So, I am currently reading about constitutional law which is a fascinating topic, and this has prompted me to write this post.  This is actually something I have thought of a long time ago before I started to read about this topic, but I thought I would now put ‘pen to paper’ so to speak to get this idea out there. I do not have a problem with post facto repeals of law as a principle, since they are definitely needed, but my problem is that there are so many of them and sometimes it make take years for them to come to light resulting in damage to people and their rights to which laws and our legislators, and other officials, are entrusted to protect.

I have a problem with laws that are passed and eventually are found unconstitutional or have other problems, and are subsequently repealed with those, whose rights have been violated, have exactly no recourse or reparations for their violated rights and/or destroyed lives, beyond the repealing of the offending law. I think that this is a grave injustice to the American peoples whose lives and livelihood have been adversely affected.

The fact that there is no real recourse for the American people, or punishment per se for those that enacted such negligent laws, allows the perpetuation of such practices. There is a no real punishment or deterrent to our lawmakers for walking this path. They have the potential of not getting elected again or being impeached, right, but that potential is so small and not enough of a deterrent especially when they cater to a majority in trampling the rights of the minority. There is no real deterrent to not pass these unconstitutional laws. By the time that it comes around for the government to deal with the law those that passed the offending law may not even be in office and besides, someone else will be fighting both sides of the battle – not the legislators – the ones who sanctioned the law. State and Federal government is one thing, and I understand that local governments are in some ways a different story, but still there is something that needs to be done about that too.

Post Facto Repeals

I realize that our founding fathers, in light of the common governmental philosophies and examples of the time, think that having the judicial branch  as a post facto (after the fact) method of solving these deficiencies is enough, but the post facto nature means that damage is already done to those people’s rights who have been violated. The communities then were smaller and word traveled quickly about such things, and the revolution and standing up for your rights was the thing to do then, but now a days  our communities are huge, spread apart, and disconnected, and long past the forgotten revolutionary mindset. The United States is huge and the common people are far removed from the law creation process and our legislators. We live in a very different world than our founding fathers could have ever imagined.

One of the very foundational principles of  our government is that government is there to ensure the protection of our Life, Liberty, and Property (LLP). I belive that the passing of these unconstitutional laws and their subsequent need to be repealed as gross negligence on the part of our governmental and civil leaders, and their passing of these laws is a violation of their oaths and a violation of our rights to LLP. I understand that there are going to be some laws that are going to make it through which are borderline and need to be dealt with, but there should not as many as there are.

There are some laws that take decades for someone to say something about and finally do something about it. There is a lot of social pressure to not rock to boat. If you take a look at the animus and violence surrounding the gay rights movement, the school prayer, and ten commandments issues then you will know what I mean. People are afraid to stand up for their rights due to potential  adverse social reactions regardless of how right they are. This fact allows for the perpetuation of violations to our rights out of fear and that is an unAmerican result.

When these unconstitutional laws are passed and several years go by and damage is done to the US citizens. This is wrong and a violation of our government’s job of protecting our rights and not being apart of the violation process.

Pre Facto

Now, I cannot imagine that our lawmakers do not have some sort of judicial opinions being thrown at them as they are legislating new laws, but with as many laws as there are that need to be repealed I find it hard to see that there is. Perhaps it might be because I am more active in thinking and reading about civil rights stuff that I may be more sensitive to it, but still there are these laws that are getting passed and they are hurting people who have no recourse or reparations besides the agonizing process of pursuing a repeal.

There needs to be more pre facto work done on these laws so that they either never get passed or that they are reformed to be made constitutional prior to be being submitted for approval. I understand that many of these laws get passed in the heat of the moment and under great socio-polical pressure where legislators are more concerned about keeping their jobs than doing things right, or they maybe caught up in the emotion of the “national” moment, but they still have an obligation to protect our rights and to not be  part of violating them.

What can be done?

I understand that our government officials can not be held directly liable else they will be not allowed to do their job out of fear, but we need some way to hold them accountable for their actions or install a deterrent for them to be party to passing such laws, but here are some of my thoughts and I know for obvious reasons that most of these will not work, but here is what came to mind:

• 3 strikes rule –  government officials who pass 3 laws that need to be repeal loose there jobs.
• fines - government officials who pass laws that need to be repealed are fined
• reparations - those people whose rights are violated are compensated by the government and the violations are corrected. Sort of a class action lawsuit against the government.
• amicus briefs - allowing for the filing of amicus briefs from all interested parties so that legislators can have more informed opinions from those outside the legislative process and the potential legal consequences
• open content - posting laws to a public website for comment
• subpoenaing legislators - during the repealing process require the legislators who passed the bill to testify and defend their actions

Perhaps you people have better and more elegant ideas about this?

I ran into this article titled “Does Language Shape the Way You Think?” that talks about how the vocabulary of your native tongue can affect how you conceptualize and relate to the world around you. I have heard of this before in reading about linguistics, but since I found an article on it I thought I would post it for everyone. It is fascinating stuff.

This is another wonderful example of how small the internet is making this world and how it allows us to connect with each other. My sister and I have met her once quite a few years ago and we have been thinking about her and wondering how she is doing, but during the years since then we lost contact, due to moving, marriage, college, military, and so on. =( Today she popped up with a friend request on Facebook! =) Yea!

She lives about 2 hours away from us, but hopefully, we can get a chance to meet and catch-up again. Yea Internet!

*waves*

I recently finished the book Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality. It is an excellent and life altering book. It really ties together a lot of what I have read about evolutionary psychology and evolutionary biology. If you have not read this book, or even if you have never read an evolutionary psychology book at all, read it. It may change the way that you see the world, and I mean that in a good way. It covers topics such as monogamy, swinging, infidelity, and polyamory in it.  It truly covers the wide spectrum of human sexuality. Wow is all I can say.

If you do not know what polyamory is I have written a primer on polyamory for those who are curious.

California’s Appellate Court granted a stay on Judge Vaughn’s ruling pending appeal. This was, in my opinion, to be expected since this is such a high profile case and precedent setting case,  so nothing drastic there. However, there is some good news as far as this process is concerned as is covered here BREAKING: 9th Circuit STAYS Judge Walker’s ruling; Appeal scheduled December 6 on Prop 8 Trial Tracker:

• the appellate court is expediting the the appeal of the ruling of the unconstitutionality of Prop 8 and set the date for the week of 6 December, which is awesome. The sooner the, hopefully, better.
• they are also specifically asking the Prop8′ers: In addition to any issues appellants wish to raise on appeal, appellants are directed to include in their opening brief a discussion of why this appeal should not be dismissed for lack of Article III standing. which is huge. Judge Vaughn said that they do not have standing for a stay or appeal, if I remember correctly, and the appellate court obviously pretty much agrees with them, but are giving them a chance to sound at least a little rational and try to retain some self respect.

In the scheme of things this is pretty huge. The appeal process could end up being pretty short (comparatively speaking) since they do not have standing for appeal, so this may most likely get dismissed with prejudice, which would prevent a Supreme Court Appeal. This will be a massively huge win and precedent for gay rights all throughout the US if this does happen, since there will be a court ruling stating that banning gay marriage is unconstitutional and they have no standing.

If  the Supreme Court does not dismiss out of hand due to lack of standing, which would rock, then the appellate court’s decision will be appealed to the Supreme Court.

Cross your fingers everyone. History and justice is happening. =)

I am currently reading the new book ” Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality” which is a book on Evolutionary Psychology, which for me, is a really fascinating topic. I think I have the table copied over correctly. It is a great book so far.

This table occurs in Chapter 3 and I found it really, really interesting and I thought I would share it with you. I found it especially interesting since chips and bonobos are our closest genetic relatives, differing by about 1.6%. It is amazing how diverse the primates’ mating patterns are.

Table 1:  Social Organization Among Apes

Bonobo

Egalitarian and peaceful, bonobo communities are maintained primarily through social bonding between females, although females bond with males as well. Male status derives from the mother. Bonds between son and mother are lifelong. Multimale-multifemale mating.

Chimpanzee

The bonds between males are strongest and lead to constantly shifting male coalitions.  Females move through overlapping ranges within territory patrolled by males, but don’t form strong bonds with other females or any particular male. Multimale-multifemale mating

Gibbon

Gibbons establish nuclear family units; each couple maintains a territory from which other pairs are excluded. Mating is monogamous. mating.

Gorilla

Generally, a single dominant male (the so-called ·Silverback”) occupies a range for his family unit composed of several females and young. Adolescent males are forced out of the group as they reach sexual maturity. Strongest social bonds are between the male and adult females. Polygynous mating.

Human

By far the most diverse social species among the primates, there is plentiful evidence of all types of socio-sexual bonding, cooperation, and competition among contemporary humans. Multimale-multifemale

Orangutan

Orangutans are solitary and show little bonding of any kind. Male orangutans do not tolerate each other’s presence. An adult male  establishes a large territory where several females live. Each has her own range. Mating is dispersed, infrequent and often violent.

Transcripts and Evidence from the Proposition 8 Trial available online now! Yea!

• Evidence (US Courts) – includes some video testimony which is very important
• Transcripts (Equal Rights Foundation)

If you have not taken a look at some of this please do.

In light of the ignorance spewed here by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s  niece, Alveda King, below, I feel compelled to publish the following excerpt while Dr. King rolls in is own grave in embarrassment and furious anger.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter from Birmingham Jail (more info at Wikipedia) that is quite pertinent to todays gay-rights movement:

…

We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct action campaign that was “well timed” in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word “Wait!” It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This “Wait” has almost always meant “Never.” We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that “justice too long delayed is justice denied.”

We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God given rights. The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jetlike speed toward gaining political independence, but we still creep at horse and buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter. Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say, “Wait.” But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society; when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six year old daughter why she can’t go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five year old son who is asking: “Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?”; when you take a cross county drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept you; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading “white” and “colored”; when your first name becomes “nigger,” your middle name becomes “boy” (however old you are) and your last name becomes “John,” and your wife and mother are never given the respected title “Mrs.”; when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of “nobodiness”–then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait. There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience. You express a great deal of anxiety over our willingness to break laws. This is certainly a legitimate concern. Since we so diligently urge people to obey the Supreme Court’s decision of 1954 outlawing segregation in the public schools, at first glance it may seem rather paradoxical for us consciously to break laws. One may well ask: “How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?” The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that “an unjust law is no law at all.”

…

I just posted and more in depth article on the Prop 8 findings for the Milwaukee Examiner-  California’s Proposition 8 is found unconstitutional by Judge Vaughn Walker.

Holy thank God! =)

As I fully expected, and if you followed the transcripts you will know what I mean, California’s proposition 8 was ruled unconstitutional via Prop 8 Trial Tracker (full decision)! Judge Vaugh Walker dropped the big metal hammer of constitutional justice upon this sordid issue. Happy Days!

Now the long process of appeals begins for the Prop8′ers.

Here is an update to my original post titled “Are you bored?“…

Let me guess. You are Bored. Let boredom bother you no longer with these free educational courses available online. If you find yourself saying that you are bored or overhear someone say that they are, slap them, and then point them henceforth:

• MIT Open Courseware
• California Open Source Textbook Project
• Textbook Revolution
• An open source Linear Algebra Textbook
• Quantum Physics Summer School from Bureau 42
• Open Textbook Repository
• A list of open source Math textbooks
• Get a Free College Education Online from Life Hacker
• Complete Works of Charles Darwin, The
• Dummies.com
• Library of Congress
• World Digital Library
• Dummies.com
• How Stuff Works?
• Project Gutenberg
• Wikipedia
• 10_power_tools_for_lifelong_learners (Open Culture)
• Khan Academy (You Tube)

Are you still Bored?

Someone asked what I am up to on Facebook – Hi Matt! – and I have not written much in quite a while about what is happening in my life so here’s a little catch up for everyone. I am sure that there is more than this, but this is all that I can remember for now.

Uliana

We will be celebrating her 1st birthday here in a little bit. She is a good little girl and officially started to crawl on Fathers Day! =) This is of course a mixed blessing. It is great that she is crawling, but that now means she has another method to find stuff to put in her mouth. =O

New House in Baraboo

We bought a second house in Baraboo which is twice the size (1300 sq ft) of our first house (700 sq ft). We closed on it on May 21, and finished moving in on Friday and Saturday – June 18th and 19th. Two days ago we finally got Charter installed so now I have internet! Yea! I have moved up from a 768/128 DSL up to 8 meg Cable. Happy Days! =) Our first, fortunately, shall be rented by Tanya’s brother and his wife.

Baby sitters: We are looking for a few baby sitters in Baraboo that either occasional or fairly steady as options. We are set for now, but are looking for more baby sitting options.

New Yoga Studio

New Classes and New Studio: Tanya (and a few others) will be teaching Yoga out of our new house. We have a grand opening on Saturday, June 26 from 12:00pm to 5:00pm, with classes starting there on July 1. Classes will be free to all through the entire month of July, so come and bring your friends and family and give it a try. We have 18 classes scheduled for every one young and old. We have some children’s classes, beginners, intermediate, and advanced classes, as well as relaxation classes.

You can check our website for our new schedule and  more information. We also have an article about us and the new studio opening in the Baraboo News Republic too. We were quite nervous for this interview.

Candles: We are looking for any spare candles that you may have for some of our studio classes. Feel free to drop them by or let us know so we can pick them up.

Take a look at the Live BLogging of the Closing Arguments for the Proposition 8 trial via Prop 8 Trial Tracker.  I have been very patiently waiting for this day.

You can find my previous comments on the Prop 8 atrocity them here if you are curious.

Here is an interesting article titled “Why I finally joined a church” on Salon about why a family finally joined a church after not having gone for so many years, and why they chose a Unitarian Universalist church.

OK, so I was reading a post on Prop 8 Trial Tracker where the following quote was rendered which spawned the creation of this post:

There’s two lenses here. One’s a biblical world view and the other is basically more of a secular humanist world view, and that’s why there never seems to be agreement,” said the Rev. Pastor Brad Cranston, of Burlington’s Heritage Baptist Church. “They’re not going to be reconciled with one another.”

Iowa – One Year Later (Proposition 8 Trial Tracker)

Now, my recent post A problem with conservative religions is that Dogma and tradition is more important than People really touched upon this, but having read that quote I realized that I realistically could take this a step further. I have stated before quite a bit, perhaps not specifically on this BLog, that modern (fundamentalist and Conservative) Christianity is not really “Christian”. They have lost their way. Jesus’ teachings were about love, compassion, mercy, and acceptance and many of the contemporary Christian teachings, especially fundamentalist and conservative Christian teachings, have nothing to do with these ideals, and in some way are antithetical to them, which saddens me greatly. In that post I also state flatly that for them dogma is more important that humans which is something that they need to move on from, especially if they are to remain relevant and not part of the problem.

Now, the above thought brought me to the create the idea of Biblical Humanism. Fortunately, I am not the only one to ever have considered this possibility. It was first (as far as my currently limited research shows) was thought up in the late 1400’s with Erasmus of Rotterdam’s’ writings. Erasmus was a monastic Catholic priest of sorts and was heralded in his time for his enlightenment and writings. He was, shall we say, the father of contemporary Biblical/Christian/Theological Humanism.

A more humanistic approach to religious practice and teachings less zealous, blind, irrational, and tyrannical. The heaven hell model and the extreme religious tyranny are why Christianity is slowly dying and why people for many years have been defecting from Catholicism and other orthodox religions to other more humanistic faiths. These conservative or fundamentalist faiths enforce their dogma with fear – fear of going to hell, fear of sinning, fear of not getting presents on Christmas, fear of not being saved. This sort of fear based propaganda stresses the psyche and emotions and eventually there is going to be a break down, and we are seeing that, especially in Europe an Asia, and also here in the United States. These religions are killing themselves and they are too proud and arrogant to see it. Historically they have changed only when they see that they have had no real choice, but perhaps this time… they may not be able to fully recover, unless they embrace a more humanistic view of Christianity – a view that is more “Christian” than what is being taught in many churches today. A Humanism Theology may be the only way to save contemporary Christianity.

Resources

• Why bother with the Bible? … Interpret, or others will do it for you (by John Buehrens @ UU World, April 2003 )
• Protestantism and Christian Humanism – Fundamental Differences Between the Two Movements of the Reformation
• Society for Humanistic Judaism
• Biblical Humanism: The Tacit Grounding of James Clerk Maxwell’s Creativity (The American Scientific Affiliation)
• Humanism in Scripture and Culture – Recovering a Balance (by Dennis Bratcher @ The Voice)
• Humanism
• Christian Humanism
• The Christian Humanist
• Some Reasons Why Humanists Reject the Bible (by Joseph C. Sommer)
• The Rennaisance Bible: Rewriting the Vulgate (University of California E-Books Collection)
• Humanist Theology