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Judge bungled ruling in Sidney Powell disciplinary case

Sloppy clerical errors by the state bar shouldn’t have sunk the case. A local Republican judge’s decision to throw out the State Bar of Texas’ disciplinary case against former Donald Trump lawyer Sidney Powell on flimsy technical grounds was a disservice to the public the judge serves. Collin County state District Judge Andrea Bouressa last week granted Powell’s motion for a summary judgment largely because of filing and clerical errors bar lawyers made. Among the mistakes Bouressa found so egregious were a mislabeling of the bar’s exhibits and a failure to file a sworn ...

Back the dissenters to Putin’s war

Although official Russian channels still insist on referring to a “special military operation” in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin is preparing his country for a protracted war. In a long speech earlier this week, the Russian president portrayed the conflict as an existential geopolitical struggle in which the main adversary and initial aggressor was NATO. This reheated cold war rhetoric predates the invasion of Ukraine. It is the central plank of Mr. Putin’s self-image as national savior, restoring glory to a people whose homeland – defined by the borders of the old Soviet Union – ...

Let Congress decide on internet laws

The Supreme Court seemed reluctant this week to narrow legal protections for internet companies so that families of the victims of terrorist attacks could sue social media sites they think bear some responsibility for their loved ones’ deaths. The justices’ caution is appropriate. Congress should determine whether there are to be changes in Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, not the court. That 1996 law protects interactive websites such as YouTube and Twitter from lawsuits stemming from content posted on those sites by third parties, while making it clear that such ...

Thumbs Up/Down

The right to vote THUMBS UP: People should have the right to vote. Minnesotans who have been convicted of felonies lose that right as part of their sentence, but now they will regain the right when they leave jail. Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill Friday restoring the right to vote to people convicted of felonies once they have completed their imprisonment. Before, released convicts couldn’t vote until they had paid all fines and completed probation. For some, that meant they couldn’t vote for decades after their release. We think it’s only fair. A former convict who is working and ...

Subsidies adds risk to risky mortgages

Housing prices are falling after surging 40% during the pandemic. This should help buyers frozen out of the market by rising mortgage rates. So why is the Biden Administration seeking to support prices by increasing the government housing subsidy? The Federal Housing Administration said Wednesday that it will reduce its annual insurance premium for future mortgages by 30 basis points. “On average, homeowners will pay at least $800 a year less on their mortgage, and that’s 800 more dollars in your pocket for household expenses,” Vice President Kamala Harris cheered. Hasn’t the ...

Overdose surge: Change laws to meet fentanyl scourge

Opioid overdoses have become a public health emergency in Minnesota, and the Legislature must act urgently to put in place commonsense measures to prevent overdoses and distribute those remedies widely. Families of overdose victims rallied at the state Capitol Tuesday, including Kim Gustavson whose son Travis died in Mankato of an overdose of drugs laced with fentanyl. The families and advocates for preventing overdoses are asking the state to make naloxone, an overdose antidote, required in schools and among first responders. Remarkably, it’s not already required under state law. ...