text:
Blog | Comments |
WoW | 103 Comments |
Recent Comments:
Breakfast Topic: Your random dungeon experiences {WoW}
Dec 14th 2009 3:06PM As a pally tank I know its annoying when DPS gets ahead of you. I stopped complianing about it though because it usually does not happen. I pull very fast in heroics anymore so DPS is not likely to get ahead of me.
Try speeding up, I know when I play my DPS DK, I get very annoyed when the tank wants to stand around for 10 sec after every pull and will often throw frost arua up and start killing mobs until the tank moves his arse.
Breakfast Topic: Your random dungeon experiences {WoW}
Dec 14th 2009 3:02PM Everyone complians about occulus. I love seeing people drop as soon as it pops up. Since the patch I've had the pleasure of running this gem 3x and each time completing in under 20 min for the acievement. It seems the people that stay know what they are doing in occulus.
As for every other instance, they go as smoothly and the only issue I've had are with people who know they will never see you again simply acting like Dbags. Refusing to buff, make tables summon HSes or wanting to skip as many bosses as possible. Thank god those people are far and few in between since I place every Dbag on my ignore list.
Patch 3.3: The Dungeon Finder Guide {WoW}
Dec 8th 2009 12:27PM Also, if I recall, you will be able to purchase the highest level reputation shoulder/helm enchants with your main as the items will be BoA and will no longre require reputation to purchase. So you no longer need to grind repsutation with your alts! yay!
WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.2.2 {WoW}
Sep 22nd 2009 5:10PM Does anyone know if the Ony mount only drops in 25 man or does it drop in both?
Breakfast Topic: Happy Winter's Veil! {WoW}
Dec 15th 2008 9:18PM Where are the santa hats this year!?
The Queue: In your city, stealing your mailbox {WoW}
Dec 8th 2008 2:42PM Yeah with the new libram and my Lavanthor's Talisman's "click to use" I've crit for over 6k and almost always crit for 5+k.
Weigh in on the downtime debacle {WoW}
Nov 12th 2008 12:01AM So what's up with the realms? I realized they were down a bit longer than expected so I decided to get some Zs. I'm awake now, what's all this complaining about doesn't everyone just chill when the proverbial ^&*! happens?
The new WoW Insider and the launch of Wrath of the Lich King {WoW}
Nov 6th 2008 2:27PM New design is sharp!
Hallow's End 2008 guide (updated) {WoW}
Oct 19th 2008 5:41PM I dunno if you still look at this post, but, I am sure you in fact do need to collect every single crappy mask out there. Also, judging by the drop rate of the masks, its nearly impossible to collect them all even if you manage to trick or treat every hour on the hour until the event ends.
The Death Knight starting experience {WoW}
Aug 7th 2008 2:37PM I can't wait to try out the DK!


text:
It's always happy hour when you consult your Spirit Guide. Your best friend for bar-hopping lets you in on the drink and food specials, tells you where the music is (and isn't) and helps you find the perfect spot. A great night out starts with Spirit Guide.
New works by internationally acclaimed architect Antoine Predock. Part of the citywide On the Map exhibit. Runs through 3/13.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
My Profile
Kingston, New Hampshire
Member since Nov 2007
Flag This ProfileFlag as Inappropriate
Reviewed Lobster Rolls
Aug 10, 2013 in Food Network Community Toolbox on FoodNetwork.com
"I made this recipe twice, both times for company. We are New Englanders and we love this recipe. We have the lobsters steamed at our local grocery store which makes any lobster roll recipe easier. My company raved about them. I will always use this recipe. Thank you Anne!""
Favorited Pretzel Peach Jell-O Pie
Favorited Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Pie
Reviewed Easy Cheesy Spinach
Oct 1, 2011 in Food Network Community Toolbox on FoodNetwork.com
"This was delicious. It was also easy.
My family & friends raved. Thanks Claire"""
Favorited Arepas with Cheese and Corn
Reviewed Coconut Cupcakes
Feb 27, 2011 in Food Network Community Toolbox on FoodNetwork.com
"The delicious dense cake let's people know that this awesome cupcake is not from a mix. I put the 7 oz. of coconut for the cake part in my mini food processor and pulsed it a few times and it came out great. These cupcakes were a huge hit. ""


text:
Sunday, June 9 2013
Mick Harvey: Four (Acts of Love)
Four (Acts of Love) is a bit like a love affair that didn't quite live up to its potential.
Monday, March 25 2013
Crime & the City Solution: American Twilight
The '80s post-punk act's first album in 22 years reveals a talent for dark, mournful balladry -- and a bitter fascination with America.
Monday, February 14 2011
PJ Harvey: Let England Shake
Recorded in a 19th century Dorset church, Polly Jean's latest focuses heavily on nationalism, warfare, and the use and abuse of the autoharp.
Wednesday, September 12 2007
Mick Harvey: Two of Diamonds
Mick Harvey's work may never achieve the hipster cred of younger, flashier musicians, but it's honest and affecting for those who care to listen.
Thursday, January 19 2006
Mick Harvey: One Man's Treasure
Harvey's collection of emotionally brutal songs is delivered with the vision of a cowboy looking at life through the bottom of a glass of whisky.


text:
This is a very nice hotel with friendly and helpful staff. The rooms are bright and airy. We had a nice view of the lagoon and stables across the road. The beach is good and a 2-3minute walk. The hotel is away from the main area but easily accessible via bus. There are some nice restaurants close by. I would... More
Italy >
Emilia-Romagna >
Province of Ravenna >
Lido di Classe
Number of rooms: 50
#3 Family Hotel in Lido di Classe


text:
is Saturday, February 14. Find a gift they'll love. Shop now.
Exclusive finds with a new theme each month.
Shop: Pop-In
Our director of creative projects shares what she's into.
Read More
Stay updated with a steady stream of new info.
Handsome stripes pattern a classic dress shirt fitted with a narrow spread collar and rounded, adjustable-button cuffs.
Learn More: Men's Dress Shirts: Find Your Fit & How to Measure


text:
High definition laser scanning is a non-destructive method for recording a 3D digital image of a building. Its unique ability to precisely record flat and uneven surfaces makes it a valuable tool within the AEC industry. One real advantage of 3D laser scan data is its ability to accurately document variations in surface conditions. When properly scanned in the field, the resulting data will capture every nuance of a building's surface, such as the variations in surface plane of a rusticated stone wall, or the bulges and tilts in a seemingly flat planar wall or floor surface. As modern design leans towards creating buildings with multiple undulating surfaces and non-planar walls, and century-old ornate masonry buildings begin to deteriorate and shift, 3D laser scanning becomes a needed and effective method to gain accurate documentation for both design and construction. Take the course.
This course is an introduction to the concept of incorporating indoor water features in a variety of architectural applications. After reviewing the system components and various types of water features, the course will discuss what design considerations factor into a successful installation. It will then take a closer look at two water feature applications in order to appreciate the benefits of partnering with a specialty contractor. Take the course.
This course will take a look at what multi-point locks, astragals and multi-point locking astragals are, while highlighting their features. This course addresses the overall benefits of a multi-point locking system and compares them to the traditional systems. Finally, after explaining all of the components, this course will help you decide which hardware to select and specify for your project. Take the course.
The course will discuss the relationship between color and pigments, including how pigments can affect color performance in architectural coatings. It will cover ASTM performance test methods used to ensure coatings meet industry standards and perform well, and the effect that exposure has on pigments and color retention. In addition, AAMA specifications for various coating technologies will be discussed, and how these can help specify the correct pigments for optimal form and function in a project. Take the course.
This course will explore in depth the concept of cool metal roofs and walls while explaining their relationship to current energy code and guideline compliance. The environmental benefits of metal roofs and walls will also be explained, including contributions to numerous LEED® points. Additional case studies of various cool metal roof materials will be presented to illustrate how they can help lower energy use in a building. Take the course.
This educational unit has been designed to educate architects, designers, contractors and installers about Luxury Outdoor Kitchens and options for design and layout, for product specification, installation and proper use. By understanding these topics, building professionals will be in a better position to serve their clients and help create upscale outdoor spaces that greatly enhance a home's functionality, enjoyment and value. Take the course.
In this era of growing interest in all things sustainable and cost-effective, post-frame construction and its primary material, wood, are gaining favor in construction, including in the light-commercial market. As such, post-frame building systems are now an application of choice for low-rise, light-commercial buildings such as office and municipal buildings because of their energy efficiency, versatility, and durability. This course will examine post-frame building systems including their versatility, range of applications, structural features and key performance characteristics. Take the course.
Post-frame buildings are engineered wood-frame systems that feature large, widely-spaced supporting columns. Post-frame buildings offer numerous advantages that make them an ideal choice for low-rise commercial construction. This course will cover the six key benefits of post-frame building systems, including cost savings, energy efficiency, code compliance, sustainability, design flexibility, and durability. The course will also present numerous case studies that demonstrate cost and time of construction for typical post-frame building projects. Take the course.
The best path to a sustainable building is to know what's in the materials being used to build it. However, questions remain among manufacturers and buyers about just how to evaluate and compare the environmental profiles of similar building products and materials. This course will discuss each of these tools and how they can collectively provide information regarding the environmental impact of products, as well as their environmental performance, and offer an objective means of comparing similar products. Ultimately, these mechanisms enable buyers to make more informed decisions about the products they purchase, spurring further advances in product sustainability. Take the course.
This course will communicate the importance of indoor air quality (IAQ) and empower architects, designers and specifiers to employ strategies to improve the IAQ in the spaces they design. There will be several case studies of the effects of controlling versus not controlling indoor environmental quality at the design phase of building construction. Emphasis is drawn to the importance of emissions of VOCs over content only requirements. Moreover, the participants will learn the value of specifying certified low emitting products as a proven method for controlling VOC emissions that invade the indoor environment. Take the course.


text:
Rick Astley Remix For 2014 [VIDEO]
What do you get when you, mix Rick Astley, Avicii, Will Smith, John Travolta, and Chumbawamba together? One word- AWESOMENESS!
What do you get when you, mix Rick Astley, Avicii, Will Smith, John Travolta, and Chumbawamba together? One word- AWESOMENESS!
First, if you missed it, watch John Travolta butcher "Idina Menzel"...(which really isn't that hard to pronounce...but whatevs...)
John Travolta is now fully immersed in the "Eh, why the hell not?" phase of his career: the actor has signed on to play a Gummy Bear in the upcoming 'Gummy Bear' film, also known as Gummibar in the US. The project is based on the ever-growing and increasingly popular social media phenomenon, according to a press release sent out this weekend.
I'll call it right now. This is the most adorable baby picture ever. Can you guess which celebrity it is?
Sure, everyone love them song John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John circa Grease, but thios, well, ugh.
Just when he thought it was safe to stay in the closet, John Travolta is being sued by a supposed former gay lover for not being allowed to tattle to the media about their love affair.
Sorry, alleged love affair.
John Travolta and wife Kelly Preston welcomed their new son Benjamin Tuesday. The baby was born in a Florida hospital and weighed 8 lbs., 3 oz., according to the Associated Press.


text:
Check out our Research by watching the Arts in 60 Seconds videos!
Arts in 60 Seconds is a collection of one minute videos introducing Faculty of Arts researchers and their work. Click below to see the connections between our award winning researchers and the community. You'll discover how Arts makes a difference.
In the Faculty of Arts, we know that learning extends far beyond the classroom. This is why we have agreements with universities worldwide, as well as run our own satellite campus in Italy, offering you unique opportunities to experience learning on a global level. So where can we take you?
A gift to the Faculty of Arts makes it possible for us to offer outstanding programs that enhance our students' education and expand our faculty's presence internationally. Your donation helps realize the potential of our students and through them, enrich our community and our world. It can fund new research, provide new learning experiences, build new spaces or give the gift of education to a student who would otherwise not have the possibility.
Give to Arts
Happy New Year and welcome back! I hope everyone is returning to campus feeling rejuvenated after a well-deserved break.
The year ahead is filled with exciting milestones for our Faculty. Read more.
Sociology grad acknowledged for her novel on the Air India bombing trials. #ualberta #yegarts ow.ly/I6zdY1/29/2015 2:05:16 PM
We're super excited above this year's Winter Roots Round Up schedule! What an incredible line-up! #ualberta #yeg winterroots.ca/schedule/1/29/2015 11:30:35 AM


text:
Homestead Lights
Golden Knights To Light Up Sky Over Homestead
Homestead residents who wake up early Wednesday may see strange lights over the air reserve base. Don't panic, it's not aliens or falling killer meteors.
Expect To See Strange Lights Over Homestead Base Early Thursday
Residents of Homestead up very early may notice strange lights in the sky Thursday morning.


text:
I've always wanted a 3 inch sp101, but for some reason, I don't have one. From what I gather, shooting full house 357 out of an sp101 is a handful, but for many it is somewhat manageable. I guess what I am wondering is where the stout +p, or maybe a soft 357, stack up in the shootability/recoil department. I think this would be the range that would suit me well. I already have an LCR 38 that I use for easy carry and standard pressure 38s.
I've looked at the buffalo bore 38+p, and they do seem intriguing. They have a nice hardcast that I could load up for hiking, and a jhp for carry. Thanks!!


text:
Robert Smith, Running Back for the Minnesota Vikings
NAME: Robert Smith
TEAM: Minnesota Vikings (Football)
POSITION: Running Back
INJURY: Sports Hernia
Scottie Pippen, Portland Trail Blazers; Marty McSorley, Edmonton Oilers (retired); LaPhonso Ellis, Atlanta Hawks; Chris Wells, Florida Panthers
Smith was diagnosed with a sports hernia after complaining of pain, soreness, and weakness in the abdomen. It may have occurred in any of a number of different situations. He required minor surgery and was slated to miss 3-6 weeks. He missed three complete games and was hindered in others. He returned on October 19, 1999, two weeks ahead of schedule.
Smith is the starting back for the Minnesota Vikings. He has the highest average yards per touchdown run in the history of the league (25.8). He holds the Vikings' record for most rush yards in a single season with 1,266 in 1997 and was named to his first Pro Bowl in 1998. He has had a history of injuries and has never started more than 14 games in a season (not including playoffs).
A sports hernia is a vague term describing types of weakness in the anterior (front, outside) abdominal wall. As a result of this weakness, contents of the abdomen push out through the lining. An opening or gap in the wall, called a hiatus, forms from the pressure of the abdominal contents. A sports hernia is defined by abdominal contents moving through the hiatus and causing an abdominal bulge that results in a pinching pain. It results in pain and swelling in the lower abdominal muscles and the lower abdominal region. An athlete can acquire a sports hernia in two ways: 1) there can be inherent weakness in the lining of the stomach wall; then, when the athlete exerts large forces on his body, the weakness can stretch and become a hole; 2) it is possible that one dramatic strain can pull or tug on a region of the abdomen and result in such a weakness.
An athlete will describe a sharp, pinching pain. In a clinical exam, the physician will feel the abdomen trying to find a bulge. Then the physician will have the patient bear down (bend over), take deep breaths, and tighten the abdominal muscles. In this scenario, there would be a worsening of the pain as the patient inhales. It can also be diagnosed through an MRI. The physician can look at the images of the abdominal wall and find any holes or weakened portions.
Related to Nutrition & Fitness
Healthy Living Tools
Ditch Those Inches
Set goals, tally calorie intake, track workouts and more, all via WebMD's free Food & Fitness Planner.
Get StartedToday on WebMD
Pollen counts, treatment tips, and more.
It's nothing to sneeze at.
Sending your email...
This feature is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later.
Now check your email account on your mobile phone to download your new app.


text:
Thread Tools | Rate Thread | Display Modes |
Luver of all things Disney!
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Philomath, Oregon
Posts: 9,685
So as many of you know, Christmas is my favorite holiday....I love the colors, the lights, the music, the joy on my kids faces, & the smells. Basically this time of year touches all 5 of your senses. So after reading thru the Christmas Superthread, I have found some musts to do on this trip. Since I'm limited on time.....I needed to have a clear picture of things I absolutely couldn't miss. So here goes:
Fireworks!!! I love the fireworks shows at Disneyland. I love being up by the castle to see every effect, feel every boom & be surrounded by all the magic. So adding in this is a show I've never seen & the castle will be covered in icicles....this is probably my biggest must do!! Seeing the Christmas Parade. I'm a sucker for a Disney parade!! Some parades have faired better in my mind (DEP, Parade of Dreams) where others we're ok (Celebrate, Pixar). I like them all, don't get me wrong.....some just have a special place in my heart. I have seen clips of the DL parade on TV & youtube & have a feeling I will be placing this parade in my favorites!!! I have to get on both holiday rides: Haunted Mansion & It's a Small World. I've seen lots of pictures of both of these & am excited to see them in person. So after hearing about the Holiday Tour.....I knew this would be a great way to take care of the parade & the 2 rides. Plus, I'll get the history of the holidays in the parks. I think the tour will be perfect time to go picture crazy. I'll have things pointed out to me & I'll have time to capture some great holiday pics. I need to see all 3 resort hotels. I think I have this covered pretty easily. I'll be staying at the PPH, we'll walk thru the GCH to get into DTD & the parks & finally meeting Sherry in person......means we HAVE to eat at Goofy's Kitchen at the DLH. I think our undying love for Goofy's is what drew Sherry & I together here on the DIS. It was the first (and very important) step in forming our friendship. Since we're finally meeting....it only seems right that we go here. If this happens....I'll see all 3 hotels!! I'm a sucker for Santa & reindeer. Do I still believe?? Maybe not in the sense that children do.....but I believe there are Santa's in everyone's lives. Someone that will step in to help you when you need it most. We've had a few Santa's in our lives......otherwise our young kids wouldn't have had much of a Christmas years ago. So Santa & I must meet. (I hear he's in a few different places) Big Thunder Ranch is top of my list for seeing him!! So many holiday treats will be out & I'm sure I will eat more than my fair share.......but a few things really caught my attention & got my taste buds salivating......so I have to try: Gingerbread Beignets at Cafe Orleans.....I hope they don't mind me coming in just for dessert.....lol Caramel Apple Cider Demitasse Dessert: Chocolate & Peppermint cake topped with mousse & served in a Mickey Santa Demitasse cup I'm sure I'll be adding to this list....but I'm also trying to be realistic on how much I'll be able to accomplish. I heard WoC will have a Prep & Landing Pre-show......with only 2 nights......I'm trying to figure out if I could add this in. I already love WoC....but adding some Christmas to it would really be neat. My biggest fear?? Going my first night to WoC & then planning the Fireworks for night 2 & having them cancelled due to winds/weather. I would be devistated if that happened. I have never been to DL when they've had to cancel the fireworks....but I'm not sure I want to risk that happening. So I'll stay undecided about WoC probably until I'm there.
4th Diva Trip HERERoad Trip 2014HEREClub 33HEREWDW TRHEREOct PTRHERE 2013 Divas #3HERE2012 Holiday Trip HERE WDW Dec 12 PTR~Cancelled: HERE 2011 Holiday Trip: HEREDivas, Take 2~2012: HEREDiva's TR~2011: HERE 10 of Us Summer Trip~2010: HERE 25th Anniv.TR~2009: HERE DLR: 1967, 1972, 1984, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2011, 2012, 2012, 2013, 2013, 2014 WDW: 2013 |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | Rate This Thread |


text:
Prospective Students
Have any questions about Jewish life at Middlebury? Contact Rabbi Ira with any and all inquiries!
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: 802-443-5762
Visiting Middlebury? Interested in staying with a member of Hillel? Contact Sarah Dohan as a host!
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Be sure to check out these "How Did You Get Here?" feature videos highlighting the wide variety of Jewish experiences on Middlebury's Campus!


text:
Kacie is a young mom looking for the perfect outfit to wear for an overdue date night with her husband. In this episode of "My Body My Style," stylist Sam Saboura helps Kacie find a fun and flirty ensemble that flatters her pear-shaped figure and highlights her curves. Watch it!
My Body, My Style: Date Night Fashion Advice For The Pear-Shaped
Posted Under: fashion, pear shaped, stylelist


text:
New Century Version (NCV) | New International Version (NIV) |
2 Then it opened up the hole that leads to the bottomless pit, and smoke came up from the hole like smoke from a big furnace. Then the sun and sky became dark because of the smoke from the hole. | 2 When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. |
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. (New Century Version Online Bible) | Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide. (New International Version Bible Online) |


text:
New Revised Standard (NRS) | New International Version (NIV) |
49 "Ascend this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, across from Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites for a possession; | 49 "Go up into the Abarim Range to Mount Nebo in Moab, across from Jericho, and view Canaan, the land I am giving the Israelites as their own possession. |
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. (New Revised Standard Bible Version Online) | Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide. (New International Version Bible Online) |


text:
I have this one, the roller version, but here it comes with a white cap (i've added the picture of the it). This is the only anti-perspirant deodorant without a scent which I trust. It keeps me dry and fresh through my 10k bike ride to work (and back) and even a workout afterwards. I depilate my armpits and this stuff doesn't sting and/or cause an allergic reaction. Price is a bit steep, but it takes forever to finish one roller. Highly recommended!
I'm really liking it! I was searching for a good deodorant (not antiperspirant) that was safe, meaning, free of the evil Parabens and Aluminum, known as breast cancer trigger.
The formula is really good, it keeps me from smelling funny all day long (even in a super hot-humid enviroment) and it's clear so it doesn't stained my clothes, it is a little pricey but I guess it is worth it!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No
First I wanted to say that this is not an anti-perspirant but a deodorant so it will do nothing for wetness. For me this works well (I don´t know if for 24 hours though) but I don´t sweat much. This has no smell and goes on clear. I will buy again until I find something that works just as well but is cheaper.
It is expensive but there are not many deodorants for sensitive skin without any fragrance. In fact the only one I can think of is Mitchum and it is also an anti-perspirant. Vichy also makes a fragrance-free roll-on that is deodorant and anti-perspirant: Vichy 48 hours deodorant for very sensitive skin.
This is what Vichy says: "Deodorant stick for sensitive or shaved skin. Effective for 24 hours. Aluminum-free, paraben-free and fragrance-free formula.
Ingredient Innovation: With zinc gluconate to naturally fight odors by capturing and neutralizing odor-causing substances. Enriched with skin conditioners to moisturize and soothe the skin. Invisible solid for streak-free, clear application.
Results: Effective for 24 hours, yet gentle enough to be used even after shaving. Invisible finish leaves no residue.
Dermatological Standards: Allergy tested. Tested on sensitive skin under dermatological control."
Price: about 7.00 for a 40 ml stick ($16.00)
Ingredients: PROPYLENE GLYCOL AQUA / WATER GLYCERIN SODIUM STEARATE STEARETH-100 BEHENIC ACID EDTA NYMPHAEA ALBA EXTRACT / NYMPHAEA ALBA FLOWER EXTRACT SODIUM HYDROXIDE SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE SODIUM PALMITOYL PROLINE SODIUM STYRENE/ACRYLATES COPOLYMER ZINC GLUCONATE
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No
I didnt like it, it didnt work for me, some deodorants from supermarkets work better for me.
Good things...it doesnt hurt if u depilate.
This is the best deodorant that I've used so far. It's formula is so soft and gentle to my skin! I don't like roll-ons because they tend to take a while to dry and this cream is dry the moment I put it on.


text:
Digital Radio Update - June 16, 2010
DRM+, DAB may be compatible with Band III, WKSU first with HD-4, CC offers commercial-free iHeart Radio, fur flies over IBOC increase, and Clyburn says Channels 5 and 6 could work for radio.
Digital Radio Update - June 2, 2010
DRM asks UK Communications Committee for a second look, French Free Radio Conference sparks digital discussion, Samarra goes round two with WorldSpace, FCC Proceeding 99-325 gets a hot response and China/Australia collaborate on Push Radio.
Digital Radio Update - May 19, 2010
Brazil weighs digital radio, Australia sets DAB+ rollout, Digital Radio UK increases listening, DAB+ in Germany moves forward, the FCC guides HD Radio power increase, and Sanyo, LG offer new receivers.
Digital Radio Update - May 5, 2010
Digital radio promo shot down in Britain, DRM+ symposium slated for May 27, WorldSpace deal may be lost, FM HDs hope to crank up the volume Monday and Sirius XM launches Android app.
Digital Radio Update - April 21, 2010
AM operators get IBOC digital options, Digital Economy Bill changes British radio, a portable receiver combines HD Radio and Mobile DTV, iBiquity shows Active Radio EAS and FM HD Radio reaches maintstream at the 2010 NAB Show.
Digital Radio Update - April 7, 2010
At the 2010 NAB Show, the IBOC Emphasis Shifts back to Transmission
Digital Radio Update - March 17, 2010
Ibiquity touts HD in Europe, NAB EPG Phase 2 report is available, CBS airs first HD4 content, the Pew Project's report sends mixed signals to U.S. digital radio and Frontier Silicon demos DAB/FM radio.
Digital Radio Update - March 3, 2010
Liberty rumors orbiting Sirius XM, digital radio talk at Radiodays Europe, BBC cuts may impact UK digital radio and how the proposed TV spectrum auction could affect radio.
Digital Radio Update - February 17, 2010
DAB coverage expands in the UK, Germany testing DRM+, Liberty seeks life support for WorldSpace, All India Radio acquires two DRM transmitters, and iBiquity looks to amp up HD conversions with payment options.
Digital Radio Update - February 3, 2010
Joan Warner honored by ABU, UK analog shutdown timeline in doubt, FCC says go on HD and Frontier Silicon hits DAB 10 million mark.
Digital Radio Update - January 20, 2010
Sage and Spectrarep team up for EAS at CES, World Space is fading, Sirius XM reports subscriber pickup, and HD Radio at CES.
Digital Radio Update - January 7, 2010
HD Radio Alliance and Ibiquity disagree, Liberty severs World Space India, Pure jumps the pond and Zune HD sales fade.
Digital Radio Update - December 16, 2009
French T-DMB reaches impasse, UK promotes all-Christmas channel, Italians green-light DAB+, AT&T may initiate metered mobile data, and the Daily Mail says UK online radio listening is strong.
Digital Radio Update - December 2, 2009
European satellite radio, DAB outlook in the United Kingdom, Malta adds 40 DAB+ channels, and Ibiquity suggests HD Radio for Christmas.
Digital Radio Update - November 18, 2009
NPR and Ibiquity shakes hands on a 6dB power increase, Harris gets an order for DMB transmitters in France, and the ABU gets a look at DRM+.
Digital Radio Update - November 4, 2009
CBS offering out-of-market signals via HD Radio multicast, GM serves up in-car Wi-fi, Liberty buys into World Space and RadioDNS links broadcast with Web.
Digital Radio Update - October 21, 2009
Volvo offers HD standard, Australia DAB+ troubles, Ibiquity taps Amtel, and Livio's NPR Radio.
Digital Radio Update - October 7, 2009
New IBOC Quality Metric presented to NRSC, NAB advancing IBOC Booster Project and unique sports content turns up on HD Radio multicasts.
Digital Radio Update - September 16, 2009
The Microsoft Zune HD hits the streets, Internet radio standards are released, and DRM releases receiver profiles.
Digital Radio Update - September 2, 2009
IMDA sets Internet radio standard, DRM+ demos continue in Germany, and Toshiba enters the HD Radio chipset clan.


text:
| Email | Full Article (TrendHunter.com/id/152945) |
The new 'Is Total Gadget Immersion Good or Bad for Kids?' infographic looks at whether new technologies are harming or helping incoming generations.
With smart quotes like "The New Nanny?" that are questioning the behaviour of parents since these technologies have become widely available, the chart looks not only at how kids are responding to the influx of smartphones and tablets, but also how parents are as well. When nearly a quarter of the population have given their child a smartphone or tablet to keep them amused, it's important to find out the effect of these actions.
Taking into account what children are actually using the technology for, the 'Is Total Gadget Immersion Good or Bad for Kids?' graph cites that 46% of kids use just-for-fun apps, while 42% have actual education purpose. Further, parents often cite creative encouragement as a main reason for endorsing the use of these new technologies not only at home, but also in the classroom.


text:
W Cape health equipped for power cuts
Comment on this storyCape Town - Health facilities in the Western Cape were equipped on Thursday to deal with power cuts, the provincial health department said.
"All hospitals' generators kicked in automatically," Health MEC Theuns Botha's spokeswoman, Hélène Rossouw said in a statement.
"Portable generators were made available by emergency medical services (EMS) to facilities with vaccine stocks and medication that require refrigeration to maintain the cold chain protocol."
She said the EMS was geared to ensure efficient health services.
Comment Guidelines
- Please read our comment guidelines.
- Login and register, if you haven' t already.
- Write your comment in the block below and click (Post As)
- Has a comment offended you? Hover your mouse over the comment and wait until a small triangle appears on the right-hand side. Click triangle () and select "Flag as inappropriate". Our moderators will take action if need be.


text:
Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Chevy Silverado - Continued XVIII
seelig Posts: 590Obyone and I dropped thousands and thousands $$$$ into our sound systems, cause we thought it was a cheaper solution to replacing the whole truck.........
BTW- yeah the little light next to the volume knob starts flashing when you program it for security.........wouldn't want anyone gettin away with such an expensive HU. -
dustyone Posts: 262I posted comments about this problem awhile back.
Talking to several Service Advisors in my area, this is the story that I have gotten. First, how many miles on the vehicle? From 20K to 35K, one needs to pay for a cleaning service ($80 to $120) to remove carbon (Carbon in the carburator, {throttle body}?). Then when that doesn't fix it, if vehicle still under warrantly, they check the Julian date (have to remove the thottle body to see date). If before a certain date they will replace it, but charge for the cleaning service since you probably needed it anyway. This is the way the dealership makes their money.
Yesterday, I cleaned my throttle shaft with WD-40 as I rotated the shaft by hand (one can feel the sticky position). It did not make any difference. One SA told me that it appears that the use of GUMOUT helps to avoid the problem. This problem started at about 17K miles.
'00 Silverado K1500 LT, 5.3 liter, with 20K miles -
markbuck Posts: 1,021Thanks for the info. A buddy who I gave my old '99 shop manuals to, called me last night with the same info.
Installed the new NGK TR55IX spark plugs. No pinging on 87 octane. Will tow this weekend and report.
Will try to fit the report in around all the posts about beer drinking, new jobs, Ryan's personal life, you know .... all that stuff about Silverados that lead me to depart this board 6 months ago........ -
quadrunner500 Posts: 2,728
imaginos Posts: 27Here here.
I posted about the front end leveling kit I installed on my 2001 1500, the pros and cons I found; and not one response. It got lost in the middle of all those posts. It seems that there used to be several people asking about front end leveling for the 1500, but no one seemed to know anything about it. I finally found one, installed it, evaluated it, and reported on it, to no avail. I got like 10 responses to the posts I did about the stereo install I did on the truck (which was great to get people's feedback). But I'd think a suspension upgrade (or possible downgrade in this case) would elicit more interest. How do you ever know?
However, since I do a lot of towing, I'd like to hear your report regarding those plugs. It seems that many newer vehicles have problems with detonation because they are constantly advancing the timing until they sense detonation. I think they are using the detonation as the feedback to the comptuer to stop advancing the timing. This is how my 1997 Cherokee is. No matter how much octane I use, it still detonates. I hate the sound. AHHHH. -
seelig Posts: 590please don't let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya on your way out.........LOL
seriously, is there a problem with guys talking to each other like buds in here. sure it is for pickup talk, but i don't know of anyone that just talks about trucks only, unless they don't have much of a life.
there was a time when you had promised to sell me the shop manuals that you obviously gave away. if you had sold them to me as promised, i would have been the first one to answer your question....{:o) -
blackmax200 Posts: 255Yes your guess is entirely correct. The PCM advances until it "sees" detonation then it knows the system is working. GM and Chrysler, I know, had TSB's on this condition back in about '94 or '95. This was to answer people who would put higher octane than the minimum required in their vehicles, only to have them run bad and loose gas milage.
About a year and a half ago there was a rather lengthy discussion of combustion theory, AND I do not wish to begin it again. The upshot though, is that spark knock is a product of engine load, ignition timing and altitude among others. So the ping may be "normal"
UGH!! I hate when I hear that...
Hope this helps
matthew -
markbuck Posts: 1,021Even light ping causes better heat transfer from the burning mixture to the pistons and head. So my preference is to be in a no ping situation.
My '99 4.8 would ping continuously on 87 octane when pulling a heavy load for prolonged periods around 3400 rpm. My '01 6.0 does the same to a lesser degree. On premium, I don't hear that.
Buddy and I bought a code reader that works in conjunction with my palm pilot to plot spark advance on my 6.0 and his V10. We do see spark retard occuring on 87 octane even here at 7,000' elevation at near WFO trailer towing conditions when in 5th gear in my 6.0L. My preference is to keep as much spark lead as possible, particularly when towing, so I have been running 92 octane. Hopeing the new spark plugs will be a little less ping sensative, guessing they are 1/2 heat range cooler and project 60thou less into the combustion chamber. These are the same plugs the camaro and corvette guys are running in their LS1 engines. -
quadrunner500 Posts: 2,728
eric2001 Posts: 482Want to fly all the way to NY? Started playing with mine, but can't continue because it has been too cold (IMO) to lay the dynamat. And since I am too lazy to do the install then rip out everything again to dynamat, it is sitting in the driveway in pieces. Oh well.
Hey Ryan, you want a set of 4X6 for your rear? You can have the JBL plates I have...
This discussion has been closed.


text:
Study looks at economic value of discarded fish
Posted onA new report says commercial fishermen in the United States could be throwing away approximately $1 billion annually in bycatch.
The findings by Oceana, which examine the economic value of discarded fish lost to the U.S. fishing industry, are a follow-up to Oceana's previous report Wasted Catch: Unresolved Bycatch Problems in U.S. Fisheries.
"Bycatch is bad business. We're not just throwing away fish, we're throwing away money," Oceana campaign director Dominique Cano-Stocco said in a statement. "While improvements have been made in U.S. fishery management, the bottom line is that $1 billion in wasted catch is too much. The U.S. must continue to move forward on reducing the amount of bycatch in our nation's fisheries."
In Oceana's new report, titled Wasted Cash: The Price of Waste in the U.S. Fishing Industry, the most recently available bycatch data from the National Marine Fisheries Service was multiplied by the price per pound of discarded fish species and then compiled for a nationwide estimate of the lost economic value.
According to government estimates, U.S. fishermen discard approximately 20 percent of their catch every year, amounting to 2 billion pounds of fish.
"The staggering amount of fish thrown away every year in the U.S. represents a real loss, both to fishermen and the future resilience of ocean ecosystems," said Amanda Keledjian, report author and marine scientist at Oceana. "Fisheries need to take the same steps other successful businesses do to cut waste and increase efficiency. In most cases, fishermen have the means and knowledge to make these changes but lack the economic incentives to do so."
Welcome to TradeOnlyToday's premium content! To continue reading, please register now, for access to 10 free stories per month. Or subscribe, for unlimited access to all TradeOnlyToday content!
Basic subscription: Registered members get free access to 10 premium content stories each month!
Individual subscription: $29 for unlimited site access for one year.
Small Business subscription: $140 for unlimited site access for up to 10 members of a company for one year.
Corporate subscription: $300 for unlimited site access for all members of a company for one year.
You may close this dialog after seconds.


text:
Young's Literal Translation (YLT) | New International Version (NIV) |
20 And the God of the peace, who did bring up out of the dead the great shepherd of the sheep -- in the blood of an age-during covenant -- our Lord Jesus, | 20 May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, |
Young's Literal Translation is in the public domain. (Young's Literal Translation - The Bible Online) | Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide. (New International Version Bible Online) |


text:
A Big Help
84% of former Littles surveyed agree that their Big taught them the importance of helping others.
Real Life Story
See how we forge strong, long-lasting relationships.
Read Story >
Big Brothers Big Sisters Hosted Events Summer Picnic - August 23rd - Wiggums Hollow Park, Everett - 11:30-1:30pm Community Events & Information Bowling Teen Group Maltby Bluegrass Jams and Shows Family Skate Special Free Museum Day: First Thursday of Every Month Other Ideas: |


text:
I need some help. I have restless leg syndrome. I just found out about 2 days ago. In 2000 I had my first experence with it and now, december 2007, I've had it twice this week. I hope it doesn't start tonight. Is there anything I can do that will help with this problem. I talked with my doctor about it and he gave me a sample pack of medication called, requip. I took one pill last night and don't really want to take the other one tonight if there is something else I can try first.
Please help. |
Follow-Up Postings:
I've had RLS for most of my life, as far back as I can remember. In my case, it starts in the late evening after dinner when I sit down to rest, and subsides after I go to bed and fall asleep. It doesn't wake me during the night. I have never taken medication for it, and I don't even plan to. I've noticed that the less sugar I consume, the less RLS I suffer. If I have a sweet dessert after dinner, I can almost guarantee I'll have restless legs that evening. Eliminating sugar (which includes alcohol) has greatly helped and I am rarely bothered with restless legs anymore. I also exercise a lot, which may also help, but I have noticed that even with plenty of exercise I have restless legs if I consume sugar in the evening (which I rarely do, but I've noticed a correlation every time I do). Start with your diet and lifestyle in general and try to eat as healthy as possible. I'd make necessary lifestyle changes before I'd start taking medication. Doctors are too quick to prescribe medications for everything under the sun, and too slow to suggest other healthier remedies such as simple lifestyle changes. |
Jenn, I thank you so much for the valuable information. My doctor had given me a sample pack of medication called "Re- quip". I decided not to take this medication because I did some research on it. I decided to take your advice first. Also, I noticed when I take a bath it doesn't happen. Thanks a lot. |
A study just released a few weeks ago has found the cause of RLS is how the body processes iron. I now take an iron pill and a multivitamin and noticed it has lessened and often doesn't happen at all. I agree about the sugar. It definitely sets the RLS off. But for me so do carbohydrates. I watch what I eat (and fail at that miserably) and take my iron pills and vits and am much much better. |
I didn't catch all the report but there was something about RLS and high blood pressure on the news last night. Maybe you can research that. A friend of mine who had it used to drink the Tazo tea called CALM each night. She swore it helped her with RLS. |
I thank everyone for information about rls. I need all the help I can get. Thanks nboston and anyone else who is kind enough to send me information. |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Health Forum
Information about Posting
- You must be logged in to post a message. Once you are logged in, a posting window will appear at the bottom of the messages. If you are not a member, please register for an account.
- Please review our Rules of Play before posting.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review your post, make changes and upload photos.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- Before posting copyrighted material, please read about Copyright and Fair Use.
- We have a strict no-advertising policy!
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.
Learn more about in-text links on this page here


text:
I'm looking for a second CO2 tank for my kegging setup. I want a 5lb Aluminum CO2 tank. I'm hoping to find one with at least a couple years left before it needs pressure testing (i.e. 3 years or less since last stamped test or manufacture date) I've found them online for as little as $56 plus shipping new. I'm hoping to find one for $40 or less in the Atlanta area. Thanks!
Have you checked eBay? I paid under $100 for my 20 lb tank, shipped.
check craigslist, I got a 20lb tank (steel) for $15. I'm sure you could do something like that and trade it for a 5# aluminum one.
"People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people." - VPrimary: NothinSecondary: Shady Lord RIS, Water to Barleywine, Pumpkin wine, burnt mead Kegged: Crappy infected mildBottles: Apfelwein, 999 Barleywine, Oatmeal Stout, Robust Porter, Robust smoked porter, Simcoe Smash
dont be so set on aluminum. i do hydro testing of gas cylinders. i have failed more aluminum cylinders in the past year than i have failed steel cylinders in my entire life. i dont understand the obsession with aluminum. especially in the 5 lb size.
On Tap:warrior apa On Tap: crystal light On Tap:BM's centenial blonde "Just remember that the real enemy here are those wine drinking pussies."-BierMuncher
Too often, we lose sight of life's simple pleasures. Remember, when someone annoys you it takes 42 muscles in your face to frown, but it only takes 4 muscles to extend your arm and bitch-slap that mother F@&!*! upside the head
actually my thought on aluminum is that I don't want to worry about rust. 5lb fits in my keezer. Haven't had much luck on ebay/craigslist yet.. but will keep looking.


text:
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
The New Generation of Challenges to Obamacare
Opponents of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, have set off a new wave of challenges to the Act, according to today's NYT. Among these: the religious challenges to the contraception mandate; cases challenging President Obama's extension of the employer mandate deadline; and challenges to the IRS rule providing a subsidy to purchasers of health insurance on the federal exchange.
As to that last one: plaintiffs in a spate of cases argue that Section 1401(a) of the ACA provides that purchasers of health insurance on a state exchange, but not the federal exchange, get a federal subsidy; yet the IRS issued a rule that extends the federal subsidy (in the form of a tax credit) to purchasers on the federal exchange. This, they say, violates the Administrative Procedures Act and the Tenth Amendment.
Why the Tenth Amendment? Opponents say that under the ACA an employer who declines to extend coverage has to pay a penalty if and when the federal government gives the employer's employees a subsidy for purchasing health insurance on a state exchange. Opponents say that the IRS rule extends this federal subsidy, and also the employer penalty, when the employer's employees purchase health insurance on the federal exchange. According to opponents, that undermines the state's policy decision not to open a state exchange in the first place. Or, as Indiana put it in paragraph 10 of its complaint in State of Indiana v. IRS:
[The IRS rule] contravenes the text of the ACA, thwarts Indiana's ability to execute State policy sparing employers from Employer Mandate penalties, induces Plaintiffs to reduce the hours of certain employees, including part-time and intermittent employees, to avoid having to provide all such employees with minimum essential coverage, and requires Plaintiffs to file onerous reports with the IRS detailing insurance coverage decisions. It thereby violates both the Administrative Procedure Act and the Tenth Amendment, and the Court should permanently enjoin Defendants from putting it into effect.
Later, in paragraph 17, it says:
In light of the IRS Rule, the State will be forced to reduce the hours of several part-time or intermittent employees in order to avoid the "assessable payment" or employer penalty of the ACA.
According to the Notice of Final Rulemaking, the IRS considered and rejected claims that the ACA itself limits subsidies to purchasers on state exchanges when it took comments on the proposed rule. The IRS said:
The statutory language of section 36B and other provisions of the Affordable Care Act support the interpretation that credits are available to taxpayers who obtain coverage through a State Exchange, regional Exchange, subsidiary Exchange, and the Federally-facilitated Exchange. Moreover, the relevant legislative history does not demonstrate that Congress intended to limit the premium tax credit to State Exchanges.
December 3, 2013 in Cases and Case Materials, Congressional Authority, Executive Authority, Federalism, News, Tenth Amendment | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Government Releases Trove of NSA Documents
The Obama administration late Monday released a trove of documents related to NSA surveillance, including key FISA court rulings and other materials going back to the Bush administration. The NYT reports here. Lawfare is covering the release and analyzing particular documents here.
The materials include documents on government e-mail and domestic phone surveillance, including the Bush administration's 2006 application for initial approval by the FISA court to collect bulk logs of domestic phone calls and a FISA court ruling approving a program to track e-mails during the Bush administration.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence declassified and released the documents in response to FOIA lawsuits by the ACLU and EPIC.
November 19, 2013 in Congressional Authority, Executive Authority, Fourth Amendment, News, Separation of Powers | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Monday, November 18, 2013
Senate Republicans Block Third D.C. Circuit Nominee in Three Weeks
Senate Republicans once again successfully blocked a nominee for the D.C. Circuit. Today's vote, 38 to 53, fell seven short of the 60 needed to overcome the Republican filibuster of Robert Wilkins's nomination to the court. Politico reports here.
This now puts Republicans at 3-0 in the last three weeks in blocking judicial nominees to the D.C. Circuit. In the last two weeks, they successfully filibustered Patricia Millett and Nina Pillard.
Some Senate Democrats are making more noise about using the nuclear option, that is, getting rid of the filibuster (the cloture rule) for judicial nominees. Republicans (still) say that the court isn't busy enough to fill the three vacancies, and that they're just doing the same thing that Democrats did when they blocked President Bush's nominee to the court, Peter Keisler.
Active judges on the court are evenly divided between those appointed by Democrats and those appointed by Republicans. But five of the court's six senior judges--who still sit and decide cases--are appointed by conservatives. Indeed, 15 of the last 19 appointments to the court were by Republican presidents.
November 18, 2013 in Appointment and Removal Powers, Congressional Authority, Executive Authority, News | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Sunday, November 17, 2013
How the President Should Deal With the Debt Limit
Neil H. Buchanan (GW) argues at the Jurist.org that the President should just pay the nation's bills if Congress fails to increase the debt ceiling.
Buchanan summarizes an argument that he and Michael Dorf made over three articles last year in the Columbia Law Review--one, two, and three--that the President should do the least constitutional damage if ever faced with a trilemma involving taxing, spending, and a debt ceiling that don't add up.
Buchanan and Dorf argue that Congress would create this trilemma if it failed to increase the debt limit: Congress would have authorized a particular level of taxation; Congress would have authorized a higher level of spending; and Congress would have capped the debt limit at a level lower than authorized spending. All three are congressional acts that the President must enforce, but if the President enforces any two, he necessarily violates the third.
So: what to do?
Buchanan and Dorf argue that the constitution requires the President to take the action (1) that exercises as little legislative power as possible and (2) in a way that allows Congress to later enact legislation that can undo his actions, if it so desires.
Those two criteria mean that the President should, even must, violate the debt limit. That's because violating the debt limit (but complying with the taxing and spending measures passed by Congress) is the choice that's least legislative in nature, and the one that Congress can later undo (by enacting taxing and spending measures that add up).
Buchanan explains why this solution is novel--but also why it's right:
Bizarrely, the shared assumption among Republicans and Democrats alike has been that the president must simply default on the government's spending obligations, if he is ever faced with a trilemma. . . .
The reason that is so bizarre is that it simply presumes that duly-enacted spending laws can be ignored by the president. They cannot. We are not taking about choosing to increase or decrease future levels of spending, after all. We are, instead, contemplating having the president refuse to honor legal claims for payment from the federal government, choosing not to pay the government's legal obligations, in full, on the date that they are due.
November 17, 2013 in Congressional Authority, Executive Authority, News, Separation of Powers, Spending Clause, Taxing Clause | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Senate Republicans Successfully Filibuster Pillard Nomination to D.C. Circuit
The Senate failed to break a Republican-led filibuster today on President Obama's nomination of Nina Pillard to the D.C. Circuit. The vote on the cloture motion was 56-41, but 60 votes are needed to close debate.
The move marks the second time in two weeks that Republicans have successfully filibustered President Obama's nominees to the D.C. Circuit. The last failed cloture vote came on October 31, on Patricia Millett's nomination.
Republicans complain that the President is trying to "stack" this court, often called the second most important court in the country. But that's not exactly right: Democratic Presidents still have a ways to make up with their nominees on the court, as we explained here. The American Constitution Society's JudicialNominations.org has more information about judicial vacancies, including the D.C. Circuit, here.
No word whether the Democrats will use the nuclear option (and eliminate the filibuster for judicial nominations), but TPM Livewire reports that Senate Grassley "dared Democrats to 'go ahead,'" warning that such a move would make it easier for future Republicans "to appoint judges like Antonin Scalia."
November 12, 2013 in Appointment and Removal Powers, Congressional Authority, Executive Authority, News | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Court Hears Oral Arguments in Bond v. United States on Treaty Power and Chemical Weapons
The oral arguments in Bond v. United States today evoked both the use of chemical weapons in the ongoing conflict in Syria and the understandings of the farmers of the Constitution regarding the power given to the Executive, with "Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur." The treaty at issue is the Chemical Weapons Convention, but also at issue is the Chemical Weapons Implementation Act.
Carol Anne Bond was convicted of a crime in violation of the Act, 18 U.S.C. § 229(a). But the fact that she is not a "terrorist," but rather a venegful woman in a love triangle, has caused much consternation. While the international arms-control agreement prohibits nation-states from producing, stockpiling, or using chemical weapons, Bond, a biologist, used her expertise to spread injurious chemicals on the property of her former best friend, after learning that the friend was pregnant by Bond's husband. Although Bond was prosecuted in state court, she continued her campaign against her former friend and she was eventually prosecuted in federal court.
It's not the first time that Carol Anne Bond has been before the United States Supreme Court. Recall that in 2011, the Court unanimously held that Bond could raise a Tenth Amendment claim in her prosecution, reversing the Third Circuit.
On remand, the Third Circuit rejected Bond's argument to "set aside as inapplicable the landmark decision Missouri v. Holland, 252 U.S. 416 (1920), which is sometimes cited for the proposition that the Tenth Amendment has no bearing on Congress"s ability to legislate in furtherance of the Treaty Power in Article II, § 2 of the Constitution." Bond argued that "legal trends since the Supreme Court"s 1920 decision in Holland make it clear that the Tenth Amendment should not be treated as irrelevant when examining the validity of treaty-implementing legislation." The Third Circuit found that the Chemical Weapons Convention "falls comfortably within the Treaty Power's traditional subject matter limitation" and thus the implementing Act is "within the constitutional powers of the federal government under the Necessary and Proper Clause and the Treaty Power, unless it somehow goes beyond the Convention." The Supreme Court (again) granted the petition for certiorari.
In a nutshell, Bond's prosecution under a federal law for what seems a state (local) crime raises issues of federalism not unlike the issues the Court has confronted regarding the power of Congress to criminalize guns in school zones (Lopez) or marijuana (Raich). But the invocation of these cases at the beginning of Paul Clement's argument on behalf of Carol Anne Bond brought a clarification from Justice Scalia that the Court did not take the case to decide any Commerce Clause question. Instead, the focus must be on the Treaty power and whether a treaty can alter constitutional structures, namely federalism.
Later, Justice Alito returned to these cases as well as Section 5 (of the Fourteenth Amendment) to pose a question to the Solicitor General about the Treaty power as circumventing the Court's limitations, and interestingly demonstrating a familiarity with scholarly articles:
JUSTICE ALITO: Whenever -- when this Court has issued decisions in recent years holding that there are some limits on Congress's power, cases like Lopez and Morrison and City of Boerne, there have been legal commentators who have written articles saying that could be circumvented to -- through the use of the treaty power. Do you agree with that?
The Solicitor General eventually answered that it depended on "whether the treaty is a valid exercise of the treaty power."
The limiting construction of the statute proposed by Paul Clement - - - war-like use of the chemicals as includable within federal power - - - proved problematic at times. The Solicitor General argued that this was "one of the very things we are trying to sort out right now in Syria under the Chemical Weapons Convention is where the line is between peaceful and warlike uses." On the other hand, the lack of a line other than valid treaty also proved problematical.
The Solicitor General often summoned originalist principles to support the primacy of a ratified treaty. Justice Kagan in her questioning of Paul Clement suggested that all properly ratified treaties must be constitutional:
Because there's clearly a treaty power that does not have subject matter limitations. And, indeed, if you go back to the founding history, it's very clear that they thought about all kinds of subject matter limitations and James Madison and others decided, quite self-consciously, not to impose them. So where would you find that limitation in the Constitution?
MR. CLEMENT: I would find that limitation in the structural provisions of the Constitution and the enumerated powers of Congress. And I would say that it would be very -
JUSTICE KAGAN: But this isn't an enumerated power. The enumerated power is the treaty power. So you have to find a constraint on the treaty power. Where does it come from?
MR. CLEMENT: Well, I think where that it would come from, again, is the structural provisions of the Constitution.
November 5, 2013 in Congressional Authority, Executive Authority, Oral Argument Analysis, Supreme Court (US), Theory | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Monday, November 4, 2013
Conservative Physician Group Sues to Stop Individual Mandate
The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons filed suit last week to stop the government from enforcing the universal coverage provision (the individual mandate) in the Affordable Care Act. The group argues that the court should issue an order prohibiting the enforcement of the individual mandate, because President Obama lacked authority to delay enforcement of the employer mandate.
Recall that President Obama this past summer unilaterally delayed enforcement of the employer mandate--the ACA's requirement that employers with over 50 employees provide health insurance for their employees. The authority for this move, however, wasn't at all obvious. That's because the ACA says in pretty clear language that the employer mandate "shall apply to months beginning after December 31, 2013."
We commented at the time that the question of authority might not matter, because it wasn't clear that anyone would have standing to challenge the delay.
Enter the AAPS. The group argues that President Obama's delay of the employer mandate violates the separation of powers--that President Obama can't unilaterally delay enforcement of a statutory requirement. Still, it's not obvious why this group should have standing. Here's what the complaint says:
13. Defendant's shifting of the mandate for health insurance premiums from employers to only individuals causes the elimination of many cash-paying patients from the medical practices of [plaintiff McQueeney, an AAPS member] and other AAPS members. Defendant's shifting of the ACA insurance burden entirely onto individuals diverts their discretionary health care dollars towards insurance premiums, away from direct payments to physicians. This significantly reduces the customer base for AAPS members who have "cash practices" accepting direct payments from patients.
That may not sound like the strongest theory of standing.
But if standing's a weakness, there's more. The complaint alleges that "Defendant changes legislation passed by Congress in violation of the separation of powers in the Constitution, and the Tenth Amendment." (Emphasis added.) The Tenth Amendment? That seems surprising in this context, and unnecessary given the stronger arguments one might make about a President's inability to unilaterally delay the implementation of a mandate.
But if the invocation of the Tenth Amendment seems odd, there's yet even more. The complaint argues that President Obama lacked authority to delay the employer mandate, but asks for a court order stopping the enforcement of the individual mandate.
Between standing issues, a novel use of the Tenth Amendment, and redressability issues, this complaint has its problems.
The attorney who filed it, Andrew Schlafly, is a conservative activist, son of Phyllis Schlafly, and founder of Conservapedia, a conservative web-site that grew out of one of Schlafly's home-school courses.
November 4, 2013 in Cases and Case Materials, Congressional Authority, Executive Authority, News, Separation of Powers | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Is it the Supreme Court's Role to Fashion a Standard for the Meaning of Clothes?
The United States Supreme Court today heard oral argument in Sandifer v. United States Steel Corporation centered on the meaning of "changing clothes" in section 203(o) of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Seventh Circuit's opinion by Judge Richard Posner found in favor of U.S. Steel that donning and doffing the safety gear was not necessarily changing clothes, because
He included an image in the opinion (at right) and statednot everything a person wears is clothing. We say that a person "wears" glasses, or a watch, or his heart on his sleeve, but this just shows that "wear" is a word of many meanings.
Almost any English speaker would say that the model in our photo is wearing work clothes.
And indeed, Justice Ginsburg, during the oral argument at the Supreme Court did just that, but the discussion continued:
JUSTICE GINSBURG: But we're dealing with here, from the picture, that looks like clothes to me.
MR. SCHNAPPER: Your Honor, I think that your question raises an excellent point. One of the problems with the picture is that it withholds from you other information that you would use to assess whether to describe it as clothes. You don't know what -
JUSTICE KENNEDY: Except you would look and say, those clothes probably have something special underneath them. I mean, in ordinary parlance I think that would be a proper use of diction.
MR. SCHNAPPER: If you saw an airbag jacket, you would probably call it clothes unless you are an equestrian. It looks like a jacket. If you saw a compression torsion -- a torso compression bandage in a photograph, you would call it clothes, because you don't have all the relevant information.
JUSTICE ALITO: Why is it that the jacket and the pants in that picture are not clothes?
MR. SCHNAPPER: In our view -- well, let me -- part of it -- first of all, they are designed for a protective function, to protect you from catching fire.
In addition to the ruminations on the meaning of clothes, perhaps leading to a definitional rule, there were attempts to understand why it mattered in this interpretation of the statute. The statute excludes from "hours worked"
any time spent in changing clothes or washing at the beginning or end of each workday which was excluded from measured working time during the week involved by the express terms of or by custom or practice under a bona fide collective-bargaining agreement applicable to the particular employee.
Thus an employee would need to be paid for putting on "gear."
But if the Court can't tell by simply looking, then what? As Justice Kagan noted toward the end of the argument, the distinction between clothes and gear "seems the quintessential question of statutory interpretation to which we would normally defer to the agency," but in this case, the agency hasn't issued a regulation. Justice Scalia offered his own explanation for the administrative failure to address the matter with a rule: "Too complicated is why."
Thus, while Judge Posner's opinion did raise some constitutional considerations about agency and executive power regarding differing meanings driven by politics, the constitutional question implicit in the Supreme Court arguments involve the separation of powers and the role of the Court in statutory interpretation.
So it is up to the Court to "fashion a standard," as Eric Schnapper, representing Clifton Sandifer, phrased it during oral argument.
(cross-posted at Dressing Constitutionally)
November 4, 2013 in Congressional Authority, Courts and Judging, Executive Authority, Oral Argument Analysis | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
District Judge Dismisses Separation of Powers Challenge to CFPB
Update Below
Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly (D.D.C.) dismissed a separation-of-powers challenge to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an independent agency created by Dodd-Frank that's tasked with the responsibility for "ensuring that all consumers have access to markets for consumer financial products and services and that markets for consumer financial products and services are fair, transparent, and competitive." (This case challenges the CFPB on separation-of-powers grounds. We most recently posted on the other challenge to the recess-appointed head of the CFPB here. The recess appointment question is heading to the Supreme Court in Noel Canning.)
But the order dismissing the case in the D.C. District didn't touch the merits, and the plaintiffs in the D.C. case will undoubtedly raise the same constitutional claims in the underlying enforcement action against them in the Central District of California.
The case, Morgan Drexen, Inc. v. CFPB, arose after the CFPB filed an enforcement action against Morgan Drexen in the Central District of California. Morgan Drexen and its "attorney-client" then filed for injunctive and declaratory relief in the D.C. District, seeking to halt the enforcement action in the Central District of California, arguing that the CFPB violates constitutional separation-of-powers principles. The result: two parallel cases in two different courts, one enforcement action and one facial challenge, challenging the CFPB on constitutional grounds.
Update: Morgan Drexen filed in the D.C. court before the CFPB filed its case in California.
But Judge Kollar-Kotelly didn't bite. Instead, the court ruled that injunctive and declaratory relief in the D.C. District would be inappropriate with the case pending in California--and that Morgan Drexen could obtain complete relief on its claim there. (The court said that ruling on the matter would frustrate both the final judgment rule (because Morgan Drexen could immediately appeal a D.C. District ruling on the merits, but not a ruling from the Central District of California denying a motion to dismiss on constitutional grounds) and the principle of constitutional avoidance (because the Central District of California could dodge the constitutional issues and rule on other grounds, but the D.C. District case would force the court to address the constitutional claims). The court also ruled that declaratory relief was inappropriate.
The court held that Morgan Drexen's "attorney-client" lacked standing, becuase she couldn't point to specific or generalized interference with the attorney-client privilege, or any other harm in the CFPB's investigation or enforcement action against Morgan Drexen.
The case ends this collateral piece of the litigation, but it doesn't end the enforcement action, still pending in the Central District of California. Morgan Drexen raises the same constitutional claims, and other statutory claims, as defenses in that case.
October 23, 2013 in Appointment and Removal Powers, Cases and Case Materials, Congressional Authority, Executive Authority, Jurisdiction of Federal Courts, News, Opinion Analysis, Separation of Powers, Standing | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Daily Read: The Meaning of "United States"
The meaning of "United States" if often not as clear as one might assume, demonstrated by much of the litigation surrounding Guantanamo Bay (which is geographically if not politically in Cuba).
Over at Lawfare, law student Raffaela Wakeman has a good description (and audio) of the oral arguments in Al Janko v. Gates before the DC Circuit. She also has a good preview of the argument. Al Janko is seeking damages for his detention at Guantanamo Bay, which was determined to be unlawful by a federal district judge.
This requires the court to construe the jurisdiction-stripping provision of the Military Commissions Act, §2241(e)(2), which reads: "no court, justice, or judge shall have jurisdiction to hear or consider any other action against the United States or its agents relating to any aspect of the detention, transfer, treatment, trial, or conditions of confinement of an alien who is or was detained by the United States and has been determined by the United States to have been properly detained as an enemy combatant or is awaiting such determination."
In short, does a federal judge's determination that Al Janko was not properly detained count as a determination by "the United States"? The Government argues that it does not and that in this statute, United States means only the Executive (Al Janko's detention was determined to be proper by Combatant Status Review Tribunals).
There are constitutional issues raised by the Bivens claim, but these tend to be backgrounded by the statutory interpretation issue of the meaning of "United States."
[image: map via]
October 22, 2013 in Current Affairs, Executive Authority, Interpretation, Jurisdiction of Federal Courts | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Monday, October 21, 2013
Daily Power Point Slides: PRISM, Surveillance, France and the NSA
Many will be considering the new revelations regarding the NSA and France, published in Le Monde today, linked and discussed in this LeMonde editorial, with The Guardian coverage here.
A few Power Point slides are published in Le Monde. But Journalist Glenn Greenwald and Edward Snowden have also released additional Power Point Slides that are worth a look. A set of eleven slides have some redactions, but will also seem eerily familiar to anyone who has ever prepared or seen a Power Point presentation:
October 21, 2013 in Executive Authority, First Amendment, Foreign Affairs, State Secrets | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Toobin on Recess Appointments and Noel Canning
Jeffrey Toobin writes in the Daily Comment at The New Yorker that the Noel Canning case on recess appointments, now before the Supreme Court, could lead to an entirely new level of dysfunction in Washington--putting the current crisis to shame. That is, if the Court strikes President Obama's recess appointments to the NLRB. (Our latest post on Noel Canning, with links to earlier posts and lower court rulings, is here.) Toobin explains:
If the ruling by the D.C. Circuit [striking President Obama's recess appointments to the NLRB] is upheld, the result will be a massive shift of power from Presidents to Senate minorities. Forty senators will have the power to stop an agency from functioning. Given the general political inclinations of the contemporary G.O.P., this would be a tremendous victory. They don't want an N.L.R.B. at all, and they don't care for most other regulatory agencies, either. The D.C. Circuit decision is more than a gift of a minority veto on individual members of a commission; it's a minority veto on the very existence of vunerable federal agencies.
The Canning case brings together several themes of recent political life: fierce congressional obstruction of President Obama, aggressive use of the courts by conservative activists, precedent-shattering rulings by conservative judges to undo the work of the democratically elected branches of government. As with so many of these struggles during the Obama era, the outcome is far from certain.
October 16, 2013 in Appointment and Removal Powers, Cases and Case Materials, Congressional Authority, Executive Authority, News, Separation of Powers | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Monday, October 7, 2013
Daily Read: Justice Scalia Interview
Justice Scalia previously gave a brief interview to New York Magazine on "his childhood," and this week's magazine has an extensive interview with Jennifer Senior about almost everything else.
What newspapers does he read? Is he softening on his views of homosexuality? Does he believe in hell and the devil? Are women protected by the Fourteenth Amendment? What are his hobbies other than hunting? His television viewing? Favorite novels?
Most wrenching decision?:
Probably the most wrenching was Morrison v. Olson, which involved the independent counsel. To take away the power to prosecute from the president and give it to somebody who's not under his control is a terrible erosion of presidential power. And it was wrenching not only because it came out wrong—I was the sole dissenter—but because the opinion was written by Rehnquist, who had been head of the Office of Legal Counsel, before me, and who I thought would realize the importance of that power of the president to prosecute. And he not only wrote the opinion; he wrote it in a manner that was more extreme than I think Bill Brennan would have written it. That was wrenching.
But later, he comes back to the opinion:
As to which is the most impressive opinion: I still think Morrison v. Olson. But look, we have different standards, I suppose, for what's a great opinion. I care about the reasoning. And the reasoning in Morrison, I thought, was devastating—devastating of the majority. If you ask me which of my opinions will have the most impact in the future, it probably won't be that dissent; it'll be some majority opinion. But it'll have impact in the future not because it's so beautifully reasoned and so well written. It'll have impact in the future because it's authoritative. That's all that matters, unfortunately.
It's not what he terms his most "heroic" decision, however, reserving that for a very different sort of opinion.
I mean the most heroic opinion—maybe the only heroic opinion I ever issued— was my statement refusing to recuse.From the case involving Vice-President Cheney, with whom you'd gone hunting?
I thought that took some guts. Most of my opinions don't take guts. They take smarts. But not courage. And I was proud of that. I did the right thing and it let me in for a lot of criticism and it was the right thing to do and I was proud of that. So that's the only heroic thing I've done.
Scalia's 2004 Memorandum in Cheney v. United States District Court for the District of Columbia is here and a good discussion of the controversy from Michael Dorf is here.
Given the standards of recusal - - - despite continuing controversies - - - there is little reason that Scalia or any other Supreme Court Justice should not give as many interviews as possible, even if they might reveal "bias."
Dahlia Lithwick over at Slate has an excellent analysis of the interview, including asking for the interviewer's perceptions about the interview: Are Jennifer Senior and Justice Scalia as far apart as they seem?
I asked Senior whether this [perception] felt accurate. She replied, "It's embarrassing, but the overlap between our worlds is almost nonexistent. It explains why the left and the right both responded so enthusiastically to this piece. Each side sees its own view, affirmed. One sees a monster and the other sees a hero. It's extraordinary, actually. The O'Reilly constituents think he's speaking sense; the Jon Stewart vote thinks virtually everything the guy says is nuts."
October 7, 2013 in Books, Courts and Judging, Current Affairs, Equal Protection, Executive Authority, Fourteenth Amendment, Interpretation, Supreme Court (US) | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Friday, September 6, 2013
The Syria Resolution's Last Whereas
Garrett Epps writes over at The Atlantic that the Senate's Syria Resolution contains a huge give-away to the President: congressional recognition of inherent executive authority to use the military to defend the national security interests of the United States--independent of any AUMF.
The give-away comes in the last "Whereas" of the Senate's Syria Resolution. It reads:
Whereas the President has authority under the Constitution to use force in order to defend the national security interests of the United States . . . .
Epps writes,
The only problem is it's not true, and it represents a two-century high-water mark in claims of executive power. Having been consulted by the president, Congress is poised to respond by throwing back at him not only the current decision but sweeping new powers he didn't have before.
Lawfare has some terrific analysis on the Senate resolution and related issues, including Jack Goldsmith's analysis of that final "Whereas" (quoted in Epps's piece).
September 6, 2013 in Congressional Authority, Executive Authority, News, Separation of Powers, War Powers | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Daily Read: Ellis and Jones on the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
Several media and legal outlets are running impressive commentaries on this fiftieth anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom led by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Here are two that should not be missed.
Over at ACS blog, Law Prof Atiba Ellis writes on "The Moral Hazard of American Gradualism: A Lesson from the March on Washington." Ellis states, "the question we must confront in 2013 is whether we have been tranquilized into the lethargy of gradualism concerning the work that needs to be done." Ellis highlights the Court's decisions last term in Shelby and in Fisher as examples of "the new American gradualism – retrogressive action under the cover of apathy, spurred by the myth of post-racialism and the supposed fear of constitutional overreach."
And on NPR's Morning Edition, journalist Michele Norris profiles Clarence B. Jones as an attorney and "guiding hand" behind the "I Have a Dream" speech, including the famous "promissory note" metaphor. However, Norris also highlights Jones' memoir Behind The Dream, which had "some unlikely source material." Indeed, Jones' memoir may be more accurate than most, since his memory was augmented by transcripts of every single phone conversation he had with King, courtesy of the FBI, in a wiretap authorized by Robert Kennedy as Attorney General. The NPR story has a link to the FBI archive on King.
[image via]
August 27, 2013 in Affirmative Action, Books, Current Affairs, Executive Authority, Federalism, Fifteenth Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment, News, Race, Recent Cases, Scholarship, Theory, Thirteenth Amendment | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Sunday, August 18, 2013
How to Think About Drones
Mark Bowden writes in the current issue of The Atlantic about the moral, military, and legal aspects of U.S. drone strikes against alleged terrorists. The article came out just as U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon criticized the use of armed drones and argued that they must be controlled by international law. We posted most recently on drones here--on the Al-Awlaki case, with links to the leaked DOJ white paper providing the legal justification for drone attacks.
Bowden surveys some of the legal landscape and concludes that drone attacks are legal. But:
Once the "war" on al-Qaeda ends, the justification for targeted killing will become tenuous. Some experts on international law say it will become simply illegal. Indeed, one basis for condemning the drone war has been that the pursuit of al-Qaeda was never a real war in the first place.
He also quotes John Yoo on the relative legality of drone attacks:
I would think if you are a civil libertarian, you ought to be much more upset about the drone than Guantanamo and interrogations. . . . Because I think the ultimate deprivation of liberty would be the government taking away someone's life. But with drone killings, you do not see anything, not as a member of the public. You read reports perhaps of people who are killed by drones, but it happens 3,000 miles away and there are no pictures, there are no remains, there is no debris that anyone in the United States ever sees. It's kind of antiseptic. So it is like a video game; it's like Call of Duty.
August 18, 2013 in Executive Authority, International, News, Procedural Due Process, War Powers | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Friday, August 9, 2013
President Opens Up on Surveillance
President Obama today announced a new effort at transparency and oversight in government surveillance programs. WaPo reports here; here's the transcript.
President Obama said that he directed his national security team "to review where our counterterrorism efforts and our values come into tension," and "to be more transparent and to pursue reforms of our laws and practices." He said he'd work with Congress to reform Section 215 of the Patriot Act, the statutory authority for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to order the release of telephone records (and which came under fire with Snowden's release of the FISC order doing just that), and to reform the FISC, in particular, by appointing a civil liberties advocate at the court. He also said he'd work to be more transparent about surveillance and appoint an independent group "to step back and review our capabilities, particularly our surveillance technologies, and . . . how we can maintain the trust of the people . . . ."
The President also released a Readers Digest version of the legal authority for bulk collection of telephony metadata under Section 215, and an NSA mission statement.
As to the legal authority, the administration gave a broad read to the term "relevant" in Section 215--the issue that EPIC pressed in its recent suit challenging the program. That is, the administration takes the position that Section 215's requirement that FISC production orders be supported by "reasonable grounds to believe that the tangible things sought are relevant to an authorized investigation" gives very broad sweep to the FISC's authority. The administration also focused on controls over abuse of the authority under Section 215.
The document argues that the program violates neither the Fourth Amendment nor the First Amendment. As to the Fourth, the document claims that surveillance of telephony metadata doesn't even qualify as a "search" under Smith v. Maryland (1979), and, even if it did, the "search would satisfy the reasonableness standard that the Supreme Court has established in its cases authorizing the Government to conduct large-scale, but minimally intrusive, suspicionless searches" under Maryland v. King (2013).
As to the First Amendment, the document argues that the program authorizes the collection of only metadata, not content. Moreover, it says that as a lawful investigative activity, can't violate the First Amendment, and that there's no chilling of protected speech.
August 9, 2013 in Congressional Authority, Courts and Judging, Executive Authority, First Amendment, Fourth Amendment, News, Separation of Powers, War Powers | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
D.C. Circuit Strikes Congressional Attempt to Recognize Israeli Sovereignty Over Jerusalem
The D.C. Circuit struck a congressional act that required the State Department to include "Israel" on the passport of any U.S. citizen born in Jerusalem. The court in Zivotofsky v. Secretary of State ruled that the law interfered with the President's exclusive power to recognize foreign countries.
The case will likely go (back) to the Supreme Court, this time on the merits. This is a significant separation-of-powers case, with important implications, and even if the Court ultimately agrees with the D.C. Circuit, it'll almost certainly want to put its own stamp on the substantive questions.
The case was on remand, after the Supreme Court ruled last Term that it did not raise a nonjusticiable political question. We posted on that case here; here's our argument preview in that case.
The problem was that long-standing State Department policy and practice did not recognize Jerusalem as part of Israel. The Foreign Affairs Manual, the State Department regs, reflected this, saying that passports issued to U.S. citizens born in Jerusalem should use just "Jerusalem" as the place of birth, not "Jerusalem, Israel," or "Israel."
Congress moved to direct the State Department to use "Israel," however, as part of its broader effort in 2002 to change U.S. foreign policy and identify Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. President Bush signed the larger bill, but issued a signing statement on those portions of the bill, including the portion that required the use of "Israel" on passports of U.S. citizens born in Jerusalem, saying that those portions interfered with the President's foreign affairs powers.
Zivotofsky was born in Jerusalem to U.S. citizens. His parents sought to designate his place of birth as "Jerusalem, Israel," on his passport, but the State Department refused. The Zivotofskys sued, and after going up and back to the Supreme Court, the case landed again in the D.C. Circuit.
The D.C. Circuit started with the so-called recognition power--the power to recognize foreign countries. The court reviewed the original intent, early and later practices, and Supreme Court rulings on the recognition power and found that it belonged to the President alone. (It found original intent inconclusive, however.)
It said that Congress's attempt to require the use of "Israel" interfered with that power and thus struck the provision.
The court rejected Zivotofsky's argument that Congress has a "passport power" that it properly exercised here. The court said that, whatever the extent of its passport power, Congress was quite obviously trying to do more than just regulate the contents of passports here: it was trying to set U.S. foreign policy. The court said that this interfered with the President's power to recognize foreign countries.
The court also rejected Zivotofsky's argument that the use of "Israel" didn't affect foreign affairs or recognition, because the State Department used the country-of-birth simply to identify the passport holder. The court said that the State Department said that this would affect foreign affairs, and that it's not the court's place to second-guess the executive branch on this.
(The court also said that President Bush's signing statement was irrelevant to its analysis, and that Zivotofsky's argument that the State Department policy discriminates against supporters of Israel was waived.)
Judge Tatel, concurring, came to the same conclusion, but started with the passport power. Judge Tatel argued that the passport power, whatever it is, can't interfere with the President's recognition power.
July 23, 2013 in Cases and Case Materials, Congressional Authority, Courts and Judging, Executive Authority, Foreign Affairs, International, Jurisdiction of Federal Courts, News, Opinion Analysis, Separation of Powers | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Second Judge Rejects Anti-Force-Feeding Case
Judge Rosemary M. Collyer (D.D.C.) earlier this week rejected hunger-striking Guantanamo detainees' suit for an injunction against the government to stop it from force-feeding them. The ruling in Aamer v. Obama is the second recent case coming out of the federal courts rejecting an anti-force-feeding claim. Here's our post on the first.
Judge Collyer, like Judge Kessler in the earlier case, ruled that the court lacked jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2241(e)(2), which deprives courts of jurisdiction to hear an action related to "any aspect of the detention, transfer, treatment, trial, or conditions of confinement" of an alien detainee at Guantanamo.
Judge Collyer went on to address the merits, too. She wrote that the government is "responsible for taking reasonable steps to guarantee the safety of inmates in their charge," that there is no right to suicide or assisted suicide, and that the government has a legitimate penological interest in preventing suicide. Moreover, she wrote that the government has put controls in place so that the procedure really isn't so bad, and that the government made adjustments to the force-feeding schedule for the Ramadan fast.
July 18, 2013 in Cases and Case Materials, Congressional Authority, Courts and Judging, Executive Authority, Fundamental Rights, Habeas Corpus, Jurisdiction of Federal Courts, News, Opinion Analysis, Separation of Powers, War Powers | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Secret Surveillance Court May Pull Back Curtain
Scott Bombay, over at Constitution Daily, reports on a recent order of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, or FISC, directing the Justice Department to conduct a "declassification review" of a April 25, 2008, ruling and legal briefs involving Yahoo! The move could lead to release of documents that reveal some of the FISC's secret workings--in particular, according to Yahoo!, "how the parties and the Court vetted the Government's arguments supporting the use of directives" to gather information about subscribers without their knowledge. (Yahoo!'s interest is in showing that it vigorously defended its users' privacy.)
But Bombay notes that when the Justice Department finishes its classification job, there may not be much left of the ruling or the briefs to help us understand much of anything.
FISC Presiding Judge Reggie Walton ordered the Justice Department to report back to him by July 29 about when the documents could be ready for public inspection.
We posted on the recent spate of criticism over the FISC's secrecy here.
July 17, 2013 in Congressional Authority, Courts and Judging, Executive Authority, Fundamental Rights, News, Separation of Powers | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)