tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30734082011-11-29T15:28:50.744-05:00Commentary on the news and events of the day from a libertarian anarchist, technoptimist, neo-traditionalist, high church Anglican, right-wing, Cypherpunk perspective. <p> ----------- <p> frissell(at)panix(dot)commie</p></p>Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comBlogger4971100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-12581396442730769372011-04-28T06:48:00.000-04:002011-04-28T12:54:28.577-04:00

They're using Alternative Services, Series One: The Form of Solemnization of Matrimony basically the 1928 (English) prayer book. Chuck and Di used it in '81. So they'll be forced to practice the "the increase of mankind" [1928] instead of "the procreation of children" [1662] and it's OK for them to marry "to satisfy men's carnal lusts and appetites, like brute beasts that have no understanding

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-644447714066822732011-04-26T06:20:00.004-04:002011-04-26T14:27:35.190-04:00

The recent premier of The Greatest Libertarian Science Fiction Railroad Film ever made has made me (briefly) think about the Conservative/Libertarian Cinema. Contemplation will establish that there have only been 2 conservative and 3 libertarian films ever made (in English).  I must admit that I've never seen the Italian Fascist version of We the Living but it wasn't produced by anyone with any

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-60646228724567775672011-03-10T06:41:00.001-05:002011-03-10T12:42:09.112-05:00

I heard it right here on The Takeaway on National Commie Radio a while back.  Robert Pollin, an econ prof at UMass Amherst said that public employees in America are paid 4% less (including benefits!) than private employees at the same age and ed level. I never knew.  I feel terrible.  We simply must free these workers from the oppression of these working conditions.  Let them go to find wealth

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-12819977220386929262011-01-21T06:11:00.010-05:002011-02-01T15:22:38.444-05:00

1893 - Report of the Committee of Ten on Secondary School Subjects recommends that students in the newly developing high schools be taught Latin, Greek, English, other Modern Languages, Mathematics, Geometry, Algebra,  Physics, Chemistry, Astronomy, History and Civil Government, Geography,  and Meteorology. 1918 - Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education is published by the Commission on the

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-19416455481777710592011-01-20T06:09:00.002-05:002011-01-25T10:12:48.920-05:00

1949 - Egyptian writer, teacher, and the intellectual father of modern Islamic Radicalism Sayyid Qutb visits Colorado State Teachers College in Greeley, CO.  The experience caused him to condemn America as a soulless, materialistic, sex-obsessed place.  He particularly disliked the mixed couples at a Baptist church dance dancing to the hit of that year - Baby It's Cold Outside.    

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-37290584195547995132011-01-10T06:35:00.012-05:002011-01-10T15:27:59.500-05:00

--------------------- Hat tip to the WSJ for the interactive timeline. 11 Members of Congress have been shot while in office. 9 House members have been shot while in office. 7 Members of Congress were shot by 'progressives'. 6 Members of Congress survived their shootings. 5 Members of Congress died from their shootings. 5 Members of Congress were shot by Puerto Ricans. 4 Members of Congress

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-65357642590958412082011-01-04T21:57:00.000-05:002011-01-04T21:57:44.336-05:00

U.S. PIRG regularly sends door-to-door solicitors to recruit activists and money in areas where they figure the pickings are good. I've been solicited at my door (in different states) twice but had a hard time convincing them that I knew who they were and I was on the other side. I resisted the temptation to clearly state the situation. "Get off my porch, I hereby specifically cancel your

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-41311595447046272702010-12-21T06:24:00.002-05:002011-01-04T21:54:31.992-05:00

In a few weeks, the District of Columbia will be (a presumably temporary) home to a flock of rarae aves -- Members of Congress who've actually read the Constitution of the United States and who've pledged to uphold its original intent. How hard is it for a Congressman to be (and vote as) a Constitutional origionalist?  Can it even be done? The answers are -- in one sense it's easy, in one sense

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-8009870315238708102010-07-06T06:13:00.000-04:002010-07-06T15:09:05.552-04:00

So I opened Google this morning to observe that it featured a special nameplate in honor of (presumably the birthday) a famous person. I recognized her but instead of clicking through the nameplate block , I thought I'd frame my own search.So I wrote the obvious search term: "crippled bisexual communist" and, sure enough got 181 hits.

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-33937424818454230322009-12-07T23:08:00.003-05:002009-12-07T23:17:55.898-05:00

"I brought up blankets, towels, toilet paper, Kleenex, aspirin, a bottle of rum and the .38"-- What my grandmother Louise Porter Frissell took to the evacuation assembly point at Tripler Army Hospital, Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, on December 8th 1941. The wife of a Quartermaster Corps Captain (he was on the Mainland on December 7th), she and other Army dependents were ordered to Tripler in case a

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-24416901436546620682009-03-05T06:42:00.000-05:002009-03-05T11:46:48.172-05:00

Google the forthcoming Honor Harrington novel Storm From the Shadows and you get a real bargain:Amazon.com: Storm from the Shadows: David Weber: BooksBuy Storm from the Shadows and get Immortality at an additional 5% off Amazon.com's .... Storm From the Shadows (2009) is the second naval SF novel in the ...www.amazon.com/Storm-Shadows-David-Weber/dp/1416591478 - 269k -

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-77683988073312692482009-02-26T12:18:00.001-05:002009-02-26T12:18:00.684-05:00

It's the 16th Anniversary.

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-24678556326502347952009-01-27T06:25:00.000-05:002009-01-27T14:27:47.964-05:00

If they are close in quality, I would lean toward public schools.I'm not a fan of government curricula. Too much sex, drugs, rock &roll, and stories about victims of color.Prefer a bit of the Trivium and the Quadrivium, actual history, and good Lit. Want my kids to be able to read, write, compute, imply, infer, and all that hard stuff.While I could celebrate the reduced competition that my

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-86440811518234192662009-01-20T06:13:00.000-05:002009-01-20T16:18:47.923-05:00

Today, above all days, we remember a great pioneer in the history of American race relations. The first mixed-race candidate elected to national office. I'm sure that you, together with all Americans, will be celebrating his birthday on January 25th. Even though he wasn't born in the United States, he achieved great success in local politics and in the US Senate before winning a

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-59361065314144018272008-10-02T06:05:00.000-04:002008-10-02T15:11:01.370-04:00

Another victory for human rights at Gitmo:Restrictive Guantanamo Bay Homeschool Policy Abandoned This past school year, U.S. military families at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were contacted regarding a new homeschool policy created by the commanding officer of the base. He indicated that this restrictive policy would take effect at the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year. The families immediately

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-44730132832613988122008-07-18T07:56:00.000-04:002008-07-18T15:18:13.250-04:00

See the rectangular box hanging from a light standard at Coles & 16th Sts. in Jersey City, NJ? What do you suppose it is?It's a Ricochet POP. Still there 7 years after bankruptcy. The photo was grabbed from Google Maps Street View.I loved Ricochet for the year or so I was using it.

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-62028194674278776272008-07-07T18:24:00.000-04:002008-07-07T18:24:00.317-04:00

Why would Roe have increased the number of out-of-wedlock births?Because the possibility of abortion reduces the perceived cost of fornication (from $200k to raise a child to $250 to kill one). If the perceived cost of fornication declines, then fornication increases. More fornication=more out-of-wedlock births (OOWBs) since many mothers in practice chose not to commit infanticide and other

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-40356416661505682332008-06-24T07:35:00.000-04:002008-06-24T15:36:39.587-04:00

Married people aren't in the minority. Married households may be if you really bend the figures but since a married household has 2 married people in it, about 60% of those over 25 are married. Also many of the other households are the divorced and widowed who have been married.

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-61954796226005932482008-06-24T07:21:00.000-04:002008-06-24T15:35:05.412-04:00

From the dissent:But there is another dimension to the relief plaintiffs’ seek. In their presentation to the Court, they speak of the deep and symbolic significance to them of the institution of marriage. They ask to participate, not simply in the tangible benefits that civil marriage provides -- although certainly those benefits are of enormous importance -- but in the intangible benefits that

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-89818503431045625592008-06-24T07:14:00.000-04:002008-06-24T15:20:57.050-04:00

There is no guarantee or "quality control" that inherently insures that citizens or greencard holders won't be swept into this extraconstitutional dragnet.Were this true then the US-born Saudi Arabian captured in Afghanistan would not have been brought to the US for processing and then released after he renounced. They would just have sent him to Gitmo or shot him. But they didn't.DemonCats like

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1460800296386812602008-06-24T06:53:00.000-04:002008-06-24T13:32:19.591-04:00

is there anything more nefarious going on than denying public funds to discriminatory groups?I guess they didn't teach you in your slave school that the destruction of the bourgeois family was a goal of the Left since its invention in the 19th century.By eliminating traditional institutions that supply a separate source of independent strength, the Left hopes to convert the population to

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-23946405655732641932008-06-24T06:52:00.000-04:002008-06-24T15:14:53.006-04:00

In Gilmore vs Gonzales the lower courts have held that the right to travel doesn't mean the right to travel in a specific fashion.I remember Trop v. Dulles, a 1950s case holding that denaturalization as a punishment was "cruel and unusual". In other words, you can be executed but not denaturalized. [Naturalized citizens can be denaturalized for fraud in procuring their citizenship.] One of the

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-61174424533726021942008-06-24T06:44:00.000-04:002008-06-24T13:52:10.918-04:00

All of the immigration-related federal crimes that can be committed by aliens can also be committed by citizens.Look in Title 18 for "evading inspection at the border".Likewise uttering false documents (citizen presents someone else's passport for entry) (citizen unaccountably decides to apply for a visa to enter and lies on the application).Being an illegal alien per se is not a crime (though

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-43641218400523904442008-06-24T06:37:00.000-04:002008-06-24T13:39:38.484-04:00

Over the next few days, I'll be republishing some of my Volokh Conspiracy comments over the years. They won't all be easy to follow but I wanted to reposition and save them.

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-64794413216798958322008-06-24T06:32:00.000-04:002008-06-24T13:37:12.644-04:00

SLS 1L:CAP was an extremely repulsive group, and the American people have the right to know why Alito was bragging about his membership in it.You should be aware that more Americans are repulsed by various left-wing groups I could name than right-wing groups (since more Americans self-identify as right than as left).CAP was similar to hundreds of other campus-based conservative groups that used

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-59131538651680425542008-06-24T01:39:00.000-04:002008-06-24T13:43:50.242-04:00

six masked protesters reportedly disrupted a child's birthday party at the home of a University of California at Santa Cruz researcher and confronted her husband at the door, hitting him on the hand.A few incidents ended with one of these should serve to cool the passions. I don't know why more persons who are known terrorist targets don't deploy same.

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-55201198509459786162008-06-22T12:26:00.001-04:002008-06-22T12:28:02.827-04:00

a claimed right to control a third party -- however much the claimed rightsholder might generally love the third party, and however much that third party might need some control from someone -- strikes me as among the weakest sorts of claims for unenumerated rights.Then certainly the coercive state apparatus' claim of a "right to control the 3rd party" would be even weaker since it manifestly

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-35318757476686097092008-06-18T06:43:00.000-04:002008-06-18T14:26:56.660-04:00

"impossible" to demonstrate: that recognizing gay marriage causes some tangible harm.Dale, I take it that the scare quotes mean that you're not sure its impossible to establish tangible harm.Let me count the ways...1) Demotion of Husbands, Wives, Fathers, and Mothers to Partner A, Partner B, Parent A, and Parent B. (Are we male oppressors guaranteed the A label -- at least in hetero partnerships

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-86373823791742487122008-06-11T17:38:00.001-04:002008-06-11T17:38:00.694-04:00

http://www.target.com/Virgin-Mobile-Aloha-by-LG/dp/B000X9IGZ4/sr=1-5/qid=1212246041/ref=sr_1_5/601-9994212-0818526?ie=UTF8&index=target&rh=k%3Acellphone&page=1Virgin Mobile Aloha by LG$9.99List price: $34.99You Save: $25.00 (71%)stores only------------That's $9.99 for a device that couldn't be produced for all the money onearth 20 years ago.Duncan Frissell

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-3078596945883585912008-06-09T07:04:00.000-04:002008-06-09T14:11:03.274-04:00

A California appeals court has ruled that the right to school one's children at home is not protected by either the US or California constitutions.The US Supreme court had ruled that anal intercourse is protected by the US Constitution: "The liberty protected by the Constitution allows homosexual persons the right to choose to enter upon relationships in the confines of their homes and their own

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-11649863892837774052008-06-09T06:44:00.000-04:002008-06-09T11:53:22.402-04:00

I read it all the time. Most recently in the New York Times: “Gas prices have doubled over the last year but the economy has not fallen off the cliff,” said Rajeev Dhawan, director of the Economic Forecasting Center at Georgia State University. “One minor problem. Gasoline prices have actually doubled since March 14, 2005 when national regular gasoline crossed the $2/gallon threshold. See this

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-27061103117506541602008-05-23T16:56:00.002-04:002008-05-23T17:05:46.581-04:00

Instapundit Glenn Reynolds on the VH1 series Sex: The Revolution.I highly recommend Gay Talese's history of the sexual revolution, Thy Neighbor's Wife, which we read in my "Law and Sexuality" seminar, taught by Harlon Dalton. I often draw on it when teaching in Constitutional Law, because today's students don't really have any grasp of what life was like in an era without freely available porn

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-6134358051216535022008-05-20T06:12:00.000-04:002008-05-20T14:24:50.841-04:00

It doesn't occur to anyone in these debates, but Same Sex Marriage has never been prohibited in any Anglo-Saxon jurisdiction (or perhaps anywhere on earth).Sodomy, lewd cohabitation, etc. have been prohibited but not marriage itself (which is a sacrament or ceremony performed by the members of the couple involved). Thus even if a couple is married in a cathedral by an archbishop, it is the man

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-59238562346883356012008-03-24T20:50:00.002-04:002008-03-24T21:35:56.136-04:00

Sad to say, but in the finest traditions of Net discourse I sometimes refer to persons not personally known to me as "commie faggots." For example, I might write something like, "Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. is a commie faggot."This is a most unfortunate formulation and it illustrates the great opportunities I have for significant spiritual development.It is interesting to note, however, that the

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-85769187235136323052008-03-18T06:00:00.000-04:002008-03-18T15:04:48.427-04:00

There would be an entitlement crisis if the Feds were actually required to pay entitlements and the Feds had no assets. Neither of these suppositions is true.Let's take the big three - Medicaid, Medicare, and Socialist Insecurity. Medicaid is pure welfare. Medical 'insurance' for the poor. Welfare can be cut any time -- see 1996 -- without the recipients being able to do anything about it.

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-56400015861174154292008-02-25T21:25:00.001-05:002008-02-25T21:28:42.120-05:00

I registered the Internet Domain Name offshore.com in November 1994. In 1995, I got the following demand letter (which I posted to Cyberia-L a net list for lawyers). In January, 1997 Network Solutions put offshore.com on hold because of the trademark dispute. NSI has adopted the new Domain Name Dispute Resolution Process developed by ICANN and has said that on-hold domains will be released "

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-30562424682609279692008-02-21T21:02:00.000-05:002008-02-21T21:00:23.993-05:00

Perhaps the World's deviates are attracted to libertarianism because we won't punish them.November 1971 Society for Iindividual Liberty Conference Columbia University School of Law, NYC. Everyone who was anyone in libertarianism was there. In a restaurant on Broadway after a session I'm sitting across the table from one of the giants of this young movement (you've all heard his name). He is

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-49576887520528391392008-02-21T20:55:00.000-05:002008-02-21T20:55:47.093-05:00

So I'm browsing blogs and read this post on Volokh on Spanish philosophical debates on the justification for conquest of the New World; which leads to this bibliography on the literature of justification; when I'm brought up short by an exerpt from this book:Patricia Seed. Ceremonies of Possession: Europe’s Conquest of the New World, 1492-1640. Cambridge, England, and New York: Cambridge

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-29146527396303115942008-01-08T17:15:00.000-05:002008-01-08T17:32:11.721-05:00

Governor Jon Corzine (D-New Jersey) has proposed a series of toll hikes for the state's highways that provide a dramatic lesson in the potential costs of government:TRENTON — Gov. Jon S. Corzine on Tuesday proposed the biggest financial gambit in New Jersey’s history, arguing that almost quadrupling highway tolls over the next 15 years could help generate about $38 billion to help the state pay

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-63785687796136476262007-12-26T13:59:00.000-05:002008-01-17T15:02:24.987-05:00

but libertarianism certainly demands a commitment to ending a war one thinks is unconstitutional and unwise.'Unwise' can always be an easy case to make concerning a war -- but 'unconstitutional'?It strikes me that the Iraq Campaign of WWIV was not the least approved military action in US history but the most approved. Which makes sense because as society becomes more bureaucratic, military force

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-75331238197523586752007-10-11T06:16:00.000-04:002007-10-11T10:17:42.139-04:00

New York City Pays Tuition for ex Viacom COOThe New York Sun reports that the US Supreme Court in a 4-4 split decision leaves in place an Appeals Court order that requires New York City to pay thousands of dollars a month for a private school to educate the son of a former Viacom COO. At issue, whether the multi-millionaire and his AD/HD son have to try a government school first or can just pick

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-42728782564830756172007-10-03T06:01:00.000-04:002007-10-04T12:05:59.793-04:00

Those of us in the libertarian anarchist community have had few representatives to cheer for in our current contretemps. There was John W. Perry the libertarian NYC Cop who died at the Trade Center on 9-11 but that was about it.But now comes news that Sameer Parekh has reported to Marine Corps OCS at Quantico. A cypherpunk and crypto entrepreneur, Sameer was in Budapest on 9-11: I was at the

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-32065972810787261252007-09-04T14:20:00.000-04:002007-09-04T14:31:52.951-04:00

So I walked into a shop on New York City's Lower East Side and spoke to the proprietor. He went into the back and returned with a new, conservative, wool, pinstriped, men's suit. I gave him $25.00 in cash and walked out with the suit.Now the suit was made in China. I had bought it for $24.95 on eBay. I have purchased three suits from the same source. The other two suits cost me about $35.00.

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-35627405418918361352007-08-07T05:29:00.000-04:002007-08-07T10:40:37.681-04:00

The Truth About DenialSo Newsweek is beating up on climate change deniers this week. One minor problem with the lead though:Aug. 13, 2007 issue - Sen. Barbara Boxer had been chair of the Senate's Environment Committee for less than a month when the verdict landed last February. "Warming of the climate system is unequivocal," concluded a report by 600 scientists from governments, academia, green

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-54688070302410797592007-05-11T21:35:00.000-04:002007-05-11T21:40:42.385-04:00

It doesn't matter what your race, creed, or color is; you can still be a son of a bitch. -- Duncan Philip Frissell 1899-1965

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-68860868694892661172007-05-11T11:36:00.000-04:002007-05-11T10:35:32.199-04:00

So a Christian chaplain at New York's Rockland County jail was passing out some of Jack Chick's anti-Muslim cartoon tracts. Jail hiring Muslim chaplain after uproar THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW CITY, N.Y. -- The county jail where a Christian minister handed out anti-Islamic cartoons announced it will hire an imam for its Muslim inmates. The Rockland County Jail also said it will provide

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-4329702192730023882007-05-09T14:35:00.000-04:002007-05-09T13:42:41.886-04:00

How do I know? The Star-Ledger of Newark, New Jersey asked one:"Jhanelle said that as a Buddhist and the daughter of two lesbian moms, the pledge "doesn't represent my family or my beliefs".From a story about how laws which have been declared unconstitutional (such as one requiring non-pledging students to stand during the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance) still remain in the law books

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-32001866521363435652007-04-23T13:25:00.000-04:002007-04-23T12:22:18.892-04:00

I'm not a big fan of school choice for tax morality and state control reasons. Schools are a real problem though. Slave schools are set at zero cost -- out-of-pocket. That was not too much of a problem when private schools were cheap. Low cost differential. But even with low inflation (and with the labor/goods cost ratio skewing in favor of labor school inflation has been high), private

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-28470633678174069212007-04-23T12:10:00.000-04:002007-04-23T12:15:03.936-04:00

Students attend the few conservative schools extant for a number of reasons. Just as blacks would eschew attendance at schools run by the KKK (if they could gain admittance); conservatives loathe commie schools.I'm looking for a Montessori school for my grandson. In the course of the search the obvious occurred to me. New Jersey has thousands of pre, primary, secondary, and tertiary schools and

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-83853790407943247142007-04-05T06:02:00.000-04:002007-04-05T11:09:25.645-04:00

(B)y our constitution we are governed by a Despot who, although in theory, absolute - is, in practice, nothing of the kind - being watched night and day by two Wise Men whose duty it is, on his very first lapse from political or social propriety, to denounce him to me, the Public Exploder ... and it then becomes my duty to blow up His Majesty with dynamite, and, as some compensation for my

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-74033676512097051792007-03-29T05:03:00.000-04:002007-03-29T10:04:36.670-04:00

Since 1960, Americans have lost the liberty to:Open a secret US bank account.Purchase firearms capable of firing generally available fixed ammunition by mail.Open a secret foreign bank account, trust, or corporation.Accumulate untaxed earnings in a secret foreign bank account, trust, or corporation.Purchase new, fully automatic, firearms.Buy high-volume flush toilets.Discriminate on the basis of

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-30414328834858399022007-03-26T17:01:00.000-04:002007-03-29T10:00:58.335-04:00

Since 1960, Americans have gained the liberty to:Commit sodomy.Commit fornication.Commit adultery.Own gold.Enforce gold clauses in contracts.Privately possess obscene materials not featuring children.

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-23634130556746165132007-03-26T15:02:00.000-04:002007-03-26T14:06:27.395-04:00

One convenient use of a blog is to widely distribute information which you, alone, possess. I am going to start two simple lists of liberties that Americans have lost and gained since 1960. I am well qualified for this task since I was politically conscious (in a limited sense) in 1960 and I've been thinking about the topic ever since. The blog format will also allow me to add to the lists as

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1174491523497863662007-03-21T12:38:00.000-04:002007-03-26T14:14:02.335-04:00

Renewing your Passport in the Modern Era:The best way to renew your passport is to package your application, photos, old passport, and money into one of the large (soft) Express Mail envelopes. Include a self-addressed smaller cardboard Express Mail envelope with a $14.40 Express Mail stamp already on it for State to use to return your new (and old) passports. Ship it all off. Wait one week

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1168539632571935052007-01-11T13:20:00.000-05:002007-01-11T13:20:32.813-05:00

Hello Mr. Right-Wing Radio Talk Show Host,Short time listener, last time caller.I've never listened to your show before. In fact, I've never listened to a radio before. But I like your show. I used to hate it (even though I had never heard it). You used to be lousy but you've gotten a lot better recently.I'm a Democrat. I've voted Democrat ever since I started voting in '32 (except for '48

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1159391191551337012006-09-27T14:29:00.000-04:002007-04-30T14:46:12.291-04:00

We refused to surrender (submission/Islam) after Muslim armies conquered 2/3 of Christendom from 632-770 AD.We beat them at the Battle of Tours - 732 AD.We briefly recovered portions of Christian territory during the Crusades 1095-1291 AD.We defeated the fleet of the Sultan Ali Pasha at the Battle of Lepanto - 1571 AD.We defeated Turkish forces at the Battle of Vienna - 1683.We became much more

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1158030542794363102006-09-11T22:55:00.000-04:002006-09-11T23:19:03.326-04:00

If these buildings:Had had some of these:Phalanx CIWS (Close-in weapon system)They would be alive today!

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1155732462277697462006-08-16T08:47:00.000-04:002006-08-16T09:19:31.210-04:00

I wonder if Justices Breyer and Kennedy will apply this foreign law:Germany to monitor Madonna show: German prosecutors are to monitor Madonna's concert to determine whether a mock crucifixion could be construed as insulting religious beliefs.

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1153773323139713932006-08-10T06:43:00.000-04:002006-08-11T12:14:31.916-04:00

How is exorcism superior to psychiatry?Unless he works on patients involuntarily committed to his care by the state, a shrink needs the patient's permission to cure him.In the case of driving out devils, the exorcist doesn't generally need the patient's permission because he's not treating the patient he's expelling a tresspasser. He's working on another entity that lacks the protections of

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1155235166928063302006-08-10T06:34:00.000-04:002006-08-16T13:45:37.550-04:00

The current contretemps on treason in the MSM reminded me of the following scene in Allen Drury's 1973 novel Come Ninevah, Come Tyre. In the novel (one of two alternate endings to the string of novels beginning with 1959's Advise and Consent), a Soviet dupe has become president of the United States and "bad things" are happening. After initially supporting good liberal President Edward Montoya

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1154449634046146372006-08-01T12:27:00.000-04:002006-08-01T12:27:14.340-04:00

20 CFR 404.1035§404.1035 Work for a communist organization.If you work as an employee of an organization which is registered, or which is required by a final order of the Subversive Activities Control Board to register under the Internal Security Act of 1950 as a communist action, communist-front, or communist-infiltrated organization, your work is excluded from employment. The exclusion is

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1150815240701107312006-06-20T10:33:00.000-04:002006-06-20T14:36:17.426-04:00

So you live in a commie state that hasn't enacted concealed carry laws. Or you don't like to apply for a license even in a concealed carry state. Or you lack the funds necessary to obtain a suitable firearm. Does your state or nation restrict purchases of edged weapons?Not to worry. Thanks to the power of the Internet you can still obtain the deadliest personal weapon that does not involve

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1150226925986617072006-06-13T15:21:00.000-04:002006-06-13T15:28:46.090-04:00

A constitutional democracy that practices torture is an oxymoron.Surely one could imagine a national constitution that permitted torture as well as a democratic majority that approved of it so it can't be an oxymoron. Andrew Sullivan may be trying to say that torture violates natural rights/natural law but is uncomfortable with the baggage attached to those concepts.

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1149187000285191072006-06-01T14:13:00.000-04:002006-06-01T21:29:13.776-04:00

Dale Carpenter has a new CATO paper out opposing the Federal Marriage Amendment.In it he discusses various legal and constitutional issues involving the FMA but he doesn't analyze it from a libertarian perspective. Peculiar for a libertarian writing for a libertarian think tank.The FMA would seem to prevent states from licensing same sex marriages (SSM). Isn't the prevention or elimination or

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1148324404290969732006-05-22T15:00:00.000-04:002006-05-22T17:30:55.436-04:00

Dodging Immigration's Truths: "On the one side will be older baby boomers demanding all their federal retirement benefits. On the other will be an expanding population of younger and poorer Hispanics -- immigrants, their children and grandchildren -- increasingly resentful of their rising taxes that subsidize often-wealthier and unrelated baby boomers."Samuelson in USN&WR.If immigation of Mexican

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1147792669354648062006-05-16T11:17:00.000-04:002006-06-01T09:48:09.470-04:00

David Boaz on Dick and Mary:"Dick Cheney is not the only leading conservative with a gay child, though he is certainly the most prominent. The disconnection between their personal relationships and their political stance must be taking a toll on some of them."Andrew Sullivan on Dick and Mary:"And yet, at the same time he heads a party that would strip his daughter and her girlfriend of all legal

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1146772855705445612006-05-04T15:50:00.000-04:002006-05-04T16:00:55.776-04:00

If you want to help your children, I recommend poverty, divorce, and child abuse -- but just for their own good."Yes Ossifer, I'm an abusive parent. I beat my wife and kids daily, I quit work to provide my family with a poverty-stricken existence, and I intend to desert them ASAP. But I'm not a bad person. I'm doing it for their own protection.Someday, through no fault of his own, my son may fall

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1145473705340537942006-04-19T15:08:00.000-04:002006-06-01T09:58:38.276-04:00

Leviticus, Chapter 19, Verses 33 and 34:33: And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him.34: But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.The Magna Carta:(41) All merchants may enter or leave England unharmed and without fear, and

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1145370567327962542006-04-18T10:29:00.000-04:002006-04-18T10:38:52.696-04:00

W.H. Auden 1, "The Pristine Words Only Academy" 0:Jacob Behymer-Smith is a ninth-grader at the Coral Academy of Science, a public charter school in Nevada. He's participating in the Poetry Out Loud contest, which is run by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, and in which high school students compete at reciting a great poem that they've memorized. Behymer-Smith chose

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1144938377681682162006-04-13T10:26:00.000-04:002006-04-13T10:26:17.753-04:00

In the '60s, most Americans who got SS cards did so for one of two reasons --  they were entering the work force or taking the SAT test. Not being an early member of the work force, I had no SSN in 1968 and got one so I could take the SAT. It was a relatively simple process.  My mom drove me down to Richards Street (?) in downtown Honolulu to the SS office.  I had my birth certificate with me.

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1143048481326799712006-03-22T12:24:00.000-05:002006-03-22T12:28:01.343-05:00

A prediction of what would become of the District of Columbia: Thomas Tredwell, New York Ratifying Convention 2 July 1788Elliot 2:402 The plan of the federal city, sir, departs from every principle of freedom, as far as the distance of the two polar stars from each other; for, subjecting the inhabitants of that district to the exclusive legislation of Congress, in whose appointment they have

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1139271623074188822006-02-06T19:02:00.000-05:002006-02-07T21:52:05.046-05:00

Here is another caricature of Mohamet:It is on the frieze of the North wall of the Supreme Court's courtroom."Muhammad (c. 570-632) The Prophet of Islam. He is depicted holding the Qur'an. The Qur'an provides the primary source of Islamic Law. Prophet Muhammad's teachings explain and implement Qur'anic principles. The figure above is a well-intentioned attempt by the sculptor, Adolph Weinman, to

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1138557510555526742006-01-29T12:58:00.000-05:002006-01-29T12:58:30.556-05:00

The Volokh Conspiracy - Spielberg and Munich:: Yes. In the poster’s world, the filmmaker does have an obligation to praise the current administration.Let's look at the theatrical films on the Arab-Israeli conflict in the last 40 years:Cast a Giant Shadow (1966).Little Drummer Girl (1984).Munich (2005).The first film is pro-Israel, the last two are anti-Israel. That's not very many films for such

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1138557101255729022006-01-29T12:51:00.000-05:002006-01-29T12:51:41.323-05:00

The Volokh Conspiracy - Spielberg and Munich:: can anyone come up with a single example of when Bush has said that the 'enemies are not human beings?Evil is a characteristic of volition. Animals or hurricanes can't be described as evil. Humans and other volitional beings, devils, gods, figures of myth, aliens can be described as evil. Thus the use of the term evil as applied to our enemies in

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1138311425502435912006-01-26T16:37:00.000-05:002006-01-26T16:37:05.563-05:00

So I was reviewing my comments on the Volokh Conspiracy by googling my name within the volokh.com domain. I saw this response to one of my comments:The Volokh Conspiracy - Column Idea for David Brooks:: "A translation of Beowulf has got to be a lot better than the original. I remember slaving away with that epic in some English class along the way. One of the reasons why I never had any interest

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1138141488188721082006-01-24T17:24:00.000-05:002006-01-24T17:24:48.266-05:00

Mirror of Justice: Phoning it In: "is there any evidence that this administration treated the process of deciding to go to war with the moral seriousness required by Catholic teachings? Or did they instead, as the Downing Street Memo said, fix the evidence to reach the policy conclusions they already desired?"I think there is some evidence. One of the main reasons for resuming the Iraqi war was

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1133190880318639572005-11-28T05:55:00.000-05:002005-11-28T10:17:13.163-05:00

For many years, if you entered the United States Postal Service's two URLs into your browser -- sans www. -- you got bupkis:http://usps.comhttp://usps.govThe United States Power Squadrons at http://usps.org was always more flexible.Finally, the USPS has decided to conform to more standard notation and have configured their servers so that any of the four variations will deliver you. The two

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1131590477338745812005-11-09T21:33:00.000-05:002005-11-09T21:41:17.396-05:00

Is Paris burning? It looks like a job for the Black Berets of the Jean-Paul Sartre Brigade: French Intellectuals to be Deployed in Afghanistan To Convince Taleban of Non-Existence of God The ground war in Afghanistan hotted up yesterday when the Allies revealed plans to airdrop a platoon of crack French existentialist philosophers into the country to destroy the morale of Taleban

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1130246011862032802005-10-25T09:12:00.000-04:002005-11-09T22:04:15.103-05:00

Just in case you need a real Carte Blanche:Dec. 3, 1627 It is by my order and for the good of the state that the bearer of this has done what he has done. Richelieu Or perhaps you prefer the original French: « C'est par mon ordre et pour le bien de l'Etat que le porteur du présent a fait ce qu'il a fait. « 3 décembre 1627. « Richelieu. »

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1129657304670250932005-10-18T18:59:00.000-04:002005-10-18T13:41:44.740-04:00

You shot an unarmed man!Well, he should have armed himself.-- Clint in The Unforgiven.

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1129654296891241342005-10-18T06:50:00.000-04:002005-10-18T12:51:36.896-04:00

201 (Northern New Jersey) -- Still the lowest after all these years; though not the best.

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1128299647505116302005-10-02T20:34:00.000-04:002005-10-03T17:38:29.313-04:00

October 2, 2005New Tower in Mecca Is Offering Shared Ownership for MuslimsBy FAYE RAPOPORTLe Meridien Towers in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, is scheduled to open early in 2007 as the first shared-ownership property marketed exclusively to Muslim travelers. RCI, a leading vacation exchange company based in Parsippany, N.J., will support the property with services that include giving club members access to

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1126496019484249772005-09-11T22:42:00.000-04:002005-09-12T10:14:40.113-04:00

Once to every man and nation, comes the moment to decide,In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side;Some great cause, some great decision, offering each the bloom or blight,And the choice goes by forever, ’twixt that darkness and that light. Then to side with truth is noble, when we share her wretched crust,Ere her cause bring fame and profit, and ’tis prosperous to be

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1126322597253509532005-09-09T23:18:00.000-04:002005-09-09T23:23:17.253-04:00

No, the devestation from our recent contretemps does not resemble the aftermath of a nuclear bomb. Fire and Flood leave quite distinct markings on the land.

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1126322298658027572005-09-09T23:13:00.000-04:002005-09-09T23:18:18.683-04:00

If Peace can be described as that period of time during which no one beyond the families of the fallen pays any attention to military casualties, then Katrina has brought America Peace.

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1126146097129770382005-09-07T19:11:00.000-04:002005-09-07T22:21:37.186-04:00

Some have said that race played a role in the risk of death from Katrina. In fact, it is too early to tell which way the odds will break. We currently have no idea how many are dead much less the racial composition of the dead compared to the racial composition of the affected parishes/counties.It's possible that the white death rate was higher than the black death rate. We'll see. I expect the

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1125500968486811362005-09-07T06:08:00.000-04:002005-09-07T15:14:04.303-04:00

I have proof that Federal Reserve Notes are not money. Read it and weep:"This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private, and is redeemable in lawful money at the United States Treasury, or at any Federal Reserve Bank.""Will pay to the bearer on demand FIVE DOLLARS"I don't think you can redeem these FRNs any more. But back when you could wander into your neighborhood Federal Reserve

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1125797584741789822005-09-03T21:20:00.000-04:002005-09-03T21:33:04.746-04:00

I've been looking at an awful lot of pictures of people waiting in lines and sitting around recently, but there's one thing I haven't seen. I haven't seen any sign of a book or even a periodical.It strikes me that the latest contretemps would be an ideal time to finish that second volume of Forty-One Years in India by Field Marshal Lord Roberts of Kandahar.Why don't the denizens of New Orleans

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1125678956553362072005-09-02T06:35:00.000-04:002005-09-02T12:37:55.100-04:00

Airlines to Fly Up to 25,000 Refugees Out of New OrleansThe airlines have been asked to provide narrow-bodied planes, like Boeing 737 and Airbus A-320 models. The T.S.A. will screen passengers, as it normally does at airports, and it will create passenger lists for the airlines.But they won't have to present government-issued photo ID to fly.

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1123155070191991822005-08-24T06:31:00.000-04:002005-08-24T15:29:55.916-04:00

So an LP press release complains: 14 Marines Killed in Iraq as President Bush Vacations.I recall a time when libertarians advocated that our rulers take as much time off as possible to reduce their effect on our lives. "No man's life, liberty, or property is safe as long as the legislature is in session." What happened?This is just one example. We have Instapundit Glenn Reynolds advocating

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1124720359924008332005-08-22T06:11:00.000-04:002005-08-24T15:15:08.076-04:00

William Patry's copyright blog had a funny post on the religious side of the Copyright Office. It answered questions like, "What do they say when you try to register a work wih Jesus as the author."But it occured to me that copyright registration problems are the least of some publisher's worries. I wonder if anyone with a bad temper has noticed this Project Gutenberg header:The Project

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1124394219838199072005-08-18T06:17:00.000-04:002006-02-07T20:29:41.206-05:00

So, once Osama re-establishes the Caliphate, he's got another decision to make: Do I go the traditional route and move into Topkapi Palace:Or try 19th Century modernism and move into Dolmabahçe Palace:WHITE founts falling in the Courts of the sun,And the Soldan of Byzantium is smiling as they run;There is laughter like the fountains in that face of all men feared,It stirs the forest darkness, the

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1123708600987386502005-08-10T05:15:00.000-04:002005-08-10T17:16:41.006-04:00

I think right wingers haven't given enough thought to the benefits of citing foreign law. Here's some foreign law that conservative justices could use to justify their opinions.

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1123077858728329432005-08-03T06:00:00.000-04:002005-08-19T21:22:29.426-04:00

From my comment about a comment to a Volokh Conspiracy post:Don't you ever face difficult decisions that could go either way, irrespectively of your conservative principles?Not really. The purpose of having an ideology (or, say, a theology) instead of making everything up as one goes along is efficiency. Just as modern production techniques produce more goods for less labor than primitive

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1122399762834754792005-07-26T18:35:00.000-04:002005-07-28T17:59:31.936-04:00

Mandatory Harassment Free Workplace Training [The ambiguous, bureaucratic, original formulation.]Mandatory Harassment-Free-Workplace Training [What the bureaucrats probably meant.]Mandatory Harassment -- Free Workplace Training [What some would prefer.]Mandatory, Harassment-Free, Workplace Training [The ideal towards which mandatory workplace training should strive.]

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1121199322991806472005-07-12T16:15:00.000-04:002005-07-12T16:18:42.723-04:00

In the very exciting New Jersey section of the Sunday New York Times, the article Go to the Mattresses (No, It's Not a Mob War), contributed to the Times' reputation for not knowing much about weapons.The article is about multi-player, multi-day e-gaming tournaments conducted over LANs. The error occurs in this quoted exchange: If the office IT guys ever threw a rave, it would probably look

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1120750321232262132005-07-07T06:32:00.000-04:002005-07-07T11:34:42.283-04:00

Andrew Sullivan writes:Religious conservatives and secular liberals should be able to agree on this much: teaching good morals is not a job for the Texas legislature or the Kentucky courts -- or any legislature or court.But of course the legislature is teaching morals via the schools. Perhaps you can advise orthodox parents how to avoid the lessons the schools teach. I hope to see posts

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1120750173747143792005-07-07T06:29:00.000-04:002005-07-07T11:33:59.773-04:00

When Herman Kahn and his siblings each reached the age of 7, his grandfather who had emigrated from Europe gave each of them a $20 gold piece. And this is what he told them:"Keep this with you at all times. Never sell it. It is to be used only to bribe border guards."

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1120749802199823632005-07-07T06:23:00.000-04:002005-07-07T11:33:21.456-04:00

Nine U.S. states have no general tax on wages and salaries: Alaska,Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington,and Wyoming.

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3073408.post-1119552026822790702005-06-23T06:19:00.000-04:002005-06-23T14:48:31.536-04:00

Want to avoid the Vietnam Syndrome where the public tires or a war when it lasts too long or becomes too difficult. Easy, just change the poll question.If this question had been asked on April 30th 2003, we could have avoided any Iraq Syndrome:War is a very difficult undertaking. Sometimes wars last a long time and casualties mount. I am going to ask you a question about the Iraq War, but I warn

Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05675060030048648230noreply@blogger.com