Dailies

As a kid, I spent a lot of years in constant motion between my divorced parents' houses. I was never particularly good at keeping track of belongings — maybe because I had twice as many places any single object could be? — and for whatever reason, a recurring bad-dream theme was losing small, personal things. A watch. My contact lenses. A bracelet. None of them particularly important or irreplaceable, but knowing that it was something I'd handled just days earlier and now couldn't find bothered the crap out of me.

Still does.

When I go on big cleaning rampages, I frequently re-organize things and in so doing, mess up my mental picture of where things are. For the last week, I haven't been able to put my hands on my ProTools install CD. Haven't really needed it, but couldn't find it. Knew that I'd handled it recently. Knew that it and the serial number on the back of it was worth money. Knew it was very likely within six feet of my desk, but I Just. Couldn't. Find. It.

Just found it. Whew.

Now if I could just find my damn bluetooth earpiece.

Two weeks away: one week in San Francisco, one in Hawai'i. Left New York City during a horrendous heat wave, which made the whole trip feel like we were pleasurably on the lam. In every respect I can think of, the trip was a phenomenal success, although sprinting back from Hawai'i (GMT -11:00) to San Francisco (GMT -8:00) to New York (GMT -5:00) in 36 hours meant we lay awake in our bed last night, staring at the ceiling. This morning, thanks to jetlag, we awoke with our heads on backwards and inside out. We should have staggered our return a little bit more, methinks.

A more detailed writeup to come.

Justices: Gitmo detainees can challenge detention in U.S. courts - CNN.com

This is what we call an unalloyed piece of good, if LONG !@#$ OVERDUE, news. The Supreme Court has affirmed that those pesky rights and protections in the Constitution that some of us still think might be sorta, maybe, kinda important to apply equally to everyone, well, they even apply to people our government alleges have committed heinous crimes.

<Samuel L. Jackson>
THE U.S. CONSTITUTION, MOTHERF-CKERS — DID YOU READ IT?
</Samuel L. Jackson>

This is going to put a spring in my step all day. Sad comment that simply reaffirming rights that are unambiguously spelled out in our country's founding documents can cheer me up like this, but there you go.

Also, as of this writing, CNN.com's link for this story off their front page says "Gitmo detainees win round at Supreme Court." I'm pretty sure that when you win a decision at the "Supreme" Court, that's not just winning a "round."

After all, what's the government going to do? Come up with some other flimsy legal pretext to keep a bunch of detainees acquired under dubious circumstances from having private conversations with their lawyers, having the same access to evidence as their prosecution, or having any chance of seeing as fair and impartial a trial as America can provide before the next administration comes in to deal with the legal mess left behind by this one?

… Naaaaah.

But I'll relish this small reminder that we might just live in a nation of laws after all.

Suspected terrorists and foreign fighters held by the U.S. military at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have the right to challenge their detention in federal court, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

The decision marked another legal blow to the Bush administrations war on terrorism policies.

In a 5-4 ruling, the justices said the U.S. military lacks the legal autonomy to prosecute as many as 300 prisoners.

At issue were the rights of the detainees to contest their imprisonment as well as the rules established to try them in military tribunals.

A congressional law passed in 2006 would limit court jurisdiction to hear such challenges.

It is a legal question the justices have tackled three times since 2004, including Thursdays ruling.

Each time the high court ruled against the governments claim that it has the authority to hold people it labels "enemy combatants."

Favrd. Trickle-down egonomics for the twitter attention sp…

Neat service pulling intriguing Tweets by how many times they've been marked as someone's favorite — something like Flickr's "interestingness" algorithm. I went to check out the page (at the above link) and noted this little gem, from Twitter user hotdogsladiesкомпютри:

Clinton fans tell us they'll protest by supporting McCain. Many also vow to protest gas prices by shitting in their cars. Back to you, Tom.

1. A Masters of Science degree in Journalism, granted me by Columbia University
2. A hangover.

I would not have the degree without Kate, who every day makes new adventures — big and small — possible in ways I never imagined. And Jason Haas, who first put the notion in my head that graduate school was perhaps the way out of the stasis I was in; and Aira, who first put the notion in my head that journalism done well might be something I could attain; and my grandma Marzi, who made it financially possible; and the Upper Valley crew who supported us in living and packing and moving… The Academy, parents, little people, &c.

I could go on, but I need to go find some water and a stiff cup of tea, now. After a week of getting up at 0430, staying up until 0300 dancing and drinking has left me feeling like my head's on backwards and inside out.