By Noah Marks The minor political crisis that unfolded over the weekend, fallout from the Presidential pardon of “Mac” and “Cheese” and Sasha and Malia’s apparent boredom, has claimed at least one person’s job. The President, puzzled by the tradition, echoed his recent immigration executive order by claiming that the act is “fully within” his “legal authority” to “spare the … [Read more...] about Real Pardons for Real People
Facebook Threats: Will Prosecutors Have to Prove Subjective Intent?
By Ana Choi Today, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for Elonis v. United States, an important case dealing with freedom of speech in the context of social media. Petitioner Anthony Elonis was charged and convicted under 18 U.S.C. § 875(c)—which forbids “any threat to injure the person of another”—after composing a series of threatening Facebook posts about his wife, … [Read more...] about Facebook Threats: Will Prosecutors Have to Prove Subjective Intent?
What We Really Should Do This Thanksgiving
By Tom Watts In the aftermath of Ferguson, I keep reading pieces like this: what we should do now is learn, understand, and think. I find this advice irritating, because it seems futile. Things look bad right now, and social change will never come from progressives simply becoming more informed. We have to take the next step: talk with people. In particular, talk with people … [Read more...] about What We Really Should Do This Thanksgiving
Let’s Make a Deal
By Daniel Pyon As the dust settles from the midterm elections, this much is clear: the final two years of President Obama’s administration will be one of two-party control. Accordingly, journalists and pundits are busy predicting what divided government means for issues on the President’s legislative agenda ranging like immigration, climate change, tax reform, and presidential … [Read more...] about Let’s Make a Deal
Four places are changing the way we think about marijuana
by Monis Khan Last Tuesday's midterm elections have left liberals panic-stricken as they lament lopsided losses by Democratic party candidates for U.S. Congress. For progressives paying attention to ballot measures at the state level, however, there is cause for encouragement. Even with the lowest turnout nationwide for any midterm election since World War II—a metric that … [Read more...] about Four places are changing the way we think about marijuana
A SCOTUS Ruling on Gay Marriage: What’s it Actually Worth?
By Matthew Skurnik Since the Supreme Court’s June 2013 ruling in United States v. Windsor—holding the federal Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional—gay rights advocates have brought a tidal wave of lawsuits across the country successfully challenging state bans on same-sex marriage. On October 6th of this year, the Supreme Court denied cert in cases from five states, … [Read more...] about A SCOTUS Ruling on Gay Marriage: What’s it Actually Worth?
Defining a Terrorist
By Ming Cheung Over the past week, a series of tragic and senseless attacks have taken place in the United States and Canada. First, a man struck two soldiers in a hit-and-run in Quebec , another targeted the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa, and a hatchet-wielding individual assaulted police officers in New York City. All three attackers happen to be Muslim, and as human nature … [Read more...] about Defining a Terrorist
School Segregation in New York City
By Ana Choi On October 22, the New York City Council introduced a package of legislation aimed at addressing the problem of racial and socioeconomic segregation in New York City’s public schools. The package contains three pieces. The first piece would require the city’s Education Department to report statistics for various measures of diversity in the schools. The second … [Read more...] about School Segregation in New York City
Any Traction for the Dukes Majority’s Characterization of “Most Managers?”
Anne King As I wrote previously, as courts apply the Supreme Court’s decision in Wal-Mart Stores Inc. v. Dukes, observers are ever gaining new insight on how the opinion will impact future litigation. Nearly four months after Dukes (decided 6/20/11), I thought it would be interesting to take a look at whether a noteworthy passage in the majority opinion is finding any … [Read more...] about Any Traction for the Dukes Majority’s Characterization of “Most Managers?”
Whatever Happened to NSA Reform?
By Jake Laperruque For the last year and a half, government surveillance and NSA monitoring have generated one of the most intense discussions in the country. The Snowden disclosures have not only brought the surveillance debate to the front page, congressional hearings, and the campaign trail, but have also significantly impacted public opinion: Most Americans believe that … [Read more...] about Whatever Happened to NSA Reform?