THE OTHER SHOE DROPS: Updates To Previous Posts
† Don’t Know Much About History, Don’t Know Much Foreign Policy: Another foreign monarch, another reverential bow by President Barack Hussein Obama, who doesn’t seem to understand that as the leader of a republic founded on the principle “all men are created equal” it is a breach of protocol and history to symbolically elevate another human being above him by lowering his head and torso in a display of subservience. The Los Angeles Times blog “Top of the Ticket” asks: “How low will the new American president go for the world's royalty?” These photos speak volumes on just how far Obama is willing to lower himself, and by extension, all of us:
† Living In These Mad, Mad, Madoff Times: When the U.S. Marshals Service auctioned off Bernard and Ruth Madoff's gewgaws, buyers went gaga and bid the items up for far more than they had been valued by Gaston & Sheehan. For instance, Madoff's Hofstra College ring, estimated at $360, sold for $6,000. In all, items seized from the Madoffs’ penthouse on Manhattan's Upper East Side and houses in Montauk, LI, and Palm Beach, FL, brought roughly $1 million, which will be divided amongst his victims.
† Sotomayor And The Supreme Court: It’s Not The End Of The World For Conservatives: The National Law Journal toted up the number of questions Supreme Court newbie Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked in the second two-week cycle of arguments this term and compared it to the number asked by the high hcourt's other two most recent additions, and observes that “she is a prolific and fearless questioner.” More, from TNLJ’s analysis:
She can be tenacious and direct, bordering on harsh. She can be impatient when the lawyer does not answer her question precisely. She knows her stuff and clearly loves the give and take.
All of which is to say, Sotomayor fits right in with her new colleagues, many of whom do exactly the same thing. Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. and Samuel Alito Jr. can be every bit as dismissive, Stephen Breyer can be just as persistent and wordy, and Antonin Scalia can be just as critical. No, Scalia is more critical: During one argument last week, Scalia told an advocate, "The big obstacle I find with your position is that it doesn't make any sense."
What's notable is that Sotomayor has tuned into the high court's wavelength so early in her tenure. The memo about new justices being seen more than heard must have gotten lost in the interoffice mail.
Meanwhile, speaking at the Federalist Society’s annual conference last week, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Jr. defended Sotomayor against critics who pressed her to be upfront about judicial activism – that is, to apply President Barack Hussein Obama’s “empathy standard” when deciding cases, reports “The Blog of Legal Times” via The National Law Journal:
He cited as an example a post on the Federalist Society's Web site by Georgetown law professor Louis Michael Seidman, in which Seidman wrote, "I was completely disgusted by Judge Sotomayor's testimony today. If she was not perjuring herself, she is intellectually unqualified to be on the Supreme Court. If she was perjuring herself, she is morally unqualified."
"And those were the words of one of her supporters," Alito said. "I had a lot of opponents, but I never had any supporters like that."
† Judge Throws Career Away For Aging Stripper: Former Second District Court of Appeal judge Thomas E. Stringer, 65, was sentenced to one year of probation for bank fraud and 150 hours of community service for lying on a mortgage application about the source of funds for a down payment for a home in Ewa Beach, HI, reports The Associated Press. Stringer set up the bank accounts that stripper Christy Yamanaka – reportedly his paramour for 13 years – deposited her earnings in to hide income from creditors to whom she owed hundreds of thousands of dollars. Stringer resigned in February and was disbarred by the Florida Supreme Court last month.
† Updates To Previous Posts (Illegal Immigration Discombobulates Environmentalists): Based on E-mails between the National Park Service U.S. Border Patrol Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) tells The Washington Times that environmental regulations are being invoked to prevent the placement of towers comprising the virtual fence (or, the Secure Border Initiative or SBInet) on wilderness lands in parks along the border creating huge gaps through which illegal immigrants and guns can slip through without being easily tracked. The Washington Times reports:
The documents also show the Interior Department has charged the Homeland Security Department $10 million over the past two years as a "mitigation" penalty to pay for damage to public lands that agencies say has been caused by Border Patrol agents chasing illegal immigrants. …
A major problem is wilderness - lands deemed so pristine that they should be maintained in that condition, free of man-made structures.
Wilderness is governed under a 1964 law that imposed strict rules that tie Border Patrol agents' hands, and there is a lot of that land along the border. According to the Congressional Research Service, California has 1.8 million acres of wilderness within 100 miles of the border, and Arizona has 2.5 million acres. New Mexico and Texas have smaller plots. …
[Homeland Security Secretary] Napolitano's letter to Congress, which was sent last month in answer to a series of questions, indicates that problems persist.
She … said some public-lands managers are using a section of the Endangered Species Act to demand information about Border Patrol activities, which Ms. Napolitano said "risks jeopardizing sensitive operational information."
Ms. Napolitano also said that cracking down on illegal immigration actually helps the environment since the flow of millions of illegal crossers over the past decade has ruined some once-pristine lands with piles of trash, vehicle tracks and contaminated water.
According to a 2006 memorandum of understanding between the Interior Department’s Fish and Wildlife and Parks division and the Border Patrol, agents can go off-road to pursue drug- and human smugglers in the wilderness only if they are riding horses.
† Updates To Previous Posts (last item, (Islamo)Fascist Fashionistas): Sudanese journalist Lubna Hussein, 34, who was tried and threatened with a public flogging but instead served several days in jail for wearing pants, tells The Washington Post that "Since all this happened, I will only wear pants." Now enduring a “backlash that has included anonymous death threats and newspaper columns calling her a prostitute” she adds, "If you have something to fight for, you can lose your life."
† Updates To Previous Posts (last item, 10 Reasons Michelle Obama Should Be Proud – Really Proud – Of America): This latest installment in The Stiletto Blog’s ongoing series meant to help instill the necessary pride of country in Michelle Obama’s consciousness to enable her to serve as an unofficial ambassador focuses on 13 Moses Lake (WA) High School shop class students who built a boat for the school’s swim coach Tony St. Onge. The Seattle Times reports:
"We've never done anything like this before," said instructor Rick Rosenow. "Tony is a paraplegic, so we looked at different designs to create a boat that would be easy for him to use. We did everything from scratch." …
The silver boat is about 20 feet long and features a ramp at its bow. It is reminiscent of landing crafts built during World War II, Rosenow explained.
"We designed the landing craft so it would be easy for Tony to get in and out with his wheelchair," Rosenow said. …
"The hardest part has been ... how to get the door figured out," said junior Cole Brumet. "We need to make sure it is easy to get in and out of."
Many of the students said they are glad to give their creation to St. Onge.
"I had him for two years straight and he is one of my favorite teachers," [junior Jared Rodgers] said. "He is really inspirational."
Senior Bryon Tilson noticed St. Onge always has a smile on his face.
"He's just always positive and makes everyone feel good," Tilson said.
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