Month: August 2014

SCOTUS stays marriage equality in Virginia

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EqualJust as I expected, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a request for stay of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals decision striking down Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriage.What makes this situation different from the stay granted in the appeal from the state of Utah is that the request did not come from the state of  Virginia, but from a county clerk in Prince William County.

Amy Howe at SCOTUSblog.com reports, Court blocks Virginia same-sex marriage ruling:

Just as it did when a federal trial judge in Utah struck down that state’s ban on same-sex marriage, this afternoon the Supreme Court put on hold a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which had held that Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.

Michele McQuigg, the county clerk for Prince William County, Virginia, had asked the Court to step in to stay the Fourth Circuit’s decision, which otherwise would have gone into effect tomorrow.  The application for a stay went to Chief Justice John Roberts, who handles such requests from the geographic area that includes Virginia.  Roberts then referred the application to the full Court; there were no recorded dissents from today’s order.

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Dark money to the rescue of the stumblin’, bumblin’ Tobin

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Last week I told you that the anointed GOP establishment pick, House Speaker Andy Tobin, can’t raise money and he has pissed away what money he has on consultants, legal teams and campaign advisers, forcing him to “go dark” in the final weeks of the GOP primary. (Update) CD 1 Clusterfuck GOP Primary. Now dark … Read more

UPDATE: Guatemalan Children Get Six-Month Reprieve on Deportation

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Yesterday, I juxtaposed three immigration stories in my post— the sad news about the murder of 5-10 Honduran refugee children that the US deported recently, the plight of a young Guatemalan mother and her three children who crossed the border alone and are facing deportation, and the callous reaction to the child refugee crisis by … Read more

Stick a fork in him, Tom ‘banned for life by the SEC’ Horne is done

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TomHorneArizona Attorney General Tom “banned for life by the SEC” Horne likes to claim how effective he is as an attorney. And yet  . . .

Last week “Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Mark Brain rejected Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne’s bid for a temporary restraining order against County Attorney Bill Montgomery, whose office is investigating, among other things, allegations that Horne has used his state office to campaign for re-election.” Tom Horne’s Bid for Temporary Restraining Order Against Against Bill Montgomery Rejected by Judge.

This week, “A Maricopa County judge denied Attorney General Tom Horne’s request to bar the Citizens Clean Elections Commission from investigating a campaign finance complaint against him.” Judge denies Horne injunction against Clean Elections:

Judge Dawn Bergin rejected Horne’s argument that the commission lacks authority over candidates who don’t participate in the Clean Elections system. Furthermore, Bergin said a 2014 law that sought to prohibit the commission from investigating privately funded candidates doesn’t apply to the case.

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Get into a romantic mood with “Mood Indigo” film

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Opening August 22 at the Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway Blvd. Eminently inventive auteur Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) finds inspiration from French novelist Boris Vian’s 1947 cult novel to provide the foundation for this visionary and romantic love story starring Audrey Tautou (Amélie) and Romain Duris (The Beat My Heart Skipped). … Read more