Saturday, June 28, 2003
Attention: Sea Change!
A lot of people regard Thursday's U.S. Supreme Court ruling — overturning Texas' sodomy law — as a major victory for homosexuals. It surely is that. However, most people seem to have missed the Big Picture, which is that the ruling actually has major implications for everyone in the United States.
Before the ruling, word on the street was that the Justices would overturn the law because it discriminated against homosexuals. The Court was expected to rule that it was wrong for a State to outlaw certain private behaviors only for certain groups, but OK to outlaw the same private behaviors for everyone.
Surprisingly, a 5-4 majority ruled instead that the Texas law was wrong because individuals have a right to do what they please, and what consenting adults do in private is nobody else's business — certainly not the State's — as long as they're not hurting anyone. This was the opinion of Justices Kennedy, Souter, Stevens, Ginsberg and Breyer. (Justice O'Connor did in fact opine that the law should be overturned on the expected Equal Protection grounds).
The implications of this are huge, folks!
Admittedly, I'm a Left Libertarian (find out what you are here), so I tend to get excited about this sort of thing. I believe in the promise implicit in the words of America's Declaration of Independence:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
On these words, our entire Constitution is based. By these words, our entire society is defined. Can you imagine a more radical statement?
...all men are created equal.... Of course, at first "all men" was taken to mean "all property-owning white males," later expanded to "all white males," then (somewhat grudgingly) to "all men," and finally to "all people." Equal under the law. If it's illegal for you, it's illegal for me, too, even if I've got 50 billion dollars and you're homeless. No matter who my Daddy was.
...endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.... The Creator is conspicuously not identified, so take it however you like. We're all born with Rights, which cannot be taken from us. They're as much a part of being human as the need to breathe air.
...that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. OK. Life should be clear enough. Liberty and pursuit of Happiness are a bit trickier. The Left Libertarian perspective is that this means we're free to do whatever we want until we begin to interfere with someone else's doing what they want. Surprisingly, throughout U.S. history, this hasn't been the dominant view.
The dominant view has been that States have the right to make laws governing the "moral" behavior of the State's citizens. In other words, if the majority of a State's voters believe that, say, left-handedness is a sin (because their god said so), then (so this line of Constitutional law reasoning holds), those voters can elect State Legislators who can then make a law outlawing "left-handed" behavior (throwing with the left hand, writing with the left hand, et cetera), even in private. Left-handed people living in that State can either behave like upstanding right-handed citizens, or move to a more southpaw-tolerant State. Or face the wrath of the Law.
The Supreme Court Thursday ruled that this line of reasoning is bogus. The Court ruled that States can restrict citizens' private freedoms only for a damned good reason. And the majority opinion states explicity that arbitrary, because-my-god-said-so morality is not a good reason. (Lefties rejoice!)
Expect stupid laws to begin falling like dominoes. Expect moralizing religious types to begin squealing like stuck pigs. Expect civil libertarians to begin celebrating — as soon as they realize what's happened.
Finally, after 227 years, that which so many of us took to be self-evident has now been explicitly enshrined as Law. You are now free to pursue your Happiness. Have fun!
This is your life and you be what you want to be,
This is your life and you try it all.
This is your life and you be what you want to be,
Just don't hurt nobody, ('less of course they ask you,)
In the garden of earthly delights. — Andy Partridge (XTC), "Garden of Earthly Delights"
Posted by Me at 22:49 link
Friday, June 27, 2003
Howard Dean Wins MoveOn Primary
Howard Dean captured 44% of the votes in MoveOn.org's online Democratic Presidential primary today. Dennis Kucinich finished second with 24%; John Kerry finished third with 16%. Over 300,000 of us voted, more than will vote in the New Hampshire primary and the Iowa caucuses combined. Over 75,000 people signed up to receive email from the candidate of their choice.
Since no candidate got more than 50% of the vote, MoveOn will not endorse a candidate at this point. Founder Wes Boyd said he wasn't sure if MoveOn will hold a runoff or second primary.
Maybe the most encouraging sign is that a majority of voters indicated they would support 7 of the 9 candidates "enthusiastically" if one of those candidates were to win the Democratic nomination (Lieberman and Sharpton were the exceptions). Personally, I'd support Dean, Kucinich, Kerry, Edwards or Graham with enthusiasm. If Wesley Clark were to enter the race, I'd probably add his name to the list.
I'm most enthusiastic about Howard Dean. Here's another link to the Dean campaign.
Weapons Intelligence Investigation
Democrats of the Senate Armed Services Committee today began their own investigation into the alleged misuse of Iraq intelligence by the Bush administration.
If you're wondering what all the fuss is about, here are 10 lies about Iraq the American public — and Congress — were told.
Posted by Me at 18:16 link
Thursday, June 26, 2003
A Good Day For Freedom
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that laws governing sexual conduct between consenting adults are unconstitutional. In doing so, the Court reaffirmed the existence of a Constitutional right to privacy: "It is a promise of the Constitution that there is a realm of personal liberty which the government may not enter," said Justice Kennedy, as he read the majority opinion.
To me, this decision is a major victory over the oppression of those who would legislate morality. The Justices reaffirmed that we're free to pursue whatever happiness we choose, in the privacy of our homes, as long as we're not hurting anyone. And to think: this happened with Bush in the White House!
It's worth remembering that three Justices — Rehnquist, Scalia and Thomas — dissented from the majority opinion; and that Justice O'Connor sided with the majority, but for different reasons. She didn't acknowledge a right to privacy in her opinion, but rather disagreed with the law in question because it discriminated against homosexuals. So, in a way, it's another 5-4 decision.
Here's the full decision: http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/scotus/lwrnctx62603opn.pdf
This provoked the longest discussion thread I've yet to see at FARK.com.
In other news, Strom Thurmond has died at the age of 100.
I didn't post yesterday because Blogger was migrating a lot of blogs, including mine, to a new editor. The difference seems to be entirely aesthetic, but I'm not complaining. Hey, it's free! It was good to take a day off from blogging.
Stay tuned. The results from the MoveOn primary will be announced Friday at 12:00 pm EDT (16:00 GMT).
Posted by Me at 18:42 link
Tuesday, June 24, 2003
Sundries
Surprising and interesting development! I never thought Syracuse or BC made the slightest sense for the ACC, and I've long thought Virginia Tech made perfect sense. I couldn't care less about Miami. Next comes the legal wrangling... </sports geek>
The Supreme Court ruled quite sensibly today that race can be a factor in college admissions. Another 5-4 decision. I think the ruling makes a lot of sense, because, while it rejects outright discrimination, it supports the principles that permit Affirmative Action. A lot of people misunderstand Affirmative Action, believing that it gives preference to less-qualified minority applicants over better-qualified "majority" applicants. In reality, racial preference comes into play only when two equally-qualified applicants — one minority, the other majority — are competing for the same position. Only then does the minority applicant benefit. Speaking as a white guy, that seems reasonable and still-necessary.
Every 5-4 Supreme Court decision since the 2000 election seems creepy. God forbid Justice O'Connor should step down during Bush's term.
Random Thoughts
Delicious culinary deviation of the moment: cinnamon-raisin bagel with mango-ginger pickle. Or lime pickle. Yum!
Still pondering the implications of the India/China agreement.
Q: Which is smarter, a dog or a cat? A: A dog is smarter at being a dog, a cat at being a cat. Q: Does that hold true for Liberals and Conservatives, too?
Posted by Me at 21:41 link
Monday, June 23, 2003
Dean Makes It Official
The doctor is IN. In the race for the White House, that is. Howard Dean announced his candidacy today in Burlington, Vermont with a passionate speech full of style and substance."You have the power to take back the Democratic Party! You have the power to take our country back!" he said. "You have the power! You have the power!"
The fiery rhetoric brought roars from the crowd of at least 2,500 crammed into a red-brick pedestrian mall, a church steeple towering behind Dean. The crowd was five times larger than announcement events staged by presidential rivals Dick Gephardt and Bob Graham.
Hundreds more supporters watched the speech at campaign sites across the country, a sign that Dean is building a formidable, Internet-driven organization.
<full story>
The MoveOn Primary starts Tuesday, so if you're signed up, vote! If you're not signed up, you can sign up now. For about the 37th time, I recommend Howard Dean, but the choice is entirely yours.
I'm not quite a member of ABBA, the "Anybody But Bush Again" party, but they do have a point. Most of the Democratic candidates would do a better job than Bush is doing. His own rhetoric has betrayed him.
- "Is our children learning?" No, they isn't.
- It's much harder than it was four years ago for most people to "put food on their family".
- Worst of all, Bush has failed to "make the pie higher" for most Americans. Most people's pie is a lot lower. Those whose pie is higher had a pretty high pie to begin with.
So no, I don't think we "misunderestimated" George W. Bush. I think we underestimated him correctly. The question is, is we going to fall for it again? In his own words:There's an old saying in Tennessee—I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee—that says, fool me once, shame on—shame on you. Fool me—you can't get fooled again. — Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002
Just keep that in the "forethought of your thinking". And VOTE!
More Bushisms via Slate
Posted by Me at 19:37 link
Sunday, June 22, 2003
I Got Nuthin'
I'll keep it brief. The typical summer forecast for this part of the world: low around 70° F, high around 90° F, steamy (dewpoint around 70° F), hazy, 30% chance of rain. This weather usually lasts from early June until mid-September. Same damned thing every day, maybe 5° difference either way. Kind of leaves me feeling sticky and drained.
But this weekend, it's been relatively dry (dewpoint around 55° F), cloudless, light breeze, low around 55° F, high around 80° F. Wow! So, I spent a lot of today outdoors, putzing around the yard, walking with the dogs, biking around town...
Ahhhhhhh...
When I wasn't out enjoying the improbably-beautiful weather, I was indulging my newest guilty Internet pleasure. No, not one of those sites! I'm talking about Fark.com, the new heart of the Internet. Seriously, it's a community of sorts. Silly and serious news stories, silly and serious discussions on said stories — kind of like a blog, but without the annoying editorial bent of most bloggers (yes, I'm definitely talking about myself here, and yes, I realize that you probably knew about Fark already).
The discussions are addictive. Mostly I've just been reading what people have to say. The whole political spectrum is represented. Anyone can comment on anything. One quickly sees which arguments hold water and which ones are full of bullshiat. That's not a typo, that's Farkspeak. Farkistan has its own language. If you go, be sure to check out the FArQ before commenting.
So, although a fair amount happened this weekend, I'm not going to run my big mouth about it.
Okay, if you insist...
Howard Dean looked and sounded very Presidential on NBC this morning. He's going to formally announce his candidacy on Monday.
MoveOn.org Presidential primary starts Tuesday. I recommend Howard Dean, but it's up to you. If you haven't signed up already, please do so now.
That is all.
Posted by Me at 20:33 link
