If I could be anyplace in the world right now, I'd choose to be in a gigantic armchair, by a crackling fire, in a cold room, in an over-sized sweater, with a good book in my right hand, and my left nestled under my pillow-rested skull. I yearn for a feeling of ease, and yet my head is like a ship trudging on the waves of an uneasy heart. While in the womb, we live off and in the liquid of mothers'. Now out, I feel as though I'm drowing in air. I need solace and I need... I need to feel as though I don't need anything. I want to carefree. I want to live free.
I want to be like the air I drown in. I want to meander like the wind--into open doors and vacant sidewalks, into open books for vacant heads, into open arms for vacant hearts. I don't hate what I've been, and I doubt that I ever had. I bask in the knowledge that all I am and I know is a culmination of what I've been, what I've learned, and who I've met, loved, and hurt. I am the result of what the world has done, what I have done, what the world has not done, and what I have not done. But, in the words of great men, I know little. In fact, I know nothing.
What I can do is love blindly and feel wildly. Yes, we shouldn't base our state of emotions on the feedback of people around us. However, it is because we have people around us that we are able to form societies...able to form great states to form great nations. Discussing Rousseau doesn't always get the most engaged interests, but it does relate. The titles "states", "coutries" and "nations" are intangible to tongues and ears. We can't put our ears up against the belly of a state and hear the low grumble of its hunger. We can't run our fingertips on the skin of a country and feel the warmth of its mass and ruling body. We can't bite a nation and taste the flavors of its people as we do with sauteed beef and mushroom fried rice. These abstract entities supersede our most basic human senses, and if they be sensed, it is only possible abstractly. But...the social contract that forms "nations" and "countries" and "states" is formed on the principle that men are humans and must attain to the most human wants and desires, and in order to do so we must establish such entities for the protection of their attainment. The social contract is a big dream based on little facts; but such dreams are as real as the human instincts that bear them. What other big dreams do we bear that come from little facts?
All great men are or were human. All great men need and needed to eat, drink, and be merry. "Mazlow's Heiarchy of Wants" was written by a great man who was human nonetheless. It is this bond--the human bond--that causes me to fall in love with society and convinces me that I so want to fall in love. This bond, like the ionic and covalent that form the most basic atomic units of our beings, convinces me that all men should love and that there is an unfairness in the fact that not all men get to fall in love. I yearn to live big dreams to add to the general welfare of the big big society we live in...but, just as much, yearn to do so for the benefit of a small family, of a two-person romance, that I would haphazardly unravel on some unprecedented day. Great things come from small people, you could say? ;) I mean that abstractly.
The emergence of great things arise out of the big dreams of small ones in billion-people populations. The small summary is that...at the end of my life, I want to have people to whom I can say "I love you", people to take care of and to be taken care of. Also, I want to not care about how it happens, when, where, or why.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
C-Day D-Day
It's 12:42 AM this manic Monday morning. I'm up reading cases for this Wednesday's Covenant Day debate. On this here dining room table, I've sprawled across the cluttered mesa an array of "[defendant name here] versus [prosecutor name here]"s's's's; and no that is not grammatically correct, and yes that is ironic given the grammatically correct nature of legal jargon and the time I've spent sitting on this hard chair reading page after page of the grammatically correct black print. Can you imagine what it would be like if case summaries had pictures in them?
*bubbleplopbubblelightbulbplopding!*
TEXT: Justice Blackmun gave an opinion...
PICTURE: Blackmun, wearing Greco-Roman toga, holding the trident of Poseidon.
*bubbleplopbubblelightbulbplopding!*
Text: District Judge Mathers dissented...
PICTURE: Mathers illustrated as putrid rat being dipped into ocean as his tail dangles from the gargantuan fingertips of the ever-so-ever-more gargantuan Justice Blackmun who smiles free-spiritedly 'like a fat kid loves cake'.
*bubbleplopbubblelightbulbplopding!ding!*
Ok. I'm being nonsensical. But, you know what else is? What else is nonsensical?? Do you know?! Can you possibly know?!?
Well... Ok, scrub that. Erase it. White-out it out.
The formalities of legal jargon annoy me because I'd rather have cases be straight to the point. I don't know about other people, but I have to dissect the language to get what the thing is saying. THE THING. It's so incomprehensible to me that I label THE THING after a 70's/80's corny horror flick. THE THING. Bwah!
I think it's just because I'm new to the diction and funky syntax. Give it a while and it'll sink in.
Anyway...moving on to other stuff.
Here's another thought I want to share:
WHAT IN THE MILKY WAY DOES IT MEAN TO BE A COMMONWEALTH?
When I was a wee todd-todd, I was told that I live in the "Commonwealth" of the Northern Mariana Islands. I was told that we aren't a state. We aren't a US territory (as some have said, others beg to differ). We are a "commonwealth".
According to Wikipedia (lol, I wanted fast, succinct info), the world "commonwealth" holds its etymology in the English "Common Wealth" or "Common Weal". Older historical derivations say that the "commonwealth" was a reference to "welfare", or 'common' welfare. I say that this shares the same concept of the "common good"--the good of the entire society, or "general welfare". So...how did that transmute into a TYPE of society? Hai...
The Covenant said that we are a in "polical union" with the United States; it established that we are a 'commonwealth'. But what does that mean?
Well... I read that, during the 18th century and during the tenure of the Articles of the Confederation, some American colonies referred to themselves as colonies. According to the "Letric Law Library", a commonwealth is defined as:
"A commonwealth is properly a free state or republic, having a popular or representative government. The term has been applied to the government of Great Britain. It is not applicable to absolute governments. The states composing the United States are, properly, so many commonwealths."
Through my interpretation of a "free state or republic", I say that this was a reference to the relative sovereignty of each colony. Some commonwealths are very much like coalitions--they lightly tie inherently independent sovereign nations to one flag. If this be true, then the Articles of Confed. was the document that established the "commonwealth" of the American Colonies.
How does this apply to the "C"-NMI?
Take this idea of inherent independence and sovereignty. In my standpoint (you can't take this to be fact, only opinion), since the CNMI was unlawfully claimed by Japan (opinion), the United States upon defeating Japan and overtaking the Marianas decided it best not to claim illegit property (opinion). In that respect, we, as NMI inhabitants, had inherent sovereignty over ourselves and the government we desired. Thus, the United States had to give us the option of choosing our political stance: TTPI, Independent, Commonwealth, US territory... Now, as we all now, we chose to be a commonwealth and through the weight of the CNMI Covenant maintained jurisdiction over labor and immigration.
This is what gets me:
If, through our Covenant, the CNMI has sole jurisdiction over labor and immigration, does that imply that all other US National laws apply? I.e. the US Constitution?
Ok. We know that every state has its own constitution. We also know that through Article IV of the US Constitution, states are guaranteed jurisdiction over all laws not mentioned in the Constitution; meaning they could decide on voting, abortion, capital punishment, etc. Article 1 of the CNMI Constitution, entitled 'Personal Rights', resembles the US Bill of Rights (Amendment 1). Ours explicitly mentions abortion, health environments, privacy, and capital punishment--unlike the US Constitution. If there are state constitutions that resemble our's (Art. I) then I'll drop this matter. But if there aren't...does that imply that we have more jurisdiction over our laws than do states? (Or...have we been making unnecessary inclusions to our Constitution?)
Perhaps I'm losing my head.
Ok, to make sense of what I just said. In Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruled that prohibition of abortion abridges a woman's (implied) right to privacy. In the Marianas, we explicitly say a woman can't have an abortion (except in certain legal...forgot the word...in short, it's prohibited but there may be cases where it could be allowed; Article 1 Section 9 I think). Does the CNMI's legal enumeration on Roe v. Wade imply wider jurisdiction over our laws, and thus greater sovereignty over ourselves? Keep in mind, I'm working on what I know. I've still much to learn.
I've got so many questions to ask. In truth, the most basic questions are the most difficult. I'll save them for later.
Here's a recent question, though: What is difference between having a law be 'statutory' or in the constitution?
According to a summary on a recent CNMI case (where the defendant motioned to have non-citizens included in his jury array), it was stated that, in the CNMI, "the right to a trial by jury in the CNMI is statutory, not constitutional".
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
I know that Article 1 of the CNMI Const. says that trial by jury is made available in criminal and civil cases, but it also says something about the legislature being involved. I can't cite it at the moment; it's fallen out of my memory, but I do have some questions on that. Does that violate the concept on the separation of powers? Does the concept of separating powers apply to a "commonwealth" (the same way it applies to states)? Isn't the US Constitution supposed to be the "Supreme Law of the Land"--meaning it has to, HAS TO apply to us in the CNMI? Doesn't it?
Hai adai.... that's not even half of what I want to know. That doesn't even hit the Covenant Day debate topic yet!
RESOLVE: WHETHER JURORS IN ALL JURY TRIALS IN THE CNMI SHOULD BE COMPRISED OF ALL CNMI RESIDENTS INCLUDING NON-US CITIZENS.
Today, Laura, Donghee, and I got together to pool our research. The debate is in three days, and honestly, it seems as though we're all in the beginning process of formulating our arguments. I know I am. I just started reading the cases they gave us today. O_O Or..yesterday, it's already 1 AM lol. Like Lincoln-Douglas debates, we have to research both sides, except unlike Lincoln-Douglas, you only argue for one side and only argue once on the day. I really want to understand this topic. I'm starting at the basics, because that's what I need right now (in order to understand it as much as I want to). The beauty and tragedy of these debates is that the topic is greater than the win or lose, greater than the debate itself. I guess that's why I'm so glad over the debators agreeing to pool research. We'd rather not have a debate won based on the opponent missing information. We'd rather have it won based on logic. Anyway... Ugh. I need to finish reading these. It's such a..."tense" issue.
What makes me..."unbiased" I guess you could say is that my mom is a non-US citizen (green card holder) and my dad is. All of the debators, actually, have origins not from here but are all born here. I feel like we are arguing for the generations before us. I'd prefer not to get personal.
Well... Here's to a Happy Easter! :) A great Spring Break! (Much deserved by all) And... Having the means to every end be as successful as the end. lol. Nonsensical.
Morning, Folks. ;)
*bubbleplopbubblelightbulbplopding!*
TEXT: Justice Blackmun gave an opinion...
PICTURE: Blackmun, wearing Greco-Roman toga, holding the trident of Poseidon.
*bubbleplopbubblelightbulbplopding!*
Text: District Judge Mathers dissented...
PICTURE: Mathers illustrated as putrid rat being dipped into ocean as his tail dangles from the gargantuan fingertips of the ever-so-ever-more gargantuan Justice Blackmun who smiles free-spiritedly 'like a fat kid loves cake'.
*bubbleplopbubblelightbulbplopding!ding!*
Ok. I'm being nonsensical. But, you know what else is? What else is nonsensical?? Do you know?! Can you possibly know?!?
Well... Ok, scrub that. Erase it. White-out it out.
The formalities of legal jargon annoy me because I'd rather have cases be straight to the point. I don't know about other people, but I have to dissect the language to get what the thing is saying. THE THING. It's so incomprehensible to me that I label THE THING after a 70's/80's corny horror flick. THE THING. Bwah!
I think it's just because I'm new to the diction and funky syntax. Give it a while and it'll sink in.
Anyway...moving on to other stuff.
Here's another thought I want to share:
WHAT IN THE MILKY WAY DOES IT MEAN TO BE A COMMONWEALTH?
When I was a wee todd-todd, I was told that I live in the "Commonwealth" of the Northern Mariana Islands. I was told that we aren't a state. We aren't a US territory (as some have said, others beg to differ). We are a "commonwealth".
According to Wikipedia (lol, I wanted fast, succinct info), the world "commonwealth" holds its etymology in the English "Common Wealth" or "Common Weal". Older historical derivations say that the "commonwealth" was a reference to "welfare", or 'common' welfare. I say that this shares the same concept of the "common good"--the good of the entire society, or "general welfare". So...how did that transmute into a TYPE of society? Hai...
The Covenant said that we are a in "polical union" with the United States; it established that we are a 'commonwealth'. But what does that mean?
Well... I read that, during the 18th century and during the tenure of the Articles of the Confederation, some American colonies referred to themselves as colonies. According to the "Letric Law Library", a commonwealth is defined as:
"A commonwealth is properly a free state or republic, having a popular or representative government. The term has been applied to the government of Great Britain. It is not applicable to absolute governments. The states composing the United States are, properly, so many commonwealths."
Through my interpretation of a "free state or republic", I say that this was a reference to the relative sovereignty of each colony. Some commonwealths are very much like coalitions--they lightly tie inherently independent sovereign nations to one flag. If this be true, then the Articles of Confed. was the document that established the "commonwealth" of the American Colonies.
How does this apply to the "C"-NMI?
Take this idea of inherent independence and sovereignty. In my standpoint (you can't take this to be fact, only opinion), since the CNMI was unlawfully claimed by Japan (opinion), the United States upon defeating Japan and overtaking the Marianas decided it best not to claim illegit property (opinion). In that respect, we, as NMI inhabitants, had inherent sovereignty over ourselves and the government we desired. Thus, the United States had to give us the option of choosing our political stance: TTPI, Independent, Commonwealth, US territory... Now, as we all now, we chose to be a commonwealth and through the weight of the CNMI Covenant maintained jurisdiction over labor and immigration.
This is what gets me:
If, through our Covenant, the CNMI has sole jurisdiction over labor and immigration, does that imply that all other US National laws apply? I.e. the US Constitution?
Ok. We know that every state has its own constitution. We also know that through Article IV of the US Constitution, states are guaranteed jurisdiction over all laws not mentioned in the Constitution; meaning they could decide on voting, abortion, capital punishment, etc. Article 1 of the CNMI Constitution, entitled 'Personal Rights', resembles the US Bill of Rights (Amendment 1). Ours explicitly mentions abortion, health environments, privacy, and capital punishment--unlike the US Constitution. If there are state constitutions that resemble our's (Art. I) then I'll drop this matter. But if there aren't...does that imply that we have more jurisdiction over our laws than do states? (Or...have we been making unnecessary inclusions to our Constitution?)
Perhaps I'm losing my head.
Ok, to make sense of what I just said. In Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruled that prohibition of abortion abridges a woman's (implied) right to privacy. In the Marianas, we explicitly say a woman can't have an abortion (except in certain legal...forgot the word...in short, it's prohibited but there may be cases where it could be allowed; Article 1 Section 9 I think). Does the CNMI's legal enumeration on Roe v. Wade imply wider jurisdiction over our laws, and thus greater sovereignty over ourselves? Keep in mind, I'm working on what I know. I've still much to learn.
I've got so many questions to ask. In truth, the most basic questions are the most difficult. I'll save them for later.
Here's a recent question, though: What is difference between having a law be 'statutory' or in the constitution?
According to a summary on a recent CNMI case (where the defendant motioned to have non-citizens included in his jury array), it was stated that, in the CNMI, "the right to a trial by jury in the CNMI is statutory, not constitutional".
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
I know that Article 1 of the CNMI Const. says that trial by jury is made available in criminal and civil cases, but it also says something about the legislature being involved. I can't cite it at the moment; it's fallen out of my memory, but I do have some questions on that. Does that violate the concept on the separation of powers? Does the concept of separating powers apply to a "commonwealth" (the same way it applies to states)? Isn't the US Constitution supposed to be the "Supreme Law of the Land"--meaning it has to, HAS TO apply to us in the CNMI? Doesn't it?
Hai adai.... that's not even half of what I want to know. That doesn't even hit the Covenant Day debate topic yet!
RESOLVE: WHETHER JURORS IN ALL JURY TRIALS IN THE CNMI SHOULD BE COMPRISED OF ALL CNMI RESIDENTS INCLUDING NON-US CITIZENS.
Today, Laura, Donghee, and I got together to pool our research. The debate is in three days, and honestly, it seems as though we're all in the beginning process of formulating our arguments. I know I am. I just started reading the cases they gave us today. O_O Or..yesterday, it's already 1 AM lol. Like Lincoln-Douglas debates, we have to research both sides, except unlike Lincoln-Douglas, you only argue for one side and only argue once on the day. I really want to understand this topic. I'm starting at the basics, because that's what I need right now (in order to understand it as much as I want to). The beauty and tragedy of these debates is that the topic is greater than the win or lose, greater than the debate itself. I guess that's why I'm so glad over the debators agreeing to pool research. We'd rather not have a debate won based on the opponent missing information. We'd rather have it won based on logic. Anyway... Ugh. I need to finish reading these. It's such a..."tense" issue.
What makes me..."unbiased" I guess you could say is that my mom is a non-US citizen (green card holder) and my dad is. All of the debators, actually, have origins not from here but are all born here. I feel like we are arguing for the generations before us. I'd prefer not to get personal.
Well... Here's to a Happy Easter! :) A great Spring Break! (Much deserved by all) And... Having the means to every end be as successful as the end. lol. Nonsensical.
Morning, Folks. ;)
Thursday, March 6, 2008
?Ross Perot, Ron Perot, Ron Paul, Ron Perot?
Does anyone else find any strange similarities between those two?
Update?
Ok. I'm typing this out in WordPad because my Internet Explorer window just froze. I had around 10 tabs open, hehe. How lond do you thing 1031 words can run for? Over 10 minutes, you think? It's 12:30 in the morning and I'm suddenly in the mood to write an update, which I do admit to having purposely delayed for the past...oh I don't know how many weeks. Lately, I've been getting more and more into country music. That's something new. Last weekend a few friends and I went for an evening swim at some beach. That was fun. It was a better alternative to the typical dinner and a movie. What else... Hah, sorry guys, I really don't know what to update you on. (:P) Oh, my television boycot continues to be successful. The last time I switched on the t.v. was a while before New Years. I get my news online now. I have to admit that I do miss watching FoxNews. Yes, FoxNews, I miss FoxNews. Well, some shows on FoxNews. I never like that "Red Eye" show. Oh, I remember Henry and Jae Hee talking about Juno on our former joint thread (former because I'm outtie now), so I watched it and I LOVED IT. I loved her humor. I also downloaded the soundtrack.
I have to apologize for this being a lame excuse for an update. Not much has gone on with me as of late. I promise to make up for this update with a better one later though.
Oh. I need your help with something. I'm making a list of historical/natural sites on Saipan. Here are a few that I've listed so far:
- Obyan Beach (and the Latte Stone carvings here)
- Laulau Beach
- Paupau Beach
- Marine Beach (and the Hidden Pool here)
- Forbidden Island
- Sugar Cane Park
- Japanese Prison
- Old Man By The Sea Beach
- Susupe Lake
- the place with the 'magnetic sand' at Hidden Beach near King Fisher
- The Grotto
- Managaha
- the place on island where you can see two rainbows at once
***I had a whole list of them, but the sheet (an envelope really) got drenched in some liquid substance that half the list is now indeterminable... O_O
Anymore, you guys?
_____________________
Another thing I've been doing with my time is making scratch harmonics.
Here's one to this Samoan song called "Isa Lei Lia." I was off-key a number of times and I didn't know the words, but hey, it was all done in good 3-in-the-morning,can't-be-too-loud-or-you'll-wake-the-house fun. Hehe. :P
Step 1. The Song.
height="17"data="http://www.musicuploader.org/musicplayer.swf?song_url=http://www.musicuploader.org/MUSIC/1397631204823166.mp3&autoplay=true">/>
Music Codes
Step 2. Voice-Over 1.
Download isa lei lia 1.wma
Step 3. Voice-Over 2.
Download isa lei lia 2.wma
You can hear my fan in the background and I talk a lot throughout it all, but eh, it's a hobby.
I have to apologize for this being a lame excuse for an update. Not much has gone on with me as of late. I promise to make up for this update with a better one later though.
Oh. I need your help with something. I'm making a list of historical/natural sites on Saipan. Here are a few that I've listed so far:
- Obyan Beach (and the Latte Stone carvings here)
- Laulau Beach
- Paupau Beach
- Marine Beach (and the Hidden Pool here)
- Forbidden Island
- Sugar Cane Park
- Japanese Prison
- Old Man By The Sea Beach
- Susupe Lake
- the place with the 'magnetic sand' at Hidden Beach near King Fisher
- The Grotto
- Managaha
- the place on island where you can see two rainbows at once
***I had a whole list of them, but the sheet (an envelope really) got drenched in some liquid substance that half the list is now indeterminable... O_O
Anymore, you guys?
_____________________
Another thing I've been doing with my time is making scratch harmonics.
Here's one to this Samoan song called "Isa Lei Lia." I was off-key a number of times and I didn't know the words, but hey, it was all done in good 3-in-the-morning,can't-be-too-loud-or-you'll-wake-the-house fun. Hehe. :P
Step 1. The Song.
height="17"data="http://www.musicuploader.org/musicplayer.swf?song_url=http://www.musicuploader.org/MUSIC/1397631204823166.mp3&autoplay=true">/>
Music Codes
Step 2. Voice-Over 1.
Download isa lei lia 1.wma
Step 3. Voice-Over 2.
Download isa lei lia 2.wma
You can hear my fan in the background and I talk a lot throughout it all, but eh, it's a hobby.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
