Misc. Ramblings

There's a brief article from the UK Independent (see it here) that says the speed of modern communications is reducing the take Hollywood makes on its looser movies. In this case, they're talking about instant messaging and teenagers linked by cellphones.

In years past, it would take a day or two before the smell of a stinker would spread. Now, while the first viewers are still in the theater they are messaging their friends with a thumbs down. Obviously, if Hollywood would produce better movies the instant word of mouth could work to help them but this seems to have escaped the brains of the moguls.

In local news, some who feel it is legal to discriminate against others based on race went into hyperdrive yesterday when a federal judge ordered the private Christian Kamehameha Schools (founded in 1887) to enroll a non-Hawaiian student.

The case is a very complex one and this is just a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. Yet to be decided is the underlying constitutional question of the school's controversial admissions policy that gives preference to students of Hawaiian ancestry based on the will of the late Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop.

One point of view is that since this is a private school, and accepts no federal funding, they should be able to have whatever admissions policy they wish to.

But the counter view is that constitutional protections do not end at the school gate. Hence, if there is illegal discrimination the long arm of the law could and should intrude into the operations of the school.

Whether this case will be the one to break the will of the princess I don't know. But if it isn't, there will be other test cases and I think eventually one will do so.

In my opinion, the trustees of the school should be preparing for that day rather than being dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

Disclosure: I attended the Kamehameha Schools for a short time but did not graduate from there.

Aloha!