This Washington Times article describes a movement among certain National Football League owners to revise the NFL’s Trust, the master business agreement that maintains that shared national revenue structure that has propelled the NFL into a multi-billion dollar industry and makes the NFL the envy of virtually every other professional sports league.
In this post from last week, it was noted the plaintiff in the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion case had sought Fifth Circuit review of a District Court order denying her Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b) motion that attempted to reopen that controversial case. Today, the Fifth Circuit cancelled oral argument, which is not surprising because the Court often does not grant oral argument on appeals that are subject to summary disposition. Inasmuch as the appellant’s appeal in this case is a long shot, my sense is that the Fifth Circuit is preparing to affirm the District Court’s denial of the appellant’s motion and dismiss the appeal. Thanks to Howard Bashman for the tip on this development.
As the civil war worsens in Haiti, Daniel Drezner and Tyler Cowan point to Haiti Pundit, a blog about news and views on Haitian politics and culture. With American armed forces entering Haiti today, this is a good source of current information on the Haitian situation.
“Rumsfeld’s War” is a new book by Rowan Scarborough, defense reporter for The Washington Times. Today’s Times contains the first excerpt of a series from the book.
Mr. Rumsfeld’s efforts to transform the Pentagon have an interesting background that stretches back several decades. Author Robert Coram compellingly presents this interesting story in his book, “Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War.” Suffice it to say that appearances are deceiving with regard to the Pentagon, the special interests that attempt to control it, and the elected officials that attempt to lead it. This is not a story that the mainstream media has covered well, so Mr. Coram’s book and a few others that deal with this interesting story are essential to a sound understanding of the key issues confronting the United States Armed Forces in the context of modern warfare.
The Wall Street Journal ($) reports that Martha Stewart‘s legal team is seriously considering not putting Martha on the stand during her defense of the criminal case against her. The Stewart defense team apparently thinks that the prosecution’s laborious month long presentation of its case against Martha chloroformed the jury. Accordingly, the defense team is considering a minimalist defense that could be done by the end of the week.
Although understandable given the prosecution’s apparent mishandling of this case, not putting Martha on the stand is a risky strategy. Particularly in white collar prosecutions, jurors want to hear from the defendant. If the case is a closer call than what it appears, then Martha’s failure to defend herself on the stand could tilt jurors against her.