drips and lips

Looks like Obamacare is about to get snuffed out by the Supreme Court. I am not a betting man but would be willing to make a small wager that most, if not all of the act, will be struck down by a 5 to 4 vote. Not really too hard to read the tea leaves. Ginsburg spoke warily last week of dissension on the court, Scalia has just published a new book wherein he has a convenient shift of mind and retracts earlier positions that would support the healthcare act.

In the new book he states that the 1942 Supreme Case Wickard v. Filburn, which featured a broad interpretation of the Commerce Clause that has been key to pro-Obamacare legal arguments, was wrongly decided.

Scalia cited Wickard in his 2005 concurrence in Gonzales v. Raich, holding that the Commerce Clause gave Congress the authority to prohibit individuals from growing their own marijuana for medical use. In the opinion, Scalia stated that "where Congress has authority to enact a regulation of interstate commerce, it possesses every power needed to make that regulation effective."

Now he says that his wisdom has come late. The reality is that he is merely another ideologue, on the most intellectually dishonest and activist panel of ideologues that have ever sat on the august court.

John Boehner sent out a call for his troops to refrain from "spiking the ball" after the act is overturned. No endzone antics, please. The reset may prove very difficult and may leave a lot of people in the health insurance hole. He is asking his boys not to gloat too audibly.

I must have been really bored today. I watched some of the Federalist Society debates on the bill. Beware.

Purple Insights, a bi-partisan polling group, conducted a survey of 58 experts and ex Supreme Court clerks. Where they once saw little or no chance of an overturn, now they are predicting the worst. Or best, depending on your point of view.

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This anti person, pro corporate Supreme Court, excuse me I forgot, corporations are people, has a perfect record of deciding for the let's ship american jobs offshore and get more lucre for our fat cat members who don't pay american taxes U.S. Chamber of Commerce cases.  Seven straight victories this term. Congrats. Quite a run. Read about it here.

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Lord of the Flies

The poor woman bullied on the bus in New York is going to be enjoying a pretty nice retirement, thanks to the global viral reaction to the cell phone video. One of the kids involved has already received over 100 death threats. People may not be happy until the young miscreants are publicly drawn and quartered. Her own behavior, restraint and forgiveness has been laudable and I hope that she enjoys her half a million. But she should have kicked their ass long ago.

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Nick Hall was a ranger on Mt. Rainier who died yesterday trying to save a climber, the second ranger to die this year. 10,000 people try to ascend the peak every year, half of them make it. I would tell climbers that try these risky ascents that they are on their own. Saving them costs money and sometimes lives. You want to risk your life, risk your life.

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The North Carolina State Senate says sorry to the poor folks that were forcibly sterilized for a variety of reasons, including (dogwhistle) "feeblemindedness." The eugenics program was designed to weed "defective" humans out of the population. There will be no reparations now. "Cause if we give you any money we might have to go back and pay for all sorts of other things, like slavery."

“You just can’t rewrite history. It was a sorry time in this country. I’m so sorry it happened, but throwing money don’t change it, don’t make it go away. It still happened.”
Republican Senator Don East

“If you could lay the issue to rest, it might be one thing. But I’m not so sure it would lay the issue at rest because if you start compensating people who have been ‘victimized’ by past history, I don’t know where that would end.” Republican Sen. Austin Allran

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A friend of mine told me of his revulsion the other day when he saw the christian fish symbol on the back of a car that was filled with the American flag. The blending of patriotism and religion is a potent brew. I saw something similar today, pray for our troops. If I was a religious person who was in the habit I could see praying for all the troops, or all of humanity but not necessarily our team. Isn't god really super busy already deciding all the scores of the local high school football games?

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Can't stand the Miami Heat. Hate the anti competitive edge teams that put themselves together like this. Feel the same way about the Yankees or certain english soccer teams. Back the underdog.

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We get a lot of Not of this world merchandising in these parts. Well hello, you alien life forms. Exactly what world do you hail from? And have you given any thought to going back to the home planet?

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Great Michael Musto piece on New York in the Village Voice. Ten things that used to be better in the city. I concur heartily.

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Accent aigu brought over this latest cosmetic invention - the lip pump. For fatter lips... Don't hate me because I'm beautiful. What will they think of next? Pump it up, baby!

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Not all bad news. Yesterday driving in to work past the old Pebbles place, I had a long tailed weasel run in front of the van. This is a weasel native to the Santa Margarita River valley but I have never seen one before.

Pale blonde, a youngster about a third the size of a ferret, very thin, dark band on nose, upright ears, extremely cute. Very cool. Couldn't fire the camera in the millisecond.