Why the 14th amendment failed: the Slaughter-House cases, which relegated civil rights to the state governments, and made equal protection an empty law, applying to only federal rights, opening the door to Jim Crow. It's a fascinating example of the problem with a pragmatic Supreme Court. In that particular case, allowing the state to protect public health was the right short-term policy outcome- Cholera is bad. But the legal implications of the reasoning used to get to that answer were terrible. The problem is that our legislature is so unresponsive, that the court becomes reluctant to create obvious problems and injustices, because it knows the legislature will not correct them. The solution in the long run was the creation of the USDA, not freeing the states to discriminate. (reached though this fascinating response to the latest round of the banal game of 'ask doctrinaire libertarians about the civil rights act')
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04:01:06 PM,
Friday 20 May 2011
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There needs to be something called the Tea Plot.
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(2)
02:22:46 PM,
Friday 20 May 2011
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Pictures from the flooding.
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03:34:02 PM,
Thursday 19 May 2011
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the back of my bicycle seat has two cracked aluminum tubes. I am extremely grumpy about this. I certainly can't ride it like that, and I have no idea if a) welding thin aluminum tubes is cost-effective b) if I should trust it after it's been fixed. If I get a new bike, I want another recumbent, but the nearest shop with any selection is 2 hours away. Also, this was the only cheap recumbent ever made. It may be possible to buy a replacement seat made by a different company, but it will take time, and I am impatient.
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(3)
01:50:24 PM,
Monday 16 May 2011
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The pancakes this thing produces are even worse than you think they would be. If you ever happen to encounter one at a hotel, do not push the button.
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(4)
06:10:56 PM,
Sunday 15 May 2011
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Koyaaniqatsi: We're out of earth balance.
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(1)
09:07:37 PM,
Wednesday 11 May 2011
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I'm pretty sure this is the guy who installed my dishwasher. Did a good job. Showed no signs of being disgruntled.
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(6)
10:17:14 AM,
Wednesday 11 May 2011
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It's Medicare, Jim, but not as we know it.
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10:03:39 AM,
Wednesday 11 May 2011
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I would like to propose the following name for all smartphones, tablets, and similar handheld electronics: podgers.
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(2)
02:22:50 PM,
Tuesday 10 May 2011
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I now want to read everything John McPhee has ever written.
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(2)
06:44:55 PM,
Monday 9 May 2011
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A wonderful old piece by John McPhee on the Old River Control Structure, why the Mississippi wants to change routes, and why we try to stop it. It contains a description of the only previous time the Morganza spillway has been opened. It's long, over an hour to read, but afterwards you will know all sorts of delightful and worrying things about the contradictions inherent in living along rivers, and the history of the Army Corps of Engineers, and crawfish fishing, in addition to why this flood is so worrying.
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02:47:43 PM,
Monday 9 May 2011
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This is what happens to people who stay on their log too long.
Also: Moss- Flickr has changed it's blogging options. Do you still have it auto-posting to your blog? If so, how? I'm back to doing it manually.
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06:58:23 PM, Sunday 8 May 2011
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site & script courtesy of Moss