Friday, October 31, 2008
October 29, 2008
Publication: Indiana Lawyer (Indianapolis, IN)
Section: IBA News
Page: 15
Judge won't halt voter ID law
- Michael W. Hoskins
Less than two weeks before the Nov. 4 general election, a federal judge in Indianapolis decided he won't interfere with the state law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls. On Oct. 21, U.S. District Judge Larry McKinney denied a temporary injunction request from a Cumberland attorney and resident who is challenging Indiana's three-year-old voter ID law that's been upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States.
Plaintiff Robbin G. Stewart filed the suit in April in Marion County, though it was later removed to the Southern District of Indiana to resolve the multiple federal and state constitutional claims. In September, Stewart asked the judge for one of three potential relief options: that he be allowed to vote without showing the required photo ID; that the state and county be required to count all provisional ballots cast by those not showing photo ID; or that the state not be allowed to enforce the voter ID law during the Nov. 4 general election.
Judge McKinney heard arguments on the issue on Oct. 14 and took the matter under advisement for a week before issuing his decision.
In his 10-page ruling, Judge McKinney rejected each of Stewart's arguments, finding that he didn't represent a class of any similarly situated Hoosier voters and that he didn't adequately show any hardship in obtaining a photo ID. The court referenced how Stewart himself had obtained a valid license, and that meant he can vote and wouldn't suffer any irreparable injury by the injunction denial.
Turning to the landmark ruling issued earlier this year in Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, 128 S.Ct. 1610 (2008), Judge McKinney noted that the reasoning in that facial challenge case applies to Stewart, even though he'd asserted this as an as-applied challenge that survives the Crawford scrutiny.
"Plaintiff has not designated any evidence to demonstrate a burden that, on balance, outweighs the State's interest in protecting against voter fraud," the judge wrote.
Judge McKinney also rejected Stewart's federal constitutional claims that the state law violates the First and 21st Amendments, finding that the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago had explicitly held in Crawford that the law isn't a poll tax and that all courts had decided it didn't violate the First Amendment.
On a claim that the law violates the Fourth Amendment on search and seizures, the judge pointed out that Stewart did not cite a single case holding that poll workers must have probable cause before requiring voters to produce a valid photo ID, and as a result he didn't show he could win on that claim.
The judge also rejected Stewart's state constitutional claims, finding that he didn't cite adequate legal authority and has not demonstrated any likelihood of success on the merits.
"I'm disappointed but not shocked," Stewart said about the judge's ruling. "The case is still alive, it's not like he dismissed it or anything. The next step is to take this to the 7th Circuit for some preliminary relief."
Stewart said he plans to vote on Nov. 4, but he won't show the state-required photo identification and is skeptical whether his vote will be counted.
"I'll try without any ID, and will do a provisional ballot that probably won't count " he said "We'll see "
Publication: Indiana Lawyer (Indianapolis, IN)
Section: IBA News
Page: 15
Judge won't halt voter ID law
- Michael W. Hoskins
Less than two weeks before the Nov. 4 general election, a federal judge in Indianapolis decided he won't interfere with the state law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls. On Oct. 21, U.S. District Judge Larry McKinney denied a temporary injunction request from a Cumberland attorney and resident who is challenging Indiana's three-year-old voter ID law that's been upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States.
Plaintiff Robbin G. Stewart filed the suit in April in Marion County, though it was later removed to the Southern District of Indiana to resolve the multiple federal and state constitutional claims. In September, Stewart asked the judge for one of three potential relief options: that he be allowed to vote without showing the required photo ID; that the state and county be required to count all provisional ballots cast by those not showing photo ID; or that the state not be allowed to enforce the voter ID law during the Nov. 4 general election.
Judge McKinney heard arguments on the issue on Oct. 14 and took the matter under advisement for a week before issuing his decision.
In his 10-page ruling, Judge McKinney rejected each of Stewart's arguments, finding that he didn't represent a class of any similarly situated Hoosier voters and that he didn't adequately show any hardship in obtaining a photo ID. The court referenced how Stewart himself had obtained a valid license, and that meant he can vote and wouldn't suffer any irreparable injury by the injunction denial.
Turning to the landmark ruling issued earlier this year in Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, 128 S.Ct. 1610 (2008), Judge McKinney noted that the reasoning in that facial challenge case applies to Stewart, even though he'd asserted this as an as-applied challenge that survives the Crawford scrutiny.
"Plaintiff has not designated any evidence to demonstrate a burden that, on balance, outweighs the State's interest in protecting against voter fraud," the judge wrote.
Judge McKinney also rejected Stewart's federal constitutional claims that the state law violates the First and 21st Amendments, finding that the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago had explicitly held in Crawford that the law isn't a poll tax and that all courts had decided it didn't violate the First Amendment.
On a claim that the law violates the Fourth Amendment on search and seizures, the judge pointed out that Stewart did not cite a single case holding that poll workers must have probable cause before requiring voters to produce a valid photo ID, and as a result he didn't show he could win on that claim.
The judge also rejected Stewart's state constitutional claims, finding that he didn't cite adequate legal authority and has not demonstrated any likelihood of success on the merits.
"I'm disappointed but not shocked," Stewart said about the judge's ruling. "The case is still alive, it's not like he dismissed it or anything. The next step is to take this to the 7th Circuit for some preliminary relief."
Stewart said he plans to vote on Nov. 4, but he won't show the state-required photo identification and is skeptical whether his vote will be counted.
"I'll try without any ID, and will do a provisional ballot that probably won't count " he said "We'll see "
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Because I am procrastinating some work, I finished Anathem and have been reading the online acknowledgements.
It is significantly a book about Platonism, which as a former philosophy major I liked.
One of my first submissions to slashdot that got accepted was a blurb about an article about aperiodic tiling of mosques,and some speculation about whether the tilers were thinking in terms of Penrose's work on aperiodic tiling. It's not that I know this stuff myself, as that the article struck me as slashdotworthy. Stephenson is interested in Penrose both because of aperiodic tiling and Platonism (and other stuff too). As expected, I liked the book. There's plenty of explosions and romance along with the philosophy; it's in the same vein as the system of the world trilogy.
It is significantly a book about Platonism, which as a former philosophy major I liked.
One of my first submissions to slashdot that got accepted was a blurb about an article about aperiodic tiling of mosques,and some speculation about whether the tilers were thinking in terms of Penrose's work on aperiodic tiling. It's not that I know this stuff myself, as that the article struck me as slashdotworthy. Stephenson is interested in Penrose both because of aperiodic tiling and Platonism (and other stuff too). As expected, I liked the book. There's plenty of explosions and romance along with the philosophy; it's in the same vein as the system of the world trilogy.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
http://www.metafilter.com/
A flood of interesting stuff, just what i'm looking for while avoiding work.
I'm guessing wil wheaton told me about this site 6 years ago but i wasn't paying attention.
A flood of interesting stuff, just what i'm looking for while avoiding work.
I'm guessing wil wheaton told me about this site 6 years ago but i wasn't paying attention.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Somebody at the xkcd forum mentioned e nesbit. I loved her stories as a kid. Did she write Half Magic, I think, and the one about the Natterjack? Will need more googling.
No, that's Edward Eager.
Anyway here is some e nesbit on gutenberg,and here is gore vidal talking about her. I hadn't realized she was a cofounder of the Fabian Society, which led it turn to the Labour Party and Mr.'s Brown and what's his name.The books at gutenberg aren't the ones I've read.
No, that's Edward Eager.
Anyway here is some e nesbit on gutenberg,and here is gore vidal talking about her. I hadn't realized she was a cofounder of the Fabian Society, which led it turn to the Labour Party and Mr.'s Brown and what's his name.The books at gutenberg aren't the ones I've read.
Word for tomorrow: snus, as in the Aaland snus crisis haunting the EU. Or maybe it's been resolved by now.
Also, wikinews, whether or not to add it to the blogroll.
Also, wikinews, whether or not to add it to the blogroll.
Study economics at yale, free online, game theory course.
More free courses from Yale. More free courses elsewhere.
Meanwhile this blog about austrian economics is a bit too technical for me. Both links from marginal revolutions.
More free courses from Yale. More free courses elsewhere.
Meanwhile this blog about austrian economics is a bit too technical for me. Both links from marginal revolutions.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
What I'm reading: I'm on page 217ish of Anathem, and I just read a review at Barnes and Noble Review of Books which majorly spoilered what's going to happen next, so I'm mildly peeved.
Other stuff,
was reading a textbook about deviance, while at a study in St Louis where I'd forgotten to bring Anathem, also some Aesop's Fables - the guy next to me was a student and had books. The one book I'd brought, Collected Writings of Voltairine DeCleyre, was a bit heavier than I was up for. She's perhaps the second best known American anarchist female activist after Emma Goldman, but still very obscure.
Bought the book at an infoshop in Milwaukee, across from a food coop. Milwaukee has a bar on every corner, and this was a student ghetto neighborhood, so it was like, bar, bar, sandwich shop, zen center.
Deviance in a nutshell:
1 a social norm
2 a breaking of the norm
3 an audience
4 negative feedback.
I want to go back through my blog entries this year and see how badly I'm failing at reading 50 books, but I haven't given that task a high enough priority to get it done. Other things I didn't get done today were to fix a flat tire - my car is stranded a block away - or write and file a motion for a stay pending appeal in my voter ID suit. So making a list of books isn't going to get done yet, unless I do it as a way of avoiding doing something else.
Other stuff,
was reading a textbook about deviance, while at a study in St Louis where I'd forgotten to bring Anathem, also some Aesop's Fables - the guy next to me was a student and had books. The one book I'd brought, Collected Writings of Voltairine DeCleyre, was a bit heavier than I was up for. She's perhaps the second best known American anarchist female activist after Emma Goldman, but still very obscure.
Bought the book at an infoshop in Milwaukee, across from a food coop. Milwaukee has a bar on every corner, and this was a student ghetto neighborhood, so it was like, bar, bar, sandwich shop, zen center.
Deviance in a nutshell:
1 a social norm
2 a breaking of the norm
3 an audience
4 negative feedback.
I want to go back through my blog entries this year and see how badly I'm failing at reading 50 books, but I haven't given that task a high enough priority to get it done. Other things I didn't get done today were to fix a flat tire - my car is stranded a block away - or write and file a motion for a stay pending appeal in my voter ID suit. So making a list of books isn't going to get done yet, unless I do it as a way of avoiding doing something else.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
word for the day: onomastic.
In her paper "Dew Drop Inn and Lettuce Entertain You: Onomastic Sobriquets in the Food and Beverage Industry," Westney collected more than 200 punning restaurant names, everything from Grill from Ipanema to Lawrence of Oregano. Chicago Tribune article via digg.
Also, electric unicycle article from http://cleantechnica.com
In her paper "Dew Drop Inn and Lettuce Entertain You: Onomastic Sobriquets in the Food and Beverage Industry," Westney collected more than 200 punning restaurant names, everything from Grill from Ipanema to Lawrence of Oregano. Chicago Tribune article via digg.
Also, electric unicycle article from http://cleantechnica.com
"My Obama number is one." That's Richard Epstein, who I once rode in an elevator with, so I guess my Obama number is two. Or, I once hung out with Joe Biden in his living room during the Carter campaign, and Joe knows Obama, so my Obama number is two that way as well. See Erdoz number, Kevin Bacon number. I don't have a bacon number.
In other news, Judge McKinney has turned down my request for an injunction in Stewart v Marion, an Indiana voter ID case.
In other news, Judge McKinney has turned down my request for an injunction in Stewart v Marion, an Indiana voter ID case.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Word for the day: Indomalekian
An imaginary country featured in one of the 900 dishes at an obscure famous new york restaurant.
What does happen occasionally is that Kenny gets an idea for a dish and writes on the specials board— yes, there is a specials board—something like Indomalekian Sunrise Stew. (Kenny and his oldest son, Charlie, invented the country of Indomalekia along with its culinary traditions.) A couple of weeks later, someone finally orders Indomalekian Sunrise Stew and Kenny can’t remember what he had in mind when he thought it up. Fortunately, the customer doesn’t know, either, so Kenny just invents it again on the spot.
An imaginary country featured in one of the 900 dishes at an obscure famous new york restaurant.
What does happen occasionally is that Kenny gets an idea for a dish and writes on the specials board— yes, there is a specials board—something like Indomalekian Sunrise Stew. (Kenny and his oldest son, Charlie, invented the country of Indomalekia along with its culinary traditions.) A couple of weeks later, someone finally orders Indomalekian Sunrise Stew and Kenny can’t remember what he had in mind when he thought it up. Fortunately, the customer doesn’t know, either, so Kenny just invents it again on the spot.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
http://heroesofcapitalism.com/
Friday, October 10, 2008
Soulforce tells me that the Connecticut Supreme Court has ok'd gay marriage.
These cases are important both as part of the discussion of sex and politics, and because they find important rights under state constitutions. Haven't read the decision yet.
update: of course, volokh had this 50 minutes before I did. Was doing laundry.
The decision started off well but ended up tl:dr. Much discussion in favor of applying intermediate scrutiny to anti-gay discrimination. Didn't read the 3 dissents.
Meanwhile, Cooper v Aaron turned 50 yesterday. Carl Tobias has a column that almost misses the point: it's an important case as to desegregation and enforcing Brown v Board, but it's a landmark case about seperation of powers and federalism.
These cases are important both as part of the discussion of sex and politics, and because they find important rights under state constitutions. Haven't read the decision yet.
update: of course, volokh had this 50 minutes before I did. Was doing laundry.
The decision started off well but ended up tl:dr. Much discussion in favor of applying intermediate scrutiny to anti-gay discrimination. Didn't read the 3 dissents.
Meanwhile, Cooper v Aaron turned 50 yesterday. Carl Tobias has a column that almost misses the point: it's an important case as to desegregation and enforcing Brown v Board, but it's a landmark case about seperation of powers and federalism.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
A Mark Allen story about a mysterious noise in Texas. It's been years since I've read his blog. [his stories may be fictional- grain of salt.]
Max Hardcore wiki has been sentenced to 4 years in jail. This is a companion case to Extreme Video. The Bush administration, in addition to wanting to fake a bunch of voting fraud cases, wanted to bust people doing extreme videos. I used to read a blog by Sam Stern who knew Mark and Max and the Extreme folks Lizzie and Bob. Not sure what Stern's up to these days.
OhEmGee, the Morrisey's shirt story is even funnier.
Max Hardcore wiki has been sentenced to 4 years in jail. This is a companion case to Extreme Video. The Bush administration, in addition to wanting to fake a bunch of voting fraud cases, wanted to bust people doing extreme videos. I used to read a blog by Sam Stern who knew Mark and Max and the Extreme folks Lizzie and Bob. Not sure what Stern's up to these days.
OhEmGee, the Morrisey's shirt story is even funnier.
Monday, October 06, 2008
Artist faces jail over love painting.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
What's that Japanese word for geek hermits, internet addicts who never go out?
(Hmm, "otaku", but that's merely obsessed anime nerd, I thought there was another term.)
I'm trying not to be quite as much one of those. I went out and bought a book (ok, anathem is geeky, and so is that i decided to buy it based on an kxcd forum discussion. $32 yikes!) and then today I went to see a show. Micro review follows.
Harley Poe (has some shows coming up)!
10-09-2008 19:00 at Moria - 7 pm.
3251 Broadway, Indianapolis, Indiana 46205 Cost: $5
House party with Frank Turner (UK) and
(was a great show, picture above is from the show) )
----
Went to see Southern Culture on the Skids tonight. I would have been
disappointed - OK surf band,
but loud/unintelligible, didn't seem southern or country,and Dick Dale it ain't. I left early.
But the opening band made up for it.
Punk, funny, smart, the kind of stuff I was expecting SCOTS to be.
Very dirty songs about vampires, syphilis, menstruation, zombies, necrophilia.
They are playing a house party on Broadway Thursday.
I hope I'll find the lyrics on their myspace; the music was funny and clever but I couldn't make out the words very well over the guitars.
A better review here http://www.punknews.org/review/3641
Ok here's a bunch of their stuff on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9knz_59X0qY
Some lyrics and playlists http://lyricwiki.org/Harley_Poe
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Charlie Stross: In my more cynical moments I look at the demands for money emanating from the White House and what I see is the Mafia hoods running up the lines of credit on a business they've taken over before they complete the bustout. Eight years of asset-stripping and looting, and finally the coup de grace: $700Bn in no-questions-asked, no-oversight slush money.
Friday, October 03, 2008
Celtic Thunder is coming to town, but I can't justify spending $70 on a concert ticket.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVCJCcfCN7Y&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SONSNTmOxpw
The City is in the process of tearing down the Hoosierdome, on which $70 million is still owed. Celtic Thunder is playing at Conseco Fieldhouse, which is what they built as an excuse to tear down Market Square Arena, which created a shortage of performance space that drove ticket prices so high I've never been.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVCJCcfCN7Y&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SONSNTmOxpw
The City is in the process of tearing down the Hoosierdome, on which $70 million is still owed. Celtic Thunder is playing at Conseco Fieldhouse, which is what they built as an excuse to tear down Market Square Arena, which created a shortage of performance space that drove ticket prices so high I've never been.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
I utter wild goat cries at the moon. - Roger Ebert. I've been on hold for an hour at Pfizer in New Haven - oh wait, here it goes "no one is available to take you call right now."
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Word for the day: Muslin
Muslin is a type of finely-woven cotton fabric, introduced to Europe from the Middle East in the 17th century. Its first recorded use in England was in 1670. It was named for the city where Europeans first encountered it, Mosul, in what is now Iraq, but the fabric actually originated from Dhaka in what is now Bangladesh.
Some redneck in Barefoot Bay Fl has a sign accusing Obama of being a muslin.
Muslin is a type of finely-woven cotton fabric, introduced to Europe from the Middle East in the 17th century. Its first recorded use in England was in 1670. It was named for the city where Europeans first encountered it, Mosul, in what is now Iraq, but the fabric actually originated from Dhaka in what is now Bangladesh.
Some redneck in Barefoot Bay Fl has a sign accusing Obama of being a muslin.
The ordeal of larry hicks.
Found while googling for something else.
19-yr-old poor black kid in Gary, "Black Jesus" sentenced to death for a murder he didn't do, gets a new trial, found not guilty.
Found while googling for something else.
19-yr-old poor black kid in Gary, "Black Jesus" sentenced to death for a murder he didn't do, gets a new trial, found not guilty.
