Several new books make it clear that the Supreme Court’s notorious Bush vs. Gore ruling “wasn’t as bad as it seemed at the time. It was worse.” In order of increasing bombastics:

Sunstein and Epstein’s The Vote, a collection of essays by legal scholars from the left and right, demonstrates “how weak, cramped and unconvincing the arguments made by the majority’s defenders are. Not a single writer

finds himself able to defend the ruling in its entirety, and some of the concessions they make are huge.”

Alan Dershowitz’s Supreme Injustice argues that the Court violated the judicial oath of impartiality. Heads should roll.

And “Vincent Bugliosi’s The Betrayal of America is prime porterhouse. Bugliosi asserts

that the majority justices are common criminals.” Salon

Intern Opportunities: “Whether interning in Modesto, Merced, or Washington D.C., working in one of Rep. Condit’s offices can be an extremely rewarding

experience.”

‘Life imitating art’ dep’t.: ‘Sopranos’ actor arrested on robbery charge. CNN

A new kind of drive-by shooting:

It is hard to reconcile traffic camera tickets with a free society. There is no due process and

no right to confront your accuser. Imaginative police chiefs are already coming up with new

uses for the technology. Tampa, Florida’s Ybor entertainment district has 36 mounted

cameras that can capture images of up to eight people at a time and compare them with a

computer database filled with the facial features of people wanted on active warrants.

What’s next? Cameras to catch those smoking, using cell phones or not wearing seat belts?

We’re all for traffic enforcement, but there is a danger that this technology could ultimately

be used to monitor the comings and goings of citizens. Wall Street Journal opinion

Notion of nice heads for new extremes: “A raft of civility laws, hyper-tactful public officials, and “behave yourself!” warnings to Seattle

Mariners fans are among the signs that leave some residents wondering if Seattle is evolving into

America’s Singapore, where gum chewing can bring a $6,000 fine, and everyone is always nice – or

does hard time.” Christian Science Monitor

Sleepwalk theory on man found hanged; “…might have hanged himself while

dreaming about a death scene from the film

Schindler’s List, an inquest was told yesterday.

Michael Cox, 37, had been a sleepwalker since

childhood and often dreamed about films he had just

watched, the hearing was told. He was found dead

at home a few days after telling a friend he would

watch the holocaust movie, which has a hanging

scene at its climax.” Telegraph UK

Sweet Nothings Are Better Heard in the Left Ear: “Lovers take heed. If you are going to whisper sweet nothings to your sweetheart, make sure it is through the left ear. …Study (shows) that emotional words got through to people better when spoken through the

left ear, not the right.”

“She doesn’t fear anything. Rabid dogs sit next to her and calm down.” Indian Guru Seeks to Love the World Personally:

“From dawn to late at night people stream toward her.

One-by-one they place their heads on her breast or belly or shoulder for a hug. She pats them on

the back, chucks their chins, listens to their woes, smoothes their hair, smiles broadly and whispers

heartfelt blessings into their ears, sometimes drying their tears.

Rapidly growing in popularity and a sought-after guest, Amma, 46, goes where she is summoned

and does not publicize her visits. She stays where people offer lodging, asks for nothing, eats little

and spends up to 18 hours a day — rarely moving from her seat — hugging, praying for, and

blessing anybody and everybody who comes to her.” Reuters [via Robot Wisdom]

Thanks to higgy, who points to Lew Welch’s Ring of Bone:

I saw myself

a ring of bone

in the clear stream

of all of it

and vowed

always to be open to it

that all of it

might flow through

and then heard

“ring of bone” where

ring is what a

bell does

Echelon Furor Ends in a Whimper: “In the end, a year of hard work boils down to this: Echelon exists and the

Europeans don’t like it, but there isn’t much they can do except wring their hands in impotent fury as the

Americans continue spying on whomever they please.” Wired [via Progressive Review] And here’s a Wired news collection, Privacy Matters.

A Saucer From Mars? Nope, Canada. A new book details a secret ’50’s U.S.-Canadian project to develop a flying saucer. Bill Zuk, the Winnipeg-based historian who wrote Avrocar: Canada’s Flying Saucer, wants the two surviving prototypes repartiated back to Canada from American museums. Wired

Annals of the Invasion of Privacy (cont’d.): Nowhere left to hide. “Whether you’re in jail or at the supermarket, your image

might be shown on the Net, and there’s not a thing you can do about it.” Salon