Mark Your Calendars For The Mandate Decision

The Supreme Court takes up the ObamaCare mandate, wth a decision expected next June:

The Supreme Court agreed to hear appeals from just one decision, from the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, in Atlanta, the only one so far striking down the mandate. The decision, from a divided three-judge panel, said the mandate overstepped Congressional authority and could not be justified by the constitutional power “to regulate commerce” or “to lay and collect taxes.”

The appeals court went no further, though, severing the mandate from the rest of the law.

On Monday, the justices agreed to decide not only whether the mandate is constitutional but also, if it is not, how much of the balance of the law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, must fall along with it.

In a statement issued soon after the decision, the Obama administration restated their argument that the mandate is perfectly constitutional.

“We know the Affordable Care Act is constitutional and are confident the Supreme Court will agree,” said Dan Pfeiffer, the White House communications director.

But even the White House has said that the mandate is “absolutely intertwined” with two other provisions — one forbidding insurers to turn away applicants, the other barring them from taking account of pre-existing conditions.

Last August Orin Kerr, inspired by the 11th Circuit decision, had predicted that ObamaCare would pass muster with the Supremes, garnering six to eight votes.

Well - if the Supremes uphold the law, it will

(a) energize conservatives who will see a Republican President as the only path to repeal;

(b) placate moderates who will figure it's Constitutional if the courts say it is;

(c) rally libs who are never happier than when in "I Told You So" mode.

The net effect will help Obama.

Conversely, if the Supremes shoot down the law it will:

(a) energize conservatives who won't trust Obama to jettison his only legacy;

(b) placate moderates who will figure that since the courts have struck it down, they don't need to worry about it;

(c) rally libs to the defense of their Roosevelt fantasies and re-open the pubilc option debate.

The net effect will be to, hmm, help Obama?  Naaah - if a Constitutional Law lecturer's proudest accomplisment is found to be unconstitutional, that can't be helpful.

Comments

[Benjamin Franklin]

"Outsourcing to Pakistan? What is with that?"

Before I knew there was MORE mercury in immunizations, I and my beloved spouse went to a Walgreens for flu shots..........

$75 per shot. The flu is less onerous...

[matt]

I love it when y'all talk lawyer talk. The difference between Kagan and Thomas is that Thomas' wife is a ideologue who for a short period of time was paid to work at a private institution, while Kagan was in fact as Solicitor General one of the key participants in enacting the law. Seems clear to me, but then the law and justice are two different beasts.

What about the Chicago/Soviet style exemptions to the law? Are some pigs in fact more equal than others?

I find the Europapers very interesting right now. AEP in the Telegraph points out that the ECB may have been manipulating the purchase and sale of Greek and Italian bonds to game Berlusconi and Papandreau out of power and yet their replacements, both Eurocrats of the highest order, have what is in fact zero real popular support.

The moment they start trying to implement the hard choices,every political party in each of those countries will sell them out in a New York minute. It is very easy to blame outside interference when reducing a nations standard of living, especially when it's true.

The Germans are also coming in for blame now as well. Basically they're damned if they do and damned if they don't. Funny how paying your bills and obeying the law and funding your neighbors wild excess makes you the bad guy.

It's the ants versus the grasshoppers. Aesop must be chuckling somewhere across the Styx.

And Frau, Gratuliere!!!

[Clarice]

Excellent point, JMF

[narciso]

'You mean gambling is going on at Rick's Casino' matt, tell me that's not so, I'v e seen Monti's earlier work, and like Dennis
Miller, remarked on a different occasion,
I'm not enthused about an encore,

[GMAX]

Dont be shocked if, one way or another, the Supremes find someway to dispense with this case without reaching the foundational issues. Standing is always a great dodge, but remand for further deliberation on some matter may be an outcome too.

I dont expect a Profiles in Courage moment here, any more than I expect the Super Committee to exhibit one in a few short days either.

[Benjamin Franklin]

"Aesop must be chuckling somewhere across the Styx."

Holy Moly !. Am I dreaming? Or is Matt having a Bi-Partisan fit?

I am so hungry for some realistic appraisals of both parties that I could be seeing something that's not there. Matt?

[narciso]

No, I don't GMmax, I was half expecting they would come up 'with a right to arm bears' out of Heller, after Kelo, and the detainee cases.

When they vote the right way, as in Citizens United, one needs only to look at Stevens latest musings, in 'Five Justices' to see how
'we really dodged a bullet there'

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

In this most golden opportunity since 1980, can we really not find a candidate who can kick Obama's ass from sea to shining sea?

I made the prediction a couple of months ago that conservatives would trash so many of the candidates, the only one left would be Newt and I got pooh poohed. He was at 3% at the time.

Also, Romney may only be pulling 25-30% in the Republican field of seven, but I think it was Gallop just within last week or so that has Romney at 48% nationally on his own, which tells me that more people are actually listening to him than to those who try to interpret what he says then publish it all over as if their added biases aren't infecting what he actually has said in order to swing voters away from him.

[hit and run]

Frau:
Today is my fifty-fifth wedding anniversary

Happy Anniversary Frau!!!

And we'll see you right back here in 17 days...

[Clarice]

matt, I think the exemptions will be hard for the govt lawyers to justify In fact,overall, I am counting on the solicitors Office counsel to be as stupid as the aG. So far, by not appealing these cases but applying for cert and conceding that if the mandate goes it all goes, they are meeting my expectations.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

How are the proponents of constitutionality going to get around all the waivers that have been given to "friends of BO?" Can you Clarice, or one of the other lawyers who have practiced in front of the Court, explain how that could be ignored in any considerations? To me, it defeats the entire pro-Obamacare case. But then, what do I know?

[Melinda Romanoff]

Happy Anniversary Frau!

[narciso]

Well we keep getting in these soccer scrums, with Awlaki's Devil's advocates, and the former Mrs. David Schuster, that can't end well.

[Jim Rhoads a/k/a vnjagvet]

I didn't realize you could get married in Germany at the age of four, Frau. In any event congratulations.

[rse]

On Gore v Bush IIRC the real vote was 7-2 but that made it look decisive so the media always wanted to push the remedy dispute instead of the law dispute.

5-4 makes it sound like 4 members were ok with what Fla supremes were doing.

But I will readily acknowledge I am not a litigator. But I remember being annoyed at the time on what I read as a serious misrep.

[narciso]

Happy anniversary Frau, That's a good assumption, Clarice, seeing what the pride of Stuyvesant High continuous comes up with.

[PaulL]

Yes, rse, that is one of the most prevalent half-facts out there in the public mind.

I don't think I have ever heard the 7-2 ruling in the media since after the first few minutes of reporting.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

LOL. Drudge has a story up about a man, high on bath salts (huh?), breaking into a home and .... setting up the Christmas decorations. My reaction, why didn't he come to my home?

[Benjamin Franklin]

-" Mayor Jean Quan's chief legal adviser resigned early this morning after what he called a "tragically unnecessary" police raid of the Occupy Oakland camp.

Dan Siegel, a civil rights attorney and one of Oakland's most active and vocal police critics, said the city should have done more to work with campers before sending in police.

"The city sent police to evict this camp, arrest people and potentially hurt them," Siegel said. "Obviously, we're not on the same page. It's an amazing show of force to move tents from a public place."

Siegel strongly and vocally opposed any plan by the city to take down the month-old camp in the days leading up the police raid.

"I am really disappointed with the city," Siegel said at the protest near City Hall. Oakland has become "the most hostile city to the Occupy movement. Where else are they having 600 police officers take down some tents?"

At a news conference today, Quan said she has known Siegel since the two attended UC Berkeley together and noted that they have been known to disagree. She said Siegel had been working on "a small project on a volunteer basis in my office" and would only say this of his departure: "He's moving on. I'm moving on."

Siegel said he wasn't impressed with Quan's response to the protest.

"She worked so hard to get into office," he said. "Obviously her inauguration was a tremendously optimistic day for so many people. What can you say? She didn't deal with it well."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/11/14/BAGA1LURQ7.DTL#ixzz1djFigCsV

[centralcal]

Sara: Fox News did a lengthy news segment some weeks back about how bath salts are like the new heroin or some such. Not from bathing in them, obviously. ha.

[JM Hanes]

Clarice:

"I'm taking heart in the SCOTUS decision to hear three cases which cover all the major issues."

So am I. I don't think anyone ever doubted that they would take up Obamacare in one form or another, but the very specific combination of cases they have agreed to hear seems to makes it clear that they intend to write a comprehensive opinion. The choice of Fla. v DHSS is certainly logical, but given the widespread disdain with which Tea Party 10th Amendment arguments were greeted, it's particularly sweet. It will be fascinating to see how that plays out! Have there ever actually been many/any notable 10ther cases? If not, doesn't that mean that the Justices will be unusually free from the constraints of precedent?

"Is it constitutional?

Is it severable if not?

By whom and when can the legislation be challenged."

The severability question, while extraordinarily consequential here, doesn't seem nearly paradigm shifting to me as the other two. This particular case is uniquely complicated by the government's own admission that the law essentially can't survive without the mandate, which would seem to make it uniquely unsuitable as vehicle for precedent on that one issue. I don't think there's any way SCOTUS would grant themselves the power to overrule explicit severable/non-severable clauses, do you? All they can really establish is the Court's default position or parameters when considering legislation which does not include such a clause -- something which seems extremely unlikely to happen again after this!

[Pops]

If the Republicans were smart, they would get to work passing other bills in the House which the Justices should love.

Such as:

The individual mandate that all federal judges have to buy flood insurance and must purchase daffodils twice a year.

Federal judges must also buy handguns and bullet proof jackets for themselves and all family memebers excluding pets under 9 pounds.

The individual mandate that all federal employees must purchase their own private sexual harrassment lawsuit coverage policy.

The individual mandate that all persons must purchase 1,000 dollars of American debt per year to subsidize politicians spending. failure to do so will result i a fine of 5,000 dollars paid toward US debt.

Maybe it will wake the judges up to the possibilities of Federal meddling in everyones lives.

[Cecil Turner]

This particular case is uniquely complicated by the government's own admission that the law essentially can't survive without the mandate . . .

I'd submit the funding side of Obamacare can't work even with the mandate, but without it it is obviously doomed. Hence, as a practical matter, the severability issue decides itself.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

WTF! I have gotten to the point that anyone in academics makes my skin crawl. I am not a violent person, but I would like to tear this guy from limb to limb. This so pisses me off!!!! How much money did it take to make this man so ignorant?

Massachusetts Law Professor Calls Care Packages for U.S. Troops 'Shameful'

A Massachusetts law professor has created a campus firestorm with an email to colleagues that declares it would be "shameful" to send care packages to U.S. troops "who have gone overseas to kill other human beings."

Michael Avery, a professor at Suffolk University Law School, sent a five-paragraph email to colleagues in response to a school-wide appeal for care packages for deployed soldiers, Fox affiliate WFXT-TV reports.

"I think it is shameful that it is perceived as legitimate to solicit in an academic institution for support for men and women who have gone overseas to kill other human beings," Avery wrote.

[JM Hanes]

Clarice:

"I'm taking heart in the SCOTUS decision to hear three cases which cover all the major issues."

So am I. I don't think anyone ever doubted that they would take up Obamacare in one form or another, but the very specific combination of cases they have agreed to hear seems to makes it clear that they intend to write a comprehensive opinion. The choice of Fla. v DHSS is certainly logical, but given the widespread disdain with which Tea Party 10th Amendment arguments were greeted, it's particularly sweet. It will be fascinating to see how that plays out! Have there ever actually been many/any notable 10ther cases? If not, doesn't that mean that the Justices will be unusually free from the constraints of precedent?

"Is it constitutional?

Is it severable if not?

By whom and when can the legislation be challenged."

The severability question, while extraordinarily consequential here, doesn't seem nearly paradigm shifting to me as the other two. This particular case is uniquely complicated by the government's own admission that the law essentially can't survive without the mandate, which would seem to make it uniquely unsuitable as vehicle for precedent on that one issue. I don't think there's any way SCOTUS would grant themselves the power to overrule explicit severable/non-severable clauses, do you? All they can really establish is the Court's default position or parameters when considering legislation which does not include such a clause -- something which seems extremely unlikely to happen again after this!

[narciso]

Well there's a little more to Professor Avery, none of it good I'm afraid;

http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=1383

[narciso]

My instincts were right about him, the first time around;

On February 10, 2005, NLG published a news release expressing its support for the self-proclaimed "radical activist attorney" Lynne Stewart, who had just been convicted of providing material aid to the Islamic Group, an Egypt-based terrorist organization whose leader, Omar Abdel Rahman, helped mastermind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. In the NLG statement, Michael Avery is quoted as saying: "The National Lawyers Guild strongly urges its own members and other defense lawyers to continue to proudly represent clients who are openly critical of government policies. We will not be intimidated and this prosecution has only strengthened our resolve to oppose the repressive attacks this government has made on the civil liberties of everyone in this country. We will also continue to stand by Lynne Stewart."

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

narciso: You aren't helping my blood pressure. :(

[MarkO]

Gore lost the fight in Florida, in large measure, because he rejected David Boies’ advice about how to structure the case. If you recall—and why should you—Boies’ arguments were less enthusiastic and tightly structured because he knew he had a losing case. I remain grateful for Gore’s stupidity and I caution anyone who is lucky enough to have David Boies’ advice to take it.
The scheduling of hours of argument is, to me, strictly political. It will appear than a great deal of time was taken to review all the issues. Unless someone gives up in oral argument, it will matter little. The briefs are the things. One can rest assured, however, that all nine have thought about this and likely have a position fixed today.

[MarkO]

than=that

[Benjamin Franklin]

Amazingly intuitional thoughts, MarkOccupy...Care to provide some flesh to the fantasy? (Boies knew he had a losing case)

[narciso]

He actually studied at the U Moscow, in the midst of the cold war,Yale '68, even Ayers wasn't that stupid.

[Janet]

Here is a good 10 minute mini-documentary of the Occupy Oakland madness. Free speech is NOT destroying other citizen's property. The city leaders should be ashamed that they allowed this chaos.

[narciso]

Yes, he did worse, I recall this in Mark Felt's bio:

http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/espionage/cuba-weathermen.htm

[MarkO]

Ben-Dana,

Did you watch the hearings?
Do you know anyone connected with the Gore campaign?
Can you tell me what Boies' other options were?

If not, what's the point of teaching you the remainder?

[Ignatz]

--"I think it is shameful that it is perceived as legitimate to solicit in an academic institution for support for men and women who have gone overseas to kill other human beings," Avery wrote.--

Couldn't agree more that going overseas to kill people is a bad idea in this case.
America's interests would be considerably better served were those men and women to remain here and kill guys like Mr. Avery.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Eeewwww!

Portland Needs 70 DUMP TRUCKS to Clean Up Filth After Occupy Goons Removed From Parks

Notice the gas masks.

Tens of thousands more tea partiers at the DC rally left the premises pristine. Cleaner than they found it. But, hey they are the same.

[sbw]

Frau: he would have been released long ago for good behavior and patience

Ah! He respects you and you respect him. A prescription for a long and happy marriage.

Congratulations to you both. May you celebrate many more happy anniversaries.

[Janet]

I think Che went over some body of water to go kill people. Leftist academia seems okay with him.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Janet: Maybe Ann will make you an appropriate "badge of shame," for all those Care packages you so unselfishly sent out. ::sigh::

[narciso]

Yes he went to the Congo, where he met an interesting reception, and then tried to rally
the proles in Bolivia, hilarity ensued,

The backlash against Miller's honesty about the OWS, from the writer behind the Postman, who 'unexpectedly' doesn't refer to Herodotus
in his crique

http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2011/11/move-over-frank-miller-or-why-occupy.html

[Benjamin Franklin]

"Do you know anyone connected with the Gore campaign?"

Do you?

[Ignatz]

How did you find that condescending little turd, narciso?

[Janet]

Hah, Sara! It is my favorite thing to do. I got a letter from a Marine today!!! How cool is that?! He is now a LCpl instead of a PFC. With my church, we are doing the Christmas mailing this week so I'm already writing Christmas cards. (it is actually hard this early!)
That prof guy is just a loser.

[narciso]

It was from a link here here,

http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2011/11/move-over-frank-miller-or-why-occupy.html

He links to the wiki, but he doesn't consider
the real original source, then again he's the
one who gave us 'the Postman'

[narciso]

It was from a commentary by Warner Todd Houston, on Big Hollywood

[Frau Hochzeitstag]

sbw - he's been tested for sainthood and passed many a test. Janet has expressed her recipe for a similar happy, respectful marriage and it cannot hurt.

Yes, hit, there's one more to come. How kind of you to remember. This first one was in the oldest German city hall,still in use, going back to the 12th century. After post-war construction, an ancient Roman heating system was discovered right outside the building.

[narciso]

I know water is wet, but you know it's good to know how humid:

http://bigjournalism.com/jpollak/2011/11/13/throw-them-all-out-including-politico/

[Rick Ballard]

Narciso,

I wanna see the bios of the Gang of Eight politburo for the Wall Street #Occupoopers. The ones who control the $500K and direct the Stasi cadre. The #Occupooper movement has all the spontaneity of a Hitler Jugend outing directed by Leni Reifenstahl.

Piggy's gonna get it. If he doesn't straighten out pronto he'll be joining Boxer real soon.

[narciso]

That would be an interesting exercise to have her face a candidate who thinks she sold out,
they tried that with Sheehan earlier, but now.

[narciso]

You know for Carlos Slim to keep paying for this parody site is a expensive proposition:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/opinion/sunday/sex-harassment-what-on-earth-is-that.html?_r=3

[Rick Ballard]

SF Fed

The combination of these two recession coins, shown in the combined risks line of Figure 2, is quite disconcerting. It indicates that the odds are greater than 50% that we will experience a recession sometime early in 2012.

Have a nice vacay, Mr. President.

[narciso]

It's eerie how that Figure 1, lines up, Rick

[SWarren]

A while back, someone here linked to Walter Russell Meade on Toobin’s article in the New Yorker. Thanks to whoever it was.

I have a hopeful confidence that Justice Thomas, the true originalist on the Court, will once again be able to influence the majority on this decision.

http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2011/08/28/new-blue-nightmare-clarence-thomas-and-the-amendment-of-doom/

Click on his link to Toobin:

“But once Earl Warren became Chief Justice the Court started to come to Black. It’s the same with Thomas and the Roberts Court.... Thomas’s views are now being followed by a majority of the Court in case after case.”

[Elliott]

I aver the best course is to spend the next 10 months driving public disapproval of Obamacare to the most vertiginous of heights just in case there is the slightest bit of truth to the assertion that those nine august jurists can, in certain circumstances, demonstrate a pliability in the political wind to rival Capt. Renault.

[Clarice]

Orin Kerr:

"The Court’s decision to give these cases so much oral argument time should be welcomed by the challengers to the statute, and should make the Justice Department a bit nervous. From its inception, the challenge to the mandate has been a request for the Justices to do something extraordinary; I believe Randy Barnett initially analogized the prospects of the Court striking down the statute as akin to seeking another Bush v. Gore. The Court’s decision to give these issue so much oral argument time suggests to me that at least some of the Justices see these cases as extraordinary, likely a necessary step if the Court is to decide the cases in an extraordinary way. I still think it’s quite unlikely that the Court will strike down the statute, but the award of so much oral argument time should be a hopeful sign for the challengers."

[Porchlight]

Oh yes, thanks SWarren, that was a great article on Thomas. Good to have the link again.

[No huge hurry and much gracious.]

I've a bigtime request for Janet. We need a room or an apt, cheap, in the Arlington area for a young woman. Good behaviour almost guaranteed. I don't think anyone has my email.
====================

[Clarice]

Hello, Elliott!!!!!

[daddy]

Narciso,

Too bad I couldn't get yesterday's moose to chase after and stomp the gal who brought this ethics complaint.

[Clarice]

Kim, if nothing else materializes, you might check his out:http://www.executiveapartmentsusa.com/

[New Job!]

I'll send it to her now, and thanks.
==============

[Rick Ballard]

Elliot,

It may be difficult to move the needle on Obamacare. There isn't much of a trend, with November '11 numbers reiterating November '10 numbers.

I support your premise regarding keeping the pressure on because it's going to do significant damage to the Democrats in the House and Senate races. It will have a slightly smaller impact (IMO) on the Presidential race because it's only one part of one of the three legs (incompetence, failure, corruption) of the stool with which the GOP candidate will belabor the President until he is defeated.

[narciso]

I was wondering where what rock MCleod, had been hiding herself under, now I know, the Daily Snooze is as usual clueless.

[Clarice]

Kim, it doesn't appear to be particularly cheap but as there is no required stay she might use it while checking out other prospects--something easier done when you are on site.

[Good match for her talents.]

Yeah, Clarice, she tells me she's heard of them. She's presently living about an hour away and commuting right through DC, so she can take her time finding a place.
===========

[Clarice]

Rich UF lives and works in the Virginia suburbs you might ask him when next he appears.

[Janet]

Kim, I found an old email I sent Thomas Collins when his daughter moved here.

These are all in the Clarendon, Virginia Square, Ballston corridor.
*Cherry Hill Apts. - 703-522-8755 2110 Monroe St.
*Waverly Village - http://www.everyaptmapped.com/apartments/arlington,virginia,va/waverly+village.html
*Vermont House Apts. - 703-624-7070
*Oakcrest Apts. - http://www.dittmarcompany.com/our-communities/oakcrest
*Wood Lee Arms - http://www.gradymgt.com/findahome/default.asp?L_STATE_CITY=Virginia,%20Arlington&L_NAME=Wood%20Lee%20Arms
*The Horizons - http://www.horizon-apartments.com/
*The 1020 Apartments - The online reviews of this didn't look too good, but the building is okay, in a nice area, and right across from the main library. Anyway - http://www.mynewplace.com/apartment/1020-n-quincy-arlington-va-0c0600589497
*Quincy Plaza Apts. - http://www.dittmarcompany.com/our-communities/quincy-plaza
*Ballston Place Apts. - http://www.archstoneapartments.com/Apartments/Virginia/Clarendon-Ballston-Rosslyn/Ballston_Place/

It looks like the Dittmar Co. is a big apt. dealer around here.

[JM Hanes]

SWarren:

The Toobin article on Clarence Thomas was all the more remarkable, because IIRC, Toobin had long been dismissive of Thomas' intellectual fire power.

[JM Hanes]

ccal:

""She apparently handed out sterling silver brooches and cufflinks engraved with "made exclusively for Michelle Obama" on them.""

Axelrod probably vetoed the gold plated iPod of her speeches.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

You want to keep your eye on Congress, then check out this new app, just previewed on Gretta. It is called Whipcast and it is available free for download to your iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, Android device. Just go to the Market and search on Whipcast.

I just downloaded it and it gives you Floor Updates, issues driving the day, legislative materialls such as policy briefs and various issues such as jobs, budget, business, taxess, regulations, debt, energy, etc. All kinds of communication tools.

I'm thinking Kevin McCarthy has a winner here.

[JM Hanes]

Lordy, Sara, I sure wish I could figure out which bells & whistles are which on my Droid.

Actually, what I really wish is that I could wake up in the morning knowing intuitively how to use it.

[Found a home for that app.]

Whoa, Sara, guess what future Arlington resident is already downloading your app; it's apparently free.
==============

[Clarice]

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/317136_10150953591715195_697045194_22332129_1253812023_n.jpg

ramirez does it again.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

JMH: When I got my Droid, I spent about 36 hours straight trying to get all the settings fixed to my liking and figuring out how the darn thing worked. I knew if I did not obsess over it the first night, I would never figure it out. But the one thing I learned right away was how to go to the Market and scroll through the thousands of free apps.

I love my phone. Best I've ever had, even though I could only afford the 3G model. And even after several months, I still find features I love that I didn't know I had. It is like my birthday every day.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

In exploring Whipcast, I see that from the About button you can register and also link it to your Facebook and Twitter account if you want to.

[Clarice]

Sara is so clever with these things, if she lived here I'd hire her to set up everything for me..

[Janet]

That Ramirez cartoon is wonderful. Loved..."Has a point" Hah!

[SWarren]

Yes JMH, I remember it that way too.
I was quite stunned that Toobin, of all people, would be praising Thomas.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Well I'm not clever enough, Clarice, to keep either Barack or Moochelle Obama out of my email every darn day. I don't even know how I got on their lists. I deliberately made a point of never going to any of the sites associated with their email gathering, including the White House site. Didn't help. About a year or so ago, the emails started. Tonight's from Moochelle is about all the wonderful women across the country she has met who support Barack. Ugh!

[Threadkiller]

Narc, would you post a link to the "Countrywide" topic you mentioned on the other thread.

Thanks.

[Frau Hochzeitstag]

SWarren, that is a super link! It would be wonderful to see Clarence Thomas get to work his magic on the SC.

Harry Reid needs to be reminded daily of his churlish and stupid appraisal:
"When asked to comment on Thomas as a possible replacement for Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Reid told NBC's "Meet the Press": "I think that he has been an embarrassment to the Supreme Court.

"I think that his opinions are poorly written. I just don't think that he's done a good job as a Supreme Court justice."
Pfui!

[Ralph L]

I think he Court will rule the mandate unconstitutional
Over the objections of the entire she court.

[JM Hanes]

Speaking of Pfui, am I the only one around who looks at Rembrandt and goes, "Meh," or who thinks that the Mona Lisa may be one of the most boring Renaissance paintings evah?

[Elliott]

Good evening, morning, Clarice!

I think that his opinions are poorly written

As I recall, to illustrate his point, the Ritz-Carlton resident shone his searchlight upon a case in which, as James Taranto pointed out, Thomas had written a one paragraph opinion that offered no support for Reid's baseless assertion.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

JMH: I am not that enamored of the Mona Lisa, but I remember clearly the first time I came upon a Rembrandt at the Norton Simon Museum and I was overcome. I was with my Mother, Aunt and one of their friends and they had to come find me, I was so entranced by the painting, I'd lost track of nearly an hour.

[daddy]

Just starting the thread.

Today during dog walks I listened to the news break at the top of the hour 3 different times on my AM Radio channels; ABC and CBS affiiliates.

Noticed each time that when discussing the Supreme's getting ready to decide on ObamaCare, soundbites were played from Obama and from at least 1 other impassioned Dem politician or supporter of ObamaCare. Not once, in all 3 broadcasts I heard, were any Repub's or Conservatives or opponents of Obamacare given any soundbites at all. None.

So carefully selected passion and rhetoric in favor of ObamaCare were broadcast far and wide by CBS and ABC, and the opposite viewpoint wasn't given diddly squat on their shows.

The Battle begins.

[Dave (in MA)]

McIntyre on Red Eye Radio just repeated the old Gingrich story about serving his wife with divorce papers while she was dying of cancer. Pretty disappointing that a center/right guy with a national show would be less informed than your average blog comments section denizen.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Especially when that ex-wife is alive and well.

[Dave (in MA)]

/(The old Twain quote about a lie going halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its boots)

[Ralph L]

a room or an apt, cheap, in the Arlington area
First, revise your idea of "cheap," if you don't live in Manhattan or San Fran.
Clarendon is largely new and on the Metro, which jacks up rents. If that isn't required, Park Fairfax on I-395 and the area around Washington Blvd were cheaper 20 years ago and still safe. They may have driven all the poor people & riffraff out by now, but south Arlington was considerably cheaper than north or west. Sharing an apt/townhouse is cheapest, but difficult & risky when you don't know anyone.

In the early 50's, my mother shared a diplomat's house in Georgetown with 4 other young women (he was abroad, in Transexual Transylvania). Then the CIA sent her to Vienna, then a divided city in a divided country, where she got sick after a year, came home and got married after a 3 week engagement.

[daddy]

Congratulations Frau!

That is a beautiful building pictured up above. It is only about 3 blocks from our Layover Hotel and I have wandered past it many times. Especially love the covered Roman excavation just outside, and one street down is a fascinating ongoing excavation of the 12th Century Jewish section of the town, where you can look thru the fence at remains of the old Goldsmith's house etc, and you can see that a lot of the structure is old Roman stuff. Absolutely beautiful.

And if my math is correct, hmmm...lemmesee...(55 years you say... add 6 months or so)... by any chance do you remember seeing me there? I was just down the road in Heidelberg, wetting my diapers and saying "ga ga", but am told I was very cute:)

[Ralph L]

JMH, guess you saw the WUNC show on the Rembrandt exhibit in Raleigh. Looks like they went for portable portraits over variety, but I guess they took what they could get. I'd forgotten he'd died broke. Bit embarrassing after you've been a huge success while others starved.

[daddy]

Since we are talking Legal stuff thought I would post this story since it confuses me: Calif. judge rejects deal for lawyer as too harsh

The Perp Attorney is guilty of giving illegal Campaign Contributions to John Edwards Presidential Campaign. He agreed to a Plea deal carrying a $20,000 fine and 6 months in prison, but when the Plea deal was presented to the Judge the Judge said the deal was too harsh.

Is this normal, or is this a case of having powerful friends in the right places?

My knee-jerk reaction is that something stinks in Los Angeles.

[daddy]

DC Boarding Houses?

Sure, worth having a look into.

Good for meeting new people, and the sightseeing is excellent, but can you really ever be sure that your housemate isn't an Illegal Alien?

Klaatu barada nikto is all I'm saying.

[daddy]

Was 7 degrees today on my Flattop walk (Brrrrrrrr), and paper says Fairbanks has a chance of hitting 40 Below Zero this week (Yikes!).

Thankfully I will be in balmy Southeast Asia starting tomorrow.

But enough about the weather. Here is another fascinating little discovery of an ancient Chinese artifact in Alaska.

Archeologists have uncovered an ancient Chinese cast bronze buckle, dated to about 600 AD, dug up from 3 feet down in what they believe is a thousand year old Native Alaskan settlement in Western Alaska. An interesting story with a decent video of the find included.

[matt]

I think the wearer of that buckle probably got blown off course and eaten, daddy.

[peter]

Happy Anniversary Frau!!!

The great thing about forty below is that it is the same temperature in Fahrenheit or Celsius.

Reading a new book, "How I Made it on my Own" by Chelsea Clinton.

[peter]

John Kerry says, "Don't worry baby" LUN

[Clarice]

JMH, I much prefer his painting of a girl with an ermine.