Archive for 'rights' Category
2008.05.17
Gay Marriage… Again
The California Supreme Court just ruled that homosexuals have the same right to marry as straight couples. This has, naturally, led to passionate reactions from both sides of the proverbial aisle. Personally, I am for gay marriage. I believe in the expansion of rights granted by our many Constitutions, within reason, not the limitation of rights. So I won’t go too much into the reasons why I support this decision but rather into the reasons why some people are against it.
1: Same sex marriage will ruin the institution. This is patently false. I think we straight people have managed that all on our own. My own parents are still married, but nearly all off my friend’s parents are divorced. At one point over 50% of all marriages ended in divorce. If marriage is a pact for life, it has obviously failed.
2: Marriage is an institution to raise children within. Really? What about couples who don’t want to have children? What about couples that do have children and physically or sexually abuse those children? Who’s to say that gay couples couldn’t raise children just as well as any kind, loving straight couple? Besides, domestic partners can already adopt, so gay couples can already raise children.
3: This ruling goes against the will of the people. I can’t argue this one terribly hard except to say that often the will of the people is often wrong. For example, slavery, racial equality, religious equality, gun ownership, various forms of taxation, etc. I hate to bring up the Nazis because they are the worst, most extreme example and people hate reading about them when they justify someone else’s position, but the Nazi party did have the overwhelming support of the German people in their day. They were wrong.
If we ban same sex marriage, what’s next? Should we ban it for non-Christians, too? Should we ban certain types of convicts from being able to marry for fear that their criminal ways will ruin the idea of marriage? Should we ban marriage altogether as a violation of blending church and state?
3 Comments | Catergorized: political rights2008.04.30
Anime On The Web
(Disclosure: I work for VIZ Media, a partner in this venture).
Almost a year ago Cartoon Network launched Toonami Jetstream, a website where you could watch certain anime titles for free. The problem was that you could only view them using a Windows computer.
Starting today, though, Cartoon Network has changed the format and now viewers from all platforms and watch anime on the web. Awesome! Current titles include Naruto and Hikaru No Go, both of which I recommend.
Congrats Cartoon Network, on being inclusive rather than exclusive. You’ve even added the ability to embed video from your site to ours. Awesome.
No Comments | Catergorized: anime rights technology work2008.04.02
I’ve Done My Civic Duty: Jury Duty
I realize not everyone likes the idea of jury duty. Certainly it is not the most popular obligation on the planet. Personally I see this as a failure of the education system and of parents. Our Constitution calls for all cases except treason to be trials by jury, and I understand the wisdom of this. I’ve been called many times but never had to sit on a trial until now. Eight days ago I was asked to sit on a trial and though I wasn’t keen on the obligation I did not shirk my duty. Say what you will about our system of government, it is a good system and I will always stand up for my Constitution. The Constitution is mine as much as it is yours. It asks very little of us yet gives us so much. Sometimes not enough, but that can -and will- change.
For the first, and likely not the last, time in my life I sat on a trial. I had to listen to evidence given, weigh the veracity and compare that to the wording of the law, and judge a person. This is not something anyone really wants to do, but it is something we must do despite these days in which people feel entitled to the freedoms they enjoy.
I won’t deny that I’m glad my service is over but I also won’t lie that I am satisfied to have served my people and given something to this nation, even if just in a small way. There is no ideal justice in the world, but I think our system goes a long way towards fairness and equitability. Meanwhile, if you’re even still reading this, I will end things now. I’m mildly intoxicated and yet in quite a sober mood. Really I just wanted to say I’ve done my jury duty and am happy to have done it, and am happy it’s over. Why is ending an article so difficult when drinking…?
3 Comments | Catergorized: political rights2008.03.26
Memo to Self: Detailed Statements
Memo to Myself: if ever I’m involved in an incident that requires me to make a statement to the police, make sure it is detailed and that I review it once or twice before submitting it officially.
(This comes from watching the cross examination of witnesses at the trial I am on the jury for…)
2 Comments | Catergorized: life rights2008.03.20
Lucky 18…?
Today was only a half day at jury duty. Two minutes before dismissal for the day (they are still picking jury members) I was called on to sit in juror seat 18. I believe this puts me in the pool of potential alternates, but I’m not sure. The lawyers will get to ask me questions next Tuesday to see if I’m suitable. While there could be worse cases to be on, I’m just bummed that I got picked at the very last moment before leaving. Plus that courtroom is draining. I’m not sure if it’s the light or not.
Anyways, at least my lawyer neighbors will be excited I’m doing my civic duty!
3 Comments | Catergorized: life rights san francisco2008.03.19
Being on Jury Duty Selection
This week I managed to pull jury duty for the Superior Court of California. Sounds intimidating, but the case my group was assigned to isn’t so bad. We’re going through the process of jury selection. So far I am not in the “lucky 18″ but I get to go back in tomorrow for the jury finalization. Last time I pulled jury duty I was bored out of my mind. This time not so much. Listening to the questions asked of each juror and seeing which ones are being dismissed is interesting. I’m trying to figure out why they are dismissing certain jurors because so far there doesn’t seem to be a pattern.
I did meet one of the other jurors (who did get selected for the lucky 18) named Ellen. Very cute. Alas, married. Anyways, I noticed her voice was kind of hoarse so I asked if she was getting sick. No. It turns out she was in a car accident a long time ago and it destroyed her vocal chords and for years she couldn’t talk. Then she had surgery and they put in plastic vocal chords. Cool! I bet she was super excited to be able to talk again.
So jury selection isn’t completely over and I get to go in tomorrow. Afterwards I hope to give a few thoughts and observations because somethings are just… weird.
No Comments | Catergorized: life rights san francisco2008.03.09
College Republicans Fight to be Uncivil
…free speech does not mean free rein.
In an ironic triumph for First Amendment protections, college Republicans at San Francisco State University have won the right to be uncivil. Yep, they’ve won the right to hurl insults at others, stomp on other ethnic group’s symbolic flags of identity, and attempt to incite angry -and possibly violent- reactions from the crowd.
To the relief of a campus Republican group, the 417,000 students at California State University’s 23 institutions no longer face the possibility of discipline for failing to be civil to one another.The change was part of a settlement approved by a federal magistrate in Oakland this week in a lawsuit by the San Francisco State College Republicans, whose members were subjected to a disciplinary hearing after some of them stomped on two flags bearing the name of Allah during an anti-terrorism rally in October 2006.
The flags represented the militant organizations Hamas and Hezbollah and had “Allah” written on them in Arabic. A student later complained that the College Republicans had engaged in “actions of incivility” and had tried to incite violence and create a hostile environment.
Hurray for College Republicans standing up for all of our rights to free speech! The National Socialist Party of America couldn’t be more proud of them.
In another irony, SFSU president Robert A. Corrigan wrote in 2004 after the incidents that led to the court case that
Taunts, attempts to incite each other to anger and remarks drawing on the worst stereotypes and global fears violate the values of this campus. … Further, exchanging charges of “racism” and “anti-Semitism” with others because of their political affiliation rather than dealing with the substance of the political differences is a dishonest dead end. … On this campus, free speech does not mean free rein.(Emphasis mine. Two sentences removed for brevity; read the whole letter here)
Apparently and sadly, you are wrong Mr. Corrigan! While I do agree with you, college Republicans have won the right to be uncivil with everyone else. I can’t wait for them to start whining that others are being mean to them. Now that would be ironic!
9 Comments | Catergorized: rights san francisco2008.03.06
Reforming Business Patents
I’m all for copyrights and patents… as long as they are fair. Both have been abused to the point of needing serious reform. I’ve been ranting about the need for reform for a long time now. Our Founding Fathers thought both were extremely important and build them into our Consitution.
The Congress shall have Power To… promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.
Now comes news that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will hear a case that could over turn patents for methodology. This is one of those things that allows me to get a patent for tying my shoes (so long as I can show I have a new method of tying them). Interestingly, I didn’t know this form of patent was relatively new (just under 10 years old).
I still think Congress is the one that will have to do the long term reformation of our patent and copyright laws, but we’re a long ways away so long as the “people” with money (corporations, businesses, lobbying and industry groups, etc) keep buying the various members of Congress to vote their way. Still, in the meantime this is some of the best news I’ve read in a while on this issue. Even better will be when they kill this methodology patent.
No Comments | Catergorized: rights thoughts2007.11.19
Attempting to Abolish Rent Control?!?
This is so patently stupid it goes beyond words. Yet I will try to write what needs saying.
Last week my friend Stinky Pork Chop (lovely handle, neh?) alerted me to the fact that there was a proposition in the works for California to do away with rent control. While alarming I didn’t think much of it because no one would be stupid enough to try and enshrine in our state constitution something so moronic. Then I read this article and it became clear. The proposition is primarily (but not only!) about putting restrictions on eminent domain because of the poorly thought out Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. New London. The trick is that the so-called “Californians for Property Rights Protection” group is sneaking in language that would ban rent control (among other things).
The provisions of this Act shall become effective on the day following the election (”effective date”); except that any statute, charter provision, ordinance, or regulation by a public agency enacted prior to January 1, 2007, that limits the price a rental property owner may charge a tenant to occupy a residential rental unit (”unit”) or mobile home space (”space”) may remain in effect… [emphasis mine]
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not a fan of eminent domain, no more than I am of modern homeowners associations and their neighborly fascism. Those smarmy bastards are trying to sneak in rent control abolishment under the guise of regulating eminent domain. Slowly but surely Californians are becoming aware of this situation and an alternate proposal called Eminent Domain Reform is trying to get their own ballot proposal up and running. It has one -and only one- clear mission.
The Homeowners Protection Act will prohibit the government from using eminent domain to take a home to transfer to a private developer.
I have no problem with that. I do have a problem with the slimy, underhanded, craptastic people at the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. You might remember them from such brilliant schemes as Proposition 13, one of the single greatest problems facing the public and private economy of California today, if not the greatest. If this were exclusively about eminent domain I would have less of an issue but it’s not. Let’s see if they can fsck things up even more.
1 Comment | Catergorized: grrr political rights san francisco2007.10.20
Ignoring the Law
There are a lot of laws on the books that are so ludicrous or old or too difficult to enforce that it’s staggering. They are the law, however. How does the system deal with this? Tim Wu has written a five part (actually six entries!) series called American Law.Who are some of the criminals?
What group lives in the greatest defiance of American law? Criminal organizations like the Mafia or inner-city gangs come to mind. But if you account for volume and time, otherwise peaceful religious groups like the Amish or Mormon fundamentalists are certainly contenders.
Not that religious groups are the only criminals out there. Almost every one of us in some way, whether because we sometimes enjoy prescription pills, tacitly support illegal immigration, burn a mixed music CD for a friend or (or course accidentally!) visit a porn web site once in a great while. Let alone that almost everyone fails to come to a full and complete stop at every stop sign.
There’s much here I knew but never thought about in the context of a legal framework, and it will be interesting to see where some of the fresher issues, like copyright in the digital age, will evolve.
No Comments | Catergorized: political rights thoughts
