Washrambler

Sadat on the Newshour with Jim Lehrer

2006-02-14T16:46:00.000-08:00

I am watching my old Criminal Law professor, Leila Sadat, on the PBS Newshour with Jim Lehrer. She is commenting on the Saddam trial and the many pratfalls of all of the parties concerned. She was generally very approving of the trial, until she found out that the pertinant information related to Saddam in his indictment was not handwritten.

The Big Bang: Just a Theory, Not a Fact

2006-02-14T16:08:00.000-08:00

Apparently, the Bush Administration, in its laudable effort to turn back the tide against the communist-fascist-liberal-homosexual-secularist tradition has turned its sights against that shibboleth of the "scientific" establishment: the Big Bang.

As George C. Deutsch, a 24-year old political appointee informed a designer of the NASA webpage, "the Big Bang is not proven fact, just an opinion." He thus directed the designer to refer to the Big Bang as a theory throughout the webpage.

I fully applaud these reforms. Obviously, these so-called "scientists," as they like to call themselves, shouldn't spread their disgusting liberal orthodoxy by suggesting the universe is 14 billion years old and that universe was a product of a "bang," whether big or small.

Not to say that I am against NASA officials publishing facts on their webpage. Clearly, if they would just admit the Earth was created 6,000 years ago and placed in the middle of the universe by a divine creato- I mean intelligent designer, everything would be cool.

Now, if only the Bush administration will reform the so-called psychiatric community. Clearly, homosexuality is a psychotic disorder that can only be cured by drilling a hole in the person's head and letting the evil spirit out of the sodomite's head.

For the rest of the article about the NASA reforms, click here.

Bruno S. to Philip Seymour Hoffman

2006-02-08T13:21:00.000-08:00

Matt suggested this "Six Degrees." This one is not too difficult if you consult the previous posts.

Bruno S. - Eva Mattes (Stroczek)
Eva Mattes - Klaus Kinski (Woyzek)
Klaus Kinski - Claudia Cardinale (Fitzcarraldo)
Claudia Cardinale - Jason Robards (Once Upon a Time in America)
Jason Robards - Philip Seymour Hoffman (Magnolia)

Six Degrees of Hoffman

2006-02-07T22:37:00.000-08:00

Since Washrambler is awash in Six Degrees mania, I found it fairly amusing to find an article entitled "Six Degrees of Philip Seymour Hoffman." It manages to connect Paris Hilton to Hoffman in four moves, George W. Bush to Hoffman in six, and Kevin Bacon to Hoffman in two.

Also, in the spirit of the Fanning posts:

Philip Seymour Hoffman - Tom Cruise (Magnolia)
Tom Cruise - Dakota Fanning (War of the Worlds)

and

Kevin Bacon - Tom Cruise (A Few Good Men)
Tom Cruise - Dakota Fanning (War of the Worlds)

Six Degrees of Fanning II (Mastroianni)

2006-02-07T13:26:00.000-08:00

Marcello Mastroianni, famed Italian movie star of such films as 8 1/2, La Dolce Vita, and White Nights, much like Mr. Mifune, can be connected to Dakota Fanning in less than 6 moves. Here we go:

Marcello Mastroianni - Claudia Cardinale (8 1/2)
Claudia Cardinale - Jason Robards (Once Upon a Time in the West)
Jason Robards - Tom Cruise (Magnolia)
Tom Cruise - Dakota Fanning (War of the Worlds)

Four Degrees. Not too shabby.

As a sidenote, we can also link Klaus Kinski with Dakota Fanning using a similar route.

Klaus Kinski - Claudia Cardinale (Fitzcarraldo)
Claudia Cardinale - Jason Robards (Once Upon a Time in the West)
Jason Robards - Tom Cruise (Magnolia)
Tom Cruise - Dakota Fanning (War of the Worlds).

Also, Bruno S., another frequent Herzog collaborator, can be linked with Dakota Fanning.

Bruno S. - Eva Mattes (Strozcek)
Eva Mattes - Klaus Kinski (Woyzek)
Klaus Kinski - Claudia Cardinale (Fitzcarraldo)
Claudia Cardinale - Jason Robards (Once Upon a Time in the West)
Jason Robards - Tom Cruise (Magnolia)
Tom Cruise - Dakota Fanning (War of the Worlds)

Just under 6 degrees. Any suggestions for Six Degrees of Fanning?

Six Degrees of Fanning (Toshiro Mifune)

2006-02-07T13:20:00.000-08:00

Ted proposed a challenge today: Whether we could connect a guy in Seven Samurai to Dakota Fanning. After two hours, we came with this solution.

Toshiro Mifune - Charles Bronson (Red Sun)
Charles Bronson - Yul Brynner (Magnificient Seven)
Yul Brynner - Charlton Heston (10 Commandments)
Charlton Heston - Mike Myers (Wayne's World 2)
Mike Myers - Dakota Fanning (Cat in the Hat).

Total: 5 Degrees

With some further research, on Leo's behest, I have found a more direct path.

Toshiro Mifune - Charles Bronson (Red Sun)
Charles Bronson - Jason Robards (Once Upon a Time in the West)
Jason Robards - Tom Cruise (Magnolia)
Tom Cruise - Dakota Fanning (War of the Worlds)

My next post:
Marcello Mastroianni to Dakota Fanning

Genetics Sunday

2006-01-29T11:37:00.000-08:00

Japanese scientists have recently discovered that a single unit of DNA determines whether an individual has either dry ear wax or wet. When I read this article, I was at a loss because I had naturally assumed that everyone had dry ear wax. Apparently, East Asians almost universally have dry ear wax while those of European and African descent have wet ear wax.

My question is: do you guys of European or African descent all have wet ear wax?

The article is here.

In Praise of the Pineapple

2005-12-10T22:31:00.000-08:00

John Locke apparently rhapsodized about the mysterious and ineffable flavor of the pineapple in his various essays expounding empiricism.

This reminded me of my undergraduate study when I read a paper also discussing how the taste of Vegimite is unknowable unless one experienced Vegemite. The description of such a taste is always woefully inadequate.

However, I have tasted Vegemite, and I now attempt to do the impossible:

Vegemite has tangy, salty flavor that is somewhat reminiscent of soy sauce. Its texture is thicker though is similar to Nutella or creamy peanut butter.

Obviously, I do not do the description justice since I am relying on analogues to other foods. However, since most of my audience has had soy sauce, nutella, or peanut butter at some point in their lives, hopefully they will now be able to somehow appreciate Vegemite without having to go to a specialty food store and spend $10 for a 10 ounce bottle.

Oh yes, pineapples are refreshing, but they can be a bit overwhelming at times.

Let me just add, the story of the pine-apple is both heartbreaking and uplifiting. A true testament to the human spirit and all that crap.

Link to Pineapple Article

More on Slackers

2005-12-09T18:32:00.000-08:00

There seem to be two distinct types of slacker movie.

First, the buddy-movie (low brow slacker film). Typically, this type of slacker movie involves the travails and adventures of two friends after a McGuffin of sorts. The McGuffin is usually something particularly frivolous, which makes the slackers efforts to acquire the McGuffin that much more entertaining since they exert no effort to pursue something else that is more meaningful or productive. The characters are the slackers, but the movie itself tends to be frenetic and plot-driven. Also, drug use is usually prevalent, to amplify the aura of "slackerness" of the characters. The Cheech and Chong movies, Bill & Ted, Harold & Kumar, etc... are examples of such. Essentially, these movies are send-ups of the "road-movie," which are of course variations on the Odyssey.

Second, there are the atmospheric slacker movie (the high brow slacker film). These movies are more social in emphasis and tend to be more episodic. There is an atmosphere of lassitude and indolence. The characters have no goal. Bande a parte is an example (even though the two male characters are striving to steal money from the girl's house, most of the movie involves desultory set pieces).

I would imagine the origins from the second come from post neo-realism. Movies such as La Dolce Vita, or L'avventura, or the Leopard, obstensibly are social critiques, namely criticizing the aimless existence of the Italian upper-class. These movies also begat the French New Wave (Bande a parte capturing a similar mood, though less class conscious). Yet, the atmosphere and mood these movies convey are also crucial elements in many modern slacker comedies. The aimlessness of the Linklater films or the Gen-X films like Reality Bites, are basically variations of post neo-realism. Garden State kind of goes full circle with the main protagonist a drug induced emotional catatonic.

As an aside, you have a commingling of both genres in the Kevin Smith movies, since you have the buddy element with Jay and Silent Bob, or the two clerks, there is a sense of aimlessness. Neither buddies have any particular goals, and that is the subject matter of the film. But, the many humor of the film originates in the discourse between the buddies rather than the situation of the characters.

So, here is my thesis in an embryonic state. Older slacker movies would help to either support or contradict my ideas as listed above.

(an aside: both genres tend to be episodic in nature actually)

Slacker movies

2005-12-07T21:37:00.000-08:00

Well, having neglected this blog for the past two weeks (god damn you Kuhns and your evidence exam), I have decided that I am going to write a grand treatise on the advent of the "slacker" genre in film.

Of course, being a young twenty-something, my first experience with this genre was watching Clerks. With the gradual cultivation of my taste, I would later stumble upon other such classics as Dazed & Confused, the Big Lebowski, and of course, the inimitable, Harold and Kumar.

So, for my research, I am asking for other such movies that you know of.

I think "Cheech and Chong: Up in Smoke" was the first manifestation of the comedic slacker film, which I assumed was a burlesque of Easy Rider.

If I stretch it, even Bande a parte kind of fits this profile. But, I would love any additional submissions.

Thank You Japan for Civilizing Us Koreans!

2005-11-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

This article describes how an anti-Korean and anti-Chinese comic book have become best sellers in Japan (i.e. each book sold over a million copies). The Korean book describes how Japan civilized Korea during the colonial period and how Korea would be nothing without Japan. The Chinese book "exposes" China as the "prostitution and cannibalism" capital of the world.

The article also details Japan's historical revisionist movement (excising passages about the Rape of Nanking from history textbooks) and Japan's alienation towards Asia in their attempt to emulate the West.

I remember a friend of mine in NYU was an RA for a Japanese exchange student. She mentioned me to him and noted that I was Korean. Apparently, his response was, "Oh, I'm sure he'll hate me because all Koreans hate the Japanese, and we don't know why."

Well, I personally don't dislike the Japanese. However, considering the Japanese mentality towards their "little brown brethren" and their denials over the atrocities they committed, they shouldn't be surprised that most other Asians aren't thrilled with them.

Source: New York Times

"Compassionate" Conservation

2005-11-18T19:44:00.000-08:00

This article describes the proclivity of the international environmental conservation movement for evicting indigenous people out of their native lands in order to sustain "biodiversity." The United Nations and other organizations estimate there may be 5 million to tens of millions of "conservation refugees" in the world. Most of these people are evicted when their native lands become environmental reserves or national parks, eventually ending up in shanty towns and deeply impoverished.

A particularly arrogant quotation from one of the leaders of the environmental movement is as follows:

"Forest peoples and their representatives may speak for the forest, they may speak for their version of the forest; but they do not speak for the forest we want to conserve."

So, add Big Conservation to the list of industries responsible for ethnic cleansing. Glad to know even the Left is capable of human rights abuses.

Source: Orion Online

The Cause of the French Riots - Polygamy!

2005-11-17T14:25:00.000-08:00

According to top French government officials, the main cause of the riots is the pervasive practice of polygamy among immigrant families.

According to Helene Carrere d'Encausse, the permanent secretary of the Academie Francaise, "Everyone is astonished: Why are African children in the streets and not at school? Why can't their parents buy an apartment? It's clear why. Many of these Africans, I tell you, are polygamous. In an apartment, there are three or four wives and 25 children."

As the head of Chirac's Gaullist faction in the National Assembly, Bernard Accoyer "observed," there would have been no riots if the Socialist government had not been "so lax" about banning polygamy.

As this article should make obvious, France is hardly the polestar of egalitarianism that it makes itself out to be.

Source: New York Times

Father of the End-Zone Dance

2005-11-15T12:29:00.000-08:00

An interview with the player who purportedly started the "end-zone" dance, infused with loss, regret, and other such forms of mawkishness.

Source: New York Times

Bush and Torture

2005-11-14T09:09:00.000-08:00

This article describes the torture and death of a detainee in Abu Ghraib by a CIA operative, and the cover-up.

Source: The New Yorker

This is an op-ed piece about Bush's torture policy, and has a description of a detainee's death after he was stuffed into a sleeping bag and beaten.

Source: The New York Times

The End is Nigh

2005-11-06T19:05:00.000-08:00

The world has truly gone insane, and this article confirms it.

I think a little Milton will capture the mood.

"So farewell Hope, and with Hope farewell Fear,
Farewell Remorse: all Good to me is lost;"

Source: New York Times

Astronomers Edging Closer to Gaining Black Hole Image

2005-11-03T14:19:00.000-08:00

According to the New York Times, astronomers are close to obtaining an image of a black hole. This would purportedly be the first form of direct evidence that this phenomenon exists. However, someone has neglected to tell the Times that I have already obtained an image of a black hole. Here it is for you doubters:

The article is here.

Source: The New York Times

James Lipton Cited in Trust & Estates

2005-11-03T13:15:00.000-08:00

James Lipton is in a footnote in my Trusts and Estates casebook. The description is a follows:

"The Actor's Studio is perhaps best known today as the home of James Lipton,., the sycophantic host of the Bravo cable network's Inside the Actor's Studio, in which Lipton conducts astonishingly obsequious celebrity interviews that are at times weirdly riveting."

Alex Kozinski, Cassanova Jurist

2005-11-03T09:35:00.000-08:00

Respected 9th Circuit judge and overall conservative wunderkind Alex Kozinski is also an accomplished lothario. He participated in the Thanksgiving 1968 episode of the Dating Game, and, fully in conformity with his overachieving life, won.

If you need proof, here is a clip of that show, where he rather inelegantly attempted to suck the face off the female contestant. Realplayer is required.

The article describing the clip is here.

Source: Underneath Their Robes

Larry the Cable Guy

2005-11-02T22:42:00.000-08:00

This guy is either a genius or an ass. Probably both, actually.

The article is here.

Source: Slate

Phyllis Schlafly

2005-11-02T22:13:00.000-08:00

Found this "book review" in the New Yorker about WULAW's most "esteemed" alumna, Phyllis Schlafly. Her enduring contribution to American jurisprudence is single-handedly killing the Equal Rights Amendment, liberating us law students from having to study a ream of boring and tedious case law that would have surely have followed its passage.

Oh yes, not to mention that she was a former student of my delightful Evidence professor. Let's just call it my own personal brush with infamy.

Source: The New Yorker

Alito and Abortion

2005-11-02T12:36:00.000-08:00

Everyone now knows about Alito's dissent in Casey. However, he has also ruled on abortion in several different areas.

The Christian Science Monitor has this article about Alito's opinions concerning a "partial-birth abortion" ban (struck down), whether a parent can sue for the wrongful death of a fetus (they cannot), and whether states can restrict Medicaid funds for the termination of pregnancies which resulted from rape or incest (ruled the states cannot).

The interesting thing, and what I am sure is a concern among pro-choice groups, is that he usually calibrated his opinions so that they would rely solely on Supreme Court precedent rather than standing on their own analysis. So, even though he sided with the pro-choice party in these three decisions, he did so only because he was bound by precedent. Obviously, as a Supreme Court justice, he has a lot more leeway to distinguish (i.e. ignore) precedent, or even vote to overrule.

Oh yes, his personal views on abortion. To quote his mother, "Of course he is against abortion."

Source: Christian Science Monitor

On a related note, the New York Times published this article about Alito's ruling on asylum cases related to forced abortions. He ruled that the husbands of women who filed asylum claims because of fear of forced abortions or sterilization should be granted asylum while boyfriends and fiances should not.

There is a general theme that many of Alito's abortion opinions are informed by a "traditional notion of marriage." There are obvious implications here, which seem to me a little unfair since Alito has not even stated an opinion on gay marriage.

Source: New York Times

CIA Secret Prisons, Torture, etc.

2005-11-02T10:24:00.000-08:00

The Washington Post has this article on the extensive secret prison system of the CIA, which spans across the globe. It discusses the genesis of the system after 9/11, its goals, and how it has grown in unanticipated ways.

The New York Times has this article on the debate within the Administration about using language from the Geneva Convention in the proposed rules for the treatment of detainees.

Hosty v. Carter

2005-11-01T22:27:00.000-08:00

This is for the student writing the note (You know who you are).

I don't know if you already know this, but it appears that the Supreme Court might grant cert. to Hosty.

The link to this bit of Supreme Court gossip is here.

For those of you not in the know, Hosty is an extension of a 1988 Supreme Court case, Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, which stated that school officials can regulate the content of school-sponsored newspapers at the high school level. Hosty, a 7th Circuit case, extends this deference to college officials.

Source: SCOTUS Blog

Down with Halloween, You Capitalist Pig!

2005-11-01T14:19:00.000-08:00

Hugo Chavez called on the people of Venezuela to stop celebrating Halloween, and said the holiday was the United States' way of "putting fear into other nations." [BBC News]

Link courtesy of Harper's Magazine.

Updike on Garcia Marquez

2005-11-01T14:06:00.000-08:00

Updike reviews Gabriel Garcia Marquez's book, "Memories of my Melancholy Whores" (delightful!). The review summarizes the novel and illustrates how the May-December "romance" theme recurs throughout Garcia Marquez's oeuvre.

Updike writes in his typically pretty, elegant manner, while managing not to say that much. He does make one cogent observation, namely that Garcia Marquez is the master of the "arresting first sentence." Take for example the first sentence of "Whores": “The year I turned ninety, I wanted to give myself the gift of a night of wild love with an adolescent virgin.”

I personally would hold the first sentence in A Hundred Years of Solitude in higher regard than that pithy phrase, but what do I know.

Oh yes, I also like "Magic realism relies on the subaqueous refractions of memory." Or something like that.

The review is here.

Source: The New Yorker

Link courtesy of Arts & Letters Daily

More Alito

2005-11-01T13:38:00.000-08:00

The New York Times published a pro-Alito op-ed by Ann Althouse. There is also an editorial, which in my opinion, is anti-Alito.

The Times editorial may have a factual error. Alito ruled that the 14th Amendment could not support the FMLA. I do not think he stated that the FMLA could not be supported by the interstate commerce clause, and thus Congress was acting ultra vires. [I should correct myself. The Time's editorial actually said that Alito ruled that State's could not be compelled to abide by the FMLA. This is partially accurate - Alito ruled that the State, as an employer, could not be sued for violating the FMLA. Since the FMLA could not be sustained under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, the Federal government could not abrogate the State's 11th Amendment immunity from suit. To see his opinion, click here]

The editorial bemoans Bush's lack of vision for not putting forth a moderate. However, Althouse makes a good point. Let us assume Scalia retires during a Democratic administration. Would anyone liberal settle for a "moderate," or wouldn't we want someone in the mold of a Laurence Tribe. Don't we want to take the court leftwards?

Sure, the Senate has an advice and consent role. But, do we want bland, unprincipled candidates for the Supreme Court just because they are palatable to all, or do we want novel thinkers capable of articulating an insightful legal philosophy?

The op-ed is here.

The editorial is here.

Source: New York Times

Michelin Arrives in New York

2005-11-01T09:46:00.000-08:00

This post is for the epicureans and gourmands. The vaunted European restaurant guide, Michelin, has published its first book for New York restaurants. It's different from Zagat's because they use their own reviewers and do not solicit opinions from the average patron.

The main surprise was that Daniel, the most highly regarded New York restaurant year in, year out, only got two starts. Not so surprisingly, three restaurants that got three stars were French (one of them, Alain Ducasse, being a satellite of the famous restaurant in Paris). The fourth restaurant, Per Se, was described as "American."

Other interesting tidbits, Food Network restaurants did fairly well. Mario Batali's Babbo got one star as did the Iron Chef Nobu. Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill was left off the list.

Despite getting a star, Batali was "unhappy." He does have a point that there were only four two star New York restaurants, which is surprising low for what is considered one of the gastronomic capitals of the world. However, it did beat London with 39 starred restaurants in contrast to London's 34, and its 4 three star restaurants in contrast to London's 1 three star restaurant (Gordon Ramsay, another reality TV cook.).

I am just wondering when Michelin arrives in St. Louis. Will Thai Gai Yang get the coveted three stars?

The list is here.

The article is here.

Source: New York Times

NYU Grad Student Unionization

2005-11-01T09:34:00.000-08:00

I found this article in the NY Times, which is about the NYU graduate students attempting to revive their union. It was during my last year at NYU that the NLRB directed the university to allow the grad students to unionize. But, of course, ever since Bush reappointed the members of the Board, the NLRB has allowed NYU to stop recognizing the grad union.

Anyway, it now appears that the graduate students are going to strike soon. Let's see what happens.

Source: New York Times

Alito

2005-10-31T22:45:00.000-08:00

Do you hear that in the distance? Liberals are wailing and gnashing their teeth because of the Alito nomination. The only things I know about the guy is that his press nickname is "Scalito," he dissented to Casey because the 3rd Circuit struck down spousal notification for abortion, and the Senate might go nuclear because of him.

But, if you want to learn more, check out SCOTUS Blog. They have numerous posts and links about his nomination that are quite informative. Reading these posts have assuaged my Alito fears, and he seems at least fair minded and not as ideologically biased as Scalia or Thomas. Don't get me wrong, he is definitely going to cause me some heartburn in the next twenty, thirty years, but at least he is generally considered thoughtful and open-minded to issues.

And if you don't want to go to SCOTUS Blog, I'll provide a sampling right here:

One liberal's positive view of Alito: A former Alito clerk, and "Progressive Democrat," describes Alito as "very thoughtful, very careful, very respectful of Supreme Court precedent. He has a strong conservative intellectual approach to things, but he is respectful, honest, and straightforward." The link goes to the Blue Mass. Group blog.

Alito and the Family Medical Leave Act: Ann Althouse, legal blogger extraordinaire, critiques Alito's analysis of whether Congress has the power to enact the FMLA under the 14th Amendment.

Alito and Planned Parenthood v. Farmer: The Volokh Conspiracy discusses Alito's concurrence to striking down New Jersey's ban of "Partial-Birth Abortion." (Or, to use its real name, the Dilation and Extraction Procedure or "D&X").

Alito and his First Amendment Jurisprudence: The First Amendment Center provides a fairly extensive listing and analysis of the First Amendment opinions penned by the nominee. They conclude that "a preliminary examinations suggests that he could well bring a First Amendment sensitive perspective to the Supreme Court, a welcome prospect at a time when the Court, of late, has not been very speech protective."

More Alito-goodness can be found at SCOTUS Blog.

All links courtesy of SCOTUS Blog.

The Wrath of Posner (At least towards the Fourth Estate)

2005-10-31T21:51:00.000-08:00

This article alleges that Posner has an extreme hostility to the Press and protections the Press has traditionally enjoyed under the First Amendment. Since I am not exactly a fan of the Fourth Estate in general (let's face it, the days of Edward R. Murrow have long past), I am not too sympathetic to the piece. Quite frankly, I think Posner is fully justified in using market analysis to explain the media. Certainly, the ascendency of infotainment, of OJ and Jacko, of scandel mongering and gotcha journalism over substantive news can be explained by consumer choice. The Networks, being primarily businesses, satiate consumer demand for meretricious gossip. That most journalist are incapable of recognizing that they dispense trash doesn't make Posner's view any less valid. In my opinion, a certain jaundiced view of the press can be quite salubrious.

Reading further, the article does recognize Posner's contribution to press freedoms, most notably in Desnick v. ABC, which P. Gunn assigned to us in Property, and Haynes v. Alfred A. Knopf, which I haven't read.

I also like Posner's self description: “I have exactly the same personality as my cat. I am cold, furtive, callous, snobbish, selfish, and playful, but with a streak of cruelty.”

For a certain person writing a note, the article discusses Hosty v. Carter and Hazelwood, but very briefly.

Source: Columbia Journalism Review

Link courtesy of Arts & Letters Daily

Barack Obama's Education Article

2005-10-31T21:28:00.000-08:00

I found this article in Mother Jones. It basically outlines several proposals for education reform. The interesting thing is that even though Obama has a reputation as a liberal enfant terrible, he is courting "moderate" voters with tempered political rhetoric. To quote a line:

"The shortcomings of NCLB [No Child Left Behind Act] shouldn’t end the conversation, however. They should be the start of a conversation about how we can do better. Yes, it’s a moral outrage that this Administration hasn’t come through with the funding for what it claims has been its number one domestic priority. But to wage war against the entire law for that reason is not an education policy, and Democrats need to realize that." (my emphasis)

The policy he articulates in this article, while not overtly anti-teacher's union, is, signifying his willingness to turn against a part of the Democratic base. However, his language is so tempered in general, and so strident against the Administration, that it is sure to appease the left. What is most important is that, even though the ideas he promotes are not that original, he recognizes that the disconnect between Democrats and voters is due to the party's lack of a substantive platform.

The article demonstrates that: (1) Obama is a Clintonesque triangulator, (2) he has a Clintonesque ability to triangulate the middle without alienating the left, and (3) he identifies the deficiency of the Democratic Party, which isn't whether the Party is too liberal or too moderate; it is that the Party doesn't promote any policy ideas to begin with.

Source: Mother Jones

New Format, New Links Section, and Happy Halloween

2005-10-31T21:15:00.000-08:00

I have drastically changed my template back to my original one. I loved the Scribe template, but unfortunately it lacked a links section. I was able to manually put one into the code, but the header was in a different font than the other headers in my sidebar. It was to my chagrin that I discovered those headers were actually gif files. Oh well.

Right now I am posting links that have generally yielded interesting articles to me. I also, in the interest of being "fair and balanced," put one overtly liberal link (Mother Jones) and one overtly conservative link (Weekly Standard). The political bias of the rest, I leave to the reader to determine.

Oh, yes. Happy Halloween.

Scooter Libby, Neocon John Le Carre

2005-10-30T10:30:00.000-08:00

Apparently, Scooter Libby, when he is not engaging in a dirty works campaign, moonlights as a critically acclaimed suspense writer.

His 1996 novel, "The Apprentice" (a nod to the Donald?) takes place in fin de siecle Japan. The Boston Globe calls it an "alluring tale of intrigue" and the New York Times Book Review says Libby's "storytelling skill neatly mixes conspiratorial murmurs with a boy's emotional turmoil."

An interesting aside is that Libby acquired his nickname when he was a "hyperactive toddler."

The article is here.

Source: CBS News

Link courtesy of Bookslut

Dos Passos and Hemingway in Spain

2005-10-30T09:59:00.000-08:00

This article, in the guise of a book review, discusses the relationship between Dos Passos and Hemingway during the Spanish Civil War. It is certainly an interesting read with respect to the shattered idealism of Dos Passos. It also nicely captures Hemingway's political posturing and general fraudulence quite nicely.

I have noticed that New Yorker book reviews are almost always substantive articles in themselves, devoting maybe a paragraph to the merits of the book it purportedly is reviewing. Also, due to the almost obligatory New Yorker "sprawling-crap" style of writing, the actual review of the book is typically buried somewhere midway in the article while the rest of the text is devoted to the subject matter of the book. Now, I understand giving some context for the general reader, but should the entirety of the book review be background while wholly neglecting the actual book?

Source: The New Yorker

Link courtesy of Arts and Letters Daily.

Breyer Article in the New Yorker

2005-10-30T09:51:00.000-08:00

I stumbled upon this article/interview in which Breyer is plugging his book "Active Liberty." The article is mainly fluff, but it does talk a little about Breyer's problems with originalism. However, it mainly focuses on Breyer's "pragmatic" jurisprudence and his "optimism."

The article is here.

Source: The New Yorker

More on Scalia's Jurisprudence

2005-10-30T00:58:00.000-07:00

Ronald Dworkin, in his "review" of Judge (now Justice) John Roberts, has this criticism of Scalia which I find sound.

"When Scalia tried to defend this view in a discussion of his judicial methods at Princeton some years ago, the objection was made that originalism, so understood, ignores a crucial distinction between what the framers intended to say and what they expected would be the effect of their saying what they intended to say. The framers might have set out their own particular views about what counts as cruelty in punishment, what counts as a denial of equal protection in legislation, and so forth in the constitutional clauses they wrote. But they did not. Instead they chose to lay down general moral principles. So true fidelity to their intentions requires judges to ignore the framers' concrete opinions and do their best to apply these principles as moral principles: to decide, for themselves, that is, what punishments are in fact cruel and what treatment is in fact equal."

The rest of the article can be found here.

Source: New York Review of Books

Scalia's Review of "Law's Quandary"

2005-10-30T00:57:00.000-07:00

Scalia's review of "Law's Quandary" is an entertaining read, especially for those interested in jurisprudence and the philosophy of law. There is even a paragraph or two devoted to the philosophy of language, which brought back some memories from my undergraduate days.

I, obviously, have serious difficulties with Scalia's philosophy regarding meaning. "Textualism's" assumption of an objective meaning to the Constitution's language is far more problematic than Scalia is willing to concede in this review. The symbols used in natural language obtain their meaning solely through repeated usage within a particular community. Obviously, a symbol within a natural language can "mean" many different things and that a particular meaning can only be construed through context. Obviously, context can narrow the possible meaning of a particular word. However, context can conversely also broaden the possible meaning of the word. When the Constitution says "due process," "interstate commerce," or "an establishment of religion," there is no context to narrow what precisely the framers meant by these words. Wouldn't it be fair to say that the framers, who all had different political beliefs, purposefully left the meaning of these words obscured by ambiguity, effectively punting the resolution of these issues to the future. Perhaps the "intent of the framers" (and let us not forget that the framers were not a monolithic group of individuals who all had the same beliefs and convictions) was to let either Congress or (gasp!) the Supreme Court set up the precise parameters of these words.

The entirety of Scalia's book review is here.

Link courtesy of SCOTUS Blog.

Boutique Doctors

2005-10-30T00:55:00.000-07:00

My first post concerns an article I discovered on the NY Times on-line. I actually didn't read the article itself, the lede being depressing enough to prevent me from finishing the rest. Chalk that up to my mawkish sentiment that wealth shouldn't be a prerequisite for longevity while penury necessarily leads to debility and possibly an early death.

The entirety of the article is here.

Harold Bloom Interview

2005-10-30T00:21:00.000-07:00

This interview has Harold Bloom plugging a new book he just got published. I glanced through the first couple of answers, intermittently cringing and chuckling at the pretense. I particularly loved, "I have many enemies in the English-speaking world" and "Of course, I am a one-man department, I divorced the English Department in 1976, I convinced them to appoint me professor of 'absolutely nothing' - I give courses in something called humanities."

I have had the "privilege" to attend two readings Bloom gave, one in the NYU library where he read an essay on Hamlet which he had published in "Shakespeare: Invention of the Human" and another in a Barnes & Nobles where he read the Introduction he wrote for a Hart Crane anthology. His pomposity is equally impressive in person as it is in print. However, giving credit where credit is due, the highfalutin timbre of his words does convey a pithy, if somewhat ridiculous, zip that is always fun to listen to or read.

I leave with this excellent quotation which he purportedly said to Naomi Wolf whom he allegedly flirted with/sexually harassed back in the 70s: "You have the aura of election about you." Quite a pick-up line.

Link courtesy of Arts & Letters Daily

Starting Over

2005-10-29T23:55:00.000-07:00

So, several of my colleagues at school have started blogs recently. I tried this experiment last year, but, "unfortunately," the experiment only lasted four posts. It is fairly difficult to think of something interesting to broadcast to the world on a regular basis and it is fairly difficult to stay true to something like a blog unless a habit compels one to update daily. Anyway, I am going to try again since everyone else is doing it, and since I can at least update this blog with links, maybe I can develop that habit which would keep this blog from becoming moribund again.

My Picture

2005-10-29T00:00:00.000-07:00