Archive for June, 2007
James Madison
“If tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.”
James Madison, 4th president of the United States.
Filed under politics : Comments (0) : Jun 28th, 2007
Cheney v. Constitution
Is anyone else bothered by the blatant contempt for constitutional law held by our current vice president? In order to justify the vice president’s obsession with secrecy at all costs, he now claims that he is actually part of the legislature and not subject to laws governing the executive branch.
THIS IS A PROBLEM!
We’ve already seen that the Bush administration isn’t terribly fond of rules and laws that restrict the power of the executive. The difference now is that they won’t even bother to make a halfway decent excuse.
No genuine legal scholar or lawyer would agree to such an absurd claim that the vice president is immune from laws regulating the executive branch based solely on his responsibilities as president of the senate. This is plainly absurd.
The reason we keep a constitution is to prevent an overstepping of powers by any administration or president. The last 7 years have seen this legal theory stretched to the breaking point. It’s high time we stood up for our beleaguered constitution and demanded that the executive comply.
I, for one, am disgusted.
[read a good summary on Slate]
Filed under politics : Comments (0) : Jun 27th, 2007
Shift happens
I saw this video today. It’s a little too long and has some weird background music, but it raises some interesting points about the wild times in which we live. Worth a 5 min investment of your time.
Filed under culture, education, technology, work : Comments (0) : Jun 26th, 2007
I’ve decided to jump on the twitter bandwagon. What is twitter, you ask? It’s sort of like a micro-blog–your answer to the question “what are you doing?” (in 160 characters or less). You can find my twitter feed off to the right, or directly at twitter.com/tadfad or via RSS.
I’m not sure what the value is just yet, but in my quest to keep up on the web2.0 trends I figured I had to try it.
Filed under Uncategorized, culture : Comments (1) : Jun 24th, 2007
Let your kids explore
When I was a young kid, I had the luxury of living a block away from Carleton College. The campus was full of great spots to explore, including a pair of tiny islands rich with climbing trees and treasures to find. My parents trusted me and allowed me free license to wander (so long as I was home in time for dinner) and I am certain that I am better for it.
With the rise of suburbs and our hyper-fear culture, children are trapped. In the case of your typical suburban neighborhood, there is nothing within walking distance worth exploring. I grew up in Northfield, MN and lived within walking distance of my school, the grocery store, shops downtown, the college campus, and many of my friends. Contrast this with a suburb where the only features within a walkable radius are more houses. Until they can drive, children are forced to rely exclusively on mom and dad to chauffeur in the family SUV.
Combine this geographical limitation with the hyper-inflated sense of fear and danger in our culture today and you have a recipe for trapped, unhappy kids. But don’t take my word for it, read this article.
Filed under culture, suburbs : Comments (0) : Jun 23rd, 2007
Prosumer
Hot on the tails of my glowing recommendation of Wikinomics, here is a video that takes things a little further. It’s always a stretch to look 50 years forward, but some of the concepts in this video resonate with the new metaverse we’re living in experiencing.
Filed under culture, technology : Comments (0) : Jun 17th, 2007
Read this book : Wikinomics
I just finished reading a great book that I strongly recommend to anyone and everyone with even a passing interest in business, technology, the internet, or my generation : Wikinomics.
In just under 300 pages, the authors are able to summarize the radical shifts in the way business is conducted brought on by mass collaboration. It covers a wide breadth of topics, such as Wikipedia, the Human Genome Project, and Chinese motorcycle manufacturers who have used collaborative business models to dominate the Asian market.
The book is written in a very non-geeky way, even though much of the subject is technology-related. It’s approachable and well paced, and I give you an unconditional guarantee that you will find at least one interesting topic that challenges you to think.
Go! Read the book now!
Filed under culture, technology, work : Comments (0) : Jun 16th, 2007
Bush v. US Constitution
Just when we thought the US Constitution was a quaint thing of the past, a federal appeals US court ruled that the executive does not have the authority to declare a civilian an enemy combatant and detain him indefinitely in a military prison. This is a landmark decision, and one long overdue, in the Bush Administration’s war on terror/war on civil liberties.
The myth and disinformation surrounding a case like this is plain to see: Bush supporters (including the tarnished DoJ) will claim that we must do anything and everything to protect Americans from terrorist attack. Yet what we seem to forget so quickly is that we already have a functional–and fair–system for doing so: the U.S. legal system.
It’s important to note that the court ruling says nothing of Ali Al-Marri’s guilt or innocence. Rather, the ruling supports a civilian’s rights as written in the Constitution. Namely, that a criminal can’t be held without being charged of a crime (due process). As soon as formal charges are filed, his incarceration can be justified.
This is a very important decision in the ongoing of Bush v. US Constitution. Up until now, the president has operated under the pretense that the Constitution applies only when convenient, only during peace-time, and always at the executive’s preference.
Our model of democracy requires three co-equal branches of government. Our pathetic Congress has been asleep for the last 6 years and has happily obeyed the whims of the executive. Fortunately, the judicial branch still has enough courage to challenge the president in his grab for power.
Filed under politics, war : Comments (0) : Jun 14th, 2007
Bush approval sinks to new low
Now at 29%, President Bush’s approval rating is the lowest it’s ever been. What I find most remarkable about this is not that it’s so low, but that it’s somehow avoided going to zero. The die-hard Bush supporters are a lonely group these days, and increasingly disconnected with the rest of the world. Regardless of your political affiliation, I can’t imagine how you can assess the president’s performance and conclude anything other than abysmal.
The irony of the situation is that Bush is so well insulated by advisers (he famously refuses to read any newspapers himself) that it’s entirely possible for him to be unaware of his current unpopularness. (The people of Albania still love him, after all!)
Filed under politics : Comments (1) : Jun 14th, 2007
Bucketworks : exercise club for your brain
I just got back from a great work event at a local Milwaukee business called bucketworks. For anyone in the area, I highly suggest that you check it out. I’d been there a few times before and had mixed feelings, but this time was much different. We did a team-building/values-describing/creativity-incubating set of activities with the bucketworks founder. It was the sort of stuff that we very rarely do at work, but the sort of stuff that I really enjoy.
I’m going to start hanging around the place more often to get inspired and motivated to make some of my entrepreneurial experiments grow. Check out their website (which, by the way, could use some modernization) and let me know what you think. And if you’re local, come check it out with me. I promise, it’s cool.
Filed under culture, sites i like, work : Comments (2) : Jun 13th, 2007
