SPEAK NOW...

Check this out: courtesy of some feisty Democratic Senators, you can ask a question of Supreme Court nominee John Roberts. Make your voice heard during the confirmation hearings!! This is what democracy is SUPPOSED to look like...

Justice White Bread?

It's too early to say what is to be made of W's nomination of Judge John Roberts to the Supreme Court. What I have gleened since last night suggests that he is a "nice guy" of the All-American Midwestern variety (captain of the high school football team - a HIGHLY relevant qualification for a Supreme Court Justice) with very little experience on the federal bench. No doubt he was chosen at least in substantial part because of his lack of a paper trail: no one knows what he thinks about much of anything, so what is there to argue about?

Interestingly enough, though, the NY Times has a little graphic mapping out his career, and it seems that W. had to nominate Judge Roberts to the U.S. Appeals Court twice - the first time, back in '01, his nomination was blocked in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Hmmmmmmmmm...Wonder who might be using that little tidbit of info if things get dicy during the confirmation hearings??

I guess it's true that I woudn't be enthusiastic about anyone W. nominates. So I will withhold further judgment at least until the hearings start in September. Looks like we're in for a steady diet of C-SPAN!

The Cost of War - How About a Cool Billion Per Week?

It's easy to forget about a lot of things during the chaos of a move, but things are finally beginning to settle down at the new digs. And as if on cue, as I was chilling out this evening with my favorite NPR program, The World, I was reminded that the price tag for our adventure in Iraq is a cool ONE BILLION DOLLARS PER WEEK. I don't even know how many zeros are in a billion. I don't even have any way of understanding how much a billion is. But I do know that that is one sickening and sad fact.

Add the unfathomable loss of US and Iraqi life to that staggering number, and well...it's beyond the comprehension of this mind, anyway.

So Long, Madame Justice

I was in such shock on Friday at the news of Sandra Day O'Connor's retirement from the Supreme Court that it has taken me this long to even post about it. THIS IS EXTREMELY BAD NEWS, but you probably already knew that. SDO has every right to retire, and it's clear that W. would pass her by for CJ when Rehnquist retires, so what else was she supposed to do? But the fact remains that the loss of her moderate voice and frequent swing vote on critical issues like abortion and affirmative action stands to be a serious blow. A zillion groups are scrambling to lead the inevitable fight this summer over her replacement; check them out if you can, and see what they are up to.

I recently finished a fabulous new book about Justice Harry Blackmun and so have a new-found fascination with the inner-workings of the Supremes. Now, with Sandra gone, I can't help but imagine Breyer, Ginsburg and Souter (and maybe occasionally Kennedy?) huddling together in a dark corner of the Court, trying to strategize and stay strong in the face of the steady march of radical, strict-constructionist, original-intent, Scalia-led jurisprudence.

It's going to be a long, ugly summer, and we all need to brace ourselves.

Live 8 - ONE for the Record Books

Live 8 Philadelphia 8:45 AM Local Time

Phew. Live 8 in Philly has just wrapped up outside our door (though the same crew of drunken twenty-somethings that has been sitting in the lawn since before noon is still out there, pissed as farts). We took a ride around the festivities at about 8:30 this morning to survey the scene, and even at that hour, the crowd was pretty thick. We rode down the Parkway to the strains of "Beautiful Day" blasting over the mammoth sound system, and I think I got my first round of chills of the day. I had the same feeling that I have gotten every time I have pulled in at 5 AM for the MS 150 ride - verklepmt! There is something so moving about seeing so many people come together for a common cause.

In a weird bit of serendipity, as I was cleaning out my closet during the afternoon in preparation for our move later this week, I came across my wee photo album from Live Aid twenty years ago - some blurry 3x3 prints taken with a crappy Instamatic 126. (Jesus, we are all getting old.) I remember that day so vividly, and today so many of the memories came back. It's a sad commentary, I guess, that 20 years later, so much of Africa still hangs on the edge of despair, but I can't help but be inspired by what happened today around the world. Let's hope our leaders do the right thing in Edinburgh.

And once again: Visit the One Campaign, and join the fight.