Supreme Court refuses to hear Redskins’ naming case

 

 The Supreme Court  has refused to hear a case brought by Native American activists regarding the use of the trademark name Redskins for the Washington-based football team. This case involved a long running dispute over the name that is several decades old. The activists claim:

“[T]he Washington Redskins’ team name is so offensive that it does not deserve trademark protection.”

The decison, which happened without comments, lets stand the lower court decision that the complaintants let the case go too long before bringing suit. The Washington Redskins have been named as such since 1937 when the name was changed from the Boston Braves, when the team moved south.

According to the Washington Post:

The lawsuit was filed in 1992, when seven activists challenged a Redskins trademark issued in 1967. They won seven years later in a decision by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, which said the name could be interpreted as offensive to Native Americans. The case is Harjo v. Pro-Football, Inc.

Trademark law prohibits registration of a name that “may disparage . . . persons, living or dead, . . . or bring them into contempt, or disrepute.”

The team appealed to federal court.

Judges at the district and circuit levels said the activists’ trademark cancellation claim was barred by the doctrine of laches, which serves as a defense against claims that should have been made long ago.

The activists argued that disparaging trademarks can be challenged at any time, citing a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. The decision was written by then-judgeSamuel A. Alito Jr., who now sits on the Supreme Court.

Apparently the rest of the world disagrees with the activists. There will always be someone who doesn’t like a team name or mascot. This seems like a frivolous lawsuit to me, especially when a team name is held in high esteem.

Janet Napolitano Calls for Immigration Overhaul

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano has called for an overhaul of US immigration policy early next year. The move is expected to rekindle the immigration flames, which could be problematic in an election year.

Additionally, opponents and conservative media is billing any reform initiative as giving illegal immigrants amnesty. The Huffington Post quotes Napolitano:

Ms. Napolitano said the immigration landscape has changed sharply since 2007, when attempts at a comprehensive overhaul failed because many members of Congress lacked confidence in the government’s ability to enforce existing laws, she said. Immigration overhauls backed by the Bush administration and some congressional leaders from both parties foundered in part because critics portrayed them as rewarding illegal immigrants with “amnesty” for violating U.S. law.

Since then, government statistics show a 23% drop in the number of illegal immigrants caught trying to enter the U.S. in the past year, and a 67% decline since 2000, a trend Ms. Napolitano attributed to the weak economy and stronger enforcement. The government has also stepped up efforts to audit employers’ compliance with immigration laws, she said.

“These are major differences that should change the immigration conversation,” said Ms. Napolitano. Without congressional action, “what I fear is we will see another wave of illegal immigration” when the economy improves, she said. “When Congress is ready to act, we will be ready to support them.”

The Washington Times, a conservative newspaper, puts a different spin on Secretary Napolitano’s words:

Declaring success in border security and immigration enforcement, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Friday that the federal government has done its work and now it’s time for Congress to pass a broad bill to legalize illegal immigrants.

Her speech signals President Obama will make good on his promise to push Congress to pass an immigration bill next year – adding yet another hot-button issue to an already long and contentious list.

Ms. Napolitano said members of Congress and voters who balked at an immigration bill two years ago, fearing a repeat of the 1986 amnesty that only made the problem worse, can be assured this time is different. She said in those two years, the flow of illegal immigrants across the border has dropped dramatically and the government is doing more to catch fugitive aliens inside the U.S.

I have tried for several days to find a direct quote that sounds like what Ms. Napolitano was quoted as saying in the Washington Times. I have not been able to find it. It sounds incendiary to me and quite a stretch from what actually was said.

Here is the link to what DHS Secretary Napolitano did say. It is too lengthy to post here.

9/11 Terrorist Plotters to be Tried in NYC

Yesterday, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that 5 terrorist plotters from 9/11 would be brought from Gitmo to NYC to be tried in federal court. Some of the rogues are Khalid Sheik Mohammed, Ramzi Binalshibh and others whose names cannot be pronounced.

The announcement has caused a firestorm not only in the political community but also in the legal community. Perhaps the greatest gripe is that these terrorists will be afforded all the liberties entitled to a US citizen. There are also worries about turning the trial into a lengthy 3 ring circus. Then there are about 20 more reasons, pro and con for this action that I am sure our contributors would like to share their opinion about.

On another terrorist note, According to News and Messenger:

NEW YORK (AP) — In what could be one of the biggest counterterrorism seizures in U.S. history, federal prosecutors sought to take over four U.S. mosques, a New York City skyscraper and 100 acres in Prince William County owned by a Muslim organization suspected of being controlled by the Iranian government.

Prosecutors on Thursday filed a civil complaint in federal court against the Alavi Foundation, seeking the forfeiture of more than $500 million in assets.

The seizures include land in the Catharpin area. The addresses listed on the federal criminal complaint are 4300 and 4204 Aldie Road

In the Iranian case, there are ties to the funding of nuclear weapons. It appears that the property was just that: property. Nothing nefarious has been found at the site, according to other sources.

Beware, Watching Sean Hannity Will Age You!

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
Sean Hannity Apologizes to Jon
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show
Full Episodes
Political Humor Health Care Crisis

John Stewart say s of Fox News , “we finally had a literal manifestation, of what we feel, is the metaphorical methodology of the entire fox network, which of course, is the subtle altering of a reality to sell a preconceived narrative”.

Translation, Fox News sells propoganda, plain and simple. Do I believe this is some “unfortunate incident” as Sean Hannity would have us believe? No way! Does Sean forget he was heard DISTORTING what President Obama said about the health insurance execs?

I believe it went a little something like this:
Sean “Obama said that all insurance execs are bad” vs reality, which is Obama actually said ” he does NOT believe insurance execs are bad, but that the industry is driven by profit only”

Manassas Council to spend $100K on Civil War Anniversary

The Manassas City Council voted Wednesday to spend $100,000 on the upcoming 150th anniversary of the First Battle of Manassas.  The 150th anniversary of the first major engagement of the Civil War will take place around the week of July 21, 2011. 

The City hopes to bring in revenue and position itself for long term tourism.   Creston M. Owen, chairman of the board of Virginia Civil War Events Inc. plans to organize 9 days worth of events.  He came before the board on Wednesday to ask for money. 

According to the News and Messenger:

Owen’s outfit of volunteers is poised to begin organizing the nine-day commemoration that is set to include a Blue and Gray Ball at the Candy Factory, a re-enactment of the First Manassas, breakfast with the troops and concerts on the lawn of the Manassas Museum and at the Battlefield.

Owen told the council that it’s time to get started if the aim is to educate and attract the crowds that will generate income and put the area on the map.

“We’re only 18 months away. If we don’t start beating the drum now, we won’t get people here,” Owen told the council.

Owen has also met with the Prince William delegation of the Virginia General Assembly and hopes to get a million dollars from the state for this 9-day event.  To date nothing has been heard publically about the Prince William County involvement in the commemoration of the sesquicentennial or about their plans to infuse money into this venture.

Already citizens are cheering for their home town.  However, an equally strong set of boos are being heard because of the recession,  extremely tight municiple budgets, and basically, a Tea Party mentality.  Is this something that the local governments ought to be supporting or is this an event better handled by private enterprise?

Letter From SPLC on Lou Dobbs

Posted below is the correspondence from Richard Cohen of Southern Poverty Law Center on the departure of  Lou Dobbs from CNN.  Whether you agree or disagree, Dobbs’ removal was sought by many hefty organizations.  Without additional commentary:

Nov. 12, 2009

 

Dear Friend,

Last night, CNN anchor Lou Dobbs announced his departure from the network. As you know, we’ve been highly critical of Dobbs because he has used his platform to spread myths and propaganda — poisoning the debate over immigration reform and inciting fear and hate against Latinos.

The SPLC was one of the first groups to bring public attention to Dobbs’ use of false information provided by racist hate groups.

With your support, we exposed his wildly inaccurate reporting about immigrants — such as his insistence that immigrants had brought thousands of new cases of leprosy to the United States during a recent three-year period.

And we condemned his reliance on the Federation for American Immigration Reform as an authority on immigration issues. This is an organization we have named a hate group with longtime ties to white supremacists.

This past July, we called on CNN executives to fire Dobbs after he relentlessly promoted the racist and utterly baseless idea that President Obama is not a native-born American citizen. Soon thereafter, a number of other organizations joined our call.

Immigration reform is an important and complex issue, one that should be debated honestly. We hope that Dobbs’ resignation sends a message to other commentators that the airwaves shouldn’t be used to vent extremist rhetoric and fan the flames of hate. Doing so has serious and sometimes violent consequences, as illustrated by the rise in hate crimes against Latinos and the unprecedented number of threats against Obama.

We are committed to exposing those who disseminate misinformation that foments hate. Together, we took a stand, and our actions made a difference. Thank you for everything you do to combat bigotry and intolerance.

 

Richard Cohen photo Thank you for your support,
Richard Cohen
J. Richard Cohen
President, Southern Poverty Law Center

Update on Fort Hood Massacre

There have been several developments regarding the Fort Hood Massacre.

The Army has charged Major Nidal Hasan with 13 counts of premeditated murder. Hasan can get the death penalty if he is convicted.

There is some concern from doctors at his last post that Hasan is psychotic. Of course mental illness does not translate into legal insanity, necessarily.

According to Fox News:

President Obama has ordered a review of all intelligence related to Fort Hood shooting suspect Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, and whether the information was properly shared and acted upon within government agencies.

The review will be overseen by John Brennan, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism. The first results are due to the White House by Nov. 30.

Obama also ordered the preservation of the intelligence. Members of Congress, particularly Michigan Rep. Peter Hoekstra, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, have called for a full examination of what agencies knew about Hasan’s contacts with a radical imam and others of concern to the U.S., and what they did with the information

Good for President Obama. It is time to put sunshine and transparency on who know what when. Sadly, regardless of what is discovered, Hasan is not the only one. The time frame seems reasonable also.

.

“Wisconsin Muggers See Army ID, Return Wallet”

Imagine, even a thief was inspired to be a decent human being on Veterans Day! A weird feel good story on Veterans Day.

MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee Army reservist’s military identification earned him some street cred Tuesday, when he says four men who mugged him at gunpoint returned his belongings and thanked him for his service after finding the ID.

The 21-year-old University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee student said he was walking home from work about 1:15 a.m. Tuesday when he was pulled into an alley and told to lay face down and with a gun to his neck. Four men took his wallet, $16, keys, his cell phone and even a PowerBar wrapper from his pants pockets, he said.

But the hostile tone quickly changed when one of the robbers, whom the reservist presumed was the leader, saw an Army ID in the wallet. The robber told the others to return the items and they put most of his belongings on the ground next to him, including the wrapper, the reservist said.

“The guy continued to say throughout the situation that he respects what I do and at one point he actually thanked me and he actually apologized,” said the reservist, who asked not to be identified Tuesday because the robbers still had his keys.

The reservist said he asked the men, who all had hoods or hats covering their faces, if he could get up and they said he could before starting to walk away.

“The leader of the group actually walked back, gave me a quick fist bump, which was very strange,” he said.

Milwaukee police spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz said the reservist is credible and that officers still were looking for the suspects Tuesday.

The reservist didn’t realize until later that his keys were not with him and he doesn’t know if the robbers intended to keep those, he said. Still, he said he feels lucky.

“I’m just kind of awe struck that everything was given back to me due to just being in the military, ” he said. “I realize in pretty much every other situation that wouldn’t happen

.”

11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month

A huge Thank YOU to all of you veterans out there, those still serving and also to those no longer with us.

These kids did a fabulous job of honoring their teachers who were veterans.

Kids obviously did this video. Not ‘obviously’ because of quality but because of the recognition of their teachers at the end of the video. CCHS is a high school in Anytown, USA. The JROTC group made it and they recognized their teachers. Well done. Their parents and teachers should be proud.

Freedom Isn’t Free Veterans Day 2009

A special salute to my father who served from December 7, 1942-March 17, 1946 on active duty.

Resources:

Wounded Warrior Project: Voices of Veterans

2009 Veterans Day Tribute: An American Soldier

A Venerable Veterans Day -Last Year’s Veterans Day Tribute on Antibvbl

WWII in HD begins Sunday night at 9 pm on the History Channel.  It is a 5 night presentation.

What is Terrorism Really?

For the past several days we have debated whether or not the massacre at Fort Hood was terrorism or not. Terrorism seems to differ in each person’s mind. 

Tonight I looked at old footage for Veterans Day. The attack on Pearl Harbor continued to come up and it was intermingled with footage from 9-11. Was the attack on Pearl Harbor terrorism?  How about the Marine Barracks  attack in Lebanon in 1983? 

We have no internationally agreed upon definition. In fact, within our own country there is no one defnition. Certainly there would be no question if most of those killed had been civilians.

If we use ‘terrorism’ too often does it detract from the horror? Does the sneak attack make Pearl Harbor terrorism?  If troops are sleeping or doing other duties, are they non-combatants?

Fort Hood Memorial

“No faith justifies these murderous and craven acts; no just and loving God looks upon them with favor,” … “And for what he has done, we know that the killer will be met with justice — in this world and the next.”

“This is a time of war. And yet these Americans did not die on a foreign field of battle. They were killed here, on American soil, in the heart of this great American community. It is this fact that makes the tragedy even more painful and even more incomprehensible.”

President Barack Obama