Constitutional Conservatism

An excellent column:

But the notion that the Constitution imposed substantive, rather than merely procedural, limitations on that government was for a long time fairly uncontroversial.

As recently as the early 20th century, the consensus was that it would require a constitutional amendment to give the federal government the power to ban the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcoholic beverages. In 1933, it took a second constitutional amendment to repeal this power. Today, if Washington were inclined to ban Demon Rum it would be justified under the pretext of regulating interstate commerce.

Consider the constitutional amendments that ended slavery. Slavery had a much bigger impact on interstate commerce than most things the federal government today claims the power to regulate under the interstate commerce clause. Yet even people who in the context of those times held fairly expansive views of the role of government did not think the interstate commerce clause gave the federal government the power to end the massive human rights abuse of slavery.

The slavery example proves that the Constitution itself was not perfect. That's why the Framers included an amendment process. But it also shows that even our political class once took seriously the idea that their actions must be authorized or justified by constitutional text to be legitimate. (New York Times op-ed writer Lincoln) Caplan treats this belief as a form of madness.

Well worth your time to read the whole thing.

More Reasons Not To Have Confidence In Anything the TSA Does

Ok, it's from USA Today, but still:

When investigators with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's workplace safety team visited a dozen airports in 2003 and 2004, what they found was disturbing — at least to federal airport workers.

Although most radiation levels around baggage X-ray machines were low, six of 281 machines used to screen checked luggage violated federal radiation standards, some emitting two or three times the allowed limit, the CDC found.

Perhaps most troubling, the CDC had found what the Transportation Security Administration hadn't noticed. The TSA and its contractors had failed to identify the machines that were emitting excessive radiation — a failure that continues to leave TSA workers and some lawmakers uneasy, especially as the agency continues to deploy hundreds of controversial radiation-emitting machines to help screen passengers...

Airport X-ray machines are exempt from the state radiation control inspections they would receive if installed at a local courthouse or in a non-federal office building.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration doesn't routinely inspect airport X-ray machines either because they are not medical devices, said FDA spokesman Dick Thompson.

That leaves the TSA responsible for inspecting its own devices...

Rapiscan Systems, the company that makes the full-body backscatter X-ray scanners used by TSA, did not respond to interview requests.

The new full-body scanners have raised more concerns than the baggage X-ray machines, despite TSA and FDA assurances that they're safe.

David Brenner, director of Columbia University's center for radiological research, questions whether it's good public policy to give millions of people the backscatter scans — even if the health risk is remote.

Buffoons. All this, and they want to feel my stuff. These people deserve a march with torches and pitchforks.

Mathletes

Who could refuse to read an article that begins thusly:

Neal Wu’s last chance for international glory, and maybe America’s, too, begins with a sound like a hippo crunching through a field of dry leaves—the sound of 315 computer prodigies at 315 workstations ripping into 315 gray envelopes in unison. “You have five hours,” a voice booms across the packed gymnasium. “Good luck.”

At his desk on the gym floor, Wu, age 18, pushes his glasses up on his nose and squints. He shouldn’t need luck. This is a coding competition—the International Olympiad in Informatics, held in August at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada—and Wu is one of the world’s top competition programmers.

High school athletes probably won't still be playing their sports 7 years hence. Mathletes probably will be.

Tuition Must Be Really High

Five Columbia University students were charged Tuesday with selling LSD-spiked candy and other drugs at three fraternity houses and other residences on the Ivy League campus, with two allegedly claiming they needed the drug money to cover tuition. link

Did you get the pun? Sometimes I slay myself.

Tuesday Trivia

The answer to yesterday's question is:
Pat Benatar.

Today's question is:
What actress, who died in 2010, was born Barbara Lillian Combes?

Remember Pearl Harbor

And be prepared to kick some ass on anyone who tries a stunt like that again.

Christmas Songs

I made it all the way until today before hearing my least favorite Christmas song of all time--Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer. It's not just the music I dislike, it's the hillbilly theme and the lack of dignity. There's nothing about Christmas about it at all.

In general I like "traditional" or "old fashioned" Christmas songs. I've found that I don't like Rat Pack singers and their Christmas songs (how many times must I hear freaking Dean Martin sing that damn song?) but prefer orchestras and choirs; I don't mind Mannheim Steamroller at all, perhaps because I like the songs that they modernize.

Christmas carols? Love 'em! O Come All Ye Faithful is probably my favorite, but there are plenty I like. Remember that store, Natural Wonder? I have an instrumental CD of Christmas songs from there, and I like it as much as I like my CD of the Londonderry Boys Choir--or even George Winston's December CD.

I love Christmas songs.

Last year, I discovered a new Christmas song--at least, one I hadn't heard before. It's pleasant, it's heartfelt, it's catchy, and the people who performed it are as cute as buttons. I linked to it a year ago and the link is still good, so here we go again. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.


Update: Here's a non-Christmas-y thought: if I play in class the instrumental Natural Wonder CD mentioned above, could someone legitimately claim some First Amendment violation, as if I were forcing my religion on them by having such background music on? How about if I play one with religious lyrics?

"If I had my druthers, there'd be no public school left standing..."

OK, the video is 44 minutes long, but it's interesting.

I don't believe in privatizing everything, especially at the state level. I have libertarian impulses, but they don't go near as far as this guy's. Still, if you've got 44 minutes to spare, it's fun to watch such videos and come up with legitimate counter-arguments (as opposed to bumper-sticker, sound-byte statements) to what he says. Mental gymnastics can be fun.

Monday Trivia

The answer to yesterday's question is:
Billy Idol.

Today's question is:
What is the stage name of Patricia Andrzejewski?

Sunday Trivia

The answer to yesterday's question is:
Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service.

**Begin Stage Names Week**
Today's question is:
What is the stage name of rocker William Michael Albert Broad?

I Wonder If The Teacher Really Slapped The Kid?

This is one angry, racist, crazy mother.

We Are Governed By Idiots

From the New York Times:

In a classic case of shutting the barn door after the horse has left, the Obama administration and the Department of Defense have ordered the hundreds of thousands of federal employees and contractors not to view the secret cables and other classified documents published by Wikileaks and news organizations around the world unless the workers have the required security clearance or authorization.

“Classified information, whether or not already posted on public websites or disclosed to the media, remains classified, and must be treated as such by federal employees and contractors, until it is declassified by an appropriate U.S. Government authority,” said the notice sent on Friday afternoon by the Office of Management and Budget, which is part of the White House, to agency and department heads, urging them to distribute it to their staff.

I'm not even sure how to classify this post, as I don't have a label specifically for "idiocy", although "liberals/lefties" comes close :-)

I Thought Only Republicans Conducted a "War On Science"....

I find this type of information far more interesting that "learning" that Karzai is corrupt or that our Secretary of State wanted her people to keep an eye on other diplomats:

Hidden behind the save-the-world rhetoric of the global climate change negotiations lies the mucky realpolitik: money and threats buy political support; spying and cyberwarfare are used to seek out leverage.

The US diplomatic cables reveal how the US seeks dirt on nations opposed to its approach to tackling global warming; how financial and other aid is used by countries to gain political backing; how distrust, broken promises and creative accounting dog negotiations; and how the US mounted a secret global diplomatic offensive to overwhelm opposition to the controversial "Copenhagen accord", the unofficial document that emerged from the ruins of the Copenhagen climate change summit in 2009...

Even the CIfreakingA was involved. Smart diplomacy.

Our Pathetic Congress

I hope that the new Congress will do better:

The Democratic-controlled Congress hasn't passed a single annual spending bill. It's an unprecedented breakdown of the budget process.

Remember, for at least part of the last two years the Democrats had a both a majority in the House and a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. So much for their "leadership".

Thank You, Michelle Obama

And I say that as sarcastically as I can. Sure, USDA officials say they won't really ban bake sales:

A child nutrition bill on its way to President Barack Obama — and championed by the first lady — gives the government power to limit school bake sales and other fundraisers that health advocates say sometimes replace wholesome meals in the lunchroom.

Republicans, notably Sarah Palin, and public school organizations decry the bill as an unnecessary intrusion on a common practice often used to raise money.

This is the kind of crap you get with activist government.

Foreign Exchange Students

Last year I had a French foreign exchange student in Algebra 2. Periodically over the years I've had students escort a foreign student into class for a day, and yesterday an Argentinian student was such a guest (which was a real treat for my student whose mother is Argentinian).

Every foreign exchange student who's ever come into my class has always made the same comment: American students behave and pay attention much more than students "back home". This has always floored me, especially when it comes from students whose country's schools are said to be superior to those in the US (and especially to those in California). Yes, even the Germans have said this.

So I have to wonder: are the students at my school just especially well-behaved? (I do teach in an upscale neighborhood.) Are the teachers at my school just especially insistent on appropriate class behavior? Are we just getting foreign visitors from bad schools?

What other possibilities are there? I'm really curious about this topic.

Saturday Trivia

The answer to yesterday's question is:
Qantas.

Follow-up question for today:
What does QANTAS stand for?

Posted Without Commentary...

...because what can I add to this story?

The Sacramento County District Attorney's Office dropped its case against an Elverta school district superintendent fired over allegations that duct tape was placed over a student's mouth, it was announced Friday.

Elverta Joint Elementary School District Superintendent Elizabeth Golchert was fired last month despite words of support from the student's father.

The father told The Bee that his third-grade son has behavior issues and that he gave Golchert permission to restrain him when necessary.

"Without condoning the conduct, the District Attorney's Office has concluded the facts present a reasonable argument that Golchert believed she was acting within the scope of the authority the father had given her when tape was applied to the child's mouth," according to a news release from the District Attorney's Office.


Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/12/04/3232229/da-declines-to-file-charges-against.html#ixzz17AfwrBzt

Where Liberalism Leads

They can call themselves liberals, or progressives, or unicorns for that matter, but the end result is always the same. Winston Churchill saw the problem:

When Churchill saw America’s principles of liberty, constitutionalism, and limited government, threatened with the rise of the welfare state, he admonished America to resist this soft despotism. In “Roosevelt from Afar,” Churchill admits that the American economy was suffering when FDR took office, but FDR used this crisis as an opportunity to centralize his political authority rather than to bolster the free market through decentralized alternatives. Churchill commends Roosevelt’s desire to improve the economic well-being for poorer Americans, but he critiques Roosevelt’s policies toward trade unionism and attacks on wealthy Americans as harmful to the free enterprise system. Drawing on Britain’s experience with trade unions, Churchill understood that unions can cripple an economy: “when one sees an attempt made within the space of a few months to lift American trade unionism by great heaves and bounds [to equal that of Great Britain],” one worries that result could be “a general crippling of that enterprise and flexibility upon which not only the wealth, but the happiness of modern communities depends.” Similarly, redistribution of wealth through penalties on the rich harms the economy: “far from depriving ordinary people of their earnings, [the millionaire] launches enterprise and carries it through, raises values, and he expands that credit without which on a vast scale no fuller economic life can be opened to the millions. To hunt wealth is not to capture commonwealth.” Ultimately, attacks on the wealthy only serve as a distraction from other economic issues.

We can readily recall Churchill’s foresight in foreign affairs—his warnings about appeasing Hitler and the rise of the Soviet Union—but we forget his warnings about America’s welfare state. Unlike the progressives in America and abroad, Churchill recognized that tyranny is still possible—even with a well-intentioned welfare state.

When people get used to a welfare state, their worst instincts come to the fore:

In England, youths are rioting. In Portugal, labor unions staged a national strike last Wednesday. A little over a month ago, France and Greece were subjected to large, violent demonstrations and riots. A common thread? In each of these countries, the unrest was engendered by economic austerity measures proposed and/or enacted by government. A far more salient common thread? The morally corruptive nature of the progressivist ideology.

As the four recent examples, along with others occurring all over the world illustrate, a group of like-minded "thinkers" is emerging. It is a group composed in equal parts of economic illiteracy and pathological self-entitlement. Only an utter fool—or a dedicated progressive—would riot or strike because someone else can no longer afford to underwrite your lifestyle.

That is where liberalism leads. Sadly, though, it's not the end result. The end result is even worse.

Hat tip to NewsAlert, from which I got the two links above.

Do What He Says Because He's Famous.

Tom Brady. Quarterback of the New England Patriots.

Hypocrite.