Toyah

Canada Invades Denmark; Denmark Objects

"...cast thy nighted colour off,
And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark"

Sadly, much of modern sports coverage has degenerated into an ongoing line of inane inevitabilities. It’s inevitable that headlines will creatively make reference to the “Tour de Lance” at this time of year, just as surely as Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times will call Dodgers general manager Paul DePodesta a computer nerd. Equally surely, an athlete who flies under most reporters’ radar screens due to an unspectacular style or personality will never get the respect so easily handed to the supernovas who shine brightly, but briefly, before fading.

Such is the case of Baltimore Orioles first baseman Rafael Palmeiro, who this past week notched his 3,000th hit. . . .

READ THE REST AT TAE MAGAZINE

I took a study-break this evening to check out Bush's nomination for the Court; it is DC Circuit Judge John Roberts. Don't know much about him, but folks I trust seem to think he is an excellent pick, and not nearly as Borkable as others, and not a Souter (I hope they are right on that).

I was wrong about Bush picking a woman or a hispanic, and I have never been more pleased to be wrong in my life! I like that W does what he wants and not what everyone else thinks he should do, and 7 times out of 10, our wants coincide. That's nice.

(lots of trouble on the way--Sample of things to come: LGF: "Brains are exploding at Daily Kos." these folks are wacked out)

UPDATE: Coulter on Roberts: "Stealth nominees have never turned out to be a pleasant surprise"

UPDATE: Friend of TROLP and personal acquaintance Ted Cruz (Solicitor General of Texas) on why Roberts is a good pick (his record before the Court, etc.). And the NY Times' Greenhouse on why, though Conservative, Roberts' allegiance to the current system may not make him the reformer Scalia and Thomas have been. Hadley Arkes wrote this before Roberts' nomination:

"What is unsettling is that the willingness to go with the candidate without a crisp, philosophic definition may mark the willingness to act, once again, within the framework defined by the other side: It begins with the reluctance to admit that we have ever discussed the matter of abortion with this candidate, or that he/she has any settled views on the subject. In other words, it begins with the premise that the right to abortion is firmly anchored as an orthodoxy; that those who would question it are unwilling to admit in public that they bear any such threatening doubts. The willingness to accept premises of that kind, as the framework for confirmation, may account for a Republican party that has brought forth as jurists the team of Stevens, O'Connor, Kennedy, and Souter."

yesterday after work i went to a rodeo. the clown had his work cut out for him, since most of the riders were unsuccessful, and the combination of that and buckets-o-rain had the crowd rather subdued. the funniest thing was that he put a kids float toy around his waist and got dragged around by a horse...he left the tube around his waist during the bull-riding, but discovered he couldn't get down into his barrel with the tube on, so he was stuck in the ring with the bull...he had a mic on and said he almost soiled his pants, and as he was going to put the tube away the gate opened and another bull came storming out on him...i was surprised that he didn't swear, but he yelled, "why don't you warn a feller before you go doin' that?!?"
after the rodeo i went home and watched 'office space'
i feel such a bond with peter gibbons...and i wouldn't mind dating jennifer anniston, if that were part of the bargain.

I’ve just finished reading Willard Sterne Randall’s biography of Thomas Jefferson, creatively titled, Thomas Jefferson: A Life.

I was shocked how much I did not know about Thomas Jefferson. For instance, in the first few chapters we learn all about his father, Peter Jefferson, who was renowned in western Virginia as an explorer and map-maker, a man who Thomas looked up to all his life (sadly, to the extent of neglecting his mother), despite his early death. And then there was Jefferson’s reading regime; I thought I was well read until I saw his plan:

From five o’clock until eight, he read ethics, religion, and natural law, such as Cicero and Locke, the sermons of Sterne and Massillion, and Vattel and Rayneval on natural law. From eight until noon he read law: Coke, Bacon, and Blackstone, among others. Blackstone, I remember, he was somewhat unimpressed by, and Coke he thought was utterly boring. And then after lunch came politics: Locke, Montesquieu, Malthus. Finally, in the late afternoon, reading of Greek and Roman history (in the original!) and histories of Europe, America, and Virginia. For thirteen years he did this!

The picture that emerges from A Life is of a very passionate man, who controlled himself through study and reason, as befits a man of the Enlightenment. His relationships with his wife, his children (especially Patsy, his oldest daughter), and his slaves, not to mention his friends, consistently speak of a man who loved very deeply. After his wife died, he never remarried, although he did engage in one protracted affair with Maria Cosway, an Englishwoman he met in France while serving as American ambassador there. He never forgot her, either, corresponding with her until just days before his death. Of Sally Hemings, incidentally, biographer Randall brushed away the rumors rather impatiently, noting that she was all of 8 years old when Jefferson left Monticello for France, and 13 when she came to France with Jefferson’s daughter Polly. An illicit affair with her seems exceedingly unlikely. The rumors of such were principally fanned by James Callendar, one of the first of the muckraking American journalists.

One of the questions about Jefferson that Randall did not address to any great degree were the contradictions within his life, a problem first brought to my attention by David McCullough in his biography of John Adams. McCullough spent quite a bit of time discussing Jefferson, in his relationship with Adams, and concluded that Jefferson’s mind was capable of holding contradictory ideas, without even being aware that he was doing so. Randall did not address this side of Jefferson. He did suggest, however, that the distance between what his ideals suggested and what practical reality allowed frequently challenged Jefferson. On slavery, for example, Jefferson was completely opposed to the idea, yet was never able to find a workable solution to end it, despite decades of effort. And though he wished to free his slaves after his death, circumstances (namely, $107,000 in debt) prevented him from doing so.

Beyond everything else, what I remember and admire most about Jefferson, from this picture, is of a man who put tremendous effort into everything he did, who sought always to learn everything could be learned about each and every question that confronted him, and then worked to apply that into a workable solution. And he never stopped working and instituting: all his work on the University of Virginia was done after he was President. Indeed, he counted the university one of his crowning achievements, and did not even note his service as president, on the headstone that he himself wrote:

I'm sure you've all seen it on the news, even if you're not a fan, but Harry Potter #6, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is coming out on July 16, which is six days, 12 hours, 31 minutes, and 3 seconds away. Not that I'm counting. And I certainly don't have a countdown animation on my home computer and my work computer.

The wait wasn't so long this time: there was something like almost three years between Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix. This time, the wait was much shorter. But fans are surely excited; shocking no one, the Half-Blood Prince is currently #1 at Amazon, even though it hasn't been published yet.

Myself, I plan to get up early Saturday morning and visit my local Kroger's to get my copy. I pondered going somewhere for a midnight release but decided I didn't really relish the late, dark drive to Jackson and back. The next book will be the last, and many of my fellow Harry Potter fans are already discussing some sort of get-together to celebrate the last one, when that day comes. Could be anything from a convention (the largest of the HP forums, where I am a mod, has 53,000+ members), or perhaps just a lot of little parties of close friends. Either way, it'll be fun! And it won't really be the end---there's still four more movies and an enormous amount of nit-picking to do. And, of course, the most momentous question of all, which I suspect will not be settled by the books but left to the fans to struggle eternally over: with whom will Harry fall in love?

While you're barbecuing and watching the fireworks, remember what really happened.

John Adams to his wife, Abigail, on July 3rd:

The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more. You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Days Transaction, even altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not. (The Book of Abigail and John: Selected Letters of the Adams Family, 1762-1784, Harvard University Press, 1975, 142).

Watch a very moving recitation of the Declaration of Independence here: http://www.independenceroadtrip.org/trailer.html

guaranteed to raise your temperature (you'll have to scroll down the page a bit to find the post)

the preacher that i heard last night is very good at making good points. he also a lot of fun to listen to when he get riled up. the june issue of charisma magazine had him riled up last night. the cover story was called 'vicar of the spirit' and it featured jpII. as an anti-ecumenical preacher he was distraught over the idea that this "pentecostal" medium was willing to surrender that kind of authority to the pope. many people could have found the sermon offensive, but why should that matter. i am offended by a lot of things, but the groups that cause those offenses don't backtrack because of it. the preacher last night said 'if you're right, go ahead and be offensive'. i tend to agree.

This is something totally, absolutely, and completely different. I don't know what I think, except that it's a fascinating piece of writing. See what you think.

Divinity School

I thought Bill Kristol's prediction sounded plausible; glad to be vindicated!

I think Janice Rogers Brown (the California woman recently confirmed to the DC Circuit as part of the "Fab 14" compromise) would be the best choice to replace O'Connor, but I predict it will be 5th Circuit Judge Emilio Garza or previously filibustered and withdrawn nominee Miguel Estrada (DOJ Bio), either of whom would be a fine pick. Somehow, Bush will have to nominate either a woman or a minority.

We can expect Rehnquist to stick it out one more year.

For fun, check out the video at UpOrDownVote.com. (this site seems to be having trouble--keep checking back)

Sanda Day O'Conner is retiring from the Supreme Court.

CNN.com - Sandra Day O'Connor leaving Supreme Court - Jul 1, 2005