnotism for improved results in weight loss and other issues which may be enhanced by it's use.