Another tragedy involving the boys in blue. Our prayers are with the families of all those who were injured.

As many bloggers both here at TMV and around the net have already pointed out it seems likely that Justice to Be Sotomayor will win a fairly easy confirmation. It is probable that she will get unanimous support from the Democrats and a decent level of support from the GOP. So I thought I would offer a commentary on the criticism already appearing in some quarters about how the GOP is being obstructionist and somehow improper in their conduct on the Judiciary committee. If you look at history though...

Obviously at this point I don’t have much to post in this thread but I thought it would be useful to have one in which we at TMV tracked the announced vote on the confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor. I will update it as votes are announced, so if you’re wondering where things stand please keep an eye here.

The first day of hearings are complete and we didn’t really have any surprises. Members of both parties said what they were expected to say and for the most part they remained reasonably civil. Republicans were careful to strike a balance between satisfying the desire of their base for a thorough review of the nominee and avoiding going too far in their rhetoric. Democrats were careful to strike their own balance between sounding like they wanted to just rubber stamp the nominee and not giving...

Today marks the beginning of the hearings into the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. Based on past history we can expect today to be more style than substance, with both the nominee and the members of the committee offering introductory statements and setting the ground for the rest of the hearings. As the hearings proceed I think it is proper for both parties to consider just how they ought to proceed. To begin with I think it is perfectly reasonable in these kind of hearings...

Recently the Nestle company had to recall a huge amount of cookie dough because of E Coli contamination. This recall probably cost them millions and it now seems they may have arrived at this point by trying to cut corners on food safety issues. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Nestle has repeatedly refused to cooperate with FDA requests to provide information during inspections. While they complied with the minimum standards under the law they certainly could have cooperated in more depth. While...

As part of his visit to Ghana, President Obama took time to visit a former slave fort located on the African coast. To be sure there was more style than substance in this event but there was a pretty significant and moving nature to the event. Even for those of us who don’t support everything the President does there has always been a bit of pride in the fact that a nation that once allowed slavery is now governed by a man who would have been such a slave. This symbolism is perhaps more poignant...

A few interesting political tidbits came out today In New York, Governor David Paterson has appointed a new Lt. Governor in an effort to resolve the ongoing dispute in the State Senate. For those who may have missed some of this battle, the short version is that New York has no provision for replacing a vacancy in the office of Lt. Governor so when Paterson took over for Eliot Spitzer, the state had nobody in the post. This became a problem when a Democrat in the State Senate jumped ship and left...

With the 40th anniversary of the Moon Landing coming up in a couple weeks I thought I’d start posting some relevant videos. The first  is purely for sentiment, and to give us all a post we can agree on.

Moments ago they officially swore in Senator Franken so the party now has it’s 60th vote. The crowd in the chamber seemed to be mostly Democrats though that is not surprising since the Congress is just getting back from it’s break and so members are presumably settling in to start the new session. So time to see what the Democratic majority can do.

Being  a resident of California almost requires you to be some form of environmentalist and I certainly am one who is concerned about the environment and making sure we do what we can to protect it. But I also believe we need a level of realism in balancing the environment with the economy. Unless we plan to move  into caves again we need to recognize that work  and environment need to go hand in hand. It is in this light that I find this ruling to be disturbing. Chevron was working to upgrade...

As I was driving home from a client meeting today, I was listening to KGO radio and the caller was discussing that, in his opinion, all white people were biased and prejudiced against minorities. Even the host of the show, a pretty hard core liberal, was taken aback at the statement. But the caller refused to yield, citing examples of alleged prejudice where pretty much anything a white person said was deemed biased. Obviously this person is an aberration, indeed most of the calls who followed him...

With thanks to Stitchkingdom.com here are some fireworks from WDW last night. Like em or not, Disney sure can put on an amazing show.

The Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776 The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires...

UPDATE: MSNBC is now reporting that sources tell Andrea Mitchell that Palin is out of politics for good. They indicate this is NOT a first step in a 2012 campaign for President but her decision to shift from political candidate to some sort of pundit type. I agree that there certainly seems to be more behind this story that meets the eye, perhaps a new scandal or possibly some personal family issue. ***** While most of us were thinking we might see a Governor resign sometime this week, it turns...

It looks like <insert your own metaphor here> has come to pass and Governor Sanford will very soon become former Governor Sanford. But then you never know what this guy is gonna do……

It’s about an hour till midnight and July 1st but California is now pretty much officially broke. The legislature passed a pseudo budget but it didn’t really fix any of the problems so the Governor vetoed it (something he’d said for some time that he would do) so we now have no budget and thus no money. Most state vendors could start getting IOU’s as the budget crisis continues while state employees could see more furlough days. Basically the problem is the same as always. On...

In one of the quieter news stories of the week Congresswoman Tauscher (D-CA) was confirmed to serve as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. Her departure sets up a special election which will occur later this year, probably in the early fall. One of the leading candidates in the race is Lt.  Governor John Garamendi and if he wins that would set up a vacancy in the post of Lt. Governor. Under California law the Governor (Arnold) would nominate a replacement who would...

So with the victory of Al Franken in Minnesota today we now have, at least in theory, absolute one party rule for the first time in more than thirty years. For those who are going to correct me I would point out that by one party rule I mean where one party had a filibuster proof majority in the Senate, a 50 plus seat majority in the House and control of the White House. The last time that happened would be 1977-1979 under Jimmy Carter, when the Dems had 61 Senate Seats and about a 2-1 majority...

This doesn’t seem to be a good week for celebrities with word now coming that pitchman Billy Mays has been found dead in his Tampa home at the age of 50. Mays Dies

The coroner has finished the preliminary autopsy on Michael Jackson but has little to say other than there was not any external trauma or signs of foul play. Extra toxicology tests have been ordered which will take 4-6 weeks to complete so we won’t know anything until then. There is a ’security hold’ on the report so not a whole lot of details will be released until the other tests are done. Presumably this means there was no obvious sign of death such as a ruptured blood vessel...

UPDATE: Web Site TMZ.com is now reporting Jackson has died. E! News is also reporting his death. The LA Times is now confirming his death. It seems official enough to confirm, Michael Jackson has died at the age of 50. ———- After already getting the news of Ed McMahon passing earlier this week and Farrah Fawcett dying today we now have news that number three may be on the way. Michael Jackson has been rushed to the hospital with cardiac arrest and was reportedly not breathing and...

A while back I wrote a post in which I discussed the fact that Democrats seem to be unable to keep their financial affairs in order while Republicans seem to be unable to keep it in their pants. Just a few days ago we had Nevada Senator John Ensign admit to an affair, now we have South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford admitting to an affair. It seems his venture to Argentina was part of that mess. He will resign as chair of the GOP Governors Association but I wouldn’t be shocked if, in time,...

In the past few days I’ve noticed an odd, if perhaps politically understandable, shift in the attitude of the left on the subject of human rights and Iran. For decades the left was dedicated to supporting human rights around the world and they would push the President (regardless of party) to be more proactive in condemning abuses and governments who violated basic principles of freedom. Yet when it comes to Obama and Iran many of the usual voices have been oddly silent, or at least supportive...

In writing this post I am trying to be very careful because while it does address a real issue it deals with some very touchy issues. I am speaking of the current illnesses of Senators Kennedy and Byrd. Obviously with regard to Senator Kennedy I have nothing but the deepest sympathy for his condition and with regard to Senator Byrd I recognize the serious problems that come with age. However according to a media report today, Senator Byrd has been in the hospital since May 15th and it seems likely...