Alarming News: I like Morgan Freeberg. A lot.
American Digest: And I like this from "The Blog That Nobody Reads", because it is -- mostly -- about me. What can I say? I'm on an ego trip today. It won't last.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: We were following a trackback and thinking "hmmm... this is a bloody excellent post!", and then we realized that it was just part III of, well, three...Damn. I wish I'd written those.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: ...I just remembered that I found a new blog a short while ago, House of Eratosthenes, that I really like. I like his common sense approach and his curiosity when it comes to why people believe what they believe rather than just what they believe.
Brutally Honest: Morgan Freeberg is brilliant.
Dr. Melissa Clouthier: Morgan Freeberg at House of Eratosthenes (pftthats a mouthful) honors big boned women in skimpy clothing. The picture there is priceless--keep scrolling down.
Exile in Portales: Via Gerard: Morgan Freeberg, a guy with a lot to say. And he speaks The Truth...and it's fascinating stuff. Worth a read, or three. Or six.
Just Muttering: Two nice pieces at House of Eratosthenes, one about a perhaps unintended effect of the Enron mess, and one on the Gore-y environ-movie.
Mein Blogovault: Make "the Blog that No One Reads" one of your daily reads.
The Virginian: I know this post will offend some people, but the author makes some good points.
Poetic Justice: Cletus! Ah gots a laiv one fer yew...
What Big Brass Ones
Obviously, today is a Samuel Alito day.
Sean Hannity mentioned this just minutes ago, and it took lots of floundering around with Google to find a link to back it up. But here it is. Sen. Kerry calls for filibuster of Alito.
You’ve got to hand it to Kerry. He has got balls. He’s also living proof that that is not always a good thing.
Update: The clock was somewhat unkind to James Taranto, OpinionJournal.com. The New York Times editorial calling for this filibuster made his cut-off time, but Sen. Kerry jumped and asked “how high?” a little bit too late to make today’s Best of the Web. Nevertheless, “Best” is, as always, fresh, topical, enlightening reading.
Update: I’m instructed by my senator what opinion I’m supposed to have on a Wednesday, and on Thursday another senator announces his intent to filibuster just to make sure things happen the way the first senator said they should. Yeah that’s right. Agreements are violated without a second thought, elected representatives dispatch opinions down to their constituents rather than the other way around, dividers call themselves uniters while calling the uniters dividers.
Had to say something.
Dear Sen. Boxer,
Two weeks ago I wrote to you, pointing out how fractured our nation’s political discourse had become. I pointed out that since President Bush had sent to the Senate the nomination of Samuel Alito, Jr., who is acknowledged by everyone paying attention (including you) to be highly qualified for the Supreme Court — this was an historical opportunity to unify. Had you chosen to support this nominee, we would have seen our President and our Democrats in Congress putting aside their differences and finding common ground, to work together.
Your reply said many things, most notable among these things that 1) you chose to oppose Alito’s nomination, and 2) Bush’s nomination of this judge was the incident at fault for dividing us, and not uniting us. In short, you chose to embrace the concerns with which I had written to you, and the course you chose was one hundred and eighty degrees off from tne one I requested.
With all the respect due to you and the office you hold, Senator, I don’t know what you’re thinking. My logic was sound; when Republicans and Democrats put aside their differences and work together, reasonable minds may disagree about what’s being done, and I suppose some may say what’s being done is a bad thing. That’s a case of being entitled to your own opinion but not to your own facts. Division is division, and unity is unity. Obviously, you and I both prefer the latter of those two — but since you’ve chosen to oppose a candidate I have persuasively argued is a good fit for the Supreme Court and would be a unifying force, I am, or you are, terribly confused. It has to be one or the other.
Well, who is confused? You are the one who said “I do not deny Judge Alito’s judicial qualifications. He has been a government lawyer and judge for more than 20 years and the American Bar Association rated him well qualified. He is an intelligent and capable person.” You are also the one who said, “We certainly do not need Supreme Court justices who do not understand this fundamental [Fourth Amendment] constitutional protection.” When you call the same judge “well qualified,” “intelligent,” “capable” and then offer the opinion he does “not understand this fundamental constitutional protection” — I think most people would agree that looks like confusion.
You’re asking me to believe the President has shown himself to be a dividing force by nominating an intelligent, capable, and well qualified candidate — and you are uniting us by opposing that intelligent, capable, and well qualified candidate. Run that by me again?
Senator Kerry of Massachusetts has given you one more chance to unite the country, if this is the issue by which it is done, according to this CNN report posted just minutes ago: http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/01/26/alito/. Sen. Kerry has gone on record asking for a filibuster against Alito.
This constituent looks toward you, so he can find out if Democrats and Republicans can work together. President Bush has been highly encouraging; he could easily have nominated an intellectual lightweight, determined to swing the Supreme Court to the extreme right, “just because,” and intellectually incapable of answering any probing questions as to why. I think you’ll agree Judge Alito has exceeded that kind of performance, in spades. You, on the other hand, have been a disappointment. Please answer how you’ll handle the filibuster, should Democrats violate the agreement they signed and move to deny Alito an up-or-down vote. Now that you have specifically cited the Senate’s constitutional authority spelled out in Article II, will you make sure the Senate fulfills the obligation that is inextricably intertwined with that authority? Or will you show yourself to be among the senators who believe power can be removed from the associated responsibility, as a banana is removed from its peel?
Is your Article II power a weighty burden to be shouldered through thick and thin, in the spirit of public service — or just something you get to brag about to your constituents when they write in and try to convince you to do what’s right?
Since Article II confers on the Senate the power to advise and consent — I ask you to fulfill the constitutional obligation. Dislodge the Kerry bottleneck. Consent. I can’t think of anything more divisive than constitutional officers who refuse to lead, or follow, or get out of the way.
Sincerely,
Morgan K. Freeberg
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