Chez Chesler

SCOTUSblog: Balkin, Rumsfeld v. FAIR, and Schools' Right to Protest the Military (Commentary)Marty Lederman writes on SCOTUSblog: "Unlike titles VI and IX, the Solomon Amendment is not a classic or 'true' 'equal access' and antidiscrimination statute. As the Court itself held in rejecting the Harvard/Columbia statutory argument, in at least one important respect the SA requires schools to give preferential treatment to military recruiters: They are exempted from recruiting rules with which all other employers must comply. " I've wondered about that, since it seemed to me that JAG was getting the same access as other recruiters, facing the same hoops, both time, place and manner (I don't think JAG is allowed to recruit wherever on campus it chooses and whenever) and also as to the employer's antidiscrimination rules. All I can figure is "All the animals are equal, but some are more equal than others".

Boy wearing 'heelies' hit, killed - The Boston Globe

[Sergeant Steven A. ] Brown said police will also investigate whether Carmichael's footgear was a factor. Known as heelies, the sneakers have wheels in the heel that allow wearers to glide when they want to. The sneakers have been banned by many school districts around the nation due to safety concerns.

And it was all over the television news this morning, various pediatricians noting how dangerous they are, although I see that by late today the Bridgewater Chieof of Police said they were not a factor. Did anybody think Heelies were supposed to protect you in the event you got hit by a car? My 9-year-old is into his second pair. (He wore down the heel of his front-foot shoe on the first pair.) They're expensive (no more than many sneakers) but well made. I've never seen anyone pick up any particular speed with them, nor build up speed like a traditional skater. Apparently it's fun, and it's different enough to bug the over-thirties (which I must be, several times over, to remember when that was too old to be trusted), but given that they're slower and less efficient than running, and not AFAIK suitable for acrobatics or inclines like boards or skates, I don't see them as any more than a passing fad.

I've avoided making this a personal blog, but I'm happy to note that 8 months after Titan laid me off when NASA didn't renew the contract under which I was working, doing AR&D for ATC DSTs, I'm completing my first week at Endeca in East Cambridge.