March 2, 2010 – LonelyMachines

McDonald v Chicago: Oral Arguments

Long story short, with the exception of Breyer, there appears to be no significant opposition to incorporation through Due Process. With the exception of Ginsburg, the Court showed no interest in revisiting the Privileges or Immunities clause.

So, it’s a win, but only for the 2nd Amendment. Although Slaughterhouse and Cruikshank stand for the time being, incorporation here will whittle away at them, as it did in Gitlow and Benton.

The transcript [pdf] is up here. Josh Blackman was there, and has his commentary here.

I was saddened to see how quickly Scalia and Roberts dismissed the idea of overturning Slaughterhouse. I’d worried that Scalia would be opposed to revisiting Privileges or Immunities, and I was sadly proven right.

Regarding selective incorporation, a doctrine he’s been wary of in the past, Scalia said, “As much as I think it’s wrong, even I have acquiesced in it.”

Breyer’s “imaginary importance of ordered liberty chart” is truly a surreal idea.

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Music

Autechre: Oversteps

1 comment

As usual, I never know what to expect from a new Autechre record. The fact that the Designers Republic was back on board for artwork should have been something of a clue.

This is certainly the most consistent and approachable that they’ve been in years. The record is restrained and focused, and there’s a real emphasis on melody. They’ve jettisoned the hyper-abstraction and claustrophobic mixing of Untilted, and the disjointed chaos of Quaristice has been reined in. What’s left is an album that doesn’t convey the need to prove anything.

It’s all the more satisfying for that.

This is a patient record with a unified character. There’s a sense of space and breathing room that’s quite welcome. The atmosphere is reminiscent of Envane’s quieter moments and several tracks lack percussion entirely.

Before everyone starts screaming, “OMG ambient record! They remade Amber FTW,” bear in mind that this is a more mature animal.

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