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Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 29, 2009 3 Comments

Despite an impassioned last minute closing argument, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was found guilty by the Illinois Senate on the Article of Impeachment. The vote was 59-0 to convict Blagojevich of the single Article of Impeachment for abusing power. Elements of the Article included alleged...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 29, 2009 3 Comments

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich just finished his closing argument in the Senate impeachment trial. In an impassioned argument, Blagojevich invoked images of his immigrant parents, the people he tried to help by providing health care benefits, and working families.Blagojevich followed a strategy of saving his...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 29, 2009 2 Comments

I didn't expect to end up opposing the impeachment of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. When the news first broke that Blagojevich was charged, among other things, with attempting to "sell" Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat, I was inclined to follow the media and pundits in...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 28, 2009 0 Comments

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's last minute request to present a closing argument at the Senate impeachment trial has everyone speculating what he is up to. While there are many good speculative arguments as to what Blagojevich will say, there is one argument that no one...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 28, 2009 2 Comments

It has just been announced on the floor of the Illinois Senate, nearing the end of the trial, that Governor Rod Blagojevich wants to appear at the end of the trial to argue his case against impeachment. Blagojevich to date has refused to participate on...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 28, 2009 11 Comments

I listened to much of day two of the Illinois Senate impeachment trial of Gov. Rod Blagojevich. This was the day when the smoking gun would be revealed, in the form of four audio tapes just released by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. Despite the claims...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 27, 2009 0 Comments

James G. Lindsay, the former General Counsel of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), has issued a detailed 84-page report harshly critical of UNRWA's policies with regard to Palestinian refugees. The report is titled "Fixing UNRWA...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 27, 2009 0 Comments

Hamas set off a massive roadside bomb at the Gaza border, killing an Israeli soldier and wounding several on the Israeli side of the border. In return fire, one Palestinian was killed. So how do British papers report the story? Here are the headlines:The Guardian:...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 26, 2009 1 Comment

Last October was our first Halloween in Ithaca, New York. Because I couldn't tend to the door, I put a box of candy on the front porch, with a sign that said "Please be honest, take just one."This being Ithaca in the month before the...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 25, 2009 3 Comments

On Monday, January 26, 2009, the impeachment trial of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich begins. Nominally, the trial will be held by the Illinois Senate with the Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court presiding. In reality, this case is, and always has been, under the...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 25, 2009 2 Comments

Estimating the size of crowds traditionally has been an art, not a science. The art part of crowd-estimating leaves much to the artist's interpretation. Police departments often go with their "gut" feeling based upon experience with prior events, or a helicopter flyover.In the case of...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 24, 2009 2 Comments

You know the old saying, "those who can't do, teach." When I was in private law practice, I took that saying as gospel. Now that I teach, I'm not so sure I like it, or that it's true. I think a better phrase might be,...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 24, 2009 2 Comments

An air strike from a Predator drone killed 15-20 people in the tribal areas of Pakistan yesterday. According to most reports, the targets were al-Qaida operatives. Presumably, the CIA, NSA, and other government intelligence agencies had intelligence information as to the location of the operatives...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 23, 2009 0 Comments

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich just finished a press conference in which he claimed that he is not participating in the Senate impeachment trial, scheduled to start Monday, because the Senate impeachment trial rules deprive Blagojevich of a fundamentally fair hearing. Blagojevich is right that he...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 23, 2009 2 Comments

Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans ...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 22, 2009 0 Comments

As if the flubbed oath of office wasn't enough, it has now been revealed that the all-star musical ensemble at Barack Obama's inauguration didn't play the music you heard live. The honorable Itzhak Perlman, Gabriela Montero, Yo-Yo Ma, and Anthony McGill actually played on the...

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