Fitz File

The right to vote. Though not enumerated in the constitution it is one that we the people have come to accept as a right that all citizens deserve. When the country was founded it was only white males in possession of land or wealth who could vote in elections. This changed over time with gradual additions and inclusions through the 14th, 15th, 19th, 23rd, 24th and 26th amendments outlawing any denial of this right based on birth status, sex, race, financial status and age. Each of these situations has resulted in increased rights for the people and the country as a whole, allowing all our citizens to have a voice in the democratic process. It is in the interest of all that we have a fair representation of what the people want, otherwise there will be a small amount of power concentrated in a small group because the majority is a false one. Accounting for the of the individual states attitudes towards voting and their history of infringing upon minority rights, thi...

Memorial Glade, April 20th, 2013     Yesterday was April 20th. For the squares around who don’t know, this is 420 (the smoker’s holiday where all who partake enjoy a joint in celebration of well … smoking weed). Ironically, this celebration sprung from a twist on the law. The code ‘4-20’ is the police radio signal code for marijuana related crimes in progress, (whether or not they still use it I do not know). Here in Berkeley, California, the celebration is not made of isolated groups in apartments, giggling quietly to themselves; quite the opposite. Memorial Glade is a large grass field in the center of campus bordered by two libraries and a laboratory. Yesterday it was taken over by a crowd of several hundred - all of whom lit up when the clock struck 4:20pm. This happens every single year. Looking over the crowd I noticed two things: first, the sheer number of people breaking federal law, and the lack of police action despite utterly surrounding the Glade. What does...

Recently there were two op-ed pieces in the Wall Street Journal concerning the arguments before the Supreme Court on same-sex marriage. What peaked my interest and the interest of many other readers was the literal proximity and direct confrontation of the two pieces, one against same-sex marriage written by Austin Nimocks and one in support written by Theodore Olsen and David Boies. Both address two cases, the first pertains to Proposition 8, the California law that banned same-sex marriage in November of 2008. The actual case weighs whether to uphold or overrule a decision made by a state judge in California ruling Proposition 8 unconstitutional. The second case was whether or not to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), signed into law by President Clinton in 1996. The general consensus is that the repeal of Prop 8 would do more for the cause than ruling against DOMA as this case only dealt with beneficial tax rules for same-sex couples. Putting the demographics of the typica...