Scalia Listen To Mia

Here's a word of advice for Justice Antonin Scalia. Shut up.

As a employee of mine (as a US citizen) I don't want you to make any public speaking engagements whatsoever. Ever. We pay you enough, don't we? Unlike the rest of us, you have a job for life. RIght?

I want you to stay at home, play hearts on the weekend, maybe do a little fishing and bascially strike a low profile.

Why? Because if you go out and continue to blather, you will continue to say things that will effect your ability to rule as a Justice...and that will mean you'll have to recuse yourself...and that will mean that the 300-million citizens of the United States are being given the back of your hand. And, speaking just for myself here, I don't like it.

If you want to talk about the Gitmo tribunals in private, while playing poker and noshing some salted peanuts, have at it. But don't you dare go out in public and open your trap.

And trust me, Mr. Scalia, I say this with upmost respect. I fully understand your position as Chief Blabbermouth of the Supreme Court.

Santorum: It's All About the TV Ads

I don't have the exact wording in front of me, but Rick Santorum was recently quoted as saying something like this; "Wait 'til we put the TV spots up on the air. Then the voters will remember what I've done for them!"

Yea.

This is pathetic on a number of levels. If a two-term Senator hasn't done anything positive that the voters of PA can remember, then what the hell has he been doing? It's also pathetic because it shows just how much Santorum depends on the sleazy sleight of hand that all political commercials involve. He doesn't care so much about what's really happened, so long as his media hacks can craft a gauzy version of "The Real Rick."

I'm guessing, with his numbers still in the toilet, that Santorum will attempt to rejuvenate his old "fighter" moniker. I mean, what better to do when you're down in the polls but to rely on the underdog "Rocky" image? Much of his website and his direct email hints at this; (to paraphrase)

"The commie, stinkbag, limousine liberals are attacking po' me! They want, more than anything else to hurt me and my family. I am put-upon. I am cornered. But I'm fighting back!"

Yea. That something you learned working for the WWF?

So we will wait to find out what Rick has done for us when the first barrage of illuminating TV ads hit the air. I'm sure they will clarify what the junior Senator has been up to...down there in Virginia.

The Other Flood That Has Ruined America

Mardi Gras put NOLA in the news again...and most of what I heard was depressing and trite. It seemed every story ended with the reporter putting their own spin on "the people of New Orleans" and their "spirit." Thanks, but no thanks.

NPR, however, ran an interesting piece on Mac Rebennack, the musician known as "Dr. John." Mr. Rebennack, who grewn up in the lower Ninth Ward, was able to see beyond the physical devastation in that area. He, unlike many people, saw to the core of the issue, to the societal ties that once existed and are now cut, perhaps forever. Rebennack noted that the music which New Orleans is famous for was a direct result of those ties -- that the neighborhoods and the connections they engendered, helped brew the blues and jazz.

So what is the "other flood" I'm referring to? Not the Johnstown Flood, though is certainly shares much (institutional arrogance, lack of government oversite) with the Katrina disaster. No, what I'm talking about is the flood of suburbanization which has washed away a huge swath of America...forever disconnecting people from each other. Dr. John has correctly disagnosed a problem which we all face; America, without the solid small towns and vibrant cities, faces a future in which in which people only "exist" in their little pods...but never really form a lasting bond. No wonder American's move so often; they may not know it, but I think they're desperately seeking something that life in the cul-de-sac isn't delivering...