2.0somethings

Unless you live under a rock, you know that Senator Obama has been in Iraq for the past few days. Yesterday, after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki pulled back on remarks he made over the weekend agreeing with Senator Obama’s plan for Iraq, his chief government spokesman released a statement saying that the Iraqi government supports a timetable to get US troops out of Iraq by 2010. If you check your box scores you will see that is essentially the same thing as Senator Obama’s plan.

My favorite development of the past few weeks was the rise of Texas oilman and corporate raider T. Boone Pickens as a major advocate for alternative energies and wind power. Wind power is great, but mostly I just like getting to say T. Boone Pickens. Today the New York Times offers a strong endorsement of his alternative energy plans.

To go along with that, the Los Angeles Times has a survey piece on the state of oil and whether we have found all there is to find. Some say that we have but others say that we have only found the easy oil and that there is plenty of oil but it will just be harder to access. My favorite statement about the idea of “Unconventional oil” is from Al Gore’s Rolling Stone interview: “you know, junkies find veins in their toes. It seems reasonable, to them, because they’ve lost sight of the rest of their lives.”

Today’s story you should read to feel like a well-informed citizen is on how the economic downturn is affecting women. Economists had thought that the decline in the percentage of women working was the result of women choosing to stay home, but studies are showing that the majority of women who have left their jobs have done it for the same reasons men have. Namely, they have been laid off while their job was moved to Kuala Lumpur. The whole piece is worth a read and has some great graphics.

Since the Supreme Court is about to recess for the summer, the Justices have been cranking out opinions like a college freshman cranks out poorly written term papers on The Republic. To be fair, most of the Justices have to clear out of their dorms by Monday and be home in time to start their summer jobs. Chief Justice Roberts lifeguards at his local YMCA, Antonin Scalia mows lawns and Ruth Bader Ginsburg dons a mask to fight crime on the streets - where she is known only as “The Talon.”

Like any college student, the first decision they turned in was top notch, but as the deadlines started to pile up it became more hit-or-miss.

They have barred the death penalty for those that rape a child - This was actually a decision that was applauded by rape victim groups. They argued that if the death penalty was on the table, there was nothing to prevent a rapist from killing his victim. More broadly, the court ruled that the death penalty is off the table for any individual crime where the victims life is not taken.

They ruled that Americans have a right to guns - This is the first major pronouncement on guns in the history of the court and by far the biggest ruling ot the year. If you read only one of the articles I link to, read this one. The case was focused on Washington DC, and many of the Justices cited the heavy amount of crime in that area as a rationale for the right to own a weapon. Would a case have gotten a similar result if it was in Bathesda? Expect the NRA to file lawsuits everywhere there is a gun ban. It is now no longer safe to do anything.

The court reduced the penalty against Exxon that a jury awarded after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989 - They reduced the amount that the company must pay in punative damages from $5 billion to $500 million. Keep in mind that Exxon made $10 billion in the first quarter of this year but also that they have already paid $4 billion in cleanup fees, fines and restitution.