February 6, 2019

Why did I get my state refund before my federal?

Maybe it's normal in other states, but in 25+ years of filing, I've never gotten my NY state refund first. The federal has always come first, sometimes weeks before the state. It deposited yesterday. Still no federal.

January 29, 2019

Eyes on Kavanaugh and Gorsuch as Supreme Court weighs whether Louisiana abortion law can go into eff

Source: CNBC

Two doctors in Louisiana are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to grant an emergency stay of a law they say could cripple abortion access in the state starting next week.

The law requires every doctor who performs abortions to have admitting privileges at a local hospital. It would leave only one doctor in a single clinic to provide abortions in a state where 10,000 women seek the procedure each year, according to the plaintiffs.

In an application submitted on Monday to Justice Samuel Alito and expected to be reviewed by the full court, the unnamed physicians, represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights, asked the court to prevent the law from going into effect, as it is scheduled to do on Monday. Alito on Tuesday gave Louisiana two days to respond to the application.

The case could prove to be a test of President Donald Trump's two nominees to the high court, who reproductive rights activists worry could hamstring abortion access.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/29/eyes-on-kavanaugh-and-gorsuch-as-supreme-court-weighs-abortion-law.html

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I read elsewhere that the decision is due by Thursday.

January 17, 2019

May's government survives no confidence vote

Source: BBC News

Rebel Tory MPs and the DUP - who 24 hours earlier rejected the PM's Brexit plan by a huge margin - voted to keep her in Downing Street.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn argued that Mrs May's "zombie" administration had lost the right to govern.

Mrs May will be making a statement from Downing Street at around 2200 GMT.

The PM won the vote by a margin of 19, including 10 votes from the DUP. Had the party voted against her, she would have lost by one.

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-46899466

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325 to 306. That's a lot closer than last time. Wonder what her statement will be tomorrow. Resignation?

December 22, 2018

If a President is impeached but not convicted, can they repeat the process again?

Let's say this happens in 2019, and the Senate Republicans all vote "No" on conviction. Can we impeach again in 2020 (or, gasp, 2021 if he's re-elected), or would that be double jeopardy?

December 19, 2018

New Yorkers Have a Constitutional Right to Nunchucks, Judge Rules

Source: NY Times

In the 1970s, the United States was in the middle of kung fu fever. A wave of martial arts movies washed onto American shores, making Bruce Lee an international superstar and “nunchucks” a household word.

Worried that young people inspired by the craze might use nunchucks to cause havoc, New York State lawmakers criminalized the weapon in 1974.

Not long after, a young man in suburban New Jersey began studying nunchucks, eventually developing a passion for them.

Four decades later, that formerly young man, James M. Maloney, now 60, was in court battling New York’s ban on the weapon — and winning.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/19/nyregion/nunchuks-ban-overturned-new-york.html

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Interesting. Wonder if the NY ban on shurikens (throwing stars) will be overturned next...

December 13, 2018

Abortion opponents are starting to worry Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh isn't the ally they w

Abortion opponents are starting to worry Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh isn’t the ally they were expecting

Justice Brett Kavanaugh has only been on the bench for two months, but a controversial decision announced this week has abortion opponents starting to worry that he may not be the ally on the high court that they expected.

On Monday, the court announced that it would not review two lower court decisions that temporarily banned Louisiana and Kansas from cutting Planned Parenthood’s Medicaid funding. While three of the court’s conservatives voted to take up the cases, Kavanaugh and Chief Justice John Roberts declined to join them, ensuring the cases would not receive the necessary four votes for review.

Despite a claim of “vindication” from Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who voted to confirm Kavanaugh after he assured her that he viewed the court’s abortion precedents as settled law, progressives have cautioned against reading too much into Kavanaugh’s vote.

The question the cases presented was not about the legality of abortion, but instead over whether individuals have a right to challenge a state’s determination that a Medicaid provider is “qualified.”

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/12/brett-kavanaugh-may-not-be-solid-ally-abortion-opponents-were-expecting.html

Note: I thought he was pro-Roe since the hearings, his answers worried Rick Santorum in an interview. I also thought Gorsuch was anti-Roe from the hearings. So far it seems that I may be right...

December 11, 2018

Let's say Trump isn't removed from office, but decides not to run again in 2020

Let's also say he doesn't resign. Who would be the Republican nominee in 2020? I wouldn't call Pence the front-runner, because he would be coming out of a very tainted administration. He might not even run.

So who? My bet is Cruz gets the nomination this time, although he alienated lots in his own Party. He would almost certainly run again. Perhaps we'll see a Cruz vs. Beto again, only this time on the national level. That would be a very interesting race.

Or do you think someone else would get the nomination? Romney? Jeb? Rick Scott? <gasp> Cindy Hyde-Smith?

December 8, 2018

Principal Bans Candy Canes Because 'J' Shape Stands For Jesus

OMAHA, NB (CBSMiami/CNN) – An elementary school principal in Omaha, Nebraska is on administrative leave after asking teachers to not celebrate Christmas in classrooms.

Principal Jennifer Sinclair sent out an internal memo which included a list of Christmas-related items and activities that could not be used in class at Manchester Elementary School.

Items ban included images of Santas or Christmas items on worksheets, trees in classrooms, singing carols, playing Christmas music, making ornaments and candy canes.

According to Sinclair, the ‘J’ shape of a candy cane is for Jesus and the red and white colors represent his blood and resurrection.

https://miami.cbslocal.com/2018/12/07/principal-bans-candy-canes-because-j-shape-stands-for-jesus/

I've been eating candy canes for 40 years in December, and it never crossed my mind about it being a J, this is crazy.

December 8, 2018

Why did David Souter retire from the Supreme Court so young and soon?

With Bush Sr.'s death all over the news, it got me thinking about Souter again. He was on the SC from 1990 to 2009. He was 51 when he joined, and just 69 when he stepped down, a baby for a retiring SCJ. I get it if you're old or very sick, but he was neither.

Now, I know he wanted to retire under a Democrat, but he had at least 16 years left in him. Why give up the best job in the world?

December 5, 2018

Teacher Who Told First-Grade Students Santa Isn't Real Won't Be Returning To School, Officials Say

Source: CBS Philly

MONTVILLE, N.J. (CBS/AP) — School officials say a substitute teacher who told first-grade students in New Jersey that Santa Claus isn’t real will not be returning to the school.

NJ.com reports Montville Schools Superintendent Rene Rovtar confirmed Tuesday the teacher will no longer work in the district after the incident Thursday at Cedar Hill School.

Rovtar declined further comment, saying the issue is a personnel matter.

Officials say the teacher debunked other holiday characters, including the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and Elf on a Shelf.

Read more: https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2018/12/05/teacher-who-told-first-grade-students-santa-isnt-real-wont-be-returning-to-school-officials-say/