According to the American Bar Association (ABA), President Bush violates the Constitution when he signs a bill into law with an associated ‘signing statement’ expressing misgivings about the constitutionality of that law. In these ‘signing statements,’ Bush claims a right to (quoting the AP article) “revise, interpret, or disregard measures on national security and constitutional grounds.” It may surprise some of you that I agree with the ABA in this case.
Website 18.1 Revision [Updated]
Today I launched a minor revision to Off on a Tangent which brings the version to 18.1. The changes include the following:
The Truth About ‘Net Neutrality’
If you watch much TV, you have probably heard a lot of advertising blather (primarily from the cable and phone companies) talking about ‘net neutrality’ and—at least in this area—most of the ads are talking about how terrible an idea it is. One ad that runs in regular rotation around here claims, in tones reminiscent of a negative political campaign, that neutrality legislation would give Google an unfair competitive advantage at consumers’ expense.
Religious & Political Reading Progress
Well, I’ve reached a fairly major breaking point in my religious research reading: I have finished reading the Hebrew Bible (‘Old Testament’ to us Christian types). There is a lot of crazy stuff in there—brutal wars, murder, incest, famine, pestilence, and slavery. Yet there is an underlying theme that God really loves us, even though we humans generally behave like spoiled, ungrateful, easily-distracted children.
Israel Blockades Lebanese Ports; Mid-East Fighting Escalates [Updated]
Following an armed Lebanese/Hezbollah incursion into Israel on Wednesday in which three Israeli soldiers were killed and two kidnapped, the Israeli Defense Forces have retaliated with a blockade and bombings of Lebanese ports, including the destruction of all three runways at Beirut’s international airport. Additionally, the IDF has attacked several strategic Lebanese targets including TV stations, government buildings, and an army air base.
Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.