Have a heart, Sotomayor!

If you follow the news at all, you likely have heard (here) that the U.S. Supreme overturned one of S.Ct. nominee Sonia Sotomayor's lower court decisions this week. But the more interesting and timely aspect of this story to me (rather than the wins/losses or victor/smack-down angle) is how it reflects Sotomayor's summary and un-serious treatment of a very serious and complex issue.

Given that Judge Sonia Sotomayor's most exceptional quality is supposedly her ability to empathize, this week's affirmative action decision in Ricci v. DeStefano is ironic. Sotomayor's endorsement of a one-paragraph 2nd Circuit opinion in the matter wasn't very sympathetic.

Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg was careful to note how she had resisted her feelings in considering this case,

The white firefighters who studied for the exam "understandably attract the court's empathy," Justice Ginsburg said in summarizing the dissent from the bench. But, she added, "they had no vested right to promotion."

It is a fair (not to mention complex) question whether there is a right to be promoted if you qualify for a promotion in every respect except for the color of your skin. And I commend the "living Constitution"/jurisprudentially Liberal dissenters on our Supreme Court for their effort to rationalize their political view of racial preferences. But Sotomayor, and the other two judges on the panel who dismissively refused to consider this case at the Circuit Court level, didn't even go to that trouble. Apparently her motivation to go the extra mile is limited to certain types of petitioners.

Come on Judge Sotomayor, have a heart!

Do HRC and BHO understand rule of law?

I'm not sure what caught my eye about what is going on in Honduras--the purported "bloodless military coup." Maybe it was the prominence of characters like Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro in the narrative; nonetheless, it appears that what is happening down south is less a military coup and more of a constitutional stand-off.

And it sounds like the Obama administration is engaging in knee-jerk foreign policy regarding the situation. From a WSJ article on the matter:

That Mr. Zelaya acted as if he were above the law, there is no doubt. While Honduran law allows for a constitutional rewrite, the power to open that door does not lie with the president. A constituent assembly can only be called through a national referendum approved by its Congress.

But Mr. Zelaya declared the vote on his own and had Mr. Chávez ship him the necessary ballots from Venezuela. The Supreme Court ruled his referendum unconstitutional, and it instructed the military not to carry out the logistics of the vote as it normally would do.

The top military commander, Gen. Romeo Vásquez Velásquez, told the president that he would have to comply. Mr. Zelaya promptly fired him. The Supreme Court ordered him reinstated. Mr. Zelaya refused.

Calculating that some critical mass of Hondurans would take his side, the president decided he would run the referendum himself. So on Thursday he led a mob that broke into the military installation where the ballots from Venezuela were being stored and then had his supporters distribute them in defiance of the Supreme Court's order.

The attorney general had already made clear that the referendum was illegal, and he further announced that he would prosecute anyone involved in carrying it out. Yesterday, Mr. Zelaya was arrested by the military and is now in exile in Costa Rica.

Creepiness creep

With Michael Jackson's passing, I have found myself thinking more about the inherent problems of social isolation. And it has served as a "teachable moment" for explaining what I'm terming "creepiness creep" that befalls so many celebrities. It just seems that the more one tends to be able (and willing) to isolate themselves from "reality," the more creepy they become.

Well, here's an excellent op/ed from Mark Steyn about the unnecessary and unwise "bubble" that we countenance for elected officials. (Let’s Burst the Bubble by Mark Steyn on National Review Online). From the article:

At the press conference, the governor rationalized his unfaithfulness to Mrs. Sanford by saying that he needed to get out of “the bubble.” Tina Brown, proprietrix of The Daily Beast, hooted in derision: “The bubble’s where you’re s’posed to be, Mark. That’s what all the rubber-chicken fundraisers you put her through were for.” But a more basic question is: Why does the minimally empowered executive of a mid-sized state with no particular national prominence need to be in “the bubble” in the first place?

See also Sanford and Gosselin.

Science-deniers prevail in House vote

From the WSJ (Strassel: The Climate Change Climate Change - WSJ.com) the "debate" over man-made climate change may be just beginning, regardless of yesterday's Cap and Tax vote in the U.S. House:

"Republicans in the U.S. have, in recent years, turned ever more to the cost arguments against climate legislation. That's made sense in light of the economic crisis. If Speaker Nancy Pelosi fails to push through her bill, it will be because rural and Blue Dog Democrats fret about the economic ramifications. Yet if the rest of the world is any indication, now might be the time for U.S. politicians to re-engage on the science. One thing for sure: They won't be alone."

Sanford and Gosselin

I just watched a video of SC Governor Mark Sanford's press conference (here) and I have been following the "Jon & Kate" saga over the past few days, and I can only say that men, particularly husbands, are taking a bath.

It is painful to watch the mealy-mouthed statements of these guys about what they're doing or what they have done. Every country-fied or southernized phrase out of Sanford's mouth made my stomach hurt; it almost seemed like he was enjoying the attention at this press conference. He was too comfortable.

Jon Gosselin expressed his "sad[ness]" and "excite[ment]" in his first public statements (on Monday's Jon & Kate Plus 8 broadcast) about divorcing his wife and the mother of his children . . . he said he was "proud" that he was "finally standing on his own two feet" (whatever that means; though I doubt he meant to say he was hereafter proverbially paying his own freight).

It is so important that guys have someone in their lives--or will allow someone into their lives, who is willing to tell them uncomfortable truths. I need to be cultivating those types of relationships myself.

Say aloha to the Pro Bowl

This may be old news, but I just read that the 2010 Pro Bowl is (a) going to be played on the Sunday before the Super Bowl and (b) is not going to be played in Hawaii (here).

I definitely like the idea of filling the typically "off" week before the Super Bowl with an event--the coverage of preparation for the Super Bowl gets tiring real quick, and there's bound to be more interest in a game that is played before the interest in professional football climaxes in the Super Bowl.

Perhaps NFL types will miss having a reason to travel to the Aloha State, but it is hard not to think that the game--which is typically viewed as post-season walk-thru, will have a different feel if played in the pre-Super Bowl atmosphere and the Super Bowl venue.

Making hay out of straw men

Give me a break, Forrester.

Goforth's email was definitely racist. I don't condone that kind of stuff, and it is doubly offensive that she used state property (and likely state time) to send the email.

But this was not racist.

And the "Magic Negro" bit was satire, making fun of LIBERALS' view of Obama.

Stereotyping Republicans as racists conveniently stokes the racial division in our state and country. Grow up Chip.

Let's debate education!

It is fascinating to read the arguments (now Democrat State Rep. Mike Turner is blaming busing--which we've always heard is "code" for racism . . .) about how to improve education in the comments section over at Post Politics.

Folks, there's no evidence that inadequate spending is the cause for the problems with public school. Conspiracy of Ignorance is a great resource on the subject, but this 1999 report touches on some of the same concepts:

The program, "Public Schools in Bad Shape," was broadcast on November 12, 1999. In it, New York City Schools Chancellor Rudy Crew warned that it would be wrong to create the idea that failure is "sewn within the fabric of public schools." Stossel agreed, noting that some public schools do good work.

"But the big truth is that in city after city, the Catholic schools do better, spending less than half as much" as government-run schools, said Stossel. And while Catholic schools offer fewer union job protections, the bottom line is that "it sure seems good for the kids," with Catholic school graduation rates far outstripping those in the public schools.


Why Catholic Schools Succeed

How do U.S. Catholic schools do well on about $3,000 per student, when Crew says the New York City schools need even more than the $8,000 per student that is currently spent? Classes in Catholic schools are much larger than in the government schools, teachers are not paid as much, and many are teaching without a four-year degree and without a masters degree.

"Maybe it's not the money," suggested Stossel, "but about accountability and competition."

Maybe.

UPDATE: Here's a more current study and report that demonstrates the same thing: inadequate funding is not the problem with public education. Spending on public education has more than doubled in America since 1971 . . .

UPDATE II: Here's the video broadcast of the Stossel report.

The best of both worlds!!

Well, if you were waiting to hear Miley Cyrus weigh in on homosexual marriage, your wait is over! From a news report:

[Perez] Hilton's comments [referring to Miss California Carrie Prejean as a b***ch and c***t] have drawn sharp reaction, even from those who might also disagree with Prejean's answer.

"I am an openly gay man and a supporter of same sex marriage and I wish Perez Hilton would shut up," writes syndicated talk show host Charles Karel Bouley in a column on Huffington Post. "This is a person who is famous for smearing snarky and crude things over celebrity photos and following Brittney's every move. He lives for controversy and is only famous for it."

However, celebrity Miley Cyrus sided with Hilton in a Twitter conversation.

"Ya that's lame!" the "Hannah Montana" star wrote. "God's greatest commandment is to love. And judging is not loving. That's why Christians have such a bad rep."

Christ surely taught that we should love others, but either there is such a thing as right and wrong, or you should stop judging Prejean for judging, Miley.

Do you hate Palin that much?

I think it is silly to try and defend David Letterman's joke that former GOP VP candidate Sarah Palin's daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez . . . it was obviously a reference to the daughter of Palin (14-year-old Willow) who was in attendance with Sarah Palin at the Yankees game, where she (Willow) might have had a chance to meet the womanizing A-Rod, and--like her older sister, gotten knocked up . . . get it?

Letterman is appropriately being condemned for the attempt at humor.

Slice of tragedy (and criminal behavior) from America's heartland

I happened upon this mugshot gallery from greater Indianapolis (I assume) after following a link to the 10-year-old killed by lightning story. It occurred to me how often in a day or week such tragedies are repeated. It helps me be content with the challenges that I'm expecting to face today.

An off-duty cop arrested for DUI.

An asst. bank manager busted (in an amusing course of events) for pilfering cash.

An idiot who killed two people while racing a refurbed '68 Camaro.

Some high school punks busted for "hazing" some freshmen (that's a euphemism, sounds like bullying and assaulting are more accurate).

A washed up musician, whose stage name was Henry Lee Summer, arrested for meth possession. Apparently (according to wikipedia, he has a bit of a history).

A female teacher/male student arrest . . . a pastor statutory rape arrest . . . a DUI while operating a full school bus arrest . . .

And it goes on and on . . .

A "don't ask, don't tell" policy of their own

It appears the Left will need a new "don't ask, don't tell" policy of its own in dealing with the Obama's administration. Aubrey Sarvis: Under Obama "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Will Pass Away . Here's a nice screen shot from over at Huff Post.

What is unfavorable to a majority of voters . . .

Matthew Hurtt has linked to a Gallup poll on the favorability of Nancy Pelosi and Dick Cheney. Cheney’s favorable rating higher than Pelosi’s, according to Gallup.

I have always believed that the majority or at least plurality of voters (who do not belong at either end of the political spectrum) may not have strong opinions on particular policies, but they do have strong opinions about the political character of the candidate, in particular, a candidate's perceived candor and independence. And I believe that Cheney's modestly higher popularity marks over Pelosi are related to this principle. Like him or not, Dick Cheney is viewed (in the reigning hyper-partisan, hyper-politicized climate) as more authentic than Nancy Pelosi by more people.

And, to reiterate, both of these folks have unenviable favorability numbers, but it is no surprise to me that Cheney would best Pelosi in these ratings . . . despite his near-constant pillorying, vilification and demonization in the MSM and in the Left side of the Blogosphere.

See also skepticism from ACK.

A couple things about Bill Hobbs' TNGOP departure

I was somewhat surprised to read this a.m. (here) that Bill Hobbs had been shown the (front) door at TNGOP. That being said . . .

--the phrase, "a communications director is ineffective if his/her name is a part of the story" is hackneyed. In the age of the search engine, the weblog and the never-ending campaign the identity of ANY effective, much less "controversial" communications director will almost definitely be part of "the story."
--it is a stretch to declare that Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker are representative of the average Republican voter; thus, it is foolish to state that any Communications Director not to their liking is out of touch or not representative of the average Republican voter.
--I agree with commenter "Terry" over at AAACK's place: "The grassroots recognizes and truly appreciates all the hard work and effort of Bill Hobbs. When a man does a job because he believes in it instead of what he can get out of it, it always shows."

See also,
Bill Hobbs’ Red-Meat Style a Factor in Losing State GOP Job | Politics Beat Blog | Memphis Flyer

What’s Going on with the Republicans?! « Tiny Cat Pants

It's Obama on Line 1

Apparently a little pressure from the Obama Administration is helping break a Democrat lock-step against improving education.

Charter School Bill Back In Play

See also KnoxViews.

Why the controversy? UPDATE

An encouraging report from Kay Brooks ("Grad gift from Governor Bredesen"):

Gov. Phil Bredesen (D), who kept his cards close to the vest, signed the homeschool diploma bill this afternoon. HB0431/SB0433 was filibustered by the Democrats for nearly 2 hours two weeks ago as they fought tooth and nail to keep students with Category IV diplomas from getting jobs as police officers (despite getting their college degrees), or day care workers, auctioneers, hair dressers or pedorthists (among other jobs). I'm thankful to the Governor for not vetoing this and letting the community and the state to move on to more pressing issues.

(emphasis mine)


UPDATE: Liz Garrigan weighs in on the counter-revolutionaries. Hat tip, Kleinheider.

A couple things about George Tiller's murder

AC Kleinheider's has posted a statement from "all around religious rightist" Richard Land regarding this weekend's murder of late-term abortionist George Tiller, M.D. (Richard Land Rebukes Abortion Provider Assassination). In response to various commenters to the post:

--The State has the authority to deprive someone of life within specific guidelines, despite what hippies may say. Tiller's killer was not acting on behalf of the State.

--Performing a partial-birth abortion is not, yet, a capital offense, so executing a partial-birth abortionist is not legal.

--It is rich to see someone quote the "golden rule" in arguing for intentionally ending the life of a child only months prior to birth.