I’m alarmed by the precedent that a Democratic nominee for Supreme Court cannot have a record on abortion. Elena Kagan doesn’t have a record on much in the way of any controversial issues, but neither she nor Justice Sotomayor had any obvious pro-choice skeletons in the closet. which is disturbing because — “skeletons in the closet”?? Abortion is still a legal medical procedure. The fact that Diane Wood voted consistently to uphold this constitutionally protected right should never have disqualified her, and yet it seems pretty clear that that’s what made her unpalatable. Plus, the nomination confirms...
Continue reading...May 2010
Morning Constitutional – Monday, 10 May 2010
Good morning, folks. Betty White smashed it on Saturday Night, didn\’t she? Now, here\’s your morning constitutional: Probably the worst-kept secret ever: President Obama is expected to announce that he will nominate Solicitor General Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court to replace retiring Justice Stevens. The Washington Post has a timeline of Kagan\’s career, and SCOTUSBlog has a primer on Kagan. German Chancellor Angela Merckel suffered a major blow Sunday as her coalition lost a key local election in North Rhine-Westphalia, one of Germany\’s most populous regions and often thought to be a bellwether of German politics. The loss,...
Continue reading...Tracking the oil spill
The New York Times has a pretty incredible animation showing the spread of the oil spill from 22 April to 9 May. Also, in crazy-time news, engineers are trying to determine if they can plug the leak with…garbage. Last week, we posted a video from Al Jazeera explaining how the spill happened.
Continue reading...Doctor Who, "The Time of Angels"
The Doctor: “The writing. The graffiti. Old High Gallifreyan! The lost language of the Time Lords. There were days—there were many days—these words could burn stars, and raise up empires, and topple gods.” Amy: “What does this say?” The Doctor: “‘Hello, Sweetie.’” Well, that was perhaps the best intro to a Doctor Who episode that I’ve ever seen. From the first moment she’s onscreen, River Song is clearly a brilliant, fearless woman who can hold her own against the Doctor. I’m sure even those who had never seen “Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead” were intrigued...
Continue reading...With Apologies to Howard Dean: What Happened Yesterday
(Some quick thoughts while Estes collects his) Well, the U.K. voted yesterday. The results were not terribly surprising: The Tories won a plurality of seats, but not enough to form a majority government. This much was expected. However, what was not expected was the relative strength of Labour or the precipitous downfall of the Liberal Democrats. I’ll start where the story is now, and move on to what I suspect happened. The onus is on Gordon Brown to form a government, and if he cannot, to step down and allow somebody else to do so. I don’t...
Continue reading...Morning Constitutional – Friday, 7 May 2010
Good morning, folks. If you\’re in Pennsylvania, make sure you booze it up with moms on Sunday. Now, your morning constitutional: Tories made large gains in the U.K. election yesterday, ending over a decade of Labour majority, although not gaining enough seats to form a majority themselves. BP began the process Friday morning of lowering the containment dome over the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. The work is expected to continue over the weekend. U.S. stocks dropped nearly a thousand points yesterday before leveling off at a 346-point drop yesterday, but stocks are expected to...
Continue reading...Wait, people can vote in a monarchy?
So, I’ll be out for the next several hours, but will leave thoughts later. Exit polls seem to indicate a drop in Lib-Dem seats. I don’t buy this, uniform swings, postal votes, etc… They may not be getting the gains many hoped for, but I can’t believe they’re not gonna pick up a few. Anyway, you should be following 538\’s liveblog and listening to BBC Radio 4. Or just pick up a paper tomorrow. Either way.
Continue reading...Poem of the Week
Guys, I don’t know about you, but for me it has been a long week, in a number of ways, not all of them bad. Nevertheless, I have been ready since about Tuesday for this week to be over. Here’s what cheered me up today: a mid-afternoon break to walk over to a nearby farmers’ market with my friend from work. We ranted and soapboxed for a while about our various gripes, and then we made our way to the best of the three bakery stands, where the endearing and flirtatious Bakery Man (who recognized me from...
Continue reading...New York Times Columnist Line of the Day
If you’re one of the four-or-so frequent readers of this here blog, chances are you also occasionally check out the New York Times op-ed page. You may even know the names: David “Yawny-Pants” Brooks, Gail “The Colander” Collins, Nicholas “The Dark Crystal” Kristof, &c. Well, I’ve decided to devote a daily feature to these folks, by daily pointing out one line that is either awesome, funny, insightful, intelligent, ridiculous, or utterly divorced from reality. I hope you enjoy. Today\’s is from Gail \”The Colander\” Collins, who in her column \”Congress, Up in Arms,\” eviscerates the double-speak in...
Continue reading...Are you in Boston? See this.
Ivy: “We’re all just people, some of us accidentally connected by genetics, a random selection of cells. Nothing more.” Tracy Letts’ August: Osage County, which won the Tony for Best Play in 2008, is currently playing at Boston’s Colonial Theatre. The play centers around the Weston family, who come together when their patriarch, Beverly, goes missing. The matriarch, Violet, is played by Estelle Parsons (who is 82 years old, please note) and she is fantastic. Violet is addicted to prescription drugs and is barely coherent in several scenes, slurring her words and stumbling around the house. A...
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