Good news. We’re joining the civilized world again:
Society changes. Knowledge accumulates. We learn, sometimes, from our mistakes. Punishments that did not seem cruel and unusual at one time may, in the light of reason and experience, be found cruel and unusual at a later time; unless we are to abandon the moral commitment embodied in the Eighth Amendment , proportionality review must never become effectively obsolete.
While Justice Thomas would apparently not rule out a death sentence for a $50 theft by a 7-year-old, the Court wisely rejects his static approach to the law. Standards of decency have evolved since 1980. They will never stop doing so.
On days like today, I’m reminded Elena Kagan will be charged with filling some very large shoes.
More random-assness:
The Supreme Court also ruled today that some sex offenders can be kept in federal prisons indefinitely, even beyond the end of their sentences. Digby points to an interesting thought experiment by emptywheel, who substitutes the word “terrorist” for “sexually dangerous” in arguments made before the High Court today. (Blackink)
Newsweek has a fascinating excerpt from The Promise of a confrontation between Obama and the Pentagon brass in which the new president checked military leaders for trying to box the White House into an open-ended commitment in Afghanistan.”…Advisers considered what happened next historic, a presidential dressing-down unlike any in the United States in more than half a century. In the first week of October, Gates and Mullen were summoned to the Oval Office, where the president told them that he was “exceedingly unhappy” with the Pentagon’s conduct. He said the leaks and positioning in advance of a decision were “disrespectful of the process” and “damaging to the men and women in uniform and to the country.” In a cold fury Obama said he wanted to know “here and now” if the Pentagon would be on board with any presidential decision and could faithfully implement it.” (G.D.)
If you missed the “60 Minutes” segment Sunday on the Deepwater Horizon disaster, you should attempt to rectify that as soon as possible. (Blackink)
Detroit police killed 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley Jones during a SWAT raid over the weekend. Question: Why is it simply a matter of practice for police officers to throw a grenade into someone’s home in the course of a murder investigation? (Blackink)
Shades of ’08? John McCain, who is fending off a primary challenge from the right in Arizona, is shaking up his campaign staff. (G.D.)
Monterrey, Mexico – the country’s wealthiest city – is now feeling the effects of tolerating the presence of drug traffickers for a number of years. “In the space of a few weeks in recent months, drug gangs repeatedly blocked off city streets, snarling traffic and preventing police and soldiers from patrolling. Regular gun battles in and around Monterrey had claimed 164 lives this year as of May 7, almost the same number as in the two previous years combined.” (Blackink)
This piece on International Adoptions troubles me deeply. (Quadmoniker)
Which country is going to be “the next Greece”? Almost everyone. (Blackink)
Arizona hotels are feeling the effects of the recently passed immigration law, with some analysts estimating the state has missed out on as much as $10 million in revenue so far. (Blackink)
If you are poor and needy and live in California, you are in serious trouble. And among others, you have Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to thank for it all. (Blackink)
The housing bubble is deflating just in time for another boom. “Las Vegas is trying to recover by building what it does not need. It is an unlikely pattern being repeated in many of the areas where the housing crash was most severe.” (Blackink)
Peter D.G. Brown calls on tenured faculty members across the nation to support equity for their adjunct and contingent colleagues. “The exploitation is indeed filthy, but for me and my tenured colleagues, this scandal is neither little nor secret: the vast majority of those well-educated, skilled professionals who daily teach millions of students in our classrooms are actually being paid far less than the workers who nightly clean them.” (Blackink)
Morehouse, Spelman and when rape isn’t in black and white. (Blackink)
In their first game since teammate Yeardley Love was found dead in her apartment, the Virginia women’s lacrosse team defeated Towson in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Love was allegedly killed earlier this month by George Huguley, a member of the men’s lacrosse team. (Blackink)
And instead of a replay of “The Blind Side,” Odessa Permian High in Texas – the school that inspired Friday Night Lights – was allegedly conned by a 22-year-old Florida man who now faces up to 10 years in prison. (Blackink)
Merry Tuesday.
