Links:
* Two more initiatives qualified. The majority vote budget and the 2/3 vote fees both made it through the process and will appear on the November ballot.
* Uh-oh. It looks like there is a problem with the Democratic nominee for SD-16. Apparently, he might not live in the district.
* The Unemployment Fund is taking on more red ink.
* Joel Fox stands up for Meg Whitman’s lack of voting. Now that’s a feat of spinning…
* The Supreme Court ruled that the people who signed the petition to get prop 8 on the ballot can’t block the release of those names on first amendment grounds.
that’s a mild overstatement of what the court actually said.
there are two kinds of first amendment challenges: a facial challenge, which claims that the law is so offensive to the first amendment that it is always invalid, and an as-applied challenge, which claims that the law as applied in the particular facts of this case violates the first amendment.
what the court ruled on yesterday was a facial challenge, which is typically much harder to win than an as-applied challenge.
the as-applied case is still in the district court. it’s unclear how that will come out if it comes back to the supreme court: Alito is clearly in favor of it, and Stevens is clearly against (but irrelevant).
There are three strong clear votes (Scalia, Sotomayor, Breyer) against an as-applied challenge and two (Alito, Thomas) in favor. The other justices could go either way.
Apparently they don’t like to post comments that are contrary to their message either. Maybe you can buy a comment on this web site, since the R’s equate “free speech” with money and Meg equates the democractic process with….the same.