RWN returns on Monday. Until then, enjoy the links!

Alarming News

Aw Geez, Not These Crappy Polls Again

BitsBlog

Carol Platt Liebau

DANEgerus Weblog

In The Bullpen

Kurdistan -- The Other Iraq: Thank You America Ads

Michael Steele For US Senate

Orbusmax

Riding Sun

Robert Spencer: Paris Burning

Suitably Flip

Tammy Bruce

Third World County

PS: I now have 4 out of 4 banner ad slots available because I haven't been pushing them hard enough. So, since I have a lot of ad space available, I'm doing a one month sale on banner ads. The cost is normally $60 for a 468x60, 20 kb or less banner ad that runs at the top of RWN. From now until Tuesday of next week, for one month only, the cost is $40 per ad. If you're interested, send me email letting me know, click on the "donate via Paypal" in the support section to get the money to me, and I'll have an ad up for you ASAP.

Question: "John, we have discussed your music preferences, So how about your reading? What areas do you enjoy? Obviously political/historical, but what else? Fiction, non-fiction, mystery, crime Sci-fi, fantasy?" -- doncos

"In your opinion, what are some "must read" books, outside of the political realm?" -- Good_Ol_Boy

So nothing related to politics, no history, or economics but everything else is fair game, eh? Well, I have read a lot -- and I mean a lot -- of books in my life and here are some of the better ones:

Horror

Books of Blood Vol. 1: Clive Barker
Books of Blood Vol. 2: Clive Barker
Books of Blood Vol. 3: Clive Barker
Andromeda Strain: Michael Crichton
Sphere: Michael Crichton
Prey: Michael Crichton
Everything's Eventual: Stephen King
Different Seasons: Stephen King
Night Shift: Stephen King
Pet Semetary: Stephen King
Skeleton Crew: Stephen King
Intensity: Dean Koontz
Watchers: Dean Koontz
Relic: Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Fantasy: In this section, because there are so many books to recommend, I have to do things a little differently

Robert Howard: All 12 of the original Conan books starting with Conan
Fritz Leiber: The entire Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser series starting with Swords and Deviltry
Michael Moorcock: The entire Elric series starting with Elric Of Melnibone
R. A. Salvatore: The entire Drizzt Do'Urden series starting with Homeland
Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman: Dragons of Autumn Twilight -- Test of the Twins (6 books)

I'm a psych major and because of that I've read a lot of self-help / psychology books / communications / business books. Here are some I'd suggest

You Are the Message: Roger Ailes
Rhinoceros Success: Scott Alexander
How to Win Friends and Influence People: Dale Carnegie
How to Have Power and Confidence in Dealing With People: Les Giblin
An End to Innocence: Sheldon Kopp
Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive: Harvey MacKay
Looking Out for #1: Robert Ringer
Unlimited Power: Anthony Robbins
Awaken the Giant Within: Anthony Robbins

Miscellaneous: A few random books that I liked

In the Belly of the Beast: Jack Henry Abbott
Naked Lunch: William S. Burroughs
Ender's Game: Orson Scott Card
Mindhunter: John Douglas
To Be the Man: Ric Flair
The Autobiography of Malcolm X: Alex Haley
Bored of the Rings: The Harvard Lampoon
A Harvard Education in a Book: The Harvard Lampoon
1984: George Orwell
Animal Farm: George Orwell
The Gates of Fire: Steven Pressfield
Atlas Shrugged: Ayn Rand
The Fountainhead: Ayn Rand
Hell's Angels: Hunter Thompson

If you want to buy any of these books, you should be able to find them at Amazon.

Question: "My question for Hawkins: Have Americans got it too easy? Has life become so cooshy that the people are beginning to lose touch with reality? Aren't people at their most enterprising and industrious when times are hardest?

Machiavelli once said a king should set up his territory where the soil was neither too harsh nor too lush, so as to keep his people healthy but not too soft. Do you agree? -- Chairman_Mao"

Answers: Here is my far ranging answer to your question.

"Have Americans got it too easy?" Yes and no.

In one sense, our country can never have it "too easy." Ideally, it would be great if every American were living in a mansion, had a Jetson's style robot maid, and had so much dough to spare that we could all play catch with stacks of hundred dollar bills.

Of course, we're not doing that well yet, but if you look at our GDP per capita, the only nation ahead of us is Luxembourg, which has less than a half million people. So this is a very rich, prosperous country with a vibrant, growing economy, that's continuing to produce more jobs.

On the other hand, the more prosperous and comfortable a society becomes, the more willing and able it becomes to shelter itself from the harsh realities of the world. This is a dog eat dog world and the moment a country becomes weak or soft, they can soon expect to find a wolfpack at their throat.

Sometimes this isn't apparent, because the US has been playing the role of "world super-hero" for the past few decades. We saved Europe in WW2, helped Germany and Japan become democracies, saved Korea, tried to save Vietnam, saved Grenada, saved Kuwait, guaranteed Europe's security from the Soviet Union, are helping Iraq and Afghanistan towards Democracy, are protecting Taiwan, sticking up for Israel, on and on and on.

The problem is that if we ever stop playing Spider-Man to the world, things are going to start falling apart at the seams because Europe is on a downward slide and is unlikely of being capable of picking up our slack anytime soon.

Are we tough enough to keep doing what we need to do? To tell you truth, I have no confidence whatsoever that the Democrats are capable of handling national security. Other than a few exceptions, like Christopher Hitchens, most liberals today are so naive and soft on national security that it would be almost suicidal to have them in charge during a foreign policy crisis. If that type of thinking gains purchase in this country and spreads across party lines, then eventually it will lead to a world wide bloodbath.

Just look back to WW2. Americans believed the hype when people said WW1 was the "war to end all wars." Plus, they were angry at the Europeans for starting another big war so soon, for not taking our advice after WW2, and for ungratefully referring to us as "Uncle Shylock" because we insisted they repay their debt after WW1.

So consequently, Americans were totally opposed to getting involved in WW2. Just to give you an idea of how wide and deep the isolationist sentiment was back then, according to Robert Leckie in his book, Delivered from Evil: The Saga of World War 2, when WW2 broke out, polling showed that only 2.5% of Americans favored getting involved. Granted, pro-war sentiment had picked up a bit by late 1941, but had it not been for Pearl Harbor, it seems highly doubtful that the United States would have actually gone to war although we certainly would have continued to aid Britain while officially remaining "neutral." Look at the damage that occurred to this country and the world as a result of that stance and Europe's foolish appeasement of Germany in the thirties.

"Oh, but Hawkins, come on, we couldn't have another WW2!" Well, not as long as we're on the job.

If we had to count on clowns like Kofi Annan and Jacques Chirac to be the "world's policemen," we'd have China and Taiwan going to war, Israel fighting their neighbors, Pakistan and India lobbing nukes at each other, Russia scarfing up smaller countries around them, Iran and Turkey ripping off chunks of Iraq, cats and dogs living together, rabbits ganging up on lions, cows buying baseball mitts, just general world higgledy piggledy.

That, my friend, is why this country cannot afford the luxury of isolationism or going soft.

One of the things I've been saying for a while is that I'm blogging full time, but that I'm keeping an eye out for a cherry full-time job.

Well, those days are over. I'm not adverse to writing columns, book reviews, or that sort of thing for pay on the side, but I'm now officially a professional blogger. This is what I do for a living, it's how I pay the rent, how I put food in my dog's bowl, and how I pay for the clothes on my back.

With that in mind, how about clicking on a few of my advertisers? Every click makes them happier, more likely to come back, and helps give me the freedom to sit at a computer all day writing for your amusement. Every click helps...

Jack Lewis
Larry The Cable Guy: Git-R-Done
Newsmax Poll: Sam Alito for Supreme Court?
Place A Bet On Iraq
Right Wing Stuff: Conservative T-Shirts
Stop The ACLU
Take Action! Sign a Petition in Support of Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr.
Tammy Bruce: The New American Revolution

PS: I now have 4 out of 4 banner ad slots available because I haven't been pushing them hard enough. So, since I have a lot of ad space available, I'm doing a one month sale on banner ads. The cost is normally $60 for a 468x60, 20 kb or less banner ad that runs at the top of RWN. From now until Tuesday of next week, for one month only, the cost is $40 per ad. If you're interested, send me an email letting me know, click on the "donate via Paypal" in the support section to get the money to me, and I'll have an ad up for you ASAP.

Question: "If Roe v Wade was overturned and you could write your state's abortion law, what would it be?" -- Mike_M

Answer: I'd favor making abortion illegal except in the case of rape, incest, or danger to the life of the mother.

At 2 PM, several bloggers were in on a teleconference with Patrick Ruffini, the RNC's eCampaign Director and Steve Schmidt, Special Advisor to the President in charge of the White House Confirmation Team.

I asked two questions, one of which was: "If the Democrats were to filibuster, would President Bush like to see the constitutional option used?"

Schmidt sidestepped the question.

Later on, Matt Margolis from Blogs for Bush asked why the hearings were being put off until January despite the fact that in the past, hearings have been done in as little as a month. Schmidt came across as not being particularly concerned about the delay.

This worries me -- just a little bit -- because the Democrats are going to throw everything but the kitchen sink at Alito. They're going to lie about him, they're going to smear him, and they're going to try to personally destroy him in every way possible. Is the President going to be willing to fight for him throughout the process? Is W. going to be willing to do what it takes to make sure Alito gets 50 Republican votes, even if he has to politically threaten some squishes behind the scenes? If there is a filibuster, is Bush going to be willing to twist arms to make sure the nuclear option is used? I would certainly like to think so.

On the other hand, Schmidt did at least seem to be very confident that Alito would get the votes he needs to be confirmed and that there would not be a filibuster. So, this may just be a case where the White House is so confident Alito is going to make it through that they'd rather just keep their powder dry for now.

We'll see.

Here are some of the other reactions from bloggers on the conference call:

Decision '08
Outside the Beltway
Ankle Biting Pundits
Blogs For Bush
Suitably Flip
Tim Chapman from Town Hall (Transcript will follow)

Question: "I have finished watching my Band Of Brothers DVD box set that I recently acquired, and I found it a brilliant series. However, seeing as Hollywood seems to be short of new material right now; do you believe that less well-known conflicts could inspire good films and TV series? I would be keen to see something about the Korean War that did not feature Hot Lips and B.J. Honeycutt.

It might just be my nationality, but I believe that a film or series about Australian soldiers in Vietnam (yes, we did send them) would resonate quite well with an American audience; firstly, it's a story that many Americans might not have heard before, and secondly many people might like to see one of its allies chipping in at a time when many others bailed.

Or perhaps I'm just tired of old TV shows and comic book adaptations. Anyhow, your thoughts." -- lmbrjk

Here are five suggestions. Do keep in mind that some of these events may have already been covered in older or non-memorable movies.

Guadalcanal in WW2: US troops that were outnumbered, undermanned, and often cut off from America desperately fought the Japanese from August of 1942 until victory was achieved in February of 1943. Throw in marine hero Chesty Puller and several key naval battles and you'd have one hell of a war movie.

The Battle of Thermopylae: A movie based on this battle, adapted from the incredible book, "Gates of Fire," is rumored to be on the way, but who knows if it will actually be made.

300 Spartans along with some other Greeks, held off a massive Persian army intent on conquering Greece. The Spartans fought to the last man in order to buy time for the rest of Greece to prepare for the invasion. Because of their skill, courage, and tenacity -- along with a Greek naval victory at Salamis -- Greece was saved from the Persian hordes.

Cortes vs. the Aztecs: This movie would produce some stunning battle scenes because Cortes literally won fights in which his men were outnumbered 50+ to 1. Plus, you'd have human sacrifices, lots of exotic visuals, and who better than Antonio Banderas to play the lead? The only thing is that you have to wonder if Hollywood would have the guts to portray Cortes, who admittedly was a ruthless man, as the good in the fight against the savage and evil Aztec civilization.

The Aftermath of the Munich Massacre: Steven Spielberg is shooting a movie about this, although it's hard to know how good it'll be. After the Palestinian terrorist group, Black September, murdered Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games, the Israelis retaliated with operation Wrath of God. Gold Meir sent the Mossad after the terrorists and gave them permission to take the terrorists out anywhere they could find them, including in Europe.

That has the potential to make one hell of a good movie if Spielberg handles it right.

The Life of Alexander the Great: Oliver Stone's movie "Alexander" was absolutely terrible. Here he is doing a movie about one of the greatest conquerors of all-time and he turned it into a soap opera featuring an effeminate Alexander with "mother issues." Heck, there wasn't even that much action in the movie. It was a just a bomb all the way around.

That's unfortunate because Alexander's life does merit a movie, but after Stone's enormous flop, it seems doubtful that a decent film will ever be made.

Question: "What's the deal with the riots going on over in France? Is is just a riot? Or is it a Muslim revolution? Why are we not hearing alot about it on the mainstream press?" -- Scorched_Earth

Answer: You allow enormous numbers of immigrants to come into your country, you make only minimal efforts to assimilate them, and then you throw in a high unemployment rate and a cushy welfare system that guarantees large numbers of them will remain unemployed, and it's not surprising that you end up with riots. Those are lessons we here in America should take to heart.

As far as the mainstream press goes, there are a lot of embarrassing topics that this touches on for old media libs: These riots make France look bad, prominently feature Muslim violence, and this also shows the negative impact of multi-culturalism and the welfare state. Given that, it's not surprising that they'd want to ignore what's happening as long as they can.

By the way, if you want to see some really excellent commentary about these riots, read what Mark Steyn said about them yesterday on the Hugh Hewitt show:

"I went to one of these suburbs that's currently ablaze three years ago. And what was interesting to me is I had to bribe a taxi driver a considerable amount of money just to take me out there. They're miserable places. But what was interesting to me is that after that, I then flew on to the Middle East, and I was in Yemen, and a couple of other places. And what was interesting to me was that I found more menace in the suburbs of Paris than I did in some pretty scary places in the Middle East. I mean, there is a real...this, I think, is the start of a long Eurabian civil war we're witnessing here.

...They're places where people who are not Muslim feel very ill at ease. They're places where the writ of the French state does not run. The police don't police there. They basically figure if you go there, you're on your own. You're taking your own chances there. I mean, I don't think Americans understand quite the degree of alienation of some of these groups.

...(E)ssentially, you're dealing with communities that are totally isolated from the mainstream of French life. Where all kinds of practices that wouldn't be tolerated, that are not officially tolerated by French law, such as polygamy, for example. Polygamy is openly practiced in these...in les Bonlier, as they call these suburbs, these Muslim quarters of Paris. I mean, we're talking about five miles from the Elysee Palace. Five miles from where Jacques Chirac sits."

Read it all, because Steyn had a lot of interesting things to say about this topic and when he emphasizes that this is the beginning, not the end of a problem for Europe, I think he's right.

Question: "With the Kos/Sheehan wing of the Democratic Party pretty much in open war against the DLC crowd, what determines when they reach the breaking point and can no longer function as a party? Which side wins, and what does the political landscape look like afterwards?" -- Mike_M

Answer: They're actually not at the breaking point yet, although they are at a very uncomfortable impasse.

The DLC crowd understands that the "Kos/Sheehan wing" is political poison, but they also understand that they need them to win. So, what we're seeing are candidates like John Kerry and Hillary Clinton rising to prominence. These politicians are not centrists, but they pretend to be because they can't reveal their real leftist beliefs and win. On the other and, they have to also convince their base they'll really be more liberal than they're letting on once they get into office.

Unfortunately for the Democrats, the American people have caught on to this tactic and the left-wing radicals in the base have become increasing dissatisfied with the whole dog and pony show because they believe liberals can win outright. This puts liberal politicians in an untenable position: they can't reveal their beliefs or they'll lose, but if they don't reveal enough of their beliefs to reel in their base, they won't win either.

How this dilemma will be solved eventually is that it will become apparent to everyone in the Democratic Party that the ideas or beliefs of the "Kos/Sheehan wing" are just killing them with the public. Then, out of political necessity, prominent Democrats will start distancing themselves from them and condemning their ideas. After some snarling and complaining, the ultra-lefties will then read the hand writing on the wall and genuinely move a bit to the right.

That doesn't mean they'll become conservatives, but they will genuinely dump some of their more unpopular ideas. This has already started to happen with gun control, for example. Democrats understand that the "gun grabber" label just kills them with certain blocks of voters, so they've gotten much more leery of getting on the gun control bandwagon. That sort of thing will happen more and more over the coming years, especially if the Democrats keep consistently losing elections.

But, when will they have their big "awakening" and finally figure out liberalism is a political killer? Who knows? Given that the Democratic Party has been going downhill at least since Nixon slaughtered McGovern in 1972, you'd think the Dems would have figured this out long ago.

Question: "Have you seen the commercials for Adult Swim's new show "The Boondocks", in which the main character claims that "Jesus was black, Ronald Reagan was the devil, and the government is lying about 9/11", and do you have a problem with pop culture advertisements based on partisanship?" -- maledicta

Answer: I've seen the commercials and I don't have a problem with Cartoon Network running it, although I won't be watching either. If they think there is an audience out there for that crap -- and The Boondocks is complete and utter crap -- then more power to 'em. That's capitalism.

PS: Comic strips are insulated from commercial pressures in a way that other mediums aren't, which is why the comics pages in most newspapers are so deadly dull. Furthermore, The Boondocks is a show that appeals to a very narrow slice of the demographic pie. So, if they're banking on The Boondocks pulling a big audience, I think Cartoon Network will be disappointed. But, time will tell.

Question: "Should Cheney resign? An article by Conservative Michael Graham suggested that so that Bush is freed from some of his baggage (even if not his fault). What say you?" -- seschub

Answer: I would be strongly opposed to Dick Cheney leaving the White House unless he has health problems that make it impossible to continue. There are three reasons for that:

1) He's got almost five years of experience in working with Congress, in the war on terror, in domestic policy, etc., etc., etc.. You stick someone else in that slot and it may take 6 months to get them up to speed.

2) He's more conservative than Bush and very influential. Although we don't get to hear about it, I have no doubt that Cheney pulls Bush to the right on a lot of issues. Given that another veep might not be as conservative or influential as Cheney, there's no guarantee that would happen with his replacement.

3) Last but not least, a lot of people look at the veep as a successor to the President in the next election. Since Cheney isn't running in 2008, that leaves the GOP without an "anointed one" in the next presidential election -- which suits me just fine. What would not suit me just fine is Bush choosing a squish for his veep who would get a big leg up on all the other candidates because he spent 2-3 years in the public eye as VP.

So, if Bush wants to get rid of some baggage, may I suggest Scott McClellan, Michael Chertoff, Andrew Card, & Norm Minetta? But, not Dick Cheney.

Domestic

US Senate Approves Of 36 Billion In Spending Cuts (Nice)

Scooter Libby Pleads Not Guilty in C.I.A. Leak Inquiry (Free New York Times Reg Req)

The Liberal Ninth Circuit Court: "There Is No Fundamental Right Of Parents To Be The Exclusive Provider Of Information Regarding Sexual Matters To Their Children, Either Independent Of Their Right To Direct The Upbringing And Education Of Their Children Or Encompassed By It."

Lesbian Lover Equal To Traditional Parent. Court Rules Woman Who Helped Raise Child Has 'Parity' With Biological, Adoptive Mothers

Second Judge Out For DeLay Trial

'Can I Quit Now?' FEMA Chief Mike Brown Wrote As Katrina Raged

The Gang Of 14 Say They Are Withholding Judgement On Alito (But Graham And DeWine Have Already Spoken Out)

Race Becomes Issue In Md. Governor's Race

Alito

Senate Hearings for Alito to Begin Jan. 9

Judge Alito's Mother Harassed By Press

Judges: Alito Unlikely to Overturn Roe (Don't Buy That)

Foreign

Key Al-Qaida Figure, Mustafa Setmariam Nasar, Reportedly Captured. Suspect Is A Leader Of European Terror Network

Al Qaeda Claims Iraq Helicopter Crash (Free WAPO Reg Req)

Shots Fired As French Riots Escalate

Protesters Defaced Public Monuments Thursday With Slogans Calling U.S. President George Bush A "Killer" Just Days Before His Scheduled Visit To The Brazilian Capital

Palestinians Hit By Sonic Boom Air Raids

Columns

Robert Bork: Samuel Alito And The Supreme Court

Investor's Business Daily: The Libby Indictment Is Not A Good Thing

Michael Malone: Silicon Insider -- Forbes Fumbles The Blogosphere

John Podhoretz: McClellan Goes After Rove

David Frum: Prince Charles -- Defender Of The Islamic Faith

Walter Williams: Do We Really Care About Children?

Katie Roiphe: Maureen Dowd Adds Nothing To The Debate Between The Sexes

Left-Overs

Jury Finds Merck Not Liable Over Vioxx

Mayor: Cut Off Thumbs Of Taggers. Las Vegas Official Says Graffiti 'Punks' Should Suffer Penalty On TV

Review Of Right Wing Blogs

Arkansas Man Kills Deer With Bare Hands in Bedroom

Civil Suit Goes To Court: A Scorned Lover, Glue And A Naked Man

Humor: Admitting a Quagmire

Website Of The Day: NIF

Today is Q&A Friday #26 at RWN.

So, if there's a subject you've been wanting me to tackle or an issue you want to hear my opinion on, just ask your question in the comments section. Your question can be about politics, ideology, history, blogging, RWN, from a liberal, conservative, or libertarian perspective; heck, it can even be about movies, music, literature, or TV. Then, I'll select some of the more interesting questions and answer them.

So ask away!

One thing that may surprise people who are not familiar with conservative judicial philosophy is the way that Samuel Alito ruled on abortion cases that came before him. From the Christian Science Monitor:

"If there was any doubt about where US Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito stands on abortion, his 90-year-old mother quickly and decisively put that question to rest.
"Of course he's against abortion," Rose Alito told the Associated Press in a telephone interview from her Hamilton, N.J., home.

Her candid statement may go down in history as the most blunt and honest admission of a Supreme Court nominee's view on the hot-button issue.

But the true test of appeals court judges isn't which personal views they hold, but to what extent those personal views may influence how they rule in a particular case.

On this issue, legal analysts disagree in their assessments of Judge Alito. Some say he is a conservative ideologue. Others say he is a smart, careful jurist who leaves personal views behind when he dons his black robes.

The best evidence of his work as a judge are his published opinions. They contain a few surprises and some ammunition - for both the left and the right.

For example, of the four abortion cases in which he participated as an appeals court judge, he voted on the pro-choice side in all but one."

Undoubtedly, the fact that Alito voted for the "pro-choice side" in 3 of 4 abortion cases must raise questions in some people's minds. If Alito is pro-life, why would he rule that way? Moreover, why would conservatives who desperately want to overturn Roe v. Wade still support Alito after seeing that he went the "wrong way" on those abortion cases?

Well, the first thing you have to understand is that the job of a judge on the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals is different than that of a Supreme Court Justice in some important respects. In Alito's case, in order to do his job properly, he was required to be on the same page as the Supreme Court. So, if the SCOTUS said that there is a Constitutional right to an abortion, then in order to do his job properly on the 3rd Circuit Court, Alito had to accept that and rule accordingly.

However, the game changes when Alito becomes a Supreme Court Justice because he will no longer be bound by precedent in the way that he was as a judge on a lower court. That means Alito can look at a ruling on abortion that comes before him, conclude that the precedent it was based on was improperly decided, and then vote to overturn. Although you can never really know what a judge will do until he rules, the expectation of most conservative court watchers is that Alito would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade if he had the opportunity, which would kick abortion back to the states.

Unfortunately, even after Alito gets on the court, there will still probably be only 4 justices who can be reliably counted on to come at issues from an originalist/textualist point of view (Scalia, Thomas, Roberts, & Alito). That means, at a minimum, the GOP will need to replace one more justice to really start rolling back the judicial activism of the last few decades, including Roe v. Wade. That being said, Alito will still be a huge improvement over Sandra Day O'Connor and his appointment to the SCOTUS will not only move the court to the right, it'll bring the day that Roe v. Wade is finally overturned that much closer.

After seven nights of riots by youth in predominantly-Muslim sections of Paris, French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin (who is a man) announced today that police would pull out of areas where dozens of cars burn each night to “let the freedom-fighting insurgents govern themselves.”

“Just like the United States should not force democracy upon Muslims in Iraq,” said Mr. de Villepin, “we should not impose our own provincial thinking about the so-called ‘rule of law’ on Muslim immigrants who have established a homeland in Paris. We’re withdrawing our occupation forces immediately.”

The Prime Minister, who, when he was Foreign Minister, vigorously opposed the U.S.-led war against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, today enthusiastically endorsed self-determination for “these peaceful religious people in our midst.”

This satire was used with the permission of Scrappleface.

The job of a Supreme Court justice is, in many respects, similar to that of a judge or umpire -- or at least it should be. The reason that Democrats and Republicans have such enormous battles over judges is because conservatives and liberals have very different ideas of what the role of the "umpire" should be.

Conservatives, who believe that they can sell their ideas to the American people, want the "umpires" to call the game right down the middle. On the other hand, liberals want the "umpires" to give them favorable calls that will allow them to achieve victories in the court room that they can't achieve in the legislative arena.

One case that will help show you the difference between how conservatives and liberals view the law is the "strip search ruling" (Doe v. Groody). In that case, Samuel Alito wrote in a dissent that the police did not overstep their authority by strip searching a ten year-old girl living with a suspected drug dealer.

Of course, liberals were horrified by this ruling. For example, here's Daily Kos diarist Chumley on Alito's decision:

"I'm the father of a 7-month old girl, and I will NOT live in an America where the government can force my daughter to strip and be searched, unclothed, at its whim.

I have no doubt that most Americans feel the same way.

Alito is a disgusting pervert who believes that innocent ten-year old girls should be forced to take off their clothes at the whim of the government.

I'm so godd*mned angry right now I could spit fire."

Note that Chumley's complaint here is not that Alito's legal reasoning is unsound, it's that he achieved the wrong result. Chumley doesn't think 10 year old girls should ever be strip searched, ergo the judge should rule it to be illegal and "is a disgusting pervert" for not doing so.

That's the liberal position.

Now, in order to understand the conservative position, you need look no further than Samuel Alito's dissent, in which he wrote:

"I share the majority’s visceral dislike of the intrusive search of John Doe’s young daughter, but it is a sad fact that drug dealers sometimes use children to carry out their business and to avoid prosecution. I know of no legal principle that bars an officer from searching a child (in a proper manner) if a warrant has been issued and the warrant is not illegal on its face. Because the warrant in this case authorized the searches that are challenged – and because a reasonable officer, in any event, certainly could have thought that the warrant conferred such authority – I would reverse."

So Alito makes it clear that he does not like "the intrusive search of John Doe’s young daughter," and yet he allows it. Why? Because the job of a judge is not to make rulings based on his personal likes and dislikes, it's to decide what is permissible within the law. Since this strip search was permissible within the law in Alito's opinion, he felt that it was not the place of the court to rule that that the strip search was improper.

This is why Alito will be such an excellent addition to the Supreme Court. It's because he will set his personal feelings aside, narrowly interpret the law, and will "call it right down the middle." If we had 9 men and women with exactly that same perspective on the Supreme Court, it would suit conservatives just fine.

Ingrid Newkirk, the head of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, is a complete and utter wack-job. However, assuming this story is legit, she does get major style points for selling her services on Ebay as a Personal Assistant for a Day with this description attached:

"Here’s a unique chance to hire hands-on corporate administrator and founder Ingrid Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), as your personal assistant for a day.

Use her experience in animal matters and corporate know-how to good advantage, perhaps by having her accompany you on your annual hunting expedition or to the rodeo or a bullfight.

What about having her redesign your animal testing lab or your bear bile farm, check your trapline, sharpen the lamb mulesing shears on your Outback farm or unload your poor old sheep from the docks in Dubai, build supports to stop your cattle from slipping off the truck ramps at the leather market, or count how many times the workers at your slaughterhouse miss with the captive-bolt gun?

You can have her clean rodent cages or racehorse stalls, serve customers at your dog-soup restaurant, or just have her listen for hours to your hunting club members expound on their manhood.

Of course, as one of the world’s most prominent animal rights leaders, Newkirk would gladly also help you veganize your corporate cafeteria or cook your family’s dinner, bring your wardrobe into the 21st century by going with you on a compassionate shopping spree, or cap your chimney to keep wildlife out of your fireplace this winter. She could help you select cruelty-free holiday gifts, train you to be nicer to your Rottweilers or teach you how to talk to your cats, restock your bathroom cabinet with cruelty-free toiletries and cleaning products, or swap out your sticky glue traps for Havahart® humane box traps.

Or perhaps you have other ideas.

Newkirk is available to give you honest critiques or humane advice or just do what you’d like her to do as long as it’s legal and, if animal suffering or death is involved, you did not cause it or add to it in any way specifically for this occasion."

Imagine how much fun it would be to have Ingrid Newkirk working in your slaughterhouse or carrying a dead dear back to your car after a long day of hunting. No wonder the auction is already up to $6100.

Furthermore, what if this whole concept caught on and you had other public figures auctioning themselves for a day? You could have Michael Moore stuffing envelopes for the Republican National Committee or you could send Cindy Sheehan to a pro-war rally.

What a blast it would be!

Hat tip to RWN reader Mark Troughton for the story.

All across the right side of the blogosphere yesterday, there were posts about this article from the Washington Times:

"Black Democratic leaders in Maryland say that racially tinged attacks against Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele in his bid for the U.S. Senate are fair because he is a conservative Republican.

Such attacks against the first black man to win a statewide election in Maryland include pelting him with Oreo cookies during a campaign appearance, calling him an "Uncle Tom" and depicting him as a black-faced minstrel on a liberal Web log.

...State Sen. Lisa A. Gladden, a black Baltimore Democrat, said she does not expect her party to pull any punches, including racial jabs at Mr. Steele, in the race to replace retiring Democratic U.S. Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes.

"Party trumps race, especially on the national level," she said. "If you are bold enough to run, you have to take whatever the voters are going to give you. It's democracy, perhaps at its worse, but it is democracy."

Delegate Salima Siler Marriott, a black Baltimore Democrat, said Mr. Steele invites comparisons to a slave who loves his cruel master or a cookie that is black on the outside and white inside because his conservative political philosophy is, in her view, anti-black.

"Because he is a conservative, he is different than most public blacks, and he is different than most people in our community," she said. "His politics are not in the best interest of the masses of black people."

During the 2002 campaign, Democratic supporters pelted Mr. Steele with Oreo cookies during a gubernatorial debate at Morgan State University in Baltimore.

In 2001, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. called Mr. Steele an "Uncle Tom," when Mr. Steele headed the state Republican Party. Mr. Miller, Prince George's County Democrat, later apologized for the remark.

"That's not racial. If they call him the "N' word, that's racial," Mrs. Marriott said. "Just because he's black, everything bad you say about him isn't racial."

This week, the News Blog -- a liberal Web log run by Steve Gilliard, a black New Yorker -- removed a doctored photo of Mr. Steele that depicted him as a black-faced minstrel.

However, the blog has kept its headline "Simple Sambo wants to move to the big house." A caption beneath a photo of the lieutenant governor reads: "I's Simple Sambo and I's running for the Big House."

A spokesman for the Maryland Democratic Party denounced the depiction as being "extremely offensive" and having "no place in politics or in any other aspect of public discourse," The Washington Post reported. Democrats have denied any connection to the News Blog.

Still, Mfume spokesman Joseph P. Trippi said Mr. Steele opens himself to such criticism by defending Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. for holding a Republican fundraiser in July at the all-white Elkridge Club in Baltimore."

You know, one of the most ironic things about modern politics is that liberals, who think that putting Michael Steele in minstrel make-up and comparing Condi Rice to Aunt Jemima is the height of wit, see racists behind every bush.

I remember when Ed Morrissey from Captain Quarters was ripped by some liberal bloggers as a racist for describing Michael Steele like so:

"Articulate, knowledgeable, passionate, and humorous, he embodies the communication skills of a Ronald Reagan with a keen grasp of policy."

Apparently, his "mistake" was referring to Steele as "articulate," you see, and that must mean that he normally thinks it's unusual to see a black American who's articulate -- or so the silly non-reasoning goes. That's how hypersensitive liberals get about race. Meanwhile, many of the same libs who see KKK members behind every tree think it's fine to mock a black man by putting him in minstrel show make-up or by calling him an Uncle Tom.

I also loved this quote from the article: "Mr. Steele invites comparisons to a slave who loves his cruel master."

It's funny they should bring that up, because one of the opinions that slave masters used to espouse was that they were actually doing black people a favor by keeping them in bondage. Their attitude was: "Come on, you think these black people could make it on their own without our taking care of them? Who are you trying to kid? They'd all starve to death without our giving them direction."

That was then. Now, you have Democrats essentially selling the modernized version of that same line: "Come on, you think these black people could make it on their own without our taking care of them? Who are you trying to kid? Without Affirmative Action and Democrats looking out for them, black people could never succeed on their own."

That's why you see Democrats getting so furious with people like Condi Rice, Colin Powell, Clarence Thomas, & Michael Steele: it's because they prove that black Americans can make it just fine without the Democratic Party holding their hand.

Domestic

US Bids Farewell To Civil Rights Icon Rosa Parks

House Declines to Exempt Political Web Sites From Spending Rules

Molotov Cocktail Flies At Anti-Bush Rally In Downtown San Francisco

Poll: Schwarzenegger Ballot Measures Lagging

Denver Voters OK Marijuana Possession (Boo!)

Colo. Voters Suspend Taxpayer Rights Bill (There Goes Bill Owens' Chance To Be President)

'Party Trumps Race' For Steele Foes

Aaron Brown Out At CNN

A Heavily Slanted CBS Poll For

Alito

The Gang Of 14 Doesn't Seem To Be Likely To Support A Filibuster

The Latest Gallup Polling On Samuel Alito

Samuel Alito Has Some Unexpected Supporters (Free LA Times Reg Req)

In 3 Of 4 Cases, Supreme Court Nominee Alito Voted On The Side Of Abortion Rights

NYT Praises Prosecutor Alito

Foreign

Omar Al-Faruq, One Of Al Qaeda's Most Senior Global Operatives, Escaped From An American Military Prison In Afghanistan In July

In a Sign of Optimism, Iraqis Spending More (Free LA Times Reg Req)

Iran Sacks Diplomats In Purge Of Reformers

Columns

Ann Coulter: Alito Nominated, Democrats Hide From Base

Jeff Jacoby: The Good News From Iraq Is Not Fit To Print

Byron York: A Crushing Disappointment For The Dems

Rush Limbaugh: What Democrats Said About Iraq's WMDs

Left-Overs

The New York Times Selectively Edits A Soldier's Last Letter Home

'Gay' Activists 'Terrorize'. Focus Conference. Police Barricade Entrance As Enraged Crowd Shouts 'Shut It Down'

Smart Black Students Being Accused Of "Acting Too White"

Gasoline Costs Since 1976 In 2005 Dollars

Website Of The Day: Small Dead Animals

Few animals in nature are as sensitive to changes in their ecosystem as the moonbat. When times are good, the moonbat is more cheerful, bathes regularly, and is confident that the American people will start to see the world from the moonbat's perspective.

But, if the political winds start to shift, the moonbat may suddenly become surly, start espousing conspiracy theories, and even go so far as to watch Michael Moore videos other than Canadian Bacon.

Today, at the world's largest moonbat habitat, the Democratic Underground, you'll get to see how agitated moonbats can become when confronted by an uptick in the political fortune of their arch-enemy, George Bush.

But be forewarned my friends, nature is not always pretty, and in this thread called "I hate America," you will see the moonbat at its worst.

asSEENonTV: I hate America. I hate the America that gets into their Hummers to drive three flat, dry, cemented blocks to their million $$$ mega-church to pray for the troops.

I hate Brit Hume this morning and his "hose you down" statement.

I hate the mom who shakes her head in patronizing sorrow that my daughter doesn't come to church on Sat night, Wed. evening, and Sun. morning.

I hate our leading mayoral candidate who has put "Take back our city from those without faith" and his "solid belief in christ" as his #1 and #2 campaign slogans.

There are some very ugly americans and sometimes I can't help hating them.

I wish I had grown beyond hate by this time in my life. I'm still working on it. I guess I could change the words to "dislike greatly", but that doesn't convey my feelings this morning.

I need to take a walk and appreciate some fresh air, fall leaves, and kids laughing.

mntleo2: Marc Marin On Morning Sedition with Air America Radio. He rocks and that title says it all with these hypocritical fools. They do not give a d*mn about Jesus, they worship money and hate anyone who is outside of the womb. They have literally crapped on the word of God and made it into a bank account.

Since right wingnuts run the show in all forms of government right now, they are responsible for EVERYTHING that is happening right now locally, nationally, and internationally. Every child that starves ~ their fault. Every homeless person ~ they are the ones perpetuating it and who cause it with their oily greed. Every community that is poisoned ~ their fault they care more about the corporations than they do Americans. The thievery and money grubbing in our government~ all on them. Every single person killed in Iraq, ALL THEIR FAULT, they are so violent they LIED about it all. All the deaths of nuns, priests, children and innocents in S America - they did it. Every rich person that benefits while the rest of us starve ~ their fault. he reason the rest of the world looks at us in contempt ~ they made this. The shame of the media's lack of anything that connotates fairness ~ they are the oines cramming this crap down our throats. If every liberal said this from now on, every time there is some kind of problem: "It is ALL YOUR FAULT!" They could not say a word about it. All together now: IT IS ALL YOUR FAULT, YOU RIGHT WINGNUT RELIGIOUS DEATH CULT NEO-NAZIS!"

When people accuse me of hating America I agree with them. I give them the list above as to what is their fault and add that they are smearing my good name by doing it in my name. I love most of the people in this country, but I hate the government with all my being. I am a liberal christian and I am ashamed of these people. Jesus said to hate the sin and boy do I hate the actions of this country especially when it is done by people in Jesus' name! I wish I could move to Canada, but I do not have the sheepskin or the family ties I need and I would have been outta here 1 day after 2004's fraudulent sElection.

My 2 cents

Cat In Seattle

Gildor Inglorion: We can vote, yes, but it only matters who COUNTS the votes...if you can't VERIFY that the vote counting was accurate, your freedom to vote is worthless. And you can't verify accuracy anymore...Diebold and the Repukes have seen to that. I'm coming more and more to the belief that only bloody revolution can set this poor country back on the right path.

Benhurst: Well, hating a country or its government is a choice enjoyed by all peoples. There were plenty of Germans who hated Nazi Germany and Russians who hated Stalinist Russia.

Increasingly, "freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose" here in BushAmerica. If you disagree, check out the so-called "Patriot" Act.

petgoat: Maybe it's more exasperation than hate -- the people bugging you are more ignorant than evil.

Christianity substitutes for an intellectual community for those who
are too lazy to read actual books or discuss actual ideas.

But if the American people knew what we know, a howl of rage would
rattle church bells in every burg in the land.

You can work against the ignorance, you can garrison with like-minded
friends, you can seek to subvert the wavering. Have you considered
moving to another state?

By all means, enjoy the clear skies and the autumn sunshine. (Maybe
it's winter's nearness making you cranky?)

Sarah Ibarruri: Excuse me? If your country goes fascist, move? What about fighting the fascists till they all have to move? I like that much better.

PlanetBev: Courageous, honest post by asseenontv. Half-way through my 50's, I no longer recognize this country. It's as if this country has borrowed a script from "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". I woke up one morning and though the physical environment looked familiar, villianous pods had replaced the media and government.

In very low moments, I too feel that I hate America, at least what it's become. And I am tortured by the memories of what I remember when I was younger, a progressive, forward-moving country.

My thoughts go out to all who feel this genuine pain.

Apparently, there are some Islamo-Fascists out there getting steamed about all the Muslims who prefer playing soccer to blowing themselves up on Iraqi school buses. So, in an effort to make the world's most boring sport even less interesting, these kooks have issued, "fatwas forbidding the game of soccer except when played under certain conditions and with the express intention of using the game as physical training for jihad."

Here are just a few of the details from a fatwa issued by Sheikh 'Abdallah Al-Najdi, from the Saudi daily Al-Watan, via Memri:

"2. One should not use the terminology established by the non-believers and the polytheists, like: 'foul,' 'penalty kick,' 'corner kick,' 'goal,' and 'out of bounds.' Whoever pronounces these terms should be punished, reprimanded, kicked out of the game, and should even be told in public: 'You have come to resemble the non-believers and the polytheists, and this has been forbidden.'

"3. If one of you falls during the game and breaks his hand or his foot, or if the ball hits his hand, he shall not say 'foul' and shall not stop playing because of his injury. The one who caused his injury shall not receive a yellow or a red card, but rather the case shall be judged according to Muslim law in the case of a broken bone or an injury. The injured player shall exercise his rights according to the shari'a, as [is stated] in the Koran, and you must testify together with him that so-and-so tripped him up intentionally.

"13. If one of you inserts the ball between the posts and then starts to run so that his companions will run after him and hug him, like the players in America and France do, you should spit in his face, punish him, and reprimand him, for what do joy, hugging, and kissing have to do with sports?

Just to show you how whacked out this is, even the other wild eyed Wahabists from Saudi Arabia think this is out of line:

"The Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh 'Abd Al-'Aziz Ibn 'Abdallah Aal-Sheikh, called on the appropriate authorities to "prosecute those involved in the publishing of these fatwas in a shari'a court for the crime they have committed." He also called on the Saudi religious police in various areas to "track down those involved and prosecute them, in view of the dangers and the venom with which they are trying to influence society."

When you have Saudi Arabian religious heavies, you know, the sort of people who endorse beating women with sticks for showing their ankles, essentially calling you a dangerous Islamic extremist, you know you've really gone too far.

Hat tip to Ace of Spades HQ for the story.

Yesterday, the Democrats pulled a puerile publicity stunt that is sure to get a lot of coverage this week:

"Accusing Republicans of ignoring questions about pre-war intelligence, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid forced the Republican-controlled Senate into an unusual closed session today, igniting anger from GOP leaders.

...Speaking to reporters in the hall outside the Senate chamber, Majority Leader Bill Frist shot back, charging the Senate "has been hijacked by the Democratic leadership."

"They have no convictions, they have no principles, they have no ideas," he said.

Noting the Senate had been considering a budget bill, Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., suggested Democrats were growing uncomfortable with the threat of slashing spending.

Frist said the Democratic Party leadership did not warn him in advance of the move, which Republicans called a "political stunt."

"It means from now on, for the next year and half, I can't trust Senator Reid," the Tennessee lawmaker said.

Durbin told reporters the Democratic Senate staff notified Republican staff as the session began.

Frist explained that the closed session meant all electronic devices had to be removed and staff and media were barred from the room.

...In his speech before issuing the motion, Reid said that in the wake of the indictment Friday of Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the American people and U.S. troops deserved to know details of how the U.S. got into the Iraq war.

Reid said Libby was the highest level official to be indicted in some 130 years, then asked: "Is it any wonder, Mr. President, I am worried about my grandchildren?"

Reid previously spoke of concern about his family's future welfare as he ticked off a list of familiar Democratic complaints about the performance of the Bush administration on issues ranging from the war to the economy.

The minority leader said the Libby indictment "provides a window into what this is really all about, how this administration manufactured and manipulated intelligence in order to sell the war in Iraq and attempted to destroy those who dared to challenge its actions."

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters the reason for the closed door session was to ask the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., why, "despite repeated promises," the panel has not complied with Democrats requests to conduct an investigation into problems with pre-war intelligence.

....Since 1929, when the Senate made secret sessions the exception rather than the rule, the body has gone into closed session 53 times, mostly over issues of national security. The last time was Feb. 9-12, 1999, when it deliberated over the impeachment trial of President Clinton."

It's easy to see what happened here.

For the last few months, things have been going the Democrats' way. Bush's poll numbers have been steadily declining, the Plamegate investigation produced endless speculation, conservatives have been getting increasingly frustrated, and then, to top it all off, conservatives got into a big brawl over Harriet Miers.

All of these developments seemed so thrilling, so exciting, so wonderful to the Democrats! They were fantasizing about Cheney and Rove being frogmarched off to jail and a conservative crack-up that would allow the Democrats to get back in power next year.

But then, over the last few days, the Democrats got 3 rude, rapid-fire shocks.

First, Bush stopped the conservative infighting by pulling the Harriet Miers nomination. Next, the Fitzgerald investigation turned out to be more of a repeat of the Martha Stewart case than another Watergate. Then, to top it all off, George Bush nominated Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court on Monday, which really united and fired-up Republicans for the first time since November of 2004. Also keep in mind that you've got Republicans in the House and Senate working on spending cuts, economic growth is still strong, and the Iraqis just recently approved their Constitution.

So, by having this little tantrum, the Democrats were hoping to stop the GOP's momentum. In effect, what they were saying was: "You think the Republicans have been doing pretty well over the last week or so? Well, all eyes on us and let us show you what we can do!"

And what did they have to offer?

More of the same old, same old that they've been talking about for years. "We don't like Bush! Democrats made mistakes when they said there were WMD's in Iraq, but Bush lied. Somebody in the White House has been charged with a crime. Blah, blah, blah."

It's like they sat down and tried to come up with a way to validate some of the worst stereotypes about the Democratic Party. "Well, they say that we're nothing but "unrepublicans" who have no ideas to make America a better place so let's prove them right by shutting down the Senate in order to complain about Bush again! That'll show 'em!"

As bad as the Republican Party up in Washington has been over the last year, at least there are signs that they're starting to turn it around. At least they do something other than sit around and carp about Harry Reid and Company all day long.

In my book, that puts them way ahead of the Democrats, who have gone from being the "Mommy Party" to the "highchair party." Maybe the "Daddy Party" isn't perfect, but it's good to know that there's at least one group of self-respecting adults up in Washington still trying, albeit imperfectly, to take care of the people's business.

In the past, to inspire people to suggest new music that I might be interested in and just for entertainment's sake, I've posted the music I was currently listening to on RWN. But, thanks to wonders of modern technology, I can now tell you which songs I listened to the most over the last month.

Here's the list for October...

15) Beethoven: 9th Symphony
15) Ron Grainer and Delia Derbyshire: The Dr. Who Theme
15) Insane Clown Posse: Hokus Pokus
15) James Marsters: Rest in Peace
15) Manowar: Warriors of the World United
15) Rage Against the Machine: Star Wars Imperial March
15) US Army Band: Battle Hymn of the Republic
13) Basil Pouledouris: Riddle of Steel/Riders of Doom
13) Rachmaninoff: The Flight of the Bumblebee
13) Chemical Brothers: Galvanize
11) Holst: Jupiter, Bringer of Jollity
11) Jerry Goldsmith: Patton -- Main Title
8) Basil Pouledouris: Gift of Fury
8) Darling Violetta: I Want to Kill You
8) LL Cool J: Mama Said Knock You Out
4) Alabama: Song of the South
4) Basil Pouledouris: Anvil of Crom
4) Ennio Morricone: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
4) Public Enemy: Fight the Power
3) Holst: Mars, the Bringer of War
2) Wagner: Flight of the Valkyries
1) Tomoyasu Hotei: Battle Without Honor or Humanity

With Fitzmas a bust and conservatives reenergized by the nomination of Alito, the Democrats needed to do something really futile and stupid to grab the attention of the American people and encourage their wacky base. Exclusive to IMAO, we have obtained a list of rejected political stunt ideas that happen to be ten in number:

TOP TEN REJECTED SENATE DEMOCRAT STUNTS

10. Hold their breath until they turn blue if not given their way on judicial nominations.

9. Have Harry Reid wear a beard of bees during an entire meeting of the Senate.

8. Do a fully costumed production of The Sound of Music on the Capitol steps.

7. Hold a fundraiser where Ted Kennedy competes against a live pig in a hotdog eating contest.

6. Daring daylight liquor store robberies.

5. Jump a shark on water-skis.

4. Set Buddhist monks on fire in protest of Iraq war.

3. All Senate Democrat episode of Fear Factor.

2. Have Chuck Schumer train and then compete to win the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

And the number one rejected Senate Democrat stunt...

1. Anything rational.

This content was used with the permission of IMAO.

Domestic

Senate Emerges From Closed Session On Iraq

Knife-Wielding Man Slashes At Four Outside White House

Bush Outlines $7.1B Flu-Fighting Strategy (Free WAPO Reg Req)

Judge Removed From DeLay's Criminal Case

Fed Raises Rates To 4 Percent

Trent Lott Questions Rove's Future

Clarence Thomas Not A Real Black? Paper Arguing For Court 'Diversity' Wants Asterisk By His Name

'05 Proving To Be Worst Newspaper Year Since Recession

Budget Cutters Line Up Targets

Samuel Alito

Gang Of 14 To Meet On Alito Thursday

GOP Sen. DeWine Discourages Alito Filibuster After Meeting With Nominee; Democrats Mulling Option

Moderates' Support Sought for Alito. White House Tries to Forestall Filibuster by Targeting 'Red State' Democrats (Free WAPO Reg Req)

Democrats Push To Delay Alito Hearings

Foreign

Arab League Scuttled Secret Exile Offer For Saddam: U.A.E. Officials

Fifth Night Of Unrest In Paris Suburb Following Deaths Of Two Youths

Rumsfeld Says No U.N. Access To Guantanamo Inmates (go Rummy)

Columns

David Frum: The Dems Will Huff & Puff Over Alito, But Can't Blow The House Down

Johnathan Adler: Alito Isn't "Pro-Life" Or "Pro-Choice" But "Pro-Law."

Mark Steyn: Confrontation Is A Good Thing

Rich Lowry: Fitzgerald & Starr

James Lileks: There'll Always Be An England — Or Will There?

Left-Overs

50 Cent Slams Kanye's 'Bush Is Racist' Comment

Blogs Distracting U.S Workers From The Day Job

Pajamas Media Is Holding A Gala On Nov 16 With Judy Miller As Their Keynote Speaker

Get Your Vast Right Wing Conspiracy Cards Today

Game: Halloween Cat Bowling

Website Of The Day: Power Line

We're starting to hear from some of the more moderate Democrats and it doesn't sound like they're armed and ready for a filibuster fight.

``I haven't heard any of my colleagues on the Democratic side talk about extraordinary circumstances,'' Nebraska Democrat Ben Nelson told reporters. ``The question hasn't even been raised.''

Still, Nelson wouldn't rule out supporting such a tactic if any facts about Alito emerge to justify its use.

Arkansas Democrat Mark Pryor, another signer of the agreement, declined to speculate about whether the nomination would give rise to a filibuster. Still, Pryor said, ``I start with the presumption that there are no extraordinary circumstances.''

`Very Early'

``It's very early, maybe in my mind. Those could present themselves, I certainly would hope they would not do that on this nomination,'' Pryor said.

Like Johnson, Nelson and Pryor are from states President George W. Bush carried in last year's presidential election, and both supported Roberts's confirmation.

Other Democrats who supported Roberts, confirmed by a 78-22 Senate vote to succeed the late Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, said they would ignore calls from liberal activist groups to oppose the nomination until they had a chance to study his record.

Three Washington-based advocacy groups, People for the American Way; NARAL Pro-Choice America, the largest U.S. abortion rights group; and Alliance For Justice have announced their opposition to Alito. These groups argue that Alito's 15- year record as an appellate judge shows hostility to civil liberties and abortion rights.

`Own Judgment'

``I am going to make my own judgment,'' said North Dakota Democrat Kent Conrad, who supported Roberts. ``I don't need some group out here telling me how to think and certainly how to vote.''

Conrad said Alito's dissent from an appeals court decision that struck down a Pennsylvania requirement that married women notify their husband before undergoing an abortion won't determine his decision on whether to vote for confirmation.

``The question is, is this man qualified, is he in the broad mainstream of American jurisprudence?'' Conrad told reporters.

Colorado Senator Ken Salazar, who also signed the filibuster agreement, said he wants to study Alito's record to determine whether he is a judicial activist. ``People have said that he is an ideologue, I don't know that yet.''

I think we're headed for a period of Kabuki theater. The interest groups will unleash their ads and blast e-mails on a daily business. They'll go on talk shows and spout forth their twisted interpretations of Alito's rulings. People will write editorials and talk in panels about his nomination. And the groups on both sides will raise beaucoup funds. But, in the end, it won't matter. Alito will be confirmed and comfortably so, just like Chief Justice Roberts. So we can relax and watch the show, but this is one play for which I know the ending.

This content was used with the permission of Betsy's Page.

Here are some of the more interesting early reactions to the Alito nomination from the left side of the blogosphere.

"Listen *ssholes, we all know how to read between the lines. You didn’t want the stealth candidate. You wanted the fight. We all know godd*mned well where Alito stands on abortion. No one’s buying it, and if you were so confident you could ram this through, you wouldn’t be trying to sell it. You know godd*mn well, the American people will support a borking of your uterus fetishists, that's why you try to cloud it. But you have your five seat majority in the Senate. Time to check nuts. If Frist wants to exercise the nuclear option, that’s what it’s gonna take. Because there will be a filibuster. And if there isn’t, then the Democratic Party is done. But needless to say, I'm as jacked for this fight as any, right-wing anti-enlightenment fetus worshipper." -- jedmunds from Pandragon

"The pundits are saying Bush's nomination of Alito to the Supreme Court will set off an all-out political war. But to have a war, both sides have to fight.

The Democrats will rant and rave: words. In their continuing ineffectiveness and overall spinelessness, the supposed opposition will do nothing significant to block what is now looking like the total remaking of the court to a far right wing stance." -- Bayosphere

"So this is the next step in the game: a hardcore wingnut, ready to hunt down the uppity women. Pretty much. He is also otherwise a wet dream for the radical cleric wing of the Republican party.

...We can ask what it means that Sandra O'Connors is replaced by this particular testiculated wingnut at this particular moment, leaving Ruth Ginsburgh the last representative of the majority of Americans on the bench. Or this would be what I would do, but the rule is to argue that the bench is deficient in wingnuts only, and Alito is sorely needed to increase the power of the Scalia contingency. Lots of possible Opus Dei boys here? Hmmmm. I better not touch that one.

But I can talk about the other game, which is to try to figure out if Alito is meant to be the second nominee to appease the wingnuts before the third and final one will be brought out. This would mean that a Big Fight is expected and that the Democrats are supposed to hammer Alito back into the underground with their stern little hammers, to help Bush, so that he doesn't get stuck with this wingnut who would make even his daughters' lives harder." -- Echidne Of The Snakes

"The Supreme Court is a symbolic institution. And the visions pursued by those perched there matter. Alito's vision of America is a dark place, and Democrats should be sure that voters know it. We may not be able to stop this nominee, but there are other ways to win the fight. Alito may prove more useful if rammed onto the Court atop voter objections. If we can win the debate about his ideology and force Republicans to rally round and confirm an unpopular nominee, he may prove more troublesome for them in success than failure. For decades now, Democrats have been losing the argument on Roe, getting tooled on the desirability of regulations, and being generally smoked on judicial issues because winning in the Courts had allowed us freedom to indulge losses in the public arena. Alito, if played right, can change that." -- Ezra Klein

"They say dry drunks are ticking time bombs of self-destruction. They've white knuckled it through the DT's, but haven't acquired the skills needed to build and maintain stable successful lives. They may put on a good show for a while, but stability & success make them anxious. Eventually they'll find a way to self-destruct themselves back into the chaos & failure with with they're so much more comfortable. Alito's nomination tells us Bush's time bomb has detonated." -- gaije from The Daily Kos

"How is it that the very people most insistent on a candidate who interprets the Constitution from a rear-view mirror, purist, reflection of the founding fathers’ admirable intentions are the most anxious to surround the new candidate’s nomination proceedings with a three-ring-circus of current political angst?

Surely they would disapprove.

The whole thing bespeaks of a preschool bully mentality. The main purpose is to visibly take over the yard. It’s much like planning a beautiful wedding and inviting the chain gang from a neighboring prison as guests. The bride is likely to get mauled and the groom hospitalized.

If the Democrats fall for this one – are suckered into low blows - they’ll be letting the bullies call the shots -- in political power parlance, employ their own "regimes of truth." Besides, being predictable is the kiss of death in persuasion and politics of any type. Allowing the other side to make you look petulant and desperate is exactly what’s desired here. I vote for the high road – but not the quiet one (we’ve had enough of that) and not the erudite one. Here the high road is calling the anticipated attacks what they are – an attempt to ambush process with political turpitude, an understandable yet deplorable effort to regain pride lost in their party’s recent unfortunate events, and to belittle and demean any form of disagreement, which the hearings are intended to give voice. Then, if the entire process hasn’t sunk beneath contempt, I’d try quoting a few justices who actually understood that strict interpretation of the Constitution without regard for modern-day consequences is as ignorant as holding a political mugging at a Supreme Court Justice hearing." -- Kathleen Reardon from Huffington Post

"The Democrats should start floating the idea that as soon as we regain control of Congress and the Presidency, we will proceed to restore balance to the Court by adding two new justices if the Judicial filibuster is abrogated." -- The American Street

"Alito, schmalito. Of course, he stinks, and stinks worse than usual. You expected a reasonable nominee from Bush? Are you joking?

Now look. Of course, if Alito isn't vigorously opposed and if he gets to the court, the extreme right will advance one more ominous giant step along the road to establishing the US as a Christian Taliban state (and no, rightwing nuts: I don't think they'll convert baseball stadiums for use as mass execution centers of heretics, liberals, abortion doctors, their patients, and gays. Well, at least not for a few more years, anyway.)" -- Hullabaloo

"Bush told us that the Miers pick would be great for the court because she didn’t have a judicial resume, but instead had real life experiences as a woman breaking down barriers. Yet this week, Bush has forgotten all those words in touting the long conservative judicial track record of Alito, who seemingly takes the position that women have their place, as second-class citizens, barefoot and pregnant.

The American Taliban has jerked their strings on George W. Bush, and now Bush has given them a candidate they wanted all along. The talk of a filibuster by Democrats has yet to start, and there is the threat of the nuclear option already being unsheathed by some inside the Taliban. To Democrats, I say: don’t run from these threats; embrace them." -- The Left Coaster

"There will be more, there will be more about Alito in the days and weeks to come to demonstrate just how many mothers he's f*cked. One guesses, since this is raw meat for the Christian right, it's gonna be a lot.

Meanwhile, in the most gruesome display, Bill Frist escorted Alito to the Rotunda, where, under lockdown, Alito was encouraged to f*ck the corpse of Rosa Parks. Carefully opening the casket, Frist told Alito that he could go first, but to save a bit for him. "Why not?" Alito thought as he unbuckled his pants. The President had already been there and fucked Rosa Parks' corpse earlier in the week, just before nominating Alito, winking at the statue of Thomas Jefferson as he took the deceased activist as his own. Ahh, the echoes in the Rotunda, with Sir Walter Raleigh, Abraham Lincoln, and others looking on, of Alito's grunts for liberty and justice for all." -- The Rude Pundit

Here are some of the more interesting early reactions to the Alito nomination from the right side of the blogosphere.

"I wanted President Bush to nominate someone like John Roberts, and I think Samuel Alito in fact deserves to be considered a stronger nominee than Roberts." -- Ann Althouse

"I have known Judge Alito for two decades. We served together in the Meese Justice Department, where he worked in the Solicitor General's Office and was considered the sharpest of Charles Fried's assistants. He is every bit as smart and personable as Chief Justice John Roberts. He is an expert on constitutional law. And he obviously has a longer judicial record, so his judicial philosophy is well-known. Judge Alito is soft-spoken. He is his own man (efforts in the media this morning to paint him as "Scalia-lite" or "Scalito" are intended to fire-up the leftwing base). If he is not qualified to serve on the Supreme Court, then no conservative is qualified." -- Mark Levin at Bench Memos

"You want a fight, Senator Reid? Bring it on! Reid must think consultation with the Democrats means that Bush has to nominate someone they approve of...Well, I'm glad that Democrats don't approve of Alito." -- Blogs For Bush

"Let me say immediately I was disappointed he did not pick a woman. I realize many of you think it makes no difference, but I beg to differ. All people in important positions also serve as role models. If the president were to have picked a woman, a conservative woman of course, it would have sent an additional message that women can think in a variety of different ways. That is one reason why the Dems become especially apoplectic when it comes to women who dare to be different. It is the reason why Barbara Boxer treated Secretary Rice so badly during her confirmation hearing. They can not stand women who challenge the Left's status quo, who dare to leave their plantation.

...Alito is indeed well qualified and conservatives should be very satisfied, but the president had a chance to do something even grander--nominating a conservative woman who would have been terrific on the Supreme Court while also sending a message to a contingent that is constantly sent a message from the Left that they can only 'be' a certain way." -- Tammy Bruce

"As if any more confirmation were needed that Alito is a fabulous pick, this piece reports that — predictably — the Democrats are unhappy about it.

...In particular, Harry Reid has completely lost any right to complain. He supposedly suggested Harriet Miers, then refused to endorse her. All the other Democrats tried to have it both ways, too. One can only surmise that their pettiness may well haunt them forever.

Now, Republicans have a unifying pick — one that has elicited more excitement everywhere on the right than Ms. Miers ever did. Let’s hope that the Democrats are as effective with regard to this nomination as they were with the last." -- Carol from Confirm Them

"I just got to a computer. I have been pushing Alito for the Supreme Court since the very beginning. I'm especially happy to see a nominee who does not appear to be reflexively opposed to reading the Second Amendment as it is written and originally intended.

Even the Gun Owners of America, a notoriously picky group, seems to support Alito. More than they did Roberts, at least.

I'll have considerably more on Alito and everything surrounding the nomination, starting today, and continuing as the nomination process unfolds. One finial swipe at George Bush before I join the Bushbot Confirm Alito Team: How can you look at this nomination and not regard Bush's previous comment that Harriet Miers was the most qualified candidate out there as the egregious bull-poofery that it was?" -- Bill Quick From Daily Pundit

"My guess: After a week of fussing and some intense hearings, Alito goes on the bench with at least 65 votes and probably more like 70+." -- David Frum

"At the battle of Helm’s Deep in The Lord of the Rings, the Riders of Rohan, led by their King Théoden who, only days before, seemed incapacitated and unable to control his kingdom, are besieged and outnumbered by the forces of Saruman, orcs, half-orcs and wild men of Dunland. As these forces breach the fortress’s outer wall, it seems only a matter of time before they will break through the final gate, defeating Théoden and destroying his kingdom.

But, in his darkest hour, the good king fretted in what he called a “prison,” longing to feel again “the joy of battle.” Even as he fears the end, he will not be taken “like an old badger in a trap” so, instead of hunkering down, the besieged (and seemingly defeated) leader elects to go on the offensive.*

The great horn of Helm rings out and Théoden leads his loyal troops, riding out to take on their relentless foes. His troops rally behind him while their adversaries “cried and wailed, for fear and great wonder had come upon them with the rising of the day.”

So too has President Bush rallied his base with the nomination early this morning of Samuel J. Alito, Jr. as Associate Justice to the U.S. Supreme Court. I just spent a couple hours reading conservative blogs and news sites and discovered a unanimity of support for this good judge among writers who were only recently divided over the nomination of Harriet Miers." -- GayPatriot

"Democrats today must feel like Snidely Whiplash the cartoon villian whose plots to do in Dudley DoRight of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police always ended with a frustrated "Curses, foiled again!"

If Harriet Miers was a foul ball, the nomination today of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court is a home run of the titanic proportions of the one Albert Pujols hit against the Houston Astros in the playoffs." -- Irish Pennants

"It’s official: Bush has picked Samuel Alito to be the next Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court....This will be quite a battle. But with the power of the blogopshere to spread truth, and to hold the media’s feet to the fire, I have confidence that we will prevail. Mr. President, all is forgiven. We are with you all the way. To war!" -- Patterico's Pontifications

"Incidentally, some may be tempted to start a drinking game for every time you hear or read about the nickname "Scalito" or for every time you hear or read a misrepresentation of Judge Alito's decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Of course, there is a strong possibility that with this drinking game will come a national cirrhosis epidemic, so perhaps it's not the best of ideas." -- Pejman Yousefzadeh from RedState

"If you think you’ve heard apocalyptic rhetoric from the loons on the left prior to this, I’ve got news for you; the outpouring of invective, gloom, doom, and hand wringing on the part of liberals will make anything previously pale in comparison. Listening to them, you may be fooled into thinking that securing the nomination of Judge Alito to the Supreme Court will end all life on earth or, at the very least, cause the sky to blacken, the moon turn red as blood, the stars fall from their sphere’s in the sky, and the sun to grow dark. In short, even though many of the Moveon crowd would be angry at the comparison, their rhetorical excesses will evoke images from the bible, the Koran, and probably the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead.

I’m laying odds that the first commercial showing a pregnant woman slinking down a dirty back alley to be met at a door by a Dr. Frankenstein look-alike with a rusty saw in his hand will be out by next week. And don’t forget the weeping celebrities who will threaten to move out of the country if Alito is confirmed. This time, let’s send them one way tickets to to Kathmandu just to shut them up." -- Right Wing Nut House

"I think that at this moment, many, many conservatives, confident that the American people want judges to be judges, and not legislators, are stretching, flexing their muscles, and pounding the chest, whispering menacingly, “Bring. It. On.”" -- TKS

"Samuel Alito is an absolutely excellent choice for the Supreme Court. In the immediate aftermath of his nomination, I suggest every person who thinks Alito is an improvement over Miers should call the Republican National Committee and donate and tell the person you talk to that you're donating because of the Alito-for-Miers swap. It doesn't matter if you donate only $5! The point is to let the Republican leadership know that if they make us happy, we'll make them happy." -- What Now?

-- This week-end, Wired quoted me on the Plamegate investigation.

-- Right Wing News also made the New York Times again for my post on Alito yesterday. Apparently, the "blogger reaction" "dealy-who" is going to be a regular thing for them.

-- I've always had this theory that when dead tree papers look for bloggers to quote, they look to articles by other old media sources, find the bloggers they quoted, and then check out those same people for comments. I think RWN is finally starting to make it into circulation because the WSJ and a few other places picked up my early Miers quotes and so at least for the moment, I'm part of the rotation.

-- Yesterday, I participated in a RNC conference call about the Alito nomination. We weren't given any info that isn't already public knowledge, but it was still a good opportunity for the RNC to touch base with a few bloggers -- which is a change. Even during the election last year, the GOP treated bloggers as an afterthought -- if they thought about us at all. That's no longer the case.

Anyway, if you'd like to see what was said, Ankle Biting Pundits & Decision '08 covered the teleconference in detail.

-- Senator Tom Coburn is reaching out to bloggers to try to get the word out about his new deficit slashing package. Here's the key detail:

"The package of offsets proposed today could save the American taxpayers nearly $130 billion over two years."

Granted, Coburn and his other allies have an uphill fight in the Senate to get these spending offsets through, but with Sam Brownback, Jim DeMint, John Ensign, Lindsey Graham, John McCain and John Sununu all on board, maybe they'll have the juice to get the job done. Anyone who pays taxes in this country and is sick of government waste should certainly hope that they're successful.

-- Last but not least, the official launch date of Michelle Malkin's new book: Unhinged: Exposing Liberals Gone Wild, is today.

I read the manuscript before it was sent to the publisher and I can tell you that it's a fast, fun, read. The book catalogues the outrageous behavior of liberals over the last few years with lots of juicy quotes, news clippings, and examples and if you read it, I think you'll really enjoy it.

Also, make sure to check out Michelle's page today to see "Unhinged: The Mugshot Collection"!

This was sent to me by a reader of RWN who wishes to remain anonymous.

"Harry Reid wants Bush to fire Rove; would also like to magically regain the Senate majority, a simple solution to Iraq, to be 20 years younger, and free cookies" -- Fark

Alito

The Text Of Bush And Scalito's Comments Yesterday Morning

James Dobson: "We Are Extremely Pleased By President Bush's Selection Of Judge Samuel Alito..."

Explaining Alito's Dissent In The Planned Parenthood v. Casey

CBS Reporter To White House: Alito 'Sloppy Seconds?'

Chris Matthews Whacks For Bringing Up 'Ethnically Charged' Alito Issue

Did The 'Ethnically Charged' Document Come From The DNC?

Top Ten Kos Kidz Reactions To The Alito Nomination

Samuel Alito's Mother: "Of Course He's Against Abortion."

Domestic

U.S. Senator Tom Coburn's Fiscal Watch Team Unveils Plan to Pay for Katrina Spending. Goal: To Save Americans $130 Billion Over The Next Two Years

Hutchison, DeLay Cases Have Parallels

DeLay Reports Record Funds For Defense

NASA Sets Schedule For Handling Asteroid Threat. Letter Suggests Probe In 2019 And Deflector By 2028 ... If Needed

Sen. Jon Kyl Responds: Time Article Falsely Accused Him Of Taking Down Miers Nomination

Foreign

President Vladimir Putin Said Monday He Won't Seek A Third Term In But Vowed Not To Allow "Destabilization" In Russia Following The Vote (Is A Dictatorship In The Works?)

Israel Sees Star Of David Service Joining Red Cross

An Iraqi City Becomes Turnaround Story

Columns

Michael Barone: Why Democrats Won't Want To Oppose Samuel Alito

George Will: Let the Great Debate Begin

The Washington Times: A Supreme Nomination

Jack Kelly: Democrats Today Must Feel Like Snidely Whiplash

Cathy Seipp: I Have Lung Cancer

David Limbaugh: Libby Indictment A Political Dud

Victor Davis Hanson: If The Problem Is Muslim Terror, Then What?

Heather Mac Donald: Mexico’s Undiplomatic Diplomats

Left-Overs

Woody Allen says his relationship with wife Soon-Yi Previn has a "more paternal feeling" (Gross)

Greenpeace Is To Be Fined After Its Flagship Rainbow Warrior Ii Damaged A Coral Reef In The Central Philippines During A Climate Change Awareness Campaign

Humor: Senator Feinstein Prepares For The Senate Judiciary Committee Hearings On Samuel Alito (Hilarious, But Some Bad Language)

Website Of The Day: Judgealito.com

Note the hand.

Hat tip to Bench Memos for the pic.

Conservatives said, "No," to Harriet Miers and decided to take a chance on what was behind Door #2 instead. Today, out of that door popped Samuel "Scalito" Alito, a man who will inspire celebration on the right.

Remember when Bush promised to give us judges like Thomas and Scalia? Well, Alito is so much like Scalia that some people actually call him, "Scalito." The only way Bush could have gotten a candidate more like Scalia was to clone him.

Furthermore, you'd have to be intellectually dishonest to claim that Alito isn't qualified to be on the court. We're talking about a man who has been in the Army, a prosecutor, argued 12 cases before the Supreme Court, and has more than a decade of experience on the bench.

Plus, Alito is the quintessential American success story. Here's a guy whose father came to this country as an immigrant and now his son, after working hard and doing the right thing all his life, is about to be appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States. Is that beautiful or what?

You know, after Bush's dad selected David Souter to be on the Supreme Court, there was a now infamous (to conservatives) conversation that took place:

"White House chief of staff John Sununu told Pat McGuigan, an aide to Mr. Weyrich, that the appointment of David Souter in 1990 would please conservatives. "This is a home run, and the ball is still ascending. In fact, it's just about to leave earth orbit," he told Mr. McGuigan."

Folks, this nomination is the home run that John Sununu promised back then and the ball isn't just about to "leave earth orbit," it has already left orbit, smashed through a meteor, bounced off an alice space cruiser, and crashed into the moon where it left a crater the size of Grand Canyon.

George Bush, thank you for selecting Alito. Sam Alito, thanks for accepting. Now, it's up to conservatives to fight for Sam Alito and make sure that he gets onto the court...

*** Update #1 ***: Unless there's some sort of scandalous secret that hasn't been revealed yet, Samuel Alito will certainly get enough votes to be confirmed to the Senate. That means the only way the Democrats can stop it would be via the filibuster. But one member of the Republican "Gang of 14," Lindsey Graham is already tapping his fingers all around the button that launches the "nuclear option:"

"But Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, fired back Sunday, saying that if the Democrats staged a filibuster against Judge Alito or Judge Luttig because of their conservatism, "the filibuster will not stand."

Assuming there are no defections, that puts the vote count for the nuclear option at 49, if necessary. Now, let's see what the other Republican members of the "Gang of 14," DeWine, Chaffee, McCain, and Warner in particular, have to say.

*** Update #2 ***: Mike DeWine is now on board with the nuclear option:

"I can't believe anyone would believe this is a nominee that could be filibustered or that it would rise to the level of 'extraordinary circumstances,'" said DeWine, one of 18 Senate Judiciary Committee members who will hold confirmation hearings on Alito. "If someone would filibuster, though, I would be prepared to vote to change the rules."

Helllllllooooo 50 votes for the nuclear option!

Right Wing News emailed more than 200 right-of-center bloggers and asked them to send us a list of whom they considered to be their "Most & Least Desired Nominees For The Supreme Court." Representatives from the following 37 blogs responded...

Aaron's CC, Annika's Journal, AtlanticBlog, Backcountry Conservative, Balloon Juice, The Baseball Crank, Betsy's Page, Brainster's Blog, Boi From Troy, Daly Thoughts, Dummocrats, Gateway Pundit, GayPatriot, Generation Why?, Guardian Watchblog, Hog Haven, IMAO, Isaac Schrödinger, JackLewis, JunkYardBlog, Carol Platt Liebau, The LLama Butchers, A North American Patriot, Patio Pundit, Peaktalk, The Pink Flamingo Bar & Grill, Poliblog, PoliPundit, PrestoPundit, Red-State, Right Wing News, Sane Nation, Sister Toldjah, Slobokan's Site Of Schtuff, Southern Appeal, Stop The ACLU, WILLisms

All bloggers were allowed to choose anywhere from 1-10 unranked "most desired" and 1-10 "least desired" nominees. Without further ado, here are their selections with the number of votes each nominee received following their name in parentheses.

Most Desired Nominees

15) Eugene Volokh (4)
15) Douglas Ginsburg (4)
15) Frank Easterbrook (4)
15) Edith Clement (4)
15) Alice Batchelder (4)
14) Maureen Mahoney (5)
12) Diane Sykes (7)
12) Maura Corrigan (7)
8) Karen Williams (9)
8) Ted Olson (9)
8) Alex Kozinski (9)
8) Emilio Garza (9)
7) Miguel Estrada (13)
5) Priscilla Owen (15)
5) Edith Jones (15)
4) Samuel Alito (20)
3) Michael McConnell (22)
1) Michael Luttig (28)
1) Janice Rogers Brown (28)

Least Desired Nominees

9) Priscilla Owen (4)
9) Ted Olson (4)
9) Michael McConnell (4)
6) J. Harvey Wilkinson (5)
6) Maureen Mahoney (5)
6) Larry Thompson (5)
3) Miguel Estrada (6)
3) John Cornyn (6)
3) Consuelo Callahan (6)
2) Edith Clement (7)
1) Alberto Gonzales (28)

Most Desired Nominees

Edith Hollan Jones
Emilio M. Garza
Janice Rogers Brown
Miguel Estrada
Karen Williams
Maura Corrigan
Michael Luttig
Michael McConnell
Priscilla Owen
Samuel Alito

Least Desired Nominees

Alberto Gonzales
Raoul Cantero
Consuelo Carnahan
Edith Clement
Chris Cox
Maureen Mahoney
Mel Martinez
Edward Prado
Larry Thompson
J. Harvey Wilkinson

One of the worst things about our legal system is the way that the buck is often passed from the people primarily responsible for injuries or crimes to tangentially involved businesses for no other reason than because that's where the money is. Here's a prime example of that:

"On an early May morning three years ago, Robert E. Nunez II got into a horrific car crash in Malden after a night of bar-hopping during which he says he had eight drinks of vodka and soda. The accident left him a paraplegic.

Nunez, a 2001 graduate of Revere High School, acknowledges in court papers that he was driving drunk and also carrying a phony ID card because he was just 19 at the time, too young to legally drink in Massachusetts. Nevertheless, a state judge has ruled he can sue two bars for negligence on the grounds that they allegedly breached their duties by serving an underage customer.

As in most states, Massachusetts allows lawsuits against bars that serve an obviously intoxicated customer who injures or kills someone while driving. But those claims are typically filed by an innocent bystander; for example, a pedestrian who is hit.

Drunk drivers who are hurt also occasionally sue for damages. But such claims are far less common, in part because state law requires such motorists to prove that the bars showed ''willful, wanton, or reckless" disregard for their intoxication while serving them -- a very high standard.

Suffolk Superior Court Judge Ralph D. Gants said Nunez lacked the evidence to make such a claim against Carrabba's Italian Grill on Route 1 in Peabody and The Palace on Broadway in Saugus. But the suit can go to trial anyway, he said, because Nunez had presented enough evidence that the bars violated their duty not to serve someone under the legal drinking age. To prevail, Nunez need only prove negligence, a much lower standard, the judge said.

''In short, since it is a crime for a tavern to serve alcohol to an underaged adult, a tavern has a legal duty to not serve alcohol to anyone it knows or reasonably should know is under 21 years of age," Gants wrote earlier this month. ''That duty is owed not only to any third party injured by the underaged adult but to the underaged adult himself."

Lawyers for the bars decried the ruling in interviews this week.

Matthew Perkins, the lawyer for Carrabba's, said the ruling ''leaves the door open for adult, but underage, drinkers to hold the commercial establishments responsible for their own illegal actions." Thomas Drechsler, the lawyer for The Palace, said he is considering appealing it to a single justice of the state Appeals Court."

First of all, before we delve into this specific case, it's worth noting that this is true, but also ridiculous:

"As in most states, Massachusetts allows lawsuits against bars that serve an obviously intoxicated customer who injures or kills someone while driving. But those claims are typically filed by an innocent bystander; for example, a pedestrian who is hit."

Look, drinking is legal, people often go to bars specifically to get intoxicated, and everyone knows better than to drive drunk. If you walk into a bar and get trashed, it should be your responsibility to find a way to get home safely, not the responsibility of the bar.

To blame a bar because some drunk gets on the road and hurts someone is like blaming Snapper if someone buries their neighbor in the yard and runs one of their lawn mowers over their head. You're not supposed to use a lawn mower as a murder weapon and you're not supposed to drive home drunk. If you do so, you're the one who should be held responsible.

But in this case, we've gone even further than that. We have a guy using a phony ID who's turning around and blaming the bars he tricked into selling him liquor. This is like a burglar suing you because he hurt his back carrying the TV he stole from your apartment out to his van.

It's all nonsense and if our judicial system were a little more sane, lawsuits like this would be laughed out of court before they even got started.

Domestic

Bush Expected To Announce Supreme Court Pick Monday

Libby Lawyer Outlines Defense In Leak Case

Matt Cooper: What Scooter Libby And I Talked About

Prosecutor Plans On Calling Cheney As Witness In Open Court; Executive Privilege Fight Looms

Foreign

Bombs Kill More Than 40 In Indian Capital

Blair Hints At Military Action After Iran's 'Disgraceful' Taunt

Iran Says It Has No Intention To Attack Israel Despite A Call By Its President To Have It "Wiped Off The Map (Yeah, Right)

Iran Rejects Derision of Leader's Remarks

Vatican Ready To Dump Taiwan

Prince Charles To Plead Islam's Cause To Bush (Bizarre)

Columns

Mark Steyn: Don't Expect A Joyride From Scooter, Dems

Mark Steyn: Russia Is Dying And Islamists Will Grab Parts Of The Carcass

Mark Steyn: William Bennett And The Perfect Phony Storm

The Washington Times: Slurs Against Michael Steele

John Fund: Internet Rules. The Miers Denoument Shows The Power Of The New Media

Left-Overs

Polipundit's Readers Select Their Favorite Judicial Nominees

Hugo Chavez: Halloween Part Of U.S. Culture Of Terror

Since 1977, Governments Collected More Than Twice The Amount Of Domestic Profits Earned By Major U.S. Oil Companies During The Same Period

Humor: Bush Drowns Three Children In San Francisco

Website Of The Day: The Indepundit