DOUBLE D: GONE TOO SOON

Derrick Douglas died yesterday and the community is the poorer for it.

Double D had theories about everything, life, child-rearing, basketball, work, basketball, religion, basketball, race relations, basketball and Did I mention basketball? He was great company and could work a room with any experienced politician. He would make you laugh, and not always when he meant to. When you bumped into Double D, you were always glad for the visit.

DD had some hardships. He had some fun. He had a lot of friends. Those of us who continue this ride without him will not enjoy it nearly as much.

For now, I don't want to get into the circumstances of his death--just observe and regret it.

I had a lot of fun stuff for today but it'll keep for another time.

Sorry, Buddy.

WASHINGTON: OK, HERE'S THE LAW NOW: SCHOOLS CANNOT.....

....consider race in placement....

....except when they can......

....which is determined by....

whether their reasons....are for achieving diversity......

....and they really, really mean it..

Special note to Justice Kennedy.....could you please land somewhere on this subject? Thousands of School Administrators would kinda like to know what the law is.

185 pages of pure reading pleasure:

http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/06pdf/05-908.pdf

INDIANAPOLIS, PORTLAND, COLUMBUS -- WHO'S NO. 1: SURELY YOU JEST!

NBA draft is this week. Lemme see: the choices are a seven foot athlete who plays defense like Bill Russell or a wispy shooter who is too slow to play the three position and too weak to play the four. Welcome to Portland, Mr. Oden!

JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE TO GO INSIDE: FILM @ 11?

http://www.local6.com/news/13567201/detail.html

You just can't make this stuff up.

WASHINGTON: SUPREME COURT DECIDES IT'S OK TO SAY STUFF--OR MCCAIN/FEINGOLD TAKES IT IN THE SHORTS

It won't last long, but I'm starting to feel better about the chief justice:

"2. Because WRTL's ads are not express advocacy or its functional equivalent, and because appellants identify no interest sufficiently compelling to justify burdening WRTL's speech, BCRA §203 is unconstitutional as applied to the ads. The section can be constitutionally applied only if it is narrowly tailored to further a compelling interest. E.g., McConnell, supra, at 205. None of the interests that might justify regulating WRTL's ads are sufficiently compelling. Although the Court has long recognized "the governmental interest in preventing corruption and the appearance of corruption" in election campaigns, Buckley, 424 U. S., at 45, it has invoked this interest as a reason for upholding contribution limits, id., at 26-27, and suggested that it might also justify limits on electioneering expenditures posing the same dangers as large contributions, id., at 45. McConnell arguably applied this interest to ads that were the "functional equivalent" of express advocacy. See 540 U. S., at 204-206. But to justify regulation of WRTL's ads, this interest must be stretched yet another step to ads that are not the functional equivalent of express advocacy. Issue ads like WRTL's are not equivalent to contributions, and the corruption interest cannot justify regulating them. A second possible compelling interest lies in addressing "the corrosive and distorting effects of immense aggregations of wealth that are accumulated with the help of the corporate form and that have little or no correlation to the public's support for the corporation's political ideas." Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce, 494 U. S. 652, 660. McConnell held that this interest justifies regulating the "functional equivalent" of campaign speech, 540 U. S., at 205-206. This interest cannot be extended further to apply to genuine issue ads like WRTL's, see, e.g., id., at 206, n. 88, because doing so would call into question this Court's holdings that the corporate identity of a speaker does not strip corporations of all free speech rights. WRTL I reinforced the validity of this point by holding §203 susceptible to as-applied challenges. 546 U. S., at 411-412. Pp. 23-28."

For those of you scoring at home, WTRL = "Wisconsin Right To Life" but business organizations, unions and the ACLU joined hands in submitting briefs supporting this outcome. Guess folks actually sort of like being able to say stuff.

LINKIN' LOGS

Made some changes in the links features here. Some of them haven't been out there long enough to prove their bona fides. One has a history of startup and no follow-through. One I left on has done some really good work but hasn't put anything up in a very long time.

Reader beware and If you think there are some links whose attention to the blogs or whose performance standards are not up to what we'd all like to see, let me know. I don't care what the host's belief system is but I don't want my readers to be wasting their time.

Feedback is always appreciated.

THE "BATTLE" APPROACH TO BLOG DISCUSSION

Kind of the whole idea of free speech is the exchange of views. Hopefully that exchange enlightens all of us.

Some of our local colleagues and many other places have moved toward a UFC approach to discussion. "So-and-so really kicked whathisface's a$$ on this thread!" Yeah, it's true sometimes some incredibly one-sided arguments hang out there and it is all we can do not to laugh at the ignorant, bigoted or disturbed. I still think we go farther in individual development and use the internet more constructively by serious but tolerant debate than we do in looking at cyberconversation some kind of electronic UFC.

SMOKE FREE ILLINOIS ACT: GARDEN CUSTOMERS' RIGHTS ....OR NOT?

As Michael Vick might not say, I have no dog in this fight, but it seemed to me that looking at the actual passed bill might prove useful. Here goes:

Section 15: Smoking in public places, places of employment and Governmental vehicles prohibited.

No person shall smoke in a public place or place of employment...... Smoking is prohibited in indoor public places and workplaces unless specifically exempted by Section 35 of this Act."

(the "...." material relates to other stuff like how far from exits smoking is restricted)

The act defines a "Place of Employment" as .."any area under the control of a public or private employer that employees are required to enter leave or pass through during the course of employment.."

I'm sure that organizations thinking about Bier/Beer Gardens as a hedge against the Smoke Free Illinois Act have some clever theory about the applicability of the Act to outdoor patio type places. It's got to a lot more well thought out than simply "Hey, this is outdoors!"

Still, I don't think there's any ambiguity to be argued. Assuming a place has employees, any part of the premises that needs bus services or wait staff services is, by definition, a "place of employment". A bar operated by family or volunteers would still be no smoking indoors but maybe....emphasis on maybe.... an outdoor adjunct could be said not to be "a place of employment" but it's still got to deal with being a public place.

(I'm skipping the other problem of ventilation to the indoor area as covered by section 70 of the act.)

Whether this is a good thing for the State to be doing is another argument but there doesn't seem to be any wiggle room in the meaning of the legislation.

NEW YORK: YA CAN'T LOSE WHAT YA NEVER HAD

Gosh, New York's gazillionaire mayor is leaving the Republican Party! He had also left the Democrat party.

Anybody get the idea that Mikey doesn't play well with others in an organizational setting?

If Chuck Hagel has brain one, he'll run, not walk, away from any affiliation with Mikey

TEXAS: NOTE TO SELF.......

Avoid soaking in gasoline before engaging police responders

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=463321&in_page_id=1811

"MOMMY'S IN THE RUG" FROM A TWO YEAR OLD IS USUALLY.....

.......a bad sign.

I don't know who did what to who but I'm guessing being married to one woman and making serial babies with another leads to some resentment in both relationships. Just a guess.

Memo to Larry King: Gloria Allred knows jack about criminal investigation. Her specialty is getting her name on the electronic media.

JACKSONVILLE: WHERE ODD STUFF HAPPENS--HERO TAKES GAS

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/061807/met_178250725.shtml

Guns don't kill people--Guns just get people fired

QUINCY: LOWERING ENERGY AND RIVER STAGE HERE IN THE BASIN

Kind of a dull day here in the Basin. After the high energy pitch this weekend, how could it be otherwise? A tobacco analyst won the U.S. Open. Nifong got disbarred. 130 deadbeat dads got arrested for back child support in this State on Fathers day and Paris Hilton accepted Jesus as her personal savior and cellmate. That level of excitement could simply not be maintained.

Nothing unusual about a smoker winning a major championship at Oakmont. Parks, Nicklaus and Hogan were all smokers on the course. Nelson and Miller were not but they had good excuses. Nelson had been exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam and Miller is a Mormon. It's not like Cabrera winning is some fluke. He's a seasoned professional who plays in Europe where he sees more Oakmont-like weird lies than US touring pros see.

I have written extensively about Nifong before so I won't belabor the point. Still, I have heard so much disinformation in the national media, I feel compelled to say this much: Mike Nifong was not disbarred because he charged athletes (or white people) on thin evidence and he wasn't disbarred because he behaved in an arrogant manner (which he most certainly did). He was disbarred because he failed to disclose evidence to the defense which could have been favorable to the defense, made impermissible pretrial statements and, worst of all, made false or misleading statements to the court with jurisdiction and to the disbarment tribunal. In other words, he wasn't disbarred because he misused his power as a chief prosecutor. In the end, he was disbarred because he failed to follow the rules after he made his questionable decision. When we accept the privilege to practice law, we accept the rules which accompany that privilege. It's an express contract. Nifong breached that contract. The rules are in print so we can look them up. All the race and class warfare stuff was just wallpaper.

My favorite weekend action is the mass arrest of useless sperm donors who can't share whatever bounty life has brought them with the children they created. I have heard every conceivable argument from Mr. Non-Support. None of them wash. Make a baby, support it. Be a man. You're out of the seventh grade now. Even if you want nothing to do with Mom or vice versa and even though you have nothing personally to add to the baby's life, pay the baby before the dice game or strip club cover charge or the night out with your new girlfriend. To Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, great job! Father's day pickup of these bottom feeders helped a lot of struggling single mothers not feel so bad on the day that reminds them there's no father there.

Most importantly, for all those guys who had divorces or "oops" moments and have stepped up and supported, maybe even interacted with, the little on, Great Job.

Anyhow, after all that excitement, nothing much happening here, give or take a Josh Rabe surgery.

PAIN IN PITTSBURGH: A GOLF COURSE HARDER THAN BEOWULF

Yes, kiddies, it is that sadistic hour where the best golfers in the world are asked to play that glorious unplayable lie known as Oakmont (in the Pittsburgh burbs). The people there are really nice but the golf course is a brute.

Avoiding the usual suspects, here a few folks I think might do well on this hellish track: Joe Durant; Ryan Moore; Sean O'Hair and a rebounding Retief Goosen. Except for Goosen, not big names but picking Eldrick is no fun.

When you're yucking it up watching the best players in the world be humiliated, just remember, ad about 25 to whatever you shoot at your home course. That's what you would put up at Oakmont.

Still my favorite weekend of the year.

DALE, JR. GOES WITH HENDRICK MOTOR SPORTS!

......I have no idea what this means but I thought it would be cool to have a NASCAR post.

This is a very confusing sport. The car of tomorrow is now the car of today. Doctor, I get these terrible headaches.

NIFONG: THE BASIN'S IMPECCABLE LOGIC LEADS TO AN INCORRECT CONCLUSION

Some months ago, when the complaint against Nifong was amended, I concluded he would have to be crazy to go hearing on the "lying to a tribunal" count. From there I reasoned that the case would be settled by a plea bargain of some kind short of hearing.

My reasoning was terrific. I skipped an essential ingredient. The guy must be as crazy as he was oblivious back when the rape charges were filed.

Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.

IN FAIRNESS: WHEN IS A SPECIAL PROSECUTOR NOT SO SPECIAL?

Several visitors here have called into question the legitimacy of the Libby prosecution.

Those visitors now have support from a coterie of accomplished Eastern Seaboard and academic types, of all political stripes.

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1181293537575

This interesting scenario develops because the special counsel law had sunsetted and Ashcroft had essentially disqualified himself as conflicted.

In such cases it is beyond argument that the court had the inherent power to appoint an attorney to investigate the perjury but it is not at all clear that happened here.

In the court's order, Judge Walton acknowledges the argument is legitimate and will hear more about it.

If nothing else, it might be enough to obtain an appeal bond.

Libby supporters, check it out.

QUINCY AND WESTERN ILLINOIS BLOGOSPHERE ETHICS AND MANNERS: YOUR OPINION SOLICITED

There are a number of reasons a blogger would link another blog. For local blogs, it is a way to promote blogging in the community. For "interest" blogs, it is a service to the linking blogger's readers. It is also a way of reciprocally promoting one's own blog.

But what to do when, after ample time, the linked blog does not reciprocally link? There are a couple of my linked sites that have had plenty of time to return the favor and they have not done so. How long is a reasonable period? In other words when is it time to de-link?

I suspect the answer is completely different for locals than for "interest" blogs but I'm working on it.

Your thoughts?

JOCKEYING FOR POSITION NEXT TO JAHWEH: THE GOP DEBATE

I give the panel of candidates a corporate B minus. They really had to answer a series of mouth-breather, marginal questions which detracted from the quality of the whole affair.

I give the questioners a C minus (Saved from being a D only by Wolf asking whether the Senators had in fact READ the national security estimate concerning the proposed war in Iraq).

Duncan Hunter did a tremendous job of demonstrating who he is: a self-absorbed, bellicose whack job in love with his own resume. McCain remains at least a half a bubble off of plumb.

Worst answer of the night and best answer of the night go to Huckabee. Worst was when he puffed up the Taliban and its role in ending the cold war (That whole "fight in the dog" speech--if that had been a democrat, he would have been charged with giving aid and comfort to the enemy.) Best was his theologically consistent answer to the ridiculous "evolution" question. It was interesting how it ruffled Wolfie's hair as it sailed over his head.

Brownback took a giant step backwards. Romney's still pretty shallow but his job was to look presidential and he did, to a point. Is the whole LDS thing getting tiresome or is it just me?

Eliminate Hunter. He's straight out of "Dr. Strangelove". The rest of them would probably be poor presidents but I'll say this for them. Any (save Hunter) would be better than what we have now.

I think Shakespeare called that damning with faint praise.

Anyway, it was fun. We laughed a lot watching.

CHICAGO: R. KELLY CASE--THE STRATEGY IS CLEAR

It's been five years since the dude with the beautiful voice, R. Kelly, was arrested for allegedly videotaping some very adult acts with an unadult person. Beats me whether the State can convict him but the defense strategy is now clear. Delay the trial until the victim gets Alzheimer's and can't remember to testify against him.

Hell, I think pokey California got OJ to trial faster than that.

WHILE WATCHING THE DEMOCRAT DEBATE.....

....I was struck with the following thought:

"The more you do of what you're doing, the more you get of what you've got"

Somehow, I suspect the same will apply to the GOP version