14 September, 2007
06 September, 2007
The Great Upset!
31 August, 2007
Tell Me About Michael Bloombert
In this posting on www.VelvelOnNationalAffairs.com, Dean Lawrence R. Velvel of MSL asks his readers for help in finding out about Michael Bloomberg. Velvel expresses surprise after hearing a recent speech by Bloomberg about efforts to reduce poverty. Bloomberg seems to meet all the previously suggested characteristics a third party candidate would need to be successful. Is Bloomberg the perfect third party candidate? Or, as Velvel writes, “was [his speech] an anomaly?”
To read this and other posts by Dean Lawrence R. Velvel, visit us at www.velvelonnationalaffairs.com.
28 August, 2007
Truth, Secrecy, and National Security on the Federal Courts
In this posting on www.VelvelOnNationalAffairs.com, Dean Lawrence R. Velvel of MSL discussed the effect of truth, secrecy, and national security on the federal courts. Valerie Plame received an unclassified letter from the CIA releasing her dates of service. The letter was published in the Congressional Record and online. The CIA redacted the letter, stating it contained unidentified classified information. Plame then sued to have her dates of service released so that she could mention them in a memoir. But the court agreed with the CIA’s position that it could keep the information “secret” though it had been publicly disclosed.
Allowing the CIA to keep information classified even after it is public and available to anybody shows the extent to which the federal courts have bought into the secrecy mindset - - to the uttermost. By allowing secrecy under the guise of classification, state secrets, executive privilege, etc, the federal judiciary is bringing us closer to the national disaster which will arise from a secretive unchecked executive.
To read this posting and others, visit us at www.velvelonnationalaffairs.com. A free audio version of this and other blogs by Dean Lawrence R. Velvel can be found on Itunes and other podcast directories.
24 August, 2007
Bribery, Honesty, and the Government
In this posting on www.VelvelOnNationalAffairs.com, Dean Lawrence R. Velvel of MSL discusses bribery, honesty, and the government. Velvel says you cannot separate the acts of bribing and carrying out the bribe from the constitutionally protected act of voting on the floor and the constitutionally protected reasons for the vote. Courts aught to recognize this, and that the unusual question is the need for honesty in government. But they don’t and indeed allow legalized bribery called contributions. The upshot is we have a very the dishonest government.
23 August, 2007
Scooter Libby -- Lies, Reasons, Commutations!
To find out more listen in at www.mslawradio.com and www.velvelonmedia.com.
16 August, 2007
How Can The Federal Court Sentence Terminally Ill Patients To Death?
In a recent posting on www.VelvelOnNationalAffairs.com, Dean Lawrence R. Velvel of the Massachusetts School of Law discusses a recent federal court decision which he considers immoral. In the case, a federal appeals court allowed the government to prevent terminally ill patients, for whom no standard treatment works, from having access to experimental drugs which are the only conceivable hope for saving their lives. Velvel says that this horrific decision stands the Constitution and our whole system of government on its head by failing to protect people from the misdeeds of government and instead allowing government to order what is in effect a death sentence for the innocent terminally ill. Velvel compares the judges who made the decision to the proverbial German judges of the Nazi era.
To find out more about this and other posts, visit www.VelvelOnNationalAffairs.com.
07 August, 2007
Comment on Increasing the Size of the Supreme Court
Read Velvel’s full post and find out more at http://www.velvelonnationalaffairs.com/.
keywords: liberal media, progressive, supreme court
9/11, Were Aircraft Attacks Foreseeable?
The Massachusetts School of Law, located in Andover, Massachusetts, makes high quality, affordable legal education available to less privileged persons who are traditionally excluded from the legal profession. As part of its mission of providing high quality education and information for both law students and the general public, the Massachusetts School of Law also presents information on important current affairs to the general public via television and radio broadcasts, an intellectual journal, conferences, author appearances, blogs and books. For more information visit http://www.mslaw.edu/. MSLAW podcasts are available from http://mslaw.libsyn.com/rss, for subscriptions, or http://mslaw.libsyn.com/, for direct downloads. MSLAW videos are available from Google Video.
Keywords: liberal media, media criticism, 9/11
Does Iran Have A Right To...
The Massachusetts School of Law, located in Andover, Massachusetts, makes high quality, affordable legal education available to less privileged persons who are traditionally excluded from the legal profession. As part of its mission of providing high quality education and information for both law students and the general public, the Massachusetts School of Law also presents information on important current affairs to the general public via television and radio broadcasts, an intellectual journal, conferences, author appearances, blogs and books. For more information visit www.mslaw.edu. MSLAW podcasts are available from http://mslaw.libsyn.com/rss, for subscriptions, or http://mslaw.libsyn.com, for direct downloads. MSLAW videos are available from Google Video.
Why Do We HAve Corrupt Politicians
The Massachusetts School of Law, located in Andover, Massachusetts, makes high quality, affordable legal education available to less privileged persons who are traditionally excluded from the legal profession. As part of its mission of providing high quality education and information for both law students and the general public, the Massachusetts School of Law also presents information on important current affairs to the general public via television and radio broadcasts, an intellectual journal, conferences, author appearances, blogs and books. For more information visit www.mslaw.edu. MSLAW podcasts are available from http://mslaw.libsyn.com/rss, for subscriptions, or http://mslaw.libsyn.com, for direct downloads. MSLAW videos are available from Google Video.
Gasoline
The Massachusetts School of Law, located in Andover, Massachusetts, makes high quality, affordable legal education available to less privileged persons who are traditionally excluded from the legal profession. As part of its mission of providing high quality education and information for both law students and the general public, the Massachusetts School of Law also presents information on important current affairs to the general public via television and radio broadcasts, an intellectual journal, conferences, author appearances, blogs and books. For more information visit www.mslaw.edu. MSLAW podcasts are available from http://mslaw.libsyn.com/rss, for subscriptions, or http://mslaw.libsyn.com, for direct downloads. MSLAW videos are available from Google Video.
War Funding
The Massachusetts School of Law, located in Andover, Massachusetts, makes high quality, affordable legal education available to less privileged persons who are traditionally excluded from the legal profession. As part of its mission of providing high quality education and information for both law students and the general public, the Massachusetts School of Law also presents information on important current affairs to the general public via television and radio broadcasts, an intellectual journal, conferences, author appearances, blogs and books. For more information visit www.mslaw.edu. MSLAW podcasts are available from http://mslaw.libsyn.com/rss, for subscriptions, or http://mslaw.libsyn.com, for direct downloads. MSLAW videos are available from Google Video.
Why Did George Bush Win In 2007?
Greenwald said that there were three fundamental reasons why George Bushbecame the Republican candidate in 2000. One he called “tribalism,” meaningthe cultural ideology of the right wing. Another was the political lineageof the Bush family. Finally, Bush has an affable personality that the medialiked. This last point was of major importance, said Greenwald, because themass media focuses on personal amiability and attractiveness, not oncompetence or knowledge. It also focuses, he said, on the horse raceaspects of politics - - who is ahead, by how much and why. Here too itignores competence and knowledge.
The reason the mass media ignores substance is that it is now largely ownedby large corporations, which feel they get more readers and viewers - - andmake more money - - by focusing on personalities rather than substance.Reporters have to go along with this to advance in their careers. In thisvacuum of substance, said Greenwald, blogs are making an importantcontribution because they are focusing on the substance neglected by themass media.
In addition to the foregoing reasons, there were also other reasons too whyGeorge Bush became the Republican candidate. The Republican politicalestablishment was desperate to win, especially because it hated theClintons, and was persuaded that George Bush had the best chance to win.And while member of the Republican establishment weren’t completely sureabout Bush’s ideology, they knew they did not like John McCain’s. Bush alsohad name recognition because of membership in a political dynasty, and hehad access to huge sums of money. Nor did the Republican politicalestablishment care a whit about the inadequacy of Bush’s record as Governorof Texas, nor about the fact that he had been a continuous failure inbusiness - - and thus had never demonstrated competence.
When asked whether America needs a third party because currently it has“only one party with two branches,” Greenwald demurred. In his view, thesituation is currently so terrible that it is crucial to defeat theRepublicans in 2008, and he feels the Democrats have the best chance to dothis. He thus favors efforts to change the Democrat Party so that, in thoseareas where it closely overlaps the Republicans, it would instead stand forthe very things that a third party would otherwise stand for. In responseto the possible objection that the nation is claimed to be in a criticalstate in every single presidential election - - a claim that would alwaysaugur against a third party and would make it impossible ever to start one -- Greenwald said that this time the situation truly is dire.
Greenwald concluded by saying that it is now essential to findcandidates who will engage in honest, competent debate, for the edificationof the American people, about America’s role in the world.
The Massachusetts School of Law, located in Andover, Massachusetts, makes high quality, affordable legal education available to less privileged persons who are traditionally excluded from the legal profession. As part of its mission of providing high quality education and information for both law students and the general public, the Massachusetts School of Law also presents information on important current affairs to the general public via television and radio broadcasts, an intellectual journal, conferences, author appearances, blogs and books. For more information visit www.mslaw.edu. MSLAW podcasts are available from http://mslaw.libsyn.com/rss, for subscriptions, or http://mslaw.libsyn.com, for direct downloads. MSLAW videos are available from Google Video.
Direct download: vm7.mp3
NY Times Issues and Why Can't we get Good Politicians
Second, Larry continues the discussion with David Michael Green and Alan Erhenhaldt about why we seem to have difficulty getting quality people in elected office, especially national office.
The Massachusetts School of Law, located in Andover, Massachusetts, makes high quality, affordable legal education available to less privileged persons who are traditionally excluded from the legal profession. As part of its mission of providing high quality education and information for both law students and the general public, the Massachusetts School of Law also presents information on important current affairs to the general public via television and radio broadcasts, an intellectual journal, conferences, author appearances, blogs and books. For more information visit www.mslaw.edu. MSLAW podcasts are available from http://mslaw.libsyn.com/rss, for subscriptions, or http://mslaw.libsyn.com, for direct downloads. MSLAW videos are available from Google Video.
LIBBY AND CHENEY - WHO KNEW WHAT
The Massachusetts School of Law, located in Andover, Massachusetts, makes high quality, affordable legal education available to less privileged persons who are traditionally excluded from the legal profession. As part of its mission of providing high quality education and information for both law students and the general public, the Massachusetts School of Law also presents information on important current affairs to the general public via television and radio broadcasts, an intellectual journal, conferences, author appearances, blogs and books. For more information visit http://www.mslaw.edu/. MSLAW podcasts are available from http://mslaw.libsyn.com/rss, for subscriptions, or http://mslaw.libsyn.com/, for direct downloads. MSLAW videos are available from Google Video.
Keywords: The Nation, David Corn, Liberal Media, progressive viewpoints, Scooter Libby, Dick Cheney