Background By the end of 1866, not quite two years after the end of the Civil War, the southern states all had passed a series of discriminatory laws collectively referred to as the Black Codes. Northerners were furious at the brazen move to reconstitute the antebellum political and social order and the resulting backlash swept […]
Before we get to The Worst Supreme Court Decision of All Time, let’s take a quick look at some doozies that didn’t quite make the cut. The (Dis) honorable mentions below were either mercifully overturned, superceded by an even worse ruling, or are too new to figure out what just happened. Like our Awful Eight, […]
As if this tale could not get any more disgusting. Today the North Carolina Senate is considering a bill that will require the court to award attorney’s fees to the state if they prevail in a lawsuit against a citizens’ group “contesting the State’s ability to construct transportation improvements.” In other words, Widen I-77′s lawsuit. […]
Background The co-existence of elected representatives and the private money to elect them has always been an uneasy one. With contributions come expectations, and the larger the contribution the larger the expectation. And, with a surfeit of money sloshing around, what’s to prevent a dishonest official from using that money for unsavory purposes? Recognizing the […]
At last night’s board meeting in Huntersville a packed house witnessed the bizarre spectacle of a majority of Commissioners and the Mayor venting their hatred of a citizen’s group. Perhaps no charge was more damning (as well as flat wrong) than Commissioner Sarah MacAulay’s accusation that Widen I-77 members are “accepting private and public donations” […]
Background New London, Connecticut had once been a booming whaling town by virtue of its deepwater port, but by the turn of the 21st Century it had long seen better days. Whaling peaked in the 19th Century and declined steadily until the last whaling ship sailed in 1909. New London rebounded briefly as a textile […]
Background In early 1942 the federal government began rounding up tens of thousands of people and systematically shipping them off to remote, desolate camps for an indefinite period of time. The camps were patrolled by armed guards and surrounded by barbed wire fences. Many of these unfortunates, given as little as ten days’ notice and […]
Perhaps no Supreme Court decision is better known- or more controversial- than Roe v Wade. My decision to include it on the “worst” list stems not from a stance on the abortion issue but from questionable jurisprudence. Your opinion on a “woman’s right to choose” or “protecting the life of the unborn” will probably […]
Background On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or “Obamacare.” The law required virtually everyone in the country to purchase healthcare insurance or pay a penalty, a clause known as the “individual mandate”. Fourteen states immediately filed suit and by January 2011 that number had swelled […]
For years now we’ve been told that one of the benefits of the I-77 toll lanes is they will encourage carpooling because vehicles with three or more occupants can use the lanes for free. NCDOT’s website proclaims: Speaking of free, there are several ways you can use the express lanes without spending a dime. The […]
