Free Downloads at New York Public LibraryThe New York Public Library has an archive online of over 275,000 items online at [link]Do yourself a favor and browse through it. There’s a lot of interesting items that you can study to expand your horizons.
New BikeI picked up a late 1980’s early 1990’s Miyata Seven Ten road bike today from the local bike shop. It’s somewhere between an entry level racing bike (back then) or a sport touring bike. I like lugged steel frames and this one is full cromolly. It has a very smooth ride and is pretty responsive. The components on the bike are mostly original and the bike seems like it was well cared for.
Monday, January 03, 2005 Chuck Herrin is a computer guy who has written a very thoughtful expose on how easy it is to change results within some of the e-voting systems. It’s imperative that we take the time to demand that electronic voting systems have the necessary safeguards in them that allow for maximum accountability and accurate counts and recounts. The best way – IMHO – for this to occur is to have systems that allow for electronic counting with a paper generated (and voter verified) ballot that is then placed into the traditional voting box. The voter should also be able to walk out of their voting place with a hard copy receipt of their vote.On election night the election authorities would take the ballot boxes and count them traditionally (opscan) and compare their counts to the electronic totals for a quality check. In the case of a mandated recount the electronic records and the physical ballots could be checked and rechecked. The other advantage to a system like this is that it is possible to determine how many people voted in a precinct via the election judges which would serve as yet another check and balance to the system.E-voting in of itself is not bad but the way in which it is administered in certain areas lacks the necessary safeguards to ensure that every vote that was cast was cast correctly and was counted correctly.By the way – Chuck is a Republican. He hates systems that are created that are insecure and poorly thought out. Can’t say that I blame him.If you really want to have a sleepless night check out the video documentary at [link]
Sunday, January 02, 2005Christine Todd Whitman was one of the most publicized persons appointed to the cabinet of George W. Bush during his first term. She was one of the persons appointed by the President that seemed to be appointed as a method of keeping her from running for the Presidency as much as for the talents that she could bring to the cabinet. Now she has written a new book that talks about how moderates within the Republican party have been minimized and how they need to take back the party. It’s the recommended book of the day!Get it here: It’s My Party, Too
By David G. SavageTribune Newspapers: Los Angeles TimesPublished January 2, 2005WASHINGTON — Ailing Chief Justice William Rehnquist said in a report released Saturday that judges must be protected from political threats, including from conservative Republicans who maintain that “judicial activists” should be impeached and removed from office.”The Constitution protects judicial independence not to benefit judges, but to promote the rule of law: Judges are expected to administer the law fairly, without regard to public reaction,” the chief justice, whose future on the bench is subject to wide speculation, said in his year-end report on the federal courts.The public, the news media and politicians certainly are free to criticize judges, Rehnquist said, but politicians cross the line when they try to punish or impeach those making rulings they do not agree with.His comments come as the new Congress faces what many predict will be a contentious battle over President Bush’s nominees to the federal bench. And if his health forces Rehnquist to retire, there would be more partisan wrangling over his successor.The 80-year-old chief justice has been absent from the Supreme Court since he disclosed in late October that he was being treated for thyroid cancer.Since 2000, when Republicans took control of the White House and both houses of Congress, many conservative critics have focused their ire on “judicial activists” on the bench.In his report, the chief justice did not name names but instead spoke of his concern for the “mounting criticism of judges for engaging in what is often referred to as `judicial activism.”‘House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas), for example, has repeatedly threatened to impeach liberal-leaning federal judges for their rulings, such as the ban on school-sponsored prayers.”A judge’s judicial acts may not serve as a basis for impeachment. Any other rule would destroy judicial independence,” Rehnquist said. “Instead of trying to apply the law fairly, regardless of public opinion, judges would be concerned about inflaming any group that might be able to muster the votes in Congress to impeach and convict them.”As the chief justice of the United States, Rehnquist leads the federal judicial system as well as the Supreme Court. Since taking office in 1986, he often has used his year-end report to set forth his views on controversies affecting the judiciary system. The controversy over political leanings of judges and their rulings is one of them.Yet despite Rehnquist’s reputation for conservatism, he has been just as willing to fault Republicans as Democrats when their actions and ideas threaten the courts.In the late 1990s, for example, he faulted Senate Republicans for blocking votes on the judicial nominees of President Bill Clinton. More recently he faulted Senate Democrats for blocking votes on Bush’s nominees.In both instances, he said the nominees deserved a hearing and an up-or-down vote.DeLay often has criticized judges when he thinks they have overstepped their authority.”Many of these judges begin to grow drunk on their own power,” ” DeLay said in 1997. “Why shouldn’t the people have a right to impeach these out-of-control judges?”Last year DeLay called for Congress to enact legislation that would remove certain issues, such as the Pledge of Allegiance, from the jurisdiction of the federal courts.DeLay was reacting to the ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that held that Congress’ inclusion of the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance used daily in many of the nation’s schools amounted to an unconstitutional official endorsement of religion. The Supreme Court, though divided on its reasons, later set aside that ruling.Although Rehnquist and DeLay may agree on the preferred outcome on these issues, the chief justice said the proper way to challenge a misguided ruling is to appeal it to a higher court.”The appellate process provides a remedy” for those who believe a judge has erred, he said.And over time, the public can change the courts, he said, by electing presidents and senators who reflect their views.Citing FDR’s battleRehnquist is fond of citing the example of President Franklin Roosevelt in the 1930s. In his first term, a conservative Supreme Court struck down many of the president’s New Deal laws.After his landslide re-election in 1936, Roosevelt struck back and proposed to change and expand the membership of the court. Although his “court packing” plan failed, president, who was elected to an unprecedented four terms, succeeded nonetheless, Rehnquist noted.”President Roosevelt lost this battle in Congress, but he eventually won the war to change the judicial philosophy of the Supreme Court. He won it the way our Constitution envisions such wars being won–by the gradual process of changing the federal judiciary through the appointment process,” he wrote.During his second term, Roosevelt replaced five retiring conservative justices with New Deal liberals and transformed the high court for the next generation.In the 18-page report issued Saturday, Rehnquist, whom court officials say has been working from home, made only a brief reference to his illness.”On a personal note, I also want to thank all of those who have sent their good wishes on my speedy recovery,” he wrote.
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