Interesting little development going on in the tech/privacy world and, depending on who you believe, a possible turning point for the better/worse. After the San Bernardino shootings, the FBI seized the iPhone used by shooter Syed Rizwan Farook. The FBI has a warrant to search the phone’s contents, and because it was Farook’s work phone, the FBI also has permission … Read More
RIP Harper Lee
“The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.” – Harper Lee She has been ailing for some time and may have been taken advantage of with “Go Set A Watchman” (I suspect she didn’t want it published), but thankfully, she left the American conscience with one of the best books ever written. She was 89.
Hamilton on the Appointment of Justices to the Supreme Court
[The President] shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the … Read More
The Scalia Gambit
Without question, the death of Associate Justice Antonin Scalia has set all sides of the political spectrum into a frenzy. Everybody is weighing, but the stupidest comments are coming from Republicans who say that Obama shouldn’t nominate a justice at all because there is an election coming up. Rand Paul, who supposedly loves the Constitution, says that Obama has a … Read More
South Carolina Primary Outlook
A the Republican debate last Saturday, which I didn’t see, this occurred: TRUMP: George Bush made a mistake. We can make mistakes. But that one was a beauty. We should have never been in Iraq. We have destabilized the Middle East. DICKERSON: But so I’m going to — so you still think he should be impeached? BUSH: I think it’s … Read More
R.I.P. R.I.P. Boutros Boutros-Ghali
Former Secretary-General of the United Nations Boutros Boutros-Ghali has died, the AP reported Tuesday morning. He was 93.
Hamilton in 7 Minutes (A Cappella and A Bit Whiter Than Usual)
0:00 – Alexander Hamilton 0:30 – My Shot 0:41 – The Story of Tonight 0:49 – The Schuyler Sisters 1:08 – You’ll Be Back 1:30 – Right Hand Man 1:43 – Helpless 2:00 – Satisfied 2:14 – Wait For It 2:29 – Ten Duel Commandments 2:40 – That Would Be Enough 2:57 – Guns and Ships 3:31 – Yorktown (The … Read More
Breaking: Scalia Dead at 79
Just coming over the news. Found dead at a West Texas “luxury ranch”, whatever that is. UPDATE: Very quick initial thoughts (I will “eulogies” him later.) The political implications of this are huge. For one thing, this Supreme Court term had many important 5-4 issues in front of the Court, or… what would have been 5-4. Immigration, climate change, even … Read More
Oh, Give It A Rest, White People
The Guardian reports: The NFL has been accused of various misdemeanours down the years, from ignoring head trauma to failing to control its players’ off the field activities. Now we can add another problem to the list: allowing hate speech to be disseminated during the Super Bowl via the medium of song and dance. That, at least, is the view … Read More
The Ballad of the Malheur Patriots (Song of the Oregon Wildlife Refuge Standoff)
Kinda brings a tear to the eye:
Last Night’s Dem Debate
I didn’t see it, but in a way, if Kevin Drum is right, I have seen it before with these two: Here’s roughly how the first hour of tonight’s debate went: Bernie: Free health care for everyone! Hillary: Let’s not overpromise. Maybe we can get partway there. You know, one percent at a time. Bernie: When I’m president we’ll have … Read More
Activist Supreme Court Rules On Climate Change
Crazy: In a major setback for President Obama’s climate change agenda, the Supreme Court on Tuesday temporarily blocked the administration’s effort to combat global warming by regulating emissions from coal-fired power plants. The brief order was not the last word on the case, which is most likely to return to the Supreme Court after an appeals court considers an expedited … Read More
Gravitational Waves Discovered
You never know…. maybe they will be important some day. Anyway, 91 tears ago, Einstein proposed that there was such a thing as gravitational waves, which are basically ripples in space-time. Yeah, sounds like Star Trek. But see, two black holes crashed into each other. One black hole had the mass of 29 suns; the other was the equivalent of … Read More
Oregon Standoff Update [It’s Completely Over]
Despite the fact that most of the leaders and participants have surrounded or been, in one case, killed, the Oregon standoff continues…. barely. The remaining four diehards at the Malheur National Wildlife Center have re-dubbed it “Camp Finicum”, named after the armed protester who was killed a couple weeks ago. National attention on the standoff has waned since Finicum’s … Read More