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Gun Policy

Second amendment litigation continues, and 26 attorneys general take a peculiar position

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Can a municipality ban assault rifles and high capacity magazines without running afoul of the Second Amendment?  The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia says yes. What about registration requirements for hand guns and rifles and a mandatory safety course?  Are they constitutional?  The U.S. District Court (a trial court) for the District […]

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Second amendment litigation continues, and 26 attorneys general take a peculiar position Read Post »

Social Issues

If it’s on the internet, it must be true. Right?

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[Because of a technical problem, last week’s post was compressed and difficult to read, and so I’m publishing it again.] Do you remember the State Farm ad, where a young woman talks to a friend about meeting her date, a French model, on the internet? As it turns out, the woman’s date is neither French nor

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If it’s on the internet, it must be true. Right? Read Post »

Political Issues

What makes Cuba so special?

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It’s stunning that the decision to resume diplomatic relations with Cuba has been such a controversial event. President Barack Obama is criticized for opening the door with Cuba because it is governed by a dictator and has a history of human rights abuses, but since when has the U.S. limited its relations to open, democratic

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What makes Cuba so special? Read Post »

Political Issues

Let’s stand back and examine what we’ve done

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How can any of us determine if “enhanced interrogation techniques” (EITs)—the euphemism given to waterboarding, rectal hydration, sleep deprivation and other practices, applied to detainees—produced meaningful information?  The rebuttals exchanged by politicians consist of generalizations that fall along political lines and tell us nothing. Investigating the issue is a daunting task, and the most meaningful

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Let’s stand back and examine what we’ve done Read Post »

Death Penalty

Secrecy in death penalty is only option legislators see

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I wrote about H.B. 663 just two months ago, but this bill deserves additional attention, because it was passed by the Ohio House and is now before the Senate Criminal Justice Committee. Referred to by its opponents as the “Execution Secrecy Bill,” H.B. 663 was introduced because the state is having difficulty acquiring the lethal

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Secrecy in death penalty is only option legislators see Read Post »

Social Issues

Why black parents have “the talk” with their kids

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I don’t know if Michael Brown presented a life-threatening situation to police officer Darren Wilson, and I don’t know if Wilson’s shooting of Brown was racially motivated. I don’t know if the grand jury in St. Louis got it right by not indicting Wilson, and I don’t know if St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch

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Why black parents have “the talk” with their kids Read Post »

Gun Policy

Who controls the U.S. Surgeon General’s office?

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Let’s have a quiz.  Who is the U.S. Surgeon General?  (a) Vivek Murthy, (b) Boris D. Lushniak, (c) Everett Koop, or (d) none of these people. The answer is (d), though you should feel good if you selected Boris D. Lushniak, who is the “acting” Surgeon General. Vivek Murthy should be the Surgeon General, but the Senate won’t confirm

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Who controls the U.S. Surgeon General’s office? Read Post »

Environment

Denying climate change is silly

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Last week, President Barack Obama was in China, negotiating  with the Chinese on how much the U.S. and China should decrease carbon emissions. The concern, of course, is how greenhouse gases are adding to global warming. I am always surprised at how people—generally, people who are not scientists—can down play global warming.  Sen. Ted Cruz,

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Denying climate change is silly Read Post »

Judges

Do last names matter in judicial elections? You bet they do.

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Last week’s elections give me cause to revisit the matter of whether judges should be elected or appointed by a body that vets them for their qualifications. First, let’s review the comments from the judicial candidates who ran for appellate and trial court positions in Franklin County, Ohio. They were all asked, “Do you support

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Do last names matter in judicial elections? You bet they do. Read Post »

Political Issues

Mitch McConnell took the easy way out

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Columnist George Will believes that restoration of the Senate’s dignity rests on the reelection of Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, who Will views as “second only to Henry Clay as the state’s most consequential public servant.”  Only through McConnell’s leadership, Will tells us, will the Senate “be restored as the creator of consensus.” If McConnell’s opponent, Alison

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Mitch McConnell took the easy way out Read Post »

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