tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36578512011-04-21T17:51:50.532-07:00Carp of the DayNow I've done it. The plunge is taken, and it's a bit late to worry about swimming lessons.Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.comBlogger1501100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1136631711353762692006-01-07T03:00:00.000-08:002006-12-05T16:45:15.166-08:00This is just a keep-alive post; I don't want Blogger to scratch this blog before I figure out how I'm going to preserve it.Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1129193152012580482005-10-13T01:14:00.000-07:002005-10-13T01:45:52.016-07:00Just in case I had any readers left -- which, of course, presupposes I ever had readers in the first place -- to wonder why more than four months had gone by without a post, well, Bill Quick invited me to be a contributor to Daily Pundit, and I've been over there ever since. I've been enjoying the hell out of it, too, wading into debate with some very sharp persons who care just as much as I do Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1117683383320122072005-06-01T20:27:00.000-07:002005-10-15T19:47:50.636-07:00Some California legislative idiocy, by way of Joanne Jacobs, and I'm late to the party.
One of the commenters raises the question, why would Goldberg be doing this? Call me cynical, but my guess is, Goldberg wants all those kids spending a lot of time surfing the net, and banking on their parents not having the time to supervise them when they do; her nebulous hope is that wallowing in swill Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1115246886562971242005-05-04T15:43:00.000-07:002005-05-04T15:49:17.006-07:00Here's something really dumb, even on its own terms, courtesy of Instapundit.
Uhhh, guys, the goal is "submission to the will of God," not "compliance with His edicts." If you require the threat of deadly diseases to get them to obey, you've already failed.Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1115172225802824812005-05-03T18:58:00.000-07:002005-05-03T19:03:45.806-07:00Here's how thoroughly out of it I am right now: Bill Quick has linked the post below, and it didn't even occur to me until now that I ought to acknowledge it here. Bill, please accept my thanks.Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1115165564329244152005-05-03T17:09:00.000-07:002005-05-03T17:12:44.330-07:00There is no worse hell than outliving your children.
I just got back from a funeral for one of the kids in the neighborhood. Jared used to be one of my informal piano students; he'd drop by every once in a while over the years to show off what he was working on, and I'd give him pointers on performance. To judge by appearances, he was just an ordinary teenager, just noodling around, without Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1111742655615525272005-03-25T01:18:00.000-08:002005-03-25T01:24:15.616-08:00My browsing took me to yet another site (deliberately unlinked) complaining about Congress's intervening in the Schiavo matter "for political gain." No sale: If it's the right thing to do, the members are entitled to that "political gain" from doing it; if not, it's not the "political gain" that impeaches it.Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1111740343878440282005-03-25T00:38:00.000-08:002005-03-25T00:45:43.880-08:00The Corner notes Ralph Nader's entry into the Schiavo mess.
It can't be comfortable for them. The knowledge that Nader agreed with me upon any point would be sufficient cause for me to re-examine the whole schmear from the ground up, looking for any errors I might have committed.Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1111725507590743762005-03-24T20:29:00.000-08:002005-03-24T20:38:27.593-08:00This, by way of the Corner, where the slugfest continues:
There is a genuine dispute as to what Ms. Schiavo believed and expressed about life with severe disability before she herself became incapacitated; certainly, she never stated her preferences in an advance directive like a living will.
And any question upon that point, according to Florida law, is for the courts to determine, and they haveClaytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1111650672516812072005-03-23T22:27:00.000-08:002005-03-24T00:21:43.486-08:00Since it's all anyone is talking about, here we go: Terri Schiavo. It's depressing, the number of ordinarily sensible persons who have turned into foot-stomping whiners over this one. See the Corner for a lot of them gathered in one place, just barely restraining themselves from calling each other's mammas names. Not, mind you, that there's anything special about the Corner in this regard: Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1111568669298603472005-03-22T23:22:00.000-08:002005-03-23T01:04:29.303-08:00Sorry about the dry spell. I've been so furious with the Supreme Court, and especially with that idiot, Justice Kennedy, that I've not had the energy to think about much else, much less write about it, and my fury would not lend the subject the attention it needed.
So, anyway, off to other topics, finally. Bill Quick provides this, taking a swing at, what has gone wrong? Here's his take:
Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1108949920733544962005-02-20T17:34:00.000-08:002005-02-20T17:38:40.733-08:00Posted, just now, to a WikiPedia discussion page:
Please note, the Blogosphere is beginning to take up discussion of an apparent WikiPedia editorial POV in all matters savoring of politics; this discussion, and especially the tone of a lot of it, cannot possibly help matters. Keep in mind, It is no more possible for WikiPedia than for anyone else, to be "a little bit pregnant."
I'm preserving it Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1107928300133684972005-02-08T21:09:00.000-08:002005-02-08T22:14:04.830-08:00Compare Ward Churchill and Eason Jordan. The links are to Instapundit; from there you can chase them lots of different places. See, especially, Eugene Volokh on academic freedom.
Note the general agreement on how Eason Jordan, after what is, according to the current scandal, only probably a single slander (accounts differ), delivered to a wholly voluntary -- not to mention, for the most part, Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1106528879045762062005-01-23T17:04:00.000-08:002005-01-23T17:09:57.960-08:00By way of Hugh Hewitt, I came across this post on The Fourth Rail. An excerpt:
The media's motivations to provide negative press on the war in Iraq and the greater Global War on Terror may vary: some outlets have a political ax to grind with the Bush administration; some are reflexively anti American; some are anti war; some are pro-terrorist; and some are lazy and use canned news without Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1104632991444790142005-01-01T16:29:00.000-08:002005-01-01T18:29:51.446-08:00From the Los Angeles Times (by way of Drudge), nonsense on stilts. Here's an excerpt:
WASHINGTON — Ailing Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist said today that judges must be protected from political threats, including from conservative Republicans who maintain that "judicial activists" should be impeached and removed from office.
"The Constitution protects judicial independence not to Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1104284539648195172004-12-28T16:18:00.000-08:002004-12-28T17:42:19.646-08:00By way of Instapundit, something to raise your blood pressure. Can you say "compounding a felony"? Well, it's legal now, joining barratry, champerty, maintenance, and more recently perjury and subornation. Embracery is still a work in progress; there are many years to go yet before that project pays off. No one has worked out, yet, how to get the courts' positive endorsement for bribery and Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1103884618513533312004-12-23T18:42:00.000-08:002004-12-24T02:53:11.580-08:00Being a conservative in the traditional sense, and therefore disapproving of ex post facto ideology, I don't hold much with the Republican Party. Still, they wind up getting my vote far more often than not; it's very rare that I find myself voting for a Democrat. Not that Republicans aren't capable of idiocy, but that, for Democrats, idiocy is by and large an integral part of the platform, Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1103677922113948602004-12-21T15:50:00.000-08:002004-12-21T17:12:22.330-08:00Instapundit points to an account of what brought on Steven Den Beste's retirement.
Let me add here, again, my own "Thank you!," for what it's worth, and my commiseration for the mysterious ailment.Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1102651988934288522004-12-09T19:51:00.000-08:002004-12-09T20:15:03.470-08:00By way of Drudge, the latest teenage antics from MoveOn.org
Might I say, this is a truly marvellous move: guaranteed to endear MoveOn.org to all those bought-and-owned Democrats out there; guaranteed to clinch the loyalty of the bought-and-owned Democratic Party machine; guaranteed to get all those bought-and-owned new donors pounding on the door; guaranteed to flush out all those new Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1102385978997128532004-12-06T18:05:00.000-08:002004-12-06T18:37:16.216-08:00By way of Instapundit: A new blog launches with a debate on pre-emptive war.
Here's the simple answer, guys, but you're not going to like it. The question of war, for whatever reason, is for Congress in its wisdom to consider, and its power in this regard is absolute and without control. The only second-guessing allowed on this matter is at the ballot box, wherein there is no special weight Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1100851382389326602004-11-18T23:00:00.000-08:002004-11-19T01:26:56.613-08:00From all over the place, but I'll pick on Hugh Hewitt as representative, since he's got an informal symposium going on it. Target has decided to ban Salvation Army bell-ringers from its stores. The official excuse is, they're finding it increasingly difficult to make an exception, for the Salvation Army, to their policy that otherwise bans solicitors.
Here's some news for you, Target. I know Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1100744793496684732004-11-17T17:03:00.000-08:002007-02-12T10:27:44.353-08:00Via Instapundit, a discussion of voting vs. population density.
That population density predicts voting has been obvious for a long time; the question is, why? The proposals put forward by the author don't convince, so here's another. Consider the following:
The higher the population density, the safer it is for those in local government to ignore constituents' views.
The higher the Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1100588375896710912004-11-15T22:57:00.000-08:002004-11-15T22:59:35.896-08:00James Lileks:
Yay Condi Rice. I want her to go to Saudi Arabia, and I want her first words upon getting off the plane to be “I’ll drive.”
Beautiful, just beautiful....Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1100581730743995722004-11-15T20:58:00.000-08:002004-11-15T21:12:07.930-08:00Can you say, "wasteful complexity"? From today's Corner:
Dave Hoppe recommends:
My proposal would be to change the Senate rules so that every nominee would be guaranteed a vote on the floor. The committees would retain an advisory role, but wouldn't be able to scuttle a nominee. After a nominee is submitted to the Senate and has handed in the paperwork, the committee would have 20 session Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1098728693909237412004-10-25T10:09:00.000-07:002004-10-25T11:44:12.496-07:00Instapundit points to this story on problems in the History profession.
From what I've seen lately, the biggest problem with this profession is that it has wrapped itself up in a personalities cult. Historians want to pick out a single person and write about him as the prime mover of this, that, or the other great historical event or trend. The problem is, in this country, the primum mobile isClaytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1098515452125531582004-10-23T01:09:00.000-07:002004-10-23T00:10:52.126-07:00The funniest piece of viciousness I've come across so far this election cycle.Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1098001284706085142004-10-17T01:49:00.000-07:002004-10-17T01:32:58.343-07:00Roger Simon on Andrew Sullivan (by way of Wretchard). I have the feeling he hasn't been watching Sullivan too closely, or he wouldn't have written this:
What's behind a lot of Andrew's assertions seems to be a belief that the occupation of Iraq was botched.
The fact of the matter is, Andrew Sullivan went off the deep end when the Massachusetts Supreme Court plumped for gay marriage, and he Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1097894257706731102004-10-15T19:21:00.000-07:002004-10-16T00:15:13.376-07:00Hugh Hewitt on Kerry romping all over Mary Cheney. I read this differently. This wasn't aimed at costing Bush some of the Christian vote, or, if it was, that was only gravy.
There are, especially among, shall we say, the more vociferously liberal part of our society, an increasing number of persons who just like to cause unredressable anguish. They adopt positions, and make statements, and doClaytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1097813418935092182004-10-14T19:25:00.000-07:002004-10-14T21:22:43.200-07:00Here's a post that's been kicking around for a while, now, waiting to be written. Thanks to Wretchard for providing the context on which to hang it.
Here's the fundamental contradiction at the core of human nature:
Other persons can be dangerous.
The dangerousness of another person depends upon what he is thinking.
Therefore, it is crucial to know what other persons are thinking.
But it Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1095652598446266352004-09-19T20:38:00.000-07:002004-09-19T21:13:44.050-07:00Hugh Hewitt on why the CBS forgery controversy is hurting Kerry, even though there's no reason to suppose his campaign had anything to do with the forgeries. There's too much psychologizing in there for my taste.
Here's a much simpler explanation. John Kerry has always been a poor candidate; on an even playing field he wouldn't have a chance. This playing field, though, has been anything but Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1095483221891901402004-09-17T13:45:00.000-07:002004-09-17T21:53:41.890-07:00This is something that has worried me for a very long time, now. This needs a much longer post, which I do not have the time to write just now, especially as I would need to be very careful about what I can and cannot say. For now, I will note, market pressures are producing new business practices that will increasingly sap the accuracy and reliability of the public records, and it will go on Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1095314631094032632004-09-15T22:51:00.000-07:002004-09-15T23:17:39.600-07:00A couple of things.
First, re-reading that last post, something in the back of my mind said, "The model number on that Linotron was 202, not 200." Hey, this was twenty years ago; for all I know, it may be right. In any case, it's not important enough to go looking it up.
Second, I've decided to experiment with the comment facility here. I have decided its tenure, like that of Federal judges,Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1095156397162662352004-09-14T02:01:00.000-07:002004-09-15T22:41:52.720-07:00My input, for what it's worth, on the Dan Rather forgery flap.
In the early and mid-Eighties, I worked Summers and Christmases as a computer programmer in the ADP department at Sigonella, Sicily. For those that don't know, Sigonella is a Naval Air Station. The office considered itself more or less high-tech, but, being a military base overseas, this must be taken with a grain of salt. Fully Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1090643093213346472004-07-23T20:45:00.000-07:002006-04-01T21:54:49.650-08:00Here's a rarity: A post that's not a response to anything, except perhaps a deadline, which in this case is the opening of the DNC next week.
The sense I've had for a long while now of the tenor of public debate is, the lunatic fringe on the left has deliberately and thoroughly talked itself out of what last few remaining scruples it had. So here's my -- well, "prediction" is the wrong word -- Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1090206015664104862004-07-18T19:45:00.000-07:002004-07-18T23:23:25.273-07:00Steven Den Beste critiques Andrew Sullivan and Rich Lowry on the gay marriage flap.
The Fourteenth Amendment does not go as far as Den Beste thinks; it does not, as he says, forbid the result in Plessy v. Ferguson ("separate but equal"). What produced the result in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas -- if we ignore the Court's psychologizing, which is constitutionally irrelevant -- Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1088381339607609642004-06-27T17:06:00.000-07:002004-06-27T17:32:10.380-07:00From Andrew Sullivan, upon whom the irony is lost:
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "But there is an added technique for weakening a nation at its very roots ... The method is simple. It is first, a dissemination of discord. A group - not too large - a group that may be sectional or racial or political - is encouraged to exploit its prejudices through false slogans and emotional appeals. The aim of those who Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1087744891222571942004-06-20T08:16:00.000-07:002004-06-20T08:21:31.223-07:00Various persons are hashing over Andrew Sullivan's state of mind.
You're approaching this from the wrong angle, people. All Andrew needs is a pirin tablet -- that, and a supporting cast to worry over whether he takes it or not.Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1087631474942869042004-06-19T00:41:00.000-07:002004-06-19T00:53:41.996-07:00Al-Qaeda has beheaded another one. Sure makes me want to rush to the bargaining table, that one does.
A curiosity: When Al-Qaeda first threatened Johnson's beheading, I saw their demands reported as, Saudi Arabia to release all these prisoners (see list), and that all United States personnel leave the Middle East, all within 72 hours. The second demand disappeared in all subsequent reports. Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1085637110457969862004-05-26T19:22:00.000-07:002004-05-26T23:06:54.120-07:00Nick Berg, it appears, has been insufficiently dissected.
When I watched the video, my general sense was, "Something is wrong, here." And I don't mean the obvious. It was a really clumsy patch job. We see shots of Berg alone against a wall, and of Berg with the five terrorists behind him; in the shots with the terrorists, he is in different postures, but we never see him moving. The sound, Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1085196153751638812004-05-21T18:28:00.000-07:002004-05-21T20:22:33.750-07:00An angst roundup from Instapundit, a continuing series. And there's plenty more out there that he's missed, especially lately.
If you focus on "Anti-Bush slant" or "undermining the war effort," or whatnot, you're missing what's really going on, here. Considerations like upcoming elections and treason are secondary. Air time and column inches are secondary, as well. The primary consideration Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1084449842924072922004-05-13T01:23:00.000-07:002004-05-13T05:18:18.256-07:00Thanks to something Steven Den Beste posted, I spent a long time this evening wandering around Amritas' blog, reading his critiques of Chomsky. I had not previously come across any details of what it is Chomsky has been up to; all I had was the general impression, he is held in contempt by all right-thinking persons, who are identified as right-thinking by the fact that they hold Chomsky in Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1083991487154274442004-05-07T21:44:00.000-07:002004-05-07T22:06:38.250-07:00Well, if this blog ever had readers, they've surely drifted off by now, but I'll struggle to keep up the fiction. Apologies for dropping off the map. All I can plead in mitigation is the unremitting gall of employers who actually want projects finished on schedule. It's been heads-down time here for a good month and a half. It's not just this blog that has suffered; I've basically been out ofClaytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1081830034166754212004-04-12T21:20:00.000-07:002004-04-12T21:31:00.140-07:00From Bastard Sword (who just got blogrolled by Den Beste, and I am so jealous), a dissection of the usual boilerplate global-warming copy. Some of the commenters on the thread lit upon an error in this paragraph of the original:
But Jonathan Gregory, of the Hadley Centre for climate prediction at the University of Reading, and colleagues from Brussels and Bremerhaven, report in the journal Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1080355907962732722004-03-26T18:51:00.000-08:002004-03-26T18:55:42.623-08:00From Crescat Sententia, an interview with Eugene Volokh. Here's question #8, and its response:
8: Most (hopefully all) scholars of Constitutional Law can name some laws that they think are constitutional but undesirable-- things that the government legally can do, but shouldn't anyway. What about the reverse? Are there any laws or policies that you think would be on-the-whole good policies to Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1078307123858111612004-03-03T01:45:00.000-08:002004-03-03T01:48:18.420-08:00Steven Den Beste on heaving things out to the Lagrange points. The difficulties he points out can be solved by lobbing more than one mass.
Say I fire off a mass today on a Simon orbit (Steven's terminology) with a period of twenty-two months. A year from now, I fire off another mass on an Alvin orbit with a period of ten months. At the beginning of 2006, both these masses wind up at L4, and Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1077785013486325232004-02-26T00:43:00.000-08:002004-02-26T00:48:49.060-08:00Everyone's taking whacks at the proposed FMA, so here's mine. The proposed amendment goes too far, and not far enough. Given my druthers, this is what I would enact:
Section 1.
No existing provision of this Constitution, nor of any State Constitution, nor of any Federal or State law, shall be construed to define marriage as anything other than a union of one man and one woman. Any change Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1077613406143608432004-02-24T01:03:00.000-08:002004-02-24T01:14:35.530-08:00Hmmm. My invitation was unaccountably lost in the mail, so here's my entry.
Top Ten Ways the Loony Moonbat Left Will Make Themselves Look Even MORE Hopelessly Ridiculous in 2004
Former Vice President Al Gore, attempting to speak at Democratic rallies across the country, is continually attacked by rabid minks earlier "liberated" by ELF. Retired General Wesley Clark is subsequently charged Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1076483200369283522004-02-10T23:06:00.000-08:002004-02-10T23:34:57.966-08:00Eugene Volokh on a proposed approach to a Federal Marriage Amendment.
Consider the Article V process. Consider the enormous investment of time and effort required to get anything through it. Consider how much greater that investment must be, when the subject matter is as contentious as this one. Now picture the man who undertakes all this, when the goal of all his striving is, "We agree to Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1076395402431087592004-02-09T22:43:00.000-08:002004-02-09T23:27:34.733-08:00Steven Den Beste on treason and dissent.
First, elaborating further on "enemies": The term, as used in Article III, has a specific meaning; it does not mean "who- or whatever the Federal government chooses to call an 'enemy.' " For a thing to qualify as an "enemy" under Article III, there must be an actual war on between us and it. The U.S. citizen giving aid and comfort to Jacques Chirac, sayClaytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1075957547497789542004-02-04T21:05:00.000-08:002004-02-04T21:08:06.310-08:00David Bernstein on "Reasonable Accomodations" laws.
Here we have, right out in the open, what is wrong with the legal profession. If the context is the law (as it is on The Volokh Conspiracy), the advisability (or, as Bernstein has it, foolishness) of a law is no part of the discussion. Legislatures can, and often do, enact thoroughly stupid laws; they are laws nonetheless.Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1075523744240143482004-01-30T20:35:00.000-08:002004-01-30T20:40:31.403-08:00Eugene Volokh on a gay-rights flap in Belgium. One paragraph of Volokh's commentary needs a fisking:
Not long ago, that homosexuality was a perversion was the orthodox view. Free speech changed that; the gay rights movement, like the racial and sexual equality movements, was a triumph of free speech and public persuasion.
No, Eugene, it was a triumph of judicial activism over representative Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1075461533895544182004-01-30T03:18:00.000-08:002004-01-30T03:21:04.936-08:00Eugene Volokh on an inanity from the Eighth Circuit.
Bit by bit the legal system is eating its way through what used to be the domain of private disagreement. Government lends its full coercive powers to the service of increasingly outrageous tantrums; the only position it will not back is the adult position that a civilized agreement to disagree ought to be, not only possible, but preferred; Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1074581138839966272004-01-19T22:45:00.000-08:002004-01-19T22:50:23.263-08:00A high-level flyby of some of the problems our fractured public schools are causing for us (via Joanne Jacobs).
There are all sorts of things systemically wrong with our society right now, and almost all of them can trace at least one thick root back to education's slow downward spiral. That's a subject for a really long post, though, and it doesn't look like I'll have time to write it any timeClaytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1074318788557809232004-01-16T21:53:00.000-08:002004-01-16T21:55:01.686-08:00Charles Johnson notes the new Iraqi legal order running off the rails.
I've always thought it was a mistake to invite the Iraqis, fresh from tyranny, to draft their own Constitution. The best favor we ever did Japan was MacArthur writing their new Constitution for them after their surrender; there's no way they could or would have done an even passable job of it, left to themselves.Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1073976674933898302004-01-12T22:51:00.000-08:002004-01-12T23:10:23.106-08:00Here it is again: Glenn Reynolds really likes Cryptonomicon. (Via The Volokh Conspiracy)
Eugene Volokh was in ecstasy over it too, as I recall. And I find this really strange, given that the plot driving the "modern" thread of the novel is basically one meritless legal action after another. A person looking for successors in the tradition of Bleak House would have to look long and hard to Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1073028087983734272004-01-01T23:21:00.000-08:002004-01-01T23:27:39.513-08:00Now this takes a lot of chutzpah.
The National and State legislatures have enacted many carefully crafted legislative schemes, only to have them fucked up by the Federal courts, often without even the slightest pretext that the rulings involved were required by the Constitution. I am aware of no such instance in which any Federal court has condescended to consult with the legislators and Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1072259357309285342003-12-24T01:49:00.000-08:002003-12-24T01:50:39.233-08:00A chance, finally, to relax and get caught up on my reading. So I'm late to the party, but this is one of the funniest things I've come across lately.Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1072185171222409422003-12-23T05:12:00.000-08:002003-12-23T05:14:34.153-08:00Eugene Volokh parades his inattentiveness.
It's not difficult to understand, if one is paying attention: The difference between "I support the death penalty only for this only" and "I support the death penalty for this, that, and t'other" is itself different from the difference between "I support the death penalty for this only" and "I oppose the death penalty in all circumstances whatsoever." Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1071720488241419322003-12-17T20:08:00.000-08:002003-12-17T20:09:22.356-08:00There can be, it is true, clearer signs that our war in Iraq is having the desired effect, but very few of them have the government involved still standing at the end of the day.Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1071117027587090532003-12-10T20:30:00.000-08:002003-12-10T20:31:32.200-08:00Photos from the demonstrations in Baghdad.
Speaking as someone who can't read it at all, I've always admired the Arabic alphabet. It confronts the eye, not only with thought, but with the flow of thought, beautifully. Other systems of writing are merely functional, and need several hours' worth of meticulous grooming to look their best; the Arabic alphabet is stunning when it gets up in the Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1070685921123346672003-12-05T20:45:00.000-08:002003-12-05T20:46:19.140-08:00Compare the following, both from Andrew Sullivan on the same day. First this:
"ME TOO, PAL": The Bush administration's fiscal profligacy is beginning to prompt real divisions in Republican ranks. It should.
-- then this:
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "No one should find the need to take his marbles and go home just because of one issue (gay marriage). As one who has fought the dragons of leftist public Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1070493032910034402003-12-03T15:10:00.000-08:002003-12-03T15:11:28.356-08:00Eugene Volokh on some of the things it would take to straighten out the, errr, unholy mess the Supreme Court has made of the Establishment clause, with an eye to the public policy made by other agencies as a result of those holdings.
Here is Volokh's proposal for a Constitutional Amendment:
Neither the state nor federal governments, nor any of their subdivisions, shall treat any persons or Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1070156325043051862003-11-29T17:38:00.000-08:002003-11-29T17:39:52.843-08:00Fox News on jury tampering.
This article leaves out the worst kind of jury tampering: The deliberate misuse of voir dire, with the connivance of the court. Neither side to a dispute has any right to the shape of a panel, other than that none of the jurors seated should have any prior bias, one way or the other, as to either of the parties. That is not, though, what modern courts have made of Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1070048525392692942003-11-28T11:42:00.000-08:002003-11-28T19:09:52.903-08:00Al Jazeera gets thrown out of Iraq for aiding and abetting our enemies: What more natural than that France should step into the breach?
There's an entry missing on the State Department's list of State Sponsors of Terrorism.Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1068759971012528952003-11-13T13:46:00.000-08:002003-11-13T21:40:41.593-08:00Eugene Volokh on yet another claim for reparations.
The problem here is, on what foundation does the original title to real estate rest? My title to my home can be no better than the seller's title when I bought it; he cannot grant me any more than what he actually has, and if his title was shaky, so is mine. So it runs, from owner to prior owner, back to the original title. This being the Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1067574048260745982003-10-30T20:20:00.000-08:002003-10-30T20:43:36.483-08:00Steven Den Beste on practical problems with a space elevator. Three widely separated anchors won't solve the oscillation problem; they'll make it worse.
Tie three strings of equal length to a weight, and then fix the other ends to three equidistant points on the ceiling. The weight will hang placidly in the middle of the room; everything is fine, as long as nothing moves.
Detach any two of Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1067304790697453332003-10-27T17:33:00.000-08:002003-10-27T17:33:16.390-08:00Some fire blogging, just because, well, I'm here, and I can.
The Jones family lives in the Northwest corner of Los Angeles, near the Ventura County line. There are rocky hills to the West and North, between us and Simi Valley. On the basis of the view from our front yard, I'd guess that the other sides of those hills are pretty well blackened, now, but it looks like the fire itself is out -- Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1066792468911361112003-10-21T20:14:00.000-07:002003-10-21T20:55:05.136-07:00Dahlia Lithwick on what she is pleased to call court-assisted suicide.
Let me restate her argument. "The criminal justice system is one humongous pitfall, a vast tract full of deadly traps for the unwary, across which the uninitiated are hopelessly incompetent to navigate their way to safety. It is required, though, that the public have confidence in the criminal justice system. Here is my Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1066269361700019902003-10-15T18:56:00.000-07:002003-10-15T18:56:39.363-07:00Steven Den Beste on why we have the Electoral College.
The large state/small state compromise was only one part of the Framers' consideration. The chief reason for the College, as it was also for the original setup whereby Senators were chosen by the State legislatures, was the Framers' idea that, by proceeding through multiple stages, it would improve the chances of the eventual successful Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1066035409570721542003-10-13T01:56:00.000-07:002003-10-13T01:56:48.996-07:00Steven Den Beste has had another string of posts lately about the Tragedy of the Commons. The timing of those posts brought another example to mind, but it's taken me a while to find the time to write this up, so here it is, late.
First: We have a thing -- whatever it is -- that is a benefit to all persons, provided it is properly maintained, but no direct obligation for that maintenance lies Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1065672931477414302003-10-08T21:15:00.000-07:002003-10-08T21:29:03.586-07:00Andrew Sullivan wants some answers. Not being a Republican, Andrew, I can't speak for the Republican position, but here is the conservative position:
Due to the Supreme Court's unconstitutional excursions in Lawrence v. Texas, you stand in possession of stolen goods. So far from being embarrassed by this pilferage, you haven't once shut up about it since the theft was committed; your oeuvre Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1065267556471276262003-10-04T04:39:00.000-07:002003-10-04T04:39:16.236-07:00This thought comes to mind, for some reason, every election cycle. Years ago, I came across a short essay by Mark Twain that I've never been able to find again. It set out his response to those who had asked him, "Why don't you run for public office?" in the form of a hilarious account of what had happened the one time he had supposedly tried it. As I recall, the essay had a repeating Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1064229302689650872003-09-22T04:15:00.000-07:002003-09-22T04:15:02.630-07:00A question for James Lileks: How, exactly, do you intend for your readers to interpret the phrase, "brats detonating on the grill"?Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1064049976971510452003-09-20T02:26:00.000-07:002003-09-20T02:37:02.680-07:00Steven Den Beste comparing the human genome project with a Turing machine. His analysis is fine, as long as one forgets that while a Turing machine is infinite, the human genome has a definite size. The halting problem is soluble on a finite machine: A program running on a machine with a capacity of no more than n bits will either halt on or before the 2nth step, or it will run forever.Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1063937064355175092003-09-18T19:04:00.000-07:002003-09-18T19:49:02.336-07:00(Blogger is still acting up.)
Now here's something we need, that we haven't had in a long time: A thinker, speaking the wisdom of the people, who submits himself directly to the people. The United States has been suffering the lack ever since Will Rogers died.Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1063927601690706492003-09-16T22:27:00.000-07:002003-09-18T18:16:37.486-07:00(BlogSpot is throwing a snit whenever I try to publish, no matter what the content of the post, so I don't know when this will actually hit the page. The only thing that can be said for BlogSpot, these days, is, at least the price is right.)
Courtesy of Emperor Misha I:
You belong in The Man Who Sold The Moon. You are adreamer. People don't understand you yourcalling, and often get in your Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1063774358724919772003-09-16T11:41:00.000-07:002003-09-21T00:31:57.313-07:00I thought I'd throw in this blast from the past, just in case it's slipped anyone's mind: Harry Pregerson, whose name is in lead position on the Ninth Circuit panel's opinion postponing the California recall election, is the same judge who was slapped down in extraordinary fashion by the United States Supreme Court for his flurry of orders, each more farfetched than the last, attempting to derailClaytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1062405645177879462003-09-01T01:40:00.000-07:002003-09-01T01:44:11.653-07:00Brad Wardell on the war effort in Iraq. From what I can see, the new JoeUser.com site doesn't have permalinks, so you'll just have to scroll down: It's the article entitled, "Iraq: Just one stop in the war on terror."
I am getting really tired of seeing the standard formulae for exculpating Islam-as-religion for the actions of Islam-as-terrorists. Yes, there is a distinction. The duty to makeClaytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1062231357401795002003-08-30T01:15:00.000-07:002003-08-30T04:00:04.253-07:00Steven Den Beste on his recent attempt to upgrade CityDesk, and why he rolled it back.
As soon as I read the first paragraph of Joel Spolsky's response, I knew what was going to happen. For those of you who are not computer programmers, the word "legacy" is code for, "We want to do everything over, with all the very latest platforms and techniques and standards, and to hell with the system Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1062212068175456432003-08-29T19:54:00.000-07:002003-08-29T19:54:28.003-07:00Some snark, just 'cause I'm in the mood. From the Drudge Report, we have, "French heatwave kills 11,435 in two weeks."
Obviously, the French need to ask themselves, "Why does the Sun hate us?"Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1062058698854441662003-08-28T01:18:00.000-07:002003-08-28T01:18:18.826-07:00Randy Barnett takes another crack at constitutional interpretation.
Here's a point you've neglected, Randy. It is the rare unwarranted search, that cannot be called "reasonable" under some modern meaning of the word.Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1062045533713575272003-08-27T21:38:00.000-07:002003-08-27T21:53:40.033-07:00Since everybody's been taking swings at Alabama's Chief Justice, I thought I'd join the fray. The synopsis: Justice Moore is right as to the law, but wrong as to his fitness to issue the challenge.
The U.S. Supreme Court has made hash of the Establishment clause in the last few decades, at the behest of the ACLU and other common barrators. They've been able to get away with it, because no one Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1061873418146502922003-08-25T21:50:00.000-07:002003-08-25T21:56:20.440-07:00Eugene Volokh takes a swing at homosexuality. He's taking advantage, again, of a vagueness he leaves around posts like this: Is he talking policy? or law? If it's policy, well, there's very little there that would prompt me, at least, to object; if it's law, though, he's way off base. Having watched similar performances for a while, now, my guess is, he will take refuge, if challenged, in Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1061244091958417952003-08-18T15:01:00.000-07:002003-08-18T15:01:31.850-07:00Instapundit links to a discussion of modulation in pop music. I'm a classical musician, so I was unfamiliar with the term "truck driver's gear change," but I'm quite happy to adopt it: It captures perfectly the vastly overworked and formulaic -- not to mention cheap -- nature of the device.
For those who don't understand the term, well, it's not like words are going to help. "A deceptive Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1060320347380895262003-08-07T22:25:00.000-07:002003-08-07T22:25:47.370-07:00Eugene Volokh on the Supreme Court taking recourse to the decisions of foreign jurisdictions. This fragment is particularly telling:
Part of the reason for this is that judicial decisionmaking in the U.S. has long been understood as an enterprise where judges try to draw enlightenment from a wide variety of sources (emphasis added).
No, Eugene, the understanding is not that they draw some Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1060146216198520722003-08-05T22:03:00.000-07:002003-08-05T22:03:36.170-07:00From OverLawyered: this is a thing of beauty. Let's hope it catches on.Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1060143197569959492003-08-05T21:13:00.000-07:002003-08-05T21:13:17.556-07:00Rick Hasen on the litigation whirlwind in California. Hasen sets out his opinion that, of the various suits challenging the recall, or parts of the recall, only one has apparent merit: The suit predicated on the idea that the use of punched-card ballots in some places, but not in others, violates Equal Protection guarantees. And why does it violate those guarantees? Because, according to the Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1060065773552377992003-08-04T23:42:00.000-07:002003-08-05T00:59:30.813-07:00Steven Den Beste on Constitutional amendments and marriage, which brings me to a painful necessity, because, on the whole, I am very much impressed with his output. He does not understand law, though, and, at least so far as this entry goes, makes no attempt even to consider the possibility that his lack of knowledge in the area is a serious detraction from his argument. Take my word for it, Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1059422214872754212003-07-28T12:56:00.000-07:002003-07-28T12:56:54.690-07:00An article on judicial confirmation battles from OpinionJournal.
Here's a neglected point, from the United States Constitution, Article VI, Clause 3 (emphasis added):
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1059194759785113202003-07-25T21:45:00.000-07:002003-07-25T21:48:11.710-07:00Steven Den Beste on what should be next in the War on Terror.
Let it be said up front, Steven has spent a lot more time studying strategy than I have. Also, I agree with his characterization of Saudi Arabia as our ultimate target, his description of the problems we face, and what will eventually have to happen one way or another. Where I disagree with him is the timing: I see no reason for a Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1059083455210038302003-07-24T14:50:00.000-07:002003-07-24T14:52:31.230-07:00Eugene Volokh on the Secret Service and discretion. I'm a day late to the party, but here goes.
As a practical matter, Volokh's observation about discretion makes sense. We would also have to add in, though, that what would otherwise be the ordinary and unremarkable discretion of public officials has been, for many years, under withering attack from the legal profession -- I've seen it from Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1058932967051034922003-07-22T21:02:00.000-07:002003-07-22T21:03:09.006-07:00A revealing slip from Andrew Sullivan:
A fascinating report in the Christian Science Monitor posits some fascinating future issues, when gay marriage gets established.
Not "if"; "when." Compare with my comments here and here: What was before substantiated is now pretty much proven.Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1058661059106663662003-07-19T17:30:00.000-07:002003-07-19T17:30:59.073-07:00EMPEROR MISHA I on Tony Blair's speech. I find myself agreeing with James Lileks on this one:
Blair is, at heart, a socialist; I’ve no time for half the stuff he wants and most of the stuff he’d agree to. But he’d get my vote. We can argue about the shape and direction of Western Civ after we’ve made sure that such a thing will endure.Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1057040682076274422003-06-30T23:24:00.000-07:002003-06-30T23:24:42.013-07:00Operating, just for the moment, under the delusion that this blog has readers, I'd like to announce, I'll be on vacation for the next two weeks. Possibly there'll be some posting.Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1056837666026279612003-06-28T15:01:00.000-07:002003-06-28T15:01:05.843-07:00Cure for AIDS found. Andrew Sullivan dead. On the same day. It's a funny old world, isn't it?Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1056835321629675822003-06-28T14:22:00.000-07:002003-06-28T14:44:11.863-07:00CLUE-BY-FOUR!
(Talk about having no sense at all. Let's set aside the question whether a trademark on a phrase already in common use could possibly be valid as to that common use, or whether its continued unauthorized and unacknowledged use would dilute said trademark. This fool has destroyed, in advance, any possible goodwill he might otherwise have enjoyed, so the trademark he is trying to Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-1056700259531072222003-06-27T00:50:00.000-07:002003-06-27T00:50:59.526-07:00Rand Simberg comments on speed limits.
When I lived in Honolulu (be it said, this was more than thirty years ago), the Iolani Freeway worked just as he desires. I don't think he'd like the numbers, though. There were three lanes each way; from right to left the maximum speeds were 35, 45, and 55 mph.Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-959741612003-06-24T00:50:00.000-07:002003-06-24T01:02:55.000-07:00Eugene Volokh and Instapundit both comment on a really idiotic rallying cry from Dick Gephardt:
When I'm president, we'll do executive orders to overcome any wrong thing the Supreme Court does tomorrow or any other day.
Granted, Gephardt is a waste of space. But is there anything really surprising about the sentiment? Do Reynolds and Volokh have any call to be shocked, shocked? We have a Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-958876512003-06-21T00:34:00.000-07:002003-06-21T03:18:16.000-07:00General thoughts on the subject of gay marriage, with a major tangent heading off thataway. There has been a lot of crowing about the decision out of Canada, from a lot of persons who ought to know better. My suspicion is that they do know better, but more on that in a bit.
I've been playing around for a while -- though not in this context -- with the idea of reviving the old common-law crime Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3657851.post-955439362003-06-11T03:47:00.000-07:002003-06-11T03:51:43.000-07:00Steven Den Beste on the possibility of Canada going tits-up. His correspondent advances the possibility of Canadian provinces applying for admission as States to the U.S.; Steven dumps cold water on the idea.
I don't think the objection he raises has as much weight as he gives it. Certainly his survey of past U.S. practice misses some important details. Historically, there have been four Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06875501411694432995noreply@blogger.com0