OR POLITICS 30 RE OREGON GAS
From: Joni Rathbun (jrathbun@no-spam)
Subject: Re: Oregon Gas
Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2003 19:51:22 -0700


On Tue, 1 Jul 2003, Heck's Kitchen wrote:

> clw@no-spam wrote:
>
> >> I'm thinking that Bill is either enjoying another cushy day-off, or is > >> goofing off at the expense of City taxpayers again!
> >
> >Providing cogent public information is the epitome of public service.
> >What did you do on your lunch hour that benefited humanity?
>
> You think Bill's net surfing during business hours is public service?
>

Where's Bill working these days?







From: Bill Shatzer (bshatzer@no-spam)
Subject: Re: Oregon Gas
Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2003 00:40:21 -0700

On Tue, 1 Jul 2003, Heck's Kitchen wrote:

> clw@no-spam wrote:

> >> I'm thinking that Bill is either enjoying another cushy day-off, or is > >> goofing off at the expense of City taxpayers again!

> >Providing cogent public information is the epitome of public service.
> >What did you do on your lunch hour that benefited humanity?

> You think Bill's net surfing during business hours is public service?

Which hours would you suppose that I might be allowed to net surf?

> I don't have to answer for my lunch hour since I am on my own time,
> and not using a taxpayer-subsidized account.

Hey, benny, you and me are like BROS!

I ain't using a taxpayer-subsidized account neither!

[Don't you find this constant alias shifting a bit, well, tiresome?
and, jejune too boot?]

Peace and justice,


From: "Dave Thompson" (dav13795@no-spam)
Subject: Re: Oregon Gas
Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2003 08:45:59 -0700

"Heck's Kitchen" <upstart23@no-spam> wrote in message news:3f04a0fd.58973219@no-spam > "Dave Thompson" <dav13795@no-spam> wrote:
>
> >Now you have just proven yourself to be a conservative nutball. There is > >nothing harmfull about oral or anal sex between two consenting adults.
>
> There can be. They (particularly anal) are particularly effective at > transmitting certain diseases. That's not politics, its medicine (and > note that I have NOT advocated sodomy regulations or criminal > restrictions.)
>
> >Like prostitution. Are you for legalized prostitution? I am.
>
> Yes.
>
> > At least I'm > >consistant.
>
> Me too.
>
> I believe that the laws on such conduct should be enacted by > state-by-state legal process, not by 6 judges in DC.

And I believe everybody should have equal protection and a right to privacy no matter what state they live in.


From: Joni Rathbun (jrathbun@no-spam)
Subject: Re: Oregon Gas
Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2003 08:54:54 -0700

On Tue, 1 Jul 2003, Bill Shatzer wrote:

>
>
>
>
> On Mon, 30 Jun 2003, Joni Rathbun wrote:
>
> -snips-
>
> > Where's Bill working these days?
>
> Well, as softball season is over and volleyball is still a couple > months off, mostly around the house.
>
> Worked in the garden. Trimmed a hedge. Went to lunch with an old > friend. Did some shopping. Cooked diner.
>

Just as I imagined. Keep up the good work :)


From: Joni Rathbun (jrathbun@no-spam)
Subject: Re: Oregon Gas
Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2003 09:01:22 -0700

On Tue, 1 Jul 2003, Heck's Kitchen wrote:

> clw@no-spam wrote:
>
> >> I'm thinking that Bill is either enjoying another cushy day-off, or is > >> goofing off at the expense of City taxpayers again!
> >
> >Providing cogent public information is the epitome of public service.
> >What did you do on your lunch hour that benefited humanity?
>
> You think Bill's net surfing during business hours is public service?
>
> I don't have to answer for my lunch hour since I am on my own time,
> and not using a taxpayer-subsidized account.
>

Odd. Here I am in Nevada using the same provider to access these newsgroups as Bill's using.


From: Paul Johnson (baloo@no-spam)
Subject: Re: Oregon Gas
Date: Thu, 3 Jul 2003 04:38:40 -0700

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

The Wed, 02 Jul 2003 13:15:25 GMT, Heck's Kitchen <upstart23@no-spam> wrote:
> Not me. (although with 48 states allowing freedom of choice, one > would expect that there have been more such experiences in those than > in the 2 that are anti-freedom.)

OK, then you're either lucky, really actually in Oregon, or out-of-state but never really noticed that gasoline smell on your hands after someone spilled on the nozzle and didn't bother to wipe up after themselves.

- -- .''`. Paul Johnson <baloo@no-spam>
: :' : proud Debian admin and user `. `'`
`- Debian - when you have better things to do than fix a system -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.2.2 (GNU/Linux)

iD8DBQE/BBXAJ5vLSqVpK2kRAtyQAJ46Am5V8FpOGX2Act1XWlPg9FxdAQCffZdx 1AyV/BCj+nHaNspPbZ4jOpk=
=6GUO -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----


From: "gatt" (gatt@no-spam)
Subject: Re: Oregon Gas
Date: Wed, 09 Jul 2003 18:26:21 GMT

"Heck's Kitchen" <upstart23@no-spam>

> > There is nothing harmfull about oral or anal sex between two consenting adults.
>
> There can be. They (particularly anal) are particularly effective at > transmitting certain diseases. That's not politics, its medicine (and > note that I have NOT advocated sodomy regulations or criminal > restrictions.)
>
> >Like prostitution. Are you for legalized prostitution? I am.
>
> Yes.

"...effective at transmitting certain diseases. That's not politics, that's medicine..."

> > At least I'm consistant.
>
> Me too.

Nope.

> I believe that the laws on such conduct should be enacted by > state-by-state legal process, not by 6 judges in DC.

Ah, a state's rights man. Well NOW we agree on something. :>

-c

From: Bob Tiernan (zulu.pacifier.com@no-spam)
Subject: Gay rights stuff [was: Oregon Gas]
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 23:54:27 -0700

Heck's Kitchen wrote:

> I believe that the laws on such conduct should be enacted > by state-by-state legal process, not by 6 judges in DC.

Would you say the same thing if a majority of the USSC refuses to overturn a state gun control law and says that such laws ought to eb "enacted by state-by-state legal process"?

You need to start thinking of individual *liberty*
(as this recent majority opinion makes clear)
when it comes to any level of government sticking its nose where it isn't needed. To not do so only invites other you disagree with to claim the same interpretation for denying your own favorite rights.

Bob t

From: hlillywh@no-spam (Hal Lillywhite)
Subject: Re: Judicial "Reasoning" [was Gay rights stuff [was: Oregon Gas]]
Date: 29 Jul 2003 10:13:08 -0700

Bob Tiernan <zulu.pacifier.com@no-spam> wrote in message news:<Pine.GSO.4.53MAILDIR.0307282348540.10024@no-spam>...

> Heck's Kitchen wrote:

> > I believe that the laws on such conduct should be enacted > > by state-by-state legal process, not by 6 judges in DC.

> Would you say the same thing if a majority of the USSC > refuses to overturn a state gun control law and says that > such laws ought to eb "enacted by state-by-state legal > process"?

That is if you think the constitution really protects homosexual sex. While I think the law was stupid I hardly think it unconstitutional. IMHO, this is one more example of the courts finding rights which are not there. The courts should not assume a dictatorial role.

What is really frightening about this case is Kennedy's reasoning. He claims that we must bring ourselves into line with modern western thought! Say what? We are to allow other countries to tell us what our constitution means! And this is not an isolated case. In the U of M racial discrimination case, Ginsburg and Breyer cited the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (to support discrimination!) in their vote to allow racial preferences. And Bryer has said he found "useful" court decisions from India, Jamaica and Zimbabwe for cases about legal delays of exceution.

It is astounding that this nation, the result of a rebelion against the tyrany of another nation, would be put in a position of blindly accepting the authority of other nations, especially a nation with such a reputation of "freedom" as Zimbabwe has. I have to agree with Scalia's dissent, it is not the court's job to "impose foreigh moods,
fads or fashions on Americans."

While it is valuable to look at and learn from what other countries are doing, that should be done with judgement. We should selectively determine if we can benefit from that information. It is stupid to blindly follow their example just to go with the flow. Such foreign practices should be adopted, if at all, legislatively, not judicially.


From: dloft59@no-spam (David J. Loftus)
Subject: Re: Judicial "Reasoning" [was Gay rights stuff [was: Oregon Gas]]
Date: 29 Jul 2003 16:25:26 -0700

Well, you have passion going for you, if not a lot of sense.

hlillywh@no-spam (Hal Lillywhite) wrote in message news:<ccf77bfa.0307290913.5a9810e7@no-spam>...


> That is if you think the constitution really protects homosexual sex. > While I think the law was stupid I hardly think it unconstitutional. > IMHO, this is one more example of the courts finding rights which are > not there. The courts should not assume a dictatorial role.

Ehm . . . I think it was the local law that was dictatorial;
the Supreme Court merely said it had gone too far, according to the broad rights enjoyed by American citizens under the Constitution.

> What is really frightening about this case is Kennedy's reasoning. He > claims that we must bring ourselves into line with modern western > thought! Say what? We are to allow other countries to tell us what > our constitution means!

No: We may consult the sense and wisdom of other nations.
Your reasoning might well have prevented us from considering the moral rectitude of doing away with slavery in the 1860s,
just because European nations had the temerity to think there might be something wrong with it.

> And this is not an isolated case. In the U > of M racial discrimination case, Ginsburg and Breyer cited the > International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial > Discrimination (to support discrimination!) in their vote to allow > racial preferences. And Bryer has said he found "useful" court > decisions from India, Jamaica and Zimbabwe for cases about legal > delays of exceution.

Other human beings, and their governments, are at times in possession of moral reasoning and logic? Shocking!

> It is astounding that this nation, the result of a rebelion against > the tyrany of another nation, would be put in a position of blindly > accepting the authority of other nations, especially a nation with > such a reputation of "freedom" as Zimbabwe has. I have to agree with > Scalia's dissent, it is not the court's job to "impose foreigh moods,
> fads or fashions on Americans."

There's a world of difference between taking into consideration other countries' laws and legal rationales, and "blindly accepting their authority" or "imposing foreign moods, fads or fashions."
You presume that Americans are always more in the right, more moral, more rational, than any other nation.

> While it is valuable to look at and learn from what other countries > are doing, that should be done with judgement.

Which is what I gather the majority were doing.

> We should selectively > determine if we can benefit from that information. It is stupid to > blindly follow their example just to go with the flow. Such foreign > practices should be adopted, if at all, legislatively, not judicially.

Well now, here you speak a little more sense. Unfortunately,
there are too many weasels in the Congress and state legislatures to have made sensible forward progress possible in these and other areas, at this time. Sometimes they can use a shove.

David Loftus

From: hlillywh@no-spam (Hal Lillywhite)
Subject: Re: Judicial "Reasoning" [was Gay rights stuff [was: Oregon Gas]]
Date: 30 Jul 2003 08:41:58 -0700

dloft59@no-spam (David J. Loftus) wrote in message news:<62894d4c.0307291525.2d7aaf85@no-spam>...


> Well, you have passion going for you, if not a lot > of sense.

I think you have that shoe on the wrong foot. Look in the mirror when you say it.

> hlillywh@no-spam (Hal Lillywhite) wrote in message news:<ccf77bfa.0307290913.5a9810e7@no-spam>...


> > That is if you think the constitution really protects homosexual sex. > > While I think the law was stupid I hardly think it unconstitutional. > > IMHO, this is one more example of the courts finding rights which are > > not there. The courts should not assume a dictatorial role.

> Ehm . . . I think it was the local law that was dictatorial;
> the Supreme Court merely said it had gone too far, according > to the broad rights enjoyed by American citizens under the > Constitution.

Try a good dictionary. "Dictatorial" means that one or a few people impose it over the will of the majority. I strongly suspect the majority of Texans either supported that law or were neutral about it.
Five supremes overruled that.

You can claim it was an over invasive law, and a stupid one and I would agree. However there is nothing in the constitution to prohibit stupid laws. In fact I said much that same thing in my original post but you either failed to read that part or decided to ignore it in order to present a twisted version of what I said. Neither does you credit.
> > What is really frightening about this case is Kennedy's reasoning. He > > claims that we must bring ourselves into line with modern western > > thought! Say what? We are to allow other countries to tell us what > > our constitution means!

> No: We may consult the sense and wisdom of other nations.
> Your reasoning might well have prevented us from considering > the moral rectitude of doing away with slavery in the 1860s,
> just because European nations had the temerity to think there > might be something wrong with it.

Are you totally incapable of reading and understanding? I specifically said we should consider the wisdom we might find in other nations. That is not the issue. The issue is if the supremes can impose that on us under the guise of "the constitution requires us to follow what other countries do."

> > And this is not an isolated case. In the U > > of M racial discrimination case, Ginsburg and Breyer cited the > > International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial > > Discrimination (to support discrimination!) in their vote to allow > > racial preferences. And Bryer has said he found "useful" court > > decisions from India, Jamaica and Zimbabwe for cases about legal > > delays of exceution.

> Other human beings, and their governments, are at times in > possession of moral reasoning and logic? Shocking!
And of course other governments do stupid things just as ours does. To blindly follow the leader, and that without a vote of elected representatives, is the royal road to ruin. If the blind follow the blind both will fall in the ditch.
> > It is astounding that this nation, the result of a rebelion against > > the tyrany of another nation, would be put in a position of blindly > > accepting the authority of other nations, especially a nation with > > such a reputation of "freedom" as Zimbabwe has. I have to agree with > > Scalia's dissent, it is not the court's job to "impose foreigh moods,
> > fads or fashions on Americans."

> There's a world of difference between taking into consideration > other countries' laws and legal rationales, and "blindly accepting > their authority" or "imposing foreign moods, fads or fashions."
> You presume that Americans are always more in the right, more > moral, more rational, than any other nation.

Again you demonstrate your apparent total lack of reading comprehension, either that or abismal disregard for truth in your desire to say bad things about me. I rather specifically said we can and should learn from others. What I object to is the court saying we have to do something because other countries are doing it. Some of the supremes said we should do just that.

> > While it is valuable to look at and learn from what other countries > > are doing, that should be done with judgement.

> Which is what I gather the majority were doing.

Where do the supremes get the right to legislate? That is reserved to congress in case you've forgotten US Government 101.

> > We should selectively > > determine if we can benefit from that information. It is stupid to > > blindly follow their example just to go with the flow. Such foreign > > practices should be adopted, if at all, legislatively, not judicially.

> Well now, here you speak a little more sense. Unfortunately,
> there are too many weasels in the Congress and state > legislatures to have made sensible forward progress possible > in these and other areas, at this time. Sometimes they can > use a shove.

So you think that if congress doesn't do what you want, we should appoint 5 people, lifetime appointment with no reasonable way to remove them, and give them power to make laws?

Yes, sometimes congress needs a shove (line once a day, all day long).
However that shove should come from the voters. I, for one, do not want to live under the rule of a 5 person junta.


From: dloft59@no-spam (David J. Loftus)
Subject: Re: Judicial "Reasoning" [was Gay rights stuff [was: Oregon Gas]]
Date: 30 Jul 2003 15:59:19 -0700

hlillywh@no-spam (Hal Lillywhite) wrote in message news:<ccf77bfa.0307300741.22955d37@no-spam>...

> dloft59@no-spam (David J. Loftus) wrote in message news:<62894d4c.0307291525.2d7aaf85@no-spam>...

> > > Well, you have passion going for you, if not a lot > > of sense.
> > I think you have that shoe on the wrong foot. Look in the mirror when > you say it.

I'm amused that you think you read any passion out of my remarks. I doubt anyone else did.

> > hlillywh@no-spam (Hal Lillywhite) wrote in message news:<ccf77bfa.0307290913.5a9810e7@no-spam>...

> > > > That is if you think the constitution really protects homosexual sex. > > > While I think the law was stupid I hardly think it unconstitutional. > > > IMHO, this is one more example of the courts finding rights which are > > > not there. The courts should not assume a dictatorial role.
> > > Ehm . . . I think it was the local law that was dictatorial;
> > the Supreme Court merely said it had gone too far, according > > to the broad rights enjoyed by American citizens under the > > Constitution.
> > Try a good dictionary. "Dictatorial" means that one or a few people > impose it over the will of the majority.

Legislatures may be dictatorial as well, I would argue.
They still constitute small numbers.

> I strongly suspect the > majority of Texans either supported that law or were neutral about it.

As did a majority of Texans with regard to slavery in the 1860s. Didn't make it right. Or Constitutional.

> Five supremes overruled that.
> > You can claim it was an over invasive law, and a stupid one and I > would agree. However there is nothing in the constitution to prohibit > stupid laws. In fact I said much that same thing in my original post > but you either failed to read that part or decided to ignore it in > order to present a twisted version of what I said. Neither does you > credit.

Perhaps you could point out where I either misunderstood anything you said or twisted it. Mainly, I was offering my own opinions on the matter, not deconstructing yours.

> > > What is really frightening about this case is Kennedy's reasoning. He > > > claims that we must bring ourselves into line with modern western > > > thought! Say what? We are to allow other countries to tell us what > > > our constitution means!
> > > No: We may consult the sense and wisdom of other nations.
> > Your reasoning might well have prevented us from considering > > the moral rectitude of doing away with slavery in the 1860s,
> > just because European nations had the temerity to think there > > might be something wrong with it.
> > Are you totally incapable of reading and understanding?

Obviously I am, if you say so.

> I specifically said we should consider the wisdom we might find in other > nations.

Erm, what you wrote above suggested you were speaking, ironically,
on behalf of Justice Kennedy -- meaning, that you disagreed.

> That is not the issue. The issue is if the supremes can > impose that on us under the guise of "the constitution requires us to > follow what other countries do."

And did Kennedy say this? Or was he merely examining the practice and laws of other nations as ancillary,
supporting precedent, rather than as the basis for his constitutional interpretation?

> > > And this is not an isolated case. In the U > > > of M racial discrimination case, Ginsburg and Breyer cited the > > > International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial > > > Discrimination (to support discrimination!) in their vote to allow > > > racial preferences. And Bryer has said he found "useful" court > > > decisions from India, Jamaica and Zimbabwe for cases about legal > > > delays of exceution.
> > > Other human beings, and their governments, are at times in > > possession of moral reasoning and logic? Shocking!
> > And of course other governments do stupid things just as ours does. > To blindly follow the leader, and that without a vote of elected > representatives, is the royal road to ruin. If the blind follow the > blind both will fall in the ditch.

Who's the "leader"? Sounds to me as if the justices were consulting other nations as if they were relatively equal and roughly rational actors on the international stage,
not leaders.

> > > It is astounding that this nation, the result of a rebelion against > > > the tyrany of another nation, would be put in a position of blindly > > > accepting the authority of other nations, especially a nation with > > > such a reputation of "freedom" as Zimbabwe has. I have to agree with > > > Scalia's dissent, it is not the court's job to "impose foreigh moods,
> > > fads or fashions on Americans."
> > > There's a world of difference between taking into consideration > > other countries' laws and legal rationales, and "blindly accepting > > their authority" or "imposing foreign moods, fads or fashions."
> > You presume that Americans are always more in the right, more > > moral, more rational, than any other nation.
> > Again you demonstrate your apparent total lack of reading > comprehension, either that or abismal disregard for truth in your > desire to say bad things about me.

You wield terrific rhetorical flourishes, but, as I said before, sense rather lags behind.

> I rather specifically said we can and should learn from others.

How you managed to decide the majority of Supremes "blindly accepted the authority of other nations"
rather than "learned from others," you never quite made clear. You only offered a bald declaration.

> What I object to is the court saying we > have to do something because other countries are doing it. Some of > the supremes said we should do just that.

Show us where.

> > > While it is valuable to look at and learn from what other countries > > > are doing, that should be done with judgement.
> > > Which is what I gather the majority were doing.
> > Where do the supremes get the right to legislate?

You did not say "legislate." I did not say "legislate."
You plucked it out of a hat this moment, as if I had said as much. But I didn't. Once again, the court was striking down legislation, which is its role, and what it did in so many other memorable decisions from the past.

> That is reserved to > congress in case you've forgotten US Government 101.

Again, nice rhetorical swoops. Try to stick to the argument, however, if you please.

> > > We should selectively > > > determine if we can benefit from that information. It is stupid to > > > blindly follow their example just to go with the flow. Such foreign > > > practices should be adopted, if at all, legislatively, not judicially.
> > > Well now, here you speak a little more sense. Unfortunately,
> > there are too many weasels in the Congress and state > > legislatures to have made sensible forward progress possible > > in these and other areas, at this time. Sometimes they can > > use a shove.
> > So you think that if congress doesn't do what you want, we should > appoint 5 people, lifetime appointment with no reasonable way to > remove them, and give them power to make laws?

No. The Supreme Court has made no laws in this instance.
It has merely destroyed bad ones. It remains to the Congress and legislatures to pick up the pieces and make workable,
equitable laws.

> Yes, sometimes congress needs a shove (line once a day, all day long).
> However that shove should come from the voters. I, for one, do not > want to live under the rule of a 5 person junta.

I doubt you were howling when the 5-person vote went your way in the past.

David Loftus