A compendium of random thoughts regarding politics, society, feminism, sex, law, and anything else on my mind. POST YOUR COMMENTS BY CLICKING ON THE TIME INDICATOR BELOW THE POST YOU WISH TO COMMENT ON. RSS FEED AVAILABLE AT http://feeds.feedburner.com/Dilanblogspotcom

RSS FEED
ACLU
Andrew Sullivan
Attorney Shopping Links
Bag and Baggage
Ernie the Attorney
Eve Tushnet
Gail Davis
Gnosis
How Appealing
Legaline
Lehrer NewsHour
National Law Journal
National Review
New Republic
Slate
Spinsanity
Talking Points Memo
TAPPED
Virginia Postrel
Volokh Conspiracy
War Liberal

 
JOHN KERRY'S MISSED VOTES:
So Bill Frist, Mitt Romney, and other Republicans want John Kerry to resign his Senate seat because he is missing votes while he runs for President, and delayed a vote on a Veterans' benefits bill so that he couldn't cast his vote during a break from his campaign. (Here's the link.)

Can this be any more transparent and cynical? If Kerry resigns, Romney, a Republican, appoints his successor. And the makeup of the Senate is close enough for one vote to make a difference. (Frist and Romney point to Bob Dole resigning in 1996, but he gave up his seat to a fellow Republican. Think he would have given it up if a Democrat would have had the power to appoint his successor?) The only real question here is why the New York Times doesn't point this obvious fact out in its story.
posted by Dilan at 1:11 PM

 
REAGAN ON THE NEW DOLLAR:
Reagan was a lousy President, and I am not too keen, as you might imagine, of putting his face on a coin or bill. But we do need to get rid of the penny and the one dollar bill. One dollar bills last one year in circulation; coins would last 20. We spend tons of money on dollar bills that we could save by replacing them with coins. Meanwhile, the penny is worthless. Nobody uses them; many places don't even accept them (try finding a slot machine, parking meter, or vending machine that accepts pennies).

I'd offer this trade to get Republican support for coinage reform, which would save lots of money. Agree to get rid of the penny and the dollar bill, and we will have to create a new dollar coin to replace the dollar bill-- we can put Reagan's face on that.

I'd rather reduce unnecessary spending than worry about who's face is on the bill. So how about it, GOP?
posted by Dilan at 11:39 PM

 
REAGAN'S HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD:
A number of people are saying, in their Reagan tributes, that he was a great believer in human freedom. Neoconservatives, who support agressive advocacy of human rights in foreign policy, characterize him as a demigod.

I don't think they are remembering the same Reagan that I remember. Reagan opposed the side of freedom in Angola, Guatemala, El Salvador, Chile, Haiti, and especially South Africa, where his administration considered Nelson Mandela, who turned out to be one of the genuine human rights heroes of the 20th Century, a giant on the level of Ghandhi and King, as nothing more than a dangerous communist sympathizer. Indeed, Reagan's subordinates used to bash Reagan's predecessor, Jimmy Carter, for a touchy-feely human rights-based foreign policy. Reagan's official policy wasn't support for human rights, but anticommunism combined with realpolitik.

Reagan didn't advocate freedom in domestic affairs either. His Attorney General, Ed Meese, tried to ban porn at a time when the VCR was liberating many American adults to finally explore their sexual fantasies. Meese also took the position that the familiar Miranda warnings that criminal suspects have received since the 1960's only protect guilty people. And Reagan supported the notorious Bob Jones University all the way to the Supreme Court in its attempt to retain its tax exemption while depriving its students of the freedom to date someone of their choice who happens to be of a different race.

Of course, lots of lies are always told about Presidents soon after their death. Nixon got the same treatment in 1994. We don't like to speak ill of the dead. But Reagan was no human rights crusader, and should not be seen as one.
posted by Dilan at 11:29 PM

 
SMARTY JONES:
The Triple Crown is simply very hard to win. The only thing in sports that is harder, that everyone wants to do, is Golf's grand slam. It's never been won in its current form (Masters, US Open, The Open, and PGA in the same year).

Of course, something I saw at Dodger Stadium several years back-- Fernando Tatis hitting two grand slams in the same inning-- is as singular as anything that could possibly happen in sport. But flukes like that are in a different category.
posted by Dilan at 11:39 PM

 
THE "TORTURE MEMO":
That torture memo is pretty damning. Remember how many times the Administration has denied that they engage in torture. And to think that some people still thing these guys are more honest than Clinton!
posted by Dilan at 11:35 PM

 
PLAYING THE LAKERS:
The Pistons were up by 6 late, fouled Shaq to create a three point play, and then allowed Kobe to touch the ball in the last seconds, which gave rise to a 3 point shot which inevitably dropped to tie the game and send it to overtime, where the Lakers won.

This happens all the time. Remember Derek Fisher against the Spurs? Remember Kobe twice against Portland when the Lakers needed to win to clinch the division?

When teams play the Lakers, and they take a single-digit lead late into the game, they have to assume that Kobe or somebody will hit 3 pointers. That means Shaq gets a concession layup to cut the lead to 4, rather than tough defense and a foul allowing the Laker deficit to be cut to 3. And that certainly means that anyone who touches the ball before Kobe gets fouled on the last possession-- 2 shots for Shaq or Luke Walton, both of whom got touches before Kobe.

You can't coach against the Lakers the way you would against any other team. No team I have ever seen is so effective in the last seconds. Not even the Bulls with Jordan.
posted by Dilan at 11:30 PM