Interesting Approach to Revolution

So the The Times is running a story on a blogger/camgirl who is taking an interesting approach to the political division in China. Not that the bloggers fighting the man is anything new, but in this case, the weapon is humor. Its abnormal to think that a 25 year old self-proclaimed party girl would be fighting for civil liberties, but the reality is this attempt to speak, regardless of the fashion, utilizes a hotly contested method of communication. The internet is changing into the meeting place for the liberation movement, see France circa two weeks ago. What's even more interesting is that this humorous approach could . While Mu Mu is making a stand on a divisive political issue, her approach softens the blow and gets people interested. More power to her. The worst thing is that a government actually wants to end this exercise.

Proving the Aged Axiom...

The title link goes to an article about how an exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History almost wasn't because it couldn't get a corporate sponsor. Interestingly enough, corporations feared the negative press that could evolve from sponsoring the exhibit because it chronicled the work of the in/famous Charles Darwin. Apparently, business didn't want to rebuff possible customers by tacitly supporting evolution over other concepts of the origin of life like intelligent design.

Notwithstanding the subject matter of the exhibit, this news-byte demonstrates that refusing to do anything means you have still made a choice. In instances like this, that choice may not produce beneficial results, and assist in propagating misconceptions about empirical process which defines the sciences. Moreover, it demonstrates the devolution of capitalist ideology proving once more that the almighty dollar rules even the most rational of thought processes.

I am pleased to say that the exhibit was saved by a private charity. A big thanks to those who saved the day.

Congratulations to Chicago Kent School of Law

Just a quick post to congratulate a friend of mine on a national moot court win. Elaine Wyder-Harshman and I both worked for the Illinois Attorney General's Office last summer. The title link goes to the story. Congratulations again Elaine, and good luck to Kent at this years Vanderbilt competition, they should look for strong competition from us here at Valparaiso University School of Law.

Don't forget to read The Divide Destroying Democracy.

Diminishing Rights of Detainees...

Last term, the United States Supreme Court determined that detainees held by the military during war time had a right to due process in the American legal system to challenge their detainment. This allowed the detainee to petition the Federal District Court through a Writ of Habeas Corpus. The title link goes to a story about how the Senate just passed a bill that would circumvent this decision, effectively obliterating any due process rights detainees may have had. In order for this particular statute to avoid violating the Constitution, it has to be made under Congress's power to limit the jurisdiction of the federal courts. While this highlights the tension between the politics of the executive/legislative branches and the judiciary, the larger problem is the willingness of lawmakers to limit the rights of those with the fictional title of "enemy combatant." This title works in a particularly negative way. Its not a term acknowledged by international human rights treaties. This means that permanent detention is not within the restrictions of the Geneva Convetion. While a moment of rhetorical brilliance, do we really want to allow our government to violate human rights by changing the definition of who may be a detainee?

Don't forget to read "The Divide Destroying Democracy."

More on Gay Marriage Bans...

The title link goes to a blog by John Ichikawa. I came to it through a post by another blogger, Wesaturtle, whom I became exposed to via Fazed. Now that the circle is complete, lets get to the point. Jonathan's blog post deals with a law just passed in Texas banning gay marriage. The language of the Texas state Constitutional Amendment indicate on their face that it bans all marriage. I posted a comment to his post detailing how this probably isn't the case. the language indicates that marriage is constitutionally defined in Texas as between a man and a woman. The following subsection states explicitly that no governmental entity in Texas may acknowledge a marriage that does not fit the definition in the prior subsection. This goes back to my repeated rebuke of limitations on definitions of marriage. Under cases like Loving v. Virginia and Lawrence v. Texas, its more likely than not that a future panel on the United States Supreme Court could invalidate these restrictions under due process and equal protection.

Please don't forget to read "The Divide Destroying Democracy" and promote my use of alliterations as titles.

The Divide Destroying Democracy

The Grey Area this month takes a philosophical swipe at the bipartisan party structure in American politics. Ideally, political parties help express specific ideas through the political process. Unfortunately, the structure of the parties is doing a disservice to the goal of allowing more citizens express their political beliefs.

I Don't Know Why but This Bothers Me...

The article in the title link informs the American Public that its President currently wages war against individuals it calls political enemies. What is even more interesting is that these so-called enemies are American Citizens, and the executive keeps files on each one of them. This process started when Bush was Governor of Texas. Sounds more like Gestapo politics to me. I was unaware that having an adverse political opinion these days could land you on the political enemy combatants list...

DRM IS EVIL!

This blog makes no bones about the fact that I can't stand DRM (digital rights management). The only thing worse is when the government backs DRM with legislation already struck down by the Courts as unconstitutional. Unfortunately, the Broadcast Flag legislation is back. Ladies and gentlemen, this is an attemtp to restrict information flow to the American people. This is asinine. Call or write your congressman. Please!

Proof That No Good Deed Goes Unpunished...

Wired News is running a story about a group of animal rights activists that is suing the proprieter of the Altamont Wind Farm because of the environmental hazards its poses to avian ecosystems. Everyone has seen the Altamont Wind Farm in a green energy commercial, usually through some cinematic footage flying over the turbines of the giant wind generators. While the wind farm is hearlded by many as the greatest experiment in green energy ever conducted, some of the animal friendly oppose the full operation of the farm because of its desparate impact on migritory birds whose flight path goes through the wind farm. The large blades of the generators are responsible for an increasing number of avian deats each year.

This is one of those stories you can't help but scofe at. Apparently the hippies don't have anyone else to annoy with frivolous lawsuits, so now they have taken aim at one another. Conversely, this could be the begining of seeing green energy as viable corporate production equal to, or supplanting, utilities dependent upon non-renewable resources. While I hope its the latter, what stands out in this story is the fact that like minds have now decided to sue one another. This situation also demonstrates that there are very few things modern man can do to preserve the environment without impacting mother nature in some other adverse way.

Following up on open documents

A while ago, there was quite a to-do over the Massachusetts legal system choosing to go to open document formats. The title link goes to an article responding to criticisms by Microsoft boosters. In this particular harangue, I want to throw out a constitutional ideal. Open document formats are available free to the public through the open source licensing scheme and the general public license scheme. This could equal a brave move by the state of Massachusetts to allow access to the courts by anyone with a computer and an internet connection. OpenOffice.Org allows anyone to use a full suite of programs to create documents. Now, these documents are admissible for court filings in Massachusetts. Allowing the everyman to participate in the legal system breaks down the walls and opens the doors Kafka contemplated as the bar to many individuals from influencing the legal system.