|
 Tuesday, June 17, 2003
Supreme Court Upholds Right to Refuse Mind-Altering Drugs
The protection of our cognitive liberty was upheld today in no small part to CCLE's Amicus Brief which argues that forced medication infringes fundamental liberty.
The United States Supreme Court upheld the right to refuse unwanted psychotropic medication in its landmark decision in Sell v. United States. Ruling in favor of a St. Louis dentist who resisted government attempts to force medicate him with antipsychotic drugs, the Court held that while involuntary medication solely for trial competence purposes may be appropriate in some instances, those instances would likely be â??rare.â?[caron]
Glen Boire, who wrote the amicus brief said, "They made a good ruling, but they missed a major opportunity to recognize that thought is, at least partly, rooted in brain chemistry and that giving the government broad powers to directly manipulate the brain chemistry of a non-violent citizen would go against our nationâ??s most cherished values."
He continued, â??Emerging neurotechnology from pharmaceuticals to brain scanners are making consciousness more accessible and manipulable than ever before,â?[caron] said Boire, â??the court had a chance to update legal thinking about cognition in a way could have been very relevant now and in the coming decades,â?[caron] said Boire. [Corante: Brain Waves]
This may be a very important verdict. The ability to protect oneself from coercive administration of neurotropic drugs should be an important right. I expect that sometime soon we will see calmative drugs used to restrain crowds. would similar reasoning apply here? Do we have a fundamental right to be protected from being doped into a stupor by the government? Time will tell. 10:09:36 PM 
|
|
Return to the Southern Cone. Return to the Southern Cone - The DC Court of Appeals has ruled 2-1 that the the government may withhold... [Unqualified Offerings]
I really hope we look back on this and see it as extremist. But after reading about what happened in Tulia, TX, we may all be one corrupt government employee for being face to face with secret detention. 9:52:35 PM
|
|
Dave Winer says his dad retired partly because of increased trouble with cheaters.
Oh, so students aren't shamed anymore? Maybe instructors should start a "cheater's log." That'd be up on Google for future employers to find. Oh, I can imagine the lawsuits, though. [The Scobleizer Weblog]
Well, public humiliation might work. But it had better be well documented or there would be lawsuits. 2:53:50 PM
|
|
|
It is always worrthwhile to listen to the words of a man who spent 35 years defending this country, who lost most of one foot yet still was able to remain in the Army, who was the highest ranking Asian-American in the military. He said months ago that wew ould be in Iraq with thousands and thousands of troops for quite some time. Wolfowirz said that was mistaken. Well, they forced out the man but we look to be in Iraq for quite some time anyway. It bodes ill for our efforts to can people who dissent, especially when they seem to be speaking the truth. 2:52:06 PM
|
|
|
According to this, as long as the URL contains the special coding, it will be accessible for free forever. This seems like a reasonable change. I may begin including NYT articles again. 2:11:07 PM
|
|
Report: Job market worst since early '90s. Three out of four employers expect to cut jobs or hold off on hiring this summer, contributing to the worst employment market since the early 1990s, according to the results of a new national survey of 16,000 employers by Manpower Inc. About two-thirds of employers said they don't expect to hire additional workers and 9 percent plan to eliminate jobs during the July-to-September quarter, according to the poll. Although 20 percent of employers plan to add jobs, competition for work is expected to be high. Six percent are uncertain about their employment plans. [Business]
I'm wondering if the big run up of the stock market is climbing a wall of fear. With unemployment level or going higher, we seem to be having a jobless recovery. It will help companies but not workers. 1:27:16 PM
|
|
|
Not much blogging the last few days. My son had soccer league placement tournaments in eastern Washington. So I was more concerned with his playing than with connecting to the internet. It is a 3.5 hour drive. We drove over to Pasco on Friday. We had to be up for an 8 am game on Saturday, with another one at 4 PM. Sunday was a little better but I am just not used to the heat anymore. I could run 6 miles in Houston's heat and humidity while growing up but I am adapted to Seattle's weather now and even 90 feels awful. I spent most of yesterday recovering. The team did well enough to continue on so we get to play next Saturday in Yakima. It is a little closer. Should be fun. 11:49:44 AM
|
|
|
|
|
