The Kensington Review

22 September 2006

Latest Commentary: Volume V, Number 113
House Considers Splitting 9th Circuit Court -- For federal judicial purposes, the US is not divided into states but rather into districts, and above those districts are circuits. This division exists because Congress said so. The Constitution gives very little guidance on the court system; only the Supreme Court derives its existence directly from the document. Since it can tamper with the boundaries of the district and circuit courts, Congress sometimes tries to “fix” things. In hearings Wednesday, the latest move to split up the liberal 9th Circuit looked like an attempt to “fix” things, in the sense of rigging the outcome.

Second Province Returned to Iraqi Security Forces -- The daily stream of news from Iraq tends to be bad. That isn’t the fault of the media, despite what the White House may say. The fact is the news is bad because most of the events taking place in Iraq are counterproductive to US policy as well as Iraqi national interests. One bright spot, however, is the hand over yesterday to Iraqi security of Dhi Qar province by the occupation/liberation forces.

Wal-Mart Slashing Generic Prescription Drug Prices -- Wal-Mart has announced a plan to charge $4 per prescription on 291 generic drugs. The company will start the program in Florida in January and move out from there, likely going nationwide before its all over. Wal-Mart will rely on its control of the supply-chain and its buying power to achieve this. Oddly, those are the very things that a national health care program could use to help every American live better and longer if only federal law allowed it.

Turkish Novelist Acquitted of “Insulting Turkishness” -- Free speech and a free press mean that it is acceptable to insult people. Some individuals, frankly, merit little else. On the other hand, iInsulting entire groups is stupid bigotry and nothing more but must be tolerated in order to protect the verbal exchange of ideas, even bad ones. So that fact that a Turkish novelist has been acquitted of charges she “insulted Turkishness” is good news. The bad news is that it is a crime in Turkey at all.

© Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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