Saturday, September 27, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
It doesn't matter anymore, but legally, what is a "WMD"?
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA v. JEFFREY FENNELL
No. 888SC1177
COURT OF APPEALS OF NORTH CAROLINA
95 N.C. App. 140; 382 S.E.2d 231; 1989 N.C. App. LEXIS 674
May 11, 1989, Heard in the Court of Appeals
August 15, 1989, Filed
PRIOR HISTORY: [***1] Appeal by defendant from Samuel T. Currin, Judge. Judgment entered 10 June 1988 in Superior Court, Wayne County.
DISPOSITION: No error.
CASE SUMMARY
PROCEDURAL POSTURE: Defendant appealed a decision of the Superior Court, Wayne County (North Carolina), which convicted him of possession of a weapon of mass death and destruction and sentenced him to five years imprisonment.
OVERVIEW: Defendant was convicted of possession of a weapon of mass death and destruction. Defendant contended that the trial judge erred by: (1) denying his motion to dismiss because the charges abridged his constitutional right to bear arms; (2) denying his motion to dismiss because the state failed to show that the firearm was operable as a weapon of mass death and destruction; and (3) failing to instruct the jury that a weapon which did not fire could not be a weapon of mass death and destruction. On appeal, the court held that defendant received a fair trial, free from error. The court articulated that the state could regulate the length of a particular firearm as long as there was a reasonable purpose for doing so. The court opined that such a restriction did not give the legislature full license to restrict any and all firearms possessed by individuals. The court held that the state would have had to prove operability only if defendant had offered evidence of the weapon's inoperability. The court found that defendant did not offer any evidence that the weapon was inoperable. The court concluded that a sawed-off shotgun qualified as a weapon of mass death and destruction.
OUTCOME: The court held that the defendant received a fair trial, free from error, and affirmed defendant's conviction.
Official Drink of the USC Law Dems: The ScrewRed
Introducing, the ScrewRed! 1 1/2 oz tequila
1 1/2 oz rum
1 splash 7-Up® soda
1 1/2 oz vodka
1 1/2 oz gin
1 1/2 oz Blue Curacao liqueur
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Fake Letters and Crocadile Tears...Lies Define McCain Campaign
picture care of: veronikanagy.wordpress.comSept. 24, 2008 | "You can be whoever you want to be," says an inviting Phil Tuchman. "You can be a beggar or a millionaire. A mom or a husband. Whatever. You decide!"
I volunteer in political campaigns now and then. After a series of outings for Obama and a first mission as a phone banker for John McCain, I returned to McCain's headquarters in Arlington, Va. The offer was too alluring to delay -- they wanted to put me into action as a ghostwriter. Next to commercials and phone banking, writing letters to the editor is the most important method of the McCain campaign to attract voters. At least that is what's written in the guidelines that McCain campaign worker Phil Tuchman presents to me.
Today he is training six ghostwriters. What on earth is the appeal of McCain for the former Soviet bloc? Last time I was here, an exuberant Polish guy was phone banking next to me. Today, a Russian in yellow suspenders is shimmering at the same table, looking just like an actor who is famous in the Netherlands for star turns as a genius who suppresses his dark side with painstaking self-control.
The assignment is simple: We are going to write letters to the editor and we are allowed to make up whatever we want -- as long as it adds to the campaign. After today we are supposed to use our free moments at home to create a flow of fictional fan mail for McCain. "Your letters," says Phil Tuchman, "will be sent to our campaign offices in battle states. Ohio. Pennsylvania. Virginia. New Hampshire. There we'll place them in local newspapers."
Place them? I may be wrong, but I thought that in the USA only a newspaper's editors decided that.
"We will show your letters to our supporters in those states," explains Phil. "If they say: 'Yeah, he/she is right!' then we ask them to sign your letter. And then we send that letter to the local newspaper. That's how we send dozens of letters at once."
No newspaper can refuse a stream of articulate expressions of support, is the thought behind it. "This way, we will always get into some letters column."
It is the day after Sarah Palin's speech at the Republican convention. Today, she is our main subject. The others are already enthusiastically hammering their keyboards. I am struggling with a tiny writer's block. "Dear Editor ..."
Phil Tuchman has handed out model letters, and talking points and quotes from Sarah Palin's speech. But whom do I want to be?
Let's loosen up my fingers a little first -- and my principles, too. Am I actually allowed to make up letters? At the moment, it seems to be the only way to demonstrate how this is done in a campaign. So yes. I start practicing attractive sentences about Sarah Palin:
"Her biggest plus to me is that, besides being amazingly smart and qualified, she managed to remain a woman like us. She is the PTA hockey moms. She is the working mothers of special needs children. She is every caring mother of a challenging teenager."
Her pregnant daughter Bristol (17) is not a talking point. A talking point is her son Track (19), who will be deployed to Iraq.
"And most of all, she is just like any mother of a child who deploys to Iraq in the service of this country."
Now we are getting somewhere. I look around. I type:
"My son, too, is there."
Oh god, you liar. Now build up suspense. New paragraph.
"And my heart needs him back safe so much."
Yes, yes. Well done. Another paragraph -- why not? Now let's pump some iron in that mother, for after all, we are not with the Democrats here. Look up the right, patriotic phraseology in the model letters.
"But when I see him again, I also want to see his face glow with pride. Just like the day he told me he enlisted."
Yes, like that. And now full speed in the direction of McCain's plans to continue the war. Sell that war. With a mother's heart.
"That is why Senator John McCain could count on my vote from day one."
But whatever happened to Sarah Palin in this story? I gaze out of the window. This takes 10 minutes. Then:
"With Sarah Palin, I have even more reason to trust in victory. She represents my heart."
Hmm. Does that sound like total doublespeak? Or does it sound like logical reasoning to a McCain supporter? I cannot come up with anything better.
"Sincerely ..." I leave the dots for somebody else's signature.
Does Phil Tuchman want to read it?
Phil bends over my computer screen and reads. This takes a while. I am expecting roars of laughter or to be kicked out. Then he says drily: "I like that. It appeals to the hearts of people. Can you write more letters?"
link: http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/09/24/mccain_letters/
Obama (sorta) Gets Religious Vote...
If you can't vote... pray!
Gisèle in France has emailed us about her "Pray for Obama /Prions pour Obama" blog, which she's running in both French and English versions:
"The next President of the United States of America will make decisions that will affect the lives of billions of people worldwide. We citizens of the world cannot vote but we can support and pray for the man we believe will best serve not only the American people, but also the rest of the world.She also recommends that people who want to pray about the election connect with the Obama Prayer Team, and explains a little more about her personal motivation:
Les décisions du prochain président des Etats-Unis d'Amérique auront un impact non seulement sur la vie des américains mais aussi sur le reste du monde. En tant que citoyens du monde nous ne pouvons pas voter à ces éléctions mais nous pouvons apporter notre soutien à l'homme que nous considérons plus à même de servir non seulement les intérêts du peuple américain mais qui pourra aussi dialoguer avec le reste du monde."
"The Obama campaign has inspired me and I have been struck by his character and reaction in the midst of the McCain campaign smears and attacks... I have been directed to pray a lot for Christians in America, that God open their eyes so that they can understand what the Gospel is about: Love one another, take care of one another. That we can agree to disagree and our will is not always God's. I also pray that God touch the hearts of those who would have voted for Obama if he were white."
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Welcome to USC Law Dems!
The USC Law Dems are proud to welcome all new JD students to USC in this auspicious year, 2008. Although the Republicans' "strangelove" for country has somehow driven our nation to the brink, we are not going to give President Bush the satisfaction of reverse-cowboying any last bombs.
Decency has been quietly waiting to return to the White House.
It is a great time to be a Democrat!
