For the Civil War Buffs Out There

Fri, 20 May 2011 16:13:38 GMT

American Libraries offers a fascinating article on one possible cause of the Civil War--overdue library books! Seriously, the article by Rob Lopresti, based on a longer treatment of the same subject that was published by Lopresti and August A. Imholtz in the March 2011 issue of Library and Information History, highlights the "odd scandal" that involved the "New York Times, a library with no catalog, and ... the Dred Scott decision." The Times accused seceding members of Congress of stealing books worth thousands of dollars from the House of Representatives Library with the goal of starting a library in the Confederacy. Subsequent investigation revealed shockingly poor mismanagement of the House Library (there was no catalog; in fact, there were no records of any kind) and lack of adherence to journalistic standards which led the Times reporter to rely on "exaggerated rumors passed on by loose-lipped clerks." You'll have to read the article yourself to figure out the connection to Dred Scott!

The GOP quest to return us to the 19th century: birthright citizenship and light bulbs

Sat, 20 Nov 2010 01:36:04 GMT

The Dred Scott Republicans think they won, so back to 1860 we go.

WASHINGTON — As one of its first acts, the new Congress will consider denying citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants who are born in the United States.

Those children, who are now automatically granted citizenship at birth, will be one of the first targets of the Republican-led House when it convenes in January.....

The 14th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1868, guarantees citizenship to anyone born or naturalized in the United States. It was intended to make sure that children of freed slaves were granted U.S. citizenship.

If that isn't absurd enough for you, how about the fight over who will run the Energy and Commerce committee being fought over bringing back incandescent light bulbs.

Hoping to counter attacks from his right, Rep. Fred Upton is promising to reexamine a controversial ban on incandescent light bulbs if he becomes chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

The Michigan Republican told POLITICO on Thursday that he's not afraid to go back after an issue he once supported but that has come under withering assault on the conservative airwaves, including on Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck's talk shows.

"If I become chairman, we'll be reexamining the light bulb issue, no problem," Upton said.

Upton's bid to be the next Energy and Commerce Committee leader has been rocked by allegations that he's too moderate for the post.

Beck called him "all socialist" for cosponsoring legislation phasing out incandescent light bulbs that made it into a 2007 energy law signed by President George W. Bush.

Never mind what Bush did as president. To the new Republicans, 19th century technology rules. As does 19th century discrimination.

The bad decisions

Sat, 24 Feb 2007 17:21:37 GMT

I've had an idea in my head lately- that I should write about those cases where, in my opinion, the Court screwed up. Not merely where I disagree, mind you, but where the Supreme Court just flat screwed the pooch- not only was the result wrong, but the reasoning was wrong as well. A truly bad decision will will apply bad law to achieve a bad result.The cases in the anti-canon have a few things

What Were The Lincoln-Douglas Debates About?

ira@irakrakow.com (Ira Krakow) — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 17:29:15 GMT

This is a follow-up episode to my discussion of Dred Scott, which played an important, even central, role, in the Lincoln-Douglas debates. The Lincoln-Douglas debates were a series of 7 debates in each county of Illinois except for Chicago (Douglas’ home county) and Springfield (Lincoln’s home county), between August 21, 1858 and October 15, [...]

The Dred Scott Ruling: Judicial Activism or Original Intent of the Framers?

ira@irakrakow.com (Ira Krakow) — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 18:08:10 GMT

Read the majority opinion in Dred Scott v Sandford (1857), written by Justice Roger Taney. I’m a regular viewer of the ESPN Classic program “Who’s #1?”. They count down, from Number 20 to Number 1, things like Gutsiest Pitchers, Greatest Team Choking Seasons, Best NCAA Championship Teams, and Players With The Worst NFL Careers After [...]

Recent Articles tagged dred scott from LexMonitor

For the Civil War Buffs Out There

The GOP quest to return us to the 19th century: birthright citizenship and light bulbs

The bad decisions

What Were The Lincoln-Douglas Debates About?

The Dred Scott Ruling: Judicial Activism or Original Intent of the Framers?