Summarizing the Start of the 2014 Rhode Island General Assembly Session

As the 2014 legislative session begins, Rhode Islanders once again need remind themselves that self-government only works when the people make it work. We must find within ourselves the greatness and virtue needed to keep liberty alive, and not wait passively wait for those quantities to be delivered to us, because Roger Williams is not walking through that door. Stephen Hopkins is not walking through that door. Thomas is not walking through that Dorr.

A Christmas Auld Lang Syne

My favorite “pop” Christmas song of all time may be Bobby Darin’s Christmas Auld Lang Syne.

It starts off with the schmaltzy* imagery of “mistletoe and tinsel glow” — but just as such symbolism can and should, uses it to move to something more meaningful…

…first to how the surface stuff reminds us that it’s the time of year to return to family and friends, “back home I go to those I know”…

…and then even further, to what’s at the heart of the celebration, in the season of singing “in sweet accord to thank the Lord”.

Trust me, the actual music is better than my description of it. And as Mr. Darin himself says, Merry Christmas, everybody!

*Ian Donnis‘ word of the week.

Gerrymandering as Art

The Daily Show takes a look at gerrymandering and talks to the best at it, Kimball Brace, the same guy who drew up RI’s Congressional and State House districts.

Wouldn’t we all like to pick our titles?

Via law professor and uber-blogger Glenn Reynolds comes this gem, which is the legal response that a Tennessee defense attorney filed when the prosecutors for the State of Tennessee filed a motion seeking to bar him or his client from referring to them as “the government.” After arguing that the government’s request should not be approved on the basis of the law, the aptly named attorney, Drew Justice, writes:

Should this Court disagree, and feel inclined to let the parties basically pick their own designations and ban words, then the defense has a few additional suggestions for amending the speech code. First, the Defendant no longer wants to be called “the Defendant.” This rather archaic term of art, obviously has a fairly negative connotation. It unfairly demeans, and dehumanizes Mr. Donald Powell. The word “defendant” should be banned. At trial, Mr. Powell hereby demands be addressed only by his full name, preceded by the title “Mister.” Alternatively, he may be called simply “the Citizen Accused.” This latter title sounds more respectable than the criminal “Defendant.” The designation “That innocent man” would also be acceptable.

It’s worth reading the whole thing to see how Justice progresses from there to his conclusion, which begins: “WHEREFORE, Captain Justice, Guardian of the Realm and Leader of the Resistance, primarily asks that the Court deny the State’s motion, as lacking legal basis.”

What Jonah Goldberg Misses About Indiana Jones

Jonah Goldberg writes that his most recent email-based G-File column sparked some conversation about theology in the Indiana Jones movies. He makes a good point, but I think he misses something important about Indy’s cultural significance (and that of the superficial, modernist culture of which he’s a part):

My dad — who loved the movie — always laughed at the idea that the Nazis would be able to use the ark for their dastardly purposes. The idea that God would be like, “Darn, it’s out of my hands. I guess I have no choice but to lend you my awesome powers for your evil deeds,” is pretty ridiculous. They even returned to this idea in the third movie, when the Nazis tried to get their hands on the Holy Grail — because, you know, Jesus would totally say, “Nazis!? Rats. There’s nothing I can do. It’s life everlasting for the SS!”

In keeping with the secularization of our era, the assumption of Spielberg’s movies is that, while there may be magic and ghosts, there needn’t be a God, or even gods. Finding the end goal in every story involves a minefield of puzzles, booby traps, and tricks, and Indy overcomes them with knowledge and agility, not divine intervention or prayer.

So, when finally the Ark or Holy Grail is found, the appearance of the supernatural isn’t an affirmation of divinity, but a mysterious technology. Chanting “you betrayed Sheba” may be the magic words to make the rocks hot in Temple of Doom, but Kali (the evil god) doesn’t have the power to stop Indy from taking them from her temple in the first place.

This is why, as much as it may have crossed into the realm of overdone camp, the final movie could introduce aliens as the mystical force, rather than spirituality.

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