An Interesting But Inconclusive Sotomayor Clue

The NY Times wonders whether Sotomayor is reliably pro-choice and points to to an evaluation at Belief.Net which incudes this:

And for those trying to divine her abortion views, there's one more tea leaf to read: she was on the board of a group formerly called the Maternity Center Association, now called Childbirth Connect. They list "20 Rights of Childbearing Women." None of them relate to the "right to choose." In fact, I find no mention of abortion on their website.

Interesting.  Here are the current board members of Childbirth Conect.  Let's review their political  donation history.

Phyllis Farley, Chairperson donated to Hillary, John Kerry, and Emily's List.

Patricia Ann, President, gave $2000 to pro-life Rick Santorum.

Kira Wilson Gould, Secretary, gave $1000 to New Leadership for America, a Tom Daschle effort, in 2002.

Donna Lynne, DrPH, Treasurer, has given to Obama, Salazar, Hillary, and Kerry, so one might think she is a conventional Democrat. She also gave $250 to Republican Rick O'Donnell in 2006; O'Donnell was pro-life but that seems to be incidental to his views on immigration, tax, and spending reform.

Deanne Williams, Assistant Treasurer, gave $200 to the DNC.

Maureen Corry, Assistant Secretary, gave $200 to Hillary in 2007.

That does not lok like a hotbed of NARAL diehards.  I would guess that since Childbirth Connect ducks the aborton issue at their website and includes a range of viewpoints among their officers that they are consciously trying to avoid the aorton wars.

So why might that apeal to Sotomayor?  She might be an ardent pro-choicer intent on preserving some notion of judicial propriety; she might be a squishy pro-choicer who has preferred to sidestep the issue; or she might be a closeted pro-lifer passing on the left side of the aisle.  Inconclusive.

Let's cut back to the Times, which poses a puzzle in political strategizing:

Now some liberal leaders are quietly expressing unease that Judge Sotomayor may not be a reliable vote to uphold Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 abortion rights decision. In a letter to supporters, Nancy Keenan, president of the National Abortion Rights Action League, urged them to pressure senators to demand that Judge Sotomayor reveal her views on privacy rights before any confirmation vote.

Hmm.  And if the pro-abortion leaders don't like her answers, what are they going to do - oppose Obama's historic Latina pick?  Starting a fight they are bound to lose and dividing their party as Hillary's former supporters boo the Hispanics - yeah, that sounds dumb enough to be a plausible scenario for the Democrats.

This imagined ignorance of Sotomayor's views is all posturing and puffery, of course:

But in his briefing to reporters on Tuesday, the White House spokesman, Robert Gibbs, was asked whether Mr. Obama asked Judge Sotomayor about abortion or privacy rights. He replied that Mr. Obama “did not ask that specifically.”

Yeah, right.  It never dawned on Obama that he would have an Epic Fail if the pro-choicers freaked out and opposed Sotomayor, so he never thought to ask.  Heaven help us all if he is really that inept.

Comments

[Jim Rhoads a/k/a vjnjagvet]

If BHO didn't ask, Tom, Rahm or the WHC vetters surely did.

But it would be rich if she were attacked by NARAL and NOW.

After all, Souter was.

[jean]

You know they might not have asked.They would assume every Ivy League lawyer is pro-choice

[Buford Gooch]

Pro-choice. Now there's a term that we as a nation have accepted. It's not what pro-abortion people really are, but hey have co-opted the term, and the pro-life people use it almost all of the time. We shouldn't let the left get away with misleading euphemisms like this.

[JM Hanes]

Buford:

"Pro-life," which is also now standard language, was a change from anti-abortion too. I'm pro-choice within limits, but I'm certainly not pro-abortion. You may discount that distinction, but it is not a distinction without a difference.

[KLH]

Has she paid her federal taxes?

[Roy Mustang]

I don't care if she is pro-life or not. All I care is that she is anti-Constitution. All activist judges need to be rounded up and be put on trial for treason.

[davod]

"Has she paid her federal taxes?"

No longer an issue.

[daddy]

OT Sarah Palin Update:

Today's ADN">http://www.adn.com/palin/story/810570.html">ADN has 2 stories discussing the 13th dismissal of an Ethics Complaint against Sarah Palin. Board members told the ADN they wanted to publicize the fact that these investigations have cost the State "about a third of a million dollars, and it's getting to be really expensive." Todays tossed out complaint was just 1 of many Ethics Complaints filed by unhinged Left Wing Sarah hater, Andree McLeod.

Last month the ADN reported that Palin has accrued over a half million dollar debt in legal bills fighting these ethics complaints. Yet when Sarah opened a Legal">http://www.adn.com/palin/story/775289.html">Legal Defense Fund last month, the paper reported:

"An ethics complaint was filed Monday against Gov. Sarah Palin, claiming the legal defense fund established for her last week to challenge such claims is an ethics violation itself."

Sadly, this reminds me of the state of affairs in divisive late Republican Rome, where the Law was used as a cudgel to beat one's opponents into submission. We're not there yet, but this leads to my question---what should we do? Do we mimic our opponents by picking up our phones and launching scurrilous bankrupting attacks ourselves, or do we stand by and wait for the slim chance of the Media or the system itself to resolve the problem? I do not know. But I do know that if we do nothing, then fewer good folks are going to risk sticking their heads up for public office, as is evident from how effectively Sarah Palin has been targeted for destruction.

[peter]

Will the Senate Judiciary Committee have one person with sufficient testicularity to ask the Hon. Sonia Sotomayor (and I pray they pronounce it with the correct Latina emphasis on the last syllable) whether she supports Ogabe's right to murder babies who miraculously survive botched abortions?

[Captain Hate]

"An ethics complaint was filed Monday against Gov. Sarah Palin, claiming the legal defense fund established for her last week to challenge such claims is an ethics violation itself."

I don't think The Onion can outdo this.

[Jane]

"Empathy" is the latest code word for liberal activism, for treating the Constitution as malleable clay to be kneaded and molded in whatever form justices want. It represents an expansive view of the judiciary in which courts create policy that couldn't pass the legislative branch or, if it did, would generate voter backlash."

Karl Rove in today's WSJ

[Jack is Back!]

Sotomayor is hispanic and IIRC they overwhelmingly are Catholic and pro-life. Not all but certainly a majority. I know as an active Catholic in my parish and school we have a good population of hispanics who are very actively pro-life and support numerous Catholic outreach programs as well as adoption programs. Remember "defining life's beginnings" is above Obama's pay grade (as a candidate but what as a POTUS?). But its well within Soros's and/or Rahm's pay grade.

[PD]

"Pro-life," which is also now standard language, was a change from anti-abortion too. I'm pro-choice within limits, but I'm certainly not pro-abortion. You may discount that distinction, but it is not a distinction without a difference.

The in-favor-of-abortion-rights side wants to choose the terms to be used both for themselves and for the not-in-favor-of-abortion-rights side. Hence "pro-choice," containing "pro" (in favor of, hey, we're affirmative" and "choice" (who could be against that) and no mention of "abortion" (the act at issue). And hence "anti-abortion", containing "anti" (those grinches!) and "abortion" (to associate the grisly act with those who oppose it).

No, sorry. They don't get to pick both sides' terminology. If choicers get to describe themselves as they like, so do lifers. Lifers should not accept the terms defined for themselves.

[bad]

Sotomayor is the elusive "common ground" in the abortion debate.

Being openly pro-choice in the Latina community may be as difficult as being openly pro gay marriage in the black community.

[Old Lurker]

I know linking to WSJ does not work because of their subscription wall, but today they make two points we have made here often:

1) The global bond market (they actual owners of the cash) will decide how much of a Banana Republic premium to apply to the borrowings of the US Govt. That market is immune to the hopes and desires of the government and is now exacting a high price. Ten years exceeded 3.7% yesterday.

2) When Obama & Turbo explained how they were going to invite outside investors to participate in buying toxic "legacy assets" from banks, we scoffed at the assumption that those owners of real money would want anything to do with a govt that will change the rules after making a deal and which seems to disrespect private property and the rule of law. Today WSJ reports that that is exactly what happened and Turbo seems to have put his plan on hold due to lack of dance partners.

[Terry Gain]

Anyone naive enough to believe that the most extreme pro abortion politician in the county didn't know that Sottovocenotmayor is "pro choice" before he nominated her will believe anything.

It's the Dem litmus test above all others.

[No Czars over Thars.]

An interesting, but inconclusive Sarkozy clue; Claude Allegre is being bruited for Sarkozy's choice as new 'Super Minister' of Industry and Innovation. First mentioned a month ago, possibly has a hoax gag, Allegre is a climate skeptic, newly arriving at the state of mind several years ago. He says he doesn't want the science exaggerated or used to make the plight of the poor worse.
====================================

[bad]

I miss Kim soooooo much. Thank you No Czars for the climate update.

[Terry Gain]

Remember "defining life's beginnings" is above Obama's pay grade (as a candidate but what as a POTUS?).

I've been led to believe that Obama voted 4 times against a law requiring that babies who survive an abortion are entitled to medical treatment (like all other defenseless human beings).

This would mean that Obama believes that human life begins when a baby has been removed from her mother's body and her mother wants to care for her.

[Hi thar.]

bad, kim has heard that the Allegre nomination was originally suggested by gagsters among the alarmists; it's an example of a joke so great it's becoming real. Claude Allegre has punch.

[bad]

Hi thar, it's about time something real comes out of the alarmists.

BTW, Gibbs was asked about Ibama's birth certificate yesterday at the WH briefing.

[narciso]

Pro-choice is an expansive term that seems to lead to euthanasia, hence the media's unbalanced perspective on the Schiavo case, another one of those votes that Obama said
he regretted. You'd think if he was on the Sanheddrin nineteen hundred odd years, ago he would have spared the militant Barabbas, but looked down on the meddlesome community
organizer from Nazareth; an ironyconsidering
that noxious meme from the campaign. Consider how the most extreme of the 'atheist camp' are so militantly against
children, but seem ambivalent on the death penalty and animals

The left's campaign is a slight variant of that seen in '84, which Orwell cribbed from
Stalin. There is a direct attack on all intermediate institutions between the State and the individual and the family; coupled with the promotion of extreme individualism
but only on sexual matters, not on economic
principles, and only on state approved activities (the GIVE act) is the tipoff.
Again the campaign, and I don't mean the one against McCain, prefigured this.

The previous comments by Flynn, about events beyond the '48, referring to proscription, remind me of Rick Ballard's
and Section's comment about the zampolit
(you call them US Attorneys) yet to alight
upon the capitals of Juneau, Baton Rouge,
Columbia, and I'd add Austin, talented
minions are hard to find, I guess

[Thart'is.]

I know, all's fair in love and war, and there are no formal conventions in politics, yet, simultaneously the Left hypocritically complains about 'Geneva Convention' violations where reason suggests little is violated, at the same time as fracturing maliciously all the reasonable, but unwritten, conventions of politics. In the long run of history, today's Democrats and their Left will be recognized as lawless creatures, having handworked us into disorder, chaos and even evil.

[Uncle BigBad]

I don't care if she's pro-abortion or pro-life. I care about whether or not she believes the constitution grants an absolute right to women to have an abortion.

The picture of her up at Hot Air looks exactly like Jeanine Garafalo.

[Ave another bleedin' Thart.]

bad, birfers are as looney as troofers. Ya think?

[centralcal]

Bad: "BTW, Gibbs was asked about Ibama's birth certificate yesterday at the WH briefing."

He was? What reporter dared to ask about that, pray tell?

[Jane]

I don't know who the reporter was, but Gibbs punted.

[Thart'urts.]

I wouldn't want to be clinging to a toof that Taitz wanted extracted.

[Jim Ryan]

Thar (s)he blose!

[Beecher Bible and Gum.]

dang, 'clinging biterly to a troof'.

[bad]

OT, but I cae up with the new name for GM. Rather than Government Motors, let's go with Govmo.

Gitmo and Govmo have such a nice ring...

[Jim Ryan]

Где свидетельство о рождении? Онo здесь! Igor now is having birth certificate.

[Terry Gain]

bad, birfers are as looney as troofers. Ya think?Posted by: Ave another bleedin' Thart.

Hardly. Asking for the vault copy of the birth certificate to be produced is the same as believing that George Bush, while Governor of Texas yet ( that is when the conspiracy was hatched) conspired with Osama bin Laden to launch the most horrific attack on the homeland in the history of the Republic and somehow managed to get bin Laden to remain silent about the conspiracy even as he was driven by Bush from his sanctuary and his forces were decimated in Iraq.

Duh and double duh.

If you'll believe that you'll believe Obama doesn't know Sottomayor's position on abortion.

[Danube of Thought]

The tipping point for me came when the meaning of the term "assault rifle" changed before our very eyes, and with barely a whimper from the NRA. Perhaps the NRA did indeed whimper, but in any event it was never recorded in the media, not one in 1,000 of whose members would have known what they were talking about anyway.

The term was defined in "Jane's Infantry Weapons," the ultimate authority in such matters, as a rifle that allowed the shooter to select between semi-automatic and full automatic fire. The two best-known in the world were the AK-47 and the M-16.

Then there appeared a semi-automatic rifle that looked exactly like the AK-47, and in fact was exactly like it--except that it was not capable of fully automatic fire. I think its makers and dealers even call it the "AK 47 rifle." But, dear readers, one thing it is not is an assault rifle.

And similarly with the M-16. Its strictly-semi-automatic cousin is the AR-15 ("AR" is for Armalite, not "assault rifle.") But it is invaribaly identified in the press as an M-16, or as an assault weapon.

This nonsense made its way into the legislators' lexicon, with bans on "assault weapons" that simply were not, in fact, assault weapons--but they looked just like them, and that was enough for the likes of Dianne Feinstein. (Fuly automatic weapons have been banned under federal law since 1932.)

Thank you, dear JOMers, for bearing with me on this. I know it's trivial, but every time I hear or see a semi-automatic weapon described as an "assault weapon" it is like fingernails on a blackboard.

There--I've said it.

[Ignatz]

--I don't care if she's pro-abortion or pro-life. I care about whether or not she believes the constitution grants an absolute right to women to have an abortion.-

Unfortunately, with lefties, the former determines the latter. And that is true of virtually all other matters as well;
personal belief=what the law and constitution should be construed as saying even if the plain text is 180 degrees from what they personally believe.

[narciso]

One is the minimum prequisite for office, one has to figure that it was presented at some point, but I don't see that coming to light any time soon, than again everything about him is shrouded in mystery. The telling point is if he was being blackmailed
by foreign parties, would he do anything differently; would he not dismantle our defenses, shutter our energy production, indebt us to the point of penury, leave our cities, open to the terrorists, released on a get out of Gitmo card, bankrupt and defame the opposition.

[fdcol63]

Despite the lack of producing his birth certificate, I believe Obama was born in Hawaii because that's where his parents were living at the time. Thus, he was born a US citizen.

And I buy the argument that he would have retained his US citizenship even if his father had renounced it in order to get him into Muslim schools in Jakarta, Indonesia, on the basis that no parent can revoke a minor's American citizenship.

However, the question for me is whether Obama himself renounced his US citizenship - as an adult - in order to secure an Indonesian passport when he traveled to Indonesia and Pakistan in 1981.

For me, it's entirely possible that he might do so given his extreme Marxist, anti-American, anti-Western, pro-Islamic attitude at the time, and perhaps even over concerns that traveling on an Indonesian passport would be safer due to the growing issue of hijackings and terrorism at the time.

So, I don't care about his birth certificate.

I want him or someone to prove what passport he used in 1981 to travel to Pakistan.

If it was in fact an Indonesian passport, then someone needs to show documentation that he was not required to renounce his US citizenship - and that he did not do so - in order to secure this Indonesian passport.

[Danube of Thought]

Are you certain that it is necessary to renounce one's American citizenship in order to hold a foreign passport? My first cousin, whose mom was British, has dual citizenship and holds both passports. He would certainly be eligible to run for president.

[Ignatz]

--I know it's trivial, but every time I hear or see a semi-automatic weapon described as an "assault weapon" it is like fingernails on a blackboard.--

Pet peeve of mine as well DOT.

BTW, full autos aren't actually banned, you just need a Federal NFA license to own one.
Several states, such as my home, commie one of CA, have made it practically impossible to obtain one but many states don't. There are several thousand NFA licenses issued IIRC.
And another BTW is in the 70+ years of NFA record keeping there has been one (that is 1) felony committed with an NFA full auto rifle.

[Pofarmer]

Daddy, we've seen the same thing here in MO with regards to ethics and legal violations. Matt Blunt fired an attorney for using State Email to do work for his Dad's law firm. The guy accused Blunt of all manner of things, and the case has drug on even after Blunt left office. It was finally "settled" the other day, with both sides still stating their same positions, yet the hack attorney got a payout, and Blunt's name will always be sullied by the whole affair. There is some speculation that the GOP donor Chrysler dealership closing are an attempt to bleed the Republicans of money. And, OTOH, at the state level, it sure seems that the ploy is to cost the Rep's as much time and money as possible defeding scurilous charges. The Dim's want you to vote, they just want you to have only one party to vote for. They have successfully criminalized being conservative. What's next, a dollar sign stitched on your lapel?

[fdcol63]

DoT,

Different countries have different rules regarding dual citizenship.

The arguments that I've heard indicate that Indonesia did not allow dual citizenship, at least in 1981.

However, no, I have not confirmed this myself to be true or to have been the case in 1981. But I'd like to know.

[bad]

I want to know what name is on his birth certificate.

[Neo]

It could be that a group like "Childbirth Connect" isn't interested in abortion at all.
It could be argued that these people are meant to deal with the women who made the choice not to abort.

[bad]

Mickey Kaus has the link to Charlie Rose where Elizabeth Edwards says she might marry someone else if given a do-over.

Not the sort of thing her children need to hear...now or in the future.

[narciso]

It would seem that she's not the typical pro-choice zealot, then again, the record is sufficiently unclear to give her a pass on that. Her other positions, on the
environment, on quotas, on law enforcement
in general, are sufficiently disturbing enough not to warrant her promotion.

On the other point, unless convinced
otherwise, I find the whole birth certificate/passport issue a distraction from his actual policies, which are disquieting enough thank you very much.

[Ranger]

Are you certain that it is necessary to renounce one's American citizenship in order to hold a foreign passport? My first cousin, whose mom was British, has dual citizenship and holds both passports. He would certainly be eligible to run for president.

Posted by: Danube of Thought | May 28, 2009 at 10:02 AM

It depends on the country. I had a friend who was an American born in the UK. He had dual citizenship until 18. At that point he had to declare. The state department told him exactly how to do it. He wrote a letter to the British government declaring his desire to renounce his British citizen status, and sent a certified copy to the State Department. A few weeks later he got a very nice letter from the British thanking him for notifying them of the situation, but informing him that the UK did not recognize renunciation of citizenship, and that he would have the right to a UK passport for the rest of his life.

As a result, he had dual citizenship while keeping with the US law that required him to renounce one at 18.

[J]

Let's see....she's a northeast "catholic" and a democrat.....of course she is pro-abortion.

[MayBee]

Obama wants empathy in a justice. The kind of empathy that allows divorce records to be unsealed for political hit jobs.

[Jim Ryan]

Heh.

Oh, and Heh.

[bad]

As usual, Maybee, you really nail it.

[Jack is Back!]

My favorite Indonesian experience was when I was assigned to a project in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Borneo. We had a section called "Formalities" that was manned by young missionary trained, english-speaking, Indonesians that kept your passport with initial visa and using tons of rupiahs, made daily journeys to the immigration authorities (read secret police) with rupiahs in between pages of hundreds of passports to be used for special stamps that allowed all the expats to continue to work month to month. One day the guys in Formalities asked us all to sit down and fill out form for our permanent visa ( a step up in the pay for play system). The first question on the form was not your name or nationality but "where were you between 1945 and 1949"? In other words, were you part of the Dutch resistance and counter-terrorist forces against the Indonesian Revolution. I wrote down "in Diapers and learning to ride a tricycle". They accepted it.

[Ranger]

As to the dealership closings, my bet is that they didn't target GOP dealers, but rather protected well connected Dem dealers, resulting in the GOP dealers getting axed. That may seem a distinction without a difference, given the outcome, but probably easier to prove in the end.

[Pofarmer]

My first cousin, whose mom was British, has dual citizenship and holds both passports. He would certainly be eligible to run for president.

Are you sure? My reading was there was a clause SPECIFICALLY banning those with "dual allegiances" from becoming President, and was specifically targeted at those with dual U.S./British citizenship at the time the Constitution was written. Maybe someone could clear that up?

More OT.

Sotomayor has had, what, 6 opinions now before the Supremes, and the majority so far have been overturned. I saw what the rate of reversals was, but what would be "Normal" for an appellate court judge to have show up at SCOTUS?

Thanks.

[Original MikeS]

Judge Sotomayor has aroused my curiosity. I have some questions I hope someone will ask her.

If latinas make the best judges, which races, cultures, or genders make the second best judges?

How does an experience cause someone reach a different conclusion?

What is the difference between a Hispanic experience and a European experience or a plain vanilla bland American experience?

[bad]

The Queen is left out of D-Day events.

The queen, who is 83, is the only living head of state who served in uniform during World War II. As Elizabeth Windsor, service number 230873, she volunteered as a subaltern in the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service, training as a driver and a mechanic. Eventually, she drove military trucks in support roles in England.

I can see why she is considered irrelevent to the events...

Is she the victim of:

A. Barack Obama
B. Gordon Brown
C. Nicolas Sarkozy
D. Michelle Obama's hugs

[bad]

Po, Powerline says not to get excited about those rates.

LUN

[Pofarmer]

Geez Jim Ryan.

Thanks for the links.

[Jim Ryan]

Yeah, "geez" about sums it up.

[Pofarmer]

Not really interested in the rate of reversals, just how many cases a judge would normally have show up at SCOTUS in 10 years.

[Danube of Thought]

Here is all that the constitution has to say on the subject:

"No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty five years, and been fourteen Years a resident within the United States."

My cousing was born in the US, and thus meets the "natural born" requirement.

Incidentally, that is the only use of the phrase "natural born" in the constitution. The weight of the authority suggests that the requirement can also be met by anyone who is a citizen of the United States at birth, regardless of where he is born.

Anyway, I'm not aware of any prohibition against "dual allegiances."

[bad]

Per Wiki, Car Czar Rattner is married to Maureen White, the former National Finance Chair for the Democratic Party.

Glenn Reynolds has this posted.

LUN

[fdcol63]

Helen Thomas - what partisan hack.

She wants to be Obama's bukkake girl, but has to settle for a brown ring around her nose.

[bad]

Also from Wiki:

A graduate of Brown University, Rattner started his career as a reporter with The New York Times, first at the Washington bureau, where he became close friends with Times' ownership-family member Arthur Sulzberger...

Well, isn't that convenient...

[Ranger]

Per Wiki, Car Czar Rattner is married to Maureen White, the former National Finance Chair for the Democratic Party.

Glenn Reynolds has this posted.

LUN

Posted by: bad | May 28, 2009 at 11:16 AM

Yes, that was one of the things that leads me to think this is about protecting the well connected Dems vs. getting the big GOP supporters.

Once they had the list of Dem dealers that needed to be protected, it would be very easy to create a subjective variable for their computer model such as "impact on community" that they could max out for the dealers to be protected.

Like I said before, the end result is the same.

[Pofarmer]

Per Wiki, Car Czar Rattner is married to Maureen White, the former National Finance Chair for the Democratic Party.

Pay to play baby, pay to play, the Chicago way.

Oh, and BTW, Has Nancy Pelosi gone anywhere yet?

She's there till Rahm's done with her.

[Pofarmer]

So, did ANY big time Dim's lose dealerships?

[fdcol63]

Josef Goebbels was a petty amateur compared to liberals, the MSM, and the Democratic Party.

Propaganda as news.

As Frank J. at IMAO.US says:

Unfair. Unbalanced. Unmedicated.

[centralcal]

The question about the birth certificate that bad mentioned earlier today, came from Lester Kinsolving per Politico.

bah humbug.

[Neo]

… but she has a “compelling life story” (Google now has 26,800 hits for “Sotomayor compelling life story”)

[narciso]

Good news, everyone General Jones says the North Korean threat is overblown for the time being, well until the next missile test takes out the Pacific Command anyways

[Pofarmer]

I certainly never expected to see Helen Thomas and Bukkake in the same sentence

[Patrick]

It IS possible that Obama genuinely believed that he could run roughshod over the abortion lobby in any case.

If this is the buy-off for immigration, for example, then that would be an easy run to make.

Frankly, the odds of her believing in a right to abortion are slim, no matter how NE-Ivy-Leaguey she is. If she did she probably wouldn't bother publicly identifying as a Catholic, to start with.

[jean]

A person can get action if you tip off the right people.Yesterday I tipped off Clusterstock.com about the dealership question.They put an article up yesterday.This AM I sent a heads up to the WSJ. They have just put up something referring to the same blog I gave them.OK other people might have given tips also,but I like to believe it was my doing.Now I trying to decide where to give my next tip

[jimmyk]

I don't know how to judge the rate of reversals, but this is from the Orange County Register:

Five of Judge Sotomayor's decisions have been appealed to and heard by the Supreme Court, and three were overturned. One of those upheld (Knight v. Commissioner) included a rebuke from the justices for Judge Sotomayor's interpretation of the law. In April, the Supreme Court overturned her ruling in Riverkeeper v. EPA that the Environmental Protection Agency could not use cost-benefit analysis in considering best-available pollution-control methods but would have to mandate the most effective technology regardless of cost.

Ouch. I wonder how often the SC issues that sort of rebuke.

LUN

[Soylent Red]

So, I don't care about his birth certificate.

Selective Service registration is where it's at. There is no partial credit for turning in that particular homework late. The law is very clear and unambiguous, and young Barry admits that he did not follow the law. End of story, not eligible.

But who's gonna argue that? Moreover, 52% don't even care or would actively support the lie.

Bottom line, there will be no reversal of the election on the grounds of COLB, passports, or draft registration, so we might as well get used to the idea of beating him head on through policy and exposure rather than lawyering him out.

I certainly never expected to see Helen Thomas and Bukkake in the same sentence

Thank you for that visual image right before lunch. Thank you so much.

[Porchlight]

Frankly, the odds of her believing in a right to abortion are slim

I don't see this at all. To me, the odds seem quite high, even if she is Catholic. (I know many, many pro-choice Hispanic Catholics.) And there is zero reason to believe Obama would nominate anyone who wasn't a safe vote for his preferred position on abortion.

[Rick Ballard]

OL,

Seeking Alpha has a few stories highlighted regarding the Incestuous Interlude current dance number in Team TurboZero's presentation of the opera bouffe, Dance of the Zombies. It really does appear that there are fewer fervent Friends of Fascism than Geithner originally envisioned in his PPIF hallucination.

Watching zombies swap $50 dead cats isn't particularly entertaining.

ION - I can't quite make out the numbers here. Is ZombieMotors closing 14, 16 or 30 plants? I lean toward the 30 number on the basis of "16 more" but AP is being a bit ambiguous. Quel surprise.

[narciso]

How is it this particular CIA report hasn't been leaked sooner; it might have been part of a FOIA request, but that doesn't really stop anyone as we see.

[PD]

personal belief=what the law and constitution should be construed as saying even if the plain text is 180 degrees from what they personally believe.

Exactly.

"unconstitutional" = "I disagree with"

Sheesh.

[Pofarmer]

Thank you for that visual image right before lunch. Thank you so much.

Yeah, join the club. I need a scrubber for my minds eye. Thank fdco63 though, not me.

I wonder how often the SC issues that sort of rebuke.

There was another one where they said that her reasoning clearly went against the wording of the statute, or maybe that was the one.

[Danube of Thought]

About twenty years ago I was seated next to Helen Thomas in a two-seat row in the front cabin of a cross-country flight. As the vodkas-on-the-rocks flowed I baited her with every sort of right-wing blashphemy I could think of, nearly reducing the even-then-old hag to tears. She denounced me as cold, heartless, cruel, and you name it. She proclaimed that I must never have heard of "compassion," by which I said she must mean being generous with other people's money. I can't say that we departed friends, although we both laughed quite a bit. I believe she has a room-tempreature IQ.

[sbw]

I think this was Narciso's link: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0526093cia1.html

[syn]

Pro-choice means She gets to choose between..

A) saying 'IT' is just a clump of cells so She can received government funded abortion to rid her of Her inconvenience

or;

B) saying 'IT' is a precious life which She needs government funded pre-natal care

I once supported Her right to choose A or B then I finally faced the fact it was not my body being aborted but a distinctly unique human being which is being aborted.

If a woman chooses to commit suicide that is her right since it is her body, her choice however she does not have the right to commit homicide.

[bad]

LOL DoT

[PD]

(Google now has 26,800 hits for “Sotomayor compelling life story”)

Apparently the media has decided to ease up a bit on using that phrase, then.

[Porchlight]

DoT, you have the best stories. I'm glad you made her laugh, and vice-versa. Of course I think she's a complete hack but I do admire her tenaciousness at times.

[Old Lurker]

Rick, thanks for the links. I have followed Seeking Alpha since you put me on to them a few months back. All the smart guys, that site included, are torn between knowing inflation barely exists now and might not for some time, but they also know the seeds of a major problem have been sown for X months down the road, and so far there is no sign of a grownup reaching for the wheel. I will offer a large check for the answer to "solve for X"...

DoT, you should have put her out of our misery when the lights were down low. You navy guys can do that quietly, can't you?

[Jane]

Now I trying to decide where to give my next tip

I'll take it!

Dot,

Would you write a book?

[Jane]

I know I'm pretty jaded, but I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to learn that Ibama expects to tell Sotomayor how to rule on any given case. It seems like the Chicago way.

[I Was Never Here]

Word of the street is that ("I")bama will be announcing the GM Bankruptcy very soon.

Guess it really is Government Motors now.

Thought he didn't want to run the company?

[bad]

Government Motors = Govmo

Sounds like Gitmo

[Ann]

Jane, This will not make you feel any better:

Is Obama Trying to Kill the CIA?

[Danube of Thought]

Assuming that this is the time and place to vent about press inanities, please let me unload on another one:

Has anyone ever seen a newspaper account of a law firm that was anything other than "prominent," "high-powered" or "prestigious?" I'm not sure which of these three encomiums is supposed to be the highest in rank, but I do know that there appear to be no other kind at all. Ever see a reference to a "modest, second-tier law firm?" How about a "rather obscure law firm?"

And all attorneys qualify for one or the other of the first two categories (but for some reason never the third). Every single attorney ever mentioned in the press is either high-powered or prominent. It's far too much to hope for "lesser-known sleazeball medical malpractice bottom-feeder," or "scumbag plaintiffs class action racketeer." I give up...

[Old Lurker]

very very good, Bad

Govmo

[Danube of Thought]

Well, I don't quite give up--there's one more.

Ever notice that the press recognizes only two categories of rifles (besides "assault weapons"), those being .22-caliber and "high-powered?" Is there any significant difference between, say, a .30/30 and a .375 H&H magnum? No difference that is cognizable by the watchdogs of the fourth estate--both are simply of the genus "high-powered."

OK, I'm done.

[Rick Ballard]

OL,

I've been looking at the timing of the Sowhatever nomination from a "what's the other hand doing?" viewpoint. Why this week rather than next week? I think the crashes of Uncle Ben's 'copter fleet, the GM BK and the failure of Turbo's Friends of Fascism program offer an explanation. Next week the BLS will announce Another Grim Milestone for the Ogabe Administration with unemployment going above 9% (on its way to "who the hell knows?") so the more chatter about Sowhatever the better.

I know the chatter about TNX heading skyward gets a little boring to others here but the '10 election is going to be about the failure of Team TurboZero to find anything resembling a cure for a sick economy. It's nice to see the 'green shoots' stories about the bleeding slowing down but that tends to happen when blood pressure drops far enough.

Let me know if you see a solution for X which makes any sense. I keep wondering that rationale supports an oil price above $35 at the moment. It ain't supply and demand.

[glasater]

It's far too much to hope for "lesser-known sleazeball medical malpractice bottom-feeder," or "scumbag plaintiffs class action racketeer."

Greta used to have on her show attorneys analyzing events that seemed a little on the sleazy side......and I kinda miss them.

[glasater]

Rick Santelli just mentioned that the auctions on June 10th and one other date are the ones to watch.

[narciso]

FBI legats have their place, but overseas intelligence I don't think is one of these. Will he put DNI Blair put more DIA and ONI
personnel, maybe some of those unemployed
investment bankers from Wall Street, maybe
the beginning of McCarry's famed Foreign Intelligence Service in 'Better Angels' and
'Shelley's Heart'

[jimmyk]

Is ZombieMotors closing 14, 16 or 30 plants? I lean toward the 30 number on the basis of "16 more" but AP is being a bit ambiguous. Quel surprise.

I distinctly remember all the warnings about the catastrophe that would ensue if GM were simply allowed to go bankrupt: Massive plant closings, suppliers going bankrupt, dealerships closing throughout the country. I am so glad that Barry and Timmy have come to the rescue, so we avoided all of that. I'm sure they will figure out a way to tally up the "jobs saved" through their nationalization.

On a related note: One of the largest auto suppliers, Visteon, has filed for bankruptcy. LUN (WSJ, so entire article may not be viewable)