I'm going

So, there's a discussion on the 27th on the use of torture in the war on terror.
Speakers include

* Jumana Musa, Amnesty International's Advocacy Director for Domestic Human Rights and International Justice;

* Tony Lagouranis, former U.S. Army Interrogator in Iraq;

* Jameel Jaffer, ACLU staff attorney and witness at the Guantanamo military tribunals.

It's free and open to the public.
VCU student commons, Sept 27, 7pm.

"I think I need lessons"

This was an actual quote heard, by me, on the tennis court today. It's not such an unusual thing, except that we were in tennis class. Yes, I'm taking tennis. It seems that J. Sargeant Reynolds is one of those places that still requires physical education credits, so I decided that tennis was a better idea than say, salt water fishing or golf. The class is, of course, made up of those who really know how to play, those, like myself, who have a basic understanding, and those who have never before seen a tennis ball, much less a court, net or racket.

Day 1. "We meet at the tennis courts on Wednesday, sign the roll, see you then."

Day 2. Learning each other's names. Being told that, "yes, you really do need to buy the book."
Run laps until someone starts singing. "I don't care what it is just sing."
Begin work on forehand swing. "Never show up the instructor." (to Peter)
Leave 40 min early.

I'm glad I've spent so much money on this class.

"When structure fails, liberty is always in peril"

This hasn't quite hit front page news yet, as we've all been so absolutely gripped by JonBenet's killer coming forward, but in case anyone would like to know, the court ruled the NSA secret wiretapping program to be illegal. Here's some of the ruling from the UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT, EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN, SOUTHERN DIVISION:

"Although this court is persuaded that Plaintiffs have alleged sufficient injury to establish standing, it is important to note that if the court were to deny standing based on the unsubstantiated minor distinctions drawn by Defendants, the President’s actions in warrantless wiretapping, in contravention of FISA, Title III, and the First and Fourth Amendments, would be immunized from judicial scrutiny. It was never the intent of the Framers to give the President such unfettered control, particularly where his actions blatantly disregard the parameters clearly enumerated in the Bill of Rights. The three separate branches of government were developed as a check and balance for one another. It is within the court’s duty to ensure that power is never “condense[d] ... into a single branch of government.” Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, 542 U.S. 507, 536 (2004) (plurality opinion). We must always be mindful that “[w]hen the President takes official action, the Court has the authority to determine whether he has acted within the law.” Clinton v. Jones, 520 U.S. 681, 703 (1997). “It remains one of the most vital functions of this Court to police with care the separation of the governing powers . . . . When structure fails, liberty is always in peril.” Public Citizen v. U.S. Dept. of Justice, 491 U.S. 440, 468 (1989) (Kennedy, J., concurring). (pgs 23-24)


The President of the United States, a creature of the same Constitution which gave us these Amendments, has undisputedly violated the Fourth in failing to procure judicial orders as required by FISA, and accordingly has violated the First Amendment Rights of these Plaintiffs as well. (pg 33)


In this case, the President has acted, undisputedly, as FISA forbids. FISA is the expressed statutory policy of our Congress. The presidential power, therefore, was exercised at its lowest ebb and cannot be sustained. (pg 36)

We have seen in Hamdi that the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution is fully
applicable to the Executive branch’s actions and therefore it can only follow that the First and Fourth Amendments must be applicable as well.51 In the Youngstown case the same “inherent powers” argument was raised and the Court noted that the President had been created Commander in Chief of only the military, and not of all the people, even in time of war. (pgs 41-42)

XI. Conclusion
For all of the reasons outlined above, this court is constrained to grant to Plaintiffs the Partial Summary Judgment requested, and holds that the TSP violates the APA; the Separation of Powers doctrine; the First and Fourth Amendments of the United States Constitution; and the statutory law. Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss the final claim of data-mining is granted, because litigation of that claim would require violation of Defendants’ state secrets privilege." (pg 44)

I imagine we'll see this case come up again in an appeal, but for now, we have a case won by the people. If you'd like to read the entire decision go here (in PDF). I wonder if there is now grounds for impeachment and/or removal? Does viloation of the 1st and 4th amendment consitute a high crime or misdemeanor? Hmm...

Please, no more low rise jeans

There's nothing in this world that makes a woman's butt look better than a well fitting pair of jeans. But I've noticed a disturbing trend among our nations youthful beautiful (or not) women, the rise of the low rise jeans. Believe me, the tease of seeing a woman's hips sticking ever so slightly over the top of the waist of her jeans can be incredibly sexy, but here's what's not:
I don't know who this is, so thanks for the pic Google and flickr

The ass crack shot you get from every girl bending over, squatting or even just leaning slightly forward is not attractive. And no, we don't want to see the elastic band of your teal lacy thong over the top of your overpriced ugly pre-worn stretch jeans either. It just brings more attention to the area in question. I guess I would have to say that it really reminds us of the time we worked construction during the summer to make rent and the fat sweaty guy with the hairy ass that always seemed to volunteer for the "low work". There are so many things that a woman can do to make herself sexy and attractive, and each of you should know this isn't it.

So to every drunken sorority/club girl, or their wanna be look alike, please, no more low rise jeans.

I'd vote for him

Christopher Walken 2008.


Before you get too excited, this is just a fan site that is completely false and rumor has it Mr. Walken wasn't very amused. Sorry, I wish it was true too. Oh, and apprently most (or all) of the quotes are ficticious as well. This site really has no foundation in what Christopher Walken actually believes (or so we've been told).

The History Channel should have a warning label

"For entertainment purposes only".

Really, if I were this unsuccessful at work, I'd be out of a job. I love to watch the History Channel and for a while I've watched Josh Bernstein not find the truth on a show entitled "Digging for the Truth". Seriously, he's sought the truth behind every historical question you can imagine thus far from the Ark of the Covenant to the Lost Colony at Roanoke Island, and so far, no truth to be found.

Every time the show ends I hear these words, "another one of the world's mysteries, still unsolved", or something similar. For whatever reason, this guy is still working. Don't get me wrong, he's got a tough job, but I didn't ask him to find the Holy Grail or Atlantis, he put that burden on himself. Why not go for a slightly easier goal, like "where's my car keys?" Or, "where did my sock go when it disappeared from the dryer?" Maybe you can even step it up a bit and ask a question like "why does route 288 run east-west and the exits are marked north and south?" (It's also even numbered, like a route that runs east-west) Granted, these may not be TV worthy, but as far as I'm concerned, neither is not finding the truth on a show obviously intended to find, I dunno, the truth.

So what's the only other occupation you can be wrong all the time and still have a job? Meteorologist. (I would've said weatherman, but that's no longer PC) Really, is it the fact that these guys are on TV that allows them to be wrong all the time and not get fired? Or maybe it's that both of these jobs are related to fortune tellers, psychic hotlines and newspaper horoscopes. Smart people know it's full of crap, but we keep checking to see if maybe, just maybe this time it'll be right. You see, they don't have to be right, we don't expect them to be, just don't get your hopes up too much, after all it's "for entertainment purposes only".