Friday, April 30, 2004
words for the week
text: singing loudly has blurb on avoiding site registrations.
http://fakecurtis.blogspot.com /2004_04_01_fakecurtis_archive.html#108319327734975490
nifty program links amazon, libraries.
http://fakecurtis.blogspot.com /2004_04_01_fakecurtis_archive.html#108319327734975490
nifty program links amazon, libraries.
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Monday, April 26, 2004
Lawnmowing (June 1966)
"Cut Your Grass, Mister?" / Skip Williamson. reprinted on
p. 17 in The World of Comic Art, v. 1, no. 1 (June 1966).
-- Summary: The grim reaper comes to the door with his
scythe offering to mow the lawn. -- Call no.:
NC1426.W6v.1no.
Lawnmowing (July 19, 1999)
"Good Talk, Granddad. Have Fun with the Lawn"* (The
Boondocks, July 19, 1999) / Aaron McGruder. -- Summary:
Granddad tries to suggest that Huey should mow the lawn. --
Strip re-distributed for May 28, 2001. -- Call no.: PN6726
f.B55 "lawnmowing"
-----------------------------------------------------
Lawnmowing (July 20, 1999)
"Isn't That Why We Pay Property Tax?"* (The Boondocks, July
20, 1999) / Aaron McGruder. -- Summary: Huey thinks the
state should cut the lawn. -- Call no.: PN6726 f.B55
"lawnmowing"
"Cut Your Grass, Mister?" / Skip Williamson. reprinted on
p. 17 in The World of Comic Art, v. 1, no. 1 (June 1966).
-- Summary: The grim reaper comes to the door with his
scythe offering to mow the lawn. -- Call no.:
NC1426.W6v.1no.
Lawnmowing (July 19, 1999)
"Good Talk, Granddad. Have Fun with the Lawn"* (The
Boondocks, July 19, 1999) / Aaron McGruder. -- Summary:
Granddad tries to suggest that Huey should mow the lawn. --
Strip re-distributed for May 28, 2001. -- Call no.: PN6726
f.B55 "lawnmowing"
-----------------------------------------------------
Lawnmowing (July 20, 1999)
"Isn't That Why We Pay Property Tax?"* (The Boondocks, July
20, 1999) / Aaron McGruder. -- Summary: Huey thinks the
state should cut the lawn. -- Call no.: PN6726 f.B55
"lawnmowing"
Word for the day "Boondock." link fixed.
When American GIs returned from Asia at the close of World War II, besides Victory they brought home a new word to add to the lexicon -- "boondocks". It is derived from bundok the Philippine word for mountain and decribes a place that is remote and inaccessible. http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/3712/main.html
via http://www.yaelf.com/questions.shtml as in, ya gotta check ya elf befo ya wreck ya elf.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
plug for bob's comic reviews.
When American GIs returned from Asia at the close of World War II, besides Victory they brought home a new word to add to the lexicon -- "boondocks". It is derived from bundok the Philippine word for mountain and decribes a place that is remote and inaccessible. http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/3712/main.html
via http://www.yaelf.com/questions.shtml as in, ya gotta check ya elf befo ya wreck ya elf.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
plug for bob's comic reviews.
via volokh, article on the invisible adjunct,
what's wrong with academia, why she's quitting as a teacher and as a blogger.
she comes off as way wrong, but very likable.
part of what she's missed: teaching, if low pay, is high status.
every profession is being changed by the information revolution.
including french silk-weavers. the book i'm reading right now
(why am i blogging? i have a good book, and a hot bath growing colder)
is about IBM, and how the jaccard loom displaced french silkweavers, and the punchcard replaced a lot of quill-pen clerks.
as a full professor, she would reach, what, hundreds of students a year.
as a blogger she has an audience of thousands.
i have this friend who, having some doubts about his a career, built himself a blog.
he found an audience and a voice, and now has a gig as a writer, and feels more economic and social security. heh. i mean, he feels more self-confident.
i'm at a point where i may need to make a big career change myself.
whether i can afford the time to keep blogging, whether to invest some effort in learning how to fix the broken parts, whether to keep my license, take new cases, that sort of thing. i might go get one of my old jobs back, and keep the practice as a hobby, which was the original plan. i had a call today which may keep the wolf from the door for another month, a likely sale of one of my vacant lots. i'd cashed a check today from what's left of my brokerage account, to cover a bounced check.
i recently lost a big case i'd worked on since 97, so there are a few years of work for which i won't be getting paid. i knew the job was dangerous when i took it.
what's wrong with academia, why she's quitting as a teacher and as a blogger.
she comes off as way wrong, but very likable.
part of what she's missed: teaching, if low pay, is high status.
every profession is being changed by the information revolution.
including french silk-weavers. the book i'm reading right now
(why am i blogging? i have a good book, and a hot bath growing colder)
is about IBM, and how the jaccard loom displaced french silkweavers, and the punchcard replaced a lot of quill-pen clerks.
as a full professor, she would reach, what, hundreds of students a year.
as a blogger she has an audience of thousands.
i have this friend who, having some doubts about his a career, built himself a blog.
he found an audience and a voice, and now has a gig as a writer, and feels more economic and social security. heh. i mean, he feels more self-confident.
i'm at a point where i may need to make a big career change myself.
whether i can afford the time to keep blogging, whether to invest some effort in learning how to fix the broken parts, whether to keep my license, take new cases, that sort of thing. i might go get one of my old jobs back, and keep the practice as a hobby, which was the original plan. i had a call today which may keep the wolf from the door for another month, a likely sale of one of my vacant lots. i'd cashed a check today from what's left of my brokerage account, to cover a bounced check.
i recently lost a big case i'd worked on since 97, so there are a few years of work for which i won't be getting paid. i knew the job was dangerous when i took it.
ampersand writes, quoting me:
Posted by Ampersand
I hope you don't mind, this probably should be a new thread but I can't resist...
rather than reinvent the wheel on the issue of how living wage laws are classist, i'll point to the literature about how minimum wage laws create job shortages
Having read that literature, the empirical studies tend to show that the minimum wage creates a very marginal effect on unemployment, often completely washed out by other factors in the economy. Ask any low-wage person if they'd be willing to accept being unemployed for an extra day or two the next time they're job-hunting, in exchange for getting paid a few bucks more an hour in the job they eventually get.
The simplistic model of wage work in which the minimum wage causes mass unemployment is an ivy-tower model; they like it at the Chicago school, where none of the scholars has ever had to work for the minimum wage in their lives, but it has next-to-nothing to do with what happens in real life.
---
no full refutation here.
a few data points:
i've worked at minimum wages of $2.35/hr and 3.35/hr.
i've worked under the table for $5/hr, because it was fun.
i had a job where our overtime pay was $6/hr, and that's the job i'm most likely to go back to.
i've spent years unemployed, this being one of them. i live simply on an income of around $400/mo.
so far i've been able to avoid living wage zones.
i'm somewhat tempted to go into a full-on rant about the chicago school and simplistic models.
the model is simplistic because we use it in trying to communicate with liberals, some of whom have [succumed] to years of government brainwashing, who wouldn't be able to find the austrian school on a map.
when economists try to communicate with non-economists or anti-economists*,
we sometimes use the neoclassical model of supply-demand curve graphing.
In order to simplify the model, so that it can be represented 2-dimentionally,
we make some assumptions we know don't hold true in the real world:
- perfect competition, costless information, zero transaction costs, some 4th thing i forget.
liberal: aha! your model fails to fully model the real world, so we reject its utility.
economist: as we said, it's a simplification, because the part of your brain not filled with statist propaganda is the size of a walnut. the map is not the territory. please pay attention.
me: what i find interesting about the model is that, with the internet, the real world is starting to look more like the model. Competition isn't perfect, but go online and you can usually find 5 or more sellers of a good or service, if it's not inherently unique.
me: what i find interesting (just lost chunck of text?) is that with the internet, competition is enhanced, information costs are lowered transactions costs decrease, [and whatever the 4th thing was] so that the real world starts to look more like the model.
Of course, I don't know any economist that claims the neoclassical model accurately models the real world. The austrian school is where the action is -
information does have costs, better information is the engine of change, government policies that get in the way of price signals harm the economy, harming those on the bottom the most.
Having the government control price signals is like putting monsanto in charge of your farm's ecological diversity. because markets use price signals to distribute resources effectively, in the same way ecologies distribute resources effectively, in a way that gets disrupted by monocrop agriculture.
I have yet to hear a liberal who a) gets this point and b) still coherently advocates disrupting price signals. or c) says, why yes. minimum wages are like clearcutting forests, and i'm for both, and here's why:.
That's enough of a rant for today.
* by anti-economist, here, i mean someone ideologically opposed to chicago-school, such as marxists or keynesians. i realize these people would call themselves
economists too.
Posted by Ampersand
I hope you don't mind, this probably should be a new thread but I can't resist...
rather than reinvent the wheel on the issue of how living wage laws are classist, i'll point to the literature about how minimum wage laws create job shortages
Having read that literature, the empirical studies tend to show that the minimum wage creates a very marginal effect on unemployment, often completely washed out by other factors in the economy. Ask any low-wage person if they'd be willing to accept being unemployed for an extra day or two the next time they're job-hunting, in exchange for getting paid a few bucks more an hour in the job they eventually get.
The simplistic model of wage work in which the minimum wage causes mass unemployment is an ivy-tower model; they like it at the Chicago school, where none of the scholars has ever had to work for the minimum wage in their lives, but it has next-to-nothing to do with what happens in real life.
---
no full refutation here.
a few data points:
i've worked at minimum wages of $2.35/hr and 3.35/hr.
i've worked under the table for $5/hr, because it was fun.
i had a job where our overtime pay was $6/hr, and that's the job i'm most likely to go back to.
i've spent years unemployed, this being one of them. i live simply on an income of around $400/mo.
so far i've been able to avoid living wage zones.
i'm somewhat tempted to go into a full-on rant about the chicago school and simplistic models.
the model is simplistic because we use it in trying to communicate with liberals, some of whom have [succumed] to years of government brainwashing, who wouldn't be able to find the austrian school on a map.
when economists try to communicate with non-economists or anti-economists*,
we sometimes use the neoclassical model of supply-demand curve graphing.
In order to simplify the model, so that it can be represented 2-dimentionally,
we make some assumptions we know don't hold true in the real world:
- perfect competition, costless information, zero transaction costs, some 4th thing i forget.
liberal: aha! your model fails to fully model the real world, so we reject its utility.
economist: as we said, it's a simplification, because the part of your brain not filled with statist propaganda is the size of a walnut. the map is not the territory. please pay attention.
me: what i find interesting about the model is that, with the internet, the real world is starting to look more like the model. Competition isn't perfect, but go online and you can usually find 5 or more sellers of a good or service, if it's not inherently unique.
me: what i find interesting (just lost chunck of text?) is that with the internet, competition is enhanced, information costs are lowered transactions costs decrease, [and whatever the 4th thing was] so that the real world starts to look more like the model.
Of course, I don't know any economist that claims the neoclassical model accurately models the real world. The austrian school is where the action is -
information does have costs, better information is the engine of change, government policies that get in the way of price signals harm the economy, harming those on the bottom the most.
Having the government control price signals is like putting monsanto in charge of your farm's ecological diversity. because markets use price signals to distribute resources effectively, in the same way ecologies distribute resources effectively, in a way that gets disrupted by monocrop agriculture.
I have yet to hear a liberal who a) gets this point and b) still coherently advocates disrupting price signals. or c) says, why yes. minimum wages are like clearcutting forests, and i'm for both, and here's why:.
That's enough of a rant for today.
* by anti-economist, here, i mean someone ideologically opposed to chicago-school, such as marxists or keynesians. i realize these people would call themselves
economists too.
Sunday, April 25, 2004
sunday comic:
sunday morning coffee. it's tangy.
i'll be fixing the boondocks and drudge links soonish.
sunday morning coffee. it's tangy.
i'll be fixing the boondocks and drudge links soonish.
Saturday, April 24, 2004
http://www.nw.net/mars/docs/m_econom.txt
Footnote: Myers also asserts that the search was unreasonable under Article I, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution. Myers recites a standard of review for state constitutional claims but relies solely on Fourth Amendment jurisprudence to support his assertion. The State contends, and we agree, that Myers has waived this claim because he has failed to offer an analysis supporting an independent standard under the state constitution. See Abel v. State, 773 N.E.2d 276, 278 n.1 (Ind. 2002).
# posted by gt @ 10:15
but hey wait! the quote above is wrong.
Issue: has D waived state constitutional argument?
D has stated a claim under the state constitution, cited the authority for the standard of review, and argued the persuasiveness of federal cases construing identical language. that's not the best possible argument for a state claim, but it should be enough to avoid waiver. i haven't read the brief itself.
but it looks like no malpractice.
in analyzing a state claim, look first to that state's cases on point if any,
then to federal cases, then to textually similar clauses from other states, then look to states with different clauses. If there are no cases on point anywhere, look to general principles. So it is not unreasonable here for D to support his state claim by appeal to federal cases. It is also possible to brief a state claim by referring to persuasive dissents in federal cases. Think of how Wasson v. Kentucky referenced the dissent in Bowers v. Hardwick. That could be a bad example - I haven't reread Wasson in ages.
There was no waiver, and thus due process requires the issue be resolved. The case remains in play - it was an interlocutory appeal of a motion to suppress.
Sounds like a case for a superhero, if only we knew of one. Or it could be open-sourced. An open source amicus briefing the issue of warrantless gun search under the indiana bill of rights.
barest outline:
well established case law holds that the expectation of privacy in the automobile is greater under the indiana constitution.
the text of the indiana constitution's section 11 is augmented by its relation to section 1, and we look to the founders, in 1816 and 1851, for original intent, asin Price v. Indiana, a section 9 case.
Indiana's roadblock rules are different under section 11 than federal rules.
Federal law has a bias against schoolchildren which may not be shared by indiana.
if there is a right to education, perhaps it has not been made contingent on waiver of other rights, such as the warrant requirement. until D's state concerns are addressed, he cannot be lawfully convicted. on the other hand, it was an interlocutory appeal, so now he knows what to do to preserve it for a final appeal.
case closed. i can put the aardvark costume back in the closet.
# posted by gt @ 10:15
but hey wait! the quote above is wrong.
Issue: has D waived state constitutional argument?
D has stated a claim under the state constitution, cited the authority for the standard of review, and argued the persuasiveness of federal cases construing identical language. that's not the best possible argument for a state claim, but it should be enough to avoid waiver. i haven't read the brief itself.
but it looks like no malpractice.
in analyzing a state claim, look first to that state's cases on point if any,
then to federal cases, then to textually similar clauses from other states, then look to states with different clauses. If there are no cases on point anywhere, look to general principles. So it is not unreasonable here for D to support his state claim by appeal to federal cases. It is also possible to brief a state claim by referring to persuasive dissents in federal cases. Think of how Wasson v. Kentucky referenced the dissent in Bowers v. Hardwick. That could be a bad example - I haven't reread Wasson in ages.
There was no waiver, and thus due process requires the issue be resolved. The case remains in play - it was an interlocutory appeal of a motion to suppress.
Sounds like a case for a superhero, if only we knew of one. Or it could be open-sourced. An open source amicus briefing the issue of warrantless gun search under the indiana bill of rights.
barest outline:
well established case law holds that the expectation of privacy in the automobile is greater under the indiana constitution.
the text of the indiana constitution's section 11 is augmented by its relation to section 1, and we look to the founders, in 1816 and 1851, for original intent, asin Price v. Indiana, a section 9 case.
Indiana's roadblock rules are different under section 11 than federal rules.
Federal law has a bias against schoolchildren which may not be shared by indiana.
if there is a right to education, perhaps it has not been made contingent on waiver of other rights, such as the warrant requirement. until D's state concerns are addressed, he cannot be lawfully convicted. on the other hand, it was an interlocutory appeal, so now he knows what to do to preserve it for a final appeal.
case closed. i can put the aardvark costume back in the closet.
fans of indiana law blog take note, better late than never.
nobody reads this either.
Anniversary of the Indiana Law Blog, we would celebrate the One Year plus One Month Anniversary on Thursday, April 16th. I encouraged readers who enjoy the Indiana Law Blog to drop the ILB a note, to perhaps be included in an anniversary entry.
So far the Indiana Law Blog has received NO notes, perhaps indicating that we have NO readers (other than those kind souls who have written in the past), which could be a bit disappointing.
Post by Marcia Oddi at 10:26 AM About the Indiana Law Blog - One Year plus One Month Anniversary
nobody reads this either.
Anniversary of the Indiana Law Blog, we would celebrate the One Year plus One Month Anniversary on Thursday, April 16th. I encouraged readers who enjoy the Indiana Law Blog to drop the ILB a note, to perhaps be included in an anniversary entry.
So far the Indiana Law Blog has received NO notes, perhaps indicating that we have NO readers (other than those kind souls who have written in the past), which could be a bit disappointing.
Post by Marcia Oddi at 10:26 AM About the Indiana Law Blog - One Year plus One Month Anniversary
failure to brief state clause leads to loss:
marcia oddi points to this case, in which a police dog found a gun in a student's car at school. student had a winning case under the state constitution, but only briefed the federal issue, and lost. dissenting judge correctly holds out for a warrant.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Footnote: Myers also asserts that the search was unreasonable under Article I, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution. Myers recites a standard of review for state constitutional claims but relies solely on Fourth Amendment jurisprudence to support his assertion. The State contends, and we agree, that Myers has waived this claim because he has failed to offer an analysis supporting an independent standard under the state constitution. See Abel v. State, 773 N.E.2d 276, 278 n.1 (Ind. 2002).
marcia oddi points to this case, in which a police dog found a gun in a student's car at school. student had a winning case under the state constitution, but only briefed the federal issue, and lost. dissenting judge correctly holds out for a warrant.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Footnote: Myers also asserts that the search was unreasonable under Article I, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution. Myers recites a standard of review for state constitutional claims but relies solely on Fourth Amendment jurisprudence to support his assertion. The State contends, and we agree, that Myers has waived this claim because he has failed to offer an analysis supporting an independent standard under the state constitution. See Abel v. State, 773 N.E.2d 276, 278 n.1 (Ind. 2002).
good for her:
According to a story today in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, "A federal appeals court on Thursday refused a request to keep a Canadian Amish man in the United States while he challenges a law requiring his photo be taken." However, I could not access the story itself without providing the following fields in addition to my name and email address, so I elected to not cover stories in the Atlanta Journal Constitution:
• Password Hint is required.
• Gender is required.
• Primary Phone is required.
• Home Address Line is required.
• Home City is required.
• Zip Code is required.
• Home State is required.
• Paper Usage is required.
• Household Income is required.
• Birth Year is required.
[More] Here is a Washington Post/AP report on the 3rd Circuit refusal Thursday to hear an emeregency appeal. [link via How Appealing]
According to a story today in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, "A federal appeals court on Thursday refused a request to keep a Canadian Amish man in the United States while he challenges a law requiring his photo be taken." However, I could not access the story itself without providing the following fields in addition to my name and email address, so I elected to not cover stories in the Atlanta Journal Constitution:
• Password Hint is required.
• Gender is required.
• Primary Phone is required.
• Home Address Line is required.
• Home City is required.
• Zip Code is required.
• Home State is required.
• Paper Usage is required.
• Household Income is required.
• Birth Year is required.
[More] Here is a Washington Post/AP report on the 3rd Circuit refusal Thursday to hear an emeregency appeal. [link via How Appealing]
via josh clayborn
April 23, 2004
Law - Text book arbitrage and drug arbitrage
Last October, the NY Times published an article headlined "Students Find $100 Textbooks Cost $50, Purchased Overseas." It is no longer freely available, but here is the Times abstract:
American college students find that their textbooks cost far less overseas than they do in United States; more and more individual students and college bookstores are ordering textbooks from abroad; National Assn of College Bookstores has written to all leading publishers asking them to end practice they see as unfair to American students; publishing industry defends its pricing policies, saying foreign sales would be impossible if book prices were not pegged to local market conditions; textbook publishers have tried to block reimporting of American texts from overseas; Supreme Court ruled in 1998 that federal copyright law does not protect American manufacturers from having products they arrange to sell overseas at discount shipped back for sale in US; photo; chart (M)
Here is a link to a tool that "lets you search for a book on Amazon, and then compare prices across Amazon's UK, Germany, Canadien, and Japanese sites, including in shipping costs."
I recalled the above when I read this article in Forbes earlier this month on pharmaceutical arbitrage and this article yesterday in the San Diego Union-Tribune headlined "Are drug imports good medicine?"
Posted by Marcia Oddi at April 23, 2004 01:48 PM
April 23, 2004
Law - Text book arbitrage and drug arbitrage
Last October, the NY Times published an article headlined "Students Find $100 Textbooks Cost $50, Purchased Overseas." It is no longer freely available, but here is the Times abstract:
American college students find that their textbooks cost far less overseas than they do in United States; more and more individual students and college bookstores are ordering textbooks from abroad; National Assn of College Bookstores has written to all leading publishers asking them to end practice they see as unfair to American students; publishing industry defends its pricing policies, saying foreign sales would be impossible if book prices were not pegged to local market conditions; textbook publishers have tried to block reimporting of American texts from overseas; Supreme Court ruled in 1998 that federal copyright law does not protect American manufacturers from having products they arrange to sell overseas at discount shipped back for sale in US; photo; chart (M)
Here is a link to a tool that "lets you search for a book on Amazon, and then compare prices across Amazon's UK, Germany, Canadien, and Japanese sites, including in shipping costs."
I recalled the above when I read this article in Forbes earlier this month on pharmaceutical arbitrage and this article yesterday in the San Diego Union-Tribune headlined "Are drug imports good medicine?"
Posted by Marcia Oddi at April 23, 2004 01:48 PM
wow, jeff cooper has a link to my other blog. i never noticed. he's still on hiatus/retired, but has good links.
of interest to almost nobody:
Posted 3:10 PM by Brian Deiwert
Practical Parking Tip
You are running late to your final and it is the middle of the day. Do you think you'll find parking next to the law school considering the undergraduates are still in class now? I think not. Instead of 'sharking' through the lot praying you will find that one empty spot go to the lot north of Michigan St and the new Informatics building. Lot 73 always has plenty of empty spaces and it is only two blocks north of school. You can walk from there in less than 5 minutes. Please try to avoid the cars though. They will win every time.
Posted 3:10 PM by Brian Deiwert
Practical Parking Tip
You are running late to your final and it is the middle of the day. Do you think you'll find parking next to the law school considering the undergraduates are still in class now? I think not. Instead of 'sharking' through the lot praying you will find that one empty spot go to the lot north of Michigan St and the new Informatics building. Lot 73 always has plenty of empty spaces and it is only two blocks north of school. You can walk from there in less than 5 minutes. Please try to avoid the cars though. They will win every time.
placeholder for a rant on intelligent design:
Once upon a time, people believed the bible was literal and infallible, if by people we mean many gullible americans.
that meant belief in a set of old and new testament stories and ideas.
a creation myth, and a life of the messiah myth.
the literalness of the creation myth has been challenged by scientists, who
point to 15 billion years of stellar evolution from hydrogen to a planet on which life is evolving daily. This is not a problem for those who see Genesis as story telling and allegory, but for the literalists it has been somewhat controversial.
That this is being played out in debates about evoltion in southern or rural states, is well known. Point of this rant is to discuss a similar problem with the new testament mythos.
Science tells us life evolved. Anthropologists can now tell us how religion evolved.
The Golden Bough may not be the latest word on the topic, but it makes a powerful case that the new testament mythos of a dying god is not unique, but follows a common pattern.
Religion can overcome and incorporate evolution and the scientific worldview.
The two are compatable. Now, is anybody doing anything comparable re the new testament mythos - that is, are there people who are both saved, and anthopologists, and if so, what do they have to tell us?
There's probably already tons of literature on this, I just don't know it.
Once upon a time, people believed the bible was literal and infallible, if by people we mean many gullible americans.
that meant belief in a set of old and new testament stories and ideas.
a creation myth, and a life of the messiah myth.
the literalness of the creation myth has been challenged by scientists, who
point to 15 billion years of stellar evolution from hydrogen to a planet on which life is evolving daily. This is not a problem for those who see Genesis as story telling and allegory, but for the literalists it has been somewhat controversial.
That this is being played out in debates about evoltion in southern or rural states, is well known. Point of this rant is to discuss a similar problem with the new testament mythos.
Science tells us life evolved. Anthropologists can now tell us how religion evolved.
The Golden Bough may not be the latest word on the topic, but it makes a powerful case that the new testament mythos of a dying god is not unique, but follows a common pattern.
Religion can overcome and incorporate evolution and the scientific worldview.
The two are compatable. Now, is anybody doing anything comparable re the new testament mythos - that is, are there people who are both saved, and anthopologists, and if so, what do they have to tell us?
There's probably already tons of literature on this, I just don't know it.
Friday, April 23, 2004
word for the day: eurocrats. via declan.
another new heinlein, sort of.
update: my new heinlein is ten years old, i missed it at the time (red planet, author's version.)
update: my new heinlein is ten years old, i missed it at the time (red planet, author's version.)
Thursday, April 22, 2004
what i'm reading: the golden bough
Monday, April 19, 2004
today's phrase: A Wonketteer operative
Sunday, April 18, 2004
hmm, more baude stuff.
word for the day: polydactyl
Saturday, April 17, 2004
word for the day: blogosphomy
as in It was people on the technology end of things -- using blogs in their workplaces, programming new blog tools, making new blog applications, selling blog ads, aggregating blogs into communities of blogosphomy (I'm making up that word, but I like it), and people (trying to be) on the business end of things -- wanting to either "use" blogs in their businesses to help achieve some other goal, like more sales, or more customer feedback.
jeremy: i read you, i don't read the times, except when an article is linked in a blog.
as in It was people on the technology end of things -- using blogs in their workplaces, programming new blog tools, making new blog applications, selling blog ads, aggregating blogs into communities of blogosphomy (I'm making up that word, but I like it), and people (trying to be) on the business end of things -- wanting to either "use" blogs in their businesses to help achieve some other goal, like more sales, or more customer feedback.
jeremy: i read you, i don't read the times, except when an article is linked in a blog.
i'd been using the wrong url, it's www.petermcwilliams.org.
at de novo, i wrote:
I've been thinking about Burdick v. Taskushi, in reference to terrence's post about the 997 benefits of gay marriages that can't be accomplished with, say, living wills and well-drafted partnership agreements.
In Burdick, the court rejected the right to vote for the person of your choice, although this would seem to be a fundamental right like the right to marry the person of your choice. The court looked at the availability of alternatives (enter a primary, be an independent, be a minor party candidate), applied lax review, and denied that there was a right to a write-in vote.
So a gay marriage case -could- turn on this sort of analysis, looking at whether the alternatives are close enough to satisfy due process.
So I'd like to have a better grasp of what gay marriage accomplishes that can't be done in some other way. Is there a list somewhere?
(I'm relatively uninterested in the marriage penalty or the deductibility of medical insurance; these problems could be fixed with changes to the tax code. I'm also not too interested in symbolic statements, more in concrete consequences.)
I'm -not- saying that there aren't things that can only be accomplished by gay marriage, I'm just not clear on what those are.
I've been thinking about Burdick v. Taskushi, in reference to terrence's post about the 997 benefits of gay marriages that can't be accomplished with, say, living wills and well-drafted partnership agreements.
In Burdick, the court rejected the right to vote for the person of your choice, although this would seem to be a fundamental right like the right to marry the person of your choice. The court looked at the availability of alternatives (enter a primary, be an independent, be a minor party candidate), applied lax review, and denied that there was a right to a write-in vote.
So a gay marriage case -could- turn on this sort of analysis, looking at whether the alternatives are close enough to satisfy due process.
So I'd like to have a better grasp of what gay marriage accomplishes that can't be done in some other way. Is there a list somewhere?
(I'm relatively uninterested in the marriage penalty or the deductibility of medical insurance; these problems could be fixed with changes to the tax code. I'm also not too interested in symbolic statements, more in concrete consequences.)
I'm -not- saying that there aren't things that can only be accomplished by gay marriage, I'm just not clear on what those are.
Friday, April 16, 2004
you say scalia, i say padilla.
The Boys Always Wondered Why Their Pool Parties Were So Popular
It must have been a scorcher that day in May 1999 on Lake Havasu, when Michelle Padilla, then a 23-year-old single mom, decided to showcase her wares by flashing her breasts in response to the exhortations of onlookers . Four years later, Padilla, now 27, is married and is the stepmother of her husband's two sons, ages 14 and 11. Oh, and she's also featured on the cover of a "Girls Gone Wild" video, in the video itself, in "GGW" advertising and on the "GGW" website.
With her sons reportedly having heard "rumors" at school about their stepmom's "Girls Gone Wild" appearance, Padilla has filed a lawsuit against the folks at "GGW" alleging that they've violated her right to publicity and seeking an injunction barring further sale or distribution of the offending video and DVD. Padilla claims she had no idea she was being filmed during her brief indiscretion. [story and portion of the complaint via The Smoking Gun here].
via actual malice blog. i don't have a position on this, it just reminds me of the scalia thing.
The Boys Always Wondered Why Their Pool Parties Were So Popular
It must have been a scorcher that day in May 1999 on Lake Havasu, when Michelle Padilla, then a 23-year-old single mom, decided to showcase her wares by flashing her breasts in response to the exhortations of onlookers . Four years later, Padilla, now 27, is married and is the stepmother of her husband's two sons, ages 14 and 11. Oh, and she's also featured on the cover of a "Girls Gone Wild" video, in the video itself, in "GGW" advertising and on the "GGW" website.
With her sons reportedly having heard "rumors" at school about their stepmom's "Girls Gone Wild" appearance, Padilla has filed a lawsuit against the folks at "GGW" alleging that they've violated her right to publicity and seeking an injunction barring further sale or distribution of the offending video and DVD. Padilla claims she had no idea she was being filmed during her brief indiscretion. [story and portion of the complaint via The Smoking Gun here].
via actual malice blog. i don't have a position on this, it just reminds me of the scalia thing.
MAKEMONEYFAST on the internet, proofreading www.legalunderground.com.
i don't have the budget or the inclination to do that here, but maybe i'll come up with some such thing once i have a draft of the petetion for cert in majors v abell ready to be proofed. uh, that typo was intentional, to demonstrate the point. this one is'nt.
i don't have the budget or the inclination to do that here, but maybe i'll come up with some such thing once i have a draft of the petetion for cert in majors v abell ready to be proofed. uh, that typo was intentional, to demonstrate the point. this one is'nt.
ok, i'm ready to take a position on the gay marriage thing, finally.
the government should not discriminate against same sex couples who want to wed.
to do so would be arbitrary and capricious. why, it would be like telling bakers how many hours a week they could work, or granting a monopoly on frozen water.
the government should not discriminate against same sex couples who want to wed.
to do so would be arbitrary and capricious. why, it would be like telling bakers how many hours a week they could work, or granting a monopoly on frozen water.
here's some text.
your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to write a short story using one or more of these words. shorter the better. bonus points to using all words in shortest entry.
i chose locoweed. it's a western, and that's all i'm saying for now.
Spam
Amy Lamboley at 02:03 PM
The following email made it through my spam filter. Unfortunately, what didn't make it through was the content.
From: [address deleted]
To: alamboley crescatsententia org
Subject: 5 DVD's FOR A BUCK immediate olson dearborn linen hobbyhorse pterodactyl mammalian hebraic westfield muriel boundary cognac constructor brute revertive dung climate adagio fairfax coral sprightly bass hairdo
vorticity locoweed fisherman cornstarch few buzzing gascony advent blur
coroner impale liz collet duluth dusseldorf dreadful egghead juniper
neuronal hemolytic cambodia electrician
your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to write a short story using one or more of these words. shorter the better. bonus points to using all words in shortest entry.
i chose locoweed. it's a western, and that's all i'm saying for now.
Spam
Amy Lamboley at 02:03 PM
The following email made it through my spam filter. Unfortunately, what didn't make it through was the content.
From: [address deleted]
To: alamboley crescatsententia org
Subject: 5 DVD's FOR A BUCK immediate olson dearborn linen hobbyhorse pterodactyl mammalian hebraic westfield muriel boundary cognac constructor brute revertive dung climate adagio fairfax coral sprightly bass hairdo
vorticity locoweed fisherman cornstarch few buzzing gascony advent blur
coroner impale liz collet duluth dusseldorf dreadful egghead juniper
neuronal hemolytic cambodia electrician
Date: Tue Apr 6, 2004 5:23pm
Subject: Greplaw Interview with Eugene Spafford
Dr. Eugene Spafford, security expert and professor of Computer Science at
Purdue University, talks with Greplaw about what drove him to the computer
security field, what it's like to testify before Congressional committees,
and how legislating technology is "bad law."
Interview
http://grep.law.harvard.edu/article.pl?sid=04/04/05/0353235&mode=nested
Testimonies Spaf has made to Congress
http://www.cerias.purdue.edu/homes/spaf/
here is a handy guide to how and why to ask telemarketers for a copy of their do not call policy.
i just had another one of those calls. this is a simple way to fight back.
i just had another one of those calls. this is a simple way to fight back.
* A posting by Stuart Buck
NOTE: I found this post, which I had labeled as a draft. Here it is.
In the spirit of Howard Dean, I offer a couple of interesting theories that may or may not be true:
1. Al Qaeda had something to do with the Oklahoma City bombing. This theory comes from the ubiquitous Richard Clarke, whose new book has a passage that can be summarized:
On Page 127 [of his new "Against All Enemies"], Clarke notes that it's possible that al-Qaida operatives in the Philippines "taught Terry Nichols how to blow up the Oklahoma Federal Building." Intelligence places Nichols there on the same days as Ramzi Yousef, and "we do know that Nichols's bombs did not work before his Philippines stay and were deadly when he returned."
story time: i'm a lawyer. i only do election law. but now and then you get these calls. so shortly before the mcviegh killing, i get this call. the guy wants me to file suit, saying mcveigh's body is evidence, and can't be destroyed.
took me awhile to sort out he meant mcveigh had information, and killing him
would destroy the info, so he had to kept alive. i didn't take the case,
but it was a cute theory. (I only take cases where i'm certain i'm right on the law; that sounded iffy.)
NOTE: I found this post, which I had labeled as a draft. Here it is.
In the spirit of Howard Dean, I offer a couple of interesting theories that may or may not be true:
1. Al Qaeda had something to do with the Oklahoma City bombing. This theory comes from the ubiquitous Richard Clarke, whose new book has a passage that can be summarized:
On Page 127 [of his new "Against All Enemies"], Clarke notes that it's possible that al-Qaida operatives in the Philippines "taught Terry Nichols how to blow up the Oklahoma Federal Building." Intelligence places Nichols there on the same days as Ramzi Yousef, and "we do know that Nichols's bombs did not work before his Philippines stay and were deadly when he returned."
story time: i'm a lawyer. i only do election law. but now and then you get these calls. so shortly before the mcviegh killing, i get this call. the guy wants me to file suit, saying mcveigh's body is evidence, and can't be destroyed.
took me awhile to sort out he meant mcveigh had information, and killing him
would destroy the info, so he had to kept alive. i didn't take the case,
but it was a cute theory. (I only take cases where i'm certain i'm right on the law; that sounded iffy.)
word for the day:
Gricean implicature
No idea what either word means.
via stuart buck.
more buck, sinister.
The authors also note other research claiming math-gifted children tend to be left-handed males who are nearsighted and have a higher than average incidence of allergy, migraine and other immune disorders.
As a left-handed male with allergies who plays a stringed instrument and who found calculus fairly easy, I can't help but like these results.
- Posted by Stuart Buck @ 4:53 PM
Gricean implicature
No idea what either word means.
via stuart buck.
more buck, sinister.
The authors also note other research claiming math-gifted children tend to be left-handed males who are nearsighted and have a higher than average incidence of allergy, migraine and other immune disorders.
As a left-handed male with allergies who plays a stringed instrument and who found calculus fairly easy, I can't help but like these results.
- Posted by Stuart Buck @ 4:53 PM
Thursday, April 15, 2004
mostly these days i read tomes about lbj, but for a little light reading i picked up a trashy bio of david bowie. and it's interesting: Bowie mimiced Oscar Wilde, Wilde mimiced Disraeli.
I grew up in a house without music, and then in 8th grade i heard Ziggy Stardust, and it opened my eyes. mixed metaphor? Temba, his eyes open. Shakka, when the walls fell.
I'm not going to penguicon after all; two of the top bills cancelled.
I grew up in a house without music, and then in 8th grade i heard Ziggy Stardust, and it opened my eyes. mixed metaphor? Temba, his eyes open. Shakka, when the walls fell.
I'm not going to penguicon after all; two of the top bills cancelled.
more minorites are passing the bar.
email announcement: my @themail.com account is not working right.
i'm sending mail from arbitraryaardvark -at- yahoo.com, and will accept mail there too, not sure how often i'll check it.
i'm sending mail from arbitraryaardvark -at- yahoo.com, and will accept mail there too, not sure how often i'll check it.
word for the day: vorticity: Vorticity. Vorticity is a kinematic property of the flow field which, at each point, measures the angular velocity of a fluid particle. hat tip amanda. that's what i thought it meant, but i'll never use it in a sentence. maybe a limerick, tortise, mortice, vortice, sort us, tort is.
I'm annoyed with myself. I forgot to go to the annual post office tax protest today.
This year would have been lively because there's a no taxation without representation by as-yet-unmarried gays. The barricades are the best place to pick up hot guys.
This year would have been lively because there's a no taxation without representation by as-yet-unmarried gays. The barricades are the best place to pick up hot guys.
McDonalds plans adult happy meals, reports www.porkmag.com.
No word yet on whether the new happy meals will have adult toys.
No word yet on whether the new happy meals will have adult toys.
peter northrup, a crescateer i don't know, calls attention to a work by bentham on gay sex i'd never heard of.
the text is here.
that's http://www.worldpolicy.org/globalrights/sexorient/1785-Bentham.html.
the text is here.
that's http://www.worldpolicy.org/globalrights/sexorient/1785-Bentham.html.
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
vice squad mushrooms
beauty of a chess puzzle
Would i still be stumped if i hadn't been up all night?
For the first time, I have this sneaking suspicion that will might be much smarter than I am. I'd been assuming about as smart, but with more energy.
Would i still be stumped if i hadn't been up all night?
For the first time, I have this sneaking suspicion that will might be much smarter than I am. I'd been assuming about as smart, but with more energy.
what a maroon. I agree about the makeup, tho.
Wednesday, April 07, 2004
julian sanchez is moving from reason to the nation. and he used to be cute, who knew?
Volokh teases teddy kennedy for his vietnam-iraq analogy. I think it's a fair comparison, but when kennedy says "worst credibility gap since nixon",
that's an lbj reference, and what about clinton?
i recently read teddy was kicked out of college for cheating. unverified by me at this time.
update: see ben bradlee conversations w kennedy for corroboration.
that's an lbj reference, and what about clinton?
i recently read teddy was kicked out of college for cheating. unverified by me at this time.
update: see ben bradlee conversations w kennedy for corroboration.
oh yeah, one of the fun things that happened in this week i haven't blogged, is i
got an offer to web-publish my book/article/rant on lbj. not an offer to be paid, just a place to put it. netrodigest.com.
i'll be following the www.craphound.com model of publishing...give away enough copies and someone will buy one to read in the bath. meanwhile i'm gonna go take a bath and finish eric's "the tragedy of lyndon johnson."
(quirky jfk scandal page here.
lbj.blogspot.com... "How LBJ killed jfk" i read it on the net so it must be true...
) http://www.vdare.com/guzzardi/lbj.htm
update: here's what i said in the comments section in de novo:
Agree; open source is a powerful tool. Software is just the beginning. I'm planning an open-source biography of lbj's presidential years.
Essential readings on open source include eric raymond's "the cathedral and the bazaar." MIT?harvard's the Berkman Center has an open source
law project going on. Here via crescat.
Posted by arbitraryaardvark at April 7, 2004 01:49 PM
there's more at gtletters.blogspot.com.
got an offer to web-publish my book/article/rant on lbj. not an offer to be paid, just a place to put it. netrodigest.com.
i'll be following the www.craphound.com model of publishing...give away enough copies and someone will buy one to read in the bath. meanwhile i'm gonna go take a bath and finish eric's "the tragedy of lyndon johnson."
(quirky jfk scandal page here.
lbj.blogspot.com... "How LBJ killed jfk" i read it on the net so it must be true...
) http://www.vdare.com/guzzardi/lbj.htm
update: here's what i said in the comments section in de novo:
Agree; open source is a powerful tool. Software is just the beginning. I'm planning an open-source biography of lbj's presidential years.
Essential readings on open source include eric raymond's "the cathedral and the bazaar." MIT?harvard's the Berkman Center has an open source
law project going on. Here via crescat.
Posted by arbitraryaardvark at April 7, 2004 01:49 PM
there's more at gtletters.blogspot.com.
Tuesday, April 06, 2004
Hiibel transcripts are up (pdf).
hat tip marty at scotusblog.
yes, this is why i've been eager to see the transcripts;
hiibel's counsel points to naacp v alabama and watchtower
and the right to anonymity.
I'm gonna predict that hiibel wins this one.
from the transcripts, it emerges that there's a significant 5th a. issue
and that the government is trying to expand terry stops in away that doesn't
relate to officer safety, and the precedents are all on hiibel's side.
how this relates to majors v abell, i can't say.
hat tip marty at scotusblog.
yes, this is why i've been eager to see the transcripts;
hiibel's counsel points to naacp v alabama and watchtower
and the right to anonymity.
I'm gonna predict that hiibel wins this one.
from the transcripts, it emerges that there's a significant 5th a. issue
and that the government is trying to expand terry stops in away that doesn't
relate to officer safety, and the precedents are all on hiibel's side.
how this relates to majors v abell, i can't say.
future post: 20 questions for wil wheaton.
Sunday comics on tuesday.
links to follow.
sinfest.
tang. ok, i'm not sure if that links to tang but it has comics...
blondie.
quick: what's blondie's maiden name? (not harry) answer.
amptoons
update: hey i've been blogrolled. ok a blogroll is slightly different,
but this blog is now linked at amptoons, yay me.
the link above goes to a post about ethics and superhero comics.
heavy stuff that i don't have a comeback comment for yet.
it's partly a superheros versus funny talking animals thingy.
me, i'm a subhero, like the moth or the tick, and still evolving.
the arbitrary aardvark is crime-fighting ethicist, a funny talking animal
crusading for truth justice and the american way.
at first it was just an email address.
so far i don't have a costume or an inker.
but as my tenuous connections to the mundane get more tenuous,
what with the collapse of the law firm, the assassination attempts,
descent into poverty and madness, the appeal of putting on the costume and going and doing deeds not specifically authorized by the attorney code of ethics, becomes more appealing.
links to follow.
sinfest.
tang. ok, i'm not sure if that links to tang but it has comics...
blondie.
quick: what's blondie's maiden name? (not harry) answer.
amptoons
update: hey i've been blogrolled. ok a blogroll is slightly different,
but this blog is now linked at amptoons, yay me.
the link above goes to a post about ethics and superhero comics.
heavy stuff that i don't have a comeback comment for yet.
it's partly a superheros versus funny talking animals thingy.
me, i'm a subhero, like the moth or the tick, and still evolving.
the arbitrary aardvark is crime-fighting ethicist, a funny talking animal
crusading for truth justice and the american way.
at first it was just an email address.
so far i don't have a costume or an inker.
but as my tenuous connections to the mundane get more tenuous,
what with the collapse of the law firm, the assassination attempts,
descent into poverty and madness, the appeal of putting on the costume and going and doing deeds not specifically authorized by the attorney code of ethics, becomes more appealing.
Woof? ah, the shift key was stuck. update to follow.
I haven't written anything all week, not sure why.
I was a bit wiped out from a trip to chicago re majors v abell,
in which i have not yet started the petition for writ of cert.
I've been digging up the garden by hand and reading webcomics.
There's another illinois search case, this one about drug dogs.
Hey! there's an angle. A local lawyer I work with has a file on
citizens attacked by police dogs - might be worked into an amicus.
My roommate joell was a plaintiff in edmonds v indianapolis, an earlier drug-dog case.
I haven't read the Ill decision yet, but my concern is like lidster -
why not rely on state constitutional grounds? Why risk having a win in state supreme court overturned? Malpractice? Some other reason?
I haven't written anything all week, not sure why.
I was a bit wiped out from a trip to chicago re majors v abell,
in which i have not yet started the petition for writ of cert.
I've been digging up the garden by hand and reading webcomics.
There's another illinois search case, this one about drug dogs.
Hey! there's an angle. A local lawyer I work with has a file on
citizens attacked by police dogs - might be worked into an amicus.
My roommate joell was a plaintiff in edmonds v indianapolis, an earlier drug-dog case.
I haven't read the Ill decision yet, but my concern is like lidster -
why not rely on state constitutional grounds? Why risk having a win in state supreme court overturned? Malpractice? Some other reason?
