Dan Chasan

2023 in Verse, Though of Course it Could be Worse

Let's raise a toast to companions of four legs and two/ whose presence will enrich us through/ this closer-than-it-may-appear/ and soon, let’s hope, more peaceful year.

Hunter Biden Puts Gun Rights in the Supreme Court’s Sights

Of course, under Supreme Court decisions of the past 15 years, virtually every American has a Constitutional right to own a gun.  The hard and consequential legal question is whether or not – current federal law be damned – drug users have that right, too.

Does the 14th Amendment Disqualify Trump? Maybe

Trump has set up a situation in which no one who opposes him can win a victory that his supporters consider legitimate.  He has said before both his Presidential races that he could lose only if the election was rigged. (Heads I win, tails you cheated.)

The Lethal Details Left out of “Oppenheimer”

If we’re going to revisit the world-changing early decades of nuclear weapons, people should recognize the historic importance of eastern Washington’s Hanford nuclear site, and that our government exposed thousands of its own citizens to radiation from airborne waste and the fallout from nuclear tests.

Suicide Pact? Using the Constitution to Protect Abusers

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul warned that “the Supreme Court could rule that domestic violence survivors today deserve only the protections they had in the 18th century — a time before most women could own property or work outside the home, let alone vote.”

Slow-Motion Scandal: Opening the Arctic Slope to Oil Drilling

The Biden administration’s approval of the Willow Project on the North Slope may have felt like it came out of the blue, but of course it didn’t.  It had plenty of history. And plenty of bogus predictions.

Shutdown of Alaskan Chinook Fishery is Stayed by the Ninth Circuit Court

A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit has stayed U.S. District Judge Richard Jones’ May order that would have shut down the Southeast Alaska troll fishery for chinook salmon.  More legal challenges will follow.

Bullet Dodged? Supremes Nix Independent State Legislature Theory

Some people expected the worst.  The worst didn’t happen.

The Meaning of Water: Justice Alito Gets his Bulldozer Out (Again)

This case could easily have been decided narrowly. But the majority, especially Alito, didn't want a narrow decision.

Orcas Eat: Court Moves to Shut Down Alaskan Commercial Salmon Troll Fishing

A May 2 U.S District Court decision looks like the best thing that has happened to Southern Resident Killer Whales – aka Puget Sound orcas -- in the nearly half-century since people stopped trapping them for display at Sea World and other marine parks. 

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