Obama May Select Kathleen Sullivan to be Solicitor General

As reported by Bloomberg. (h/t) Sullivan, who is apparently a lesbian (natch), is a former dean of Stanford Law School. I'm really only posting this news item because it affords me the opportunity to mention the relatively amusing fact that Sullivan, a graduate of Harvard Law, failed the California Bar, i.e., law licensing, Exam in 2005 (she passed it on her second try in 2006).

In case you're wondering, I passed the California Bar Exam on my first try right after graduating from a no-name law school in 2001. On average, over 60 percent of first time takers pass.

My New Year's Resolution: Chew More Gum

I've finally figured out how to "cure" my tendency to become frustratingly drowsy every time I drive for more than 30 minutes on the freeway or read a book. Just keep my mouth and jaw moving by chewing gum.

It's been years since I've chewed gum, so when I went to go buy a pack the other day, I was little surprised to learn at how many different brands of gum are out there. And practically all them are sugarless. It's going to be a great 2009; I can feel it.

Recall Jerry Brown!

Somehow, I just knew Moonbeam was going to give the majority of California voters the finger. What an ass!

CA Dems Vote for $11 Billion Tax Hike

According to my State Assemblyman, and 2010 Republican U.S. Senate candidate, Chuck DeVore. The Dems have passed this tax hike even though they didn't garner the constitutionally required 2/3 supermajority vote of the State Legislature (see Article 13A Section 3). How are the Dems, who are the majority party in the Legislature, trying to get away with this? Basically by disingenuously referring to the taxes as "regulatory fees." An example of such a fee would be the money you might have paid for your driver's license or library card.

This is just maddening. Hopefully, lawyers for the State Republican Party, or some tax watchdog group, are busily drawing up a lawsuit to stop this illegal tax hike from being imposed.

Update (12/19/08): Looks as though Ahnuld will veto the bill, but not necessarily because of the illegal tax hike. Whatever. As long the thing dies a deserved death. (via Chuck Devore)

Mug Shots of the Year

See if you can spot what they've all got in common.

It's Like Auburn's Hiring of Gene Chizik

The Good Old Boys' Network is alive and well in DC as Barry taps Chicago Schools Chief Arne Duncan to be Education Secretary, despite the fact that under Duncan's watch only 17 percent of 8th graders in Chicago can read at grade level. In sports terms, that's almost like being named the head coach of a traditional college football powerhouse, even though you've just compiled a 10 game losing streak at another school.

Time Magazine is No Different Than Mother Jones

Just a couple of weeks after Time magazine ran an article that mindlessly concluded Pope Benedict was a "Scrooge", there's news that the magazine's Washington bureau chief, Jay Carney, is going to be the communications director for Vice-President Elect Joe "I'm Not a Pope John Paul II Kind of Guy" Biden.

I don't know about you, but Carney's hiring by Biden raises all kinds of red flags for me on the supposed objectivity of Time magazine's past election coverage.

A Photo a Day in the Life...

What a great idea. (h/t)

Obama Has Short Coattails - Freezer Boy Gets Ousted

Soon to be Congressman Joseph Cao appears to be a GOP superstar in the making.

Revisiting the Trial of the Ages

Michael Foley has a nice recap and evaluation of a conference held last month at the University of Dallas on the trial of St. Thomas More. Man, I wish I could have attended.

Every aspect of the trial was scrutinized. What did it mean to take an oath in the sixteenth century? What were More’s legal rights, and were they respected? Was due process observed during the trial? Did Richard Rich perjure himself, or did he merely misremember his conversation with More that became the most damning piece of evidence submitted? How much pressure were the judges and the jury under from Henry VIII? Which, if any, of the four extant accounts of the trial is the most accurate? And how did More ensure that his side of the story would be heard through his writings without incurring further suspicion of treason?

The conference was filled with surprises. For instance, did you know that we have no copy of the oath which More famously refused to take? That no official transcript of the trial was made? That we are not certain whether there were one, three, or four formal charges? That, contrary to current legal practice, the more grave the case, the fewer the rights of the accused? That More’s civil rights, as defined by English law at the time, may have been more or less respected? In other words, there was nothing procedurally unusual about More spending years imprisoned in the Tower of London, undergoing several interrogations, being suddenly brought to court for trial, and hearing the charges against him (read in Latin) for the first and only time. And there was considered nothing untoward in having judges sitting on the bench with a vested interest (to put it mildly) in seeing More condemned, such as an uncle, a brother, and the father of Anne Boleyn.

As for those charges, there were at most four in number: that Thomas More maliciously refused to acknowledge the king’s supremacy over the Church in England; that he had conspired against the king with Bishop John Fisher; that he had instigated sedition by calling the Act of Supremacy a two-edged sword; and that he had, according to the testimony of Richard Rich, “maliciously, traitorously, and diabolically” denied Parliament’s power to declare the king head of the English Church.

'SC Continues to Rule L.A.

The fifth ranked Trojans secure a spot in the Rose Bowl against Penn State with a solid 28-7 win over cross-town rival UCLA. But for an early season loss against Oregon State, and the media driven overhyping of the South Eastern Conference, USC really should be playing in the National Championship Game next month/year.

Jeff Israely of Time Magazine is an Ignorant Asshat

Israely unjustifiably calls the pope "Scrooge", then gets his panties all in a wad over the pope's desire to reign in the often overindulged "sign of peace" exchange during the Mass.(h/t)

Tapping Hillary for Secretary of State Now Makes Perfect Sense

Damn Skynet!





(Pictures from the "Hillary was Sent Back in Time to Kill John Connor" group)

County in Alabama Declares Obama Holiday

This was only mildly annoying. This , however, takes the cake for complete absurdity. (h/t)

A small central Alabama county whose mainly black residents gave Barack Obama more than 70 percent of the vote on Election Day has created an annual holiday in honor of the president-elect.

The Perry County Commission voted 4 to 1 to observe the second Monday in November as "The Barack Obama Day." County offices will close and its roughly 40 workers will get a paid holiday.

The sponsoring commissioner, Albert Turner Jr., said the holiday is meant to highlight the Democratic president-elect's victory as a way to give people faith that difficult goals can be achieved.

Harry Reid Says You Stink

In particular reference to those of you who may have visited DC during any summer before the completion of the new and over priced visitor center on Capitol Hill.



P.S. In addition to a boondoggle, the new visitor center is apparently an homage to the pagan/secular Left.

Seventh Straight Over the Irish!

Fight On! Beat the Bruins!

Death Certificates

Planned Parenthood's depth of evil knows no bounds.

Planned Parenthood, which in past years has promoted a "Choice on Earth" abortion campaign during the Christmas season, has a new outreach, offering Christmas gift certificates to be used for abortions.

"It is difficult to think of a more tasteless, ghoulish thing to give anyone. I refuse to refer to these financial instruments as gifts as they are nothing more than a legal way to put a hit out on someone," said a participant in a forum at the online Lone Star Times, where the plan was reported.

"Planned Parenthood, this generation's King Herod, you know, the guy who ordered the mass slaughter of babies when Jesus was born," added WND columnist Jill Stanek, who also documented the plan on her blog.

Best TV Theme Songs

The all times list isn't bad, and I agree with what's ranked number 1, but the current shows list is sorely wanting. Egregiously omitted from the latter list are the themes songs from The Office and Smallville. (h/t)

Miami Judge Says Sexually Disordered People Can Adopt Children

That's not expressly what this clown jurist said, but her ruling presumes an unproven fact; namely, that same sex attraction, i.e., homosexuality, is perfectly normal.

B. Hussein Obama Public Elementary School

Believe it or not, there now is One. (h/t)

People are gonna feel really dumb when this guy turns out to be, at best, a mediocre President.