If . . .

. . . graduating summa cum laude from Princeton, being an Editor of the Yale Law Journal, practicing corporate law, working for as a prosecutor under one of the most legendary prosecutors ever, and being a federal court and appellate judge does not render one intelligent and qualified for the Supreme Court, then what does?

Remove 9/11 from the GOP Vocabulary

Congress needs to pass legislation precluding GOP invocation of 9/11.  Yes, it is an infringement on First Amendment rights but is supported by the strong government interest in preventing the fear mongering policy of the GOP and the central role in which 9/11 plays in such a policy.  It also protects against the huge affront to the survivors of the 9/11 attacks and the families of those who did not survive.  Why, you may ask, do I suggest such sweeping legislation?  It is fueled by the analysis of one of the groups opposing Judge Sotomayor’s nomination.  Rather than leading a fact-based discourse, the author seeks to capitalize on the tragedy of 9/11 in much the same way that the Bush/Cheney administration did.

This is from Wendy Long, Counsel to the Judicial Confirmation Network, as related in the WSJ:

Judge Sotomayor is a liberal judicial activist of the first order who thinks her own personal political agenda is more important than the law as written. She thinks that judges should dictate policy, and that one’s sex, race, and ethnicity ought to affect the decisions one renders from the bench.

She reads racial preferences and quotas into the Constitution, even to the point of dishonoring those who preserve our public safety. On September 11, America saw firsthand the vital role of America’s firefighters in protecting our citizens. They put their lives on the line for her and the other citizens of New York and the nation. But Judge Sotomayor would sacrifice their claims to fair treatment in employment promotions to racial preferences and quotas. The Supreme Court is now reviewing that decision.

She has an extremely high rate of her decisions being reversed, indicating that she is far more of a liberal activist than even the current liberal activist Supreme Court.

Judge Sotomayor’s ruling in the NY Firefighter case has nothing to do about 9/11, unless Ms. Long suggests 9/11 only led to the death of white firefighters.  This is about a personnel test and promotions and not about the tragedy that was 9/11.  But, of course, one of the last remaining quivers in the GOP arsenal is the indiscriminate use of 9/11 as their raison d'etre.  Ms. Long should be disbarred along with all the Justice Department lawyers who argued that their was a legal basis to waterboarding.  They are all guilty of spurious legal argumentation.  Oh, and by the way, her reversal rate is by no means high or out of the ordinary.

Prescient words from Justice Souter

As soon as Justice Souter announced his resignation, the valedictory assessments on his legacy commenced.  Many comments (from the right) suggested that he was not much of a scholar.  But perhaps, as his remarks at a Georgetown Law symposium suggest (from the BLT Blog) perhaps his critics have the wrong concept of scholarship.

Souter: Republic is Lost Unless Civic Education Improves

In a speech at Georgetown University Law Center today, retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter made a powerful plea for re-educating the American public about the fundamentals of how government works.

The republic, Souter said, "can be lost, it is being lost, it is lost, if it is not understood." He cited surveys showing large majorities of the public cannot name the three branches of government, something he said would have been unheard of when he was growing up in rural Weare, N.H. What is needed, Souter said, is nothing less than "the restoration of the self-identity of the American people."

Souter, 69, said he is already doing his part, having agreed last week to join a committee that is revamping the civic curriculum for New Hampshire's public schools. "If I can do it, you can do it too," Souter told his audience. After he retires at the end of the Court's current term, Souter plans to return to Weare.

The justice spoke at a conference at Georgetown, the latest in a series focusing on the independence of the judiciary, convened by retired justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Souter's planned retirement, announced May 1, overshadowed the day's discussion as participants debated the importance of diversity and empathy in the context of the judiciary.

Several potential Supreme Court nominees were on hand, including Solicitor General Elena Kagan, Judge Diane Wood of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, and Judge Vanessa Ruiz of the D.C. Court of Appeals.

But Souter's was the most dramatic talk, winning a prolonged standing ovation from several hundred lawyers and judges from around the country. Justice O'Connor was visibly moved by Souter's remarks.

In keeping with his aversion to the limelight, Souter prohibited still and broadcast cameras from recording his talk. It had a valedictory tone, with Souter reminiscing about town hall meetings he attended as  a child in New Hampshire. Town meetings, in which all residents can attend and can have a say in local governance, are "the most radical example, I suppose, of democracy in America." They are held in March "before the mud gets bad," Souter said. At those meetings, Souter said he learned about the separate duties of different branches and levels of government.

According to Souter, the Georgetown conferences preceding today's event focused initially on developing ways to "stick up for the judiciary" in the face of political attacks. But he said participants eventually realized that "the real problem was the debasement and in some cases the disappearance of basic knowledge" about government. He and others realized that the real task ahead was "to start the re-education of a substantial part of the public."

Souter closed by recalling the late Judge Richard Arnold's statement about why judicial independence is so important to the nation. He said that at a Philadelphia conference several years ago Arnold, an acclaimed judge on the 8th Circuit who died in 2004, said a strong and independent judiciary was needed because, "There has to be a safe place. There has to be a safe place. That's all he said."

The Mix Tape

The Mix Tape is legendary in the annals of music.  As soon as people got the ability to copy music they started recording it on the current medium of choice:  tapes, cds, dvds.  Mix tapes have had a myriad of uses including often as a means of seduction.  For me, however, mix tapes/cds provided a way of mobility.  Before the Walkmen, or iPod, it allowed me to carry my favorite music around with me; primarily in my car.  And when I do share it with people it is more of a means of disseminating great music I have heard and at the same time providing insights into myself without having to articulate it.

I have been doing mix tapes/cds since 1985.  I generally do a bad job of preserving my own copies, and since the early ones were on tape, you do have the degradation issue.  But I was touched to have one friend tell me she still has copies of some of my tapes from nearly 30 years ago.  I did a better job with themes earlier on, but I still do try and find some unifying theme to the music or some theme in my life or the world that I can attach to it.

What triggered my mix tape reflection was Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, a movie I watched on DVD a couple of nights ago and it just resonated with me.  The mix cd was not as central to the movie as say the mix tape was in Love is a Mix Tape (a sad book by a music journalist on the mix tapes he made for his wife who died).  But it is the mix tape, and the shared love of music that the protagonists shared, that fueled the love story.  The movie was set in NYC and brought back fond memories of my time there.  Music is such a soundtrack to the Manhattan scene.  The movie had sort of an After Hours development to it as the characters go from one not-so-mainstream NYC landmark to another.

Music is such a huge part of my life.  I must go to about ten concerts a year and that is down from my 1980s heyday.  And my dream one day is to find that someone, somewhere in summertime who shares the same love of music I do.  Maybe someday, someway . . .

When it comes to (sur)Reality, FOX is no longer King of the Hill

The Wall Street Journal . . .

. . . addresses a crucial issue in today's economy.

http://online.wsj.com/video/men-underwear-selection-too-much-for-some/7E68CE3F-19BC-49D3-8F4F-A3EACCCB7C93.html

Ways to Deal with the Recession

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First there was lingerie, then there was the Lingerie Bowl, and now the Lingerie Football League . . . a logical evolution.

Women in Love

In honor of my 300^th post, more insight into who I am. I had mentioned in my 200^th post that there was a second literary character to which I was linked. Before I identify the character, some background. In my senior year in high school, I had one of the most inspirational and brilliant teachers I ever had. The class was AP English and my teacher was the type who had incredible insight into her students. She could identify their inner talents and get the most out of them. As with many brilliant minds, however, she had her inner demons. She was manic-depressive and an alcoholic; a lethal combination. I was her aide and I soon began to realize that she was drinking frequently. When she did drink, she was usually drunk by the afternoon. At one point, she was so drunk, that she asked me to grade her papers. I do hope she reviewed my grading, but I am not sure if she did. One evening during the summer after I graduated from high school she called me at my home number. She told me she was going to commit suicide and asked me to come over. I did not go over, but I did call one of the other teachers I knew who got her some help. I never spoke to her again after that. I know she did get some psychiatric help and I believe she was able to return to teaching.

At any rate, she told me one day that I was Birkin, one of the male protagonists in Women in Love; Birkin was also the alter ego of the author, D.H. Lawrence. Of course, that did prod me to read the book, and I did see a lot of similarities in certain aspects of Birkin, particularly in regard to his ideal conception of love, termed by James Ross MacDonald as "part of his vision of the ideal human relationship as "a pure stable equilibrium" of individual wills, in which neither fully succumbs or dominates." Birkin also was an intellectual who preached anti-intellectualism (perhaps this explains my blog) and was searching for the transcendent state of being. This transcendence, according to Eugene Goodheart, would hopefully free him from the diminutions of human life and place him in oneness with the cosmic order. Other parts of Birkin are quite off the mark in regard to me, but ultimately it was a rather incredible comparison by my teacher.

The Return of the Mac

Fleetwood Mac will always hold a special place in my life. Rumours came out right around the time I first got into music and in 1977 you could just not escape it. It dominated radio and crafted the soundscape for the year, if not the decade. Of course, at that time, I had no clue what the album was about; no idea that it was about breakups and drugs; anger and hope. Once I realized the underlying themes, it just added to the allure of the band; the idea that they could craft such a gem when they were barely speaking to each other. The fact that this album did not destroy them but only made them stronger adds to the mystique. So, since their return with The Dance in 1997, I have seen them on every tour. Tonight I saw them on the Unleashed tour which serves as a greatest-hits extravaganza. And they really give their fans their money's worth. Not only do they play all the hits: The Chain, Dreams, Rhiannon, Sara, Tusk, Second Hand News, Go Your Own Way, and Don't Stop they add in gems like Landslide, Silver Springs, Big Love, Gold Dust Woman and more. And the love between Stevie and Lindsey continues to grow although Lindsey is now married I believe. But their love now is more of a "soul mate" love symbolized by Stevie putting her head on Lindsey's shoulder at the end of Sara, and the two holding hands at the start of the first encore. The band remains incredibly tight; Lindsey is still a guitar virtuoso (and the only member to stay on stage the entire concert), Mick and John are still one of the best rhythm sections in the history of rock, and Stevie is still mystical and magical and looks incredible. It is hard to imagine that she is 60. The band played for nearly three hours and what a stroll down a musical memory lane it was.

Fun Times in the Mayfair/Highlands Area

Serena Algeria has an exciting summer to look forward to. Last year the summer entertainment was watching Dagwood and his family on the trampoline. This year it will be keggers. Yes, Dagwood and Blondie are thinking about renting their still on the market residence to four twentysomethings (two male; two female). This should turn that staid corner 6^th and Holly into Party Central. And with RTD access, I am sure many will "crash" the party. Just think, Serena, not only will an open door replace the darkness of the Dagwood residence on Halloween, there will be a Halloween kegger going on featuring treats the neighborhood has been quite unused to. It truly will be an All Hallow's Eve party.

NKOTB is Back

For months, Beautiful Dreamer, who just disseminated the raccoon flu to all of Colorado, has been bugging me to give NKOTB a second chance. So when I saw that they were on The Today Show concert series, I did. The Plaza was packed. Some women had been camping out for five days (hope they had shower access). The crowd was also cougar-ific. NKOTB had some dancers from Jabberwocky, the first America's Best Dance Crew winners, set the scene, then the Kids electrified the audience with their moves, rendered all the more difficult with the rain making the stage quite hazardous. Luckily no Kids were hurt in the performance. I did not actually hear the music as I was at the gym, but the dancing seemed quite adept.

How not to win the heart of a Cougar

TV Land's The Cougar is not only mildly entertaining but it provides useful dating tips for men. For instance, do not get so nervous that you vomit noticeably in front of the woman you are trying to woo. During the elimination ceremony, a ski instructor from Boulder grew flush at the thought that he would be eliminated so he jetted to the bathroom in the midst of the ceremony. Of course, he left the bathroom door open so all could hear his barfing. He then returned to the ceremony. The elimination ceremony consists of the Cougar asking for a kiss. If she lets you kiss her on the lips you are safe; but if she turns her cheek, you are eliminated. Needless to say, the vomiting guy got the cheek. At least he did not vomit on her.