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July 30, 2012
July 12, 2012
Lincoln Lore and History Rise Again !
The 200th anniversary of President Lincoln's birthday was celebrated in 2009 across the nation. But popular Lincoln-related cultural works continue to bubble up in our entertainment markets. An extreme flight of fancy, "Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter" , a 2010 novel by Seth Grahame-Smith has been turned into "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter", the 2012 movie . In this film, President Lincoln personally kills many vampires initially to avenge the murder of family members. But the tale goes on to make a connection to slaves as the particular prey of the vampire underground !
A more historically based, creative work, "The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln", is the novel written by Stephen L. Carter who is the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of law at Yale. The book reconstructs a possible impeachment trial that could have taken place if President Lincoln had not been assassinated. While this provides the basis for the story, Mr. Lincoln only appears in the book a few times.
Instead the author uses two characters involved in the fictional impeachment process to develop the events in the book. A young Black woman named Abigail Canner, an Oberlin graduate who comes to the nation's capital intending to become a lawyer and her White fellow clerk, Jonathan Hilliman. In the Washington City of 1867, they sift through legal books, uncover clues and dodge assassins' attempts on their lives.
Professor Carter explains why he would write a story that questions the conduct of a president that most of us consider one of our great national heroes. "I should begin by explaining that I am a big Lincoln fan," Carter says, laughing. "I think Lincoln was our greatest president; I have no question about that. But at the same time, there were a lot of things that Lincoln did during his presidency, in order to win the Civil War, that could be called into question. And so my idea was to write a courtroom drama that was crafted around that possibility. The path I sketch in my fiction is one possible path history might have taken."
Mr. Lincoln's conduct during the Civil War period, was more complex than usually appreciated. Several law review articles have dealt with these questions that only occassionaly find their way into the realm of popular culture.
In 1998, the University of Arizona College of Law staged a mock trial, " The Impeachment of President Abrham Lincoln" , 40 Ariz. L. Rev. 351 (1998). Using noted American historians as prosecution and defense, with school alumni and students serving as members of the Senate as the jury. The trial "...was meant to examine whether Lincoln went to far in preserving the Union. Are there limits to what even a wartime president can do during a national emergency ?"
On February 6, 2009, in Chicago, the 7th Circuit Bar Association program, sponsored a program entitled " Abraham Lincoln His Legal Career and His Vision for America" . One panel at the program had University of Chicago law Professor Dennis J. Hutchinson and two panelists examined what might be considered the politically darker side of Lincoln's Civil War policies. Policies that continue to exert their influence on contemporary questions of presidential power and the protection of constitutional rights.
In his law review article, "Lincoln the 'Dictator'." ,55 South Dakota Law Review 284 (2010), Prof. Hutchinson states that "Although Congress ultimately sanctioned actions Lincoln took before they convened on the Fourth, critics, both then and now, have argued that the Union was preserved at the expense of the Constitution. Lincoln would and did deny the charge. How he actually behaved and how he explained his actions reveal a man deeply troubled by the accusations of despotism and the risks that his policies, well-intended to be sure, posed for the future."
A 2008 law review article "The Perpetuation of Our political Institutions : Lincoln, The Powers of the Commander In Chief", and The Constitution" by History professor Michael Les Benedict, point to the irony in Lincoln's strong critique of President Andrew Johnson's use of presidential power and Lincoln's subsequent conduct during the Civil War. He criticaly examins several key issues such as suspension of Habeas Corpus, unilateral blockade of Southern ports, trial of civilians by military issions,suppression of newspapers, the Emancipation Proclamation.
While documenting many of President Lincoln's extra-constitutional policies, Professor Benedict makes a broader judgement that "...Lincoln's record demonstrates that such powers can be wielded aggressively by a president with the right character without seriously eroding democracy and liberty." He quotes James G. Randall that "In a legal study of the war the two most significant facts are perhaps these," ... "the wide extent of the war powers; and, in contrast to that, the manner in which men in authority were controlled by the American people's underlying sense of constitutional government."
In the modern context, one may be left to wonder how well presidents without those qualities and citizens who are cowed into accepting losses of constitutional rights, will preserve that Constitution that was so hard- won.
July 05, 2012
RSS Feeds Provide Current Chicago Municipal Code Changes
Chicago Municipal Code RSS Feeds From
Index Publishing Corporation
RSS is an easy way for you to keep up with news and information that’s important to you, and helps you avoid the conventional methods of browsing or searching for information on websites. Now the content you want can be delivered directly to you fast and reliably. This content is called a “feed.”
A variety of RSS Readers are available for different platforms. Some popular feed readers include Amphetadesk, Bloglines, FeedReader, Google Reader and NewsGator.
Examples of the three RSS Feeds :
Chicago Codes » news__________________________________________________________________
Judge Rejects Challenge to City’s Landmarks Ordinance
Chicago’s landmarks ordinance got a lift Wednesday when a Cook County judge dismissed claims that the law is unconstitutionally vague. Judge Sophia Hall sided with the city, frustrating a six-year campaign by landmarking opponents to nullify two landmark districts on the city’s north side.
New Condo Vacation Rental Ordinance to be Introduced
Chicago’s vacation rental license, which was largely ignored and difficult to enforce, has been eliminated. In April, Mayor Rahm Emanuel proposed a consolidation that would reduce the number of business licenses by 60 percent to save retailers money and frustration. The vacation rental license was one of dozens targeted for elimination.
Sustainable Chicago Feed______________________________________________________________
Any questions of Emanuel's environmental mettle were quelled recently with his announcement of the new Retrofit Chicago Commercial Building Initiative. The goal of the program is to launch retrofit projects in the private sector that reduce energy use by 20% over the next five years within 14 million SF of commercial building space in Chicago.
A Decade of Model Green Building
This June, the Chicago Center for Green Technology turned ten years old. Hundreds of people came out to celebrate the successes of one of the country's premier green building educational facilities and to launch it toward the next ten years.
Chicago Codes » recent changes_______________________________________________________________________________
Through April 24, 2012Tuesday, May 15, 2012 1:56 PMThe Chicago City Council has made changes to the following sections of the Chicago Municipal Code. Added 4-280-160 Remedies Cumulative (Cable Communication) 13-20-555 Public Way Use Permits – Required (Building Inspections (Partial)) 13-20-630 Permit Rescission (Building Inspections (Partial)) 13-20-645 Procedure for Revoking or Rescinding a Permit (Building Inspections (Partial)) Repealed 4-280-130 Arbitration Provisions (Cable Communication) [...]
Through April 18, 2012Monday, May 14, 2012 10:10 AMThe Chicago City Council has made changes to the following sections of the Chicago Municipal Code. Added 1-4-170 Reference to Statutes (Code Adoption-Organization) 9-102-015 Definitions (Automated Red Light Camera Program) 2-112-235 Agreements for Health Screening and Diagnostic Services (Board of Health) 9-100-045 Notice of Violation – Automated Speed Enforcement System and Automated Traffic Law Enforcement [...]
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