Today’s cinematic triumph is Godzilla vs. Megalon. It’s a cautionary tale about mankind’s disregard for the environment, coupled with a lesson on the folly of scientific arrogance. It also raises moral questions about creating and controlling artificial intelligence.
Well, sorta. It’s a sequel to 1972’s dreadful Godzilla vs. Gigan, which was hardly a high-water mark for the franchise itself.
While I’m ecstatic to see the unanimous opinions of the Supreme Court supporting individual rights, the question remains: how far and deep will the effects be felt?
Does it mean we’ll see every gun regulation on the books wiped tomorrow? I’d love to be able to order guns from a catalog. I should be able to buy a silencer for $100 so I don’t have to worry so much about my hearing. Drop-in auto sears should be $20 and legal.
In short, I should be allowed to own whatever I want, and I should not have to justify it to the government. That’s the way our system was intended to work.
But I’m not holding my breath.
Oral arguments in DC vs. Heller took place this morning, and though the Supreme Court may not have made up their minds, their inclinations seem quite clear:
(…) the right to keep and bear–I’m sorry. It’s one right: to keep and bear, not two rights, to keep and to bear.
Justice Stevens to General Clement, DC vs. Heller, Oral Arguments 03/18/08, p. 38
Audio has been released and is streaming (rm) from CSPAN. A transcript (pdf) is available here.
I received my hardcopy of this today. I splurged and ordered the limited-edition, which has a second disc entitled, Quaristice (Versions).
I expected the second disc to be a set of one-off remixes, but it turned out to be quite different. To put it bluntly, this is the record Quaristice should have been.
My primary complaint with the album was that the individual pieces were too short, and that it lacked a sense of overaching structure. That’s not the case here.
Eleven tracks from the album proper are represented, reworked and expanded. In almost every case, they benefit tremendously. While Quaristice felt like it had quite a bit of filler, this disc seems both more disciplined and better developed.
Well, two out of three ain’t bad.
The Supreme Court will hear DC vs. Heller starting at 10:00AM on March 18th. Petitioner and Respondents will each have 30 minutes to make their arguments.
What’s interesting is that they will be releasing the audio of the proceedings (Souter has forbidden video cameras in the courtroom) on the same day. Check with Oyez, where it should be available for download.
If you’re just tuning in, 31 state-level Attorney Generals have filed a brief [pdf] in support of individual rights, and Dick Cheney has signed on to Congress’ brief, indirectly breaking ranks with the President, who’d tasked Solicitor General Clement to call for “closer scrutiny” in the Court’s deliberations.
It’s somewhat disappointing that Clement will get 15 minutes to argue his point, irrespective of the time limits imposed on Petitioner and Respondent.
But, I guess that’s politics. Still, we’ve now got 46 briefs in our corner, while supporters of the DC ban have 20.
As of today, their FFL is renewed:
License Number:
1-54-XXX-XX-XX-00725Expiration Date:
03/01/2011License Name:
SUGARMANN, JOSHUA ALANPremise Address:
1730 RHODE ISLAND AVE NW #1014
WASHINGTON
DC – 20036
I received a message back from Lee Brown at the Virginia office. The reason it took the ATF so long to get back to me is that there are no FFLs registered in Washington DC, and my query had to be transferred to the Virginia office (the 154 prefix is for VA, 158 is GA).
It is effectively impossible to get an FFL in DC. DC Code Ann. §§ 7-2502.01-7-2506.01 bans possession, sale, transfer, manufacture, purchase or repair of handguns, and it is forbidden to sell ammunition within the District. I’m trying to find the relevant statutes, but you must have a “retail dealer” license to sell any goods in DC, and no license can be given for selling things that are banned. Continued...
First, the good news. Neil Gaiman reads this site, which is really quite a compliment, since the man is one of my favorite authors.
He’s worked in several genres, but I first came across his work when he was collaborating with Dave McKean in the classic Sandman series. The two did several books together, my favorite being the strange and moving Mr. Punch. He collaborated with Terry Pratchett in Good Omens, and he’s written several great novels, including American Gods.
William Gibson, one of the defining authors of the “cyberpunk” movement and author of the classic Neuromancer, also reads here.
I’m also referenced on this very odd site. I’m not sure what’s going on, but the idea that ninjas may be acting on an extraterrestrial level certainly gives me pause.
