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Scalia and Free Speech

I was wondering if you might indulge me and consider what Scalia is saying in this post:

Both Scalia and his teenage interlocutor seemed aware of some “Road to Damascus” conversion that Scalia had gone through on Free Speech.

“I have the capacity to admit I made a mistake,” Scalia started out in answering the young man’s question before choosing a different tack.

First, what is the mistake on Free Speech that Scalia is referring to?

Second, Scalia’s conversion on Free Speech seems to contain a trap that I cannot quite put my fingers on.

Is it just his “Originalist” (static) take on the Constitution? Or, are there other flaws in his thinking (as he articulated them here) on this issue?

The conceit, of course, is that Scalia is an “originalist.” Bush v. Gore would, at least, seem to indicate otherwise.

If you have RealPlayer, here’s a link to Scalia’s talk.

Update:

As I’d suspected, Scalia’s “originalist” sentiments here is a complete red-herring. People for the American Way cite chapter and verse ways that Scalia and his Toto, Clarence Thomas, would defile the Constitution and subvert Free Speech, if given the slightest chance.

In his March 14, 2005 Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) speech, clarified that he is not a “strict constructionist” but, rather, an “originalist,” joking that people bring that up as he had some fatal disease (Justice Scalia, when did you first realize you’re an originalist, or, as he mordantly put it: “When did you first start eating human flesh?”)

There is, of course, the embarassing episode of Scalia keeping the media out of an event where he was being honored with a Free Speech award.

Update II:

The Washington Post had a rather superficial take on Scalia’s sitdown with the students but had a fuller story on Scalia, who’s not shy, being very visible at the moment.

Can't win for winning?

What are we to make of the Knicks and their chuckle-headed coach, Isiah Thomas?
I mean, did they just win three games in a row? I am sure you’re aware that this late in the NBA season most teams try to lose their games, not win them, so they can position themselves for a lottery pick in the draft.
The Knicks are doing it backward. At this hopeless point in the season, they’ve suddenly discovered a winning form. Talk about pathetically too little too late.
It started a couple of weeks ago when the Knicks played the Miami Heat (the Heat, which traded away Shaquille O’Neal and shut down Dwayne Wade–their best player–for the year, are not gonna win another game for the rest of the season).
Isaiah Thomas, the reviled Knicks coach, came in for much criticism because the Knicks won that game.
But the only way the Knicks could have tanked that game was to not show up at the Garden that night.
The Knicks have recovered nicely, losing their next five games. Every Knicks fan was thinking lottery city, baby. Only somebody forgot to tell Thomas. Before Friday night’s game, the Knicks reeled off three victories, including against Detroit, one of the league’s elite teams.
Here’s my proposition for Don Walsh: Fire Isiah. Now!

History

Douglas A. Blackmon reaches deep into history to re-examine some of our past: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II.

This is how Random House, the publisher, described the book:

In this groundbreaking historical exposé, Douglas A. Blackmon brings to light one of the most shameful chapters in American history—an “Age of Neoslavery” that thrived from the aftermath of the Civil War through the dawn of World War II.

Under laws enacted specifically to intimidate blacks, tens of thousands of African Americans were arbitrarily arrested, hit with outrageous fines, and charged for the costs of their own arrests. With no means to pay these ostensible “debts,” prisoners were sold as forced laborers to coal mines, lumber camps, brickyards, railroads, quarries, and farm plantations. Thousands of other African Americans were simply seized by southern landowners and compelled into years of involuntary servitude. Government officials leased falsely imprisoned blacks to small-town entrepreneurs, provincial farmers, and dozens of corporations—including U.S. Steel—looking for cheap and abundant labor. Armies of “free” black men labored without compensation, were repeatedly bought and sold, and were forced through beatings and physical torture to do the bidding of white masters for decades after the official abolition of American slavery.

(Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center/Doubleday) John L. Spivak’s 1932 photo of a prisoner punished in Georgia.
The neoslavery system exploited legal loopholes and federal policies that discouraged prosecution of whites for continuing to hold black workers against their wills. As it poured millions of dollars into southern government treasuries, the new slavery also became a key instrument in the terrorization of African Americans seeking full participation in the U.S. political system.

(Library of Congress/Doubleday) Carl Weiss’s 1898 photo of a chain gang in Thomasville, Ga.

Based on a vast record of original documents and personal narratives, Slavery by Another Name unearths the lost stories of slaves and their descendants who journeyed into freedom after the Emancipation Proclamation and then back into the shadow of involuntary servitude. It also reveals the stories of those who fought unsuccessfully against the re-emergence of human labor trafficking, the modern companies that profited most from neoslavery, and the system’s final demise in the 1940s, partly due to fears of enemy propaganda about American racial abuse at the beginning of World War II.
Slavery by Another Name is a moving, sobering account of a little-known crime against African Americans, and the insidious legacy of racism that reverberates today.

Read an excerpt of Slavery by Another Name here. A wealth of material about book and author can be found at http://www.slaverybyanothername.com/

About the book’s author: DOUGLAS A. BLACKMON is the Atlanta Bureau Chief of the Wall Street Journal. He has written extensively on race, the economy, and American society. Reared in the Mississippi Delta, he lives in downtown Atlanta with his wife and children.

3G iPhones to keep current prices

Apple ‘s 3G iPhone to be priced from $399
By Richard Felton
Wednesday, April 09, 2008 17:21
Chicago (IL) – We just came across a few more interesting 3G iPhone details. Industry sources told TG Daily that the device in fact will launch at WWDC 2008, in two or possible three different configurations, and prices starting at $399. There are a few other tweaks, which, however, may be less than you would expect from a next-gen iPhone.

We aren’t quite sure about the reasons why we are suddenly getting a lot more information about Apple products than we used to in the past and whether these are intentional leaks or just leaks that Apple just has to deal with as it is growing into a much larger entity than it was a few years ago.

These thoughts put aside, prices of the 3G iPhone may be what most of potential buyers may be interested in. Our sources told us that there will be at least two models, one with 8 GB and one with 16 GB memory, priced at $399 and $499, respectively. This pricing structure is identical to current iPhones There is a chance that we could see a 32 GB version for $599, but we were not able to receive a confirmation for this claim.

The iPhone itself will come with a slightly thinner body, which sheds about 2.5 mm when compared to the original iPhone. The casing, we are told, will see revisions in its appearance, removing some of the “plasticky” feeling of some parts. There will not be any significant changes to the operating system as well as the graphical user interface, but we did hear that the accelerometer has been tuned a bit. Unfortunately, Apple decided to stick with a non-removable battery.

To get the details on the whole package we will have to wait for another 63 days. In 63 days, at 9:30 am PST, all questions will be answered. Oh, we almost forgot: Apple is also now working in tic-tock mode between iPhone and iPod Touch. iPod touch should always have a twice the capacity model for the same price as iPhone. Just like iPod touch 32 GB today has the price of 16 GB iPhone, future iPhones and iPods will be parallel: when the 64 GB iPod touch debuts, you can expect that the touch model will continue to have a price match in the form of a 32 GB 3G iPhone.

Lastly, we still have that “two Golden Gate bridges” thingy. It is actually a symbol for the separation between the iPhone/iPod and Mac, we were told. Apple’s goal is to be building a software development infrastructure for the handheld OS, so expect a ton of sessions and workshops that will help developers to create new applications.

Aptera* What?

Ok, so you’ve probably heard of this, maybe, even seen it. But did you believe your eyes?

It’s called Aptera. it’s a hybrid car. Whether anyone would make it is conjecture but it changes the dynamic of what is possible. This from Newsweek magazine:

The Aptera: A funky new hybrid-electric car gets 300 miles per gallon of gas.

The dirty secret of automakers, says Jib Ellison, CEO of BluSkye Sustainability Consulting, is that most of the energy used by a car comes from moving the vehicle itself, not the people in it. “That’s because cars aren’t designed to be as aerodynamic as they could be, and because we have this obsession with heavy vehicles, even though there are now lighter materials that are just as safe,” he says. But a prototype car from upstart Aptera Motors in Carlsbad, Calif., could help change all that.

The Aptera is not like any vehicle on the road today. It’s made with ultra-light (but superstrong) composites, and it has just three wheels to reduce its weight still further. It also has a funky shape—a cross between an insect and a flying saucer—that was designed in the computerized equivalent of a wind tunnel to minimize drag. By next year the car will be available in two models—one hybrid electric and the other purely electric, which can be plugged into any outlet—”even a solar carport,” says cofounder Steven Fambro.

Not that a $30,000 two-seater that requires eight hours of recharging will be everyone’s ideal car. But Fambro isn’t worried. He’s presold 1,300 Apteras without spending a dollar on advertising (although he’s selling only in California at first to minimize distribution and repair issues). “It’s selling itself,” he says. “And $100-a-barrel oil doesn’t hurt.” Are you listening, GM?

(Image courtesy Accelerated Composites)

John Fuller at howstuffworks.com describes how this car is supposed to work:

How the Aptera Hybrid Works by John Fuller

What if you could drive across the entire United States — from East coast to West coast — on just one tank ofgas? Sounds like a crazy idea, right? Ever since Nicholas August Otto developed the gasoline engine in the 1870s and Rudolph Diesel invented the diesel engine in the 1890s, people have improved upon vehicle efficiency in fits and starts.

As concerns continue to grow over the possible consequences of global warming, nations and governments are beginning to react. The European Union continues to revise its strict emission standards, and ultracompact cars like the Smart Car, the MINI Cooper and the iQ Car catch lots of attention for their space- and energy-saving qualities. In the U.S., meanwhile, President George W. Bush signed an energy bill on Dec. 19, 2007, that encourages automakers to produce more fuel-efficient vehicles and increase the industry average to at least 35 miles per gallon by 2020.

While these are small steps toward a respectable goal, Accelerated Composites (AC), a private company of only 15 employees based in San Diego, Calif., may be taking a big leap with the Aptera, a three-wheel, two-passenger prototype that aims for an astounding 330 miles per gallon. AC was founded in 2006 by Steve Fambro and Chris Anthony, two independent entrepreneurs with experience in everything from composites and biotechnology to aerodynamics and finance.

This combination of expertise led to the Aptera, a truly unique vehicle that looks like a cross between a dolphin and a helicopter. Technically classified as a motorcycle, the vehicle will only be available to residents ofCalifornia when it’s initially produced. If the Aptera sells well, AC hopes to offer its vehicle to national and international markets.

The initial prototype of the Aptera achieved 230 mpg, a number that is 195 mpg over the projected standard outlined in President Bush’s recent energy bill. As of now, the developers still have more time to work out the kinks and improve its efficiency — AC expects the Aptera to be ready for Californians in late 2008.

How fast will the Aptera go? Since it’s technically a motorcycle, what are its safety features? Read on to learn more about the Aptera.

From The New Republic, a poem

An Azalea Blooms in the Murderer’s Yard

Ralph Sneeden, The New Republic Published: Wednesday, April 23, 2008

And shirtless boys fire rocks with rackets

from the lawn next door. Ping and twang,

then sounds of invisible tunnels torn

through the canopy of indifferent oaks.

Perhaps it was them I saw, the scoundrels,

casting their lures in the middle of February,

hoping to snag the swans parked at the rim

of the flooded bog’s unfreezing pupil.

He shot his family with a twenty-two

not long after debarking the bus from school,

the quiet campus photographer, always

in the dark room, it was said, waiting

for the images he’d abducted from the world

to unfurl in shallow toxic pans.

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Scalia and Free Speech

I was wondering if you might indulge me and consider what Scalia is saying in this post.

Both Scalia and his teenage interlocutor seemed aware of some “Road to Damascus” conversion that Scalia had gone through in his Free Speech thoughts.

“I have the capacity to admit I made a mistake,” Scalia started out in answering the young man’s question before choosing a different tack.

First, what is the mistake on Free Speech that Scalia is referring to?

Second, Scalia’s conversion on Free Speech seems to contain a trap that I cannot quite put my fingers on.

Is it just his “Originalist” (static) take on the Constitution? Or, are there other flaws in his thinking (as he articulated them here) on this issue?

The conceit, of course, is that Scalia is an “originalist.” Bush v. Gore would, at least, seem to indicate otherwise. Here’s a link to the entire talk, if you have RealPlayer.

Topic open.

A better mouse-trap

In a way, the technological advancement of the modern age has been astonishing. We have conquered worlds unknown and are on the verge of yet more breathtaking discoveries. Yet we’re still saddled with battery technology that belong with Barney Rubble and cohorts.

Now comes news that researchers out of Peoria, er, the Argonne National Laboratory in Argonne, IL, “have developed composite battery materials that can make such batteries both safer and longer lived, while increasing their capacity to store energy by 30 percent.”

All I can say is: about time!