Author Archive | Jim Lindgren

The National Law Journal reports on a new Brookings Institution study on how the Presidential election could influence the composition of the federal courts. Republican presidents have appointed more than half of the current 179 federal appellate judges, but that could rise dramatically to 74 percent if Sen. John McCain wins the presidency, or give […]

The UK Guardian reports on the New York Times‘ decision to hire U2’s Bono as an occasional columnist for 2009. U2’s Bono is the latest columnist to be hired by New York’s esteemed newspaper. . . . the former Nobel Peace Prize nominee will pen between six and 10 articles over the course of 2009. […]

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit gave a little bit of good news to Tennessee oenophiles today in Jelovsek v. Bredesen. Judge Norris, writing for a unanimous three-judge panel, summarized the opinion as follows: These consolidated cases ask the question whether Tennessee laws governing the wine industry violate the dormant commerce clause […]

Yesterday the Columbus Dispatch reported on voter registrations by campaign workers and others (like the Vote from Home folks) who did not live in Ohio, and how election officials are responding. Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien is telling the presidential campaigns in Ohio that if their out-of-state staff members are just passing through for the […]

In August, the Bush Administration proposed substantial revisions to the regulations governing federal agency consultations with the Fish & Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service regarding the potential impact of federal agency actions on endangered and threatened species under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. Section 7 is the portion of the ESA […]

Judge Wilkinson’s critique of the Supreme Court’s Heller decision, referenced by David below, should not be a surprise. Judge Wilkinson has always been uncomfortable invalidating legislative acts on constitutional grounds. To Judge Wilkinson, the proper exercise of “judicial restraint” requires an extreme reluctance to invalidate legislative acts. Unless compelled by precedent, Judge Wilkinson has typically […]

The Reason Foundation has posted an on-line debate between William Tucker, author of Terrestrial Energy: How Nuclear Power Will Lead the Green Revolution and End America’s Long Energy Odyssey, and the Cato Institute’s Jerry Taylor over whether libertarians should support nuclear power. Tucker argues that nuclear power would be economical were it not for political […]

Entertainment Weekly has an interesting interview with Lorne Michaels about Sarah Palin’s SNL appearance last Saturday. Michaels was impressed by Alaska’s Governor (“she’s a very powerful, very disciplined, incredibly gracious woman”) and said “she could have her own show.” He also talks about the perils of trying to line-up political figures for SNL appearances, and […]

Why am I so interested in voter fraud allegations? Perhaps because the first time I looked into voter fraud allegations, they turned out to be real — ballots had been forged and an election was stolen. Back in 1993, in Philadelphia (my home town), Democrat Bill Stinson appeared to eke out a victory over Republican […]

I was stunned to see some document showing Joe the Plumbers’ tax problems on my 10pm (CT)newscast on the local NBC affiliate in Chicago on Thursday night. They have very little time for any national news and they actually spent time on Joe the Plumbers’ tax problems. Amazing! But when an actual candidate — Barack […]

The two tracking polls that I follow most closely are showing a slight tightening of the Presidential race (though some other equally recent polls are showing a huge lead for Obama). The Rasmussen Poll of likely voters shows Obama up by 4% (50 to 46%). And the Gallup Poll of likely voters (using their traditional […]

Several times last week, overnight Dow Jones stock index futures were up 100-200 points, only to collapse the next day, when the US markets actually opened, finishing down substantially. Tonight, Sunday evening, stock index futures are up sharply (all prices are from 6:00-6:49pm ET): S&P 500 Index (SPZ8) 917.40 +26.40 Nasdaq 100 (NDZ8) 1314.25 +31.75 […]

Over at the Street.com, Jeffrey Strain has added 10 more reasons why you’re not rich to a list he published last year. Here were the 10 original reasons: 1. You Care What Your Neighbors Think: 2. You Aren’t Patient: 3. You Have Bad Habits: 4. You Have No Goals: 5. You Haven’t Prepared: 6. You […]

I watched a bit of the post-debate spin at FOX News, CBS, and ABC. CBS and ABC couldn’t have been more different from FOX. The spin from commentators was pro-Palin at FOX and pro-Biden at CBS and ABC. The Frank Luntz focus group results were stunningly strong for Palin. At CBS, on the other hand, […]

Here is a video that has been making the rounds. It shows some young Obama supporters offering inspirational songs of praise (tip to Instapundit and Roger Simon): Roger Simon writes: Watching this video has disturbed me more than almost anything I have seen in recent years. It is the kind of exploitation of children that […]