Thought of the day

Abraham Lincoln was not a supporter of "states' rights." That should be rather obvious.

Bad Legal Reporting of the Day

Headline: "Beware cheaters: Your lover's spouse can sue you"
http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/12/08/cheating.spouses.lawsuits/index.html

(1) You have to read the article to realize that the cause of action (alienation of affection) is on the way out, and now only exists in seven states.

(2) The article references a very real suit that happened in 2008, while neglecting to mention that it was one of only a handful filed that entire year.

(3) It doesn't mention that the suit is nearly impossible for the plaintiff to win. The wronged spouse has to prove that the extra wheel completely seduced the cheating spouse, and thus that the cheating spouse was not predisposed to cheat. And that's almost never the case.

Palingate, take 52

I. In one of those “are you serious” moments, Sarah Palin decides to resign midway through her governor’s term…

a. Are you serious? She’s going to position herself to run for national office by quitting when the going gets tough? What, being the governor is no longer fun? Is this what she would do as President?

b. She talks about honoring the troops, but this is a full insult to them. Our troops don’t quit. They see it out.

c. She’s complaining about how rough the media, et. al. are on her. Meanwhile, Bill Clinton is…laughing? Like I’ve said before, she has the thinnest skin of any politician we have out there, and a key part of succeeding in politics is having a thick skin. The attacks are going to come: what she’s endured still pales in comparison to what Clinton went through, or even some of the attacks on Bush the Lesser. Her mindset is fascinating: every time someone says something bad about her, she cries foul, like it’s somehow impermissible. It’s part of politics, and a certain degree of it is integral for democracy. This isn’t a beauty contest.

d. She continually has these “how can they not like me?” moments, and the answer is easy: because she has yet to show a sincere interest in the governing portion of politics. The whole concept of “civic duty” is missing. And that’s kinda the key part.

e. Patriotism—her favorite word—is not a matter of waving a flag or giving great speeches. To borrow from Adlai Stevenson, “Patriotism is not a short, frenzied burst of emotion. It is the constant and steady dedication of a lifetime.” She’s great at the short, frenzied burst of emotion. When it came to the constant and steady dedication…she quit.

f. If you’re not having the success you want by working within the system, a true civic-minded person hunkers down and works harder from within. Because they believe that institutions, however flawed, are still the best. And that’s real courage, and real patriotism. Standing in there, day in and day out, working hands-on with the system.

g. She really thinks that she’s going to run for President with a grand experience of 2 ½ years as a governor under her belt?

h. We haven’t even touched the haste and erraticness. Doesn’t speak well of her reasoned judgment, the kind of steady hand a nation needs on its tiller.

i. The sudden decision actually speaks the loudest here. Either she really is that flighty, or something spooked her. Really bad.

II. I don’t like Michael Jackson. There, I said it.

III. Should I say anything about back-to-back Republican sex scandals? Bear in mind, sex isn’t a “Republican” problem, it’s something that dogs all politicians. But it’s a bigger deal when you have family-values politicians, who tend to be Republican (major exception: John Edwards.) I don’t really care about sex scandals, as long as it doesn’t interfere with their job performances. In Senator Ensign’s case, he lost his leadership post with the GOP, and he lost a degree of moral leadership with his constituents, so yes, it did interfere with his job performance. For Governor Sanford, he lost leadership status as well, both within the state government and with his constituents, so yes, it did interfere with his job performance. Solution: start electing bachelors. Or open swingers.

IV. Being the Fourth of July, and considering all of the cultural myths surrounding the founding of our country, I feel obligated to say something. But I won’t. Because really, I’ll cover it another day.

V. I would, however, like to agree that we should replace “The Star-Spangled Banner” with “This Land Is Your Land” as our national anthem.

Palingate, take 27 1/2

I. The David Letterman-Willow Palin “controversy.” So apparently, instead of attending to the business of Alaska (what a novel concept), Governor Palin was in New York, and they made a family outing to a Yankees game, thus prompting Letterman to joke that Governor Palin’s daughter got knocked up by A-Rod. Lo and behold, a little fact-checking later, we discover that 18-year-old Bristol was not in attendance, but 14-year-old Willow was, raising a question of which daughter Letterman was referring to.

a. Clearly, if he was actually referring to Willow, it was across a line, and the nutcases are eagerly claiming “how could he not have known?” Very easily: it’s called assumptions and poor fact-checking. For the love of God, people, he made a mistake. Unlike others, he admitted it and apologized.

b. Governor Palin has very little room to complain when comedians talk about her family. Contrast her with another example: when Bill Clinton ran in 1992, Chelsea was 13, and the Clintons very deliberately kept her out of the spotlight; they asked the media to respect that, and the media—with a few exceptions from comedians—did just that. Easy, right?

c. Apparently not. Governor Palin has, from day one, thrust her children very much into the spotlight in some of the most egregious ways—this is a woman who has politicized her son’s military service and tried to force Bristol and Levi into a shotgun wedding. Levi’s not even her kid, but it didn’t stop her from forcing him into publicity. As questionable as Letterman’s joke was, Governor Palin brought this on her family.

d. Again, it was a joke! Public figures are subject to comedians. The other butts of jokes—even bad jokes—don’t whine like this.

e. Does this woman have the most sensitive skin in politics? Seriously, she cries foul whenever someone says anything about her! Remember, the relationship between the media and political figures is—theoretically—supposed to be antagonistical. That’s healthy. That’s part of a democratic society. People who thrust themselves in the public spotlight accept that mud will be thrown at them; that’s enshrined in libel and slander laws. If you can’t stand it, go back home. No one—and no one­—else who has the brunt of Letterman’s jokes is complaining. You don’t see A-Rod bitching about it, do you?

f. She seems intent on silencing criticism. That’s not healthy! Towards the end of the elections, she appeared on SNL and joked about yanking their license because they made critical jokes about her—why does it seem like she may not have been joking?

g. As there’s always a punch line, a week ago the nutcases where complaining that President Obama traveled to New York on the public dime. Governor Palin also travels to New York—from a much farther distance—on the public dime. What for it…what for it…where’s the complaints again? Isn’t she from the party that opposes profligate spending?

h. And finally, it was a joke!

II. Since I can’t let it pass without mention, NFL player/thinks-he’s-a-star Donte Stallworth plead guilty yesterday to striking and killing a pedestrian while driving under the influence (.128). The judge gave a hefty imposed sentence, but only executed 30 days, with heavy probation.

a. Having been on both sides of the DUI debate, and being versed in the arguments regarding alcohol’s nullification of criminal intent, this is a shockingly low sentence. I don’t know if this is common in Florida—it may be—but this would not happen here in Minnesota.

b. My hunch—as sports reporters cannot report the law accurately—is that Florida doesn’t have a criminal vehicular homicide statute. CVH is designed specifically to address the relevant hole in common law-based homicide statutes. Under CVH, someone who commits homicide while driving under the influence isn’t treated as severely as regular homicide, but it is far more than the usual DUI statutes (which is essentially what Stallworth got).

c. Let me say this: I seriously doubt he got off because of his “athlete-celebrity” status. I really do think that it’s a hole in Florida law.

d. So rest assured, before the self-indignant fireworks begin, that back home in the northlands, he would be spending a minimum of a year and a day in state prison, and likely far more (3-4 years), with the usual bevy of suspended sentence & heavy probation after release.

III. Would it be right to not mention the Iranian debacle? Probably, yes, since the media is covering it ad nauseum. There’s even been some quality reporting, recognizing that the situation doesn’t fit into the pre-set circles and squares used by Fox News, et. al. But here’s the thing: this may have been the valid result. It is politically and mathematically possible. There is an incredible absence of fact behind any of the allegations. The doctrine of res ipsa loquitur fails when one can provide an entirely innocuous explanation for the result. So what’s the point?

a. We need to wait for the evidence.

b. The Iranian people won’t. Democratic legitimacy is as much about appearance as fact. I don’t expect the results to change, and if the protests don’t die off, I expect the Ayatollah will use a harsher hand. When all is said and done, Khamenei will still be in charge, but the veil of religious infallibility will have been pierced.