Miscellany: 12/27/13

Quote of the Day
One of the hardest things in this world is 
to admit you are wrong. 
And nothing is more helpful in resolving a situation than 
its frank admission.
Benjamin Disraeli

Free Will and Human Dignity



NSA Gets One Legal Decision on NSA  Phone Tracking: Thumbs DOWN!

U.S. District Judge William Pauley is my initial nominee for the 2014 award for judges behaving badly. I seem to recall Billboard would run its calendar for certain annual charts from November through October. Since I have already named my 2013 winner/loser, Pauley will be in the running for next year's award.

This is one which will likely go to SCOTUS, given a contrary earlier verdict by Judge Richard Leon. Pauley basically argues that the broad search is a key to counter-terrorist activities and is necessary given the nature of decentralized terror cell networks. I clearly disagree; there's not enough discussion in the article to know what he did/did not write. But some of his points are at best dubious; for example, he argues that they would have known one of the 9/11 hijackers was in the US (the NSA had intercepted the call but did not know the details). Nobody is challenging that the NSA would get the fuller metadata given how they intercepted the message under a conventional warrant. Presumably the intercept was over an authorized wiretap.  But the idea you need to collect everything is patently absurd--you can filter for relevant targets. It still amounts to the equivalent of a general warrant, which as Judge Leon points out probably violated the Fourth Amendment.

Facebook Corner

(Patriot Post). A&E Folds...http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/michael-w-chapman/ae-ducks-ends-suspension-bible-thumpin-phil-robertson
I thought this might be coming when they ran a Duck marathon over the holiday; of course the old saw is that all publicity is good publicity, but with the family suggesting it would stand behind Phil, A&E's move didn't make strategic sense building towards an aborted launch. I've noted even in this thread, the politically correct police are voicing their dissatisfaction for what they consider an unprincipled betrayal, but this wasn't a case where Phil's controversial comments were aired over their network

(Reason Magazine). Increasingly, the public may be seeing that the problem isn’t a handful of officials who illegally gamed the system, but a system that allows a powerful minority to legally game the majority.
Funny--play on words: Bell, CA. I think the ongoing pension crisis and increased transparency, in addition to well-known public bankruptcies, provide a basis for reform. The fact that the Dem major of San Jose is pushing more serious reform and the signs that public unions are seeing lower approval ratings make it clear that things are different than when the unions ran over the Governator's reforms just under a decade ago. It won't happen overnight; California judges are economically illiterate and in a state of denial, and public employees will fight reform every step of the way. It will be like pulling teeth.

A friend linked to this post where a writer gives kids a lesson on the power of words using the Duck Dynasty kerfuffle and Justine Stacco, all but immediately fired after posting a tweet joking about a business trip to Africa, AIDS in Africa, pointing out she was white. (By the time she reached Africa, she discovered her alleged tweet was trending worldwide and had alienated people to the point of getting death threats.)
I'm far more concerned about the judgmental, unforgiving attitude of other people; good people don't quote out of context and are more tolerant of the mistakes of others. It's a shame to see someone lose a job in 140 characters or less.

But we have to live in the real world, where our words can be used against us, a badly toned email can get you fired and/or forwarded behind your back, an indiscreet photo (remember Phelps caught smoking marijuana?) may be seen by prospective employers, etc. We need to control our messages, not let our messages define us.

Courtesy of Banksy via Catholic Libertarians

Powerful Christmas card by an artist known as Banksy, depicting Israel's West Bank barrier which would have prevented the Holy Family from ever reaching Bethlehem. ~Mark
Recall it was government that required a late-stage pregnant woman to travel...

(Ron Paul) Ron Paul in 1991: Both Parties are the Same. While speaking at the Libertarian Convention in Chicago, Ron says what he's been saying for decades; there's little difference between the two major parties and Americans are "unhappy, disenchanted & looking for something." 

Of course--3 years after he lost as standard bearer for the Libertarian Party. He would return to the GOP to run for Congress and twice for President. Let us recall that Taft and Buffett were part of the Old Right. The vast majority of twentieth century American casualties occurred during the watch of Democratic Presidents, and every major entitlement and program was initiated by the Dems. So don't argue that the parties are the same. It's hard to win the game when you're always playing defense. I do agree the GOP didn't make the most of their rare opportunity in 2003-2006 holding both the Congress and the White House--but the last 6 budget surpluses occurred under a GOP House or President. I regret there weren't more legislators with Paul's testicular fortitude, but it's very difficult to run against Santa Claus.

Musical Interlude: My iPod Shuffle Holiday Series

Andy Williams, "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"