The Decline of Natural Rights

The President today will sign two executive orders, one permitting the federal funding of medical research involving the destruction of human embryos, the other seeking to unfetter science from restriction by any narrow political ideology. These two acts are intimately linked. What then is the “ideology” which has heretofore obstructed the progress of science in this area? It is precisely this: that human beings have intrinsic rights rather than just those which the State condescends to grant. That human embryos are human beings is a “scientific fact” that anyone may read in an embryology text of their choosing. Indeed it sounds rather like a tautology. However, that human beings might have rights by virtue of their very nature rather than being granted them by the State at some point in their development, is apparently mere ideology.

If human rights are not intrinsic, where might they come from, that is by whom or what are they granted? The signers of the the Declaration of Independence did not arrogate for themselves or for their respective governments such a power, but merely recognized certain rights to be God-given. Even the drafters of the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights appear by their language to recognize certain natural rights, though the distinction between these and legal rights is less clear there.

In relegating to the category of ideology the principle that natural rights place some bounds on acceptable human behavior and in particular on scientific investigation, the current administration is weakening the protection of the innocent against the whim of the powerful. Human nature being what it is, the assumed benevolence of the strong can be only a temporary check on the general descent of our civilization into savagery.

A slightly different version of this letter was printed by the Harvard Crimson on March 10, 2009.

Surprise! Obama is a Marxist.

Transcript of an interview with Obama in 2001 (via Newsbusters)

hear the audio here: http://www.youtube.com/v/iivL4c_3pck

OBAMA: You know, if you look at the victories and failures of the civil rights movement and its litigation strategy in the courts, I think where it succeeded was to get formal rights in previously dispossessed peoples... But the Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth, and more basic issues of political and economic justice in this society.

And to that extent, as radical as I think people try to characterize the Warren Court, it wasn't that radical. It didn't break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution, at least as it's been interpreted, and the Warren Court interpreted it in the same way that generally the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties. It says what the states can't do to you, says what the federal government can't do to you, but it doesn't say what the federal government or the state government must do on your behalf. And that hasn't shifted. And one of the, I think, tragedies of the civil rights movement was, because the civil rights movement became so court-focused, I think there was a tendency to lose track of the political and community organizing and activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual coalitions of power through which to bring about redistributive change. And in some ways we still suffer from that.

Fond Memories

The other day, something made me think of the Xylophone Song. Typing in "I like my Xylophone" into Google still brings up the relevant post on the now defunct blog Humbdrum Life of the Egotistical, but the link there has long fallen into disrepair. Interestingly, the same search also brings up Gina's YouTube video of a live performance of Michelle, You're Off to the Nunnery. Go here for the back-story on the song, but here once again, on the world wide web for the listening pleasure of all and sundry, the Surprise Hit of the Fall of 2005, The Xylophone Song.

A peek into the strange world of... professional baristas

Today, I stopped by 1369 Coffeehouse in Inman Square, Cambridge, and while drinking my coffee outside on a bench, a man came out of the shop and sat down near me for a smoke. A second man comes out a bit later and seeing the first asks him: "So how'd it go this weekend?"

"Not bad, but I placed 17th out of 24," answers the smoker. "Yeah, but it was kind of strange because some of the guys who placed in the top few had already won at other regionals and were there just to practice for nationals."

At this point I am wondering what sort of competition these two fellows might be interested in. They don't look like the most athletic types. "Yeah the SCAA rules are strange like that. It was a bit weird, there was no dairy allowed." (What are they talking about?!?) "And I got lost on the way there. It was in Ithaca. And then when it was my turn to go, I couldn't help but listen to the chatter between the MC and the guy that went ahead of me about how he had already won some regional."

After listening a while longer, it becomes clear to me that the two are baristas and compete in the specialty coffee mixing circuit. They talk a while about other competitions in particular the northwest regional, which is in Portland, Oregon next year. The second fellow mentions that he used to make coffee in Seattle, but that the place he worked at was owned by New Yorkers so it had a bit of an East coast vibe. (At this point I am wondering: "So does 1369 have an East- or West-coast vibe?" I can't tell!) The smoker talks about when he worked at Counter Culture, a coffeehouse in Durham, North Carolina. Then they talk about the opportunities working at "start-up" coffeshops in New York City, where one barista was offered a $50,000 signing bonus. Then they talk about the new coffeeshop in Harvard Square: Cafe Crema. They talk about the their top of the line equipment ("Yeah man, just one flip of the switch to make a shot") but conclude that the baristas there have no idea what they are doing, because "that guy George trained them."

Weird. Apparently there is a tightly-knit nationwide network of professional baristas. Who knew?

Update from the campaign...

Pro-Life Activist Norma McCorvey

(‘Jane Roe’ of Roe v. Wade)

Endorses Ron Paul for President

press release

The Tea Party

So the annual reenactment of the Boston Tea Party is this Sunday. I suppose it always seemed to me a sort of footnote in the history book, and a bit barbaric, but anyhow. The Ron Paul supporters here in Boston are trying to make it into a bit event for the campaign, complete with blimp. I think I will have to go!

Google Maps Pedometer

I've starting running for exercise in the past month, because as J. says: that's what everyone in Boston seems to do. Not too often, but at least once a week. The gmaps pedometer has really helped me get motivated, because now I can see afterwards how far I ran as it's rather difficult for me to judge otherwise.

On Saturday I ran from my apartment to Haymarket in Boston- which is the city's vegetable market- did my shopping and then took the T back home. That was four and a half miles. Today I ran up the Charles to see the course the rowers in this weekend's Head of the Charles regatta will take. That was 4.8 miles.

Wish me luck- let's see how far into the winter I can keep it up!