Reading the Supreme Court's Decision re: Affordable Care Act

From the opinion of the court:

Our permissive reading of these ["police" or "governing"] powers is explained in part by a general reticence to invalidate the acts of the Nation’s elected leaders. “Proper respect for a co-ordinate branch of the government” requires that we strike down an Act of Congress only if “the lack of constitutional authority to pass [the] act in question is clearly demonstrated.”  United States v. Harris, 106 U. S. 629, 635 (1883). Members of this Court are vested with the authority to interpret the law; we possess neither the expertise nor the prerogative to make policy judgments.  Those decisions  are entrusted to our Nation’s elected leaders, who can be thrown out of office if the people disagree with them.  It is not our job to protect the people from the consequences of their political choices.

and, very next paragraph:

Our deference in matters of policy cannot, however, become abdication in matters of law.  “The powers of the legislature are defined and limited; and that those limits may not be mistaken, or forgotten, the constitution is written.”  Marbury v. Madison, 1 Cranch 137, 176 (1803). Our respect for Congress’s policy judgments thus can never extend so far as to disavow restraints on federal power that the Constitution  carefully constructed.  “The peculiar circumstances of the moment may render a measure more or less wise, but cannot render it more or less constitutional.” Chief Justice John Marshall, A Friend of the Constitution No. V, Alexandria Gazette, July 5, 1819, in John Marshall’s Defense of McCulloch v. Maryland 190–191 (G. Gunther ed. 1969).  And there can be no question that it is the responsibility of this Court to enforce the limits on federal power by striking down acts of Congress that transgress those limits.  Marbury v. Madison, supra, at 175–176. 

How the Drug Trade Fuels Femicide in Central America

How the Drug Trade Fuels Femicide in Central America

The region has seen a huge rise in murders of women in the last decade (see graph, below). El Salvador currently has the worst femicide rate in the world with 13.9 per 100,000 women while Guatemala (third in the world) and Honduras (seventh) have rates of 9.8 and 7.2 respectively.
Last week Honduras released figures showing at least 150 women were killed in the first half of 2012, with police telling El Heraldo that many of the killings were linked to drug trafficking. In Guatemala, meanwhile, the national forensic institute (INACIF) revealed that 337 women were murdered in the first half of 2012. Though this represents an 11.5 percent drop from the same period in 2011, Guatemala remains one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a woman.

In a macho culture, attacking (either to kill or rape) "someone's woman", is a meaningful act, not for the woman, but what she represents as a thing under the control ('protection') of the someone.  Any time you demonstrate you can reach so-n-so's "woman" and harm her, you've demonstrated your reach extends to so-n-so as well.  It's like the horse head scene in The Godfather: we can get to you, in your own bedroom, and you can't stop us. 

The article says:

One reason for this is that the drug trade is pervaded by a macho culture that drives violence towards females. Women who are seen to associate with gangs, either through family ties or relationships with gang members, can become targets for rivals. Raping and brutally executing these women can be used as a tactic to strike at their enemies, and even as a bonding mechanism for gangs. As Chilean lawyer Patsil Toledo has noted, as well as helping to attack the "enemy morale," attacking and "cruelly raping women is symbolic [in another way]; it creates cohesion within armed groups."

In much the same way that rape is used as a tool of war in more recognized armed conflict.  The article says:

Women have also been used as vessels for gangs to send a message to the authorities. For example, in May last year, a gang in Guatemala decapitated a girl, leaving her head in a phone box with a message warning the authorities not to go through with plans to crack down on extortion.

The flippant thing I could say is these assholes will be first against the wall when the (feminist) revolution comes.  But that doesn't help these women.  The U.S. and the rest of the 'global north' needs to act.  The biggest motivators for joining gangs in the first place are to have a sense of belonging and future.  We know that, whether you're talking about maras or the Crips and the Bloods. 

Legalize these drugs, legitimize the industry.  Don't beat 'em, let them join you.  And, raise the standard of living of peoples in these countries, so life, even that of a worthless female, isn't so goddamn cheap a girl gets her head cut off to send a message to the Guatemalan police.

Submerged Country Under North Sea

Wow. 'Britain's Atlantis' found at bottom of North sea - a huge undersea world swallowed by the sea in 6500BC

The research suggests that the populations of these drowned lands could have been tens of thousands, living in an area that stretched from Northern Scotland across to Denmark and down the English Channel as far as the Channel Islands. The area was once the ‘real heartland’ of Europe and was hit by ‘a devastating tsunami', the researchers claim. The wave was part of a larger process that submerged the low-lying area over the course of thousands of years. 'The name was coined for Dogger Bank, but it applies to any of several periods when the North Sea was land,' says Richard Bates of the University of St Andrews. 'Around 20,000 years ago, there was a 'maximum' - although part of this area would have been covered with ice. When the ice melted, more land was revealed - but the sea level also rose.

That is just too darn nifty.

Great Poem I Missed Last Week

To Be Of Use

A Beauty Post, Surprisingly, and a Feminism Post, Not Surprisingly

Sometime between age 35 and 40 I became a beautiful woman. I don't know how it happened, but it did. It has something to do with the armor I wear for lawyering - being dressed up some (not necessarily a lot) and wearing makeup looks good on me and I noticed that fact at some point. (Unfortunately, I can't seem to wear heels, anymore, which is too bad, because a short woman in a skirt suit should REALLY wear heels.)

Anyway, so I was counseling someone about something when they expressed surprise at my age and asked me what I used for my skin (aloe vera daily, and mango seed butter from http://www.mehandi.com at least weekly if not more). So, a few more years later, I thought I'd answer the question for everyone. I also thought I'd publicly acknowledge something that should be obvious to any feminist contemplating working in a male-dominated field: the decision to conform, and to what degree, to be able to work. To get work, and to be taken seriously while doing it.

When I went from software to software consulting I changed my attire to business wear because I was a _consultant_, which meant I met with business people. No more khaki capris and boat shoes (or whatever they were), because business people will take you more seriously the more you conform to their expectations. So, recognizing this, I conformed. As a strategic decision. I am an INTJ (http://www.keirsey.com/4temps/mastermind.asp) and am thus easily capable of ruthless pragmatism. Adhering to people's expectations about communication - visual (dress) and other non-verbal included, was work (oh, yes, it's work), but work worth doing to improve my communication efficiency.

I chose to further conform when I decided to go to law school. So, after that glorious first year in law school of, yes, comfy capris and comfortable shoes, along with delicious blue hair, I began my conformity transition in second year. This was deliberate. I looked at my professors and noted that they were my professional peers, and if I wanted to be viewed as a professional, by them, and persuade them to treat me as a peer, it made sense to look like them - to sling their lingo. Ditto, of course, internships, clinical placements, etc. I went back to being a redhead (thank you http://hennaforhair.com and http://www.mehandi.com, I use henna and cassia on my hair - naturally ash blonde/brown with some gray - and it looks fantastic with henna, and feels fantastic thanks to their shampoo bars - a must-try if you have a hate-hate relationship with your hair) and started wearing twinsets and skirts to school.

And then there was the makeup question. After wearing CoverGirl for a few years toward the end of my career in software, I switched to mineral makeups as soon as I learned of them, because, damn, I kept breaking out (and in the same damn spots, what is up with that?). And a lot of stuff makes me itch, even Physician's Formula and other stuff advertised as "hypoallergenic". I can't wear mascara because my eyelids itch so much I rip my eyelashes out. So, it was a relief to experiment with various mineral makeups and settle quite happily into a long-term relationship with Ocean Mist Cosmetics, http://www.oceanmistcosmetics.com. They rock all they way down to replacing a brush that broke, twice. Mineral makeup is good for your skin, and during the winter I'd mix aloe and my mineral foundation together to make a liquid foundation. Because I have great skin - minimal sun damage, pretty good hydration, no acne once I stopped using liquid foundation, I don't need really heavy coverage even though I always liked wearing liquid foundation and still do.

And then I found Eliza Dushku's website, http://elizapatriciadushku.com/, and a little mention she made of Tarte Cosmetics, http://tartecosmetics.com/, and given that I think she's one of the most beautiful people in the world, I had to check it out.

So, after how many years, I'm suddenly experimenting again. Tarte Cosmetic cheek stains are great, and for summer I love that I have finally, after all these years, found a liquid foundation that includes SPF coverage and DOES. NOT. MAKE. ME. ITCH. I have no idea how, but bless you, Tarte! Finally, non-itchy SPF for my face! And it's a makeup! I've started using their Smooth Operator illuminating serum and mineral foundation from Ocean Mist blended together, and currently use three - 12-hour full coverage Amazonian clay liquid foundation from Tarte, Smooth Operator illuminating serum from Tarte, and Ocean Mist's powder foundation to tweak the color (necessary, at least in summer).

And then, yes, I put on a hat to go out into the sun. And put No-Ad SPF gazillion on my hands.

So, here's the thing: I like the way I look, at this age, at this level of conformity, with my grown-up woman hair length (just off the shoulder well-groomed shag) and my skirts and jackets (and now skirt suits, custom made from http://mycustomclothing.com), and makeup and my Mineralogie lipstick and now my brand-new Cheerful Cherry lipstick from Eyes.Lips.Face. (http://www.eyeslipsface.com - mineral lipsticks for $5! AWESOME! Do you know how much bad-for-you crap is in most lipsticks? Check out the Safe Cosmetics Compact, http://www.safecosmetics.org, for more info). This is the insidious nature of patriarchy - I get more male approval today than I did 10 years ago - and, being a woman in the patriarchy, I am trained, however unwillingly, to want that approval, even though I've rebelled against and questioned that conditioning all my life.

I'm in my early 40s, now. I'm supposed to be over the hill or something. And yet I got a hell of a lot more action and attention in my late 30s and now than I did in my late 20s and early 30s. What changed? Among other things: I conformed.

It's inexpressibly sad that the fun I am having with playing with my looks (and most recently, nail art, as I'm now a Julep Maven, http://www.julep.com, *love* the colors) is tainted by the fact that I operate within - and more rigorously conform to - gender and age expectations of a patriarchal society.

The decision to conform in order to play my part as a female attorney, was, in part, a decision to give in to the demands of the patriarchy. I am both a beautiful woman, and a hypocrite. I look down on politicians for compromising too much, but haven't I compromised too much, myself? Pragmatist that I am, I don't hate myself for my conformity. But I do wish I lived in a world where it wasn't necessary.

New Zealand, Geoengineering, Bats & Bees and Canaries in Coal Mines

New Zealand's natural heritage threatened by 20 years of environmental inaction

Aotearoa, the land of the long white cloud, is now a land of polluted rivers and lakes, rising greenhouse gas emissions, pressured marine ecosystems and disappearing bird and mammal species.

Geoengineering for Global Warming: Increasing Aerosols in Atmosphere Would Make Sky Whiter

Carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of coal, oil, and gas have been increasing over the past decades, causing Earth to get hotter and hotter. Large volcanic eruptions cool the planet by creating lots of small particles in the stratosphere, but the particles fall out within a couple of years, and the planet heats back up. The idea behind solar geoengineering is to constantly replenish a layer of small particles in the stratosphere, mimicking this volcanic aftermath and scattering sunlight back to space.

This strikes me as an attractive idea but a fundamentally bad one, there are too many things we don't know about the effects of conscious attempts to 'fix' a global problem.

Bat, Bee, Frog Deaths May Be Linked

In recent years, diseases have ravaged through bat, honeybee and amphibian populations, and now animal experts suspect that shared factors may link the deaths, which are putting many species at risk for extinction.

Sigh.

Arctic Monitoring Stations Report CO2 Levels of 400 parts per million

The Arctic region continues to serve as the global climate "canary in a coal" mine. Now, as with average temperature rise, the region is leading into a new troubling milestone as monitoring stations near a remote outpost near Barrow, Alaska are among several such stations to report that average concentrations of CO2 have reached an average of 400 parts per million (PPM) this spring.

Environmental Justice Resources Directory

I've been serving on planning committees for the upcoming Environmental Justice summit in Worcester, MA on June 9, at Clark University. One of the tools we're providing for advocates and activists is an EJ Resources Directory. It's also now available as a wiki, courtesy of the directory team, which is myself and colleague Erika G. I'm proud of our work and hope it will be a useful reference.  We'll be continuing to add to it over time.


Visit the wiki (including discussion forum) at http://neej.wikidot.com

Canada closing its marine pollution program

Canada closing its marine pollution program

"It's perplexing that we face the loss of this program, given the 25,000 chemicals on the market and the ever-increasing threats posed by shipping and oil and gas exploration and development in temperate and Arctic waters," Peter Ross told msnbc.com. Ross is perhaps Canada's best known marine scientist for his work on identifying killer whales as the most contaminated marine mammals on the planet.

"As can be expected when one is told their position is being terminated, one is shocked and saddened," he added. "However, when told that the entire pollution research and monitoring program for Canada's oceans is being eliminated, I was speechless."

Yeah, I'm speechless, too.

Some Good Reads, Recently

Recently read:  Elizabeth Gaskell, "North & South".  Must get more of her work. 


Still Reading Martin Gilbert's "The First World War".  Uniformly excellent.

GOP Plot to Destroy U.S. Economy?

Plot to destroy the U.S. economy?

...[S]enior GOP members plotted to bring Congress to a standstill regardless how much it would hurt the American Economy by pledging to obstruct and block President Obama on all legislation

Blond Hair Evolved Separately in Europe and South Pacific

Blond hair evolved separately in Europe and the South Pacific

Naturally blond hair is rare on Earth, limited mainly to northern Europe and the collection of South Pacific islands that includes the Solomon Islands. The researchers checked to see whether the C-to-T change on chromosome 9 was also present in Europeans. It wasn’t. That means blond hair evolved not once but twice. 

Nifty!

QOTD

Great quote snagged from Making Light:  Nothing that you will learn in the course of your studies will be of the slightest possible use to you in after life, save only this, that if you work hard and intelligently you should be able to detect when a man is talking rot, and that, in my view, is the main, if not the sole, purpose of education.
—John Alexander Smith, professor of moral philosophy at Oxford, 1914,

Various Things Roundup

U.S. Caps Emissions in Drilling for Fuel - EPA issued new air quality stds for natural gas drilling.  "Industry groups said meeting the proposed standards would cost hundreds of millions of dollars and slow the boom in domestic natural gas production. The original proposal was significantly revised, giving industry more than two years to comply and lowering the cost."  Yeah, but point of fact:  we have a surplus of this stuff already.  


How Well, and How Poorly, We Harvest Ocean Life - interesting looking book.

And, Depressingly:  Mac OS X invulnerability to malware is a myth, says security firm.  Yick.

"Irrelevant" Victims of 16 billion gallons of oil pollution

On February 15th of this year, Doak Bishop, a lawyer representing the American oil giant Chevron, claimed that all 30,000 people affected by Chevron's 16 billion gallons of oil pollution in Ecuador are and have always been "irrelevant".

Chevron Lawyer Claims that Victims of Rainforest Contamination Are “Irrelevant”

Chevron has a long history of trying to dehumanize the Ecuadorians by denying their very existence or by belittling their culture, said Pablo Fajardo, the lead lawyer for the communities.

Two Links: Privacy; H2O

Hm. This Internet provider pledges to put your privacy first. Always. Step aside, AT&T and Verizon. A new privacy-protecting Internet service and telephone provider still in the planning stages could become the ACLU's dream and the FBI's worst nightmare.

IntercontinentalCry: Diné And Hopi Protest Further Dismantling Of Their Basic Right To Water

A group of Diné and Hopi people ( including traditional people and elders) upset by the latest colonial attack on indigenous peoples water rights, gathered to protest the visits of two US Senators to the Navajo Nation today. The people had gathered to say 'no deal' to s2109, the bill that would allow for more water to flow into Arizona for the benefit of companies and urban growth. Protesters chanted 'water is life', 'free indian water ends now', 'let the water flow', 'sewage water for McCain and Kyl', other chants were said in Diné.