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Gun Control: Back in the Spotlight

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On November 20, 2007

In DC, Law, Policy

Every Democrat in the country better be ready for a barrage of gun control questions between now and the general election next year.  Why?  The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case that goes to the core of the Second Amendment, which reads:

A well-regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Vastly oversimplifying things, it’s about whether the “right to bear arms” is a right that you – as an individual – have, or whether the right to bear arms is only as part of a “well-regulated Militia” (which is then up to the States to define).  If there is an *individual* right to bear arms, then many of the existing restrictions on gun acquisition and ownership may well be found unconstitutional.  I think it’s a perfectly valid question, and something that the Supreme Court has been avoiding for years.  So I’m happy to see that it will be sorted out.  As a lawyer, anyway.

But the real harm here is going to be the reinsertion of the “Democrats want to take your guns away!” canard into the political sphere.  If ever it was true, it certainly hasn’t been true for decades.  Yet it remained a regular (and effective) rallying cry for the GOP (a wholly owned subsidiary of the NRA, for the purpose of this issue).  It had faded, in recent years, and I was glad to see that.  But look for this case to put it front and center again.  Democrats need to prepare to ready, aim, and fire back.

Friday Notes: Lawyers Protesting, Explaining Perspective, and Musical Maps

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On November 16, 2007

In DC, Law, Society, Tech

I went to the DC lawyers march in support of the lawyers in Pakistan.   It makes me cringe just to write that.   Though well -intentioned, it just seemed so . . . off.   In any event, it did result in my two favorite lines of the week.  The first was by another lawyer, saying that “this was the first protest I’ve been to where everyone arrived in cabs.”  Tis true – the curbside in front of the Library of Congress looked like the Mayflower Hotel cabstand.  The second line might reach what made this “march” okay, cringeworthiness aside.  A few people from (what I assumed to be) Code Pink came along, cheering and asking –

“What took you so long?”

Indeed.  For a more thought out take on the US lawyers rallies across the country, check this out.

~

Occam’s Hatchet at dKos uses the classic Flatland book to explain the importance of perspective.  An excellent read.

~

Barry Ritholtz at the Big Picture linked to this interesting little tool from Gracenote a little while back.  Gracenote is the company that provides the track information for the CDs that you put in your computer.*  They’ve now created a map that lists the 10 most popular artists and albums by continent and country.   It’s a bit of a rough measurement – the results, of course, are heavily skewed towards the demographic that can afford computers constantly connected to the internet.  That said, it’s still quite fun to poke around.  Finland?  There’s something wrong with that country . . .

*Saving you kids all that typing we had to do back in the mid 90s.  Uphill.  Both ways.

Lunafest

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On November 10, 2007

In Cycling, DC, Society, Virginia

Stopped by the Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse tonight for the Lunafest.  Hosted by Team Luna Chix DC, Lunafest is:

 a national traveling festival of films by . . . for . . . about women.

Lunafest runs from October-March, in that time it is shown by more than 100 venues nationwide and is seen by over 20,000 viewers, each ticket sold raises money for Breast Cancer Fund and local nonprofit organizations.

The films were pretty good, and the speaker (I really regret that I can’t recall her name) was more than inspiring.  A breast-cancer survivor and Ironman veteran, she spoke about the causes and effects of breast cancer in a more frank way than I’ve ever heard anyone talk about it.  I wish more people would have been there to hear it.

The concept of the Lunafest is really something.  It is, essentially, a turnkey film festival fundraiser.  Lunafest provides the centerpiece – 10 film shorts.  You provide the venue and select the local charity to benefit.  The Breast Cancer Fund and the local charity receive the proceeds.  Luna (maker of Lunabars), of course, gets the credit for facilitating all of this (and, frankly, deserves it).  I *really* like this idea.

Check out the calendar to see if Lunafest is coming your way (really, the films are great, and they’re *everywhere*).  If you’re feeling motivated, consider hosting one.

Friday Notes

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On November 9, 2007

In Cycling, DC, Personal, Tech

Okay, $16 million! Nope, I see $20 million, from the lady in the bad hat!  Do I hear $25 million?  Anyone?

~

WashCycle (one of the most consistently informative of local cycling sites, btw) brings us up to date on the goings on at the last Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting.

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A nicely done article on resources for fixing your broken gadgets.   A few years ago, I realized that the gadgets I already owned did what I needed them to (for the most part), and I stopped being the person with the newest whatever (much to the surprise of my friends, it seems.)  Since many of these things appear to be built for a year or two of useful life, max, I’ve found myself using many of the listed resources.  Check it out.

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As we move through life, I think we mostly achieve or drop our dreams.  Rarely do we find new ones.  But I think I just did.

Mortified

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On November 8, 2007

In DC, Personal

I found out about Mortified: Angst Written too late to go to last night’s show at H.R. 57.  I only found out about it when listening to Kojo’s show, and by the time I got in front of a computer to order tickets, they were sold out.*  Which is probably a good thing.

What am I talking about?  I’m talking about Mortified, an ongoing performance piece which describes itself as:

a comic excavation of adolescent artifacts (journals, letters, poems, lyrics, home movies, stories and more) as shared by their original authors before total strangers.

Yes, people go through their old stuff from high school, pick out the most embarrassing of it, and are brave enough to get up on stage as adults reading their teenage words.  If being at the show is anything like listening to the radio interview, it’s probably as painful as it sounds.  In a good way.  I think.

Anyway, they’re still touring.  Check out the links, and consider hitting a show near you.  It might not be for everyone, but I think some of us would really appreciate it (hi, Beth!).

*I rather unexpectedly ended up at Anthony Bourdain’s appearance.  I’m somewhat appalled that I paid to go to what was essentially an extended book signing, but it was terribly entertaining.   C’mon, anyone who jokes about being able to “drop a charging Rachael Ray at 100 yards” is worth at least a few dollars.  On the other side, I wanted at least 50 cents back for the lame-assed vegetarian jokes (there are much *much* better vegetarian jokes to be made).

Things That Don’t Fit In

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On October 31, 2007

In DC, Tech, Travel, UK

Zombies on the Orange Line

Ah, the joys of an Orange line commute.  And just wait until the Tyson’s extension is connected!

Seriously, isn’t that a great picture?  James Calder caught it  at the DC Zombie Lurch this past weekend.

Other bits that don’t fit anywhere in particular:

  • Flying While Brown: still not (yet) a crime, still not a hassle free activity.
  • My interest in the technical aspects of operating systems disappeared long ago, but I found this review of the new OS X version (Leopard) so well written that I didn’t even skim over the bits about the kernel.  Recommended if you’re considering upgrading (I think I’ll hold off for a while) or if you’d just like to see what a well written technical article for a popular audience looks like.
  • I wish I were a size small.

DCCX – DC Does Cyclocross!

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On October 29, 2007

In Cycling, DC

DC enjoyed its first organized cyclocross event, this past Sunday. DCMTB/City Bikes did the heavy lifting in organizing and managing the races, and the U.S. Armed Forces Retirement Home (the new name for the U.S. Soliders’ and Airmen’s Home) provided an absolutely beautiful venue. I felt a little lame heading out there without even thinking of having a go myself, but it was so much fun to watch I pretty much left that feeling at the gate. I hope they can pull off turning it into an annual event – it’s the sort of racing that makes me positively evangelical about the sport.

Gwadzilla, as usual, has the better words.

Pictures from the Men’s 3/4 & U18 race are available here. I’ll upload the rest of the afternoon races as I get a chance.

Updated: Scott talks about his race, and then his son Jake’s race. If I’m recalling things correctly, Scott got at least another lap and a half out of the day, keeping up with Jake (but on the other side of the tape . . .).

Women’s 1/2/3 race photos here. Betsy Shogren blew away the rest of the field by 2:30.

Junior’s (U16) race here. These kids rocked the course. Is your form this good?

Further Updates:

  • VeloNews summarizes the A races here.
  • Josh considers the 1×9 approach.
  • Darren Bigg captures the morning races.
  • And instead of lending a hand to his fellow DCMTB’rs and taking pictures of DCCX, Joe is . . . lazing about in Patagonia?

Small things are big

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On October 24, 2007

In DC, Personal

Went to my law school for a lecture this evening.   The route there took me past the Cart Lady.  I don’t know her name.  She doesn’t know mine.  Our command of the other’s language is limited to nonexistent.  So we don’t really know each other.  But she did feed me one out of every three meals for nearly three years.  And even though that started over 10 years ago, she recognized me.  She stopped me, said that it had been a long time, asked if I had a good job, and offered me a free one of my old favorites.

How could that not make anyone’s day?

Friday Notes

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On October 12, 2007

In DC, Distribution, Politics

Let’s Abolish the Electoral College! (Salon story – sub req’d or sit through a quick ad). This is the the kind of stuff I wish we were spending our time examining and debating, instead of Torture: Hot or Not?

Guide to Bypassing Internet Censorship – this is an issue near and dear to my heart. In addition to being a free speech absolutist, I’m fanatical about transparency. That combination results in a deep interest in permitting unfettered communications via the Internet (I’ve even taken to running a Tor server). Check it out.

US: Switchboard to the World. Not unrelated to the previous post, Ryan Singal examines the infrastructure that routes so much of the world’s communications through the US (much to the pleasure of the NSA). (This is the subject of a project I’m working on, and hope to serialize here.)

Tom Friedman: The Clueless American? – For a couple of years, I shared a downtown parking garage with him, and often found myself standing next to him as we waited for our cars. This came well after the shine of The Lexus and the Olive Tree had worn off, but a bit before the full-blown ridiculousness of the past few years. So I never did bring myself to say anything to him. Now, though . . .

And with the usual disclaimer about DCist.com (a sad product, but the only game in town), and specific disclaimer about the actual author (he disturbs me in so many ways, his name not least among them), I present my favorite comment of the week, from Monkeyrotica:

Instead of giving DC back to MD, give it back to the Powhatan Tribe. That way, DC gets tax exempt status, casino gambling, and Sen. Brownback’s scalp.

The Nation’s Triathlon

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On September 29, 2007

In DC

Checked out the first running of “The Nation’s Triathlon” this weekend.  A chilly Potomac swim, a ride down Ohio Drive to Hains Point and back, and then a run around the western end of the Mall.   More pictures to come.

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