About the whole "we can't close Gitmo! Do you want these terrorists in America?" thing. Does anybody know roughly how many prisoners escape from US prisons? I did some (very quick) research and it seems not many (think 1-2%), and the most who do escape are in low-security state prisons. I don't know how accurate this info is, though.
@Sputnik_Sweetheart: NO ONE escapes from maximum security prisons. It's absurd to think that we'll catch suspected terrorist cooties if we just have them on America proper.
@Sputnik_Sweetheart: from what I heard on npr this morning apparently the fear is that they'll head some sort of terrorist cell from within prison. The expert was like, "that is ridiculous."
@BeetJuice: @bluebears: I think the thing about age has way more to do with the candidate's actual health than anything else. Healthy women tend to live longer than men, so I'm not too worried about that.
I don't think Obama would appoint a smoker (Kagan) for that reason. /caveat she might have quit, the last time I saw her smoking was at U of C, which was years ago.
If Rush Limbaugh needed to resign from a post he didn't have but imagined he did, I'd like to hereby resign from the post of Queen of Cock Innuendo. I cannot deal with the pressure of constantly joking about penises anymore. Michael Steele will have to take up my duties in my stead.
On behalf of at least 70% of Minnesotans (according to the most recent City Pages) I say:
Seriously? SERIOUSLY? SRSLY? O RLY? Six months is not long enough to realize that the citizens are getting annoyed? I know we are Minnesotans, and are more prone to making protest hotdishes than cutting a bish, but don't. push. your. luck. Pawlenty. We will remember that you let this bullshit hit the fan next election. I will make the most anti-Pawlenty hotdish in all the freaking land and enter it into State Fair competition. I will make a butter sculpture and try to burn it in effigy. At least use it to butter waffles (if effigy).
@lilbobbytables: You could make Pawlenty Pork Chops On A Stick and sell them at the State Fair. You could also have a charity potluck to raise money to erect a billboard that says, "Tim Pawlenty, well, gee. He's not the nicest, now, is he?"
I would love for Diane Wood to get it, but I secretly hope more for Cass Sunstein to be nominated in the future for the next seat and know that Obama won't get away with just nominating only from the (brilliant, thoughtful, imminently qualified) faculty of the U. Chicago law school. I'm torn. But I'd be happy, I think, with Sottomayor (sp?).
@J.D.Regent: I agree. He's also lacks one of the biggest things Obama has mentioned, which is basic common sense in how to deal with legal issues. He's incredibly theoretical, which Obama probs know since they worked at U. Chicago together.
I put my money on Judge Wood. Wardlaw & Sears are my votes for the next two openings.
@Trulymadlyme: yeah he is ridiculous. he is the last "liberal" (really?) scholar I'd see up there for the very reason you mention. I'm feeling Wood, though I am pretty bummed we're gonna have yet another white face up there.
@J.D.Regent: Interesting take on Sunstein. I certainly am a liberal who leans more conservative in my legal thinking -perhaps why I appreciate Sunstein so much, but I also took 3 classes with him in law school and think that he's just a wonderful person as well, so I'm biased.
But, I would argue that Sunstein is a liberal, while trying not to be too "activist" (a term he would reject).
Wood, Wardlaw & Sears -- law firm or department store?
@sportz.star: The things I like about Sunstein are the things that would make him not-so-great for the Supreme Court. I've only taken one class with Judge Wood, but she really impresses me with her ability to clearly articulate what is right and her determination to stick to it even when it's politically unsavory and/or the rest of the 7th circuit is dog piling on her. Anyone who can stand up to Judges Posner and Easterbrook with such poise can handle the old dogs on on the Supreme Court.
@small-fox: That's absolutely true about Wood. I'd love to see her take Scalia to task (as she probably did at one time, because they may have been faculty together back then too).
Pawlenty has a point. The laws exist for a reason, and they need to be tested to their logical conclusions. If, after this election, Minnesota decides their laws are bullshit, they can change them. But it's not okay to cirumvent the court system because you think it's taking too long. Also, to go around the process right now would hurt both Pawlenty's and Franken's credibility. They'd be seen as the guy who cheated/twisted arms to get in, and the guy who bent to political pressures. Better to wait a few more weeks, get Franken certified anyway, and proceed without controversy.
@so5minutesago: I agree in that I do not think Pawlenty should force the decision, but I sure as hell think that Coleman should have conceded. 70% of the state wants him to at this point. Six months is too long.
@so5minutesago: @lilbobbytables: It comes down to this -- the Governor is denying the state of Minnesota its due representation in Congress. If the rules are messed up, they are messed up, and that can be addressed later, but for right now, there is a duly elected Senator, and he needs to be seated, then straighten the mess out.
I think that every time the Republicans gear up for a to-do about an Obama SCOTUS nominee, Democrats should be allowed to make them all be quiet for a moment and then shout "HARRIET MIERS" really loud in their faces.
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You getting soft on us, Emanuel?
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I don't think Obama would appoint a smoker (Kagan) for that reason. /caveat she might have quit, the last time I saw her smoking was at U of C, which was years ago.
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Seriously? SERIOUSLY? SRSLY? O RLY? Six months is not long enough to realize that the citizens are getting annoyed? I know we are Minnesotans, and are more prone to making protest hotdishes than cutting a bish, but don't. push. your. luck. Pawlenty. We will remember that you let this bullshit hit the fan next election. I will make the most anti-Pawlenty hotdish in all the freaking land and enter it into State Fair competition. I will make a butter sculpture and try to burn it in effigy. At least use it to butter waffles (if effigy).
/end bitterness, commence copious weeping
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I put my money on Judge Wood. Wardlaw & Sears are my votes for the next two openings.
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But, I would argue that Sunstein is a liberal, while trying not to be too "activist" (a term he would reject).
Wood, Wardlaw & Sears -- law firm or department store?
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Ha!
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It's really only fair.
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How can he resign?
Is this sour grapes or something?
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And now I'm off to bleach my brain.
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