Sotomayor Pledges "Fidelity to the Law" in Most Boring Nomination Hearing Ever

July 14, 2009

Besides a few protesters, the Senate Judiciary hearings on Sonia Sotomayor were straightforward, restrained, and dull. “For most of the session, the judge sat silently as senators alternatively celebrated her nomination as exemplifying the American dream or cast her as a threat to the Constitution.” There’s just no surprise coming here, folks.

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The G-8 is Dead: An Irrelevant, Unnecessary, and Inherently Silly Conference

July 14, 2009

There just aren’t any important decisions being made: “The L’Aquila summit showed just how irrelevant the G-8 has become, as emerging economies demand more and more of a say at the negotiating table. But the new focus on common survival means that Western values such as human rights and democracy are being neglected.”

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Once Was America

July 14, 2009

The frightening aspect is that as we stand at the edge of global turmoil, there seems to be no acknowledgment on the part of the average American what a gaping maw of difference lies between the crises of the 1930s and those of today. There is something very significant that is different, impossible to calculate only on the page or in a survey. The difference lies within today’s American — within who we are, and who we are no longer.

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Rattner Leaving Administration's Auto Task Force

July 13, 2009

WASHINGTON — Steven Rattner, head of the Obama administration’s auto task force, is leaving that post and will be succeeded by former steelworkers official Ron Bloom. The administration said Monday that Mr. Rattner decided to return to private life and his family in New York City.

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Mickey Kaus: Ezra Klein Needs to Have a Serious Conversation With His Ghost of One Day Past

July 13, 2009

Ezra Klein makes accurate points in a post. Kaus: “He’s woken to the realization that Obama is running into political difficulty because he’s selling the middle class a pain sandwich–more taxes in exchange for more health care cuts.” The next day, Klein changes direction. Kaus: “July 10 Ezra Klein should read July 9 Ezra Klein.”

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Swearing May Actually Have a Positive Physical Effect: Decreasing Pain?

July 13, 2009

The study “measured how long college students could keep their hands immersed in cold water. During the chilly exercise, they could repeat an expletive of their choice or chant a neutral word. When swearing, the 67 student volunteers reported less pain and on average endured about 40 seconds longer.” Billions of bilious blue blistering barnacles.

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Career Diplomats Angry at Obama's Ambassadors, More Kickbacks to Donors Than They Expected

July 13, 2009

Bureaucrats have strict rules — 30% of ambassadors are expected to be political appointees, while 70% are career diplomats. The White House was apparently unaware of this tradition, naming donors beyond their limits. Now, “some donors to President Obama’s election campaign… are likely to find their hopes of being rewarded with an embassy dashed.”

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Opposition to Second Stimulus Package Grows, Republicans Pretend They Matter

July 13, 2009

Republicans unify once again against son of stimulus, as if they have any relevant options to stop this if it’s what the Democrat leadership wants, regardless of the unemployment rate or market outcomes. Meanwhile, President Obama told CNN “The stimulus package is working exactly as we had anticipated.” It’s fun to play pretend.

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CIA Had Secret Plan to Capture, Kill Al Qaeda Chiefs That Ran Afoul of Congress

July 13, 2009

The plan apparently didn’t get far before Obama Admin ended it: “the agency spent money on planning and possibly some training. It was acting on a 2001 presidential legal pronouncement,” following on post-Munich assassinations. “It was straight out of the movies…It was like: Let’s kill them all.” Wait, don’t we want them dead or alive?

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Sotomayor Backers Urge Reporters to Probe New Haven Firefighter

July 11, 2009

WASHINGTON — Supporters of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor are quietly targeting the Connecticut firefighter who’s at the center of Sotomayor’s most controversial ruling. On the eve of Sotomayor’s Senate confirmation hearing, her advocates have been urging journalists to scrutinize what one called the “troubled and litigious work history” of firefighter Frank Ricci.

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