Cheesesteaks and the Lack of a National Language

A good friend of mine sent my this link earlier today:

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/speak-english-signs-ok-at-philly-shop/20080320083809990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001
In short, a famous cheesesteak shop in Philadelphia put up signs saying that customers must order in English. The court ruling on the issue concluded that such a rule was legal.

This is not too surprising, given that Geno’s is a private business, they have the right to limit the customers that they serve, with certain exceptions (race, religion, etc.).

Requiring English is not going to violate discrimination laws in most cases because 1) anyone can learn English, and 2) there are many cultures that don’t speak English, so it is not discriminating against a single, clear minority.

However, it should be recognized that the US does not have a national language, and for a reason – unlike the European nations that our culture and government descended from, we have the freedom to choose our own language. If a group wants to speak Polish, and only talk to other people who speak Polish, and only serve customers who order in Polish, they can do so.

Of course, given the pervasiveness of English as the world language of trade and business, I think it’s a bad idea to *not* learn English. It’s also poor manners to move to another country and not attempt to learn the local culture and adhere to their rules while you are living there.

But law and morals only overlap so far – there should not be a law requiring English, just like there should not be a law require that you happily accept a business owner who refuses to take orders in the language that you happen to speak. In a free society, these are cultural and social issues – they shouldn’t have to become legal ones.

Obama Drops Politics for Fairness

The story - John McCain was not born in the US, and can't be president.

Maybe. Depending on who you ask, the Panama Canal Zone was not US territory when John McCain was born there. He is therefore, by the words of the Constitution, not a natively born citizen, and cannot be president.

In the wake of the announcement, all of his opponents called for him to step down, and allow Mike Huckabee to fill his role as the leading Republican candidate.

Oh, wait, that didn't happen? Instead of being petty, and using a loophole to dismantle his major rival, Obama is currently co-sponsoring a bill to ensure that McCain's debatable status as Presidential candidate is clarified? That he is playing politics on the basis of merits and honor?

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/02/29/obama_backs_law_to_ensure_mcca.html

The McCain Delta

When matched up against McCain, both Obama and Clinton would win at this time. However, Clinton would hold a small margin, which Obama would win by a solid amount.


http://politicalinquirer.com/2008/03/07/clinton-vs-mccain-obama-vs-mccain/

This is Just Cool

The Briggs-Rauscher reaction is known as an oscillating chemical reaction. According to Wikipedia: “the freshly prepared colorless solution slowly turns an amber color, suddenly changing to a very dark blue. This slowly fades to colorless and the process repeats, about ten times in the most popular formulation, before ending as a dark blue liquid smelling strongly of iodine.” The reason this occurs is that the first reaction causes certain chemicals to be released in to the liquid, which then, in turn, spark a second reaction, and the process repeats itself until exhausted.
http://listverse.com/science/top-10-amazing-chemical-reactions/

Imbalance of Powers

US Attorney General Mike Mukasey has, not surprisingly, refused to enforce two congressional subpoenas, or the contempt citations that followed (due to the failure by two Bush administration member's to comply).

The problem here is this: you may have done nothing wrong, but you still have to show up for court. You can plead the 5^th or shout "Executive Privilege" all you want once you are there, but you’re not allowed to simply refuse to show up. To claim that executive privilege means the President or his staff don't need to even bother to appear before the congress is to suggest that the legislative branch has no power over the executive.

The obvious logic problem there is that Mukasey is refusing to investigate whether a crime occurred, and refusing to help the congress investigate whether a crime occurred, because Bush told him that everything that happened was lawful. Using an only slightly modified Nixonian logic, Mukasey is claiming: “If the President does it in order to fulfill his obligation to protect the nation, then it’s legal.” Bush has often publicly confused his oath of office in this way numerous times now - forgetting that his oath is to uphold the constitution.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/01/us/01contempt.html?_r=2&sq=attorney%20general&st=nyt&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&scp=7&adxnnlx=1204518210-qAPkoVmjWyMnlVuTb5Gvpg&oref=slogin

re-posted for those who don't have NYTimes accounts. Sorry for the copyright violation, full attribution provided:

No Investigation of 2 Bush Aides

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: March 1, 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey on Friday rejected referring the House’s contempt citations against President Bush’s chief of staff and former counsel to a federal grand jury. Mr. Mukasey said they had committed no crime.

Mr. Mukasey said the chief of staff, Joshua B. Bolten, and the former counsel, Harriet E. Miers, were right in refusing to provide Congress with White House documents or to testify about the firings of federal prosecutors.

“The department will not bring the Congressional contempt citations before a grand jury or take any other action to prosecute Mr. Bolten or Ms. Miers,” Mr. Mukasey wrote to the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi.

The House voted two weeks ago to cite Mr. Bolten and Ms. Miers for contempt and to seek a grand jury investigation.

Ms. Pelosi requested the grand jury investigation on Thursday. She said the House would file a civil suit seeking enforcement of the contempt citations if federal prosecutors declined to seek misdemeanor charges against Mr. Bolten and Ms. Miers.