The Hollywood Liberal

UBS charged with securities fraud
UBS charged with securities fraud

Law ‘flexes its Web- snooping muscle’
The first of four juveniles has been sentenced to up to nine months in what’s been called the Bellevue MySpace rape. And while the case underscores the threat of Internet predators, it has an upside…

Addington: Vice President Isn?t Part Of Executive Branch, ?Attached? To Legislative
In a protracted battle with the National Archives last year, Vice President Dick Cheney sought to avoid submitting records to the archives by claiming that the office of the vice president is not part of the executive branch. During today’s House Judiciary Committee hearing, Cheney’s chief of staff David Addington reasserted that position, declaring the […]

In a protracted battle with the National Archives last year, Vice President Dick Cheney sought to avoid submitting records to the archives by claiming that the office of the vice president is not part of the executive branch. During today’s House Judiciary Committee hearing, Cheney’s chief of staff David Addington reasserted that position, declaring the vice president’s office to be a separate entity that “attached” to the legislative branch:

REP. STEVE COHEN (D-TN): Mr. Addington, what branch are we in?

ADDINGTON: Sir, perhaps the best that can be said is that the vice president belongs neither to the executive nor to the legislative branch, but is attached by the constitution to the latter. […]

COHEN: So he’s a member of the legislative branch?

ADDINGTON: No I said he’s attached to the latter.

Watch it:

The assertion is ridiculous. President Bush and Cheney have themselves repeatedly tied the office of the President and Vice President together in the executive branch, not to mention the White House and the Senate websites. In fact, there is video showing Cheney lauding the strength of the vice presidency, asserting that “the vice president’s become an important part of the administration of the executive branch“:

In fact, in 2001 Cheney sought to avoid a lawsuit over his energy task force by claiming that a congressional probe “would unconstitutionally interfere with the functioning of the executive branch.”

Despite Politico’s Mike Allen’s claim last June that Addington and Cheney were “throwing in the towel on the claim that the vice president is distinct from the executive branch,” the next month Cheney continued to insist that the Vice President’s office is a “unique creature.”

Justices Reject D.C. Ban On Handgun Ownership
The Supreme Court struck down the District of Columbia’s ban on handgun possession yesterday and decided for the first time in the nation’s history that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual’s right to own a gun for self-defense.

Originalism Goes Out the Window
WASHINGTON — In knocking down the District of Columbia’s 32-year ban on handgun possession, the conservatives on the U.S. Supreme Court have shown again their willingness to abandon precedent in order to do whatever is necessary to further the agenda of the contemporary political right. The court’s five most conservative members have demonstrated that for all of Justice Antonin Scalia’s talk about “originalism” as a coherent constitutional doctrine, the judicial right regularly succumbs to the temptation to legislate from the bench. They fall in line behind whatever fashions political conservatism is promoting.

Obama Fumbles NAFTA – Washington Times

Obama’s 14 State Battleground
In an interview with Politico, Sen. Barack Obama’s deputy campaign manager said they “will focus his resources largely in 14 states George W. Bush won in 2004… hoping to score upsets in places like Virginia, Indiana, and Georgia.

“In an unusual move, Obama’s campaign will also devote some resources to states it’s unlikely to win, with the goal of influencing specific local contests in places like Texas and Wyoming.”

Said Steve Hildebrand: “Texas is a great example where we might not be able to win the state, but we want to pay a lot of attention to it,. It’s one of the most important redistricting opportunities in the country.”

Deja Vu
Dan Balz: “A campaign between Barack Obama and John McCain once offered enormous possibilities for something new. Instead, the two presumptive nominees have opened their campaigns for the White House with what looks and sounds like a repeat of the kind of politics both have promised to leave behind.”

Late Late Nite FDL: Don’t Do It, Senators
The Band – Don’t Do It (1971)

The Band – Don’t Do It  (1971 The Academy of Music, NYC)

What’s on your mind tonight? 

In the Mail: Outlaw Journalist

In the mail today — a copy of William McKeen's new book Outlaw Journalist: The Life and Times of Hunter S. Thompson. It will be available on July 8 but you can order now at Amazon.

I'm especially anxious to read it because in the second section of eight pages of black and white photos of Hunter, is one I took of his wife Anita and son Juan. I've never been credited in a book before with “Photograph by…” and it's pretty exciting. Mr. McKeen contacted me a few years ago and asked for permission to use it. I asked Anita what she thought and she said it was fine.

Now, the book. [More…]

I skimmed the last 100 pages, read the final two chapters and it's impressive. It's scholarly, but a really easy read. Some serious research went into the book and I can't wait to delve into the 40 pages of reference notes and bibliography.

I hope Anita likes it. She's in New York today but she's staying with me this weekend in Denver so I'll get to ask her. I bet I've finished the book by then — if the final chapters are any indication, it's a page-turner.

Osama
Maybe it isn’t all that important, but I think one of the things you pay people on the teevee for is the ability to not make idiotic verbal screwups.

Bush and McCain Happily Presiding Over Massive Transfer of Wealth to Oil Companies
Republicans are funneling billions into the coffers of their oil baron backers; it’s no surprise Bush and McCain aren’t pushing for renewable energy.

Tough Economy Tightens Surrogacy Market
Increasing numbers of infertile people have been using surrogacy to have children, but a tougher economy is pushing it further out of reach.

Obama On FISA: Telecom Immunity Issue Doesn’t Override National Security
At a presser today, Obama weighed in again on the FISA cave, and suffice it to say that what he said won’t make opponents any less unhappy about Obama’s position than they were already. Asked specifically why he’s supporting the…