Richard Hofstatdter (The Paranoid Style in American Politics) must be rolling over in his grave right now.
]]>No word on how North Korea is viewing "Lord of the Rings The Two Towers" or Spielbergs new one "Catch me if you Can"
"NORTH KOREA CANT STAND NEW JAMES BOND FILM
"In what must be the oddest sign of escalating tensions between the
United States and the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK),
the North Koreans have lashed out at the latest James Bond movie,
"Die Another Day."
"The 20th installment of the American movie series James Bond 007
describes our Republic as an axis of evil and incites North-South
confrontation and has contents that groundlessly belittle and
humiliate our nation and even viciously insult our race, according
to a December 19 broadcast on the Korean Central Broadcast Station in
Pyongyang.
"We view this not as a certain movie producers problem but as a
product of the United States policy of belittling the Korean nation
and its hostile policy toward the DPRK."
"The movie is intolerable."
"See The United States Shoddy Act of Insulting the Korean Nation,"
translated by the Foreign Broadcast Information Service, here:
No this is the good stuff, teachers union officials using Union dues funds for fur coats and Tiffany silver. LINK.
Or another installment in the continuing story of former Ill. Gov George Ryans administration, the exchange of bribes for licenses, then the use of that money for campaign contributions. LINK.
Theres also a story about a local investor who bilked numerous prominent Washingtonians out of their investment funds, including apparently columnist George Will. Unfortunately, I cant find the link on the WaPo web page.
Now Im no Blackstone, but my guess is that the conduct in these matter was prohibited at common law. Moreover, despite the fact that individuals still persist in this conduct, I do not see an uproar over the failure of our laws to "prevent" these bad acts, or the need for the federal government to take over areas traditionally governed by the states.
(Oops! Did I say something about States Rights? According to E.J. Dionne, I did. LINK).
Back to the point, it seems like we could recognize that some people are crooks, will commit crimes, and need to be apprehended and punished. That can be done without outlawing entire areas of legitimate activity - you can punish the extortionist, fund diverter, and defrauder without criminalizing investment advice, private unions, or political fundraising. Thatmy big thought for the season - happy holidays.
]]>DARPA is "soliciting innovative proposals to (1) determine whether
genetically-determined odortypes can be used to identify specific
individuals, and if so (2) to develop the science and enabling
technology for detecting and identifying specific individuals by
such odortypes."
See DARPA’s presolicitation notice for the "Odortype Detection
Program," :
No, Nixon didnt get hit with anything, not even the bucket of water.
He
was the last "sock it" reference, and the punch line to the running gag
for
the show. Thats why the line is in the form of a question. See?
According to the producer of the show, it took six takes before Nixon
could
deliver the line without sounding angry or offended.
According to one authority on the topic, "Hubert Humphrey had been
approached
by Laugh in to do a similar cameo bit, but after consulting with his
advisors, Humphrey turned the opportunity down as being beneath his
dignity."
Now, dear Jaffaphiles who read this blog, I have a question -- should Trent Lott resign as Senate Leader, if not for the above then given his incredibly stupid (and vile) comments about Strom Thurmonds 1948 candidacy? If not, why not?
]]>According to the article, Dean John Dwyer was accused of a single encounter with a female student two years ago. States the article "there is no allegation that any form of sexual intercourse occurred." The woman was never a student of his. She managed to file her complaint Oct 11 of this year.
I for one, do not believe that this is the entire story. Why the two-year wait? Why file a harassment complaint over s single encounter, rather than deal with it in some less-apocalyptic manner. I’ve known of cases where faculty cliques atempt to depose other faculty by dredging up students to file unwarranted complaints. Is this one of those? For the Dean’s part, why resign if this is all there is? Has he declined to fight because of other potential problems? I’d really like to know whether he is a cad or a victim. Any ideas?
UPDATE: I found an article from todays SF Chronicle, in which the attorney for the student tells what she asserts happened. Not exactly in the spirit of a confidential inquiry -- and you wouldnt want you kids reading this, either. Heres the link: ARTICLE
]]>Second, the injunction in Hawaii Right to Life seems to be confusing people. As I understand it, the court held that the group qualified as a not-for-profit ideological corporation, which the court concluded was constitutionally protected from any political speech restrictions under the precedent MCFL v. FEC. I would provide a link, but I cant find the case online.
That would include bans on corporate express advocacy communications (at issue in MCFL) and the "electioneering" ban in the new BCRA. The court decined to rule more broadly that the electioneering restrictions were illegit.
This is a wonderful decision on its own merits, since the FECs regulatory definition of such exempt non-profits -- ostensibly adopting the MCFL standard -- was WAY too narrow. Of course, to the extent this is a harbinger of things to come, thats nice too.
In general it is my observation that the free speech side does well in campaign finance cases so long as Souter isnt writing the opinion. George W., call your father.
]]>Alexandra Louise Kuczynski and Charles Porter Stevenson Jr. were married in New York yesterday. David N. Dinkins, the former mayor, officiated at the couples apartment.The bride, 34, who is known professionally as Alex Kuczynski, is a reporter for The New York Times. She graduated from Barnard College.
Her father, Pedro-Pablo Kuczynski of Miami and Lima, Peru, was until July the finance minister of Peru. He is now the president of the Latin American Enterprise Fund, a private investment concern in Miami. . . .
Ms. Kuczynskis stepfather, Thomas L. Hughes, is emeritus president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. . . .
The bridegroom, 55, is a private investor. He is a trustee of Bard College and of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, . . . His previous marriages ended in divorce.
You can read the entire announcement at www.nytimes.com, whic is a subscription service, so I havent included the link.
]]>