Month: September 2011

Papers, Please

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by Gary Farber

Children.

Who we hates, we do, because their parents are illegal immigrants. 

And in Alabama, this is now happening: 

FOLEY, Alabama — Many of the 223 Hispanic students at Foley Elementary came to school Thursday crying and afraid, said Principal Bill Lawrence. 

Nineteen of them withdrew, and another 39 were absent, Lawrence said, the day after a federal judge upheld much of Alabama’s strict new immigration law, which authorizes law enforcement to detain people suspected of not being U.S. citizens and requires schools to ask new enrollees for a copy of their birth certificate. 

Even more of the students – who are U.S. citizens by birth, but their parents may not be – were expected to leave the state over the weekend, Lawrence said. 

"It’s been a challenging day, an emotional day. My children have been in tears today. They’re afraid," he said. "We have been in crisis-management mode, trying to help our children get over this." 

Foley Elementary has the area’s largest percentage of Hispanic students, about 20 percent of its student body. 

Under the new immigration law, schools must check the citizenship status of any student who enrolls after Sept. 1. 

The students must present a birth certificate. Those who cannot do so have 30 days to submit documentation or an affidavit signed by a parent or guardian saying that they are here legally. 

Why?  Federal Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackwell.  

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Off With Their Heads!

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by Gary Farber

I say we just kill all accused murderers from now on.

Think of the money saved, the deficit, and, of course, the children.

Now that we've established that the courts and Constitution don't matter, let's just jail all the accused criminals, too. Why lose sleep? They're murderers and criminals! The state says so. 

All Presidents need the power to assassinate people simply because they say so. What could go wrong? 

This matters not.

Amendment 5 – Trial and Punishment, Compensation for Takings.

Ratified 12/15/1791.

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

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Reading list

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by Doctor Science What I’m reading now and hope to post about soon: Hamlet’s Father by Orson Scott Card. Available as a standalone or as first published, in a collection your library might have. The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution By Francis Fukuyama. I may have to do a … Read more

Education Friday open thread

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Two related articles from the NYTimes. This tells the story of two charter schools, one for underprivileged students, the other one of those high powered ones, and their attempt to teach students 'character' with the title "What if the Secret to Success Is Failure?", while this tells the adventures of Clifford Levy (or more importantly, … Read more

September 11, Iraq, and the nature of courage

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by Doctor Science

Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. Suffering leads to the Dark Side.
— Yoda

As I’ve said, my emotional reaction to September 11 was full of fear and grief. Now, it has often seemed to me — and to many others — that in the years after that day much of the American people went crazy with fear. In particular, this was how I felt about the push for the Iraq War.

But I opposed the war, from the start. Does that mean I was less frightened by 9/11 than the war’s supporters? Or that I was as frightened as they were, but braver?

Charge_of_the_Light_Brigade
The Charge of the Light Brigade, by Richard Caton Woodville.

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Your sports Friday open thread

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by liberal japonicus The Guardian observes, in a piece about Cheryl Cole concert in Afghanistan, has this: The X Factor is becoming almost like America's NFL, whose relationship with the military has become so weirdly symbiotic that flypasts before each game come as standard, the league's flagship show has been broadcast from a military base, … Read more

The New World’s Post-Apocalyptic Landscape

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by Doctor Science

I’m gathering up a bunch of threads that came up in the Methos on September 11 post and answering them here.

The question, “Were New World populations significantly reduced by Old World diseases introduced after 1492?” is currently considered settled by historians, and the answer is “Yes”. If this startles you, it *is* a paradigm shift from what you probably grew up learning — but it’s a really solid shift with a huge weight of evidence behind it. The best popular account is 1491, by Charles Mann; I’m on the library waiting list for 1493 and will be sure to review it here when I’ve read it.

BrueghelTriumphofDeath800
The Triumph of Death, by Pieter Bruegel the Elder.

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Methos and me on September 11th

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by Doctor Science

200pxTheTowerTarot

The Tower, by Pamela Colman Smith, from the Rider-Waite Tarot deck. Unsourced description from Wikipedia:

Chaos —– Sudden change —– Impact —– Hard times

Crisis —– Revelation —– Disruption —– Realizing the truth

Disillusion —– Crash —– Burst —– Uncomfortable experience

Downfall —– Ruin —– Ego blow —– Explosive transformation

One of the most important parts of September 11, 2001 for me was a conversation with someone who doesn’t exist.

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Das Glühkatzchen

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by liberal japonicus Hartmut can correct that German, I hope, but this Guardian story about genetically manipulated cats that glow in the dark had me singing 'Shine little glowpuss, glimmer, glimmer', which led me to the wikipedia entry for that song, which is originally from the German operetta Lysistrata by Paul Lincke.