Tell Republicans, Put Up or STFU!

Republicans are horribly transparent in their hypocrisy but they don't care because they are shallow, self-centered sociopaths.

The Republicans are trying to take away our Healthcare while they get their Public Healthcare paid for by us taxpayers.

Please sign this petition to tell them to put their money where their mouth is.

Repeal health care? Give up your own first!

Is the iPhone finally coming to Verizon?

via TechCrunch

Earlier today, BGR published a story that Apple is looking to launch the iPhone on Verizon’s network as soon as February 3. That’s in line with an earlier report about no-vacation windows for Apple retail employees. And now something curious has just appeared in my inbox. An invite to a Verizon event, taking place in New York City on this coming Tuesday, January 11. Could it be?

hmmm...

Tweet of the week

This week my favorite tweet was by RANKIS

If congress were paid for new ideas & actions, the last #GOP payday would have been October 1st, 1929.

LinkedIn Looking to Go Public

via Mashable

LinkedIn spokesman Hani Durzy offers the following statement on the report: “We don’t comment on speculation. An IPO is one of many tactics that we could choose to pursue. We are focused on building our business and doing what is in the best long-term interest of LinkedIn members and shareholders.”

Software Developers Anonymous

I think I need to create this group.

I make my living as a Sr. Software Engineer and I love it. It's especially exciting because I work in Social Media. However, my brain does not stop thinking of ideas when I leave the office and must therefore be classified as an addiction. Ergo, SDA or Software Developers Anonymous.

Last night I was up creating an interface to the iCloud API and now I want to make a better iCloud app for Android.

BREAKING! Ninth Circuit asks CA Supreme Court to answer question of standing in Prop 8 case.

via Towleroad

Today, the Prop 8 case out in California took two baby steps in a long legal journey. First, the Ninth Circuit denied standing to Imperial County. Second, "certified a question" to the California Supreme Court, asking for some guidance on whether there is any state law that allows initiative proponents to defend their ballot measure in court when the state refuses.

This seems confusing, but let's break this down. I think you will see that taking the certification step was a prudent -- though, in many legal scholars' opinions, including my own, unnecessary -- step to take.

First, the Ninth Circuit denied standing to Imperial County. During oral argument, the panel questioned whether a deputy clerk with independent responsibilities and supervised by a separate part of the California government could, without the actual Clerk of Imperial County, even represent the county, let alone the entire state. It looks as if the Ninth Circuit was unwilling to grant a low guy on the totem poll the right to step in where the chain of authority was tenuous at best. So, this first decision is a victory of marriage equality. Imperial County had wanted to defend Prop 8 in federal court and now, it cannot. And, while the deputy clerk could appeal, it is unlikely that this denial of standing will be overturned.

The second order is a little more complicated. It was not a final decision on standing like the order denying standing to Imperial County. Instead, the Ninth Circuit looked at the law and said, "We just don't know." A recent similar case out of Arizona holds that the right of initiative proponents -- ordinary citizens in their capacity as organizers of a ballot measure -- to defend their law when the state government refuses to do so hinges on state law. That is, the Prop 8 proponents' standing to defend Prop 8 going forward depends on what California law has to say about their rights.

But, the Ninth Circuit, a federal court, is not an expert on state law. So, when a question before a federal appellate court hinges on getting a clear answer to a question of state law -- in this case, does California law allow ballot proponents to step in the shoes of the state to defend their measure in court when the state declines to do so? -- the federal court asks the state supreme court, the final arbiter on state law questions, to give them an answer.

It would be like me asking my friend Jonathan, an economist, to teach me about the economic ramifications of repealing the estate tax, so I can use his expertise to help me make my legal or constitutional argument. He's the economic expert; I'm the legal expert. It makes sense that I would ask his advice. Here, the California Supreme Court is the expert on all things state law, and since the proponents' standing depends on state law, the Ninth Circuit asks its colleagues in California to tell them what to do.

This means a few things. First, we have no decision yet on the proponents' standing. Second, the Ninth Circuit is going to do whatever the California Supreme Court tells it to do because the California court is the final arbiter on what its state law is. Third, this intermediate step further delays any final decision. While certified questions are usually expedited, there is no telling how many weeks this adds to the process. The court could ask for briefing on the question, but that -- and the timeline -- is up to the court.

But, this is not a bad development. Since state courts have the final say on state law questions, and the standing question hinges on state law, had the Ninth Circuit issued a decision without asking for advice from the experts, its decision would be more ripe for appeal. This intermediate step ensures that the Ninth Circuit gets it right.

Welcome 2011!

The worst decade of my life has come to a close with a great sigh of relief and a burden off my shoulders.

• Over the past ten years I have experienced unemployment for the first time in my life,
  
• Over the past ten years I have been the victim of violent crime a few times and am still in a protection program,
  
• I lost my airplane and my Mercedes-Benz,
  
• My net worth went from $4.7 Million to about $30,000,
  
• My health took a nose dive,
  
• I got fat,
  
• and I even had to file for bankruptcy.
  

Yet it wasn't all that bad.

• The best, most loving friends of my life are now a part of it,
  
• I've experienced some pretty amazing things that are too innumerable to list here,
  
• I've had the most interesting jobs of my career,
  
• I finally moved to San Francisco, a city I've always wanted to live in,
  
• I currently have the coolest and, thankfully, stablest job I've had in years,
  
• and two of the greatest kitties are part of my life.
  

The reason I am so excited about 2011 and so hopeful for the future is that all the bad things listed above have been left behind and only the good things have passed over into the new year. I am content, happy and so full of hope.

No, it's not the NORCO talking. LOL. I really am filled with an enormous feeling of a brighter future where good things will finally come my way, and I hope the same for my family and friends. Happy New Year everyone! I welcome you into my life 2011!