Category Archives: Linkorama

There's a constitutional crisis brewing, but other stuff goes on too:

• Justice Dept. on Wrongful Convictions: “Not Our Problem”
• Iraq Embassy Oversight Hearing: I believe these men were kidnapped by First Kuwaiti to work at the US Embassy…
• EZ-Bake oven for your PC (just a joke — so far)
• Boing boing: “If you only watch one YouTube movie today featuring dancing country farmer's daughters contortionists singing about potato salad, it should be this one.” (OK. I'll keep that in mind.)
• Racism mars what should a Hollywood movie wedding.
• Bad news: Thompson campaign is peaking too soon.
• Good news: Newt is waiting in the wings.
• Emboldened by a recent court decision rolling back competitive protections, firms are suing to block e-Bay auctions that undercut their retail price maintenance schemes.
• Help EFF Examine Once-Secret FBI Docs
• Volokh praises the honesty of Florida jurors. But the mental capacity of Broward county's sheriff and prosecutors are certainly open to question.
• Unfortunately, it's big — and welcome — news when a high-ranking general is held accountable for something, in this case the Tillman Case. It's not anywhere near the maximum punishment, and the greatest penalty falls on a retired general so don't get too excited. But it's real.
• My view that administration officials risk war crimes trials after they leave office is gradually becoming mainstream — in part because the administration keeps writing new rules justifying war crimes.
• New UK PM proposes decrease in freedom
• IE7Pro — a plugin for IE, if you use that.
• Pasquale & Bracha, Federal Search Commission? Access, Fairness and Accountability in the Law of Search
• John Edwards does Hair
• A pilot discusses airline (in)security — it ain't pretty.

No, there's no pattern there. Feel free to post your own pointers to stuff in the comments.

The truth will get you fired

Things you shouldn't say at your dissertation defense

If your ratings are big you can get away with racism (more here)

The US government sure loves its lawless, secret CIA prisons — those would be the black sites where there's water boarding and other torture or near-torture, and people seem to vanish and die. Is there any hope that our next President will end this shameful system? I am not optimistic about most of the candidates, although the worst abuses may be curbed.

Résumé lies and signals

Some recent political stuff to chew on:

• Ewards on Iran. Not-so-hawkish after all or adjusting his message to the audience?
• David Sirota describes how progressive Democratic Senators start learning to use the same blackmail tactics as the right-wing
• How the occupiers drive Humvees in Baghdad — not likely to win hearts and minds, is it?
  
• Will little things like facts (headline: “U.S. can't prove Iran link to Iraq strife”) prevent a US attack on Iran?
• George Soros is sometimes highly undiplomatic. But does violating Godwin's law mean that he's wrong?
• We have a new record! McCain Flip-Flops In 47 Seconds: Claims Success Is Not Realistic In ‘A Few Months,’ Then Says It Is

• Digby writes about a disturbing video that was ahead of its time.
• Flablog writes about two surprisingly smart appointments announced by Florida Governor-Elect Charlie Crist. I agree they’re good, especially Bob Butterworth for the cesspool at the Dept. of Children and Families. But I’m slightly more cynical than Flablog here: part of DCF’s problem is criminal mis-management by far-right wingers. But another part of it is that DCF has been starved for resources. Putting a heavyweight honest Democrat in charge may fix the first problem (if he’s given a free hand with personnel), but that appointment alone will not fix the second. And meanwhile, the appointment conveniently hangs the albatross one of Florida’s biggest problems around the Democratic party — or at least away from the GOP. Smart politics, absolutely. Potential for good outcomes — amazingly so. But far from in the bag.
• As Lifehacker notes, This one rates a high on the geek scale, but it’s still sort of interesting to learn what you get if you have an eight-page-long URI: A graphic! Got to wonder how sp*mmers will use that one…
• Read my brother’s column, The Carpetbagger Report, TalkLeft…if you don’t already.

Good stuff piled up while I was out of it.

• How Rahm Emanuel Lost The House For The Democrats— And How Actblue, Moveon, Markos, Jane, Duncan, Howard Dean And A Host Of Others Saved The Day
• Robert Gates on Openness, Oversight
• Chief Justice Roberts speaks at UM (I picked a great day to be sick)
• Google Earth In 4D (time is the fourth dimension — this is not a joke); meanwhile, always behind, Microsoft Virtual Earth Debuts Optional 3-D Map
• Voting Technology and Security
• Picking a fight over health care
• All Non-Trivial Privacy Fears Come True
• Judge rules that a burrito is not a sandwich— could have come right out of my jurisprudence class…
• Meet your new chairman of the Republican National Committee
• Bush ‘proud’ that elections weren’t cancelled
• Judicial Watch Obtains Documents from Army Related to Halliburton Subsidiary’s No-Bid Iraq Contract: Newly Released Documents Raise Questions Regarding Involvement of Vice President’s Office
• Space elevators would kill passengers due to radiation exposure; the commentators at slashdot have some fun with this one
• Inmate Notes from Camp Nohardfeelingsmo
• Who is John McCain?
• “Women still account for only 17 percent of law firm partners, 20 percent of federal judges and 14 percent of Fortune 500 general counsels. And, at the current rate, the number of women partners won’t reach parity with the number of male partners

Actually, I'm still coughing a lot. Class could be hard tomorrow.