TheWorx

Justice Stevens recently wrote a book in which he proposes certain amendments intended to eliminate many contemporary problems in constitutional law.  See this DailyKos article.   His proposed amendments are in red while my comments  are in black.  A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms when serving in the Militia, shall not be infringed. "When serving in the Militia" is problematic. What is a militia? Is it in fact the National Guard of a given state? If so, that doesn't go well with the necessity "to the security of a free State" because that's why we have the U.S. Army. If it's not the National Guard, then, what is it? Whatever it is, it is something other than the guard or the army. I submit that it is something created by citizens to protect themselves from a despotic government. We should recall that at th...

[as is my custom, I've entered my comments immediately following the pertinent section in italics and in blue] A year ago,  Hillary Clinton  seemed to be on her way to a serene, obstacle-free coronation as the 2016 Democratic nominee for president. In an April 14, 2015, editorial, The Times bemoaned the fact that the Democratic race consisted of “exactly one candidate with a truly national profile” — the former secretary of state and U.S. senator from New York. The editorial did mention Sen.  Bernie Sanders , but only as one of a group of second-tier figures that also included former Rhode Island Gov.  Lincoln Chafee  and former U.S. Sen  Jim Webb  of Virginia (remember them?). National profile? Do you mean like that of Barack Hussein Obama, and are you saying that he has fallen flat on his face on account of his lack of national profile?" You fucking bastards. Today, as California prepares for its primary on June 7,  Clinton  is again ...

This is a follow-up to my previous post on the Clinton-Trump connection. This conspiracy theory of mine is a bit more firmly "planted" today compared to when I first proposed it. For those new to the theory, he it is in a nutshell: HRC/WJC and DJ got together and one of them made an offer to the other that could not be refused, namely, let's run against each other and HRC will win because Liberals will continue with their herd, progressives will rear at the prospect of Sysyphus gaining the upper hand, and conservatives don't see all that much conservatism in this Disc Jockey who spins his disk backwards like a misguided Beatles fan looking for rhyme and reason where there is none. What about Independents? Well these folk (indie here) go with the best choice for their current situation with or without a little magnanimity thrown in for foreign policy, immigrants, and the "humble sons of unpropitious fortune" as James Madison once referred to the 99%, Why? B...

Protests are powerful forces, but only an armed movement can accomplish things if they remain small. Unarmed resistance must be large to get the job done. I see the present movement--called by such names as Democracy Spring and Democracy Awakening--as lacking in numbers. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, via their celebrity status, help bring attention to the movement. That's great. Love it. However, how do we increase the numbers? As a B12 shot in the arm, the movements have turned to peaceful rebellion in the form of voluntary arrests, but with minimal or even negative mainstream media coverage it is unlikely that the numbers would go anywhere but down. The Capitol Police are very diligent when it comes to following through with their orders but no one on the force would like to spend resources on defending themselves against lawsuits--especially if it can really be helped. At this point, I'd like to point out a very significant difference between celebrities and your ave...

Well, give it time and all wounds heal. In italics is my original post. I wrote it straight out of my heart and based on my personal love and experience with the First Amendment (I protested the Vietnam and Iraq wars and have demonstrated for BLM, People's Climate March, Bradley Manning, Edward Snowden, and against NSA style surveillance, and Israeli Imperialism. I should have written this a long time ago but I only remembered after posting something on Trump/Clinton and seeing, ". . .the Bernie Sanders' Lie." What? Oh yea, the Palestinian thing. I had forgotten it (conveniently, I guess) because I had slowly come to realize certain facts that belie my entire post on Berdie Sanders. In retrospect, even his perceived shortcomings vis-a-vis the First Amendment should not have overwhelmed what I now know far outweigh that negative and, as it turns out, Bernie Sanders has A.) come out in favor of a Palestinian solution, B.) has, himself, continued to show reliance on the ...

[ Please see a later post that restores my Pro-Sanders viewpoint] I loved Bernie Sanders and his anti-Wall street platform but recently I discovered a hypocrisy that makes my blood boil. Bernie Sanders arrested anti-war protesters including those of Code Pink--an outfit run by women and totally non-violent. He did so because they were protesting Israeli imperialism. How can anyone expect that this man would do anything against Wall St when we all know that Jews run it? That's not anti-Semitic, that's God's honest truth! In this country, anyonewho says anything against Israel is pegged as anti-Semitic. That's a strawman argument that does not carry any weight in those of us who love justice. When the Middle East was being divvied up by the United Nations, the Palestinians there said that they really didn't need all that land that they were being given and that Israel should get it. Well, it wasn't enough for Israel--they wanted it all and we now have the ...

[2016 Copyright. All rights reserved] In my last post, I speculated that Bernie Sanders would make a better opponent against the Trumpster than HillaryArtillery but that hinges on the Trumpster being a bona fide candidate. Something is this man's demeanor has caused me to reconsider whether Mr. Trump really is as ingenuous as his supporters make him out to be. No matter how egotistical you are, the office of President and its attainment by mortal men, does not lend itself to flippant remarks and actions. I know this because I have had may "if I ran the country" moments and none of my ideas are glib and all are enveloped in the golden rule and expressed in a serious vein. I've called Mr. Trump a Nazi xenophobe but that ultimate hitman was never seen joking about the issues he considered important--at least, not in any documentary I ever saw. Who would trust a hitman of Trump's ilk with access to a nuclear button? Now, you might say, "well, isn't this...

It looks as though Mr. Trump may continue to bleach his hair in the Sun all the way to November, and what we have learned from him is that he is deaf to any holds being barred. If Hillary Clinton is his opponent, we can fully expect that Mr. Trump will bring out every negativity, real or imagined, against Madame Secretary. We all know that she has had a storied past but along with the accolades, there has been much controversy. I can see Mr. Trump pointing his finger at Mrs. Clinton's every semblance of impropriety. He will dredge up Whitewater, the death of her friend (the lawyer Vince Foster), Benghazi, the Iraq War, emails (delayed and whitewashed?), that beer-guzzling episode which made the news [OK, maybe only I thought it was improper but, hell, others in politics don't beer guzzle like "girls gone wild"], Bill's dalliance (she failed as a wife you would hear Trump say), her associations with the Waltons (I don't know if there is anything there but Tru...

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. It's sage advice whose jurisdiction extends beyond that of the tourist in a foreign land. It is especially true when you become an immigrant. I was a Cuban immigrant and we often had problems with the Italians that had come before us. We couldn't understand their lack of neighborliness--especially when it came to their property. No trespassing was tolerated. The Italians taught us the lesson and we learned it well. I am now that Italian and my Palestinian neighbor is the Cuban and they have a lot to learn and that is why I write this blog telling of my travails with the Palestinians next door and why I ended today's argument with me calling her a "terrorist." I've written it as a play. [Day One. Spotting the the Dish Installer in my driveway, I approach him.] Me: Hey, make sure you clean up after yourself. Don't leave any debris in my driveway. The Cablevision people leave stuff behind and I won't tolerate it....

I read Jonathan Tasini's book, "The Essential Bernie Sanders and his Vision for America." He, Sanders, definitely has got his act together and I see no reason for not voting for him. Every single position is one that I believe in. There is one position where he does not go far enough, though, and that is in reining in Wall Street. Yes, his plan to break up the 6 horsemen of the apocalypse will go a long way to assuage the scammers but I know he can do better, and I've written here about how to put an end to the pyramid scheme while protecting the assets of hard-working men and women. While I pray that he reads my post, I know it's mostly wishful thinking on my part. His position with regard to healthcare, ie, single payer, is one of the reasons that got me on the bus to Philadelphia campaigning for Obama (how naive of me then). While I wish him the best of luck in this, he must come up with safeguards to prevent throwing money at the problem. Without the insur...

Of course, I'm guilty as much as the next guy--well, maybe not as much, I like to think. I know I succumb to the usual inadequacies of the mind. I know I am incapable of ascertaining the true prevalence of a group's supposed characteristic; and, statistical science offers no hope--perhaps rightfully so. But there is no reason why technology cannot assuage the prejudices of humans. In my last post I digressed and railed against the African-American Customer Service Representative at Geico. Regardless of motivations, technology can prevent misplaced ire (such disdain should be placed squarely on the policies of the corporation). The way to do this is to disguise the voice of the representative and that of the customer--the respective names should also be aliases (there is actually no reason why our name should be available to an employee--just the account number). That's right, I propose that all live customer representatives should have Siri's voice and we can have--I ...

Let's start with the reason why the grudge of 9/11 shows no signs of diminishing--at least it seems to be the case in New York City. I can understand that it is human nature to attack those related in some way with individuals that harmed you but the utter hypocrisy exhibited by New Yorkers and other non-thinking beasts brings tears to my eyes. Case in point, Iran. Iran has no connection with 9/11. The people most involved are the Saudis yet we buy their oil like there's no tomorrow. Is this not hypocrisy? Because Iranians are Muslim, many in the U.S. hold them responsible but we don't blame Indonesia, a predominantly Muslim country--is this not hypocrisy? We hear total assholes on the radio calling Iran a sponsor of terrorism but not one man in the street will be able to tell you what Iran has done to sponsor terrorism. On the contrary, the U.S. deposed their leader and put in a puppet subservient to U.S. interests. When they took hostages, they treated them--to my k...

Don't sweat the small stuff, it is said. Well, what they never tell you is that the small stuff adds up. So it was that I recently had to take it up the wazoo by a Geico representative who was hell bent on upping her commission. Let's back up a little (no pun intended). When I first signed up with Geico, they told me that they would have to add my wife as the driver of the pick-up truck, a Ford F350 with oversized tires. The reason I so clearly remember this is that the thought that my wife would have the desire or even the ability to drive a big truck like that was, frankly, ludicrous. However, I felt I had no choice but to comply with their demands for when it comes to insurance companies and the like, it's always a case of "who's your daddy?" (Of course, they knew that my wife would probably not be driving the stick BMW). Now, fast forward about 5 years at least. I get on the phone to add a third car--small, automatic--which my wife could use in an em...