In the first 20 days that Apple has offered video content for sale from the iTunes Music Store, they have sold over 1,000,000 videos--including TV shows, music videos, and Pixar shorts-- all at $1.99 a pop.

I am responsible for exactly one of those million, as I gleefully purchased the Pixar short, "For the Birds."

President Bush has nominated Samuel Alito, a 3rd Circuit judge, for the Supreme Court. From this AP article:

Judicial conservatives praise Alito's 15 years on the Philadelphia-based court, a tenure that gives him more appellate experience than almost any previous Supreme Court nominee. They say his record shows a commitment to a strict interpretation of the Constitution, ensuring that the separation of powers and checks and balances are respected and enforced. They also contend that Alito has been a powerful voice for the First Amendment's guarantees of free speech and the free exercise of religion.

Update: Time has a short article that discusses differences between Alito and Scalia. Curiously (not), WorldMag's blog does not have any spread on Alito yet, like they had with Miers the minute after she was confirmed. Why might that be the case, one might ask? I'll leave that one up in the air, even though I know the answer.

I know I'm going to catch a lot of flak from my Notre Dame base, to borrow from the partisan terminology so in vogue these days, but when have I ever been one to shy away from controversy?

Notre Dame's decision to tack on 5 years to Charlie Weis's current contract-- extending it to 2015-- was a mistake.

Before you curse the computer screen, calm down and realize this: at this point I have full confidence in Weis, and I have been utterly impressed with the Fighting Irish's offense so far this season. As a steadfast fan and longtime student of football, I cannot help but feel that Notre Dame has a new team, a new attitude, when I watch them take the field.

But. We have not even finished Weis's first season yet. We have not seen one confirmed recruiting class. We have not seen a Weis-led Irish team in a bowl game. I realize that ND's oral recruiting commitments have been impressive thus far, and I realize that ND has performed solidly in big games this year. Indeed, my gut and my mind are with Weis, but what is the harm in waiting another year and seeing how ND progresses? What is the harm in seeing if ND's defense gets better?

When you are going to spend $30 million, trust, but also verify.

Now I have heard, and am sensitive to, the argument that a contract extension sends a positive message about the health of the program that will bolster the program's recruiting. In some situations, an extension is appropriate, particularly if significant doubts exist about a program. This is not the current situation at ND. Currently, Weis is already in a healthy 6-year contract and it is obvious to everyone in the nation that confidence is running high in South Bend.

Wait another year, then extend. I do not think that would have been too much to ask.

The Moody Blues, "Question"


Why do we never get an answer
When we're knocking at the door
With a thousand million questions
About hate and death and war?
'Cos when we stop and look around us,
There is nothing that we need,
In a world of persecution
That is burning in its greed.

Why do we never get an answer
When we're knocking at the door
Because the truth is hard to swallow
That's what the war of love is for

It's not the way that you say it
When you do those things to me
It's more the way that you mean it
When you tell me what will be

And when you stop and think about it
You won't believe it's true
That all the love you've been giving
Has all been meant for you.

I'm looking for someone to change my life,
I'm looking for a miracle in my life
And if you could see what it's done to me,
To lose the love I knew
Could safely lead me through.

Between the silence of the mountains,
And the crashing of the sea,
There lies a land I once lived in,
And she's waiting there for me,
But in the grey of the morning,
My mind becomes confused,
Between the dead and the sleeping,
And the road that I must choose.

I'm looking for someone to change my life,
I'm looking for a miracle in my life
And if you could see what it's done to me,
To lose the love I knew,
Could safely lead me to
The land that I once knew,
To learn as we grow old
The secrets of our soul.

It's not the way that you say it
When you do those things to me
It's more the way you really mean it
When you tell me what will be

Why do we never get an answer
When we're knocking at the door
With a thousand million questions
About hate and death and war?
'Cos when we stop and look around us,
There is nothing that we need,
In a world of persecution
That is burning in its greed.

There occasionally arises in a blogger's mind an urging to take a step back in order to critically examine the product he is producing.

I have recently done just that, and while I am generally pleased with the content of the blog, I am must admit that my writing has declined stylistically.

I can think of several possible reasons for this decline: mere verbal laziness, increased distance from undergrad paper writing, the impatient pace of the news cycle, and so forth.

Thus, I pledge to pay more attention to my writing, to make DC a more enjoyable read.

-lds

Just as I predicted, Vice President Cheney's top advisor, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was indicted today. Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has filed the grand jury's indictment on a charge of obstruction of justice and perjury.

Meanwhile, Rove is still under investigation, and Fitzgerald could impanel a new grand jury to seek an indictment of Rove on similar charges. That grand jury would probably only take days, as they would have the complete record of the prior grand jury before them.

Update: Libby has resigned. If convicted on all five counts of his indictment, he could face up to 30 years of prison.

Ah, the White Sox win the World Series, and you think the world has been turned upside down. But then, the new president of Iran comes along with an anti-Semitic tirade, and you know that everything is just as it should be.

Well, not as it should be, of course, but certainly, as it is expected. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's no-so-subtle suggestion that Israel be "must be wiped off the map" returns Iran to 1980 levels of absurdity and cruelty. Don't agree with him? "Anyone who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation's fury." Well, someone forgot there is a "new tone" in the Middle East!

This is nothing new, of course. Anyone who seriously studies the Mid-East conflict knows that thugs like Ahmadinejad have never had any intention of reaching accommodation with Israel. (It's almost like he's ripping off the late Yasser Arafat!)

But what is truly sad is that, although this latest threat only confirms what most already knew, so many politicians, pundits, and bureaucrats still insist that we negotiate with these people. Europe is left with the most proverbial egg on its face, as Britain, France, and Germany had been arguing for years that talk with the Iranian regime could lead to abandonment of its nuclear programs and opportunities for peace. It is clear now that these were false hopes.

Even Kofi Annon, the modern father of appeasement and timidity, was forced to publicly condemn Iran for these hateful statements. Hopefully, this "failure to communicate" will inform our diplomatic judgments in the future, when deciding how to deal with international bullies like Iran. You can't negotiate with mad-men, and if you do, you'll only come out embarrassed.

Directly across Iran's western border, democracy is taking hold in Iraq. The people of that brave nation have ratified their first constitution, and in a couple months will elect their second parliament (not that you would know this from watching the MSM). We can only hope that success in Iraq will help mitigate the blunders of current international policy toward Iran.

Japan's largest telephone company, NTT, is developing a technology that would allow humans to be controlled by a remote control.

This story is not incredibly new, but it definitely fits the 'Man or Machine' theme...

This photo is funny... Most likely the indictments will come out tomorrow, so this photo may not be too far off the mark.



Btw, I found this photo on Patrick Fitzgerald's blog. Amazing that he has a blog, huh?

The Federalist Papers (wiki) first were published on this date in 1787. Madison, often called the "father of the Constitution" wrote most of them, but Alexander Hamilton and John Jay wrote others.

I recommend reading Madison's Federalist #10 and #51.

Harriet Miers has withdrawn her nomination to the Supreme Court.

Check out her letter of withdrawal here. In the letter she states that the reason she chose to withdraw was to avoid tensions arising from Senators' request for privileged executive documents regarding her service as White House Counsel.


Update: Many pundits have stated their disbelief in Bush/Miers' claim that her withdrawal was out of concern for the balance of powers and for executive privilege. Count me as one of them. The reasoning contained in Miers' letter and in Bush's statement of acceptance of that letter is a form of subterfuge to distract people from the weakness of the nomination, by placing blame upon the Senate confirmation process.

This is a complete passage from The Onion (it's priceless, though many of my intrepid readers have no doubt already read it):

Peyton Manning's Wife Tired Of His Constant 'Audibles' At The 'Line Of Scrimmage'

October 13, 2005 | Onion Sports

INDIANAPOLIS—According to sources close to Ashley Manning, wife of Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, the All-Pro's constant audibles on the playing field are mirrored in his intimately personal life, a fact that Mrs. Manning sometimes finds exasperating. "I mean, sometimes when we, you know, 'take the field,' and the 'formation' is all 'lined up,' and Peyton gets all set 'under center,' he will start barking out new signals," Mrs. Manning said. "Suddenly, it's 'Flip Right Hawk 62! Deuce Right, Waggle 15H Throwback C-Posts! Dice Right 218 Bastard! Yes! Yes! Yes!' And I'm like, Peyton, we're at 'third and inches' here, honey. Please, just 'snap the ball.'" Mrs. Manning did note, however, that her husband was a remarkably talented "field general" with a "rifle arm" who "led the league" in "finding the end zone" last season.

[hat-tip: Daniel Bradley]

A few days ago, President Bush nominated Ben Bernanke to replace Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan whose term runs out in the next couple months. There should be no complications to his confirmation in the Senate.

Bernanke, who is currently a high ranking economic advisor to the president, has been widely praised by pundits and well-received by the markets. He has pledged to continue Greenspan's policies, though some believe he might be less of a hawk on inflation and interest rates.

See a collection of responses to Bernanke here in the WSJ and here in the Economist.

I would have posted this last week, but with the second death of my computer, it proved difficult.

Still, even a week later, this is more than relevant.

Titled, "The Abortion Debate No One Wants to Have", the piece by a former Washington Post reporter tells of her life raising a child with Downs Syndrome. Raising being the operative word, because the story tells us that approximately 80 to 90 percent of Downs babies are aborted.

Certainly, advances in science which have led to prenatal testing for particular diseases have in many instances been a blessing. But apparently, considering the manner in which parents are using these tests, new technology has also evolved into a curse.

Like I said, there is a word for this: eugenics. You can't argue your way around that ugly little word, no matter how many rhetorical bullets about "reproductive freedom" and "choice" you fire at it. The abortion debate in this country is no longer about privacy. (Some of us knew it never really was about privacy.) It's about convenience at the very best, and selfish perfectionism at worst.

Money quote from the article:

"I have to think that there are many pro-choicers who, while paying obeisance to the rights of people with disabilities, want at the same time to preserve their right to ensure that no one with disabilities will be born into their own families. The abortion debate is not just about a woman's right to choose whether to have a baby; it's also about a woman's right to choose which baby she wants to have."

What a frightening time to be disabled: a time where your worth to society is extinguished by your potential to be a "drain" on the system. A time when parents, in search of the "perfect" child, dismiss your life before you have a shot at living it.

"I am leaving this legacy to all of you ... to bring peace, justice, equality, love and a fulfillment of what our lives should be. Without vision, the people will perish, and without courage and inspiration, dreams will die -- the dream of freedom and peace."

Thus said Rosa Parks in 1988, at a celebration in her honor.

Today, we should honor her by continuing to strive for the ideals contained in those words.

...

Read this WaPo article for a decent history of her life.

The only information we're getting from this whole sordid mess is in the form of leaks from lawyers associated to the case in some indirect fashion.

What we know for sure is that the Special Prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, is preparing to announce his indictments (if any) this week.

What we can only guess at is what those indictments will be. Speculation is focusing on Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, Scooter Libby, in an indictment for obstruction of justice or similar charge. Some are guessing that Rove or VP Cheney himself might be indicted. My guess is that Libby will take the fall, if there is one.

I wish I knew. Of course, Senators on both sides of the isle are making their predictions known.

What do you think?

Also, InTheAgora has a great wrap-up of the latest opinions and news surrounding the nomination. Check it out.

Statutory rape between an 18-year old male and an underage female in Kansas yielded a punishment of less than a year. The same crime committed between by a male upon another male yielded a 17 year punishment.

This discrepancy is a result of a Kansas law which decrees harsher punishments on homosexuals than heterosexuals for this crime. Last Friday, the Kansas Supreme Court struck down that law as a violation of that's state's equal protection clause.

This is a victory that has been due for a long time.

Here's a photo album of some of the pics I took this last week, while camping in southwestern Wisconsin.

All 3 of my teams won... woohoo

Well, I'm back from camping, but now I leave for ND.

I'll have some photos from the camping, including one which is the best I've ever taken, I suspect.

My God, I love Thee; not because
I hope for heaven thereby,
Nor yet because who love Thee not
May eternally die.

Thou, O my Jesus, Thou didst me
Upon the cross embrace;
For me didst bear the nails and spear,
And manifold disgrace.

And griefs and torments numberless,
And sweat of agony;
E’en death itself; and all for man
Who was Thine enemy.

Then why, O blessèd Jesus Christ
Should I not love Thee well?
Not for the hope of winning heaven,
Nor of escaping hell.

Not with the hope of gaining aught,
Nor seeking a reward,
But as Thyself hast lovèd me,
O everlasting Lord!

E’en so I love Thee, and will love,
And in Thy praise will sing,
Solely because Thou art my God,
And my eternal King.

I'm going camping during the week, and then I'll be in South Bend this weekend for the ND-BYU game, so I will not be blogging during this time.

Guest blogging will be open and encouraged.

Variety released a list of the century's top 100 icons, and The Beatles are on it--deservedly so.

The NYTimes finally broke its relative silence in covering the Plame affair and the involvement of their reporter, Judith Miller, in this article which ran yesterday.

The article says that she waited to break confidentiality, even when Scooter Libby's attorney already transmitted a waiver from him months before, because she wanted his waiver to be completely voluntary and not pressured at all. Many others suspect that she delayed in order to protect other sources, possibly in the administration.

Her notes, which magically reappeared after being "lost" for the last several months, do not attribute a source for where she got Valerie Plame's name.

...

According to this Bloomberg article, prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald likely is looking for conspiracy or obstruction of justice charges and no longer for violation of the originally suspected law forbidding the revealing of an undercover agent's name. The article also indicates that much of the focus seems to be on Scooter Libby in Fitzgerald's recent questioning of Miller before the grand jury.

Confused about what all this means? Join the club.

As expected, yesterday's Notre Dame versus USC game was fantastic.

Charlie Weis ran a wonderful game plan that was largely successful: look at ND's dramatic advantage in time of possession and greater number of first downs. As Emperor Dan noted below, the players played their hearts out and have a right to be proud.

When I played football in high school at Roncalli, the coaches had a saying: "leave it all out on the field; hold nothing back." And on this beautiful Saturday in October, the Fighting Irish did exactly that.

...

In honor of their efforts, DC will remain in its Irish theme this week.

...

Check out Sean's take on the game at Kelly Green; I echo his sentiment that Reggie Bush is the best college football player in the game-- by far.

In the Year of our Lord 2005, patriots of Notre Dame - starving and outnumbered - charged the fields of South Bend.

They fought like warrior-poets; they fought like Irishmen, and won our hearts.

POST BY Michael Romano


Looking at lists of the greatest college football rivalries of all time, two team matchups repeatedly appear at the top of that list: Harvard-Yale and Army-Navy. Forget about them; they're irrelevant. And unlike certain sportswriters, when I identify things as irrelevant, I stop talking about them.

ND-USC (series record: 42-29-5, led by Notre Dame) is certainly the greatest intersectional rivalry in college football, and quite possibly the greatest rivalry in college football. This game matters beyond a conference; it matters, in fact, beyond the fanbase of either school. Both teams have storied programs and a history of success. Notre Dame has 11, 12, or 13 National Championships, depending on which method of counting is used. Eight of those are undisputed. USC almost rivals that, with ten National Championships: five undisputed National Championships, the #1 spot in the AP in 2003, and four other years when they were ranked #1 by a major ranking system.

This is a game of two elite programs; this game has determined the National Champion numerous times in the past. Even when it has not, it has been important on the national stage. This is the 30th time that both teams enter the game ranked by the AP, and the 17th when both teams are ranked in the AP's top 10.

Beyond the quality of teams, both programs have produced top-caliber players. Notre Dame currently holds the record number of seven Heisman trophy winners. USC and Ohio State come in second with six each; USC's Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush are both poised to let USC tie Notre Dame's record this year. However, USC does currently lead Notre Dame for the record of Heisman-winners-turned-double-murderers.

But this game has present value beyond its historical proportions. USC is currently ranked #1, and their team is so good that the mere thought of them makes fans and sportscasters alike fail to understand the concept of time. After a decisive victory over Oklahoma in the 2004 championship game, USC is retroactively crowned 2-time National Champions. Never mind the fact that they did not play in the championship game, or that the BCS and Coach's Poll gave the championship to another team. Being champions one year validates the prior year. This year, despite three struggling weeks with endgame comebacks, USC maintains an iron grip on the #1 spot. Never mind the fact that other undefeated teams have won against tougher schedules with more consistency; USC won last year, so they must deserve that spot.

For our part, Notre Dame has emerged from a decade-long dark age, the Davieham era. During this era, Notre Dame slid further downhill each year, and fans were subjected to increasing criticisms and reasons why Notre Dame would never regain the spotlight. Academic standards were too high. Notre Dame's time had passed. The mystique was gone. We true believers knew that none of this was true. We had suffered through dark ages before, and we had heard people argue before that Notre Dame could never return to the national spotlight. They had been proved wrong then, and we knew that the talking heads will be proved wrong again. This is a different football team. USC has had their own dark-age period between times of national prominence; they should recognize the change.

USC loves bandying about the past three meetings. At each of those meetings, USC beat ND by 31 points. There was one common factor in each of those games: Tyrone Willingham. Willingham, that great molder of men, was one of two coaches in Notre Dame history to never beat USC – the other was Hunk Anderson, Knute Rockne's short-lived replacement. Coincidentally, Hunk also had a three-year tenure.

A 31-point loss will not happen. Charlie Weis will not tolerate it, and the new attitude that he has instilled in our players will not allow them to roll over and die. Whatever the outcome of this game, USC and the nation will see the echoes wake, as they saw over the past five games. I am optimistic. This is our chance to show the world that Notre Dame football has returned to its rightful place. This is our chance to prove everyone wrong, to leave the critics, detractors, and naysayers without words. After this game, I plan to revel in their blissful silence.

Finally, tradition-minded as I am, and as other Notre Dame fans are (we are a Catholic school, after all), I would be remiss if I did not mention one final statistic. To this point, Notre Dame has had four opportunities to play a #1 ranked USC team. We have never beaten USC when they were ranked #1. It's time we changed that. We are a team, a football program, and a school that makes history and creates tradition.

When I'm right, I'm right. And folks, when it comes to Harriet Miers, I was not only right, but I was ahead of the curve.

On Tuesday, I criticized Bush for nominating Miers, at least in a signficant part, based upon her political evangelical faith. Due to her apparent underqualification for the Supreme Court, Bush argued that he knew Harriet and that we should trust him, in essence.

I saw this for what it was: speaking not so subtly to his political evangelical base. And as Republicans go, it was this group which most publicly supported the President's pick.

One commenter doubted my intuition and reading of the tea leaves:

"I think it is HUGE stretch to say that Bush picked her because of her religious faith. I don't think Lucas can prove that."

That was Tuesday. And then came Wednesday, along with my support. Dr. James Dobson admitted that he and Karl Rove spoke about Harriet Miers and that Rove assured him that he would be pleased with Harriet, adding that she attended an extremely pro-life church. President Bush, at a press briefing yesterday, admitted that his advisers were using Harriet's religion to try to convince the conservatives they were in contact with.

And then came today. Peggy Noonan so eloquently (as always) sums up how the White House screwed this one up:

And next time perhaps the White House, in announcing and presenting the arguments for a new nominee to the high court, will remember a certain tradition with regard to how we do it in America. We don't say, "We've nominated Joe because he's a Catholic!" A better and more traditional approach is, "Nominee Joe is a longtime practitioner of the law with considerable experience, impressive credentials, and a lively and penetrating intellect. Any questions? Yes, he is a member of the Catholic church. Any other questions?"

That's sort of how we do it. We put the horse and then the cart. The arguments for the person and then the facts attendant to the person. You don't say, "Vote for this gal because she's an Evangelical!" That shows a carelessness, an inability to think it through, to strategize, to respectfully approach serious facts--failings that, if they weren't typical of the White House the past few months, might be called downright sexist.

Note the irony with that closing...

They may have Reggie Bush, but we have God.

Apple's been busy, and today they showcased the fruits of their labors.

The first major announcement is a new video iPod. The new iPod looks the same as the previous generation, but it is a bit slimmer and it has a larger screen. The larger screen, of course, is to make video-watching more pleasant on it. The new model also comes in black as well as white, sports 5 additional hours of battery life, and supports MPEG4 and H.264 video formats.

Most exciting, Apple has also announced that a person can download music videos and TV shows from the iTunes Music Store and then watch them on your computer and iPod. At least some of this video content will cost $1.99 a pop. I've yet to figure out the precise nature of Apple's video offerings, but I guarantee they will offer more and more content as time passes.



The second major product announcement is the new iMacs. They look nearly identical to the previous iMac line, but these models have upgraded specs and all of them sport a built-in iSight video camera. Also quite interesting, Apple wants these machines to be a home-entertainment hub, and they have equipped them with a technology called FrontRow. FrontRow includes an infrared remote control and an alternate interface which lets a user browse music, photos, and videos from the comfort of their couch.

Cool.



[correction: I originally stated that the remote control was bluetooth. That's incorrect. It is, in fact, infrared]

So feasted they through Troy, and in their midst
Loud pealed the flutes and pipes: on every hand
Were song and dance, laughter and cries confused
Of banqueters beside the meats and wine.
They, lifting in their hands the beakers brimmed,
Recklessly drank, till heavy of brain they grew,
Till rolled their fluctuant eyes. Now and again
Some mouth would babble the drunkard's broken words.

The household gear, the very roof and walls
Seemed as they rocked: all things they looked on seemed
Whirled in wild dance. About their eyes a veil
Of mist dropped, for the drunkard's sight is dimmed,
And the wit dulled, when rise the fumes to the brain:
And thus a heavy-headed feaster cried:

"For naught the Danaans mustered that great host
Hither! Fools, they have wrought not their intent,
But with hopes unaccomplished from our town
Like silly boys or women have they fled."
So cried a Trojan wit-befogged with wine,
Fool, nor discerned destruction at the doors.

When sleep had locked his fetters everywhere
Through Troy on folk fulfilled of wine and meat,
Then Sinon lifted high a blazing torch
To show the Argive men the splendour of fire.
But fearfully the while his heart beat, lest
The men of Troy might see it, and the plot
Be suddenly revealed. But on their beds
Sleeping their last sleep lay they, heavy with wine.

The host saw, and from Tenedos set sail.

Quintus Smyrnaeus: The Fall of Troy

I cannot profess to know how IrishTrojan can look in the mirror every morning knowing that he supports USC.

I mean, look at the cheese associated with USC. Their coach, Pete Carroll, has his own cheesy flash-based website,



...and their QB, Matt Leinart, promotes himself for Heisman on his cheesy never-updated blog:

Whewwww... Wow, now we can all breathe again.

Micro$oft has been making a lot of moves lately, perhaps showing that Google and Apple are getting under its collar:

- First, it struck a deal with RealNetworks to cooperate in providing music downloads on MSN using Real's Rhapsody technology. The two hope to challenge Apple's dominance in the music download biz.

- Second, Microsoft is nearing a deal to merge it's IM client with Yahoo's. Think about what this means... If Microsoft buys AOL from TimeWarner, as is widely speculated, then it will control the industry standard for IM.

- Third, Palm has decided to include Microsoft's CE operating system on its handheld devices, in lieu of its own PalmOS.

- Finally, there is this bit of news that Microsoft will enter the security software market next year, taking on Symantec which has the sector's strongest player.

It's obvious to me that Microsoft wants to position MSN as a serious net competitor to Google, and they will be adding features and functionality to it towards that end.

I oppose Harriet Miers' nomination to the Supreme Court. I oppose it because, not in spite of, my conservative attitude regarding the Constitution. I oppose it because it was made for the wrong reasons and upon a deleterious basis.

When President Bush stood before the lectern and announced Miers' nomination, he reaffirmed his very un-conservative adherence to identity politics and his promotion of the blurring of religion and politics. His mantra, 'Trust me, I know her,' is anything but reassuring considering his lack of legal and Constitutional experience.

Who did President Bush expect to convince with that reasoning? No, maybe the better question is who was convinced by it?

Principled conservatives such as George Will, Charles Krauthammer, and Robert Bork all have publicly opposed her, while several prominent Protestant evangelicals, such as WorldMag's Marvin Olasky, Dr. Richard Land, and James Dobson, have supported her. This provides a clue to the basis upon which President Bush would like us to trust his nomination of Miers: she is a politically active and devout evangelical, just as is Bush.

In explanation of his support of Miers, Olasky wrote the following:

Maybe it’s the judicial implications of her evangelical faith, unseen on the Court in recent decades. Friends who know Miers well testify to her internal compass that includes a needle pointed toward Christ. Again, Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht told me she has a philosophy that grows out of evangelical exegesis and carries over into legal issues: "She's an originalist -- that's the way she takes the Bible," and that's her approach to the Constitution as well -- "Originalist -- it means what it says."

Never mind theexclusivitym displayed in Olasky's refusal to acknowledge the Catholic Scalia's or the Lutheran Rehnquist's faith, the more troubling aspect of this argument is that religious faith and intention are supposedly enough to form the requisite intellectual capacity to interpret the Constitution in a conservative textualist manner.

Her faith is certainly not a disqualification, but by itself, it does not qualify her for the Supreme Court, as Bush et al. would have us believe. Conservatives may take heart that her evangelical faith would make her likely to side with them on issues such as abortion, but what about the commerce clause, matters of equal protection and due process, federalism, etc.? What does her biblical exegesis tell her on these matters?

This nomination sends the wrong message--namely, that to be qualified for the Supreme Court one only needs to have the right religious beliefs and to be loyal to the President. If Harriet Miers had any history at all of dealing with Constitutional matters or even intellectually tackling lesser matters of law, the message might be otherwise.

Meanwhile, prominent conservative lawyers, many of which have dedicated their legal careers to developing a consistent and thorough textual philosophy regarding the constitution, have been left out in the cold.

So what are her chances of being confirmed?

Despite Bush's arrogance that she will be, Senate Republicans are not exactly enthused and this ethical question could overwhelm her. Nevertheless, I am less than hopeful that she will be defeated. The Bush administration has shown remarkable prowess at bending congressional Republicans' arms, and they have already unleashed Laura Bush to call critics of Miers, sexist.

Just more sad identity politics.

Recently I have added two blogs to the blogroll worth checking out. The first is Daniel Bradley's blog "Dispatches from Nowhere in Particular" where he lists humorous anecdotes and items he's found around the net. The second is Blog Maverick, written by Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavs. Cuban gives a lot of great insight on economic matters.

So... I was perusing this Wikipedia list of famous gay and lesbian people throughout time, and I came upon a couple interesting items.

The first regards Alan Turing, the famous British computer and math guru who lived in the first half of the 20th century. Turing was famous for developing his test for gauging the believability of an artifical computer intelligence and for his role in breaking the Germans' code during WWII.

However, what is less known about him, is that he was gay and that after WWII, British officials punished him for being gay, by forcing him to take hormone treatments to reduce his libido. These treatments had the effect of chemically sterilizing him and making him grow larger breasts. Two years after beginning the treatments, Turing committed suicide by eating a cyonide-laced apple. At least one of his biographers theorizes that this was the inspiration behind Apple Computer's rainbow apple logo.



Also, if you browse down the Wiki list, you'll notice "Matt Drudge" under the D's... Nothing on the list provides any support for this inclusion, but in the spirit of Drudge's faithful reporting, I shall run with it...

NET'PORTER MATT DRUDGE GAY!

The political parties agreed to a solution yesterday to the German election limbo which produced no clear winner.

Angie Merkel, the leader of the nation's conservative party, will be the Chancellor, as her party has formed a grand coalition with the nation's primary liberal party, the SPD.

In exchange, the SPD will get a majority of the cabinet offices... Expect another round of elections in a few months to try to determine consensus, say experts.

They may have Matt Leinart, but we have God.

This video, of a chimp smoking a cig, is an oldie but a classic nonetheless.

And this video is a must see. It's a trailer for the feel good movie of the century: Shining.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish take on the USC Trojans this Saturday, in a game that pits the #8 (Harris) ranked team versus the nation's top team.

In honor of this huge game, I have updated DC's theme appropriately, as you surely have noticed.

Also, I hereby declare war on IrishTrojan, a current ND law student who went to USC for his undergrad. Oh yeah, and he's obsessed with hurricanes too.

Following a 7.6 earthquake that struck the region on Saturday, officials in India and Pakistan are estimating a deathtoll of 30,000+. Please pray for those affected by this disaster.

These kind of numbers put our own tragedies into a certain perspective, though human suffering is not quantifiable in this manner.

I previously reported on DC that the Vatican had prepared a document that called on a ban of gays from semenaries.

Recently, however, the NYTimes has this article which says that the actual Vatican document may provide more leeway, in fact more leeway than the technical position of the Church today. If so, this is a greatly welcomed development. It's time to play wait and see.