Racism

I just received this email in my school inbox:

Volunteer training at CU for Reading to End Racism


Interested in being a part of the solution?

All CU staff, faculty, students are invited to a special on-campus volunteer

training.

Reading to End Racism works to combat racism through interactive personal and

literary programs that educate and empower youth. Volunteers serve as guest

readers at local schools to help facilitate discussions around issues of

diversity and acceptance.

TRAINING: Wednesday, July 30th, 2pm-4pm in UMC 325

Space is limited, so sign up early!

Contact: **************

Additional information: www.colorado.edu/vch

So… Does anyone want to tell me how reading can end racism? Is that racists are illiterate? These idiots at CU believe their propaganda that bigotry is from ignorance.

Bigotry is not from ignorance: it is from hate. A racist maybe well educated in all matters of knowledge, and yet still hold on to his hatred. He or she can be a PhD in Mathematics or be a physician or a lawyer and still squirm when “those people” (whoever they may be) get on the bus.

This program is another silly waste of time and money. More that likely there are some public funds in this program, which has only one purpose: to give some brainless bureaucrat a job for life.

Big Brother is Watching You

Flint, Michigan has two problems: crime and cash. To reduce the crime, the city wants to install cameras at 14 major intersections across the city. But cameras cost money, and so they want to have businesses sponsor the cameras. The cameras would feature the business logo: like NASCAR.

I love that Common Cause thinks the taxpayers should pay for the system. Common cause has never seen a tax-and-spend idea it didn’t love. While I’m all for sponsorship and all things hillbilly, this camera idea is ridiculous.

First, have cameras ever deterred crime? No. Just ask the thousands of convenience store clerks who are robbed or shot while their cameras capture the scene.

Second, do cameras solve crime? Not on their own. Every night, the local news posts some still image from a bank robbery or a convenience store hold up in the hopes that someone will recognize the man and call police with the tip. I somewhat doubt that the majority of cases are solved because of camera surveillance. Further, a good lawyer could easily cast doubt at trial when the state tries to use the evidence.

Third, this is a curtailment of civil liberties. While in the post-9/11 world “security” has become the idol of the public, all it has done is hassle the average citizen trying to go about his daily life. Remember my post on how the UK is now requiring old men to remove their hats in taverns. That is the logical step from security cameras. First, the government installs the CCTV system. Then it adds facial recognition, which cannot compensate for hats and glasses. So, the government steps in and bans the offending items. In the name of security, the government is now dressing you. The government has literally become your nanny.

Dumber than Paris Hilton

Even Los Angeles, the land of Lindsey Lohan and Paris Hilton, thinks we’re dumb.

The bungles of Mayor Hickenlooper and his posse of Democratic boot lickers have made the national press. The Los Angeles Times reported that the city is $10 million dollars in the hole for the convention. Compounded to this, the planning apparently has been done by seven year-olds. The article does a good job of listing some (but not all) of the gaffs:

“[Barak Hussein Obama’s] acceptance speech being held at an outdoor stadium instead of in the arena where the rest of the convention will take place.”-- This was a last minute change on the part of the convention planners. It is a logistical and security nightmare. The secret service has always hated open-aired football stadiums.

“Even special daisies that the city bred partly to show off for the convention are failing to sprout.” Why the hell are we paying for “special daisies” that can’t even grow? Is it a sign of Obama’s plans for the economy?

“[Denver needed to defend its] much-mocked catering guidelines, which recommend organic produce and color-coordinated meals and discourage fried food.” -- Look, 90% of the convention goers will be drinking copious amounts of beer and eating greasy hamburgers. The catered food, meant to appeal to the Democratic fund sources (the environmentalist lobby), will be eaten at official parties but I guarantee many cows will die for the Democrats.

“Local political leaders and the host committee insist everything is fine, and that any bumps along the way will be overshadowed by the attention showered on the city next month.’ -- Do not look at the man behind the curtain! Buy our propaganda, not the truth!

Seriously, Denverites hate these conventions, which amount to welfare for the political parties, precisely because we can see these sorts of issues. Contrary to the mayor’s claims, hosting the DNC will not give economic benefit to the city. Once the costs of the convention-- its security, its protesters, and the lost productivity of workers who skip town to avoid the hassle-- are factored in, the city will lose tens of millions of dollars.

Oh, and do not forget tax free gas and car washes.

Police: Not Above the Law

In an argument on the law, who do you root for: a lawyer or a cop?

Breitbart reported the AP story of a showdown in a Japanese restaurant between a lawyer and a cop. The cop had run into the restaurant for a quick meal-- but he parked illegally next to the curb outside. Now, if you or I did that, we would get a parking ticket. The lawyer brought up this important point.

Bryant testified. "I responded, 'No, you're not.' I told him he was an officer of the law. He's not supposed to break the law. He's supposed to enforce the law."

The cop replied that the law did not apply to him. The best he could come with in court is that he might have to leave quickly to answer an emergency call.

This is a victory for the rule of law. The police should never be above the law. If the law needs to be amended to allow a cop to park illegally for routine meals, then let the legislature do so. I seriously doubt that parking an extra 30 feet away would really hamper the cop in performing his duties of taking reports after a person is victimized. What this is really about is the arrogance of the police culture in assuming power they do not have, but who will argue with the man with the gun?

Nonetheless, until the law is changed, the cops must abide by the law too.

Tangentially, I will never use the LE/"Civilian" distinction. Really, either a person is active duty military or they are a civilian. Either they operate under the rules of martial orders and law or they operate in civilian law. A soldier has vastly different responsibilities to the state than a cop. A cop is a citizen whose given a badge to enforce the law, while a soldier is to defend the very existence of the state.

Lesbian on Lesbian Action Again

To update you on my previous post:

Reuters reports that a court in Athens has dismissed the plea by Lesbians (residents of the Greek island of Lesbos) to ban Lesbians (homosexual women) from using the term. Given the nature of hypersensitivity to the GLBT movement, this ruling does not surprise me in the least.

What bothers me is one particular line in the story:

In a July 18 decision, the Athens court said the word did not define the identity of the residents of the island, and so it could be validly used by gay groups in Greece and abroad.

This holding is patently false. The word's etymology derives from the name of the island and its inhabitants. To be "Lesbian" was originally the same as being an "American" or "English" or "French." When part of a hegemonic league (such as the Delian League), "Lesbian" was roughly equivalent to "Coloradoan" or maybe "Puerto Rican." That is the word has historically been understood to refer to the inhabitants of the island of Lesbos.

Where "lesbian" achieved its new definition comes from the ancient erotic poet Sappho whose works often featured female homosexual sex. While it is true that Sappho was from the seventh century, B.C., the term "lesbian" had a duel meaning through most of history. During that time, the term was very often, if not most often, understood to mean the inhabitants of Lesbos first and homosexual women only secondarily. It's like us referring to a "special" or "San Francisco" type male today. Does that mean the homosexual community should be able to steal the word "special" from our language? Or should a person be ashamed for being from San Francisco and thus associated with homosexuals? (Wait.. that has happened already...)

The case will almost certainly be appealed, for this is a matter of principle. Don't hold your breath for a different ruling because European courts recently have been going to great lengths to satisfy their GLBT communities.

Good News!

I just found out that I have succeeded on securing a place on CU's Journal for Telecom and High Tech Law. This is a high honor, as there are only 20 spots on the the JTHTL and one must submit an essay successfully complete a "citation exercise" in order to "write on" to the journal. If you do not know, legal citation is about 20 times worse than normal academic citation (get a group of lawyers together to write rules and, well, it gets terribly complicated for complexity's sake).

JTHTL is one of the top five Intellectual Property Law journals in the country (a growing field and more important than ever-- think of iTunes). Further, JTHTL has also been ranked one of the top communications law journals and one of the top technology law journals in the country.

I am really happy about getting on this journal and just wanted to let you know about it.

So, Yay!

DNC Gas Fraud

The DNC has committed fraud. They pretended they were city of Denver vehicles entitled to tax-free gas and “private” car washes. When the Rocky Mountain News broke the story, the fallout was immediate: Denverites were angry, and justifiably so. Some quotes:

"I do know for a fact that they're doing the same exact thing in Minneapolis," Hickenlooper said, referring to the city that along with St. Paul is hosting the Republican National Convention.

But Teresa McFarland, a spokeswoman for the Minneapolis-St. Paul host committee, said its members are getting their gas at public pumps.

This is the “but the other guys are doing it” argument, and it appears false. Hickenlooper is either lying or he cannot verify his “facts.” Now, it could be simply because I don’t live in the St. Paul/Minneapolis area, but it seems to me that the Republicans are not have nearly the problems of setting up their conference as the Democrats in Denver seem to be having. Only the party of entitlements would think they should get low cost gas paid for by taxpayers.

The host committee, which is responsible for raising money to put on the convention, is using the city's pumps "for safety and security reasons," [Chris] Lopez [spokesman for the host committee] said.

I had no idea I was using unsafe and insecure pumps. Now, every time I fill up, I feel like the oil companies-- and the government too for that matter-- are robbing me. Maybe if I could fill up where the cops fill up their squad cars, I would feel more secure and safe. Nah, I would probably just get a speeding ticket (Denver loves giving them out).

The disclosure brought immediate scrutiny. Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said the practice "would seem" to be illegal and referred the matter to the state Department of Revenue.

Yep. This is tax fraud.

Everyday there is a new story about how Denver has bumbled the planning of this convention.

Jet Plane

I will be attending the Federalist Society Student Leadership Conference. Consequently, I will be out of touch for a few days. If I can blog, I will, but don't count on it.