Hillary

Okay, so tonight...and just tonight - I'm for Hillary Clinton.  I mean, I'll make no apologies, I love Hillary Clinton - I've loved her since 1992, I just happened to love Barack Obama more during this election cycle, but tonight her speech...yeah, pitch perfect.  She's simply remarkable.

Gotta Love Technicalities

So, the Post is reporting that the U.S. will honor its Convention Against Torture obligations abroad, this is so because Condi says. The interesting thing here is that she hasn't said anything new that will meaningfully affect U.S. policy.

If the U.S. starts treating people consistent with the Convention - that will be great - but all she really said was that the U.S. personnel will operate pursuant to U.S. law and our international obligations....wherever they are in the world. But this isn't any different than the administration's current position that the Torture Convention doesn't technically apply outside of the U.S. - the administration would say that we're already complying with the convention.

The reason the U.S. so claims, is because the Torture Convention was ratified with an "Understanding" such that the U.S. will prevent of cruel and inhuman treatment consistent with the 8th Amendment of the Constitution. Well this is all well and good for Americans - they've got Constitutional Protections. But if you're outside the country your passport doesn't say United States of America on the cover - you don't have any Constitutional rights......ergo the Torture Convention doesn't apply to you.

What Rice needs to say is that "The United States Government will not subject anyone anywhere in the world to cruel and inhuman treatment." Further the gov't should take immediate steps to rescind the 8th Amendment Understanding.....or at least modify it so that it reads something to the effect that "the 8th Amendment will be the basis for determining what is cruel and inhuman treatment, but that the prohibition extends worldwide to every individual regardless of citizenship or territoriality".

Come on guys we here in the "Land of the Free" shouldn't be torturing people - it's undignified, it's not effective and it makes us look bad.

Kulturkampf......umm - NO!

The Post has a fairly accurate article about the Ford Motor Company's recent cow-tow to the AFA on advertising in GLBT media.

I've got a couple of things to say about this article & this situation:

1. The article annoyed me just a touch when analogizing the Ford situation to the Microsoft situation (re: the anti-discrimination bill) - in relevant part the Post said "Ford is the latest company to be ensnared in the culture wars over homosexuality" - to me, this is unfairly framing the question. Presented as such it looks as though this is simply a cultural disagreement - that both sides have colorful arguments and that we should all sit back and see what happens. Umm, NO - this isn't a cultural disagreement to the tune of "Which is better the Phillies or the Philharmonic?" - this is a fight for equal civil rights. And those trying to continue legalized oppression shouldn't be given the benefit of the doubt. In the 1950's many white supremacist groups boycotted or threatened to boycott companies who advertised in the Black media. This is the same thing. And it should be so called.
2. Ford ought to know better. This is a big true-blue American company and as such it shouldn't fall under pressure from such an un-American group. Ford should publicly renounce the AFA and it's goals and continue in its commitment for equality amongst its employees and its customers. Further, by succumbing to the AFA's threat - Ford is endorsing their techniques......get a bunch of right-wing Christians to threaten not to buy your SUV's and all of the sudden your principles fly out the window. And the only reason that they're doing so is because the GLBT community is small - if the AFA was attacking interracial marriage - Ford would most certainly have none of that....but that's because its still acceptable to hate gay people....especially if "God" told you to.
3. Lastly, what the hell does this say about our culture. Ford is an American Icon and it's falling sway to the demands a fanatical group, small in number, but large in power. I guess it's illustrative of the Christian control over this nation. It's remarkable that such a fringe position can dictate......and more remarkable that a once great American company is complicit.
4. Right...I lied - this is really my last point: Ford should be thankful for it's GLBT customers. It's fairly well documented that we [the GLBT] community are an incredibly loyal market group - you advertise to us, you support us.....we'll support you. And what are you trading our loyalty for.....you're using it to buy off a reactionary group because you're afraid that it's 3,000,000 members won't buy your SUV's......I hope it's worth it.

This isn't a 'culture war' we need not wait for 'society to decide' on this issue. This issue is about equality and human dignity. The sides of this 'war' are Oppression v. Equality for any self-respecting company or person to extricate themselves from fighting for or contributing to Equality or worse yet further legalized oppression....well, that's just plain shameful.

Several Interesting Lobellian Notes

First of all, today in International Law....we were discussing the Geneva Conventions and more specifically what ought to be 'the line' in determining what types of targets are legitimate targets for bombardment (namely for usage of air power). At one point I made the point that was something to the effect that if you drop a bomb to kill a couple of bad guys, and that bomb kills a lot of civilians - the population is going to be even more pissed off at the U.S. troops....such that basically if there is a lot of collateral damage - the bombing may backfire and leave your troops in a worse position. Okay so here's the interesting/cool part - one of our military experts (of which there are two) absolutely agreed, and noted that when he was in Afghanistan this was a concern that the military took into account when using force....... So for about five seconds I was like "Hell Yeah - I wanna be Secretary of Defense" - and then I was like "Ummm no, all war is pretty bad and it ain't a fun business to get involved in" - but the moral of the story is that sometimes the military does follow international law....albeit only when its expedient and convenient.

Second and hopefully the subject of a later post.....it's come to light that there is another individual who survived (such that he can tell the tale) being extraordinarily rendered by the U.S. - A German citizen who ended up in an Afghani prison - where he was tortured for 5 months - soley because he had a suspicious name. Apparently the ACLU has filed suit in Virginia.......damn 4th Circuit. So this should be an interesting case - I hope to look into it further a little bit later on.

Lastly - and most importantly - I received my first full-out "A" in law school today. That's right folks! Granted it's only a 2.0 credit class, but nonetheless - Foreign Affairs & the Constitution - I own that shit!!!!

Okay - gotta try to call a friend and then find a place to study for IBT.

Ford sucks anyway......

But still - it's shameful that they are colluding with psycho right-wing groups like the AFA. Whatever...I don't have time to go into the details....but here is the HRC Press Release.

Busy busy busy....

Yeah, I know - everyone is busy....but y'all should take a moment to read an article in the Village Voice.

It's a piece about several still unanswered questions from the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks - uh, yeah - I'd like some answers.

Especially the stuff about National Command and how/why the building's fell the way they did............

So much to say.....

I'd like to make these points more eloquently.........but unfortunately I took the 'classy' route and drank a lot of bourbon out of a paper bag......right, so.....

1. Deference to the military is wrong....pretty much always
2. Guantanamo and the current restrictions on civil liberties should be Nazi-esque red flags
3. Judgment at Nuremberg is pretty fuckin' campy
4. Sometimes, just sometimes - I wish I would know what it is like to be a right-winger....I want to know what it feels like to think that you're justified on withholding rights from others that you'll exercise yourself based on your own personal beliefs.....it's soooo odd & I'd love to know how it works inside one's head
5. Cluster-bombs, white phosphorous & nuclear weapons should be illegal always
6. Every human life is equal and should be accorded the same respect
7. Republicanism is the new "National Socialism"

Okay - I'm watching To Gillian on her 37th Birthday....it's one of my favority plays....I'm excited about the movie....

Shout Out du Jour!

Tom - kicks teh ass (except for that JAG nonsense)

Intolerance under the law

A while back (like 2 1/2 weeks ago) I was complaining about the religious exemption Target Corp. provides for its pharmacists such that if they don't want to prescribe EC b/c of religious reasons....they don't have to.

Unfortunately religiously-based discrimination has just been ruled legal in CA where several doctors refused to inseminate a lesbian couple.....because it was against their religious beliefs. This is exactly the kind of stuff that the law ought to prohibit.

People can have whatever religion they so desire, but when it denies the rights of others.....especially rights to medical treatment....the religion has to take a back seat to the law.

Oddly, religion seems only to be implicated when dealing with contraception and homosexuality....I mean nearly every religion is pretty clear on whether it's okay to kill people, yet none of these people seemed to be willing to withhold their votes from W. and he's certainly killed a lot of people. Hypocrisy...yeah, probably.

This religious freedom argument is just rebranded religious imposition legislation....allowing people to discriminate on the basis of their personal beliefs....how is that any different from the atheist who is a racist or a bigot - they have their belief structures.....(though many claim religious support)? The answer is - it isn't, it's simply "Hate, because God told me so."

Oh....wouldn't it be grand to be in the majority.......

Pipe and a Crepe

I just had an interesting brunch with Greg on the South Side.....Umm, yeah it was a really 'cool' place called Zenith. I actually really liked the set-up - half antique store/half restaurant - and family-style seating is always fun. I must say though my scrambled egg burrito....not so hot - but hey $10.00 includes entree, coffee/tea, and access to a fantastic side buffet. Of course being that I wasn't a fan of my burrito....I overcompensated on Cranberry-Walnut Cake....mmm mmm good.

So, all in all - fun environment, good desserts, super affordable....but stay away from the burrito.

'da Catholic Church.....is teh suck.

For all of you who don't know - I was raised Catholic (I know, how did I overcome...) - The best part about my parents getting divorced was that my mom didn't make me go to church anymore, so I ran kicking and screaming from the Catholic Church when I was 11 years old. (I'll digress about why I wanted out of that claustrophobic religion another time)

Anyway, in the same rancorous discussion discussed earlier - my classmate and I scratched the surface of Catholicism (My Scalian friend is Catholic...go figure.) - anyway we had the typical "I don't judge you b/c you're gay.....we are all sinners....resist the temptation" conversation. But at one point I said that I thought that the Catholic Church didn't serve a large number of its members very well, namely women & gays. To which he asked why I would want to change his church.....

Look - I don't really give a rat's ass about the Catholic Church as a Church and accordingly, I don't care what free-minded, free-willed people believe in....my concern is only implicated when those beliefs bleed into other areas of society and cause detrimental results.

So, this morning before I got out of bed - I was thinking about whether I had a good reason to why I wanted the Catholic Church to change.....and it turns out I do.

First and foremost - there are a lot of kids, gay kids in fact, who grow up Catholic - I know tons of them - and they don't choose to be Catholic - their parents choose to raise them Catholic. So they end up getting totally fucked over - they are taught that being gay is wrong & sex outside of marriage is a sin, etc. These kids didn't choose to be Catholic and yet the Church is doing a horrible disservice to those kids by subjecting them to their bigoted teachings. So that's one reason.

Secondly - in our society religion seems to be this 'trump card' - it shouldn't be, but it is....so the Church is training all of these people to believe a certain thing (Homosexuality is a sin, Life begins at conception, Abstinence, etc.) - and because it's cloaked in religion - it removes human intelligence and logic from important issues in public discourse. It would be fantastic if people could go to mass, come home and engage in an abortion-rights discussion separate from religion, but they seem to be unable to do so. So the result is that a large number of people attempt to deny the rights of others because the exercise of those rights don't comport to their religion. And here is where bumper stickers come in handy: If you don't like abortion, don't have one & If you don't like gay marriage, don't have one. Further, if one should ask a Conservative Catholic, "Why shouldn't we allow same-sex marriage?" the response one is likely to receive will somehow implicate the Bible or the more palatable "Judeo-Christian tradition".....but is that a substantive answer....I would argue no. This is the Church taking important human decisions out of the hands of the adherent individual and vesting them with Rome.

Lastly, the Church needs to stay out of politics - these media-hungry bishops that threaten to deny sacrament to politicians based on how they vote on a certain issues - they need to be reprimanded immediately. Those elected officials serve the people, not themselves and for the Church to implicate their personal faith in reaction to their official decisions...well that's shameful and anti-democratic.


The bottom-line is that I really couldn't care less about the religious beliefs that people choose to hold - I just want them to stop hurting others.

Quick Note on Justice Scalia

Nobody has lukewarm feelings for Justice Scalia - either you love him or you hate him....w/r/to his judicial posture. Though there are a number of people who dislike him on the bench, but nonetheless find him to be a 'colorful' character and enjoy reading his sarcastic dissents. In short - you like him as a person.

It should be noted that I have a very difficult time separating 'the person' from 'his or her beliefs' - I can do it - it just takes a little effort.

Yesterday, in a rancorous discussion with a Scalian classmate, where this classmate claimed that Scalia was a good guy....I got to thinking:

I'm officially changing my position on Scalia, the nice guy - He's an asshole - Maybe he's a fun read on occasion, but that won't save him from asshole-dom in my book. You see, I can 'respect' difference of opinion - but what I won't respect is condescention and disdain for groups of people who come to the court asking for "Equal Justice Under the Law". Case in point - Lawrence v. Texas....an opinion near and dear to my heart.....(also a 23rd birthday present from Justice Kennedy)

The court kicked the shit out of Bowers v. Hardwick (Fuck You Justice Powell), sorry for the digression, but I can't talk about Lawrence and not quote my favorite passage:

Bowers was not correct when it was decided, and it is not correct today. It ought not to remain binding precedent. Bowers v. Hardwick should be and now is overruled.

Anyway - the bottom line is that Rehnquist, Scalia & Thomas dissented. Now to my point (finally) - Thomas (whom I usually disslike) said that it (anti-sodomy law) was a stupid law, and the if he were in the Texas Legislature he would vote to rescind it, but that he didn't believe that the Constitution empowered him to do so judicially. Hey I disagree, but it's a respectable position. Scalia on the other hand went through several pages trashing gay people and offered support for the law - all while claiming that he didn't dislike gay people in general. Yeah, can we say disingenuous.

I've always found that [Scalia's] dissenting opinion so....I guess "hurtful" would be the right word....we all know that you're not going to support gay rights...ever, but why do you have to be sooo mean & demeaning about it. I just don't think that is the type of thing that a 'good guy' would do.

So there you have it - I've tried to like Scalia - tried to be open-minded, but upon further examination - it's over between him & me - we're through, and I can't wait for history to judge his ass - he's going to look like a dissenting judge would have, had there been one, in Brown.

Eat it Scalia.

Completing the Morning Roundup

Okay - this is the last news story I'm going to comment on....for now.

Apparently the U.S. has been paying Iraqi newspapers to run favorable stories about U.S. efforts - ummm, this strikes me as a little bit 'messed up' - I'm not an expert on fighting quagmires, but it seems to me that 'hearts and minds' won't be won when you're passing off fictional advertising as real news.

Come on people, the administration loves to talk about spreading democracy to the middle east - and we love those photos and video clips featuring Iraqis who have recently voted. A free press in inherently necessary for any form of democratic government - the whole idea is premised upon access to information - so that one can make an informed decision.....not to mention the fact that any government that controls/coerces the media will lose legitimacy amongst the people. (Save France, Mitterand & Paris Match....but that's for another day)

Why is it so difficult for this government to be honest, up-front and clean - if you're ideas are as good as you say they are - people will see that, and agree with you. But the bottom line is that the administration doesn't have good ideas, they have ideology, mixed with greed, and they need to coerce & lie to make themselves more palatable.

Freedom of....what?

No Substance, Just the Superficial

Right so, I didn't really read this whole article so I don't have an opinion on it one way or another. It has something to do with Delay being a douchebag and some Republicans are pissed. But what struck me was the photo - seriously check it out. I'm totally going ad hominem on this one.....When I saw that photo, w/ the wife, the first thing that came to mind was a fantastic quote from Best in Show. And since I can't say it better: "She looks like a cocktail waitress on an oil rig." Okay I know - that was mean, but hey, you show your support for a lyin' kind of a guy - you're fair game.

Is a tatoo really justified though.....

Believe it or not, today I was glancing at the Sports headlines in the Post today....I'm not quite sure why but it happened. Anyway I saw an article that seemed to be favorable to UMd so I decided to link to it because a good friend of mine has a Terp fetish.

South Africa

Although it has been surprisingly underreported in U.S. and British media - yesterday the South African Constitutional Court said "Fuck 'dat" to a hetero monopoly on marriage. They gave the Parliament 12 months to amend the law.

Go South Africa - The 5th Nation in the world to denounce the last vestige of legalized discrimination!

Victory is mine

Just to let everybody know - it turns out that the asshole/douchebag that I suspected of being a homophobe - is in fact a homophobe. So although my Gaydar is somewhat unreliable, I guess my GayHatin'-dar works just fine.

White House: Death Penalty Deters Crime

So, we all pretty much know that Bush is a lyin' kind of a guy. But damn - does ideology always have to trump reality - this whole 'deterrent' business w/r/to the death penalty is totally unfounded. At best, the deterrent is a wash - when including the threat of life imprisonment w/o the possibility of parole. Moreover, some studies have placed administration of the DP error-rates as high as 9% - so out of every 10 people murdered by the state, 1 of them is probably innocent.

Go Justice!

Though I guess this is to be expected from a self-proclaimed born-again christian, who has murdered over 150 people by the stroke of a pen. Isn't there a 'commandment' that speaks to this --- hey, it's your religion, not mine.

However, the Death Penaly is pretty much small potatos when you take into account the 2,000 U.S. soldiers who've been killed because of this administration - and let's not forget the 100,000 Iraqi civilians.

Bush is one murderin' kind of guy. But hey, God Bless America.....and no place else.