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Kids As Consumer Durables (August 6, 2007)

Posted in Consumerism, Society on August 6, 2007 by e-commentary.org

The latest effort to “keep up with the Jones” apparently requires one to breed a brood. A program on NPR observed that some stay-at-home moms are not satisfied with two kids. They look around at their friends (competitors?) sporting a litter in tow. To affirm their life decisions, they are having three or four kids. Two kids, two cars. More kids; more cars. The reasons to have children are admittedly more complex than just competing with one’s neighbors.

Americans are consumed by their compulsion to keep up with the Jones. However, today the compulsion requires one not only to keep up with the Jones but also to vanquish them.

Bumper stickers of the week:

My larger covey of kids can beat up your covey of kids

All seven of my kids are on the honor roll at Benedict Arnold Middle School

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Twisted Justice (July 2, 2007)

Posted in Law, Society on July 2, 2007 by e-commentary.org

The case involving the $54,000,000.00 pair of misplaced pants was resolved. Until the inevitable appeal.

The First Amendment was blue-penciled to protect certain individuals and certain (uncertain?) speech rather than to protect free speech.

The New Republican Party is the party of lawlessness and disorder. And still the party that believes in the credo “spend and spend and spend and spend and spend.”

Stare Decisis is dying — S.Ct. Ideology is now the benchmark.

Equal Justice under Law is wounded — Bush. The Pardon, Part I. First, Bush commutes Libby’s sentence and continues Scooter’s Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination and effectively silences him. Second, as he departs on Marine Corps One, Bush pardons him. The pardon is a back door absolution of Bush’s high crimes and misdemeanors. If the sentence really was too long, why did Bush not reduce it to a more appropriate length, say, six months or a year? Bush did not commute the sentence of prisoners wrongly sentenced to death while he was governor of Texas.

Cases to indict Bush, Cheney and Rove could still be brought after January 20, 2009. The statutes of limitations will not have run by then.

Nixon considered pardoning himself before he left office, although he was confident that Ford would do his bidding.

Billy C. did not set any high standard with his sale of indulgences particularly to Marc Rich, the crook usually described as a fugitive financier.

Bumper sticker of the week:

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

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The Supreme Court On Drugs (June 25, 2007)

Posted in Drugs, Law, Society, Supreme Court on June 25, 2007 by e-commentary.org

“This is your Supreme Court. This is your Supreme Court on Drugs.” In Morse v. Frederick, 551 U.S. ___ (2007), some members of the Supreme Court revealed that they are on drugs. The facts in the case are inane. An undisputed adult (over 18 years of age) in Juneau, Alaska raised a vacuous sign to attract attention to him while some parade came through town. How distinctly American. DON’T TREaD ON ME or BONG HiTS FOR JESUS or something like that. What it says isn’t exactly clear. The Jesus reference must mean that it is a protected religious statement. “Big whoop,” was the typical reaction of most of the kids. The school principal reacted by over-reacting. Let the motivated lad experience his 15 seconds (or 1.5 seconds) of fame. Go on with life.

Not in America. Roberts is the fellow who employed a Republican baseball analogy when he bamboozled the Senate Judiciary Committee at his confirmation hearing. He talked about playing the role of an umpire and neutrally calling balls and strikes. He lied. In another decision issued today that involves the rights of the wealthy to spend unlimited amounts of money on elections, Umpire John announced that when the “First Amendment is implicated, the tie goes to the speaker,” Federal Election Comm’n v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc., 551 U.S. ___ (2007) (slip op., at 21) and that “when it comes to defining what speech qualifies as the functional equivalent of express advocacy…we give the benefit of the doubt to speech, not censorship.” ( Id. at 29). The tie, if it was even close, should have gone to the speaker in Juneau. Thomas makes some compelling statements about the lack of order, respect and discipline in schools today, but the observations have nothing to do with the case.

The Court expresses solicitude for the kids and their vulnerable adolescent sensitivities. What some of the Supremes are unable to fathom let alone even comprehend is that kids in their teens are especially sensitive to hypocrisy and dishonesty and condescension and arrogance in adults. Hypocrisy and dishonesty are among the very traits that define adulthood in America. The case allowed a few Justices with far too few life experiences to write essays revealing their fears and demons and anxieties. Dope is not good; booze is far, far, far worse. Don’t confuse the issues. It was a simple First Amendment case. Don’t be hypocritical and dishonest and condescending and arrogant. You are not paid by the word. The Ninth Circuit decision could have been upheld in a few paragraphs. The principal should have been afforded qualified immunity under the circumstances; running a school is a thankless task. The Court’s new First Amendment test is two-fold: 1) who is making the expression and 2) what is being expressed. That is not what the Founding Fathers intended.

Bumper sticker of the week:

Celebrate the right to give offense

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A Suit Over A Suit (June 18, 2007)

Posted in Law, Society on June 18, 2007 by e-commentary.org

A suit over a suit. Not by Bobby Bork this time. By an administrative law judge in the District of Columbia who raised an issue in the courts that he should have taken up with his therapist. He brought a much publicized suit over losing not his shirt but his pants. He took the pants to be pressed and they were lost or mislaid. The matter should have been resolved in a few minutes with a few dollars. Something is wrong when the civil legal system cannot resolve matters in a much more just, speedy and inexpensive way. Roy Pearson, the troubled fellow, is likely to do the American thing and appeal.

In the Scooter Libby trail, a dozen individuals allowed to teach at profitable law schools in America were paid handsomely by the Republican Party to say that Scooter is a hip White guy who should be allowed to go on the lecture circuit pending appeal and a pardon by Bush. In his order allowing the boys to share their thoughts, Judge Reggie Walton notes in a footnote:

“It is an impressive show of public service when twelve prominent and distinguished current and former law professors are able to amass their collective wisdom in the course of only several days to provide their legal expertise to the court on behalf of a criminal defendant. The Court trusts that this is a reflection of these eminent academics’ willingness in the future to step to the plate and provide like assistance in cases involving any of the numerous litigants, both in this Court and throughout the courts of this nation, who lack the financial means to fully and properly articulate the merits of their legal positions even in instances where failure to do so could result in monetary penalties, incarceration, or worse. The Court will certainly not hesitate to call for such assistance from these luminaries, as necessary in the interests of justice and equity, whenever similar questions arise in the cases that come before it.”

The Dirty Dozen include our friend Bobby Bork, Alan Dershowitz, Vikram Amar, Randy Barnett, Viet Dinh, Douglas Kmiec, Robert Pushaw, Richard Parker, Gary Lawson, Thomas Merrill, Earl Maltz, and Robert Nagel. They should be appointed to handle the appeal for the Chungs pro bono. However, that is the rub. These boys will say or do anything, but they must be paid. Appoint them anyway and hold them in criminal contempt if they fail to handle the matter.

Bumper sticker of the week:

Get a life

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Et tu, Bobby? (June 11, 2007)

Posted in Law, Society, Supreme Court on June 11, 2007 by e-commentary.org

Et tu, Bobby? Bobby Bork filed a frivolous lawsuit? Tell me it isn’t so. It is so. So hypocritical and dishonest and unseemly. His frivolous lawsuit is even a matter of public record. In print. In black and white. You could look it up. He actually filed a lawsuit in federal court. And demanded to mulct the defendant for punitive damages.

There he was making the big bucks on the lecture circuit discussing the number of frivolous lawsuits filed in America each year. Bork claims in his frivolous lawsuit that when he tried to approach the lectern, he found no stairs to climb onto the dais which was of “unreasonable height.” The sneer quotation marks are his. That’s a no brainier, as they say. If it is unreasonable to act, don’t act unreasonably. Don’t mount the dais. Everything that happens from that time forward is Bob’s fault.

Bork was defeated for the Supreme Court twenty years ago. He is one of the darlings of the Federalist Society which believes that too many frivolous lawsuits are filed each year.

The federal judge handling his case should show Bobby the respect he does not appear to show himself. Put him out of his misery and shame. Dismiss the lawsuit and address serious matters.

Bumper sticker of the week:

Stop Frivolous Lawsuits

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Memorial Day (May 28, 2007)

Posted in Society on May 28, 2007 by e-commentary.org

Silence is most appropriate today. Maybe the sound of a flag waving. Remember.

Bumper sticker of the week:

The Land Of The Free Because Of The Brave

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Shop While They Drop – The $2.99 Sacrifice (May 7, 2007)

Posted in Consumerism, Military, Society on May 7, 2007 by e-commentary.org

After the events on 9/11, Bush suggested that the American populace should go shopping. Not that they should sacrifice but that they should consume. Not that they should give up but that they go get. There is a deep disconnection between the American public and the troops in Iraq. While a few fight, the rest shop ’til they drop. They shop while the soldiers drop. They shop for a “Support The Troops” decal, slap it on the back of the SUV and call it good. The $2.99 sacrifice.

Bumper stickers of the week:

“…And they, since they/ Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs”

War is terrorism with a bigger budget.

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Outrages Du Jour (April 16, 2007)

Posted in Race, Society on April 16, 2007 by e-commentary.org

Is Don Imus a racist? Al Sharpton? Jesse Jackson? Some members of the Duke faculty? Some editors and writers with the The New York Times? The Washington Post? The National Review? Are the opinion shapers in America more racist and hypocritical than the general populace?

The “Duke Lacrosse Scandal” should go down in history as the “North Carolina District Attorney’s Office Scandal” or “Mediagate.” Bad behavior that is not illegal is only bad behavior. Victim’s names should be confidential; liar’s names should be made public. The legal system only determines guilt or a lack of guilt; the statement by the North Carolina District Attorney that the kids are “innocent” is appropriate and courageous under the circumstances. The Durham District Attorney, Nifong, should be disbarred and put behind bars, but he is white and a lawyer so he will get off with a scolding. And if the three kids had been Black? They likely would have joined tens of thousands of other Black males who have been sent to prison because they might have done something marginally distasteful to someone in power. The prosecutors and police are often as dangerous as the alleged perps. That is why there is a Bill of Rights. It’s all so black and white.

Imus apologized. This week should see apologies from the others.

And the War Against Women continues unabated.

McCain proved beyond a reasonable doubt that a United States Senator can walk furtively in the Green Zone in Baghdad if he is escorted by a hundred heavily-armed U.S. troops, dozens of Humvees and a covey of Apache helicopters circling overhead. Some real military strategists such as Joseph Heller and Kurt Vonnegut should be consulted on the issue.

Wolfowitz causes trouble everywhere he goes. Wolfowitz used his position at the World Bank to get his girlfriend a generous pay package. It’s time to go.

Lost e-mails? More lies from the Bush Administration. The technology may trap them. Even the 18 minutes deleted by Rosemary Woods has been recovered. Bush will pardon Libby before Libby is sent to prison and anyone else subject to any criminal charges just before Bush flees the White House. Criminal investigations should be developed now and no charges filed until after Bush leaves office. Rove and his boys are cunning enough to anticipate the indictments. Bush could issue a blanket pardon to anyone and everyone who ever worked or now works in his White House. Nothing is inconceivable.

The Supreme Court recently held, in another 5 – 4 decision, that the Environmental Protection Agency must protect the environment. The health of the environment turns in part on the health of a Jerry Ford appointee, John Paul Stevens, who turns 87 on Friday.

[Kurt Vonnegut – “We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be.” He pretended to be himself.]

Bumper sticker of the week:

Never lose your sense of outrage

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Put me in coach (April 2, 2007)

Posted in Language, Society on April 2, 2007 by e-commentary.org

“Put me in coach.” Not the game. The game of life. A coach can win and satisfy his (or her) shareholders (the athletic department/division and ‘lums) and still educate the kids. Direct, encourage, cajole and harass the kids at every opportunity to get into the classroom and take advantage of the opportunity given to them to learn. Conduct practices once a week in Spanish and French (Arabic, Farsi, Mandarin?). Conduct soccer practices in both English and Spanish. (“Centro, centro”, “otra vez”, “pelota”) Someone who can motivate them to play on the court/field/pitch can motivate them to attend class. Playing in the PTA is more important in the long run than playing in the NBA. Infect them with ideas.

“The young man walks by himself, fast but not fast enough, far but not far enough (faces slide out of sight, talk trails into tattered scraps, footsteps tap faster in alleys); he must catch the last subway, the streetcar, the bus, run up the gangplanks of all the steamboats, register at all the hotels, work in the cities, answer the want ads, learn the trades, take up the jobs, live in all the boardinghouses, sleep in all the beds. One bed is not enough, one job is not enough, one life is not enough …” John Dos Passos.

There is some inconsequential game on tv tonight. The real game is going on outside the coliseum.

Bumper sticker of the week:

Life happens while you’re making plans

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Corrections, Additions, Observations and Errors In Progress (January 8, 2007)

Posted in Bush, Iraq, Society on January 8, 2007 by e-commentary.org

World War III d.b.a. (doing business as) Iraq can and is getting worse. Too many humans are being stuffed in graves (now 3000 U.S. dead) while the situation on the ground is deteriorating. The proposal for a “surge” in troops is counterproductive, preposterous and absurd. The surge will only inspire the insurgents. The United States cannot define victory in Iraq and cannot achieve victory even with a surge of one half million troops over ten years. Some of the money earmarked for that doomed and futile effort should be used to address the consequences of the storm surge in Louisiana in 2005. Bush will make a statement about Iraq this week. The populace made a statement in November, yet it may be disregarded until the public speaks more clearly and loudly.

2006 was the year of World Nuclear Proliferation. The “Bush Doctrine” directly and indirectly promotes the development of nuclear technology and greatly increases the likelihood of nuclear war. [See the e-ssay dated March 27]. There are some efforts to secure nuclear technology produced by the former Soviet Union, yet far from enough in light of the danger. Use of a tactical nuclear today is more likely than ever in the past.

The Duke lacrosse situation is another reminder that we should all embrace the presumption of innocence rather than pre-judge a situation and spew prejudices. Commentators of all political stripes made some not so innocent presumptions.

Cheney’s hunting incident provided copious copy and commentary. Spend enough time in the field and someone will be out of position. The shooting was accidental. The cover up was intentional.

George “Cowboy” Allen, a former Republican Senator from Virginia, made a buffoon (baboon) of himself on international tv. YouTube caught him being himself. YouTube allows you to tube your career and reputation all by yourself. “Down the tube” takes on a new meaning.

Some of the e-ssays require correction or addition. The world is not likely to see the emergence of true “Caliphates” because the pulls of sect, region, country, province, village, tribe, clan, family and side of the street are too strong. [See the e-ssay dated September 25]. No one will agree on one or two Caliphs. There are more likely to be spheres of influence in Shiite Iraq/Iran/Hezbollah Lebanon and in Sunni Iraq/Saudi Arabia/Jordan. The competition between and among them for hegemony will create even more instability.

Increasing the federal minimum wage may not impact employment as negatively as the theorists suggest because 1) many states have enacted higher minimum wages already, and 2) many employers must pay higher wages to attract qualified workers in the current marketplace. [See the e-ssay dated July 31]. [See the article “The Right Minimum Wage” by George F. Will dated January 4 on page A17 in “The Washington Post”].

Other birthdays in 2006 – the Suez Crises, the Hungarian revolt, the development of containerized shipping. [See the e-ssays dated July 10 and June 19].

Bumper sticker of the year for 2006:

Iraq is Arabic for Vietnam

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