Kaulapi World

For what its worth, I thought I’d make it a point to make more regular posts at least for my crazy finals prep week(s) It sort of allows a mental break from reading case law. I’ve been fortunate enough to have a few days advanced leave from work due to my trip going over the weekend. I usually plan to take some leave around this time of year months in advance, but it seems like more often than any extra time to prepare is welcomed.

Looking back to my political compass and mindset from the last presidential election a couple things haven’t changed at all. I’m still looking for a truly anti-war candidate, pro-civil liberties, and pro-fiscal responsibility and pro-social responsibility. What has changed since 2004 is my opinion on the way to achieve populist goals, and to what extent the “noise” in the political discussion has confused us to which party or which ideology promotes the values that I believe in. Sometimes its better to keep a healthy level of skepticism whenever ideas are reduced to sound bites and one-liners. The party who speaks about limited government in actuality becomes the big government spenders, the party of civil liberties becomes the party of pro-war party, and the party of warrant-less domestic spying.

Survived another round of finals (3 this time), and with one more small paper or so, am just about wrapping up my 5th semester or so of night school (6th if you count summer school). As always I’m not sure how I did, but I think the difference with this semester and those past is that I’ve definitely gotten to a point that I can honestly say that regardless of the paper grade, I know that I’ve learned a bit more about the law. Also this time around, although just as hectic and stressful, I think I’m getting better and better at coping with the demands. I attribute it partly to a lot of B vitamins, taking a break here and there to watch a football game, and surprisingly, getting more sleep than usual. After parking myself at various coffee shops for hours on end, lugging heavy casebooks for almost 2 weeks non-stop, I could feel my physical health start to take a hit. I’m a little amazed that I didn’t come down with the flu or something after shocking my immune system.

In other news, there’s an internet tea party today, as in the 234th anniversary of the one thrown by a bunch of feisty free thinkers once upon a time. I caught a documentary on PBS the other night about the last day-long money drive, the one that broke all kinds of records for one-day fund raisers. I’ve been tracking the tally from early this morning, as of 8:41am its roughly at $1,350,000 and climbing at a rate of $180K per hour. It looks like regardless of the total, at the current rate Ron Paul should be sitting on another big chunk of change with Iowa coming up in 18 days.

6th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks. I have to wonder how edgier do people still get on this day, for the symbolic meaning and do they change their daily schedule? or do they just go to work like any other day. I did happen to get on the train earlier than usual, not like it makes much of a difference, but one thought that has crossed my mind living out here is to be wary of big crowds of people. The metro has been getting more and more crowded lately, but it is usually during set periods around rush hour. Today it was relatively packed for being before rush hour, I wonder if the date had anything to do with getting people up earlier to work.

Watching one of these clips in particular I feel very torn, on the one hand I feel horrible for the people on the other line and can’t imagine what it would be like to see the world around you literally burning and crashing down.  On the other hand I am irritated again at more moments of anger directed at the emergency operator, accusingly as if he or she is doing anything but trying to sort out what has just happened and try to get first responders to the callers locations.  In the face of certain death blaming a complete stranger over the phone is an understandably human reaction, but it reeks of “how dare you” or “why did this happen to me?”  Then there is the image of the towers crashing down and you hear a gut-wrenching crack over the phone, with the voice screaming out to god in a reminder that all the people stuck in the tower were in fact doomed the entire time.

I’m also reminded that the tragedies were documented through American newsmedia and audio don’t t make it any less horrific to the loss of life and human suffering that followed in retaliation for 9-11.  No clips exist to show us about the people trapped in the burning buildings in the first weeks of the war, or the bombing victims in the years of occupation that followed.  6 years after the attacks of 9-11, and now after 5 years of war waged in its name I am still struggling with what the lessons learned are for Americans as a whole. If talk of an upcoming 3rd war in the middle east is credible and plans are being made, then it is only a matter of time before there might be another set of frantic final 9-11 calls made to an operator in an American city. While this time the lesson of 9-11 would give them a sense of who might’ve committed these attacks, they still would probably not understand why.

Linkes 9/11/2007
NORFED private currency
Austin Gold Company
Brazen home invasion attempted SA scary.
Diego Garcia South Indian base
DOD and Co. bling bling
Ron Paul Video on youtube

Update on the earth box project, some hits and misses. The tomato plant has shot up and appears to be doing very well, there are some flowers forming and maybe even the start of tomato or two starting to form. Both Thai basil plants are doing ok, one of the Italian basil is doing very well, shooting up like the tomato, but the other one is droopy and appears to be being attacked by some small bugs. Meanwhile the cilantro croaked pretty quickly. Of course the one that I’m paying the most attention to lately is the bittermellon which has sprouted above the soil and is climbing up. The past couple of days have been pretty mild, but I’m sure the heat and humidity coming next week should do it good.

So far its been a fun little project, little or no effort on the part of the amateur grower, the concept of the earth box as being idiot-proof has been pretty true so far. I realize that this started a bit late in the summer, but we’ll just see how far it goes. With this crazy weather I figure we’ll try to keep the box going outside until October or so since it stays pretty hot in DC for a while. That is unless there’s some freak snowstorm in September, but this isn’t Wisconsin so I don’t think that’ll happen.

A couple of days ago for the 4th I came across this citizenship test online and took it really quickly just for the hell of it. Although only got one wrong, and even that one was because I got tripped up on substantive and procedural due process rights (7th, 15th) some of them I think would be pretty hard. Hana got 4 wrong, but even she knew the significance of the various phrases, life, liberty, pursuit of happiness. I wonder how many Americans, both naturalized and natural born would fare on this test. I also wonder how many hard core, anti-immigration advocates would do on this test, and what would that say about their cherished citizenship that they exclusively hold for themselves. Part of what I’ve been picking up on all the immigration bill debate is that the opponents of immigration reform aren’t being sincere when they say that they want “legal” immigration” and are only opposed to “legal immigration.” Behind all of the rhetoric is this darker motive of striving to keep a certain ethnic, religious, and political makeup.

Racism is alive and well in America, and the immigration bill debate is just another example of how the similar . In some ways its tricker nowadays when racism is buried under political arguments hidden under a legal argument. I suppose you can advocate that racism and prejudice has a legal precedence. It definitely has long track record in our history as a nation.

Linkes 7/2007
Smart Money tips when to buy stuff by day of the week
Creepy letters to investment company
Contractors outnumber troops mercs
Ajono communal brew
Housing post on suburbs
Ramen Blog all kinds of noodles
Advice to Realtors on how to sell stuff in the new market
False sense of security in a home?
Myth of Home Ownership and what it means for us
Costs of mortgaged suburbia 3 trillion?
Daily Show Dick’s move
All we need are frickin laser beams
Whole Foods or Whole Paycheck?

I came across this article today about the sentencing hearing for one of the six crimes that occurred in Hawaii in 2006 that were classified as hate crimes. This time it involved a good intentioned bystander coming to the rescue of what he thought was animal abuse. The dreaded H-word was thrown about while the local defendant, his nephew and his son beat up the victim. It reminded me to follow up on my earlier post on the assault and battery that occurred in a Waikele parking lot back home, that was characterized as “racially motivated” by USA today article, and a continued conversation with my wingnut, self-proclaimed “conservative” friend about race relations in Hawaii. After reading what I had sent to him, I realized that it might be worth posting the gist of our exchange below. A few observations I had on this case that I forwarded to my friend along with the article:

Linkes for 3/22/2007
VA hospitals deteriorating
Medical research on herbal treatments
Why Conservatives Can’t Govern or just aren’t cut out for it
Be on the lookout for predators in School
One incident the kid gets shot in the head
Casey Serin in a nutshell

For the hell of it, I thought I’d post an excerpt of my raw reading notes from one of my Constitutional law cases. More later as far as commentary on the method I’ve developed to learning legal doctrine over the past 24 months. It’s a long tedious process that works great if you have the time for it, not so much if you’re fully employed or otherwise distracted.

U.S. v. O’Brien - 391 U.S. 367 (1968)
Draft card burning case during the Vietnam war - question of whether burning a draft card at a protest constitutes free speech protected under the first amendment, and the constitutionality of 462(b)(3) of the Universal Military Training and Service Act of 1948 and the subsequent amendment of 1965 criminalizing the conduct of someone who knowingly destroys, knowingly mutilates or in any manner changes a certificate (registration certificate)

ICA found the amendment as unconstitutional limit on free speech, holding that the amendment had no valid purpose, focused on public rather than private destruction.

SCOTUS overrules the ICA and says that the amendment is in fact constitutional, pointing out that on its face, the 1965 amendment has nothing to do with speech, and is instead focused on protecting draft cards from destruction. SCOTUS likens draft cards to driver’s licenses, or maintaining tax records.

O’Brien’s arguement is that the 1965 amendment is unconstitutional (1) applied to him because his act was protected symbolic speech under the first amendment, and (2) the amendment as enacted fulfills the purpose of congress to suppress freedom of speech.

In addressing O’Brien’s (1) claim, SCOTUS points out that while acknowleging the grey areas between speech and non-speech, all free speech has its limits. SCOTUS puts forth a 4 part test in which suppression of speech by the government is constitutional:
1) When it is within the constitutional power of the government
2) When it furthers an important or substantial government interest
3) If the governmental interest is unrelated to the suppression of free expression
4) If the incidental restriction on first amendment freedoms is no greater than is essential to further that interest

Court’s reasoning here:
1) When it is within the constitutional power of the government
Derived from Congress’s powers to raise and support an Army

2) When it furthers an important or substantial government interest
Governmental interest in having the selective service system, how the draft card is a integral part of it.
- as proof of registration
- as a document with important dates, numbers
- as a continual reminder that the registrant needs to notify his board of his movements

3) If the governmental interest is unrelated to the suppression of free expression
distinguishes protecting the card from mutilation or destruction from specifically suppressing free speech
distinguishes case with Stromberg v. California that punished people who expressed opposition to organized government through the display of a flag, badge, banner or devise.

4) If the incidental restriction on first amendment freedoms is no greater than is essential to further that interest
(balancing test) says the 1965 amendment is limited just to preventing harm to the selective service process, no more.

On O’Brien’s other charge (2) that the purpose of the 1965 amendment is to suppress freedom of speech, the court in part acknowledges his point, but claims that he is going the wrong way about arguing this point. Court points out that in order to find something facially unconstitutional, especially when dealing with congressional intent, they need something more than a few floor speeches and committee reports.

Points out that only one senator and 2 representatives spoke about the bill before passing it. Besides, what discussion there was on the amendment had to do with the concern of destruction of cards would have on the selective service process.

Harlan’s concurrence - agrees with majority, but cautions on limiting this exception to cases when governmental interest is important and substantial. Also points out that O’Brien could’ve spoken out about his opinion without burning the card.

Douglas’s dissent:
thinks the real question is whether conscription is permissible in the absence of a declaration of war.
Points back to Brandenburg v. Ohio - action is often a method of expression and within the protection of the first amendment - raises the question of whether burning a copy of the constitution or a bible would be considered unprotected “speech”

Linkes 3/13/2007

Talking Points Blog.
The Quality of Justice.
For some, not all a rich year indeed.
Cats of Mirikitani Play.

Been a busy couple of weeks, had the benefit of being on an early spring break from classes, a good rest from night school, some reading here and there, but most importantly it was a chance to get back into the gym on a regular workout schedule. It really adds to the energy levels and routine, plus it gives me about an hour to read a few cases, although it isn’t really easy to take down notes in the margins while riding a bike, it still helps.

Bit of a lengthy list of links for this post.

Linkes for 2/17/07 - 3/5/07
Kaufman’s Rules: 1-7 | rules 8-14 | 15-21
MCA of 2006 - Dodd Amendment , blogger coverage and similar legislation up north?
I really hope they’re wrong about this too
Smarter than a 5th grader and Superficial greeks

Some news back home:
Algae wins at the state capitol Limu wins at blaisdell arena
Masu’s Teri Chicken recipe and Ramen eating contest photo finish
Family detention facilities in PR sucks to be immigrant families

Sexuality and religion:
Rotting gametes , and the Vatican Method of birth control
Sleeping position psychology?

Market Crash of 2007?
Bloody Tuesday Dow down 400 points , and Greenspan’s warning
Subprime problems looming and more mortgage Lender BS
Something to think about financial insecurity in America all around

Baggage of citizenship, war on tactics:
Perspective of a wannabe Canadian, occupational hazardsclandestine employment
Face and voice of America zero credibility, domestic security in plain english
VA funding and support for the troops
DHS resisting pay for performance time to unionize

End of the year, amazed at how fast it went, lots of stuff going on in the world and in life. This time of year is good to look back and reflect, look forward to whatever is in store for the future. It seems like the past couple of days have been pretty crazy as well, a former president dies peacefully at home, a former dictator gets hung, my country hits a bloody mark of 3,000 citizen soldiers killed in a pointless war. Can’t help but feel a little guilty about the bounties of life that I have secured for myself so far one being that my choice of profession has not lead me to be stuck in a foxhole in the middle of a sandpit.

Spent the weekend taking a closer look at the city, bringing back memories from my summer as an intern living in Dupont circle, exploring the city and experiencing a new place, new job, new time. got a chance to hangout at Kramerbooks for the first time in a long while. Kind of missed the excitement of living someplace new for the first time, the gritty urban-ness of the city streets, riding the train at odd hours of the night, connecting with fellow young people from all over the country and the world.

Looking forward to what 2007 will bring. More work, more school of course, hopefully more just living life. Its been fun so far, lets see whats next.