The nomination of Samuel Alito promises to cause many pajamas to be wrinkled as bloggers stay up until the wee hours of the morning, writing posts and more posts about it...particularly as the issues swirling around him become more heated. Bloggers on the left, right and center see blogs as potentially playing an influential role in the ongoing debate. Here's a fascinating, … [Read more...] about Some Bloggers Ponder The Blogosophere’s Role In The Alito Nomination

I've got a post over at The Debate Link exploring a variety of recent points, arguments, and issues about conservatives and the judiciary. Topics include Alito, Scalia, originalism, the 9th Circuit, and extremists. Check it out. … [Read more...] about Grab Bag

When you look at new CBS poll numbers you realize not only the depth of the plunge in President George Bush's support — Judge Samuel Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court has not yet driven them up — but that he's in deep trouble if you compare him to his predecessors. Note to readers: in earlier versions the important paragraph below was invadvertently … [Read more...] about Very Bad Polling News For George Bush (UPDATED)

THIS JUST IN! The Top 10 Things Said During the Closed Senate Session On Tuesday. Click HERE for the exclusive report. … [Read more...] about What Really Was Said In Closed Senate Session

I'm attending a lecture tonight, so no major blogging. However, I have reprinted an article I wrote for one of our on-campus journals about race colorblindness. It's entitled "Race LASIK", and I invite all of you to check out and leave comments at The Debate Link. … [Read more...] about On the Run

John Cole's new liberal co-blogger has, in my opinion, the best take on Reid's invocation of Rule 21. … [Read more...] about Playground Squabbles

...in Cincinnati … [Read more...] about Cows Hit the Road….

This just in: Shaun O'Mac, host of a great Internet talk show:SUBJECT2DISCUSSION Wednesday November 2 at 7pm PT 9pm CT and 10 pm ET welcomes Colby Buzzell author of My War about his experiences as a soldier in Iraq. As well as Justin Gardner of the Donklephant centrist blog and Andrew Evans of the American Centrist Party. To listen to the program go to www.LVROCKS.com click … [Read more...] about A Great Internet Talk Show

From the Canada desk: Last night, "Gomery" was the #9 search item at Technorati. Who knew there would be so much blogospheric attention on corruption in Canada? So what's going on up here? What's this corruption story that's dominating our news? Here's all the latest from The Globe and Mail, our leading newspaper. In brief: Mr. Justice John Gomery, our version of a special … [Read more...] about Canada’s scandal: The Gomery Report unveils corruption

Some of you may remember my "Miers Withdrawal Watch" series at The Reaction. If not, the name more or less speaks for itself. It was a five-part series looking at reactions to the Miers nomination from around the blogosphere and, to a lesser extent, the MSM. Part 5, with links to the previous 4, is here. In the end, as you all know, Miers withdrew, meaning that my watch was … [Read more...] about SCALITOVISION 2005 — Part 1

There's an interesting question before the Supreme Court: Do religious groups have the right to use regulated substances (i.e., narcotic drugs) for religious purposes? Thus far, the justices (with Kennedy as the lone exception) seem to be siding with the New Mexico church against the government's hardline position. … [Read more...] about SCOTUS and the hallucinogenic tea

NPR Politics & Society: Listen to this story... Talk of the Nation, November 1, 2005 · Next Tuesday, voters in Ohio and California will consider redistricting reforms. The measures would take the power to draw the district lines away from politicians, and put it in the hands of independent bipartisan commissions. Guests: Rob Richie, executive director of the Center … [Read more...] about Taking Redistricting Away from Politicians

I'm tempted to say yes. And now it has a "war room" to try to revamp its image. Good luck with that. (Note: I bought a DVD at Wal-Mart the other day. It was really cheap. Thanks, Sam.) … [Read more...] about Is Wal-Mart evil?

Scooter who? … [Read more...] about Scooter Libby and the dustbin of history

I'm lovin' it. … [Read more...] about Trent Lott goes after Karl Rove

This is serious. The BBC is also reporting that "[s]cientists from Brazil and the US say new research suggests deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon has been underestimated by at least 60%". Apparently, "selective logging" is to blame for part of it. The researchers, who used satellite technology from NASA, "concluded that the area of rainforest destroyed between 1999 and 2002 … [Read more...] about The disappearing rain forest

Yes, cow entrails. Did you know that Sweden is home to the first ever biogas-powered train and that the city of Linkoping's buses and taxis all run on entrail-derived biogas? Click here for more. … [Read more...] about Biogas: The power of cow entrails

From the Times: "Democrats invoked a rarely used rule [yesterday] that sent the Senate into a two-hour closed session, infuriating Republicans but producing an agreement for a bipartisan look at whether the Republican leadership was dragging its feet on a promised inquiry into the Bush administration's use of prewar intelligence on Iraq." The GOP was not amused. I'm happy that … [Read more...] about Closing the Senate, changing the subject

Charles Lane: Nominee's Reasoning Points to a Likely Vote Against Roe v. Wade As far as anyone yet knows, Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. has not made any public declaration calling for the overruling of Roe v. Wade , the 1973 Supreme Court decision that recognized a constitutional right to abortion. At least on the surface, Alito's record as an appeals court judge contains … [Read more...] about Washington Post Analysis of Judge Samuel Alito

They say it's wise to pick and choose your battles, and amid news reports suggesting that Democrats are increasingly hesitant to use the filibuster against conservative Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, Minority Leader Harry Reid gave the GOP a sucker punch that reminded everyone that a minority party can still pack a political wallop. Seldom has a political leader pulled … [Read more...] about Democrats Forced Senate Shutdown: The Political Winner And Loser