MetaFilter posts by dios.
Displaying 1 through 43. Subscribe: http://www.metafilter.com/user/17809/postsrss 
"The world isn't being destroyed by democrats or republicans, red or blue, liberal or conservative, religious or atheist -- the world is being destroyed by one side believing the other side is destroying the world. The world is being hurt and damaged by one group of people believing they're truly better people than the others who think differently. The world officially ends when we let our beliefs conquer love. We must not let this happen."Andrew W.K. (previously applauded advice columnist) offers advice to a guy who reduces even his own father to a set of beliefs and political views and how it relates to him.
posted on Aug-11-14 at 1:20 PM
Today, the Supreme Court issued its 5-4 opinion in McCutcheon v FEC.
The Government has a strong interest, no less critical to our democratic system, in combatting corruption and its appearance. We have, however, held that this interest must be limited to a specific kind of corruption—quid pro quo corruption—in order to ensure that the Government's efforts do not have the effect of restricting the First Amendment right of citizens to choose who shall govern them. For the reasons set forth, we conclude that the aggregate limits on contributions do not further the only governmental interest this Court accepted as legitimate in Buckley. They instead intrude without justification on a citizen’s ability to exercise “the most fundamental First Amendment activities.” Buckley, 424 U. S., at 14. The judgment of the District Court is reversed, and the case is remanded for further proceedings. It is so ordered.The Supreme Court strikes down provisions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 ("BCRA") as an unjustified intrusion on First Amendment rights. The link also includes the concurrence of Justice Thomas and a dissent by Justice Breyer.
posted on Apr-2-14 at 11:26 AM
"After all, where would we be without the knowledge that Democrats are pinko-communist flag-burners who want to tax churches and use the money to fund abortions so they can use the fetal stem cells to create pot-smoking lesbian ATF agents who will steal all the guns and invite the UN to take over America? Voters have to decide whether we’d be better off electing Republicans, those hateful, assault-weapon-wielding maniacs who believe that George Washington and Jesus Christ incorporated the nation after a Gettysburg reenactment and that the only thing wrong with the death penalty is that it isn’t administered quickly enough to secular humanist professors of Chicano studies."The Cato Institute's unique amicus brief to the Supreme Court in the Dreihaus political speech case is a defense of "truthiness", mocking and satire which it contends "are as old as America, and if this Court doesn’t believe amici, it can ask Thomas Jefferson, 'the son of a half-breed squaw, sired by a Virginia mulatto father.'”
posted on Mar-3-14 at 12:50 PM
The winners of the 2009 Best Visual Illusion of the Year Contest. And past years. (ante)
posted on May-14-09 at 2:32 PM
Armless Hunters
posted on Sep-12-07 at 9:24 AM
Constitutional Showdowns. Eric Posner and Adrian Vermeule analyze constitutional showdowns, ask what rate and level of showdowns would be socially optimal, and ask whether socially optimal showdowns will be supplied by government institutions acting to promote their policy preferences and institutional interests.
posted on Aug-10-07 at 9:40 AM
A very big day for the Supreme Court. In Morse v. Fredrick, the Court ruled that a school could suspend a child for holding up a "Bong HiTs for Jesus" banner. (Previous post here). In Hein v. Freedom from Religion, the Court held that taxpayers lacked standing to challenged Faith Based Initiatives (previous discussions). In Wilke v. Robbins, the Court held that land owners do not have Bivens claims if the federal government harasses landowners for easements. In FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life, the Court held that the portion of the campaign finance law which had blackout periods before elections on issue advocacy advertising was an unconstitutional restriction of speech (other). This Thursday, the Justices will deliver their last opinions of the term, including a death penalty case and the school assignment cases. (Opinions are .pdfs)
posted on Jun-25-07 at 10:15 AM
As an interesting follow-up to the excellent post about Fuck law from last year, a controversy is brewing about the article's scholarly merit. Brian Leiter issued his Most Downloaded Law Faculty Rankings and excluded Ohio State and Emory because their "presence in the top 15 was due entirely to one provocatively titled article by Christopher Fairman who teaches at Ohio State and is visiting at Emory; without Fairman’s paper, neither Ohio State nor Emory would be close to the top 15." There has been some dispute over Leiter's omission of the two faculties on that basis. Fairman weighed in on the issue with his new article Fuck and Faculty Rankings.
posted on Apr-27-07 at 8:17 AM
To honor the Greatest's birthday, one could consider his greatest work by reading this excellent post by matteo which touches upon the religious issues facing our confused Protestant hero, the student at Wittenberg, who doubts orthodoxy, cannot decide if he is a scourge or minister, but ultimately accedes to a belief in divine Providence. Or, if you would rather dive into an
posted on Apr-23-07 at 2:07 PM
Still lifes of dead animals.
posted on Apr-4-07 at 3:30 PM
An Interactive Map of Charles Dickens' London. After you have had a chance to peruse the map, see then and now pictures or take a quiz about Dickens' London. If you want to see it with your own eyes, take a walking tour. Or if you are daring enough, you can try to virtually survive Dickens' London.
posted on Feb-14-07 at 9:42 AM
Giant Concrete Caterpillar. Driving on I35 south out of Dallas to Austin, you pass through Italy, Texas, and on the side of the road is Bruco, the Texas Italian Caterpillar, and the home of the Monolithic Dome Institute, makers of fine homes, restaurants, and churches. These domes are green and disaster resistant. (See previous thread). They also can be visually interesting. These domes are concrete as opposed to R. Buckminster Fuller's Geodesic domes, such as Epcot Center or the incredibly interesting Eden Project.
posted on Oct-10-06 at 1:08 PM
Doctor's slang that might be on your chart.
posted on Aug-23-06 at 9:32 AM
96 Minutes... 40 years later. Texas Monthly has an article that, through eyewitness accounts, tells the tale of Charles Whitman. Forty years ago today--before 9/11, Columbine, Oklahoma City, "going postal"--Whitman perpetrated an act of public terror that impacted the national conscience. It all began when he killed his mother. Then he started typing a letter that, after he killed his wife, he finished hand-writing. Then he went to the Tower with a small arsenal and began the slaughter. Over 96 minutes he killed 13 more people and wounded 34 others until off-duty Officer Ray Martinez made it to the top of the tower and killed Whitman. (more inside)
posted on Aug-1-06 at 9:34 AM
For those who never have seen anything by Jason Nelson. Check out these... uh.... things he made. For instance, there is Uncontrollable Semantics, which is a program that has something to do with words and music and shapes and mice. And then there is the Hermeticon, which apparently is a thing that utilizes letters and 80's kid commerical videos. Or the slot machine that tells you how you will die.
posted on Jun-12-06 at 11:11 AM
Fuck law.
posted on May-31-06 at 10:52 AM
In 1875, Josiah Mason gave a gift to establish a college which was called the Mason Science College (now a part of the University of Birmingham). Within the terms of the gift to the institutuion, one of the stipulations was that classics not be taught. Of course at such an institution, the Founder Day's address was logically given by Thomas Henry Huxley on the place of Science in Education. Huxley preached the virtues of science and derisively dismissed all value in studying classics, and he wondered whether any rational person would choose to study classics over science. His conclusion was that the only people who would choose a study of classics are those like "that Levite of culture" Matthew Arnold. Arnold took the opportunity to respond to his friend. In his reply, Arnold acknowledged that nobody would expect him to engage Huxley in a debate about science, and though he wouldn't presume to take on Huxley in such a debate, he did want to mention something that struck him as he thumbed through a book of Huxley's friend. Arnold noted that he was struck by the idea that "our ancestor was a hairy quadruped furnished with a tail and pointed ears, probably arboreal in his habits." Arnold acknowledged that he isn't a scientist and therefore doesn't dispute such a claim, but he did want to point out that even if that were true, with regards to this good fellow, there must have been a necessity in him that inclined him to Greek. And would always incline him to Greek. After all, we got there, didn't we?
posted on May-26-06 at 12:25 PM
Modern contract law, which frames and defines our modern economy, is shaped by old and rather mundane disputes. Consider some of the seminal cases: Hadley v. Baxendale (1854); Hamer v. Sidway (1891); Carlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball Co. (1892); Mills v. Wyman (1825). These cases, while minor in their actual factual footprint, still shape the world of contracts over a century later. (more about the cases inside)
posted on May-25-06 at 11:30 AM
The billionaire attorney. The King of Torts. Legendary Texas Lawyer. He is Joe Jamail. He is most famous for his record setting verdict in Texaco v. Pennzoil (which eventually made it to the US Supreme Court) in which Joe secured a $10.3 billion dollar judgment (though it is not known for sure, some speculate that Joe walked with $1 billion in attorney's fees in that case). In addition to being well known for his success, he is almost as legendary for his colorful demeanor. One such example was when he got reprimanded for his behavior in Paramount Communications Inc. v. QVC Network, Inc.. But to see him in action with your own eyes, we have video of classic Joe during a deposition he was giving. (via brainwidth).
posted on Apr-7-06 at 9:04 AM
Soft Fury Monsters with Hard Pink Genitals and other oddities of Stuckism.
posted on Mar-27-06 at 10:50 AM
The Hart/Devlin debate. One of the primary issues in the philosophy of law was addressed in a dispute between HLA Hart and Lord Devlin. The issue is to what extent morality can be embodied by the law. It is a debate which continues today.
posted on Mar-16-06 at 12:46 PM
Metafilter posts its 50,000th post today. Congrats Metafilter! Here is to 50,000 more!
posted on Mar-13-06 at 12:52 PM
First Church of the Last Laugh. You may already be a member.
posted on Mar-10-06 at 10:02 AM
The Aural Times - We Sing the News So You Don't Have To [from the talented mind of Josh Millard, a.k.a. cortex.]
posted on Mar-6-06 at 9:12 AM
Today is Texas Independence Day On March 2, 1836, the Texas Declaration of Independence was signed at Washington-on-the-Brazos. The document was created by the Convention of 1836 while almost a couple hundred brave Texans at the Alamo held Gen. Santa Anna's army of several thousand at bay for 13 days. On March 6, the Alamo finally fell, slaughtered to the last man. On March 27, 352 Texas soliders were slaughtered at the Goliad Massacre. Finally on April 21, the untrained armies of Texas, outnumbered and under the command of Sam Houston, decisively defeated the much larger and better trained and equipped Army of Mexico at the Battle of San Jacinto and captured the Mexican dictator Santa Anna. Happy Texas Independence Day.
posted on Mar-2-06 at 11:22 AM
Anti-Hippie Action League
posted on Feb-28-06 at 12:46 PM
Pictures of a guy in a blue shirt. More Inside
posted on Feb-27-06 at 12:37 PM
Feet Meat. {Probably NSFW}
posted on Feb-24-06 at 11:18 AM
Canons of Construction and the Elusive Quest for Neutral Reasoning. The Canons are a tool Courts use to interpret statutes and consist of things just as ejusdem generis, noscitur a sociis, and wxpressio unius est exclusio alterius. The usefulness of the Canons was famously called into question by Karl Llewellyn in an influential law review article. Still today, the Canons of Construction have influential support, but some people disagree with their utility. Some have even tried to apply them in other areas.
posted on Feb-17-06 at 12:09 PM
28 U.S.C 1367 was a controversial and confusing attempt by Congress to codify and address the issue of Supplemental Jurisdiction established in cases such as United Mine Workers v. Gibbs, 383 U.S. 715 (1966), Zahn v. International Paper, Co., 414 U.S. 291 (1973), and Finley v. United States, 490 U.S. 545 (1989). The Supreme Court tried to clarify some of the confusing issues regarding 1367 in a 2005 opinion. Exxon Mobil Corp v. Allapattah Servs., Inc., (2005) (Kennedy, J., writing for the Court) (Stevens, J., dissenting) (Ginsburg, J., dissenting). The question of whether the Court clarified the issue or made it more complicated remains arguably unanswered.
posted on Feb-16-06 at 10:32 AM
The 2005 Annual Survey on Choice of Law in American Courts. [pdf] The survey on Choice of Law looks at the recent controversial Supreme Court ruling dealing with conflict of laws. See Spector v. Norwegian Cruise Line, Ltd., 125 S.Ct. 2169 (2005). (Kennedy, J., writing the opinion of the Court) (Ginsburg, J., concurring) (Scalia, J., dissenting) (Thomas, J., concurring in part, dissenting in part). At issue in Spector was whether disability statutes applied to ships that depart from Texas and travel through domestic waters but fly under the flag of the Bahamas. Other 2005 Supreme Court conflict of laws cases included Small v. United States and Pasquantino v. United States.
posted on Feb-15-06 at 9:18 AM
Proposed Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 32.1. Proposed Rule 32.1 [.pdf] is an attempt to resolve a dispute in federal court practice over the propriety of citations to unpublished opinions. It is an argument that has been played out in academic papers and Circuit Courts. Judge Richard Arnold of the 8th Circuit, writing for the majority, held that local rules which declare that unpublished opinions are not precedent are unconstitutional under Article III. Anastasoff v. United States, 223 F.3d 898, 900(8th Cir. 2000), vacated as moot on reh'g en banc, 235 F.3d 1054 (8th Cir.2000). Judge Alex Kozinski of the 9th Circuit disagreed, holding that nonprecedential decisions are not inconsistent with the exercise of the judicial power. Hart v. Massanari, 226 F.3d 1155, 1163 (9th Cir. 2001). The proposed Rule would resolve the circuit split, but the debate rages on.
posted on Feb-13-06 at 2:05 PM
Paul Tillich (1886-1965) was a German thinker who came to America in 1933 after losing his job for opposing the national socialism movement. Tillich was at once a protestant theologian and an existentialist philosopher and humanist who attempted to intellectualize religion and bring it to contemporary audiences in the age of science. His brilliant writings and speeches would typically weave together biblical passages with discussions of philosophy and science. In this most famous work, The Courage to Be, Tillich laid out his case of how man can resolve the existential crisis of facing non-being. In echoes of Soren Kierkegaard and Freud, Tillich attempted to explain how man could resolve the fear of nothingness with the Courage to Be in the face of Non-being. Throughout his life, Tillich's ultimate concern was to try to help man understand the real value of faith and meaning by divorcing the concepts from the myths and the religious and social dogmas which cramp the mind of modern man.
posted on Feb-2-06 at 10:40 AM
Townes van Zandt. In some theaters now is a new documentary about his life called Be Here to Love Me--a life that followed the all-too-typical path of a star that burns too bright: the promise of talent, addiction, and untimely death. (see the trailer here or here). Townes van Zandt was a singer/songwriter, often included in the folk or country genres, whose biggest accomplishment was when Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard took his song Poncho and Lefty to the top of the charts. But even though he never was famous, he has achieved legendary status. Steve Earle once said "Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that."
posted on Jan-18-06 at 1:18 PM
The Israeli Response to the 1972 Munich Olympic Massacre and the Development of Independent Covert Action Teams is a very interesting 1995 military paper for background and analysis of the Israeli response to the slaughter of Jewish Olympians in 1972. This hot topic is at issue in Spielberg's controversial new film Munich. The film is based on a book by journalist George Jonas and a self-proclaimed Mossad agent, Yuval Aviv. The book also served as the basis for the 1986 movie Sword of Gideon.
posted on Dec-27-05 at 8:13 AM
The professional world is rough, so here are some things to help navigate it: To get ahead, the How to Guide on Kissing Ass. Elevator Etiquette. The (should be common sense) guide to Corporate Crapper Etiquette. (See also, previous thread on the International Center for Bathroom Etiquette.) Or if you work in more rustic environs, there is also Port-a-Potty Etiquette. The ever-important How to Masturbate at Work (among other places) Guide. 'Tis the season, so here is some Office Christmas Party Etiquette (Please be aware of the Office Christmas Party Sex Warning).
posted on Dec-16-05 at 9:22 AM
Precision Lawn Chair Marching Dads
posted on Dec-5-05 at 9:42 AM
The World's Most Underrated Inventions A curious list of the world's most underrated inventions. Including: the chariot; concrete; horse collar; longbow; eyeglasses; rotary printing press; barbed wire; carborundum; and bakelite.
posted on Nov-14-05 at 8:29 AM
The proposed Trinity River Calatrava Bridge in Dallas. As part of an urban renewal and ecological renewal project called the Trinity River Corridor Project, the city of Dallas has contracted with famed architect Santiago Calatrava to design a landmark bridge. The massive project, in addtion to the three signature bridges, is supposed to create right downtown two lakes, a forest, wetlands, outdoor recreation and overall economic renewal to Downtown Dallas. Of course, this massive renewal project depends large part on public funding. Some discussion exists whether large scale public works projects should be undertaken on the public dime. (Previous discussion of Calatrava)
posted on Oct-19-05 at 9:27 AM
Hundertwasserhaus. Designed by Austrian architect and artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser for free because "it was worth it" and owned by the city of Vienna, the Hundertwasser House is a tourist site, social and political gathering place, and a piece of art. With no straight lines or flat surfaces, bright colors, and organic low rent apartments, the Hundertwasserhaus is a truly unique version of public housing.
posted on Oct-11-05 at 8:25 AM
Whole: A Documentary Currently airing on the Sundance Channel, Whole is a documentary about people who either have or want to become voluntary amputees (concept previously discussed here.) Director Melody Gilbert examines the condition and its implications in interviews with doctors, amputees and "wannabes" like Baz, who froze his own leg with dry ice to make himself feel whole. Gilbert also directed the documentary about even crazier people: people who want to get married at the Mall of America.
posted on May-9-05 at 9:41 AM
When this passes for dissent, perhaps we see valid reasons for screening people at public lectures who want to attend for no other reason than to disrupt. People typically attend lectures to hear out and consider the ideas of the designated speaker, not to see attempted assault or to have a riot incited.
posted on May-5-05 at 8:15 AM
What Bush got Right.
Recent events: Syrian withdrawl. Palestinian reform. Egyptian Elections. Libyan disarmament. Iraqi elections. The Domino Theory in action.
posted on Mar-7-05 at 3:13 PM