Linkfest: Sunday Updates
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Time to clean out the aggregator --
ITEM: The Supreme Court, in a 3-3-3 trifurcation, upheld Indiana's voter ID law. The divide was essentially "constitutional this time" plus "constitutional almost always" (six votes total) versus "unconstitutional" (three votes). As I have blogged previously regarding other states' voter ID laws, I tend to fall into the (controlling) "constitutional this time" camp, based in large part on the precondition that government-issued photo IDs be made available for free. I also continue to insist that the far greater voter fraud danger is so-called "snowbird voting" — the same voter fraud that almost allowed Al Gore supporters to steal the 2000 election from George W. Bush. The Indiana case is Crawford v. Marion County Election Bd., No. 07-21 (April 28, 2008).
ITEM: Shareholders of Wells Fargo overwhelmingly defeated an anti-gay advocacy group's proposal to "inform" the directors and officers of Wells Fargo that
ITEM: Two newspaper executives are suing everyone's favorite hack sheriff, Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, along with the county attorney, for issuing an unconstitutional subpoena for information on the paper's online readers. Previous post here.
ITEM: A federal appeals court has upheld a Department of Agriculture ruling blocking Tyson Foods from labeling its chicken "raised without antibiotics" on the grounds that the (truthful) label implied that the chicken is safer or healthier than other chicken (it is not). I blogged about similar litigation over the labeling of "hormone-free milk" here.
ITEM: Amtrak will spend $2.2 million of taxpayer money to sponsor "National Train Day" in order to convince people that it needs even more taxpayer money than the $1 billion it already receives annually. Most recent post here.
ITEM: Union leaders in the U.K. are demanding a ninth paid holiday, under the guise of providing a "Community Day" for volunteerism. As I explained previously, there is in fact no such thing as a "paid holiday."
ITEM: Cumbria County, England, has won a European Union decree granting it the exclusive authority to market "Cumberland" sausage. This follows similar Eurocrat decrees regarding "Champagne" sparkling wine, "Parmesan" cheese and the infamous requirement that a vineyard actually be within sight of a castle to label its vintage "Chateau."
ITEM: A senior executive at Lionsgate Studios appears increasingly committed to making Atlas Shrugged into a two-part motion picture epic starring Angelina Jolie as Dagny Taggart (although Brad Pitt appears uninterested in the role of John Galt). I am on record as being skeptical about the potential commercial success of such a project. (Via Cato@Liberty.)
ITEM: The Supreme Court, in a 3-3-3 trifurcation, upheld Indiana's voter ID law. The divide was essentially "constitutional this time" plus "constitutional almost always" (six votes total) versus "unconstitutional" (three votes). As I have blogged previously regarding other states' voter ID laws, I tend to fall into the (controlling) "constitutional this time" camp, based in large part on the precondition that government-issued photo IDs be made available for free. I also continue to insist that the far greater voter fraud danger is so-called "snowbird voting" — the same voter fraud that almost allowed Al Gore supporters to steal the 2000 election from George W. Bush. The Indiana case is Crawford v. Marion County Election Bd., No. 07-21 (April 28, 2008).
ITEM: Shareholders of Wells Fargo overwhelmingly defeated an anti-gay advocacy group's proposal to "inform" the directors and officers of Wells Fargo that
While the legal institution of marriage between a man and a woman should be protected, the sexual interests of, inclinations and activities of all employees should be a private matter, not a corporate concern.In other words, Wells Fargo should not include sexual orientation in its non-discrimination policies. I have blogged previously about the utterly humiliating defeats these bigot proposals encounter (at the hands, incidentally, of "greedy capitalists"). (Via Good As You.)
ITEM: Two newspaper executives are suing everyone's favorite hack sheriff, Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, along with the county attorney, for issuing an unconstitutional subpoena for information on the paper's online readers. Previous post here.
ITEM: A federal appeals court has upheld a Department of Agriculture ruling blocking Tyson Foods from labeling its chicken "raised without antibiotics" on the grounds that the (truthful) label implied that the chicken is safer or healthier than other chicken (it is not). I blogged about similar litigation over the labeling of "hormone-free milk" here.
ITEM: Amtrak will spend $2.2 million of taxpayer money to sponsor "National Train Day" in order to convince people that it needs even more taxpayer money than the $1 billion it already receives annually. Most recent post here.
ITEM: Union leaders in the U.K. are demanding a ninth paid holiday, under the guise of providing a "Community Day" for volunteerism. As I explained previously, there is in fact no such thing as a "paid holiday."
ITEM: Cumbria County, England, has won a European Union decree granting it the exclusive authority to market "Cumberland" sausage. This follows similar Eurocrat decrees regarding "Champagne" sparkling wine, "Parmesan" cheese and the infamous requirement that a vineyard actually be within sight of a castle to label its vintage "Chateau."
ITEM: A senior executive at Lionsgate Studios appears increasingly committed to making Atlas Shrugged into a two-part motion picture epic starring Angelina Jolie as Dagny Taggart (although Brad Pitt appears uninterested in the role of John Galt). I am on record as being skeptical about the potential commercial success of such a project. (Via Cato@Liberty.)
Posted by Kip on
4 May 2008
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