The D.C. City Council placed the District at the forefront of nationwide efforts to go green. This week, they voted to tax consumers five cents per plastic and paper bags at grocery stores and other food outlets. What were they thinking? This measure places consumer concerns at the bottom of the bag. Don't get me wrong. I am all for going green. Yet, I question the timing and validity of the tax. Timing is everything. Is this tax necessary? In an economic climate of lay-offs, cut-backs and setbacks, is now the time to impose this tax? Consumers are already feeling the pinch. Five cents per bag does not appear costly. Yet, if you are barely getting by or struggling to feed your family, every 5-cents counts. Other cities chose to forego similar laws for now due to the economic times. New York city placed its bag law on the ballot to let voters decide. D.C.'s measure is designed to prevent pollution and clean up the polluted Anacostia River. The legislation is named the … [Read more...] about Paper Or Plastic?
LegalSpeaks Blog
My Top 10 Judge Sotomayor Musings
I read the papers to glean comments on Judge Sotomayor's nomination. I list here my top ten musings on why she should not be confirmed. I found these comments funny, sad, pathetic, offensive and outrageous at the same time. 1. Judge Sotmayor is too Catholic. There are already enough Catholics on the Supreme Court. Five of the nine Justices are apparently Catholic according to reports. Do we need one more? 2. Judge Sotomayor is not Catholic enough. Apparently, she does not attend church as regularly as some think she should attend. She attends for special occasions and family events. 3. Being Catholic should disqualify her. Some are worried about her being Catholic as she might overturn Roe v. Wade. 4. She's just not smart enough according to former Bush advisor Karl Rove. I guess her Yale Law School and Princeton University undergraduate degrees are not intellectual enough for Karl Rove. 5. She's a Latino KKK according to former Congressman Tom Tancredo (R. Colo). … [Read more...] about My Top 10 Judge Sotomayor Musings
Dedicated to Diversity
This has been an excellent week for our country to showcase to the world our diversity. Our country was built on one big melting pot. Yet we know the melting pot is not always open and inclusive to everyone. The melting pot has often times excluded minorities, women, gays and lesbians from reaching the top of the pot. Yet, some major strides were made this week. President Obama nominated Retired Marine Maj. Gen. Charles F. Bolden, Jr., a retired space shuttle astronaut, as the first African-American to head NASA. If approved by the Senate, he will take over NASA and lead us to another dimension in our space exploration. Ursula Burns, new CEO of Xerox, became the first African-American woman to head a Fortune 500 corporation. Benita Mosely Fitzgerald, a former Olympic gold medalist, becomes the first African-American named as USA Track and Field's first Chief of Sports Performance. And then came more good news. President Obama nominated Judge Sonia Sotomayor as the first … [Read more...] about Dedicated to Diversity
Is Cheerios a Cereal or a Drug?
The law is sometimes funnier than fiction. Recently, I blogged that the FDA needs to change its current regulations on over the counter diet pills and products due to Hydroxycut causing liver damage. The FDA should include regulation of over the counter diet pills before they reach store shelves and harm consumers. Then I read the FDA is going after our breakfast cereals for false and deceptive advertising and labeling one as a drug. Is Cheerios and Frosted Mini-Wheats really going to harm or kill anyone? Cheerios has been claiming on TV commercials that it can lower your cholestral by 4% in six weeks. Well now the FDA has informed General Mills, maker of Cheerios, that these claims makes it a drug under federal law. Who but the FDA would classify Cheerios as a drug based on these claims? Yet, Cheerios is not the only cereal the FDA has investigated recently. Frosted Mini-Wheats previously claimed it could improve kids attentiveness by nearly 20%. I guess all the … [Read more...] about Is Cheerios a Cereal or a Drug?
Change is Coming to the Supremes
The Supremes are about to change. I listened to the announcement of Judge Sonia Sotomayor as Supreme Court Justice Nominee to replace Justice Souter with eyes filled with tears. Judge Sotomayor, of course, has sterling credentials in the law, a vigorous intellect and the judicial ability to apply the law to the facts. President Obama says her life’s experience is an equally important and necessary quality. Is life experience a necessary component for a Supreme Court Justice? Is having the “common touch” really a necessary ingredient to apply the law to the facts in a case before the Supreme Court? I know the Republican Senators will probably disagree with President Obama’s emphasis on her life’s experience. Yet, any challenge of her, as the first historic Hispanic Supreme Court Justice nominee by Republicans will be problematic. Her inspiring life’s story could make for a Hollywood movie. Her parents moved from Puerto Rico to the United States. Her father, a factory … [Read more...] about Change is Coming to the Supremes
Chatterbox Cheney
Back in the day, if you talked too much, you were called a chatterbox. Dick Cheney has now become a chatterbox. In a historic duel speech on May 22 Cheney was pitted against President Obama. Cheney, once known as the quiet one behind the scenes, has now become front and center. Mr. Cheney remained closed lips while he was vice president. He allowed George W. Bush to make all the speaking blunders. Now that he's no longer vice president, he appears to be making up for lost time. He has now found his voice. Yesterday's speech duel between Cheney and President Obama struck me as odd for several reasons. First, when has a former vice president ever done such a thing? Historians say it's never happened before. I know President Obama expressed no concern about Cheney's speech. Dialogue is a good thing. Yet, I wondered what Cheney was up to with such a forceful attack on the President in a duel speech. Is Cheney planning to head the Republican National Committee and … [Read more...] about Chatterbox Cheney