Notes From the Cave

Congressional Investigation of CBS

For those of you who may be more educated on the workings of the U.S. Congress, could you please educate me as to what grounds there could possibly be for a Congressional investigation into an investigative piece such as CBS has run on the Bush issue?

It seems that, based on an article in today's CNN.com, a U.S. Congressman is calling for such an investigation.

As I have stated in the past, I do not care about what Bush (or Kerry, for that matter) did back during the Vietnam War. However, I am concerned about what kinds of pressures are being put on the free press today.

From what limited exposure I have allowed myself to this matter, I saw tonight on the 60 Minutes piece that Dan Rather acknowledged that the documents themselves may be forgeries. However, he had on the air a person who was there at the time, who had direct contact with Bush, and who was essentially substantiating the substance of the previous report. And, as Rather said at the end of the piece, many have criticized the documents; but nobody has challenged the heart of the piece - that Bush did not fulfill his obligations.

Based upon this information, what could possibly be the grounds for a Congressional investigation?

It seems to me that once again, rather than addressing the issues, the strategy is to attack the messenger. I fully expect some kind of personal attack against the integrity of the woman who made the public statements on 60 Minutes.

Interesting Adoption-By-Homosexuals Case

A very interesting Florida case was just published coming out of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. Below is a brief summary of the case as set out in Findlaw. I am providing a link to the text of the decision for those of you who want more information.

In my opinion, this case is destined for the U.S. Supreme on equal protection grounds.

LOFTON v. SEC'Y OF THE DEP'T OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVS., No. 01-16723 (11th Cir. January 28, 2004) Florida Statute section 63.042(3), which prevents adoption by practicing homosexuals, is constitutional as enacted and as subsequently enforced. Nothing in the Constitution forbids the state's policy judgment that it is not in the best interests of its displaced children to be adopted by individuals who "engage in current, voluntary homosexual activity."

International Cooperation On Child Pornography Crackdown

A couple of days ago, I posted a message addressing my perspective on the need for international laws and better coordination on issues that are of international concern. As a follow-up, I noticed today a news report from CNN in which agents from the Internal Revenue Service, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the FBI, as well as law enforcement in Belarus, France and Spain cracked an international child pornography ring.

This is but one example of how the nations of the world can work together to solve issues of global concern. As the Internet and global commerce continue to expand, we will be seeing more and more cooperation between law enforcement authorities of multiple countries. The next step is to come up with an international justice system to handle those who are arrested through such cooperation so that there will be uniform punishment of all such perpetrators.

"Ripple Effect" of Mad Cow Disease

The discovery of the first known case of mad cow disease in the United States came at a timely point in litigation over access to the courts by animal rights advocates who want to change the federal meat inspection regime. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a plaintiff does not have to allege the disease has been detected in the U.S. to claim a credible risk of harm and have standing in a suit against the Department of Agriculture. Check out the complete article.

Source: Law.com