The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the Bush administration did not have the legal authority to go forward with military tribunals for detainees at the Guantanamo Bay military base in Cuba. (via CNN )

I’ll step up and say that this one surprised me, not that I think the administration will comply with the court’s ruling. Thoughts anyone?

Recently the Senate shot down a proposition to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 and hour here inthe U.S; to $7.25 and hour. While this was widely reported, what wasn’t reported was that immediately following that vote, was, incredibly enough, that the GOP-lead chamber voted in favor of giving themselves a pay raise.

“…members of Congress have voted to give themselves pay raises — technically “cost of living increases” — totaling $31,600, or more than $15 an hour for a 40-hour week, 52 weeks a year…” This according to the Congressional Research Service. Thank you Congress for taking a large shit on your constituancy.

Would giving the lowest earning people in the United States a whopping $88 a week more really be that bad? Republicans are arguing that raising the minimum wage would cripple small businesses. While I see the potential for some small problems we all know what will happen. Businesses will see that americans now have more money to spend, and will raise prices slightly across the board to get a piece of that pie.

For all the bad mouthing of the democrats I’ve done over the past few years for failing to stand up for the american public while the current administration has been trampling our rights, at least they’re standing firm on this one.

Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nevada) said today, from a press conference “…They can play all the games the want…” “They can deal with gay marriage, estate tax, flag burning, all these issues and avoid issues like the prices of gasoline, sending your kid to college. But we’re going to do everything to stop the congressional pay raise.” Reid wouldn’t say what specifically he would do to block the congressional pay raise, which is triggered each year with the passage of an appropriations bill, not by a vote on a stand alone bill to increase pay for members.