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Comments Posted By MurphTheSurf3

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Let the battle for a new voting rights movement begin

And the Supremes did not strike Section 5 which is the real heart of the preapproval statute. Section 5 says that it is permissible to have preapproval and to have a formula by which it is applied. The principle is upheld, only the formula was struck. In practical terms I am pretty sure that this will not result in getting the formula updated BUT efforts to block that from happening will now be labeled for what they are. AND if it is played properly it will make it clear that anyone with a “R” behind their name is an enemy of anyone affected by the striking down of Section 4.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On June 26, 2013 @ 5:34 pm

The core conservatives walked the troglodytes road on both days. Thomas, Scalia, Alito.

On Voting Rights it was the Three Stooges plus Kennedy, and Roberts. Roberts has been against VRA since his days in the Reagan administration. But Kennedy is different. In an USA Today interview he said: “No one questions the validity, the urgency, the essentiality of the Voting Rights Act,” Kennedy said of the law that ended poll taxes, literacy tests and other devices that kept some minorities from the polls for most of the 20th century. “The question is whether or not it should be continued with this differentiation between the states.”

Today was different.

It was Kennedy who joined Ginsberg, Breyer, Soto Mayor, and Kagan did so because he has stood for gay rights issues for a long time. His record is clear. BUT, on Prop 8, his dissent was based on what he regarded as the inappropriate application of process. “The Court’s opinion fails to abide by precedent and misapplies basic principles of justiciability,” Kennedy wrote. “Those errors necessitate this respectful dissent.”

Oddly, Roberts joined the liberal for the same reason. The lower court had rule that those coming to the court did not have “standing” and he agreed.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On June 26, 2013 @ 5:29 pm

100 percent in agreement. You might want to look at the discussion I had with Ad Lib further down this thread. Look for “Georgia”. I lay out a brilliant strategy by the Dems in that state legislature. Just what you are alluding to.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On June 26, 2013 @ 5:16 pm

How very kind of you. Activism is the key. Use this “setback” to name names and then take them down.

You might like to know that I have been using the Sunday Funnies each of the last three weeks to select about a half dozen cartoons and then to copy them using a screen capture program. I put them in a folder on my desktop and send them out with e mails. Hah! People now think I am so well read not knowing I have a “service” that provides me with so many choices. Again, thanks.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On June 26, 2013 @ 5:15 pm

The key is that stony faced opposition to the idea plays into their game plan- “You see the demoncrats don’t want voter id’s because they want the opportunity to commit massive voter fraud.”- I know there is no proof, but facts don’t matter.

SO…with lemons, make lemonade.

If the GOP realizes they are being trapped and try to fight the provisions of a fair law then they are on very shaky ground. The GA legislators with strong civil rights backgrounds made it clear that they anticipated any gambit- it will cost too much money (how much is a fair election worth), the window is too wide and the time for implementation too long (once set up, the ID program is self perpetuating, surely we want to to register everyone who is eligible for it), everyone should be held to the same id standards, such as birth certificates (that 89 year old lady who was born in a log cabin in the backwoods makes for great TV).

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On June 26, 2013 @ 1:00 pm

Certainly do…..

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On June 26, 2013 @ 12:53 pm

Let me add this. There is going to be a move to get a voter id here in Missouri.

I am suggesting to my Democratic friends that we not bother to fight it but take a page from the playbook of our Georgia friends who backed it AS LONG AS IT WAS FAIR…..

Fair is free, easy to access (via the DMV’s and rural mobile centers), with reasonable standards taking into account changing identification procedures (such as when a child was born in a home by a midwife- still common here through the 1950’s), and with the public mission of ensuring that every Missourian with the right to vote would have an ID card AND that this card can also be used as another form of state ID.

This needs funding and time. Worked in GA. Actually increased the number of minority voters there.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On June 26, 2013 @ 11:44 am

I argue that while it is easier to have a pre-judgement on a proposed change in voting law, I think that the exposure that comes with protests, law suits and political grandstanding is more likely to point out a pattern. Further, there are two states in the group that are likely to be immediately affected by the kind of changes that “their” voting laws bring: Virginia and Arizona. Both have significantly large and activist groups that stand against the GOP…I expect a lot of fireworks.

I think this is why the smarter Republicans are not rejoicing in this ruling…..it makes it clear how big the stakes are and it seems to me to be the kind of ruling that is going to provoke a strong response.

I was encourage today at how many gay activists bridged today’s win to yesterday’s loss. Good for them.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On June 26, 2013 @ 11:32 am

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/18/opinion/the-court-congress-regulates-federal-elections.html?_r=0

June 17, 2013

7-2 ruling

Struck down Arizona Law that tried to overrule Motor Voter requirements.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On June 26, 2013 @ 11:19 am

Supreme Court Arsonists: Pouring Gasoline on the Embers of the Civil War

Nice balance. I agree with much of what you have to say here. Let me add that this decision is another one of those that makes it clear how opposed the GOP is to so many of our fellow citizens’ needs and agenda. I saw an interview this afternoon with a very well spoken, clearly well educated, affluent young businessman (30’s) who is also black. I wrote down this quote from the interview: “It is becoming clearer and clearer to me and to my friends that while the GOP holds to policies that I might like from an economic point of view, it also supports a series of beliefs and measures that work against other equally important interests. Today is just another example that the GOP wants us on their terms and they are losing that battle every day.”

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On June 25, 2013 @ 7:57 pm

Hey Ad Lib…I submitted an article as well….more matter of fact than your very carefully dissection of the decision and of these justices, but just as passionate.

I am not at all surprised by the results. I have followed Roberts history since his service in the Reagan Administration and the George H. W. Bush administration in the Department of Justice and the Office of the White House Counsel. In both he was a strong critic of the VRA. Now he has the prize he has been reaching to grasp for such a long time. Shame on him and shame on his four fellow justices.

I do not know if any of these Justices are racists….I actually wonder about Thomas in that regard, oddly enough….

But what I do know is that their ruling today will provide fodder for the racists who have now moved in five states to impose new measures on voting immediately…..will hoods and burning crosses follow on?

Angry, you bet.

HP has the largest number of comments on one story since election night and the emotion can be cut with a knife.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On June 25, 2013 @ 7:44 pm

Man of Steel: High Flying….mostly

All of these alternatives are interesting, as is the discussion of the philosophy behind the scripting but I have to remind myself that what drives every decision is audience appeal and I suspect when push comes to shove it was that which dictated the final shape of the events that closed the film.

After, much of the filming was based on an assumption that there would be a part II. BTW, Box Office Mojo – a site that tracks how much films make and why reports that the big profits on any film come from 2nd and 3rd time viewers….I guess I am in that group. SO, part of what directors and writers do is leave trails of crumbs in films that fans will return to follow.

And here we are.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On June 26, 2013 @ 5:40 pm

Just saw your comment. Since the alert/notification system does not let the article’s author know if a comment has been made I have to keep reminding myself to check beck every now and then.

I saw the film again in the company of several sci-fan fan friends who also happen to be academics. The discussion we had reflects your thinking,but I came away from both the film and the discussion more conflicted in my thoughts. Your thoughtful reflection fits into all of that very nicely.

Kal-El’s path, provided by his Kryptonian Father’s decision to send him to a world where he becomes super-powered by living here, but animated by his Earth Father’s humanitarianism, is too do random acts of extraordinary kindness. I am told that Snyder filmed many more scenes of boy Clark, teen Clark, young adult Clark doing this. As several of the characters say “He cannot help himself.” Snyder intends to weave these into the next two films (along with scenes involving Jonathan Kent and Jor-El).

In the second viewing I picked up on Kal-El’s efforts not to go to war with his fellow Krpytonians but he runs out of options. The scene in “Union Station” when watched a second time is about Kal-El trying to subdue Zod (having established that these super beings can be hurt, held, and perhaps even killed with the application of enough power. Kal-El avoids this until it becomes clear that Zod intends to do just as he promised, kill every man, woman and child on the planet in as painful as manner as he can. With the Phantom Zone projector ship gone, this is his one option (recall that there appears to be no “kryptonite” that overly worn deus ex machina of so many issues).

I suggested that it might have been a stronger ending had Zod literally burned himself out- having abused his power- perhaps with Kal-El warning that this was precisely what would happen, but one of my friends pointed out that Snyder has painted a picture of Kal-El as benevolent but unengaged with most difficult decisions and that in this momement Kal-El embraces his reality. He is ubermensch.

That might be good news or very bad news.

In the last scene (made totally inane by the fact that Kal-El, the most filmed being in earth in that moment, looks just like Clark- no effort at all to hide his identity) Lois says: “Welcome to the Planet.” The newspaper, of course, but also the world. She declares he is one of us.

A word about carnage. I am getting so I hate its use but I also know that is how the bottom line gets pushed. Snyder (and Nolan’s screenplay) force Kal-El into a fight in Metropolis by having the Phantom Zone ship make its attack in the center of the city. Kal-El had to carry on the fight there and when the ship is destroyed Zod’s decision to begin his own personal holocaust requires that he carry on.

The whole thing can be seen through the metaphor of just war rationale for the “war on terror.” In human terms- are there any limits to the nature of such a war?

I wonder if Snyder/Nolan will explore the dark side of the kind of power that Kal-El holds. AND, recall that the entire genetic codex is contained within his person. The loss of the birthing chamber from the Kryptonian scout ship means that he would have to use human dna to clone fetuses in which to implant the Kryptonian code. He cannot rid himself of a huge temptation to “improve” humanity.

Finally, Jonathan emerges as a true wisdom figure in the second viewing- whose questions are not just about the impact on Clark if his unique nature becomes known, but while saying that Clark is an answer to the questions of our not being alone I think his dialogue with Clark about the impact of his using his powers poses a concern that perhaps the presence of such power disorders nature. Even Jonathan’s decisive transmission of his will that it is better that he die than Clark save him and in doing so prematurely upend the world.

This is the sign of a good film I think…..a second viewing opens up a whole series of new questions/insights.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On June 26, 2013 @ 7:35 am

That is rarefied company but I was a long time fan of Roger whose passing has deprived me of his sure compass guiding me in my film choices. Maybe I am channeling his spirit.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On June 16, 2013 @ 6:09 pm

I was taken to Iron Man III….I say taken because I did not care for Iron Man II but the social contract with my crowd demanded reciprocity (The Great Gatsby for Iron Man III – they got the better half of the deal). Back to Iron Man III…. hated because it is sci-fi precisely as the robotization (made up word) of all human interactions”. The story of a fully armed, flying stove…..or rather stoves.

Your reaction to Star Trek tells me that we are on the same page. I think you will like Man of Steel. I am going to see it again this week with several other friends.

Please go see Man of Steel and let’s “meet” back here and discuss it. Deal? Let me plant a seed. At a critical point in the film Kal-El states: “Krypton had its chance.” How do you read this?

I can’t promise a review of every film I see, but I can do them for the ones that get me thinking and chatting.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On June 16, 2013 @ 2:02 pm

Thank you. I like film very much. Maybe I should do this regularly (not as regularly as you do the Music Thread- talk about creativity!!!! but every now and then).

I think that the fear you mention is expressed in our tribalism but that it is rooted in our genetic makeup – primeval impulse to protect “us” against “them” that takes us back to neanderthal.

As to changes in that rooted impulse….well there is 150,000 years separating Homo Neanderthalis from Homo Sapiens which includes some crossover time when the two subspecies coexisted and that is of of the shorter jumps. Since all of record history is less than 10 percent of that period…..I think we have a bit of a wait.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On June 16, 2013 @ 5:24 am

Thank you. A warning- it is still a Summer Blockbuster Sci Fi Special Effects CGI Slam bang kapow crunch cinegasm……..but it has a heart and a soul that I found rather compelling.

I really wanted to see more of that and it is what is missing at the end. Still, I imagine that most found it satisfying. It is doing very well at the box office- the first Superman to do so since Reeves launch his first.

I haven’t gotten a lot of reaction so far but I submitted this to three other sites (and sent it to a half dozen non blogging friends) and it has gotten some reaction there so overall I think it is worth the effort. Maybe I will do this more often. Watched Hopkins and Mirren in Hitchcock last night- what a finely nuanced film….got zapped by the critics, unfairly so.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On June 16, 2013 @ 5:17 am

I had the same experience when I went to college (which also included my Sci Fi collection). Thanks for the kudo. Fun writing it.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On June 16, 2013 @ 5:11 am

Weekend Music Thread-Let’s Try To Save The World

As always this was such fun.

Beetles “Revolution”…..was life ever so simple.

Richie Havens “Freedom”….the cry from the heart on one who knows it is not simple, or easy but the prize above all others.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On June 15, 2013 @ 2:18 pm

In Security – Greater Protection Through Greater Vulnerability

Hey Kalima-

You might want to take a look at my general response to Ad Lib here. I think we are on the same page in a number of areas.

Please note my thoughts on the need for a truly independent Inspector General of the United States.

A word about your comment that “I’m beginning to wonder if Snowden isn’t just a pawn in something much darker or politically motivated by others. Otherwise, without hacking what is supposed to be such a highly sensitive operation, how did he obtain access?” Bradley Manning raised the same issues. I wonder about the role of the media. Greenwald has an interesting history in matters like this. Snowden’s libertarian roots are curious.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On June 15, 2013 @ 11:00 am

You really spell out how interconnected so many of these watchers are (and the variety of motivation that drives them).

More and more it is coming down to who is watching the watchers watch us?

I think we need an ombudsman structure.

I think we need a system within the government that provides a ways and means for those who want to blow the whistle on abuse of whatever kind that is clearly laid out, easily available to all, protects the whistle blower whether they are right or wrong in calling out a practice, and has the power to thoroughly investigate and move on the abuse. Snowden and Manning have both said they had no choice because they had nowhere to go but to the public via the media. They have said they did not trust their superiors, did not believe the inspector generals were truly independent, thought Congress was too political. This has to be fixed. I have been putting together (with “Bourne”) a proposal for an independent Office of the Inspector General of the United States with a office anchored in the Legislative Branch, operating in conjunction with the Executive and with oversight by the Judiciary. It is proving complex but Bourne and I hope to launch it this week (probably here at the Planet) with editions for HP etc.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On June 15, 2013 @ 10:55 am

I noted in an earlier comment that the Bush admin played this game but off radar.

How about the Bush era NSA warrantless surveillance controversy (AKA “Warrantless Wiretapping”)as part of the war on terror. Under this program, referred to by the Bush administration as the “terrorist surveillance program”, part of the broader President’s Surveillance Program, the NSA was authorized by executive order to monitor, without search warrants, the phone calls, Internet activity (Web, e-mail, etc.), text messaging, and other communication involving any party believed by the NSA to be outside the U.S., even if the other end of the communication lies within the U.S. Under public pressure, the Bush administration ceased the warrantless wiretapping program in January 2007 and returned review of surveillance to the FISA court. But subsequently, in 2008 Congress passed the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, which relaxed some of the original FISA court requirements.

In other words, having been caught, the Bush administration agreed to follow the rules and then had the rules relaxed.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On June 15, 2013 @ 10:53 am

I have so many concerns about facebook. I belonged for a while and when I decided to drop it, it took me over a year to ferret my profile out of the system. And, yes, I know that I only got the surface cleaned up….

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On June 15, 2013 @ 10:49 am

Your widening of the venue re. tyranny is brilliant. Thank you. The tyranny of the top percent; the tyranny of those with a stranglehold on the electoral process in their states and have decided to block citizens from exercising the suffrage; the tyranny of corporations who charge exorbitant prices at the gas pumps while taking massive tax breaks and accepting subsidies etc.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On June 15, 2013 @ 10:47 am

It took me three stop-bys to read your entire article with the care that it deserved.

The key points for me:

1) “The problem with saying that those stories have become reality isn’t that we aren’t under the eye of Big Brother, it’s that our current government can’t be categorized as evil.” When good people do bad things….it’s an age old conundrum How does this happen? It seems to come down to good people doing something that others judge as bad and they do not; or doing something bad that they know is wrong but it is less wrong than the alternatives; or doing something wrong that they have not thought enough about to make an informed judgment. In this case I think it comes down to the second explanation….the less of two evils (with the greater evil being too little diligence and thus more opportunity for the really bad guys to act).

2) “Did even one of the Republicans or Right Wing talking heads attacking Obama over this NSA surveillance revelation attack George Bush and the Republican controlled Congress for initially passing the Patriot Act which led to this?” Let me go a step further. How about the
Bush era NSA warrantless surveillance controversy (AKA “Warrantless Wiretapping”)as part of the war on terror. Under this program, referred to by the Bush administration as the “terrorist surveillance program”, part of the broader President’s Surveillance Program, the NSA was authorized by executive order to monitor, without search warrants, the phone calls, Internet activity (Web, e-mail, etc.), text messaging, and other communication involving any party believed by the NSA to be outside the U.S., even if the other end of the communication lies within the U.S. Under public pressure, the Bush administration ceased the warrantless wiretapping program in January 2007 and returned review of surveillance to the FISA court. But subsequently, in 2008 Congress passed the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, which relaxed some of the original FISA court requirements. In other words, having been caught, the Bush administration agreed to follow the rules and then had the rules relaxed.

3) “President Obama is broadly trusted and liked by most Americans, most believe he is earnest in wanting to help and protect Americans. However, those who are comfortable with the current trade off in giving the government such wide-reaching power in order to protect its citizens may not be envisioning how this power could be exploited by a less conscientious President.”

I think we need a system within the government that provides a ways and means for those who want to blow the whistle on abuse of whatever kind that is clearly laid out, easily available to all, protects the whistle blower whether they are right or wrong in calling out a practice, and has the power to thoroughly investigate and move on the abuse. Snowden and Manning have both said they had no choice because they had nowhere to go but to the public via the media. They have said they did not trust their superiors, did not believe the inspector generals were truly independent, thought Congress was too political. This has to be fixed. I have been putting together (with “Bourne”) a proposal for an independent Office of the Inspector General of the United States with a office anchored in the Legislative Branch, operating in conjunction with the Executive and with oversight by the Judiciary. It is proving complex but Bourne and I hope to launch it this week (probably here at the Planet) with editions for HP etc.

Thanks for all of the work you did on this really excellent think piece. As always you have a renaissance capacity to gather so many threads together.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On June 15, 2013 @ 10:43 am

Republicans Love America, They Just Hate Its Principles

Ad Lib….this is really brilliant. I wish you posted at HP, or one of the other big platforms.

May I at list have permission to take what you did here and boil into down to 500 words to post at HP (with credit to you and the Planet).

You really capture the essence of the argument against the GOP. They stand in opposition to that which they claim to be their foundation.

Brilliant, really.

This needs to be read by many.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On April 24, 2013 @ 8:34 pm

BREAKING NEWS: Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect Killed – Police Pursuing One Other

The older son, Tamerlan, made an extended trip (6 months) to Russia last year. Where in Russia? In Chechnya? Was he trained there? Did he “sign up” there? The father seems radicalized. Tamerlan’s facebook account fills up with radical Islamic talk when he gets back. Putin has declared that he believes that Chechnyan rebels and Al Qaeda are connected.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On April 19, 2013 @ 2:21 pm

This site provides context http://blackflags1.blogspot.com/

Mother Jones is out in front of this story (per usual). http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/04/boston-bombing-suspect-posted-video-al-qaeda-prophecy-youtube

the YouTube user’s identity has not been confirmed however

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On April 19, 2013 @ 12:13 pm

The latest word I have is that the two brothers, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, had gotten pulled into a radical Islamic circle devoted to the Islamic Destiny. It has links to Khomeni. This is going to create a lot of Islamic backlash. Khomeni had this vision that a great army would arise from the central plains of Europe to bring the faith to the world.

If this is so….. the cry of the NRA for more guns plus Islamophobia….very bad.

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On April 19, 2013 @ 11:45 am

Gutless Shame in the American House of Lords

The only place in all of this that I think gun ownership might have been a value was for those trapped in their homes. One of my fears was that some family in Watertown was being held hostage and that we would only learn of it when the SWAT teams gathered around the home. Having a licensed user and licensed gun in that circumstance – when the intruder was just trying to get in the house MIGHT have been of use.n

» Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On April 22, 2013 @ 10:59 am