In the thread titled "Why Olympia?", DrewHendricks was making a point that the military conflict in Iraq was "NOT authorized by the United Nations."

I then proceeded to point out that, per the US Constitution, it would be Congress with whom the power to authorize military engagements domestic and abroad rests, not the United Nations.

The discussion then turned to the UN Charter and Senate ratification. Essentially, the basis for the UN Charter superceding the Constitution is because a Treaty "becomes effectively the law of the land."

Article VI:

The Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby

This stance is correct except when a Treaty runs counter to the Constitution.

any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.

We then began to discuss Reid v. Covert, a decision in which the Supreme Court confirmed Article VI, stating (among other things):

The United States is entirely a creature of the Constitution. Its power and authority have no other source. It can only act in accordance with all the limitations imposed by the Constitution.

The rights and liberties which citizens of our country enjoy are not protected by custom and tradition alone, they have been jealously preserved from the encroachments of Government by express provisions of our written Constitution.

the United States Government, which has no power except that granted by the Constitution

The link to the majority opinion, and other sections I grabbed, are in the other thread.

I'm curious about how everyone else feels. Should the UN Charter be recognized as "supreme" to the US Constitution by Congress, the Executive and Courts?

The tide was high at 4:30 pm, about 45 minutes before I crossed the dam. But tomorrow morning at a little past 6 AM the tide will be 2 feet higher than it was tonight. It's predicted to be a 16.4' tide.

We wouldn't have this problem if the dam was removed and the lake drained and the area allowed to return to its natural tidal estuarine status.

The lake water level looked especially low. Anyone have any ideas why they might be keeping it low (besides that it's the rainy season)?

Religion and Public Life, a community forum, will take place in the Longhouse from 6 - 9:30 p.m. on Monday, March 13th.

The keynote speaker is Patricia O’Connell Killen, chair of the Department of Religion, and director of the Center for Religion, Cultures, and Society in the Western United States at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma. She is co-author of Religion and Public Life in the PacificNorthwest: The None Zone. The book, part of a national series, uses data from three major research studies and the 2000 U.S. Census to paint a portrait of the Pacific Northwest’s religious demographics. Killen’s research focuses on how broad regional, social and cultural factors influence and are influenced by individual and institutional religious dynamics and sensibility. Killen received her Ph.D. and M.A. degrees in religious studies from Stanford University.

Killen will moderate a panel discussion by leaders of local faith communities. Panelists will include Buddhist, Christian, Jewish and Muslim clergy and laity.

The forum is sponsored by the Evergreen program Religion and Society. The event will include student presentations on local faith communities that students have been researching and doing service learning for. The event is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be served.

For more information, contact Char Simons, (360)867-6710 or Stephen Beck, (360)867-5488

Celebrate the promise of spring and the commitment to end hunger in our community with THE GLEANERS COALITION. There will be food and music, childcare and activities for everyone. Plant seeds in starter pots, commit to grow a little extra in your garden for the hungry. Make plans to spend a summer day on a beautiful farm, picking fresh food...Volunteers Keep All They Need And Share What They Can...Learn more about what the gleaners are up to and how you can help...

Saturday March 25th, Noon - 3pm, at United Churches, 110 11th Ave SE and Capitol Way.

Contact Barry: 360-705-2375, barry@gleanerscoalition.org

Come downtown on Tuesday, February 28th between 8 PM and 2 AM and take part in the biggest Mardi Gras party in Olympia's history. Just show up at Jake's, McCoy's, The Vault, Hannah's, or Fish Tale, buy the Mardi Gras "stamp", and you'll recieve 2-3 drink specials at all 5 of the participating bars. Stamps cost $5 and up and all proceeds go towards sending folks to New Orleans to rebuild the most hard-hit areas. Please dress up in your finest Mardi Gras regalia and bring plenty of beads and other trinkets.

For more information contact Brad Bishop at omegaseed@gmail.com or the WashPIRG office at:

CAB 320, Cubicle #19
Office #: 360-867-6058
E-mail: blair@washpirgstudents.org

March 8th is International Women’s Day. Please join us in calling for peace and justice throughout the world.

This is a CODEPINK event. Participants are asked to wear or carry pink and be committed to nonviolent, respectful actions for peace. Military families longing for peace are welcome to join us. We will cheer homeward bound traffic in the hopes that all Americans will soon be homeward bound from war.

CODEPINK emerged out of a resolute desire by a group of American women to stop the Bush administration from invading Iraq. The name CODEPINK plays on the color-coded homeland security alerts – yellow, orange, red – that signal terrorist threats. While Bush’s color-coded threats are based on fear and are used to justify violence, the CODEPINK alert is based on compassion and is a feisty call for people to “wage peace.

Time for another report from More Places To Buy Towels a.k.a. the mall.

Intercity Transit is now crammed in against one wall of the J.C. Penney's building, a lot less room. The area doesn't look safe to me for bus riders. Crosswalks are not marked out, the area looks like you best arrive by helicopter directly into the bus zone.

Inside the mall are several new features, including banners that advertise "kiddie kruzzers". Tables in food court area are resurfaced in gray and red with an enigmatic design. Text reads "creatable media" with an odd graphic of a single eye ball on a tripod. The eye ball either has lashes or is glowing, and the pupil is rolled up.

Prior to coffee, I thought this design meant that the tables were now super laptop computers, but I was unable to find the right button to push. After coffee I figured out that most likely the table tops will eventually be filled with ad inserts.

Construction continues, with lots of rumbling and beeping. The entire skyline has changed and the place smells like newly chopped trees.

From seattlepi.com:

Like it or hate it, Flash -- the leading technology for animating Web sites, making them quirky and fun, or distracting and slow to load -- is increasing in popularity.

[...]

"Flash is not strictly a programming tool or a design tool -- it allows creating online content containing video, graphics, sound," she said. As organizations seek to distinguish themselves online, Flash has become more important in that effort, she said.

[...]

Weinman, a graduate of The Evergreen State College in Olympia, created her company 10 years ago as a site for her Pasadena, Calif., art students to post their homework. Consistently profitable, it has since become among the best-known online-training sites, with 30 full-time employees and revenue last year nearing $10 million.