Podcast 37 – Egypt in Distress

Podcast 36 – State of the Union

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”

Martin Luther King: Letter from Birmingham Jail.

Often in activism, what is needed is not so much to change minds the minds of those who oppose you, but to get those who already say they agree with you to get off their asses and help. That seems to me to be what Dr. King was trying to do with this letter – to get white clergymen who said they supported equal rights to say “Why yes. As a  matter of fact it is time!”

After laying out what he is trying to do and how he could use their real support, he begins his close:

Never before have I written so long a letter. I’m afraid it is much too long to take your precious time. I can assure you that it would have been much shorter if I had been writing from a comfortable desk, but what else can one do when he is alone in a narrow jail cell, other than write long letters, think long thoughts and pray long prayers?

Ooh snap!

Activist judges?

They aren’t the problem, says Pamela Karlan. It’s unrestrained politicians.

… let’s bear in mind that obligations of constitutional fidelity do not stop at the bench. Judges would be less busy if policymakers took their constitutional responsibilities more seriously. Public officials—national and state; judicial, executive, and legislative—take an oath to support the Constitution. Unfortunately, many fail to take that oath seriously, and laws and policies are adopted out of political expediency by legislators who know that the courts will strike them down….

Politicians have constitutional responsibilities, too. And if they showed more restraint, judges would not have to intervene so often.

But really you should read the whole thing.

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Podcast 35 – Deficit Commission & Tax Reform

Podcast 34 – Wikileaks

Wikileaks

If you needed any proof that the folks at Crooked Timber are more urbane and cultured than me, then here it is.

Henry Farrell compares the current Wikileaks saga to a short story by Saki.

But, it reminds me of an episode of Gilligan’s Island.

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Podcast 33 – Governors & Redistricting

Podcast 32 – Post-Election Analysis

Podcast 31 – Political Spouses