Appellate opinions released February 28

Wisconsin Court of Appeals opinions including recommended for publication:
D.M.K., Inc. v. Town of Pittsfield (municipality immune from claim arising from denying contracts to low bidder with history of performance problems when bidder would not waive suit for other contracts not awarded on its low bids)

Evolving Roles in Federal Sentencing: The Post-Booker / Fanfan World

by Robert J. Anello and Jodi Misher Peikin, 2005 Fed. Cts. L. Rev. 9

United States v. Martin (6th Cir. 2006)

In the decision [pdf, 17 pp.], see the concurring opinion of Judge Boyce F. Martin, Jr., p. 16, n. 1.

(via Steve Dillard at Southern Appeal)

Empty Promise

Keelin McDonell in TNR Online on the public editor as ombudsman at The New York Times

Among the strangest misapprehensions of the public editor is the belief that quoting from reader mail in a column is a superior form of responsiveness to printing the correspondence in the letters page. There is probably some small thrill in reading Okrent or Calame concur with your disappointment, or satisfied indignation in reading one of them refute you. But, more often than not, the experience is followed by nothing more than the public editor's tame and sonorous expression of hope that the Times might at some point in the future improve.

Critics in Blue Helmets

Tim Cavanaugh rants in Reason that The U.N. blocks the only invasion where they really do welcome us with flowers.

Alito Keeps Telling Supreme Court How They Did Things In Circuit Court

from The Onion

Is it fair to roll back statutes of limitations?

Mary DeTurris Poust in Our Sunday Visitor

The New American Militarism

Edward A. Olsen in The Independent Review on The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War by Andrew J. Bacevich.

Bacevich sets the stage with a critique of Wilsonian interventionism and its legacy to date. This analysis is balanced in its criticism of various administrations. At the core of its salience for militarism are observations about "the demise of the ancient American tradition of the citizen-soldier" (p. 26) and the claim that "the outsourcing of defense to a professional military elite, the erosion of civilian control—distorts if it does not altogether nullify important elements of the American birthright" (p. 32).

Why Aren't Black Business Tycoons Celebrated During Black History Month?

Jeffrey J. Matthews at History News Network

For more than two decades, a number of historians, led largely by the pathbreaking scholarship of Professor Juliet E.K. Walker of the University of Texas, have been working to expand our knowledge of the rich tradition of black entrepreneurs, managers, and corporate executives. Too few people, including U.S. historians, have taken notice.

All Eyes on the Rookie

Cliff Sloan in Newsweek on two among the first cases to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court with Justice Alito.

The campaign finance case, Randall v. Sorrell, to be argued on Feb. 28, concerns Vermont's strictest-in-the-nation campaign finance laws, which severely limit contributions and spending in state campaigns. The redistricting fight, LULAC v. Perry, to be argued the next day, on March 1, involves the celebrated redistricting of Texas' congressional districts, in which former Majority Leader Tom DeLay played a prominent role.

Princeton Tilts Right

Max Blumenthal in The Nation with an expose which he apparently thinks is of Robert George and the Madison Program at Princeton University.

It's a good thing Princeton approves--or appears to approve--of what George is doing. Because as Philanthropy suggests, the Madison Program's refusal to accept a university endowment prevents the school from exercising leverage over it. "Without an endowment," the magazine writes, "there is nothing for the university to seize if it were to take over the Madison Program. At the slightest threat to the program's integrity, the foundations and philanthropists supporting it can pull their money." [from screen 7]

Cesar Chavez, Minuteman

Steve Sailer in The American Conservative

In 1979, Chavez bitterly testified to Congress:

... when the farm workers strike and their strike is successful, the employers go to Mexico and have unlimited, unrestricted use of illegal alien strikebreakers to break the strike. And, for over 30 years, the Immigration and Naturalization Service has looked the other way and assisted in the strikebreaking. I do not remember one single instance in 30 years where the Immigration service has removed strikebreakers. ... The employers use professional smugglers to recruit and transport human contraband across the Mexican border for the specific act of strikebreaking...

In 1969, Chavez led a march to the Mexican border to protest illegal immigration. Joining him were Sen. Walter Mondale and Martin Luther King’s successor as head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Ralph Abernathy.

Shopper driving electric cart didn't knock over plaintiff, jury finds

DRI's The Voice reports on a defense verdict in a Palm Beach County, Florida, case in which Alice Popek sued Hannah Levinberg for negligent operation of a shopping cart.

Appellate Opinions Released February 27, 2006

Neither the Wisconsin Supreme Court nor the Wisconsin Court of Appeals released any opinions or dispositional orders today.

It's an Evil Thing to Oblige People to Vote

Derek Chong, Sinclair Davidson, and Tim Fry, in Policy argue against Australia's compulsory voting.

Foundation chief nurtured conservative movement

Alan J. Borsuk reports in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on the death of Michael Joyce.

He led the Bradley Foundation to prominence as one of the pivotal forces in the rise of conservative think tanks and similar efforts. Neoconservative leader Irving Kristol once referred to him as "the godfather of modern philanthropy" related to conservative causes.

Update: John J. Miller in National Review says Michael S. Joyce, R.I.P.

Update 2: From The New York Times

Mr. Joyce was an important figure in a formidable network of organizations that emerged during that time to promote a conservative political and social agenda. The Olin and Bradley foundations, along with the Sarah Scaife Foundation in Pittsburgh, accounted for a large share of support for centers of conservative thinking, including the American Enterprise Institute, the Cato Institute, the Heritage Foundation, the Hoover Institution, the Hudson Institute and the Federalist Society.

Marquette Chapter Writing Competition

The Marquette Chapter of the Federalist Society is sponsoring its 2nd annual writing competition. Essays must be 1000 words or less and are due March 31st.

... specific details about the writing competition including the essay topic and the prizes ...

can be found here.

Feingold clicks with blog fans

Craig Gilbert reports in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

In an online poll last month on the nation's most widely read liberal blog (DailyKos.com), Feingold led the Democratic presidential field, picked by 30% of the 11,000-plus people who visited the Web site and voted.

He definitely is the most popular Democrat among the 'netroots,' " said liberal blogger Chris Bowers, referring to activists in the party who engage in online politics.

Bowers' blog (MyDD.com) did its own online poll in early February, and Feingold led that as well. ...

The question is whether this can be translated into broader support.

The recent Gallup Poll asked Democratic voters to choose from Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Al Gore, John Edwards, Mark Warner and Joe Biden. Clinton led easily with 39%. The survey didn't ask about Feingold, although 1% volunteered his name. In a December poll of Democrats by Cook Political Report/RT Strategies that included Feingold in its list, the senator received 4%, in a tie with two others behind Clinton, Kerry, Edwards and Biden.

Board of Governors meets March 3

Our State Bar's governing board meets Friday. Its agenda includes action on

WisTAF Assessment ...
State Bar of Wisconsin Policy (including on the whistleblower ethics rule, SCR 20:8.3) ...
Pro Bono Initiative Revisions

Reports include

Bench and Bar Committee Petition to Wisconsin Supreme Court to Amend Section 804.01 and 804.12 of the Rules of Civil Procedure

Informational Reports include

Update from ADR Section on Amicus in Borst v. Allstate

UN plagued by graft and sex: Bolton

The Times of India reports on remarks by John Bolton, United States ambassador to the United Nations, at the Federalist Society's National Student Symposium at Columbia University.

More than 1,000 students from law schools nationwide listened as Bolton detailed problems with the "deeply troubled" United Nations.

He said, "We find an organization that is deeply troubled by bad management, by sex and corruption and by a growing lack of confidence in its ability to carry out missions that are given to them."

Update: South Africa's News 24 reported further,

Bolton also criticized the budget of the United Nations, noting that two-thirds of members only pay 20% of the total annual budget. The UN has a "happy propensity for nations to spend other people's money," he said.

The ambassador drew gasps from the crowd when he pointed out that the limitation for gifts received by UN employees had recently been reduced to $250 from $10000.

Oral argument week of February 26

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has scheduled oral argument in the following.

March 2, Supreme Court headed for Elkhorn

09:30 a.m.
Theresa Huml v. Robert W. Vlazny 04AP36

11:00 a.m.
Lina M. Mueller v. McMillian Warner Insurance Company 05AP121

02:00 p.m.
Jackson County v. State of Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources 04AP2582 and 05AP545

Synopses of the above and live audio of arguments are available.

Rehnquist, true to words, was true to our freedom

Patrick McIlheran in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

[Justice Antonin] Scalia was speaking to a Milwaukee seminar of the Federalist Society, a group now controversial mainly for believing that a constitutional "no" doesn't mean, "oh, all right." Speaker and crowd both presumed the virtue of originalism.

For those to whom it must be proved, the case is easy: If we are to live by laws, it's better that the laws be written so we know what they are. It's better that they change slowly and by democracy, so to be surer of the changes' virtue and legitimacy, rather than frequently and by the evolving personal standards of a judge who "grows" on the bench.

Rehnquist did not "grow" on the bench in the usual sense of "turned liberal."

Rather, said several former Rehnquist clerks at the Federalists' seminar, his principles were in place by the time he got to the Supreme Court and were not remodeled by power ...

Natural Law, the Death Penalty, and Political Theology

An Editorial Response to First Things by Caleb Stegall atThe New Pantagruel

Original Intent

Susan Jacoby in Mother Jones says News: Revisionist rhetoric notwithstanding, the founders left God out of the Constitution-and it wasn't an oversight.

Every time I write an article mentioning the constitutional omission of God, I receive hundreds of identical emails calling me a liar (sometimes a godless liar), because the document is unmistakably dated "in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven." That the religious right should fall back on a once-common manner of dating important papers--as unrevealing of religious intent as the use of B.C. and A.D.--demonstrates just how seriously it takes the enterprise of controlling the past in order to control the future.

Speaking of oversights, the Constitution actually
concludes rather unconventionally, dated

the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the Independence of the United States of America the Twelfth

and the religious connotations of B.C. and A.D. are controversial.

WCC Capitol Update February 23, 2006

The latest report by the Wisconsin Catholic Conference on its concerns

WCC Supports School Choice Compromise
WCC Opposes Bill to Impose New Criminal Penalties on Pregnant Women for Illegal Drug Use
Upcoming Hearings of Interest: Select Committee on Taxpayer Protection Amendment
New Bills of Interest

Unlimited Government

Christopher DeMuth in The American Enterprise

Thomas Jefferson played the pivotal role in choosing the site for our national capital, and selected what was essentially a malarial swamp. He had been in Paris when the Constitution was drafted, and he was not much impressed by its parchment provisions for limited government. So--anticipating the old dictum that "no man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session"--Jefferson added a climatologic backstop. Long, miserable summers were to serve as a natural deterrent to the growth of our national apparatus.

It worked beautifully for more than a century. Legislators, lobbyists, and executive officials fled the capital en masse most summers, right through the late 1920s--when air conditioning was introduced. With the deployment of that subversive technology, there began a notable expansion of the federal leviathan.

Only the Supreme Court has held to the old ways. Having arranged things so that they not only get the last word on policy issues that interest them, but do so on their own time, the justices still knock off for three months every summer.

Vermont Passes Resolution to Secede from the US

Passed by a secessionist group in Vermont, not by the legislature, as Greg Szymanski explains in Hope Dance.

If successful, one could study abroad without leaving Bennington.

At the Rehnquist conference

Panelist Prof. Ann Althouse's account of yesterday's event.

After the suicide of the West

Roger Kimball's introduction to The New Criterion symposium, "The real culture war,"

The large issue here is one that has bedeviled liberal societies ever since there were liberal societies: namely, that in attempting to create the maximally tolerant society, we also give scope to those who would prefer to create the maximally intolerant society.

The symposium also includes:

It's the demography, stupid by Mark Steyn

So you're nice to gays and the Inuit? Big deal. Anyone can be tolerant of fellows like that, but tolerance of intolerance gives an even more intense frisson of pleasure to the multiculti masochists.

Limits to democracy by Roger Scruton

The lesson of the French, Russian, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Cambodian revolutions, of the English civil war, and countless other depressing episodes is that the true default position of mankind--the position to which all communities revert, when institutions crumble--is tyranny. Democracy is the last stage of a long process of attrition, a steady wearing down of the claims of personal charisma, creedal authority, and dynastic right, to the point where the great discovery can be made: the discovery that it is we ourselves who are running the show.

The corruption of history by Keith Windschuttle

To treat the modern history of the United States or any other Western country as a story of a struggle against oppression by identity groups is to falsify it.

Targeted jihad in the Netherlands by Douglas Murray

If we are going to take our rights away in tandem we are going to be in trouble. Like a loaded game of strip-poker, our opponents have come to this party swathed in countless layers of protective garments, while we have committed to this game at the very moment in our history in which our garments are fewest.

A Step in the Right Direction

David A. Hartman in Chronicles on the report of President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform.

It would be more advisable to put compensation back into the business tax base and credit employers for contributions to social insurance. This would put the highly regressive employer payroll tax in the general tax pool as a quid pro quo. The result would be the business-transfer tax base, which would qualify for WTO border adjustability. A 17.5-percent rate would generate sufficient tax to meet the requirement of tax-revenue neutrality.

"The Legacy of the Rehnquist Court"

The Federalist Society's Federalism & Separation of Powers Practice Group and Milwaukee Lawyers Chapter presented this half-day conference on Thursday, February 23, 2006.

9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Solicitor's General Roundtable on the Structural Constitution under the Rehnquist Court: separation of powers and federalism.

- Hon. Paul D. Clement, Solicitor General of the United States
- Hon. Walter E. Dellinger, of O'Melveny & Myers, and formerly Acting U.S. Solicitor General
- Hon. Theodore B. Olson, of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, and formerly U.S. Solicitor General
- Dean Joseph D. Kearney, Marquette University Law School (Moderator)

10:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. The Rehnquist Court and the Enterprise of Judging: the Rehnquist Court's jurisprudence generally, and judicial interpretation.

- Prof. Ann Althouse of the University of Wisconsin Law School
- Prof. Richard W. Garnett, Notre Dame Law School
- Hon. David G. Leitch, General Counsel, Ford Motor Co., and formerly Deputy White House Counsel
- Prof. John O. McGinnis, Northwestern University School of Law
- Hon. Stephen M. Colloton, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit (Moderator)

12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Lunch, and Keynote Address by Justice Antonin Scalia, U.S. Supreme Court

P.S. Thanks, for the mentions, to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, State Bar of Wisconsin, and Town Hall.

Appellate Opinions Released February 23, 2006

The Wisconsin Supreme Court did not release any opinions or dispositional orders today, other than one touching on attorney discipline.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals released these opinions today, none of which were recommended for publication.

Hearings were harsh, Meese says

Gary Robertson reports in the Richmond Times-Dispatch on remarks by Former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese III at an event last night presented by the Federalist Society of the T.C. Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond.

"Since 2001, the attacks on judges who are faithful to the Constitution have been systematic, prolonged and particularly vicious," he charged.

International law in American Courts

This is Ninoville's transcription of remarks made by Justice Scalia at the American Enterprise Institute 2/21/06; C-SPAN is carrying the video ...

(via Eugene Volokh at Volokh Conspiracy)

What Is "Cruel and Unusual"?

Benjamin Wittes in Policy Review says Eighth Amendment jurisprudence is a train wreck.

Vietnam as a Tourist Destination

Maybe not a workers' or peasants' paradise, but ...

Judge Alito Hearings ...Overlook A Disastrous Court Ruling

Paul Likoudis in The Wanderer on last month's 30th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Buckley v. Valeo.

Litigulation Loophole

Will Wilson at AG Watch

According to Minnesota AG Mike Hatch, the methamphetamine problem in the Midwest is caused by Sudafed and other cold medications that contain pseudoephedrine or ephedrine. Fantastic! We have isolated the problem. Now, how do we fix it?

The New Counterculture

George H. Nash in The Wall Street Journal reviews Crunchy Cons by Rod Dreher.

It is a reminder of the enduring tension on the right between those for whom the highest social good is freedom--the emancipation of the self from statist restraint and oppressive custom--and those for whom the highest social good is virtue: the formation of character, the cultivation of the soul.

For the occasion, National Review has added Crunchy Cons, "The blog for Birkenstocked Burkeans and those who love them."

Appellate Opinions Released February 22, 2006

The Wisconsin Supreme Court did not release any opinions or dispositional orders today other than one related to lawyer discipline.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals released these opinions today, none of which were recommended for publication.

Discussion of med mal caps intensifies

Tony Anderson reports in the Wisconsin Law Journal that

An $8.4 million jury verdict in a Dane County medical malpractice case has served as a flashpoint in the discussion of caps for noneconomic damages. ...

Undignified, but not a farce

The Economist on the trial of Saddam Hussein

The hearings have at times resembled a bear pit rather than a model trial. But other high-profile trials, including that of Slobodan Milosevic in The Hague, got off to equally bumpy starts. And despite its lack of experience, the all-Iraqi court has made solid progress under difficult conditions. It has taken evidence from some 25 witnesses involved in the massacre of 148 Shias in the village of Dujail in 1982—the first case to be brought against Mr Hussein. Though still feeling its way, it has by and large adhered to international standards of due process. And, far from being silenced, the defendants have if anything had too much freedom to have their say.

Putting a Face on the First President

Jeffrey H. Schwartz in Scientific American reports that Solving a surprisingly long-standing mystery, a forensic anthropologist reconstructs what George Washington looked like as a young man.

March 30 ACS Milwaukee kickoff

The American Constitution Society now has a Milwaukee Lawyers Chapter. Its first event is March 30, 2006 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Villa Terrace, 2220 N. Terrace Ave. in Milwaukee. The featured guest and speaker is Hon. Abner J. Mikva.

You can RSVP or get more information by email.

Bills enacted February 16

Act 113

AN ACT to amend 48.13 (3), 48.13 (3m) and 48.981 (3) (a) 3.; and to create 48.02 (1) (g) of the statutes; relating to: defining the manufacturing of methamphetamine in the presence of a child as child abuse, requiring the reporting and investigation of such child abuse, and granting the court assigned to exercise jurisdiction under the Children's Code child in need of protection or services jurisdiction over a child who is present during the manufacturing of methamphetamine.

Act 114

AN ACT to create 947.011 of the statutes; relating to: disrupting a funeral or memorial service or a funeral procession and providing penalties.

Justices to Weigh Late-Term Abortion Ban

How Appealing notes the Associated Press report on a grant of certiorari.

The ruling under review, which declared the federal law unconstitutional, originates from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Late last month, both the Second Circuit (here) and the Ninth Circuit (here) joined the Eighth Circuit in declaring the law unconstitutional.

(via Bench Memos)

The right to arm bears

Improving the headlines at Spiegel Surfs The Web.

Republic for Sale

Doug Bandow in American Conservative says As long as government dispenses trillions in spoils, high-power lobbying is here to stay.

The Man Who Would Be le President

Christopher Caldwell in The Weekly Standard says Nicolas Sarkozy wants to wake up France.

The Gasbag Gap

Eric Alterman in The Nation reviews a study showing network talk show panels tilt to the right.

When spokespeople for the shows were contacted to explain the disparity, they claimed that they go where the action is, and today the action is Republican/conservative. ... But of course, were that true, then the Clinton years would have been just as tilted in favor of Democrats/progressives as the Bush years have been toward Republicans/conservatives.

It depends on what the meaning of "action" is.

Justice Teaching Institute to host record number of teachers

A record 34 middle school and high school teachers from 20 Wisconsin counties have been selected to participate in the seventh annual Justice Teaching Institute, “From the Courtroom to the Classroom,” to be held Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 23-25, in Madison...

Here's the agenda.

Appellate Opinions Released February 21, 2006

The Wisconsin Supreme Court did not release any opinions or dispositional orders today.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals released these opinions today, including the following that were recommended for publication:

State v. Yang, in which the Court of Appeals held that Mr. Yang's constitutional right to confront witnesses against him was violated when the Circuit Court curtailed his cross-examination of his ex-wife.

Hermanson v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., an interlocutory appeal in which the Court of Appeals reviewed the Circuit Court's denial of class certification to hourly Wal-Mart employees who allegedly had not been paid for time spent working through all or part of their breaks. The class could have contained tens of thousands of members. Because the conduct of individual class members would be at issue, Wal-Mart would have the right to examine each at trial. The Court opined: "To say that such a trial would be unmanageable is somewhat akin to saying that the sun is warm or that the universe is large." Affirmed.

Neither Left Nor Right

Leonard E. Read in The Freeman says We live in a time when virtually all political parties and candidates stand for the same fundamental ideological idea: state interventionism and compulsory redistribution.This also applies to the mainstream media. Even many who say they adhere to a pro-market view of things in fact turn out to be only more moderate advocates of government regulations and welfare-state programs.

A quiz to test your knowledge of our chief execs

For Presidents Day, from Michael Grady in the East Valley Tribune

Giving Away the Store to Get a Store

Daniel McGraw in Reason says Tax increment financing is no bargain for taxpayers.

Managing the risk of lawsuits against lawyers

Britton Wells in Insurance Journal Midwest Edition

Appellate Opinions Released February 20, 2006

Neither the Wisconsin Supreme Court nor the Wisconsin Court of Appeals released any opinions or dispositional orders today.

The Ongoing Debate on the Unitary Executive

The Federalist Society's national office writes

This month, we are focusing on the thrust and parry that has recently taken place regarding the Unitary Executive and issues related to the war in Iraq and surveillance of terrorists. Defining the extent of Executive power prompted much debate within both the legal and political communities during the Alito confirmation process.

The Federalist Society presents excerpts of statements given by Senator Edward Kennedy and testimony provided by witness Beth Nolan during the Samuel Alito Senate Judiciary Hearings and an article published by Harvey Mansfield in The Weekly Standard.

Political Tidbits February 17

The latest report from The Hamilton Consulting Group.

Highlights of Senate Calendar for Tuesday, February 21
Selected Bills Recommended for Passage by Legislative Committees
Hearing Held on Proposed Constitutional Amendment to Impose Revenue Limits
Legislators Create Transportation Study Committee
School Choice Agreement Reached
Booster Seat Bill Becomes Law
2006 Business Day in Madison Feb. 22
Contraception Bill Would Limit Access for Teens
Good Samaritan Bill Would Protect Builders
Lamb Will Not Seek Re-Election
Bush and Cheney Schedule Separate Visits to Wisconsin

Oral argument week of February 19

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has scheduled oral argument in the following.

February 21
09:45 a.m.
Wisconsin Auto Title Loans, Inc. v. Kenneth M. Jones 03AP2457
Affordable Erecting, Inc. v. Neosho Trompler, Inc. 04AP2746
01:30 p.m.
Royster-Clark, Inc. v. Olsen's Mill, Inc. 03AP1534

February 22
09:45 a.m.
State v. Roger S. Walker 04AP2820-CR
1325 North Van Buren, LLC v. T-3 Group, Ltd. 04AP352
01:30 p.m.
State v. Tomas R. Payano-Roman 04AP1029-CR

February 23
09:45 a.m.
David Zastrow v. Journal Communications, Inc. 04AP276
State v. Tyrone Booker 04AP1435-CR
01:30 p.m.
State v. Scott K. Fisher 04AP2989-CR

Synopses of the above and live audio of arguments are available.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals, District IV, has scheduled oral argument in the following.

February 20 at Portage County Courthouse, 1516 Church St., Stevens Point
10:30 a.m.
Wisconsin Central Farms, Inc. v. Heartland Agricultural Marketing, Inc. 04AP2971

February 21 in Supreme Court Hearing Room, Capitol, 2d Floor, East Wing
01:30 p.m.
Roto Zip Tool Corp. v. Design Concepts, Inc. 04AP1379

WCC Capitol Update February 17, 2006

The latest report by the Wisconsin Catholic Conference on its concerns.

WCC Opposes Bill Barring Eligibility for Public Assistance
WCC Supports Restricting Minors' Access to Contraception
New TABOR Amendment Introduced
Upcoming Hearings of Interest
New Bills of Interest

The God Genome

Leon Wieseltier in The New York Times reviews Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon by Daniel C. Dennett.

It will be plain that Dennett's approach to religion is contrived to evade religion's substance. He thinks that an inquiry into belief is made superfluous by an inquiry into the belief in belief. This is a very revealing mistake. You cannot disprove a belief unless you disprove its content. If you believe that you can disprove it any other way, by describing its origins or by describing its consequences, then you do not believe in reason.

Cartoon wars

From an editorial in The Economist

Shouldn't the right to free speech be tempered by a sense of responsibility? Of course. Most people do not go about insulting their fellows just because they have a right to. The media ought to show special sensitivity when the things they say might stir up hatred or hurt the feelings of vulnerable minorities. But sensitivity cannot always ordain silence. Protecting free expression will often require hurting the feelings of individuals or groups, even if this damages social harmony.

Governor, school choice advocates reach agreement on vouchers

Sam Lucero in the Catholic Herald, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, reports on the compromise reached between Governor Doyle and Assembly Speaker Gard. If approved by the legislature, the limit on the number of voucher students in the City of Milwaukee will be raised from 15,000 to 22,500. In addition, it would require

schools participating in the choice program to receive accreditation by an outside group. Schools are also required to administer national standardized tests such as the Iowa Basic Test.

Funding for the SAGE program in public schools, which funds smaller classes for grades K-3, will also receive a statewide increase of $25 million. Approximately $8 million of this will go to Milwaukee Public Schools. ...

New students can enroll in the choice program even if they did not attend an MPS school the previous year, and families in the program can remain eligible even if their incomes rise above the current limit, which is 175 percent of the federal poverty level.

Groups looking for NGO watchdogs

Bill Myers in The Washington Examiner reports

The Federalist Society and the American Enterprise Institute are reviving their watchdog Web site, www.ngowatch.org. Both groups are looking for volunteers to monitor nongovernmental and international organizations for fraud, waste and corruption.

Anyone willing to pitch in should contact Adrienne Alessandro or Ken Wiltberger at 202-822-8138.

Justice Alito Hires Trusted Conservatives

Gina Holland of the Associated Press reports that Justice Samuel Alito has hired as his law clerks Jay Jorgensen, Hannah Smith, and Adam Ciongoli.