Back to the "Flag Amendment"

I'm gonna beat it into the ground ...

I read this cool blog by Georgetown Law professors - and one of the contributors commented on the issue - I found his last words to be worth posting ...

"... The authors of the flag amendment want to preserve the flag as a symbol of national unity. But, in the end, as strongly as people feel about it, the flag is just a symbol, and no single person lighting a match to it can weaken the ties that bind us. Our real unity as a people is reflected not in a piece of cloth, but in a set of ideals. Those ideals, revolutionary at the time they were first articulated but also deeply conservative, boil down to this: we as Americans promise each other that when we are in power, we will not use all of that power against the folks who are not in power. We make this promise in part because some day we will not be in power, but also because using all of our power against our fellow citizens is no way to treat people with whom we share a country, a community and a heritage. We make this promise continually to each other, and it is especially important to renew it when our opponents seem deeply wrong and misguided, because, of course, we may seem that way to them. When you strip everything else away, this is the central vision behind all of the detailed provisions of our Constitution. Viewed in this way, it is the not flag burning that threatens our national unity. It is, instead, the flag burning amendment, because that amendment threatens to trivialize and degrade the Constitution and the basic promise we make to each other that it contains."

AH - I love activist professors!

Note to travelers:

When you're waiting for a flight, in the common waiting area - with other people, please ... please don't be that jerk that is watching a movie on his laptop without headphones, at full volume.

And if you are that jerk - really, why!?!

The 4th ..

Off to TEXAS tomorrow - should be oodles of fun :-) Here are some things I'm lookin' forward to ....


- Haroon Mama's Biryani on Friday night - I get in late, but I'm sure I'll get some finger lickin' good birz :-)
- Spending time w/the Ali Mohammeds - especially my favorite - Mohammed Mama! It's bound to be a beautiful weekend!
- Playin' w/my new toy - Canon ZR500 ...
- hanging out with real people - i.e. not law related AAAAH!

Brief round up ...

Wow, what a week! In the legal world - the web is buzzing with commentary on the SCOTUS decision handed down today - Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. In short, the Supreme Court reversed the District Court's decision - and said that the military tribunals in Gitmo are illegal. There are alot of other little things floating around in the 185 page decision that are potentially BIG things, such as this particular posting discusses - something about this decision potentially saying that torture is illegal, or some such story. I have read little on the SCOTUS blog today, and am really in no state of mind to attempt to comment on it - plus, right now - I doubt anyone has been able to read the entire 185 page opinion (wow btw!) and there's alot of random commenting on sections. I think the wise thing to do in this situation, is monitor the commentary and let it sit for a while. I'm sure I'll have something to say in the future.

Next point of contention - this whole flag burning amendment nonsense. Alot of people think I'm just annoying to go on about because it didn't pass the senate - so why bother. Here's why - I'm really concerned that our "representatives" have NOTHING better to do than to sit around and attempt to pass stupid and pointless amendments. Honestly, is there NOTHING else that is wrong in this country that they waste their time on this? What about the 10,000 trailers that FEMA bought that are sitting in an airfield costing $250,000/day -- how about hurrying up and taking some action against this admistration for squandering tax-payer-dollars instead of passing a constitutional amendment that
- (a) - potentially effects the First Amendment (lets not get into this)
- (b) - contradicts accepted "Flag Laws" that have been adhered to for time immemorial.

Flag Laws? Yes - the United States has a FLAG LAW - Section 4(k) of the US Flag Law says that when disposing of a flag, the preferable method is to BURN IT!
Again, not going there.

I'm just about to pass out - so thats all I have to say. Just some food for thought. Google - "flag law" "flag burn" and "flag disposal" ... or any other variation. *sigh.

wow

I'm sometimes amazed at the ease with which my fingers glide across the keyboard. Its almost like typing is the natural action of my hands, which it is in fact not.

This is so totally random, I don't even think there's a point.

Blah.

May the truth be with you ...

Just saw "An Inconvenient Truth" at the Manor.

So, what did I think of this film? It is cinematically pleasing - very well made, the direction and cinematography is awesome. Content - I think they/Al did an absolutely FANTASTIC job of making seemingly boring facts and figures most interesting and thought provoking.

Was I terrified at the end? Yes, but Al also makes sure that you don't leave disheartened - he proposes several ways for us to try to reverse what we've started. (see here)

Of the ways listed, here are the ones that are relevant to me:
- use florescent light bulbs - save 150 pounds of CO2 from being released
- walk, carpool, use mass transit - save 1 pound of CO2 for every mile you drive, every gallon of gas you save, is 20 pounds less of CO2.
- turn off electronic devices - this is the most important for me, since I leave my computer on all the time. Not happening anymore.
- PLANT A TREE!!!!!

Everything we care about is dependent on this planet. It's all we have, if we don't take care of it - we will be left with nothing. Dramatic? Maybe, but when it comes down to it - its true. If you think it doesn't effect you think about this - you are able to read this and comprehend it because your body is getting enough oxygen to function. The more CO2 there is, the less oxygen we have. At a higher level, we have been given a great responsibility. We are the protectors of the earth, and all of the creatures that live on it.

The first victims will be those that are not capable of helping themselves. For example, in the North Pole - the floating ice-caps are melting. Polar bears usually swim to go from one to the other - scientists and explorers find more polar bears that have drowned because they have to swim in excess of 60 miles to get to the next polar ice cap. You know the cute Coke commercials they air in the winter time - soon, the polar bear mascots on those commercials will be the only ones that'll exist. That is if we don't do something about it.

I sometimes think that we are immune to the tragedy that is inherent in life in other nations. When the glaciers in the South pole and Greenland melt, water levels will rise 20 feet. San Francisco, Manhattan and half of Florida will be under water if this happens. Remember the tragedy of Katrina? When you saw the pictures, you didn't think that was in the United States. Well we are as prone in this country as any other. Fortunately, we have greater resources to minimize the tragedy. What I'm worried about is countries like India, Bangladesh and China - Calcutta and Dhaka, Beijing and Shanghai - all home to millions of people - will be under water. Scary? Heck yeah.

Even if this was a farce - are the possibilities not monumental enough for us to take a stand? I believe it - I believe this is coming because as human beings we are selfish and ignorant. Its time for us to start thinking about our responsibilities, and act to protect those who cannot protect themselves.

I'm trying to do my part, and I hope that you will too.

The last quote in "The Inconvenient Truth" is an African proverb -

"When you pray, move your feet."

To me, it is profound because it emphasizes the need for action - prayer in itself is inadequate. I don't remember where I read this story - I think it was in a Tom Friedman book - but anyhoo - a man prays every day to win the lottery. He prays constantly, and with good intention (I may be making this up, but its got a point) ... and he is sincere in his request. And then he gets frustrated, why aren't my prayers being answered. Finally, he gets a response - "Al, if you wanna win the lottery, you're gonna have to buy a ticket first." We can pray our hearts out for something that we want, but it will result in nothing if we don't actually do anything to achieve it.

Please, see the movie. It's running everywhere. See it, and then tell people you know to see it. I hope that it will change the way you look at your purpose in life

"Wisdom has been defined as ... the ability to make correct judgments and decisions, as foreseeing consequences and acting to maximize beneficial results, making the best use of available knowledge, thinking what is best and doing what is best in any given situation"
[from an Islamicity email bulletin - June 24]

Keep on rockin' in the free world

My introduction to Pearl Jam was the hugely controversial song - "Jeremy" - one of their first hits - in 1991. While Jeremy caught my interest, I was not enamored by the heavy lyrics and themes. In retrospect, my music trend definitely fits with my own personal evolution. I stuck with teeny-boppy-bubble gum sounds, and 80's hits ... began to throw in a little Alanis and Oasis - which were not quite as hard to digest as Pearl Jam. Keep in mind, this was my "bubble" stage where I didn't really look beyond the four walls to realize what was going on outside the sphere of my life. Jay was one of my few friends that had the awareness that I lacked, and kept trying to draw me into the world of the Beatles, Deep Purple and other oldie sounds, as well as the new sounds of Pearl Jam and later, Live. Jay also introduced me to Dave Matthews - for which I will forever be indebted. Anyhoo, Pearl Jam continued to lurk in the background - never a hot favorite in my top artists list (like the Goo Goo Dolls, the Chilli Peppers and Bon Jovi) - but every once in a while some songs would come out of the blue and hit me - like "Alive" and "Better Man" being some of my favorites. So, when I had the opportunity to see them live in the 'burgh this evening, I decided to re-establish some old connections.

For most of the evening, I had NO idea what they were playing - but just kinda bobbed along - but Parakeet-feet kept me posted. He reminded me that Pearl Jam was a very political group - which made me think alot about stuff during the concert. Now, there were a good couple of thousand people in the arena ... and most of them seemed like real followers. Unfortunately a great many of them were also drunk and high. I began to wonder - do they really understand what the band is singing about? Alot of them just enjoy the music, but don't internalize the words and allow it to alert them to the reality that they're ignoring. The lead singer dude - Eddie (something?) - made a couple of political comments towards the end ... and urged people to vote - for a President that cares about the environment, and to raise their voices - as they were in the arena, to facilitate change. I can guarantee that few people besides myself actually understood what he meant, or will remember that tomorrow or the next day. I wonder, again, what the point was. If you got the same group of people into that arena, sober - would they be as excited about the music? Would they actually hear the message of working to change the world we live in? Was there really a message?

Just random thoughts - I don't have the set list yet, but will post it as soon as I can - but overall decent concert - way louder than I'm used to - but they TOTALLY REDEEMED THEMSELVES because they played "rockin in the free world" as their final #.

So, rock on. Be good - and remember where you've come from.

bowlin' thru the ...

dannger zone .... :-)

viper and jester - ready to lead maverick, goose, hollywood and goose into a dogfight.

over an' out.

Gitmo still at large

Bush II has been compared to Reagan and I think that is a slap in the face. There may be many ways that the two administations have been similar in their fiscal policies, but their outlooks differ greatly. Case in point - Reagan said to then Soviet Leader "Herr Gorbachev, bring down this wall," - instead the current administration insists on building them up.

Four years (at least?) after GITMO was created, it has snowballed from the shining star into the thorn in the side of this Administration. Pressure is mounting to establish a credible judicial procedure for detainees (of course they're not referred to as POWs - coz thats what they are!), to shut down the torturous facilities remniscent of Abu Ghraib, to end these idiotic archaic practices that are distancing this country from the rest of the world. Guantanamo Bay, has single handedly destroyed the credibility of International organizations that have struggled for half a decade to make Human Rights the number one concern. The Red Cross, the UN, the European
Union - have all called for the United States to shut down Gitmo - to no avail. As usual this administration is running its own course, and will not realign.

Adding to the media slam is this gem - The Road to Guantanamo. A self degined documentary/drama directed by Michael Winterbottom.

http://www.roadtoguantanamomovie.com/ - there's a trailer available on the website, along with release dates around the country.

Support this feature - learn more about Gitmo. HELP SHUT IT DOWN.

Press-ing forward

I don't know whats going on w/the US Press, but in the past week - there have been two very good articles in the New York Times about Muslims in America - one highlighting the debate over care for the elderly, and the second about two prominent Muslim leaders - Imam Zaid and Sh. Hamza.

The Muslim community in the United States is at a turning point - I think that individuals are beginning to understand that we have a responsibility to the entire country, as well as to our own communities, and that we can all grow only by supporting one another. It's the same concept of fostering the growth of our individual Muslim communities - come together in Islam, and we will grow and prosper, inshaAllah. But our little communities cannot be self sufficient at this point - we all depend on "outside" society for alot, and cannot isolate ourselves. Even if we were selfsufficient - I think that isolation is the worst route to go down as it projects an image of being selfish at the very least. We have alot to offer American society - Islamic values such as the importance of family and community and general adhab are beneficial to all, the principle that we should start everything we do in the name of Allah makes us more likely to be more efficient workers. Islam fosters discipline - although rarely does that translate in everyday life.

Anyhoo, back to the NY Times article today - it's on the front page of the Sunday newspaper. The NY Times (Sunday edition) print edition has a circulation of about 1.6 million. Who knows how many read it online. The journalist who wrote it - is a writer for the religion section of the NY Times. How many times will a piece on religion, one that is not negative or anything to do with Iraq or Afghanistan, appear on the front page? OF course, it is entirely likely that today is a slow newsday ... but they could have published ANYTHING - including the horrors of the latest bombing in the middle east, inside the mind of Zarqawi ... but no, the editors of the NY Times chose to put an article about the leaders of the Muslim community on the front page of its Sunday paper. Wow. Just that - even if you don't read the article speaks volumes about the impact of the Muslim community in this country, and the future that we can build, inshaAllah.

That being said - there's alot of work to be done w/in the community as well - a subject that I've spent hours talking about with Aly and Lina. Building a community of young professionals is the next step - there's a huge gap between the college kids and the established families, and it is a gap that needs to be filled quickly. We're brainstorming, and have come up with a few good ideas - but need more. I know that few read this blog, and we talk about these things all the time - but if we haven't - I'd love to hear your perspective on Islam, young Muslims and how we can fill the gaps!

I am reminded of the PBS special on the Legacy of the Prophet where one of the people featured quoted the Prophet (may peace and blessings be upon him) - "Do you love your creator? Serve your fellow man first." In my mind - the Muslim community can do no better than to serve ... in any and every capacity - professionally and socially. At the very least - we need to represent.

Tom is the man

To whip myself back into the blogosphere, my favorite journalist has given me some much needed food for thought. Yep - Tom Friedman is back - and better than ever! ok ok, so he never really left - but I haven't had access to his colunm in the NYTimes - so, to me he was gone. ANYHOO - I was in the lobby of One Oxford, and was looking for The Nation - trying to get at ANOTHER FANTASMIC article (more later on that).

So Tom's article - The First Law of Petropolitics (Foreign Policy, May/June 2006) - presents a great argument for why it is so imporant to find an alternative fuel solution, and in fact - I think that this article gives Al Gore a fantastic platform if he were to choose to run for President in '08. Tom posits that the price of oil and the "pace of freedom" are at inversely proportionate - they move in opposite directions. According to the First Law of Petropolitics,

"the higher the average global crude oil price rises, the more free speech,
free press and fair elections, an independent judiciary, the rule of law and independent political parties are eroded.... Conversely... the lower the price of oil, the more petrolist countries are forced to move toward a political system and society that is more transparent, more sensitive to opposition voices, and more focused on building the legal and educational structures that will maximize people's ability ... to compete, start new companies and attract investment from abroad."

It's such a simple concept, but yet - it is deeply profound. At least to me - I was reading this article on the bus, and must have said - "hm" and "uhuh" out loud at least 5 times. Reading the article over, I had to think of Al Gore. He has come so far in the last 6 years, and even though he says he doesn't want to run - I think it might be a good idea. And I also think that Tom Friedman should be his running mate. In '04 I advocated the Friedman-Dowd ticket, but I think Gore-Friendman is much stronger - combining the political theories that Tom comes up with, and Al's environmental agenda - I can honestly say that I would vote for it. At that point, we just need Kofi Annan to be Secretary of State, except of course he's not a U.S. citizen. At least I don't think he is!

I've never been much of a tree hugger, but I do believe that we need to step up and take care of what we have been given. You know the old saying, you don't know how good you have it until you don't have it anymore. I think we're gambling on the environment ... we're betting on mother nature, and its just the stupidest thing to do. Oil is going to run out (yes Dubya, it is), glaciers are going to continue to melt because of global warming, weather patterns are going to change ... and its all gonna go down.

I think we should all start praying right now, coz I can't see any of the current world "leaders" doing anything about it. Another plug for the Gore-Friedman ticket.

re-searchin'

Another day another dollar

X3: Too much brawn, too little brain - but still AWESOME!

What appeals to me about the X-Men (movie) series is the immediate parallels to everyday, current issues that can be drawn - the most obvious ones, well at least to me - were in X2 with William Stryker and his support of the Mutant Registration Act - an issue that draws strong parallels to the INS Registration policies that came up around that time. Both the original and X2 were thought provoking. In contrast, I wonder about X3. No doubt, it has inspired some thinking - although the thoughts are less of drawing parallels, and gaining a more philosophical perspective - but more of what they're going to do next.

Lang watched it earlier this week, and she commented that while X2 was better, this still was really good. She also observed that they've left alot of wiggle room for a prequel or sequel - which I agree with, and find very interesting. I can't wait to see what they'll have next - but I can't see them doing anything anytime soon. The cast has got to be concerned about being labelled X-men for life, and never getting any other opportunities. Anyhoo, who knows whats next.

X3 - good entertainment value, but be prepared for alot of brawn AND some shocking moments!

Also, Wolverine still ROCKS!

Foresight

It is becoming more and more apparent to me what a tremendous loss JFK's death was for this country, and the world, even decades later.

I have great respect for the goal and mission of the UN, but truth be told - it has failed humanity. Or maybe, is it that we have failed the UN?

"By the close of the meeting, [JFK] saw a war between Russia and the West as a distinct possibility and the U.N as an ineffective peacemaker. He thought that the new world body would be little more than 'a skeleton. It's powers will be limited. It will reflect the fact that there are deep disagreements among its members .... It is unfortunate that more cannot be accomplished here. It is unfortunate that unity for war against a common aggressor is far easier to obtain than unity for peace."

Later, in a letter to a friend:

"Things cannot be forced from the top, [the] international relinquishing of sovereignty would have to spring from the people.... We must face the truth that people have not been horrified by war to a sufficient extent to force them to go to any extent rather than have another war"

JFK NEVER said he was involved in "politics" instead he would refer to it as "public service" which is in fact what politicians are - public servants.

Ah, the thoughts running through my head as to what could have been - I might have to start up a special page for my reflections on "An Unfinished Life."

mistaken?

Lawyers wake up early. Over the past few days, I have been getting into work before 8.30 am - I don't really know how much longer I can keep doing this! I wonder if I have chosen the wrong profession!

HOWEVER, my decision is justified when I find things like this - Black's Law Dictionary has an entry for "flash of genious" which directs you to look under "eureka moment" - HAH ONLY in the law!!! Websters Dictionary - EAT YOUR HEART OUT! :-)

Blog-slacker

SORRY! I've been terrible about blogging - its not that nothing is going on, its just that I'm going TOTALLY NUTS here! In the interest of efficiency, and my current WHACKY sleep schedule - this is gonna be bullet style.

• Had a whirlwind week up and down the east coast, finally ending up back in Pittsburgh on Monday evening - ready to start work, um kinda.
• The weekend w/the fam up in NY was AWESOME - chilled with Bhabi's family, shopped, ate, movie-ed (DaVinci Code - I finally understand what happened!!), played tennis, and ate again - slept - aaah naps! - overall good times around!
• It is HOT - I'm SO not looking forward to summer-time
• Work has been good so far, its a very comfortable environment - and my projects so far have been interesting!
• I have come to the conclusion that while technology has its merits, I'm greatly disappointed that books are losing the battle - the library at K&S was awesome, not huge by any means - but pretty substantial, compared to the current library - its monumental! But I'm sure that all law firms are gonna become like that - sad.
• the summer-theme is - EAT, EAT, and EAT AGAIN! In three days, I've been for three lunches, and two receptions - probably another lunch tomorrow. Apparently, the way to a Summer Associate's heart is through her/his stomach!
• the view from my office is AWESOME! will post pics!
• Grades are up - urgh. someone pray - please - these grades mean more than you know.

Ok, time for the Z to hit the hay - coz dude, I'm WIPED!