June 2008 Archives

Amendment 2 - Right To Bear Arms : A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

The Supreme Court overturned a virtual total ban on hand guns and any other arms in the District of Columbia. The law that was stricken out held that the Second Amendment was meant to give militias (that is, the US Military and other government para-military entities like local police) the right to bear arms, not to individuals in and of themselves.

Yet in a 5-4 decision led by Antonin Scalia, the court argued that the law infringed on individuals rights to bear arms, not necessarily on localities rights to impose restrictions on the handling of said arms. SCOTUSBlog has a great recap and analysis of the decision [PDF document] :

In District of Columbia v. Heller (07-290), the Court nullified two provisions of the city of Washington's strict 1976 gun control law: a flat ban on possessing a gun in one's home, and a requirement that any gun -- except one kept at a business -- must be unloaded and disassembled or have a trigger lock in place. The Court said it was not passing on a part of the law requiring that guns be licensed. It said that issuing a license to a handgun owner, so the weapon can be used at home, would be a sufficient remedy for the Second Amendment violation of denying any access to a handgun.

While the declaration of the individual right was clear-cut, as was the decision's nullification of key parts of the Washington, D.C., law, the Court did not lay down a standard for judging the constitutionality of any other federal laws -- an omission that the dissenters attacked strongly. Even so, the opinion made it clear that, whatever ultimate test emerge, it probably would be a tough one to meet, at least when self-defense is at issue. As Justice Scalia put it, whatever remains for "future evaluation" about the strength of the right, "it surely elevates above all other interests the right of law-abiding responsible citizens to use arms in defense of hearth and home."

Right wing commentators are already branding this decision the "Roe v. Wade of Gun Rights". And just as many people suspected, the National Rifle Association has not wasted time in putting money behind court challenges to local gun bans in cities like San Francisco, Chicago. They are considering New York City next.

Believe it or not, I think this ruling is good if only because it upholds the US Constitution as a document upholding the rights of individuals, not just government bodies.

As a rabid supporter of a woman's right to not be treated as chattel, property or a slave for the sole purpose of a man's reproductive needs, I believe that DC v. Heller is in a way going to reinforce the rights of Woman as an Individual and a Citizen.

Yet as much as I identify with Libertarian causes, I am first and foremost a social libertarian, someone who believe that government is indeed needed to protect and enhance the rights of individuals. So as much as I believe in the constitutionality of an individual's right to bear a gun, I also believe municipalities and states have the right to set under which circumstances people can bear those arms --as long as they don't infringe on an individual's right to have a gun at home for protection. I also believe that this interpretation is only restricted to gun, not semi- or automatic weapons like AK-47s or any other kind of machine gun.

So, as much as I hate the NRA for their loathsome lobbying practices, I do believe this ruling was necessary.

Days before the Oregon presidential primary I was visiting Portland when I learned that Barack Obama would appear at a rally at University of Oregon. From September 11, 2001, when I saw on TV the second plane hit the World Trade Center, I had dedicated my life to peace. Because Obama had voted against the war, he was my candidate.

So, I stood in line for two hours so I could be among the 7,000 people at the rally.

It reminded me of the 1960s when many people attended political events because people had hope of changing the course of our country and the world. Among the Obama supporters that I met were a tattooed punk rocker, a middle aged African American man and his best friend, a white woman, and people who were there with their toddlers and same sex partners. Since I'm African American and came of age during the civil rights movement, it added to my joy to see such support for Obama in a state that is overwhelmingly white.

I framed this picture to show the diversity of people at the rally, and the themes of hope and change that we can believe in.

Our friends at Good Magazine brought to our attention this amazing trailer for a new documentary about Pororoca, a tidal condition in the Amazon River that produces the some of the longest, and most beautiful, waves on the planet. Enjoy...

Today Michael Kinsley and Conor Clarke launched their website/ social experiment "Creative Capitalism: A Conversation." The cyberspace location will serve as the sounding board for a forthcoming book -- to be published by Simon and Schuster in the fall of 2008 -- which riffs on Bill Gates' January speech on the limits of philanthropy at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The speech, titled "A New Approach to Capitalism in the 21st Century," touted the idea of harnessing the power of free market capitalism and economic self-interest to better the lives of the world's poor. Many great economic minds have signed on as contributors.

Consider all the lost potential of Third World children that never make it to adolescence, thus never bettering the world with their contributions. Leo Strauss, that profoundly misunderstood political thinker, used to say something to the effect of the fact that he was not philosophizing, , per se, but merely preparing the ground for the Burmese philosophical genius of the future who will take up where Aristotle left off. It is an interesting idea. What if that genius of a world-historical calibre dies of cholera in South America, unheralded and unsung? What if the next Stephen Hawking or the next Marie Curie or the next Miles Davis is presently dying in Darfur from the drought?

Can the profit-motive of the free market somehow be harnessed to help the world's poor? It is certainly an experiment worth talking about. And so let the conversation begin here.

[Image: Harvard Business School]

The Supreme Court ruled this week that raping a child is not grounds for the death penalty, provided the child did not die. The case was brought to the United States Supreme Court after the Supreme Court of Louisiana issued the death penalty on a man who had raped his eight-year-old daughter, overturning that decision.

Justice Anthony Kennedy said that executing the man would violate the US Constitution's Eight Amendment, which forbids "cruel and unusual punishment."

Moreover, this would have been the first time that someone was executed for child rape since 1964, and the death penalty has not been used against rapists of adult victims since 1977.

The overall sentiment of the ruling, and of Justice Kennedy's remarks, was of restraint and caution. He also stressed that when employed, the death penalty should be used with the greatest decency possible.

There were detractors, of course. Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the Court's decision conflicts with Eight Amendment principles, and that it ignores the "moral depravity" of child rape and the "grievous injury" it inflicts on its victims and society at large.

This goes beyond the pro-or-anti debate regarding capital punishment. Wherever you may fall on the issue, this raises a litany of additional questions about the gray area of moral turpitude and fair punishment.

[Image Credit: USDA Photo by Ken Hammond on wikimedia commons]

The members of your opponent's party peddle your name as a sign of political hipness.
Oh, snap!

This is an ad for Oregon's Republican Senator Gordon Smith. He starts the ad with Barack Obama's name in order to brag about his "bi-partisan" credentials. The man is in a heated race in a state that went solidly to Barack Obama during the Democratic Party's primaries.

In view of this, Barack Obama had to put out a statement saying that in no way, shape or form did he support the Republican senator for re-election :

"Barack Obama has a long record of bipartisan accomplishment and we appreciate that it is respected by his Democratic and Republican colleagues in the Senate. But in this race, Oregonians should know that Barack Obama supports Jeff Merkley for Senate. Merkley will help Obama bring about the fundamental change we need in Washington," said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton.

McCain must not be very happy.

H/T Talking Points Memo's Election Central.

It's easy to blame the Bush administration for all the rotten things that have occurred in the past seven years. But not all of it is G.W.'s, Dick Cheney's, or even Donald Rumsfeld's fault. Sometimes the maddening, irrational, almost sociopathic decisions coming from Capitol Hill are made by average low profile politicians who nevertheless have enough clout to screw things up for lots of people.

Currently, seven Republican senators are fighting a bill that would invest $50 billion over the next five years in the global fight against AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. This is a remarkable increase from the $19 billion allocated for the first five years of the initiative, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

These averse senators believe the spending is irresponsible, in part because Congress eliminated the requirement that 55% of the funds be spent on prevention, as opposed to treatment and services.

Obviously, $50 billion is a lot of money, and a more than 60% increase in the amount spent between 2003 and 2008.

The author of an Op/Ed piece in the New York Times last week speculates that even with a new president and Congress, the bill will not likely find bipartisan support because of the faltering economy, and suggests that we should fight for it to be passed now in order to strengthen President Bush's standing at the G8 Summit in July.

Stay informed at PEPFAR Watch, an online resource for AIDS awareness updates on US policies affecting the global fight against the disease.

[Image: IntangibleArts]

Since it is Tuesday today, that could only mean one thing for television -- it's Green Night on the Sundance network! This week, the green programming will consist of three episodes regarding important environmental subjects - including the ecological impact of animals on the planet and global warming.

To kick off the night, Big Ideas for a Small Planet: Animals will air at 9pm and will "explore how animals' diets and living environments are increasingly reflecting the 'green-ness' of their human guardians." This episode will take you to various locations, including the Bronx Zoo, an eco-friendly animal shelter, the Dallas Animal Services and Adoption Center and Washington, D.C.

Next, an all-new U.S television premiere of the eco-documentary The Great Warming takes a closer look at how a changing climate is affecting the lives of people around the world: "The film taps into the growing public interest in climate change to present both an emotional and an accurate picture of the future of our planet. This episode will include commentary from scientists, opinion-makers, and the up and coming voice of the American Evangelical community regarding the most dangerous environmental issue of this time and America's lack of leadership."

The Green programming offers a great opportunity for entertainment, as well as information, useful advice and community building.

While most people seem to mellow with age, George Carlin, the iconic stand-up comedian who died Sunday of heart failure, grew ever harsher. By the age of 71, Carlin had perfected his routine as a foul-mouthed curmudgeon, a life-long persona that grew more cantankerous with each passing year.

Born in 1937 and raised on West 121st Street in New York City, near Columbia University, Carlin fell more or less ass-backwards into comedy. He joined the Air Force, moved to Texas, and was soon discharged for being "unproductive." He started working on comedy routines as a radio host with Jack Burns, moved to California, and before long was a regular on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

In the spirit of Lenny Bruce and Richard Pryor, Carlin began taking shots at politics, pointing out hypocrisies, and doing it with a healthy dose of four-letter words. Nothing was off-limits, and no word was too baudy for the gravel-voiced, long-haired Carlin. He was a 1970s embodiment of Henry David Thoraeu's theory of "civil disobedience" -- the active refusal to abide by certain laws in order to register dissent with the political status quo, but without resorting to physical violence.

The young Carlin first appeared on television in a suit and tie, with neatly coiffed hair and a fresh smile that almost obscured the mischievous, sometimes maniacal look in his eyes, and those eyebrows that never seemed to stop bouncing around above them. By the mid-1970s, though, Carlin had shed the tie, grown the hair, and begun his comic revolution.

Throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, Carlin alternated between making a point about something and just making dirty words funny time and again. But one thing that never changed was his impeccable comedic timing, and the fact that Carlin's humor was instrumental in the radical change that has occurred in this country over the past four decades.

And what better time than now to revisit one of those early Carlin routines, in which the late comedian makes a pretty strong case for why he might, in fact, still be alive:

[Image: Mister Scratch]

Economists at UCLA published a study saying that the economic consequences of gay marriage could be a much needed boost to its economy : $684 million in revenue that would translate in about $9 million in marriage certificates, about $69 million in state taxes and more than 2,200 jobs.

This ought to have people dancing in the streets. Instead, the extreme right has gathered enough signatures to force a vote this coming November on a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage.

On that note, when I saw the title of this video clip, I immediately thought of Kenneth (as in Cole) and his punning ways. The title of the video is "Same-Sex Stimulus".

Kenneth Cole Media Marketing Manager Heather Dumford alerted readers to a PBS Frontline special on a growing demographic rift in China

David Alm remembered the many contributions of journalist Tim Russert and pointed to a new cultural phenomenon known as "green noise"

Raymond Fudge uploaded a photo from an anti-war rally and march in Washington, D.C.

Jenny Buccos linked to an interview with Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Greg Marinovich

PAPER Magazine editor David Hershkovits reports on an innovative way that commuters are trying to beat the high price of gas

Inspired by Barack Obama's victory, Kenneth Cole employee Evan Greenberg uploaded a popular video by will.i.am

In the wake of the extreme flooding in the Midwest, Liza Sabater wonders aloud whether the drowning of big government means the drowning of America?