Holding Court

Call this post a full-court press on Supreme Court news and views:

1) From the 2005 Senate comfirmation hearings of Samuel Alito, political cartoonist Mike Lane illustrated the constitutional conundrum facing the newest justice and the term stare decisis -- lettting the precedent stand unless there are compelling reasons not to -- and a woman's right to choose an abortion.

Alito's mother said, "Of course he's against abortion,'' in a classic sound-byte before during the confirmation hearings. The question is not really what the Alito believes personally, but as NPR reported in 2005 if that Roe v. Wade was settled law.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5012335

2) U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas made news last week by speaking his mind, something he's not prone to do while on the job.

As the above data shows, Thomas' silence during Supreme Court oral arguments is legendary. While his colleagues pepper lawyers with questions, Thomas listens. While the other 8 justices force legal teams to perform verbal and logical gymnastics 30 minutes at a time, Thomas often leans back in his large chair and stares at the ceiling.

When he does speak during oral arguments, it's almost always in private conversation with Justice Breyer. (And from the looks at the menus that they swap, those conversations are often about what to get for lunch.)In the past, Justice Thomas has said the oral argument time is not meant for Justices to show off but for the lawyers to make their legal arguments before the Court. But Thomas has recently said--in jest-- that “My colleagues should shut up!”

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3) In the Ny Times article, "The Disenter," gives insight into how the High Court has moved right and now the self-proclaimed conservative, and eldest member of the Supremes, may be The Nine's most liberal justice:

"Justice Stevens, the oldest and arguably most liberal justice, now finds himself the leader of the opposition. Vigorous and sharp at 87, he has served on the court for 32 years, approaching the record set by his predecessor, William O. Douglas, who served for 36. In criminal-law and death-penalty cases, Stevens has voted against the government and in favor of the individual more frequently than any other sitting justice. He files more dissents and separate opinions than any of his colleagues. He is the court’s most outspoken defender of the need for judicial oversight of executive power. And in recent years, he has written majority opinions in two of the most important cases ruling against the Bush administration’s treatment of suspected enemy combatants in the war on terror — an issue the court will revisit this term, which begins Oct. 1, when it hears appeals by Guantánamo detainees challenging their lack of access to federal courts.

"Stevens, however, is an improbable liberal icon. “I don’t think of myself as a liberal at all,” he told me during a recent interview in his chambers, laughing and shaking his head. “I think as part of my general politics, I’m pretty darn conservative.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/23/magazine/23stevens-t.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

This is one of the two linked articles you need to read by Monday.

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4) The second article you need to have read by Monday is Time's cover story from last October:

The Incredible Shrinking Court

"The irony is that the Court's ideology is playing a dwindling role in the lives of Americans. The familiar hot-button controversies--abortion, affirmative action, the death penalty, police powers and so on--have been around so long, sifted and resifted so many times, that they now arrive at the court in highly specific cases affecting few, if any, real people. And it's not clear that Roberts wants to alter that trend. His speeches on the judicial role suggest a man more interested in the steady retreat of the court from public policy than in a right-wing revolution. Unless the Roberts court umpires another disputed presidential election (à la Bush v. Gore in 2000--a long shot, to say the least), the left-right division will matter mainly in the realm of theories and rhetoric, dear to the hearts of law professors and political activists but remote from day-to-day existence. What once was salient is now mostly symbolic."

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1670489,00.html

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5) Finally, a re-run post from last year's 'Global Warming' SC decision:

The world saw former Vice-President being called a “rock star” and getting an Oscar from movie stars for his documentary on the “climate crisis,” and later a Nobel Peace Prize. But with far less glitz and fanfare, the legal definition of whether global warming is damaging US and the world was being argued in the U.S. Supreme Court a few months ago.

The new “swing vote” on the high Court is Justice Anthony Kennedy and his questions during the oral arguments in Massachusetts, et al. v. EPA (05-1120) seemed to indicate that justices may be ready to decide more than the case at bar.

At issue is the states’ (MA. and 12 others, including Illinois) lawsuit challenging the federal bureaucracy’s (EPA) lack of enforcement of an act of Congress (1990 Clean Air Act). The questions the Court is considering are:1) May the EPA decline to issue emission standards for motor vehicles based on policy considerations not enumerated in the Clean Air Act?2) Does the Clean Air Act give the EPA authority to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases?Breaking down the oral argument, Justice Kennedy seemed to be saying the Court has a bigger, global, question to answer. But not all on the bench seemed to think it was in the Court’s jurisdiction.

From the transcript of the oral argument, Justice Kennedy is questioning counsel for the petitioners, the Massachusetts states attorney:

JUSTICE KENNEDY: At the outset, you made this, some of this perhaps reassuring statement that we need not decide about global warming in this case. But don't we have to do that in order to decide the standing argument, because there's no injury if there's not global warming? Or, can you show standing simply because there is a likelihood that the perceived would show that there's an injury?

MR. MILKEY: Your Honor, especially in this case where none of our affidavits were challenged, I don't think the Court needs to go there ultimately on the merits because we showed through our uncontested affidavits that these harms will occur. There was no evidence put in to the contrary, and I would add that the reports on which EPA itself relies conclude that climate change is occurring.

JUSTICE KENNEDY (later): What is the scientific answer to if global warming exists? I think this Court might have to press for an answer to this question.

(Justice Antonin Scalia’s prides himself as a strict constructionalist, and a Constitutional scholar. He never claimed to have aced Mr. Rosiano’s “Cosmic Journey” class, he chimes in):

JUSTICE SCALIA: Mr. Milkey, I always thought an air pollutant was something different from a stratospheric pollutant, and your claim here is not that the pollution of what we normally call "air" is endangering health. That isn't, that isn't -- your assertion is that after the pollutant leaves the air and goes up into the stratosphere it is contributing to global warming.

MR. MILKEY: Respectfully, Your Honor, it is not the stratosphere. It's the troposphere.

JUSTICE SCALIA: Troposphere, whatever. I told you before I'm not a scientist. (Laughter.)

JUSTICE SCALIA: That's why I don't want to have to deal with global warming, to tell you the truth.The decision in Massachusetts, et al. v. EPA (05-1120), given last June ruled in favor of Massachusetts.

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In analyzing new Chief Justice John Roberts and newest associate justice Samuel Alito influence of the high Court, attorney Patrick Cotter said the two, who have not spoken or written much, have had little effect so far. For the long term, however, Cotter said President Bush may have created what conservative presidents have been trying to do since the 1950s – cement a solid block on the bench. He said to watch how many times Kennedy sides with Roberts and Alito.Statistically, the Roberts Court took 40% fewer cases this year than last, when it issued just 69 opinions (the lowest # since 1953). Now the docket is even less filled with just half the opinions to come down as compared to the Rehnquist court of the late 1980s. What would possible reasons for the Court deciding less? Blog your thoughts. Linked is the transcript of the oral arguments in 05-1120.

http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2006/2006_05_1120/argument/

There are no cameras in the Supreme Court or other Federal Courts, although movement to advance bills such as the "Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2007" has been progressing.

www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=19772

But there are charts that track the decisions that our Judiciary make. Click on the picture above and you will get a great graphic from the Washington Post which shows the number of US circuit court judges appointed by Dems & Repubs as well as the # appointed by Bush. Then click here for an article that argues that Bush may not have changed the Supreme Court as much as he wanted (Justice Stevens the 87-year-old hold out) but he has had a significant impact on the circuit court level.

This article talks about how Obama may be able to create a "major shift"in the federal judiciary.The chart at the left tracks the SCOTUS voting record of the last session of the High Court, which had more 5-4 decisions than the Supremes have had in the past.

Some 'sweet' influences on Daylight Savings Rider

(Was it a Trick, or a Treat? This was big news at Halloween and the influences on lawmaking on Capitol Hill two years ago. This post origninally posted on Political Warrior in Nov. 2007)

Last year's Trick-or-Treating was different. Because Congress in 2007 moved Daylight Savings time back to the first Saturday in Novemeber, my son went to a record number of doors in the Sunlight. (In 2008, I think he set a new record).

"I got lots of candy more than ever before,'' said then nine-year-old Patrick. "It should have been night, because night is cooler going trick-or-treating, and the houses are more lit up . But I probably wouldn't have got as much candy."

Hmm. Despite the fact that Patrick did get tooth paste at one house, the load of his loot may have been due to influences on Capitol Hill. The New York Times City Room Blog says the candy lobby gave an influential push for a rider to the 2005 Engergy Policy Act.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_Policy_Act_of_2005The NYT story on the influences on federal lawmakers to shed more light on Halloween night (child safety was also a legitimate concern) is linked here:

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/an-extra-hour-of-daylight-thank-the-candy-lobby/index.html?hp

Will a rolling log attract Snow?

What will Sen. Olympia Snow (R-Maine) get to logroll with the Democrats on a Health Care Public Option?

Great references in yesterday's LA Times to logrolling, cloture, and why what happens in the House doesn't also follow through in the Senate.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-healthcare-senate28-2009oct28,0,6268538.story

What is your opinion of this type of dealmaking in Congress?

About Bills, and Billboards

Is This America's Best Ad Buy?

Ryan Kelly, CQ
Commuters board a train at Washington's Union Station. For $14,000, you can target Congress for aOne of the country's best advertising locations for advocacy groups is a grungy corridor leading to a pair of escalators at Union Station in Washington.
Roughly 30,500 people pass by the billboards each weekday, but it's not the quantity that matters.
Because the Metro station is a short walk from the Capitol, it is frequented by many of the Congressional staffers that activists target. month.

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Why does Columbus get a holiday?

The History of Federal Holidays is written through Congress

This week was Columbus Day, so everyone from your mail carrier to your U.S. senator had the day off.

Although bank employees are also enjoying a vacation, much of the rest of the country still has to go to work. (And some retail stores may be working overtime for sales.)

So how did Christopher Columbus get his own day?

Federal holidays must be designated by both chambers of Congress and approved by the president. There are currently 10, including Labor Day, President's Day and Veterans Day. When the president is inaugurated every four years, Jan. 20 is added to the mix.

The U.S. government must recognize a federal holiday, but it does not have to be celebrated by states, cities, small business owners, large business owners, or anyone, for that matter.

Once a federal holiday has been signed into law, all federal employees are given that day as a paid vacation day. If the holiday falls on a weekend, the holiday is usually observed on the following Monday.

In addition, federal employees are also given 13 sick days and up to 26 days of vacation, depending on how many years they have been employed. That's comparable to the 15 days of paid vacation and 10 paid holidays the average American worker gets.

Only three other holidays recognized specific individuals: Christmas, Washington's birthday and Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the newest federal holiday.

The movement to designate the civil rights icon's birthday (actually the third Monday in January) as a federal holiday began after his assassination, but was not signed into law until 1983.

Still, many states chose not recognize the holiday or gave it a different name. In Utah, the third Monday in January was called "Human Rights Day," and in Virginia it was called "Lee-Jackson-King Day," to commemorate two Confederate generals along with King.

In 2000, both states changed the names to honor just King.

The arguments against designating King's birthday included the expense to the federal government and the timing of it so close to Christmas and New Year's.

Recently, some have argued that Sept. 11 should be recognized in some way.

Congress designated the anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon as "Patriot Day" and urged people to treat it as a national day of service and remembrance.

It is not, however, a federal holiday.

(From Congress.org)

If you were a Congressperson, what Day would you consider worthy of a Federal Holiday?

It's the economy, Stupid

We will learn during this unit on the legislature and lawmaking that the United States Congress has the "Power of the Purse." That has nothing to do with all the attention Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) has been getting lately.

Congress has the power to tax and spend as well as to appropriate funds and it uses its oversight function to watch over how the Federal Reserve Bank does its business. So as we open our look at Congress, what is a better indicator of the economy, The Dow or Downtrodden employment figures?

Three pieces to consider:

First, this only goes through June, but it is a great visual showing the number of jobs lost since the recession started. The graphic actually goes from blue (jobs) to red (job losses - Freudian blame of Bush?!). From June, 2008 to June, 2009, 5.5 million jobs were lost nation-wide. In Illinois, 31,000 jobs were lost over the last year.

At the same, Wednesday for the first time in over a year, the Dow Jones Industrial Index briefly hit 10,000. While much of the economy is still languishing -- for one, unemployment hit 9.8 percent earlier this month -- the Dow has risen roughly 50 percent since March.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/14/dow-hits-10000---however_n_320930.html

Judging by the stock market alone, the economy seems to be inching its way toward a recovery.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/14/dow-hits-10000---however_n_320930.html

www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/14/dow-hits-10000---however_n_320930.html

Finally, with all the talk about "stimulus packages" and "bailouts" and now health care reform, it might be time to get some perspective of the size of our national debt. Check out this site to get a look at what just one TRILLION looks like. Now times that by about 12 and you get a look at how far our federal government is in the whole.

www.pagetutor.com/trillion/index.html

Know Thy Congressman

This site allows you to type in a member of Congress and see how many bills he/she has introduced, how many earmarks he/she have asked for & received. The site does not give its definition of earmarks, nor tell if the bills are for one's entire career (I suspect it is), but nonetheless, it is an interesting starting point.

Judy Biggert (R) our representative from the 13th District has two bills to her credit. She was first elected in 1998.

But she has given a big shout out to WVHS. I found the above video on the Warrior's Back-to-Back State Champion Women's Soccer Team Website. Two summers ago U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert gives her one-minute shout out to the Tribe. While we make fun of these "One-minute resolutions" legislatures use them to make constituents feel happy and proud. I did when I saw it.

www.c-spanarchives.org/congress/?q=node/77531&id=8586164

The Health Care Kielbasa

You know the old saying about "Laws are like sausage. It's better not to see them being made." (Widely attributed to Bismark) Well, this graphic from the Washingtonpost.com illustrating what still needs to be done to get a Health Care Bill passed would have had Otto shouting "Ich war richtig!"

Lobbying Loss?

As we transition for political parties and campaigning to Congress and lawmaking, insurance company lobbyists made big news yesterday. For Washington lobbyists, every day is a campaign. On Tuesday, when the Senate Finance Committee was passing another health care reform bill out of committee, the insurance industry may have been left nursing the wounds of an embarrassing loss.

The Politico reports:

In the health care reform debate, where playing nice has been the rule, a scathing insurance industry report looked to critics Monday like a grenade aimed at scuttling progress in Congress.

But it also looked to some like too little, too late.

Not only did the report land many months into the debate — with Democrats on the cusp of passing bills through five committees — it infuriated some of the very people the industry group hoped to influence.

“I don’t view the impact of the report as a bill-stopper as much as a bill-changer,” said Robert Blendon, a health policy pollster and political analyst at Harvard University. “The momentum is way too far [in favor of passing a reform bill], and there is a sense out there that something has to be done.”

On the eve of a crucial vote in the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday, the industry group, America’s Health Insurance Plans, raced against the White House and Senate Democrats to frame the 26-page analysis conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, which concluded that premiums would cost more under the Finance Committee legislation than under the current system.

White House and Senate officials hinted at the possibility of legislative payback for releasing a report Democrats described as deeply flawed and self-serving. At the very least, officials said, it will help Democrats close ranks behind the Finance Committee bill, which had come under fire from the progressives as too moderate.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/28213.html#ixzz0Tx2t7fRx

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Can a murder be a Hate Crime against the Government?

This disturbing story comes out of Kentucky, where Federal Census workers had begun collecting data for the 2010 U.S. count. The Associated Press reports on the Census worker found dead, hanging from a tree with the word "fed" scrawled on his chest.

Would this qualify as a Hate Crime? And what does it say about American Political Culture today?


MANCHESTER, Ky. -- When Bill Sparkman told retired trooper Gilbert Acciardo that he was going door-to-door collecting census data in rural Kentucky, the former cop drew on years of experience for a warning: "Be careful."

The 51-year-old Sparkman was found this month hanged from a tree near a Kentucky cemetery with the word "fed" scrawled on his chest, a law enforcement official said Wednesday, and the FBI is investigating whether he was a victim of anti-government sentiment.

"Even though he was with the Census Bureau, sometimes people can view someone with any government agency as 'the government.' I just was afraid that he might meet the wrong character along the way up there," said Acciardo, who directs an after-school program at an elementary school where Sparkman was a frequent substitute teacher.

The Census Bureau has suspended door-to-door interviews in rural Clay County, where the body was found, until the investigation is complete, an official said.

A video and the full story is linked here:


http://www.seattlepi.com/national/1110ap_us_census_worker_hanged.html?source=mypi

Truth & Consequences: Does the UN Still Matter?

With President Obama's foreign policy agenda the last two weeks spinning at a dizzying pace, the question today: Is the UN still relevant in US foreign policy. Or is it just a cool vacation spot with friendly guard dogs as my son found out this summer when he met Charlie (pictured at right). My guess is that Charlie was a bit busier this week.

Comment on the political cartoons posted here, and blog your brain.....Does the UN still matter?

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Diplomatic Spinning

(From CBS 2 School)

In the political world, spinning usually means shaping the news with you unique perspective. Barack Obama will show his version of spinning this busy week as he works to keep China plates, Russian tea cups and host of other foreign policy issues balanced and stable.

Unlike the circus performer who keeps dozens of plates spinning at the same time, a President’s job as chief diplomat never reaches a grand climax. His team must always keep the plates spinning with some occasional breakage and plenty of unexpected drama added over the course of the presidential term.

A look at last weekthe rest of this week in Obama’s foreign policy challenges reveals a dizzying fete for any head of state:

Europe The big news of the last week included Obama’s decision to move away from the Bush-era missile defense shield in Eastern Europe.

Russia loved the move as a gesture by the Americans to move its weapons off of Russia’s front porch. But Poland, the Czech Republic and other Eastern European allies are wondering if this news is a sign of a weaker relationship with the Americans.

Iran Because of the likelihood that Iran is pursuing the development of nuclear weapons, Team Obama is not willing to scrap the concept of a missile shield network. His administration announced its intent to move toward a smaller, more flexible missile shield that will initially be Naval based.

It’s also thought that his move away from Eastern Europe will help make the Russians more willing to pressure Iran away from developing nuclear weapons.

U.N. and G20 President Obama will have plenty of opportunities to discuss these and other topics with Russian President Dimitry Medvedev this week.The two leaders will be among the dozens of heads of state expected to attend the opening of the newest United Nations session this week.After the high- level meetings in New York, Obama will meet with more leaders at the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh at the end of the week. This group is comprised of the 20 largest economies in the world, and issues related to trade and the global recession will be addressed.

China Of course you can’t talk global economic politics without talking about and to the Chinese.Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao are expected to meet to discuss a range of issues including the recent move by the U.S. to hike tariffs on tires made in China.American labor unions have accused the Chinese of illegally dumping foreign-made tires on the U.S. market to drive down prices and harm American manufacturers. Obama responded by hiking the tariffs. The Chinese will certainly want to discuss this as well as the possibility of raising their tariffs on some American products.

Chicago In yet another example of the adage that “all politics is local,” President Obama will also spend the next week considering whether to help sell the idea of Chicago as an Olympic host.The International Olympic Committee will announce the host city in early October, and Obama is said to be considering a last-minute visit to the IOC meetings to push for his hometown.

If he makes the trip, we suggest that he also push for plate spinning to be added as an Olympic sport. He’d clearly be a frontrunner for the gold medal

Take 2 and call me in the morning, or next month

Committee ranking member Sen. Charles Grassley (R., Iowa) wore two pairs of glasses to read during a mark-up session on health-care reform legislation on Capitol Hill Tuesday.

Cup and saucer is a metaphor used to differentiate the roles played by the House of Representatives and United States Senate.

Markup - The process by which congressional committees and subcommittees debate, amend, and rewrite proposed legislation.

Although there have already been four health care bills passed through different Senate committees, the bill that President Obama has endorsed may look very different by the time it gets out of the mark-up process in the Finance Committee. If it ever does get out. If Wednesday was any indication, Senators seem to be planning on slowly dripping provisions of Sen. Max Baucus' bill on to the saucer. For those who criticize Congress often as a "Do Nothing Body," it seemed as though hot passions of the Town Halls had been replaced by the Washington (Hot) Water (for Tea) Torture treatment.

The Wall Street Journal Reports:

For a sample of what’s to come, check out the committee’s legislation page, which includes a whopping 564 proposed amendments spread over three categories (”reforming the health care delivery system,” “expanding health care coverage” and the ever-popular “financing comprehensive health care reform.”)

The amendments run the gamut from “protecting doctors from frivolous lawsuits” (#178) to “providing consumers with the same health insurance options as Members of Congress” (#329). These and all the rest are spelled over hundreds of pages here, here and here.

On the whole, the amendments head in directions you’d expect: As Politco noted, Republicans want fewer new taxes, and medical liability reform; amendments from Dems would do things like strengthen health insurance co-ops and boost tax credits to low- and middle-income families.

Lest you think that these amendments are mere posturing by minor Senate figures, check out this WSJ interview with Chairman Baucus, who is himself looking to make a pretty significant changes to the bill. Specifically, Baucus may cut the tax on high-end health benefits and increase subsidies to help some families buy health insurance.

MSNBC reports on Wednesday the committee debated for 2 hours an amendment that would put the legalize of the text of the entire bill on line. Sounds like a good idea, but maybe not so much.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Well, if you don't want to read the entire bill -- and its 564 proposed amendments -- you can have it read to you by professional voices:

Don't want to read the health care bill? How about listening to it? "Diane Havens, a voice-over actress from New Jersey, recently narrated a legal thriller by Will Nathan, “Book of Business,” and in a customer review at Audible.com, “Philip” lauded her “gripping narration.” Her latest voice-over project is also legal in nature, but decidedly slower paced: along with about 60 other voice actors, Ms. Havens volunteered to record the proposed health care bill, H.R. 3200, a 1,017-page doorstop. The reading, available free at hearthebill.org, clocks in just shy of 24 hours."

220 yrs of txt

(From CBS2School)

Our Founders delivered an amazing text to the citizens 220 years ago last week, and we need you to forward it on.

The U.S. Constitution was ratified 220 years ago on Sept. 17 making the United States the world’s longest lasting constitutional democracy.

Its fundamental elements still shape our daily political lives as separation of powers and checks and balances split power within our central government. Federalism still divides the functions of central and regional governments.

The original text was not infallible as it perpetuated the slave trade and allowed the institution of slavery to expand. In fact, the document has been amended 27 times to adjust the scope of government.

220 years later, the Constitution and its Bill of Rights still represent the nature of American politics in which government is empowered by the people but with limited impact in our personal lives.

In honor of national Constitution week, we’re asking you to review this text and pass it on in the form of a txt message from “we the ppl.”

America at Odds: Fiscal Federalism and Drinking Age

Fiscal Federalism is the power of the national government to influence state policies through grants. In 1984, when the National Minimum Drinking Age Act was passed, it essentially created a national drinking age of 21. States could still make it legal for those under 21 to drink alcohol, but it would forfeit federal highway funding.

In America at Odds By Edward Sidlow, Beth Henschen, the author's outline the "Bridging of the Tenth Amendment" by fiscal federalism. The education reform (ie: testing requirements) in the No Child Left Behind Act rely on fiscal federalism. States receive block grants and in return must meet federally imposed standards relating to testing and accountability. Many state officials express concern that the fiscal federalism used to put NCLB into practice is the beginning of a fundamental shift toward the national government's assumption of control over public schools. This might also be known as marble cake federalism.

http://books.google.com/books?id=0nqiWK6xC14C&pg=RA1-PA68&lpg=RA1-PA68&dq=Is+national+drinking+age+law+fiscal+federalism%3F&source=web&ots=RuslYwIs9R&sig=NwFUv79R6c-huLuAGciQcCBlcMM&hl=en

Why bring this up now? Well, there may be a growing movement to challenge the National Drinking Age Law. The presidents of 135 colleges across the country have signed a public statement calling on elected officials to "support an informed and dispassionate public debate over the effects of the 21 year-old drinking age." The statement, as detailed on The Amethyst Initiative website, reflects their belief that it is time to rethink the drinking age, that 21 as a LDA is not working, and that an unintended consequence of the 21 LDA is dangerous binge drinking.

It may be layered in a constitutional question. There are those who believe that fiscal federalism and its marbe cake mandates, are basically against the 10th Amendment that gives the power to make all non-constituional policy to the states. They argue that federal highway funding should be allocated in a layer cake format ie: highway funding and drinking age laws should not be mixed.

There are many special interest groups (ie: MADD) that will influence state legislatures and the Congress on this issue. The Tribune reports that more than two decades after the U.S. set the national drinking age at 21, a movement is gaining traction to revisit the issue and consider allowing Americans as young as 18 to legally consume alcohol.

Serious discussions already are under way in several states.

http://www.examiner.com/x-16039-DC-Parenting-College-Students-Examiner~y2009m9d7-College-presidents-ask-should-the-drinking-age-be-lowered2

Students take on an Army

(Classic Re-run post)

Linked here is who a group of Louisiana AP Government Students are battling for their right to free speech:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2006/corps.html

From the "Teaching the Levees.org" blog here is the story of the PSA Students ran and posted on YouTube and Levees.org that has been taken down (or has it?) by a "cease and desist" letter written by lawyers for the Army Corps of Engineers.
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http://youtube.com/watch?v=s_ezG_ahQOw


"Why Levees.org removed PSA from YouTube"
Levees.Org was served an order to Cease and Desist from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) on November 10, 2007. We were ordered to remove our funny student-made Public Service Announcement (PSA) from YouTube. If we refused, the ASCE promised “appropriate legal action.”
We stand behind every word of our PSA. But had we fired back with a rejection of the Cease and Desist, ASCE would likely have sued Levees.org not in Louisiana, but rather in Virginia where they are based. In that forum, it would have been difficult and expensive to find legal representation. Levees.Org does not possibly have the personnel, the resources nor the scope to take on a legal battle with a large powerful organization such as the ASCE.

Further, Levees.Org in no way wanted to bring harm to Newman school who was copied on the Cease and Desist.

So we removed our PSA video from YouTube late Tuesday night Nov 13, when the webmaster, my 17 year old son returned home from his State Cross Country meet.
Sandy Rosenthal, Exec Director, Levees.Org
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By the way, cease and desist is is a legal term used primarily in the United States [citation needed] which essentially means "to halt" or "to end" an action ("cease") and to refrain from doing it again in the future ("desist"). The recipient of the cease-and-desist may be an individual or an organization.

The term is used in two different contexts. A cease-and-desist order can be issued by a judge or government authority, and has a well-defined legal meaning. In contrast, a cease-and-desist letter can be sent by anyone, although typically they are drafted by a lawyer.
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Full blogging coverage of the fansinating story of the power of students and the constitutional right to get the words out can be found here:

http://www.teachingthelevees.org/




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Madison v. Screech: Which T-Shirt Would They Wear?

This is a re-run Classic Poltical Warrior Post

James Madison might not ever imagined Bayside High School, but he described it perfectly when he wrote Federalist No. 10.

In his effort to promote the ratification of the Constitution, Madison helped write the Federalist papers to describe the theoretical underpinnings of this unique government.

Besides describing how the concept of Separation of Powers (Federalist No. 51) would work, he also spoke of how this new government would help to contain the archenemy of democracy: factions.

Madison argued that cliques are a natural part of society but were particularly detrimental in a democracy where the majority faction would naturally try to punish the minority factions. He argued that this oppressive situation was most likely to occur in smaller regions.

For instance Bayside High School-- with a student population of 10 -- had a majority faction led by Zac and the gang who ran the school. They led the football team. They ran the school newspaper. They even dictated the policies of their principal Mr. Belding...never considering the impact on the oppressed minority--the Geeks.

A large republic is like a large high school. No one faction can ever dominate. In a large republic, multiple factions have to unite behind common interests to enact public policy.

For instance, in order to win the electoral votes in a state like Florida, candidates vie to win support from the elderly, from Cuban-Americans, from African-Americans, and from the NASCAR crowd. Thus, candidates must tailor their message to unite groups that might have widely different interests.

So, when you were asked to read Federalist No. 10, you should have been sure to also watch a re-run of Saved by the Bell to gain fuller appreciation of the system that Madison was trying to prevent.

Saved by the Bell WVHS style

While the size of Waubonsie Valley, Madison would maintain, has kept any one faction from succeeding in a power grab, several sub-groups of Warrior seniors have tried separated themselves from the rest of the student body. No less than four "Senior" T-shirts have been worn by faction models. Senior Mean Girls, Senior Princesses. . . then there's the student council senior T, and the many AP faction statements.

Screech and his crew would be all about making the best T-shirt. It would probably make Madison simply want to scream. Linked is Federalist No. 10 for those of you want to get ahead of the bell.

http://www.thisnation.com/library/books/federalist/10.html

Obama on 60 Minutes

Watch CBS Videos Online
Despite the fact that Yousef and others said that 60 Minutes is a show for 70 year olds, I thought I'd link President Obama's appearance last night. Maybe you'll watch it here and post what you think.

This is the way the President can try to use the Bully Pulpit. It strikes me that Obama is going on television shows more than his predecessors (I can't even remember Bush going on 60 Minutes once), but it is still interesting to me and you can see it above. Here is a new poll (lots of questions and graphics) on Obamacare.

No Respect

Last week, it was have your children boycott the President's First Day of School Speech.

Then before a joint session of Congress, Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) upstaged President Barack Obama’s healthcare speech to a joint session of Congress. Wilson cried out, “You lie,” when Obama claimed illegal immigrants will not be eligible to receive any new government health benefits.

Then on Sunday, there were dueling displays of disrespect. Angry mobs of grassroots (?) converged on the Capitol to protest President Obama, health care reform, big government and anything else they could think of. A sign was being handed out, and photographed that read, "Bury Obamacare with Kennedy.”

Then Sunday night came Kanye West's rant.

No matter where you are on the political spectrum, or what you feel about health care reform, or music, aren't we -- or shouldn't we be better than that.

It seems to me, implicit in the sign’s message is an act of violence against the President of the United States. These angry right-wing mobs want to see harm come to our President. Is it wrong, or am I wrong? Is it racist? let me know what you think.

But it's not just Congressmen and political right-wingers showing disrespect. Kayne West, who had been known to lampoon President George W. Bush, was embarassing last night at the MTV awards.

The Washington Post asked today:

Separated at Birth: Kanye West and Joe Wilson?

Is Kanye West the Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) of the music world?

Last night's ill-mannered interruption of Taylor Swift's VMA acceptance speech was eerily reminiscent of last week's similarly unwelcome outburst from Wilson during President Obama's health care address to a joint session of Congress. So what does that say about us?

voices.washingtonpost.com/celebritology/2009/09/separated_at_birth_kanye_west.html?hpid=talkbox1

For a lighter take on this comparison, watch this excellent mashup -- obviously rushed into production -- in which West interrupts Obama's speech, it's at the end of the link.

__________________

More about Joe (Has He No Shame)Wilson (R-SC), here are some more links to help you.

First off he first gained fame as a state senator by strongly supporting and then voting for the continuance of flying the Confederate flag over the SC state house. His remarks, though, have helped his 2010 (and 2008) opponent, Rob Miller, had raised $500,000 in the past 24 hours and the DNC has raised over a million (before it sends out the appeal letters using Wilson). Not to be left out of it, Joe Wilson has already released a commercial where he begins by noting his apology and then proceeds to attack Obama's health care plan and ask for your pledge (as you can see above). Finally, here is PolitFact which is a source that checks comments made by politicians and you can see it disputes Wilson's side.

A World of Halves and Have-Nots

The following FRQ will be due on Thursday (9/3). Answer the question completely, using supporting examples:

(A) Define the concepts of: globalization; sovereignty and civil society.

(B) Identify the IMF and the World Bank and describe 2 goals of each of these international organizations.

(C) Explain how each of the goals has or has not contributed to concepts defined above.

Kernel Clunk

He was a victim of his own success.

According to Colonel Klink of Hogan’s Heroes fame, “There has never been a successful escape from Stalag 13.” If only the Commandant had known the whole truth. Stalag 13 was anything but secure. In the popular television show Hogan’s Heroes the POWs of Stalag 13 operated a full-scale underground espionage unit under the nose of the nincompoop Klink. Klink was blinded by his own success.

Similarly this week we learned of another “victim of its own success.” President Obama announced that the popular “Cash for Clunkers” program ends at 8 PM on Monday night. It has "run out of money."

The Administration will boast of its success. It will be argued that hundreds of thousands of gas guzzling cars have been permanently removed from the streets. Manufacturing in America is up. Thousands of workers have found new jobs. The auto industry is saved. The American consumer is confidant again. Happy days are here again.

In such claims kernels of truth can be found.

To date close to 500,000 clunkers have been turned in due to this program. Over $2 billion of the appropriated $3 billion has been claimed by auto dealerships around the country. A $4,500 government subsidy proved to be a powerful incentive to buy a new car.

The long-term affect, however, may prove to be more revealing.

Of that $2 billion owed to dealerships, less than $200 million has been distributed. The thousand or so employees of the Department of Transportation dedicated to this program are swamped. Seemingly the program was ended less because of a cash shortage and more because of a manpower shortage. The government cannot keep up with the requests and the dealerships are beginning to toot their horns. Many dealerships are worried that Obama has sold them a lemon. Obama cannot afford negative feedback from a relatively small program with his health care debate on the horizon. Quit while you are ahead.

The lessons here are plentiful.

Public policy ain’t beanbag. The idea behind “Cash for Clunkers” proved to be a bulls-eye. Interest exceeded expectations. Overwhelming participation in the program undercut the Department of Transportation’s readiness to fulfill its obligations. The symbolic success of the program soon exceeded the reality of implementation. Claim success and get out before a good thing turns bad.

When searching for ways to fundamentally transform the American economy in the 1930s President Roosevelt said, “It is common sense to take a method and try it: If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.”

President Obama hasn’t let Roosevelt down. He has been open to many ideas. Acknowledging the limitations of his ideas, however, is not one of Obama’s strong suits. Claiming one thing without recognizing the truth of another will ultimately dog this president like it has for all of the others. Playing politics at the expense of governing cannot last forever.

If Obama cannot be frank with the American people he will lose our trust. Then he too will become a victim of his own success.

A Complicated Life

(From CBS2School)
Like Senator Ted Kennedy, representative democracy has led a complicated American life.

Elected to the U.S. Senate in 1962, Kennedy became the model for what some of our Constitutional Framers envisioned as the best way to serve the Republic. But others contend that this unbeatable incumbent reflected a darker side of our democracy when entrenched politicians stay in power for decades.

While serving as lawmakers, elected representatives must constantly weigh two sides when casting each of their legislative votes.

On one side, the delegates attempt to vote identical to popular will.

These representatives keep a close watch on opinion polls and will often consult their constituents for guidance as to the stance that a majority of voters.

Critics contend that the popular democracy which flavors the delegate approach can water down bold initiatives and give too much power to the masses.

The delegate approach to representation can also result in a legislator who waivers in between two ideological camps. American popular opinion often sits on the fence between ideological extremes, and representatives voting with the delegate approach often gain the reputations of being politically independent.

Ted Kennedy was no delegate.

Kennedy was a classic example of a legislator who votes as a trustee.

He was one of 23 Senators who voted against the war in Iraq when nearly 70% of Americans favored war. He consistently used this trustee approach to vote his conscience, not to cater to public will.

Kennedy often spoke about working for the common good when it came to expanding the role of the federal government into education and healthcare. And he advocated for the marginalized in pushing for expanded protections of ethnic minorities and homosexuals.

Some of our Framers might have seen Ted Kennedy as their model of legislator who could avoid voting with special interests and vote for the common good. But conservatives in Massachusetts who opposed his ideas, would likely say that Kennedy’s approach left them without a voice in the Senate since 1962.

Regardless, it’s important to remember Kennedy apart from his brothers and his prominent political family.

Kennedy should also be remembered as another one of the prolific members of Congress from Massachusetts. And like John Adams, John Quincy Adams and Daniel Webster, Kennedy’s public service offers much for us to reflect about the complexities of our Republic.

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=300059

Jihad vs. McWorld

Benjamin Barber outlines threats to democracy in a globalized world in his classic, Jihad vs. McWorld. Read & CODE and summarize the article and be reading to discuss on Tuesday. You may also be quizzed on this reading. Also, think about the tone titles like, "Jihad vs. McWorld," or "Clash of Civiliations," set in the world today.

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/199203/barber

Milton Gladly

(From CBS2School)

Political gamesmanship is at play when watching the media hype over rambunctious Town Hall meetings. A boisterous gathering to voice protest is not new. Using them for political advantage, however, seems to be the newest game in town.

Fox News and other like-minded conservative outlets use the rowdy footage to exaggerate animosity toward Obama’s health care policy.

CNN and other more Obama-friendly media use the Town Hall outbursts to suggest a right wing conspiracy has been organized. Republicans, they claim, orchestrate Astroturf hostility in desperation before facing another defeat to a popular president.

Wonderfully for us we have both options to consider. It has not always been so.

Freedom of speech has faced great opposition throughout history. One of its greatest defenders, however, was English polemicist and poet John Milton (1608-1674). Areopagitica, published in 1644, was Milton’s most ardent defense against the tyranny of censorship and government-controlled speech. In particular Milton was speaking out against Parliament’s Licensing Order of 1643. Despite his loyalty to Parliament during the English civil war, Milton disagreed with their new found power of censoring the written word. Protecting it against dissent never protects truth. He wrote:

“Though all the winds of doctrine were let loose to play upon the earth, so Truth be in the field, we do injuriously by licensing and prohibiting to misdoubt her strength. Let her and Falsehood grapple; who ever knew Truth put to the worse, in a free and open encounter.”

Unfettered free speech was not Milton’s end game. Even Milton understood the need for limits. Free speech to Milton did not give license to the inane or foolish. He encouraged some level prudence.

What to do then about these rowdy and raucous Town Hall meetings?

A recent TIME magazine article suggested that the French have learned to adopt a more modest attitude when it comes to swim attire or the lack there of. Traditional two-piece bikinis have replaced the more revealing and revered topless bathing. The French word for this new prim attitude is pudique.

Before our own cultural Star Chamber rewrites the rules for political speech, perhaps a little pudique here in America would help the cause. Recognizing a respectful etiquette when exercising our free speech may go along way in helping to preserve it. When crossing into the busy streets of political discourse adhering to the adage “stop, look and listen” may help advance the truth.

After all, as former Chief Justice Warren E. Burger once stated, “Free speech carries with it some freedom to listen.”

Milton would have gladly agreed and so should we.
_________________

Health Care Town Hall Anger Rages On

Out on the health care firing line, senators and members of Congress continued to get battered by constituents angry over President Barack Obama’s reform plan Wednesday — with voters raising questions about everything from assisted suicide to coverage for illegal immigrants.

Lawmakers insisted over and over that the bills in Congress would cover neither — but their answers did nothing to tamp down the anger from Afton, Iowa, to Hagerstown, Md., to Rocky Mount, N.C.

In Iowa, a self-described “dumb southern Iowa redneck” told Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, “I see nowhere in the Constitution where health care is a right. ... I want to hear it from Obama, I want to hear it from Pelosi, about how this is about ‘We the people.’“

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26049.html#ixzz0O0rR52SG

Eunice Kennedy Shriver transformed attitudes, transcended politics

The health care debate today makes one wonder if politicians can transform attitudes.

The Kennedy Family is one of America's foremost political families, but it may have been the sister of JFK, Bobby and Teddy that had the most influence on changing attitudes in a way that transcends politics. Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of Special Olympics, has passed away.

No one paid attention to people with intellectual disabilities before EKS began her mission that became a movement to bring joy, dignity and empowerment to people with intellectual disabilities. Before she pushed her brother JFK to start the Presidential Commission on Mental Retardation, the word "retard" was a commonplace pejorative.

EKS helped us change our attitudes about what's possible. The Special Olympics needed government support. Today it is a worldwide movement that brings joy, dignity and empowerment to people with intellectual disabilities.

Special Olympics chronicles EKS life with tributes here: //www.eunicekennedyshriver.org/

And while some political pundits raised the question of who will be the most influential Kennedy, in light of cancer-striken Senator Ted Kennedy's career fight for universal health care, one should not forget the mission Eunice Kennedy Shriver accomplished over a life that transcended politics and transformed American attitudes.

Poltics trumps governing in State's stopgap budget

While mortified citizens called for more government oversight in light of the Burr Oak Cemetery Crime Scene, lawmakers in Springfield finally passed a stop-gap budget that allowed the State government to continue to (dis) function. Blago is gone, but one wonders when we will see the courage to govern.

Both the Illinois House and Senate passed bills that circumvent a revenue raising income tax hike by borrowing (obviously needed, but also obviously a perceived political death wish for lawmakers) $3.5 billion from state pensions and putting off billions more in unpaid bills to state vendors until next year.

The spending plan will also include significant cuts to state spending (at Gov. Quinn's discretion), including to third party social service providers. It's unclear exactly how large a cut they will see to their FY 2009 funding levels, but the Tribune publishes one estimate:

The Illinois Budget battle is a a case study of what is going on around the country. As Newsweek columnist Robert Samuelson writes:

"We face an unprecedented collision between Americans' desire for more government services and there almost unwillingness to be taxed."

www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/07/13/the_consequences_of_big_government.html

The National Health Care Debate is front-and-center in this debate, with several other twists I will blog later about later this week. Do we want more government services....even if we have to pay for them? The issue here for you as Illinois citizens is do you want your government to govern -- even if it means telling you tough news, like an income tax hike. Or do we elect them to play politics -- saying, not doing, what we want to hear.

By the way, what do you think about the Senate (roll call?) vote. Sen. Ricky Hendon calls the vote after Senate President John Cullerton's comments.

Inside Baseball: Senate Judiciary Confirmation Hearing's All-Star Gamesmanship

Inside Baseball -- The expression "inside baseball" is sometimes used as a metaphor for details or minutia of a subject so detailed that they generally are not well known by outsiders. An example may be a film critic's review of a movie using insider jargon, information, or understanding of which regular movie goers would have little knowledge. Citing the director's previous themes expressed in his/her movies in relation to the one being reviewed because of the director's fascination with X-school of film making, etc., would be considered an example of "inside baseball".

Another example could be seen when looking in on the coverage of the Senate Confirmation Hearings of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, nominated to be the next Supreme Court Justice. Judge Sotomayor would be just the third woman on the High Court, and first Latino -- or Latina. Coverage was dominated by the Judge's famous, or imfamous "Wise Latina," quote. Or her childhood. Little was talked about Constitutional interpretation. I guess that type of Inside Baseball Stuff is appropirate on the night of Major League Baseball's Mid-Summer Classic.

CBS 2 School gives this interesting take:

Busch Stadium in St. Louis will host the 80th Mid-Summer classic. The major league baseball All-Star game is one of the few of its kind that fans actually watch enthusiastically. At stake is home field advantage for this year’s World Series. More importantly baseball’s greats, as determined by the fans, will compete against each other in America’s game. There is no other game like it.

The first all-star game was played in old Comiskey Park in Chicago in 1933. Babe Ruth dazzled the 49,000 paid customers by hitting a home run in the 3rd to lead the American League to its first victory.

To date, the National League leads the series with 40 wins. The American League has won 37 and there have been 2 ties. The longest game occurred last year with the American League winning in 15 innings. The game took 4 hours and 50 minutes to play.

A total of 668 runs have been scored; the National League has scored 333 and the American League 335.

In 1945 the game was not played due to World War 2. Between 1959 and 1962 there were two all-star games played each year.

Derek Jeter leads all Mid-Summer classic players with a batting average of .475. Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Stan Musial each played in 24 games. Roger Clemens leads all pitchers with 10 appearances.

The All-Star game is one of our rites of summer. (Inside Baseball Stuff)

Yet there is another game this week with all-star proportions. This week the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to fill David Souter’s Supreme Court vacancy will be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee. It is the closest thing our government has to an all-star game.

Confirmation hearings bring all three branches of government into play. Barack Obama, the chief executive nominates. The Senate, representing the legislative branch, confirms under the authority of its “advice and consent” power found in Article Two of the U.S. Constitution. The end result is a full court made up of 9 Supreme Court justices whose charge is to interpret our laws.

If confirmed, Sonia Sotomayor will be our 111th Supreme Court justice. If successful, she will be confirmed by the 111th Congress.

Throughout our history 30 nominations have failed; 8 withdrawn, 12 rejected, 4 postponed and 6 received no action.

The Senate Judiciary Committee, responsible for the first round of enquiry, is filled with a Who’s Who of today’s U.S. Senate. The only personality missing, and we will miss him, is Joe Biden who has opted for a higher calling.

Democrats fill 12 of the 19 seats. Short-tempered Patrick Leahy Chairs the Committee. This will be his first confirmation hearing to grandstand. It will be noteworthy to watch the recently-switched-to-Democrat Arlen Specter, one-time Republican Chair, sitting at the end of the table next to the Party’s most recent addition Al Franken.

Republicans will try to steal some of the attention at this mid-summer classic. This game is never dull. With 60 Democratic Senators able to block any filibuster attempt, the 111th Justice will be Sonia Sotomayor.

You can count on it.

The Politico's Glenn Thrush gives us this program, if you will, of what to watch during the confirmation hearings:

Sonia Sotomayor still speaks with her elderly mom, who’s retired in Florida, “every day.”

She’s a “doting” aunt to three of her brother’s children and an “attentive godmother to five more.”

And did you know she was a “fearless and effective prosecutor” and anti-child-pornography crusader widely credited “with saving baseball”?

These biographical gems come from the official, 200-plus-page White House playbook distributed to Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats tasked with defending President Barack Obama’s SCOTUS nominee during this week’s confirmation hearings.

We want to make it the boringest hearings ever,” said a senior Democratic Senate aide.

Republicans, for their part, concede they are too outnumbered in the Senate (60 Democrats to 40 Republicans) and the Judiciary Committee (12 to 7) to stop the nomination.

But they’ll try — and here are six things to watch as they do:

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/24864.html#ixzz0LGrdInim&C

We will learn about Judical Activism and Strict Constructionalism during the fall. But what about Judicial Empathy? More Senators stated, without questioning, a concern of a new emerging empathy standard. More Inside Baseball stuff.

“President Obama won the election, and I will respect that,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C). “But when he was here, he set in motion a standard that was more about running for president.”

At the Sotomayor hearing, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said, “Unfortunately, a very important person has decided it's time for a change, time for a new kind of judge, one who will apply a different standard of judging, including employment

of his or her empathy for one of the parties to the dispute. That person is President Obama. ... President Obama is simply outside the mainstream in his statements about how judges should decide cases.”

Of course, Republican worries about the “Obama standard” only go so far. It was also Graham who told Sotomayor, “Unless you have a complete meltdown, you’re going to get confirmed.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/24864.html#ixzz0LGsXLBVZ&C

Comparative Politics of Protest: China lacks Rule of Law 20 years after Tiananmen Square

Earlier this summer, before the heat was turned on the non-democratic Islamic Republic of Iran, the Chinese government kept tabs on ceremonies aimed at at recognizing the 20th anniversary the student-led Tiananmen Square of 1989.

What can the Chinese Case Study of protest tell us as we try to predict the future in Iran? And what does it tell us about the lack of Rule of Law in authoritarian -- even if supposedly democratically elected -- regimes?

Here are a couple of pieces of interest out of China. Can you draw comparisons to events in Iran?

From Newsweek's June 15 issue:

China's Ghost Writer

In designing the "bird's nest" Olympic stadium, Chinese artist Ai Weiwei helped create an architectural icon for China. Yet now he's living under police surveillance. His crime? Running a blog that lists the names of kids who died in poorly built schools in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. In the crackdown ahead of last week's Tiananmen Square anniversary, China's censors deleted Ai's blog without explanation. "The state tried so hard to make [the victims] vanish," says Ai. He began his list in March, frustrated by government inaction. By May he'd gathered 5,010 names and enough publicity to prod the government to compile its own tally of the dead. But Ai says, "You cannot just give us numbers." Now the blog has been wiped from servers, and Ai could face arrest, though he says he's "ready" for that. And while Beijing may have squashed one digital irritant, with Internet use doubling annually, the virtual realm could prove too vast and fast for China to control.

________________

From the June 3, Huffington Post:

Tiananmen Square: Foreign Reporters Barred By China On Eve Of Anniversary

BEIJING — A massive police presense ringed China's iconic Tiananmen Square on Thursday, the 20th anniversary of the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy activists, as the government continued an overwhelming drive to muzzle dissent and block commemorations.

An exiled protest leader _ famous for publicly haranguing one of China's top leaders 20 years ago _ was also blocked from returning home to confront officials over what he called the "June 4 massacre."

Foreign journalists were barred from the vast square as uniformed and plainclothes police stood guard across the vast plaza that was the epicenter of the student-led movement that was crushed by the military on the night of June 3-4, 1989.

Security officials checking passports also blocked foreign TV camera operators and photographers from entering covering the raising of China's national flag, which happens at dawn every day. Plain clothes officers aggressively confronted journalists on the streets surrounding the square, cursing and threatening violence against them.

The heavy security moves come after government censors shut down social networking and image-sharing Web sites such as Twitter and Flickr, blacked out CNN when it airs stories on Tiananmen. Dissidents were confined to their homes or forced to leave Beijing, part of sweeping efforts to prevent online debate or organized commemorations of the anniversary.

________________

And from the June 22 New York Times:

Despite Law, Job Conditions Worsen in China

A year and a half after a landmark labor law took effect in China, experts say conditions have actually deteriorated in southern China’s export-oriented factories, which produce many of America’s less expensive retail goods.

With China’s exports reeling and unemployment rising because of the global slowdown, there is growing evidence that factories are ignoring or evading the new law, and that the government is reluctant to enforce it.

Government critics say authorities fear that a crackdown on violators could lead to mass layoffs and even social unrest...

But workers are fighting back. Earlier this month, the government said Chinese courts were trying to cope with a soaring number of labor disputes, apparently from workers emboldened by the promise of the new contract labor law...

The law requires that all employees have a written contract that complies with minimum wage and safety requirements. It also strengthens the monopoly state-run labor union and makes it more difficult for companies to use temporary workers or to dismiss employees.

Western companies that outsource to China say they have stepped up their monitoring of supplier factories to ensure they comply with the law. But they acknowledge that ensuring compliance is challenging in China...

China’s huge and complicated labor market has long thrived on cheap labor and lax regulation. In recent years, labor rights advocates say they have seen incremental gains for workers. But they say there are growing signs of labor abuse...

[F]actory owners say that labor law enforcement has been weak and selective for years, and changing the rules now could lead to chaos, drive up prices and force many factories out of business...
________________

When considering China, what conditions are necessary to claim that rule of law is the effective?
China has the law, but it doesn't appear to have rule of law. What's preventing the effective establishment of rule of law?

When considering Iran, what needs to happen to make it a democracy? Healthy democracies live on more than just elections. Iran is proving this point.

More than a week after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected in an apparent landslide, his opponents still continue to protest the election results even as police and security forces try to halt the public displays. More than a dozen protestors have been killed and journalists have been arrested.

All of this exemplifies the complexities of the word democracy.

Iran has called itself an Islamic democracy ever since its revolution in 1979. It gave voting rights to women and even (until recently) to 15-year-olds, and voters directly-elected its legislature and president.

More at CBS 2 School:

//pod08.prospero.com/n/blogs/blog.aspx?webtag=WBBM_school