While the basic rule of law is to treat similarly situated persons in the same way, it isn’t unconstitutional to enhance sentences or create a new offense with harsher penalties based on the circumstances of the crime or the individual background of the perpetrator. We do it all the time - hate crime enhancements,…

It especially makes sense when you add in that this process was a compromised added in the mid 90s after they first exempted themselves from every workplace regulation for decades. That they only did this more than a decade after there was a sex scandal involving multiple members of Congress having sex with 17 year…

Oh I fully agree he generally doesn’t give a shit. But he just fought a long cancer battle and I can totally see him at a health fundraiser being nudged by his wife and told “you can’t use that word.” Not trying to give him any credit, just know a lot of people who have done that when certain words are suddenly (to…

But it is that unthinking - that privilege to not concern yourself with the perceptions of others - that is the hallmark of racism in America. The fact he didn’t have a moment of “Huh, I wonder if my largely black labor force might be upset at me analogizing them to prisoners when by a wide margin minorities think the…

Millions of people don’t use that expression. As noted elsewhere, the actual phrases typically used are “letting the foxes guard the henhouse” to refer to a situation of misaligned interests (such as having the head of the EPA being someone who rose to prominence suing to stop the EPA and who hires people who have…

Being a old rich white dude, he might very well have had someone tell him referring to asylums is insensitive to the issue of mental illness but still thinks prison analogies are cool. And at least Snyder didn’t say something like “we need fewer chiefs and more indians” like my bosses used to.

I wouldn’t hold out hope for solidarity on anything beyond kicking Rival U’s ass. Northwestern’s unionization push couldn’t even get the whole team behind it, and they are a school where the students should be smart enough to understand labor economics.

It may be partially gendered, but it is also context and self-selection driven. This is conference of people who want to organize and help, so they are all likely thinking outwardly and the framing of the event similarly focuses on outward thoughts (what do you want the audience to feel, etc). Last night I went to a…

I’d settle for “moderates” in AZ (or just people with a shred of human dignity) deciding they can’t vote for a moonbat like Ward. Statewide races where there’s anything approaching competitive balance are hard to win from the extremes.

I look forward to the GOP consistently decrying his abuse of executive authority.

The DNC provides a few very meaningful resources for candidates, including voter information and contacts. But they haven’t really dictated messaging for decades - going back to the DLC’s push under Bill Clinton to support Blue Dogs as a way to try and hold the south at a minimum. They are a centrist organization…

The story states the lawyers for the police officers were writing to the DA. That suggests it is part of plea negotiations - the DA probably set out how great his case is (sympathetic victim suffering ongoing trauma being part of it), and they are pushing back by showing how bad she’d look on cross examination. Of…

Grilled, dammit - and sitting in a warming tray for at least an hour. Onions and mustard - death before ketchup.

Mine actually showed a credit because of what I assume is a one time adjustment - without it, the bill would still have been a whopping $20. At the same time, my building’s wiring is so f’ed up that I could very well be adding to someone else’s bill without knowing it.

Look at what happened when Hillary took on a substantive policy role - everyone on the right (and more than a few Dems) lost their shit about how she was unelected and not a healthcare expert, etc. While Laura Bush probably could have taken on more substantive causes, both her own personality and the tendencies of the…

I don’t think so. If your client puts the whole thing on camera (specifically that she’s not following the script) that’s a pretty clear waiver. But it is utterly shitty to use any of that as a public defense in your beef with a client (as opposed to a defense in a malpractice case), and as noted all but destroys your…

Oh I agree that’s what Trump did, then blamed Kelly for the backlash/made him take the blame. I just also think Kelly should have had a fucking clue that Trump - tiny brain that he is - would go with whatever was suggested (especially since Trump had just outed the fact President Obama didn’t call Kelly, something…

Buying a round at the bar and robbery both involve me handing money to someone else, but the police don’t assume there’s a potential for me to have confused the two. Lots of crimes have non-criminal analogs (borrowing vs theft, invitation onto property vs trespass, prize fight vs battery). What’s different about…

But police don’t generally hand them to a school without a public records request, and even then tend to stonewall on “ongoing investigations” if they can. This was likely an act of intimidation/payback by the accused, and while technically legal it is a) dickish and b) speaks to what sexual assault victims are often…

I’m sure Trump wheeled on him and said “I did what you told me.” But from what Kelly said, Trump completely whiffed on context clues and couching of the statement about “knew what he signed up for.” Kelly got told that from a close friend who knew both father and son and like Kelly served in the military - not…