{"id":5070,"date":"2004-10-17T12:59:25","date_gmt":"2004-10-17T16:59:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/formerlyknownas\/2004\/10\/17\/seat-belt-solace\/"},"modified":"2011-08-05T14:58:20","modified_gmt":"2011-08-05T18:58:20","slug":"seat-belt-solace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2004\/10\/17\/seat-belt-solace\/","title":{"rendered":"seat-belt solace"},"content":{"rendered":"

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                                                                                                                                                  \"seatbelt
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                                                                                                                                                    from <\/FONT><\/FONT>victorystore.com<\/FONT><\/A><\/FONT><\/DIV><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT><\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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Thursday’s <\/FONT>Eckblad<\/EM> seat belt decision<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/A> in Washington State must have disappointed a lot of libertarians.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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(see, e.g.<\/EM>, Georgia Libertarian Party, “Stick It” to “Click It or Ticket”<\/FONT><\/A><\/EM>, June 7, <\/FONT>2001; and LPMass’ “danger”<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Press Release<\/FONT><\/A>).  The Eckblad<\/EM> court rejected “unconstitutional vagueness” charges and upheld the<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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State’s seatbelt law in this multi-faceted criminal case.  <\/FONT>                                                              <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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 <\/DIV>
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As the Seattle <\/FONT>Post-Intelligencer<\/EM> noted<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/A>, Justice Sanders’ acidly <\/FONT>dissented<\/FONT><\/A>:<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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“The government has determined our citizens are not intelligent enough to decide <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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for themselves whether to wear a seat belt, yet they apparently have enough intelligence <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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to locate and interpret an elusive federal administrative rule.”<\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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Meanwhile, because “the Internet teems with information both accurate and inaccurate which can <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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and does mislead users,”  two concurring justices declined “<\/FONT>to adjust the vagueness analysis to take <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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the Internet <\/FONT>into account.”  (via Paper Chase<\/A>)<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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<\/EM><\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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\"pickup   f\/k\/a <\/EM>has been googling its little yabut off trying to find seat-belt haiku<\/STRONG><\/EM> that might ease <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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the pain of our <\/FONT>libertarian brethren.   Sadly, there isn’t much of it around on the Net, and it is of uneven <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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quality.    Here are our annotated results.<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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seatbelt laws —<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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wrinkles in the fabric<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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of freedom<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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                       dagosan<\/FONT><\/A>  <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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                              [we know, it’s not-quite-haiku]<\/FONT><\/EM><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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<\/FONT><\/EM> <\/DIV>
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<\/FONT><\/EM> <\/DIV>
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<\/FONT><\/EM> <\/DIV>
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Valentine’s Day
she reminds me
to fasten my seatbelt<\/SPAN><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Michael Dylan Welch,<\/FONT> from Simply Haiku<\/EM><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/A>  <\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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[posted  here before; I like it]<\/EM><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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<\/FONT><\/SPAN> <\/DIV>
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<\/FONT><\/SPAN> <\/DIV>
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a haiku ..<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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about a seat belt?<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Hey! Look . . . an eclipse!<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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                                     <\/FONT><\/EM><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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                                      <\/EM>from <\/FONT><\/FONT>Silent Running<\/FONT><\/A>  <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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                                              [weblog by a ranting neo-con; PG14]<\/EM><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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\"exit\"<\/FONT><\/EM><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT><\/EM> <\/DIV>
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to leave Ohio<\/FONT><\/EM><\/DIV>
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buckling up<\/FONT><\/EM><\/DIV>
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the seat belt<\/FONT><\/EM><\/DIV>
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              <\/EM><\/FONT>Jane Reichhold<\/FONT>, Death Haiku<\/EM><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/A>  <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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                   [it’s worth it to get out of a swing state!]<\/FONT><\/EM><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT><\/EM> <\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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Drank my Budweiser<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Got into my pickup truck<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Mesh ain’t no seatbelt<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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        <\/EM>Aram “Aggro P” Peterson\/ <\/FONT><\/FONT>Meshcap Haiku<\/FONT><\/A> <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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        [a whole page of haiku homage to the Mesh Cap]<\/FONT><\/EM><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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<\/FONT><\/SPAN> <\/DIV>
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                                                                                                                                                          \"sumo\" <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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I guess there were no seat-belts in 19th Century Japan; but I couldn’t leave <\/FONT>Kobayashi Issa<\/EM><\/FONT><\/STRONG><\/A> out:<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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the big cat sleeps
in the same seat…
with the doll<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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           <\/FONT><\/EM><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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world of Buddha’s law–
the snake strips
his clothes<\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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<\/SPAN> <\/DIV>
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Issa<\/EM><\/FONT><\/STRONG><\/A>, translated by Prof. <\/EM><\/FONT>David G. Lanoue<\/EM><\/STRONG><\/FONT><\/A><\/FONT>
<\/DIV><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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