TMI

If your response is “helping, of course!”, I have to ask: Are you sure? I was, but it turns out I was wrong. And evidence suggests I’m not alone.

Recently I spent some time in a much sunnier clime, and noticed a very curious, and entirely unexpected, benefit. Somewhat serendipitously, I think I’ve found an explanation for what happened.

I ask the question with solemn seriousness. No, I haven’t been smoking or otherwise ingesting anything to make my brain go wonky. I have actually been thinking about the issue—from a very different context—for some time now, and trying to find a way to gather my thoughts for presentation here. I’ve not yet accomplished that, but a news article I just read crystallized the above question out of my mind.

What a fitting set of ideas to contemplate now—well, for those who are attached to the Gregorian calendar, anyway. Be warned: this isn’t a typical “bucket list” or similar set of externally–driven “achievements”—the short essay Joshua Zader posted may have most individuals squirming uncomfortably a few times. But it brims with the stuff that is most important in living a conscious life.

Bill St. Clair very kindly emailed me this morning, bringing my attention to an addition to one of his web sites that he thought I would particularly appreciate. Even though we’ve not yet met in person, he knows me well.

I know today is the obligatory day here in the USSA for giving thanks; and while I am commemorating it in offering mine, I want it to be clear that my gratitude runs deeper and wider than simple holiday offerings.

I expect that many freedom-loving individuals would answer that question in the negative; but some would aver otherwise, pointing to the power of a jury as a (perhaps “the”) remaining check on the state’s dominance. I’ve pondered that issue for some time—wanting to be convinced by the arguments, truth be told, but never making it that far. The primary obstacle is the vanishingly small role juries directly play in most people’s lives. How many adults are tapped for jury duty? Out of those who go, how many actually serve? How many times does an average person sit on a jury? I have no numbers to pin to those questions, but it should be clear that I am skeptical that an activity that at best probably commands only a few hours of a person’s life is going to be seen as enormously important to him.

Another assertion that would likely be offered is that juries can make or break laws—and that does affect many people, as we all live under the burden of the laws of our jurisdiction. But again, I have problems ... Jury nullification depends upon at least one informed, courageous person; and the voir dire process actively seeks to eliminate such individuals from juries. That person must also keep his intentions secret until deliberations, else a mistrial could be called. Even that doesn’t guarantee that a mistrial won’t happen.

But—and here’s the heart of the matter—all the jury power in the world won’t make a bit of difference if the judge plays fast and loose with his power in the courtroom. A judge has a variety of means by which he can skew a trial, including what he allows as evidence, lines of questioning the lawyers are allowed to pursue, and the instructions he gives to the jury before they retire for deliberation.

Some judges have apparently become so brazen that they will not allow the jury access to the actual law(s) under consideration in a case. Pete Hendrickson says that’s what happened to him in his recently-concluded trial with the IRS.

Well, not really; but since I’m mangling song titles, I’ll continue in that vein. Although we are several miles closer to the coast than we were, it is certainly not the case that “from here you can almost see the sea”. At least two ridgelines separate us from the ocean. We are, however, on the shore of a lake nestled between mountains.

Hello!

Helloooooooo?



Anybody else here?

Just thought I'd jump in and say I'm traveling for a few days and can't always get on line. I'll be writing about my experiences soon, just be warned. [grin]

I don’t intend to be one of them, but I will likely not be slithering around here as frequently as I’d like for a while.

My friend Peter and I have discussed the speculation surrounding what may lie ahead for this country, and those who live here, a fair bit. Being a much better multi–tasker than I, he has offered a stimulating perspective in a new essay, American Winter. It’s fairly long, full of cogent observations and asides, and I barely finished skimming it before starting to tell you nine about it—so I don’t have any deep thoughts of my own to offer at present.

It’s been too long since I’ve contributed anything here—primarily because I wanted the long-awaited book review to be next (and it’s still incubating), and partly because I’ve been very busy and a little reluctant to share part of that here. But I’ll explain—a little bit—once we’re in the gazebo.

And set my fevered mind to wandering ...

I’ve been thinking a lot about these concepts, especially since I have adopted a modified yin–yang symbol as my avatar on a couple of fora. In particular, I’ve mused over how to classify ideas and things in my life into this duality; it’s been an interesting exercise. It is by no means complete, but I offer a few of my observations for your amusement/consideration, and welcome any interested individuals to play along, either in the comments here or on one’s own blog. In the latter case, please drop a link here so we can find your thoughts.