Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Integral and Indispensable to the regular duties, Your govenment says this defines if you get paid

Update below. From a Salon interview with  Catherine Ruckelshaus, general counsel and program director for the National Employment Law Project comes this case being argued today in the Supreme’s Court: Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Busk We tend not to hear much about Supreme Court cases until there’s an imminent ruling, much less before oral arguments have […]

Mike Huckabee points the way to nullifying Citizens United and McCutcheon v. FEC: Enforcing the enabling-legislation requirement!

Unlike in Wisconsin, same-sex marriage prohibitions in South Carolina and Wyoming weren’t stricken directly, but rather as a consequence of circuit court rulings against bans in nearby states. And Republicans there are intent on dragging their heels. Rather than accepting defeat, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and Wyoming Governor Matt Mead both plan to enforce their state SSM bans […]

VERY SHORT POST ON SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY INSURANCE

by Dale Coberly VERY SHORT POST ON SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY INSURANCE The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has issued a “call for papers” with suggestions for “fixing” SSDI. I expect that by “fixing” they mean cutting people off and getting them back to work. After all, even people on IV’s could work as telephone […]

Me v. William Cannon, Part II: The Jonathan Gruber Canard

Okay, well, as all you AB regular readers know, yesterday I posted a post deconstructing—and, yes, that’s what I did—a blog post on the Forbes website by William F. Cannon.  He blogs there on “health, freedom, and other uncertainties,” but his day job is Director of Health Policy Studies at the Cato Institute. The studies apparently entail […]

The Halbig Subpoena. Oh, the Fright!

Last week, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform subpoenaed documents from the Treasury Department and IRS that could have a huge impact on Pruitt v. Burwell, Halbig v. Burwell, King v. Burwell, and Indiana v. IRS – four lawsuits that could have a huge impact on ObamaCare. Those cases challenge the federal government’s ability to implement the Patient Protection and Affordable […]

Government Rightwing Propagandizing to a Captive Audience, and Calling It … ‘History Class’

The school board proposal that triggered the [student and teacher] walkouts in Jefferson County calls for instructional materials that present positive aspects of the nation and its heritage. It would establish a committee to regularly review texts and course plans, starting with Advanced Placement history, to make sure materials “promote citizenship, patriotism, essentials and benefits […]

Enumerating the Silliness of the Wingers’ ‘Enumerated Powers’ Schtik

Reader Tony Wikrent posted the following comment this morning to my Sept. 20 post titled “Freedom!  Liberty!  And Being For the Little Guy.  As Brought to You By the Conservative Movement.”: Actually, it turns out that if you are against big government, you ARE against all government. I’m surprised that conservatives who spout the “enumerated […]

Agriculture and water in CA

Via the Guardian comes a few words on the drought and markets for, in this case, almonds.  But similar things could be said of other crops.  The ‘subsidized’ cost of getting water to these producers is not reflected in prices, nor is the ‘ownership’ of the water  looked at in a comprehensive manner for sustainability, as […]

Ted Olson Wants Congress to Bar the Koch Brothers’ Contributions to Incumbents. I Say: Good Idea!

Post updated below. —- Forty-six Senate Democrats have concluded that the First Amendment is an impediment to re-election that a little tinkering can cure. They are proposing a constitutional amendment that would give Congress and state legislatures the authority to regulate the degree to which citizens can devote their resources to advocating the election or […]

Full D.C. Circuit Court Will Rule on PPACA Subsidies

King v. Burwell [Cert] and Halbig v. Burwell) arrived at the DC COA in hopes of defunding (Ted Cruz’s top priority dream) the PPACA. Initially, a 3 judge panel ruled 2-1 striking down the funding of the PPACA based upon an earlier IRS interpretation of PPACA Section 1311 stating “Exchanges established by States.” Section 36B […]