Everything Old is New Again

One year ago today, I posted an essay entitled “What Shall We Do with the Dead Dictator?”, which discussed the DPP government’s efforts to further the cause of transitional justice (轉型正義) by reexamining the legacy of former ROC President Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975). A number of related policies ended up sparking considerable controversy, included renaming the CKS International Airport asTaiwan Taoyuan International Airport, and especially changing the name of the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall to National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall. The KMT regained power just two months later, following which things began to move in reverse. Most recently, the Ministry of Education, in one of its last policy decisions during the Year of the Rat, announced that in July 2009 the Democracy Hall’s name plaque will be removed and the original plaque restored. This was based on an Executive Yuan decision to withdraw the former government’s request to abolish the Organic Statute of the CKS Memorial Hall\u3c (國立中正紀念堂管理處組織條例廢止案), as well as a resolution by the Legislative Yuan that the Hall’s name be changed back to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. Although the Ministry of Education had originally proposed holding a public forum to discuss whether or not to change the plaque, no such event was arranged. According to one top-ranking official, this was due to concerns that such a forum might spark tensions between DPP and KMT supporters. While it is true that political discussions in Taiwan tend to be heated, and can even turn violent, one cannot help but recalling the observation that Judge Damon Keith made in a 2002 federal appeals court ruling, namely that “Democracies die behind closed doors“

Private money: everything old is new again

For more than 200 years, private money systems have operated in the United States, solving problems similar to those confronting innovative electronic money systems. The high-tech newcomers may be able to benefit from the experience of the low-tech veterans.Money

Introduction: Everything Old Is New Again

[Excerpt] In the 1920s, Americans, both borrowers and lenders, discovered new ways to finance consumer credit, and, of course, it was only the beginning. Debt was everywhere, and its ubiquity was made possible by changes in finance, manufacturing, and law that had occurred after the First World War. High interest on consumer loans had long been illegal in the U.S., but around World War I, progressive reformers, seeking to drive out loan sharks, pushed states across the country to raise the legal interest rate. Now able to lend money legally, at rates which could be profitable, new consumer finance industries sprung up overnight. The legal changes coincided with a new generation of cars and electrical appliances that were both expensive and mass produced. The installment credit allowed manufacturers to sell these new wonders at a volume, and consumers could afford them because of the easy monthly payments. What ultimately made all this lending possible was that lenders could now, for the first time, resell their debt

Bilski v. Kappos: Everything Old is New Again

My goal in this brief Essay is to introduce the symposium papers by describing the basics of the Bilski case. I also offer a brief thought about where interested observers might turn next in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit\u27s § 101 jurisprudence for insights about how that court may implement Bilski\u27s unmistakable revival of Benson and Fook. Specifically, now that the 15-year Alappat/State Street misadventure, with its patent-maximizing useful, concrete, and tangible result standard, has come to an end, it is time to revisit the reasoning and results in a rich trove of cases from the Federal Circuit and its predecessor, the U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals (CCPA)