Uncle Sam didn't want me

I just spent a week not serving on a jury for the U.S. District Court, about 100 miles from home. For those of you not familiar with the process, I was on call for six working days (all of last week, plus today). At 6p.m. on the evening before each potential service day (or 6p.m. on Friday evening prior to a Monday service day), I had to call the court's automated Jury Information Service (JIS) and find out what my reporting instructions were for the next day. If they had said "Come on down!", I would have been required to drop everything and show up at the courthouse at 8a.m. the next morning.

As it was, each time I called, JIS informed me that, even though I was still on call, I was not required to report the next day. Finally, three days ago, JIS cheerfully thanked me for my (availability for) service, and told me I was free to carry on with my life.

Just kidding on that last part — but it is good to finally be able to plan more than 24 hours into the future again.

Also on the plus side, the constitutionalist in me is thrilled that at least this court didn't have enough work to keep a jury pool busy...

"Once it starts, it never ends"

Comic strip Prickly City's April 6 edition is a good illustration of judicial activism.

True Life: I'm Immature, And I Don't Care Who Knows It

I am the staff advisor for a student organization at the university where I work. In that capacity, I get spammed from across the fruited plain by those seeking access to the students in this group. Today, I received an e-mail from someone scouting out prospects for a new episode of MTV's "True Life", a documentary series on "the lives and concerns of young adults". Here is an excerpt from the casting call:

TRUE LIFE: I Have Jealousy Issues

At first, jealousy in a relationship can be flattering. When your partner doesn't want anyone else to even look at you, it can seem like it's because they love you and are scared of losing you. But jealousy can easily become ugly, quick. An extremely jealous partner can make you feel trapped and ultimately destroy the relationship.

Is jealousy putting a strain on your relationship? Is it common for your boyfriend/girlfriend to start arguments or fights with other people when the two of you are out on dates? Or are you the jealous one? Do the actions of your partner consume your every thought? Do you go to extremes when you find yourself in a fit of jealousy?

MTV is currently conducting research and casting for an upcoming episode of the Emmy Award winning documentary series True Life. Since 1998, True Life has covered a diverse mix of stories, ranging from pop culture trends to breaking news topics. Whether documenting the lives of soldiers going to war, or people undergoing plastic surgery -- True Life tells its stories solely from the varied voices and points-of-view of its characters -- putting the series in the unique position of reflecting the state of youth culture at any given moment.

Recent True Life shows include True Life: I'm Obese, True Life: I'm in a Wheelchair, True Life: I'm Shipping Out, True Life: I Have an Eating Disorder and True Life: I'm Adopted.

Currently, we are looking for men and women, who appear to be between the ages of 18 -28, who are involved in jealous relationships. We are scheduled to begin shooting immediately. If you know of anyone who meets this criteria and who would like to share their story please contact us. We will initially be conducting phone interviews with those interested in sharing their journey.

I suppose that I can understand some people being willing to tell the world their feelings about shipping out or being in a wheelchair, but there's something really twisted about a couple going in front of the cameras to talk about unresolved problems in their relationship — instead of simply working to resolve them. Going on TV won't help.

Thomas Jefferson on the judiciary's respect for the Constitution

From a September 6, 1819 letter to Judge Spencer Roane:

The Constitution...is a mere thing of wax in the hands of the judiciary which they may twist and shape into any form they please.

Credit: The Federalist's"Founders Quote Daily"

Boortz strikes out again on euthanasia

While I agree with Neal Boortz on countless issues, I find in him a consistent hostility toward abortion and euthanasia opponents that borders on the irrational. The latest evidence of this is today's item he has on the Pope's death:

THE POPE AND TERRI SCHIAVO

Part of the story about the Pope's final days goes that John Paul II was offered the chance to go back to the hospital in Rome in order to prolong his life, but instead he chose not to. According to an official spokesman, the Pope was "informed of the gravity of his situation" and decided to remain in his apartment overlooking St. Peter's Square." In other words, John Paul II chose to not to have his life prolonged by artificial means, but instead to stay home and let nature take its course.

So since his passing over the weekend, there have been a few stories circulating noting the parallels between his illness and Terri Schiavo's (the coverage of which has been mercifully knocked off the front page.) The Pope was attached to a feeding tube....Terri Schiavo had a feeding tube. The feeding tube wasn't enough to keep Pope John Paul II alive, in Terri's case it was enough to at least keep her body going. The Pope said no. Will we hear a peep out of the abortocentrist crowd about the Pope's decision to die with dignity?

Probably not. After all, it doesn't fit their agenda.

Boortz sees the presence of a feeding tube as sufficient grounds to declare both cases identical, and then declares the euthanasia foes hypocrites for treating the two cases as different.

Boortz really must have a blind spot here. Does he really not comprehend that the Pope had a terminal illness, and Terri did not? She was severely incapacitated, but she had no life-threatening medical condition. In the Pope's case, he did not decline food and water. What he did decline was any medical treatment that would delay his imminent death.

Death by starvation and dehydration is about as undignified as can be imagined.

Will we ever hear Boortz admit these truths?

Probably not. After all, it doesn't fit his agenda.

MSM correction of the day

From the L.A. Times. As Best of the Web quipped, "Other than that, the story was accurate."

FOR THE RECORD

March 31, 2005

Cal State Chico — An article in Tuesday's California section about hazing at Cal State Chico mistakenly said that a pledge to a fraternity at nearby Butte Community College died of alcohol poisoning. He did not die but was hospitalized. The article also said Chico has a population of 35,000; according to the city, the population is 71,317. In addition, University President Paul Zingg was quoted saying the school would shut down its Greek system if problems with hazing did not abate. Zingg made his comments to a group of 850 students and others, and his remarks were quoted in the local media. He did not speak with The Times. Also, although the article characterized the school as being well-known for its basketball program, its winning baseball program may be best known outside campus.

"Next time it will be easier"

National Review's March 31 editorial on the killing of Terri Schiavo notes the polls showing high public approval for her death, but also suggests that public opinion was greatly manipulated through the use (by the media and by George Felos) of euphemisms to mask what was actually happening.

The disinformation campaign was so successful that most people were untroubled by the manner of Terri's killing. NR makes an observation similar to ones made here and elsewhere:

Why not kill Mrs. Schiavo quickly and efficiently, by depriving her of air to breathe? In principle, that would have been no different from denying her the other basic necessities of life. Why not give her a lethal injection? The law would not have allowed those methods; but the reason nobody advocated them was that they would have been too obviously murder. So the court-ordered killing was carried out slowly, incrementally, over days and weeks, with soft music, stuffed animals, and euphonious slogans about choice and dignity and radiance. By the time it ended, no one really remembered how many days and hours it had gone on. The nation accepted it, national polls supported it, and we all moved on to other things.

There's no going back— a line has been crossed regarding what the American public will tolerate:

Next time it will be easier. It always is. The tolerance of early-term abortion made it possible to tolerate partial-birth abortion, and to give advanced thinkers a hearing when they advocate outright infanticide. Letting the courts decide such life-and-death issues made it possible for us to let them decide others, made it seem somehow wrong for anyone to stand in their way. Now they are helping to snuff out the minimally conscious. Who's next?

Schiavo case: The fix was in from the start

The Empire Journal outlines in excruciating detail the "tangled web of deception [and] corruption" that has permeated the Schiavo case since it first entered the Pinellas County legal system.

For all of the accusations of Terri being made a pawn of the right to life movement in recent months, it appears that she really has been a pawn of the euthanasia gang all along. I can think of no other way to explain this bizarre string of occurrences.

President Bush statement on Terri Schiavo

Today millions of Americans are saddened by the death of Terri Schiavo. Laura and I extend or condolences to Terri Schiavo's families. I appreciate the example of grace and dignity they have displayed at a difficult time. I urge all those who honor Terri Schiavo to continue to work to build a culture of life where all Americans are welcomed and valued and protected, especially those who live at the mercy of others. The essence of civilization is that the strong have a duty to protect the weak. In cases where there are serious doubts and questions, the presumption should be in favor of life.

—President George W. Bush, March 31, 2005

Terri Schindler Schiavo, RIP

Terri died today. May she rest in peace, and may God have mercy on those who killed her.

Stop the presses! Study finds academia to be infested with liberals!

From the Washington Post's Howard Kurtz, March 29:

College faculties, long assumed to be a liberal bastion, lean further to the left than even the most conspiratorial conservatives might have imagined, a new study says.

By their own description, 72 percent of those teaching at American universities and colleges are liberal and 15 percent are conservative, says the study being published this week. The imbalance is almost as striking in partisan terms, with 50 percent of the faculty members surveyed identifying themselves as Democrats and 11 percent as Republicans.

The disparity is even more pronounced at the most elite schools, where, according to the study, 87 percent of faculty are liberal and 13 percent are conservative.

"What's most striking is how few conservatives there are in any field," said Robert Lichter, a professor at George Mason University and a co-author of the study. "There was no field we studied in which there were more conservatives than liberals or more Republicans than Democrats. It's a very homogenous environment, not just in the places you'd expect to be dominated by liberals."

Later:

When asked about the findings, Jonathan Knight, director of academic freedom and tenure for the American Association of University Professors, said, "The question is how this translates into what happens within the academic community on such issues as curriculum, admission of students, evaluation of students, evaluation of faculty for salary and promotion." Knight said he isn't aware of "any good evidence" that personal views are having an impact on campus policies.

"It's hard to see that these liberal views cut very deeply into the education of students. In fact, a number of studies show the core values that students bring into the university are not very much altered by being in college."

As Glenn Reynolds might say: Heh.

Sorry, no Jodi

To the countless people arriving at this blog because you're looking for photos of Jodi Centonze (the other love of Michael Schiavo's life), sorry. Her role in this drama is not worth any more bandwidth than I've already expended on her behalf.

UPDATE: Salena Moffat has a picture.

New economy runs afoul of tax-sucking leviathan

New York's highest court has ruled that people who work for NY employers but telecommute from out of state can be taxed by NY on 100% of the income paid by that employer (apparently regardless of whether or not the income is also taxed by the telecommuter's home state). This is not surprising, given that New York is already a regulatory nightmare, but this is definitely a bad precedent that is sure to be followed by other states. Savvy NY employers are sure to try to find ways around this by coming up with new and creative ways to compensate out-of-staters.

The science of the crucifixion

MSNBC reports on a show called "Quest for Truth: The Crucifixion", premiering Easter Sunday on the National Geographic channel. In the show, Biblical archaeologist Jonathan Reed attempts to reconstruct the mechanics of crucifixion as practiced by the Romans at the time of Jesus.

His conclusions, while affirming the details reported in the gospel texts, call into question some of the conventional wisdom about this method of execution. For example, Reed now believes that crucifixion was done on a T-shaped cross, rather than the "Latin" cross of tradition. Reed also challenges the recent consensus that Jesus' arms were nailed through the wrists. There was no need for those nails to support the weight of the body — the nail through the feet would accomplish that. Rather, he thinks it quite likely that the nails were actually driven through the palms of the hands (as was commonly assumed prior to the 20th century), since the cruel Romans would have known that the pain inflicted would be much greater there.

Terri's passion

From Faithmouse. Click the image for a larger version.