tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247990322009-07-04T07:40:02.995-07:00Gordon R. Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153840447094854854noreply@blogger.comBlogger2842125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24799032.post-6690219243613571562009-07-04T07:40:00.000-07:002009-07-04T07:40:00.718-07:00

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

Gordon R. Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153840447094854854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24799032.post-44042918445230367572009-07-04T07:30:00.000-07:002009-07-04T07:30:01.548-07:00

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States;...

Gordon R. Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153840447094854854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24799032.post-45026799938148504792009-07-04T07:20:00.000-07:002009-07-04T07:20:02.928-07:00

The question whether an act repugnant to the Constitution can become the law of the land is a question deeply interesting... — Chief Justice John Marshall, Marbury v. Madison (1803) You owe it to yourself, once a year or so, to read Marshall's opinion in Marbury v. Madison, not the whole thing, but just the last five pages, beginning at the words quoted above.

Gordon R. Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153840447094854854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24799032.post-48483097369288561232009-07-04T07:10:00.000-07:002009-07-04T07:10:04.491-07:00

"The Second Amendment is a doomsday provision, one designed for those exceptionally rare circumstances where all other rights have failed – where the government refuses to stand for reelection and silences those who protest; where courts have lost the courage to oppose, or can find no one to enforce their decrees. However improbable these contingencies may seem today, facing them unprepared is a

Gordon R. Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153840447094854854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24799032.post-19436339111690653292009-07-04T07:00:00.000-07:002009-07-04T07:00:03.611-07:00

"All books about all revolutions begin with a chapter that describes the decay of tottering authority or the misery and sufferings of the people. They should begin with a psychological chapter, one that shows how a harassed, terrified man suddenly breaks his terror, stops being afraid. This unusual process, sometimes accomplished in an instant like a shock or a lustration, demands illuminating.

Gordon R. Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153840447094854854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24799032.post-7353160841630790852009-07-03T14:17:00.000-07:002009-07-03T15:41:47.309-07:00

Having decided not to run for re-election, Sarah Palin has made a follow-on decision not to govern as a lame duck. She announced this morning that she will "transfer the authority of governor to Lieutenant Governor Parnell" effective July 26.AP story here. Rather rambling official statement by the governor here.Update: Better treatment of the story at the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman. She said she

Gordon R. Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153840447094854854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24799032.post-77524677284712283182009-07-02T16:53:00.001-07:002009-07-02T17:28:18.361-07:00

The headline this morning was not good. Nation's Unemployment Rate Climbs to 26-Year High at 9.5 Percent And headed for double digits, everybody says. Geoff at Innocent Bystanders has an interesting chart.It shows Obama's projections of unemployment with and without the stimulus bill, and superimposed on it the actual numbers. It looks as if we would have been better off Without.

Gordon R. Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153840447094854854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24799032.post-73394769456796861422009-07-01T08:36:00.000-07:002009-07-01T08:39:03.545-07:00

Doug Bandow of the Cato Institute in The American Spectator.

Gordon R. Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153840447094854854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24799032.post-5036159361726202552009-06-30T21:19:00.000-07:002009-06-30T21:23:22.721-07:00

The Bacone.Filled with scrambled eggs, hash browns, and cheese, topped with gravy and a biscuit. The Bacone won judges' choice at Bacon Camp, San Francisco, 2009.Hat tip to Breda.

Gordon R. Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153840447094854854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24799032.post-51575530598968828912009-06-30T21:14:00.000-07:002009-06-30T21:26:40.498-07:00

There, I Fixed It.Thanks to Say Uncle.

Gordon R. Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153840447094854854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24799032.post-74073734801134688772009-06-30T17:21:00.000-07:002009-06-30T17:25:42.482-07:00

Tom Goldstein at SCOTUSBlog has some interesting thoughts on what the Court is doing, and where they are headed. Here is what strikes me most about this Term. The Court is moving steadily in the direction of rolling back Warren Court-era precedents that conservatives view as significant overreaching of the judicial role. To be clear, that isn't the Court’s principal occupation. Most of its

Gordon R. Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153840447094854854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24799032.post-88857929521780571502009-06-30T17:09:00.000-07:002009-06-30T17:18:22.309-07:00

I don't have anything to add to what's already been said, but for those who would like a concise summation of the case and its implications, read Jess Bravin and Suzanne Sataline in The Wall Street Journal. Monday's ruling affects any employer of 15 persons or more that uses any type of exams for employees, including test of personality, computer skills, physical fitness or honesty, said

Gordon R. Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153840447094854854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24799032.post-34869972893848565562009-06-29T07:21:00.000-07:002009-06-29T07:24:07.483-07:00

Sotomayor loses. SCOTUS Blog is live-blogging: Ricci result: Kennedy finds a violation of Title VII. An outright reversal 5-4.... Ricci is decided 5-4 on ideological lines. The middle ground suggestion of remanding for further proceedings is rejected.... Kennedy delivered the 5-4 majority opinion of the Court in Ricci. Justice Scalia filed a concurring opinion. Justice Alito filed a

Gordon R. Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153840447094854854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24799032.post-91315075244113745982009-06-28T18:04:00.000-07:002009-06-28T18:09:14.648-07:00

Debra J. Saunders has the back story. This is not a joke. Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 6-3 decision that required an Oregon public school district to pay a $5,200 monthly tuition (plus fees) for a private boarding school for a high-school senior whose psychologist had diagnosed him with ADHD, depression, math disorder and cannabis abuse. Math disorder? Let me translate: the kid has a

Gordon R. Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153840447094854854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24799032.post-80330196597574473582009-06-28T17:52:00.000-07:002009-06-28T19:24:42.417-07:00

Once more, Jack Cashill piles on the evidence that Bill Ayers wrote Dreams From My Father.I'm convinced; not that that matters to anyone else. Believing, or even caring, that Bill Ayers wrote Dreams From My Father is like wondering who killed Vince Foster. The mainstream punditocracy is more interested in gamesmanship than truth. This is a matter that they have decided is unimportant, and their

Gordon R. Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153840447094854854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24799032.post-18119368173943051442009-06-27T09:27:00.000-07:002009-06-27T09:31:32.266-07:00

A fascinating site full of backyard ballistics tests profusely illustrated. The Box O' Truth.I could spend hours there. I already have.

Gordon R. Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153840447094854854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24799032.post-88940378956770269062009-06-26T23:10:00.000-07:002009-06-26T23:13:07.739-07:00

No Looking Backwards: The largest tax increase in our nation's history just passed the House by a margin of 219-212, with eight Republicans (soon-to-be unemployed, God willing) jumping in bed with the Marxist revolutionaries.

Gordon R. Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153840447094854854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24799032.post-8629230897107153132009-06-26T12:17:00.000-07:002009-06-26T12:21:47.155-07:00

Diana West in the Jewish World Review. The worst thing that could happen next, at least for the absolute, non-contestable pundit-ocracy, is that it becomes clear we're looking at an intra-Islamic power struggle that has nothing to do with liberty and justice for anybody. If this happens, the next question becomes: At what point do said pundits change the color of their Twitter avatars (Joe

Gordon R. Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153840447094854854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24799032.post-2223760257902529722009-06-25T21:14:00.000-07:002009-06-25T21:19:54.744-07:00

Hell, he's probably as good as all the dead ones put together. Michael Ramirez. Time for another Pulitzer.

Gordon R. Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153840447094854854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24799032.post-66542808368607038782009-06-25T21:00:00.001-07:002009-06-25T21:02:06.404-07:00

Video via Cogito Ergo Geek.C'mon, Ted, tell us how you really feel.

Gordon R. Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153840447094854854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24799032.post-79860228195632884932009-06-24T20:00:00.000-07:002009-06-24T20:31:28.803-07:00

The mother, a dark and not very pretty cat, had a litter of five under our barn. Charlie and Marielle spotted the kittens a couple weeks ago; they were already eight weeks old. We trapped the mother first and took her to Animal Control. The kittens laid low. A couple days later I saw the gray one sitting on a mossy log in the sun, cold and hungry and utterly dejected. He hissed at me when I came

Gordon R. Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153840447094854854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24799032.post-59272790592274192852009-06-24T18:47:00.000-07:002009-06-24T18:51:44.980-07:00

I don't golf, but my sister and her husband do. Today she explained why. A recent study found the average golfer walks about 900 miles a year. Another study found golfers drink, on average, 22 gallons of alcohol a year. That means, on average, golfers get about 41 miles to the gallon. Kind of makes you proud. Almost feel like a hybrid. Sounds good to me!

Gordon R. Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153840447094854854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24799032.post-17416093889396914772009-06-24T12:14:00.000-07:002009-06-24T12:50:47.309-07:00

The June 12 Sarychev Peak Eruption in the Kuril Islands.

Gordon R. Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153840447094854854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24799032.post-38932046076439830242009-06-24T08:13:00.000-07:002009-06-24T08:27:02.640-07:00

A primer by Bob Metcalf in The Wall Street Journal. Nuclear energy is released during fission and fusion. During fission, large elements like uranium are split into smaller elements. During fusion, small elements like hydrogen are combined into larger elements. These two processes have occurred naturally since the beginning of time -- 13.7 billion years. The Earth is warmed naturally by its own

Gordon R. Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153840447094854854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24799032.post-367095537674252162009-06-23T19:43:00.000-07:002009-06-23T19:57:53.388-07:00

Abraham Verghese, Senior Associate Chair for the Theory and Practice of Medicine at Stanford, in The Weekend Journal. To come back to my favorite painting: a computer cannot take the place of the doctor in Fildes's painting; an electronic medical record (EMR) may or may not save money (it won’t be anywhere as much as is projected) but what it will do is ensure that we doctors, nurses, therapists,

Gordon R. Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153840447094854854noreply@blogger.com