Really, nothing more need be said.
Update
1 year ago
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
First Amendment? Wha' Dat?
It's another legislative triumph! In a delightfully bipartisan rape of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America, not to mention Art. 1, Section 9 of the Indiana Constitution, the Indiana state government has passed a law requiring any bookstore that sells books in which there is any hint of any form of, well (nudge-nudge, wink-wink), you know to A) register with the Secretary of State and B) pay the state $250 American for the privilege.
...And the bill's sponsor (a Democrat -- gee, isn't that the party that talks most about "freedom of expression?") has expressed surprise at the negative reaction this bit of buffoonery has received from the public. In six pages of comments at the Indianapolis Star story linked above, not a one of them supports the law. Yet our (Republican) Governor did not express the least doubt when signing the bill into law. (Darn it, Mitch, I was almost liking you!)
As it stands, the law is almost certainly going to get the judicial axe for being unenforceably vague; but it'll take someone with deeper pockets than your neighborhood bookseller to challenge it. The language of the law is such that anything steamier than a chaste kiss could put a book into the "adult" category and require the seller to register. Those romance novels at your local grocery store and pharmacy? Oh, dearie me, a bit too much, and right out there where the children might see 'em.... (In a related item, Cosmo continues to see just how close to full-frontal nudity their covers can get; I've not yet seen a read on how the law might apply to them).
Sheeesh. I feel so happy, knowin' the State is lookin' out for my poor, innercent li'l mind an' all. But I sure do wonder how they square it with this:
Seems pretty clear, doesn't it?
(Thanks to Mad Mike for the heads-up on this choice bit of legislunacy).
...And the bill's sponsor (a Democrat -- gee, isn't that the party that talks most about "freedom of expression?") has expressed surprise at the negative reaction this bit of buffoonery has received from the public. In six pages of comments at the Indianapolis Star story linked above, not a one of them supports the law. Yet our (Republican) Governor did not express the least doubt when signing the bill into law. (Darn it, Mitch, I was almost liking you!)
As it stands, the law is almost certainly going to get the judicial axe for being unenforceably vague; but it'll take someone with deeper pockets than your neighborhood bookseller to challenge it. The language of the law is such that anything steamier than a chaste kiss could put a book into the "adult" category and require the seller to register. Those romance novels at your local grocery store and pharmacy? Oh, dearie me, a bit too much, and right out there where the children might see 'em.... (In a related item, Cosmo continues to see just how close to full-frontal nudity their covers can get; I've not yet seen a read on how the law might apply to them).
Sheeesh. I feel so happy, knowin' the State is lookin' out for my poor, innercent li'l mind an' all. But I sure do wonder how they square it with this:
Indiana Constitution
ARTICLE 1. Bill of Rights
[...]
9. Freedom of thought and speech
Section 9. No law shall be passed, restraining the free interchange of thought and opinion, or restricting the right to speak, write, or print, freely, on any subject whatever: but for the abuse of that right, every person shall be responsible.
Seems pretty clear, doesn't it?
(Thanks to Mad Mike for the heads-up on this choice bit of legislunacy).
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Mom X, Hospital
Mom X is back in hospital. Same symptoms as last time – but when they looked at her heart from the inside, everything was fine.
Much puzzlement among the fine young medical professionals; as of last night, she was recovering from the heart catheterization (she tolerates morphine about as comfortably as I do: not hardly) and awaiting more testing, less invasive, today.
You kind thoughts would be much appreciated.
Update: The docs found a blood clot in one of her legs. So she'll be staying in the hospital for the next couple of days on high-test clot-busters. --At this point, I think she is less worried than I am.
Much puzzlement among the fine young medical professionals; as of last night, she was recovering from the heart catheterization (she tolerates morphine about as comfortably as I do: not hardly) and awaiting more testing, less invasive, today.
You kind thoughts would be much appreciated.
Update: The docs found a blood clot in one of her legs. So she'll be staying in the hospital for the next couple of days on high-test clot-busters. --At this point, I think she is less worried than I am.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Flying Boat Jet Fighters
(We'll return to the story just as soon as I find a plot to borrow, but for now...).
...Jet-powered flying boats? Jet fighters? Supersonic jet fighters that ply the seas on their own hulls? Sure, it sounds like "edible, chocolate-chipotle-flavored automobile tires," but in fact there have been at least two designs flown, one of 'em faster than sound.
Have a look!
...Jet-powered flying boats? Jet fighters? Supersonic jet fighters that ply the seas on their own hulls? Sure, it sounds like "edible, chocolate-chipotle-flavored automobile tires," but in fact there have been at least two designs flown, one of 'em faster than sound.
Have a look!
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Oh, why not?
Mars Needs Swimmin’
By Roberta X.
By Roberta X.
“A genuinely wild river doesn’t need improving.” One of my old boyfriends used to say that any time the notion of managed wilderness came up. He thought it made him sound deep. I thought it made him sound like a jerk and for that – and a thousand and one other tics, habits and sappy utterances – I left him and concentrated on finishing my doctorate.*
This led directly to my being here, now, at the bottom of what, if you look at in the right way, is one of the genuinely wildest rivers anywhere in the Solar System. Valles Marineris. It definitely needed improvement: water. Though maybe not just now. I finished my instrument check – you’d think we could get reliable telemetry equipment by now but nobody Earthside really understands about the dust and the Lunar manufacturers were priced way out of my employer’s budget – and turned to go.
That was my first mistake. I bumped a rock with my toe, another larger one shifted as it came out from under and, third-of-a-gee slo-mo notwithstanding, my right ankle was trapped before I could move away.
I have plenty of time was my first thought after "Dammit!" At least, I was pretty sure I did.
This led directly to my being here, now, at the bottom of what, if you look at in the right way, is one of the genuinely wildest rivers anywhere in the Solar System. Valles Marineris. It definitely needed improvement: water. Though maybe not just now. I finished my instrument check – you’d think we could get reliable telemetry equipment by now but nobody Earthside really understands about the dust and the Lunar manufacturers were priced way out of my employer’s budget – and turned to go.
That was my first mistake. I bumped a rock with my toe, another larger one shifted as it came out from under and, third-of-a-gee slo-mo notwithstanding, my right ankle was trapped before I could move away.
I have plenty of time was my first thought after "Dammit!" At least, I was pretty sure I did.
[...]
______________________________________
* Just kiddin', Turk!
I Wanna Write This Novel:
Too Good To Pass Up. I've been saving this screencap for awhile now. Mars Needs Swimmin' Yeah.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Hoplophobia
The word was coined by the late Col. Cooper; L. Neil Smith has written of it and here's another essay addressing this public-health menace.
Found after stumbling across Page Nine, q. v..
Found after stumbling across Page Nine, q. v..
Thursday, March 20, 2008
...And Just A Pinch More On Torture
...Once again, I avoid the heavy lifting: The Discontented Cookie offers pointed analysis.
Neanderpundit Og disagrees. (N.B.: blogs can easily become we're-so-kewl-and-right-fests. Those are fun but you don't learn nuthin'. When I find differing notions based on more than mere emotion, I'm gonna link to them).
Me, I remain of the opinion that no matter how noble the cause or how vile the opponent, treatin' other folks like piñatas will rot your soul. It happens to many sexworkers, it happens to strongarm criminals...and it happens to torturers. It's a fundamental change on attitude and behavior that makes the individual possessed of 'em a danger to everyone with whom he or she comes into contact. An institution suffused with such programming is little more than a malignant cancer.
In wartime or extreme situations, individuals will do dreadful things, uncivilized things; it's the nature of things. It happens. It's what happens next that's the issue -- is such behavior rewarded, made a part of official doctrine, or is it brought to light and dealt with according to civilized principles?
The practical man will call such analysis navel-gazing (in fact, he has!) and guess what, he's right. I'm not there, I have not seen that particular elephant and I'm unlikely to ever be the Great Mahout. I'm still not gonna stand here cheering while we teach 'em it's fun to stomp on whoever's in the way. Abusing the inconvenient to smooth one's own path is a behavior that tends to spread.
(Sidebar: if waterboarding is not torture, there are a fair number of Japanese military officerswe're our Federal government is going to have to disinter, reanimate, an' apologize to for having charged with, tried for, convicted of and hanged for waterboarding prisoners. If it's a crime when they do it to us our citizens, it's a crime when we do our government does it to others).
Update: At least one individual contacted me to point out the extreme contentiousness of this topic on one hand and the difficulties of addressing it on the other. While I think it's an important issue of which to be aware, I have far more questions than answers. Absent any chance of resolution, I'm dropping the subject. I shall continue to refrain from torture; the rest of you, you're on your own.
Neanderpundit Og disagrees. (N.B.: blogs can easily become we're-so-kewl-and-right-fests. Those are fun but you don't learn nuthin'. When I find differing notions based on more than mere emotion, I'm gonna link to them).
Me, I remain of the opinion that no matter how noble the cause or how vile the opponent, treatin' other folks like piñatas will rot your soul. It happens to many sexworkers, it happens to strongarm criminals...and it happens to torturers. It's a fundamental change on attitude and behavior that makes the individual possessed of 'em a danger to everyone with whom he or she comes into contact. An institution suffused with such programming is little more than a malignant cancer.
In wartime or extreme situations, individuals will do dreadful things, uncivilized things; it's the nature of things. It happens. It's what happens next that's the issue -- is such behavior rewarded, made a part of official doctrine, or is it brought to light and dealt with according to civilized principles?
The practical man will call such analysis navel-gazing (in fact, he has!) and guess what, he's right. I'm not there, I have not seen that particular elephant and I'm unlikely to ever be the Great Mahout. I'm still not gonna stand here cheering while we teach 'em it's fun to stomp on whoever's in the way. Abusing the inconvenient to smooth one's own path is a behavior that tends to spread.
(Sidebar: if waterboarding is not torture, there are a fair number of Japanese military officers
Update: At least one individual contacted me to point out the extreme contentiousness of this topic on one hand and the difficulties of addressing it on the other. While I think it's an important issue of which to be aware, I have far more questions than answers. Absent any chance of resolution, I'm dropping the subject. I shall continue to refrain from torture; the rest of you, you're on your own.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Speakin' Of The Second...And First...
Adventurer Turk Turon snapped this photo on the scene outside SCOTUS and comments, "I thought the red coat was a nice touch."I've not blogged much in re Heller and I shan't; if it comes to pass I can once again visit Washington City, Chicago and NYC without risking felony charges, I still won't be all that tempted. --But remember, human rights are inherent. Governments may make the free exercise of them awkward but they can only impede; even when penalized or barred, your rights exist.
Tam On The Second Amendment
...I'd like to think my (impassioned-ish) reading-aloud of a dunderheaded USA T0day article prompted it, but in fact, she's been pointing it out for weeks: go read Tam's primer on 2A and the Bill of Rights. Do it now!
...It's just a blamed pity we can't have it tattooed on the forehead of each and every Authorized Journalist, mirror-reversed (interpolated with plain text for the TV types). Still, a gal can dream, can't she?
...It's just a blamed pity we can't have it tattooed on the forehead of each and every Authorized Journalist, mirror-reversed (interpolated with plain text for the TV types). Still, a gal can dream, can't she?
Arthur C. Clarke's Final Orbit
SF great (and last of the Big Three writers) Sir Arthur C. Clarke passed away yesterday. He turned 90 this past December, marking the day with a video message. It is interesting that this visionary, father of the geosynchronous communications satellite, said, "...I never expected to see so much happen in the span of a few decades...." At 90, more than half his life had been lived during the Space Age.
While his politics diverge rather widely from mine, Clarke's fiction often emphasized the importance of tolerance and compassion rather than sappy forced acceptance. I will always remember fondly the madly assorted cast and warmly-drawn of characters -- writers and tech geeks, mostly -- to be found in the amusing collection of related yarns, Tales From The White Hart.
Harry Purvis and gang aside, Arthur Clarke's fiction tended to be quieter and more introspective than the work of the other members of SF's triumvirate, Robert A. Heinlein and Isaac Asimov; his grasp of the engineering involved was solid and his treatment of characters no less so. (I've not read a lot of his recent, collaborative work; what I have read struck me as less Clarke and more collaborator. Can't fault that, it says so right on the cover).
...Other writers will pay more attention to 2001: A Space Odyssey, which is a noble effort, especially for the time. I prefer 2010, as good a hard-SF film as I've seen.
The Big Three gave our culture a mighty push Up and Out. When those now young turn 90, will they have seen as much forward progress?
None of the Big Three were able to buy a real passenger ticket to orbit. But one of them, at least, saw passenger tickets to space become reality.
Bon voyage, Sir Arthur!
While his politics diverge rather widely from mine, Clarke's fiction often emphasized the importance of tolerance and compassion rather than sappy forced acceptance. I will always remember fondly the madly assorted cast and warmly-drawn of characters -- writers and tech geeks, mostly -- to be found in the amusing collection of related yarns, Tales From The White Hart.
Harry Purvis and gang aside, Arthur Clarke's fiction tended to be quieter and more introspective than the work of the other members of SF's triumvirate, Robert A. Heinlein and Isaac Asimov; his grasp of the engineering involved was solid and his treatment of characters no less so. (I've not read a lot of his recent, collaborative work; what I have read struck me as less Clarke and more collaborator. Can't fault that, it says so right on the cover).
...Other writers will pay more attention to 2001: A Space Odyssey, which is a noble effort, especially for the time. I prefer 2010, as good a hard-SF film as I've seen.
The Big Three gave our culture a mighty push Up and Out. When those now young turn 90, will they have seen as much forward progress?
None of the Big Three were able to buy a real passenger ticket to orbit. But one of them, at least, saw passenger tickets to space become reality.
Bon voyage, Sir Arthur!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
But We're Still The Good Guys, Right?
I'd been musin' about tryin' to summarize what I think about the U.S. government using waterboarding and other hobby skills in some attempt to extract information. Now I find I don't have to, 'cos J. R. Shirley already has.
Yeah. What he said. Go read it if you haven't already. Gorrammit,* the good guys aren't supposed to endorse or use torture.
Update:
--I understand this is a contentious topic, about which reasonable persons can and will disagree. Fine by me; most of us are, AFAIK, only indirectly in the waterboarding business.
In response to questioning from readers, I posted this in the comment thread:
My objection to such actions undertaken by agents of a nation-state against any person is twofold: first, this is not the behavior of civilized associations and must never be encouraged; the government that abuses "enemy combatants" today will do so to its own citizens tomorrow. (I'm perfectly okay with simply shootin' aforesaid "partisans," BTW, preferably in the act). Second, it has a severely deleterious effect upon the torturers. You cannot reduce another human being to a quivering lump of abject submission without making indelible changes to your own relationship to yourself and to the rest of the species. Once you've internalized that other folks are just so much meat, their spirits rather easily bent and broken, you are no longer fit for civilization; you have become an enemy to all free persons. And, being human, you will justify your actions.
I have known too many bad predators in my life. If our government keeps on makin' 'em, pattin' 'em on the head an' sayin' "nice doggie," we're in for bad times. Lon who?
___________________________
* Yes, I am a Browncoat.
Yeah. What he said. Go read it if you haven't already. Gorrammit,* the good guys aren't supposed to endorse or use torture.
Update:
--I understand this is a contentious topic, about which reasonable persons can and will disagree. Fine by me; most of us are, AFAIK, only indirectly in the waterboarding business.
In response to questioning from readers, I posted this in the comment thread:
My objection to such actions undertaken by agents of a nation-state against any person is twofold: first, this is not the behavior of civilized associations and must never be encouraged; the government that abuses "enemy combatants" today will do so to its own citizens tomorrow. (I'm perfectly okay with simply shootin' aforesaid "partisans," BTW, preferably in the act). Second, it has a severely deleterious effect upon the torturers. You cannot reduce another human being to a quivering lump of abject submission without making indelible changes to your own relationship to yourself and to the rest of the species. Once you've internalized that other folks are just so much meat, their spirits rather easily bent and broken, you are no longer fit for civilization; you have become an enemy to all free persons. And, being human, you will justify your actions.
I have known too many bad predators in my life. If our government keeps on makin' 'em, pattin' 'em on the head an' sayin' "nice doggie," we're in for bad times. Lon who?
___________________________
* Yes, I am a Browncoat.
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