Back when Elena Kagan was first nominated for the Supreme Court, I mentioned her 1995 critique of confirmation hearings– she said they had become “a vapid and hollow charade, in which repetition of platitudes has replaced discussion of viewpoints and personal anecdotes have supplanted legal analysis.” I was optimistic that Kagan would adhere to that viewpoint and approach her own hearing with more candor, but it doesn’t appear that that will be the case. In fact, during Kagan’s confirmation for Solicitor General last year, she took a step towards disavowing her earlier analysis: ““I am . ....
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: Thomas “Friedman’s Just Another Word For Nothing Left to Lose” Friedman, 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 Roger \”Life of the Party\” Cohen, who in...
Continue reading...Morning Constitutional – Tuesday, 29 June 2010
Good morning, folks. Steve Carell is indeed leaving The Office after next year. Now, your morning constitutional: General Petraeus appears for confirmation hearings before the Senate Armed Services Committee today to lead the war effort in Afghanistan. His confirmation is basically assured, but questions will arise about the President\’s strategy for the war. Kagan taking questions during her confirmation hearing; seems to be getting at least a little bipartisan support on the committee; Scott Brown glowingly called her \”undoubtedly a brilliant woman who has served her country in a variety of capacities.\” Dahlia Lithwick at Slate on...
Continue reading...Morning Constitutional – Tuesday, 29 June 2010
Good morning, folks. Steve Carell is indeed leaving The Office after next year. Now, your morning constitutional: General Petraeus appears for confirmation hearings before the Senate Armed Services Committee today to lead the war effort in Afghanistan. His confirmation is basically assured, but questions will arise about the President\’s strategy for the war. Kagan taking questions during her confirmation hearing; seems to be getting at least a little bipartisan support on the committee; Scott Brown glowingly called her \”undoubtedly a brilliant woman who has served her country in a variety of capacities.\” Dahlia Lithwick at Slate on...
Continue reading...Senator Inouye likely to be next president pro tempore of the Senate
The New York Times Caucus Blog reports that with the passing of Senator Byrd, Senator Daniel Inouye is next in line to become the president pro tempore of the Senate. Just want to point out that this makes the presidential line of succession the following: an African-American, an Irish-American, an Italian-American, and, finally, a Japanese-American. Somewhere, Strom Thurmond is turning over in his grave.
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: Thomas “Friedman’s Just Another Word For Nothing Left to Lose” Friedman, 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 Paul \”The Little Professor\” Krugman, who in his...
Continue reading...Mea Copa: Over the Line, Mark It Zero!
This weekend might have been the end of the American soccer boom that many pundits and fans had predicted would result from a deep Yank run combined with a serious push by ESPN/ABC to market the matches. The ratings are up tremendously over 2006, which was played in essentially the same time-zone, over the same month. It is possible that Americans are growing to love soccer, but I doubt it. I had a conversation with a friend, who is a once-every-four-years viewer: Captain: You must be happy now that 2/3 of the World Cup audience in America...
Continue reading...Morning Constitutional – Monday, 28 June 2010
Good morning, everybody. The U.S. and England are out. Now, your morning constitutional: Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, the longest-serving senator in history, is dead at 92. FiveThirtyEight looks at how the W.V. senate seat will be filled. Elana Kagan\’s confirmation hearings begin today. How Republicans are struggling for a line of attack. Slate wonders: How many votes will Elena Kagan get? A new study shows that Supreme Court hearings do address real substance; also, women and minority nominees are more closely questioned than white males. The people of Kyrgyzstan voted to approve a new constitution...
Continue reading...Mea Copa: US v Ghana
With this morning’s methodical victory over Good Korea, Uruguay become the Cup’s first Quarterfinalist, and the US’s potential opponent should the Yanks get past Ghana’s Black Stars this afternoon (but more on that later). First we need to take a look at how the teams that got this far did so, and how some teams ended up watching this morning’s action from home. This tournament has been anything but pain-by-numbers, with upsets and intrigue galore. Having a group stage like the one just concluded — outside the first go-round where teams were still adjusting to each other,...
Continue reading...Poem of the Week
A friend suggested this week’s poetry pick, telling me that a) it is her favorite and b) she has it memorized. So did I! Said friend also offered me homemade baked goods today, so obviously I would have been obliged to post her favorite poem even if I did not also like it. Which I do. Point being, if anyone else would like to share a poem with the many, many readers of V&V, please note that I take well to bribery, especially when it involves food. If Rudyard Kipling If you can keep your head when...
Continue reading...
Recent Comments