Nate Edel's blog
From the NYU Washington Square News:
In asking about Scalia’s dissent in Lawrence v. Texas and his view that privacy is not constitutionally protected, Eric Berndt, a law student, shocked the crowd by asking, “Do you sodomize your wife?”
Scalia refused to answer the question while the crowd gasped and the administrators promptly turned off Berndt’s microphone.
via AMERICAblog, among other places.
If you needed one more reason before hating Tom DeLay, here’s one:
Mr. Dinan: You’ve been talking about going after activist judges since at least 1997. The [Terri] Schiavo case gives you a chance to do that, but you’ve recently said you blame Congress for not being zealous in oversight.
Mr. DeLay: Not zealous. I blame Congress over the last 50 to 100 years for not standing up and taking its responsibility given to it by the Constitution. The reason the judiciary has been able to impose a separation of church and state that’s nowhere in the Constitution is that Congress didn’t stop them. The reason we had judicial review is because Congress didn’t stop them. The reason we had a right to privacy is because Congress didn’t stop them.
(emphasis mine)
From MyDD citing an interview in the Washington
Times (“Moonie Times” per MyDD)
My own opinion on the subjects above is that anyone who at this point in time wants to refight Marbury vs. Madison has no business being elected to a local water board, let alone federal office, or as in DeLay’s case, being the most powerful man in the H.R.
So consider yourself cauthioned cautioned before checking out Fleshbot, from the people who brought you Wonkette.
But funny and informative stuff, if you follow the adult industry. A sample post of theirs includes such gems as:
We know it’s supposed to be a protective device, but why do we feel like the FemDefence tampon is going to wind up modified for use as an extreme BDSM appliance someday? (Gizmodo)
Not content to wait for May 18th or whatever it is to know that George Lucas will not pull any rabbits out of his hat, I bought the Episode III novelization today. Review possibly to come later… we’ll see.
Susie Bright’s blog had a very different take on the Gannon/Guckert controversy a few weeks ago:
There is no way that Gannon has retired from Bulldoggin’. Sure, his cover was blown, but now all the closet stud chasers in DC know how tight he lap-danced in the seats of power. He must be busy. You’re not going to be able to reach him by his web site anymore, because Jeff’s little black book is completely filled by word of mouth. There’s gotta be a waiting list and a velvet rope as thick as his …
Caveat lector: some explicit language there, but a good, funny and informative read.
Check out Hitachi’s Get Perpendicular animation. Make sure your sound is on, and your tolerance for Schoolhouse Rock take-offs high.
via Lawrence You on the SSRC mailing list.
For the “those wacky Japanese” file…
Japan’s virgin wives turn to sex volunteers
The 200 women a year who seek help at a clinic in the Tokyo suburbs have not had sex with their husbands in up to 20 years, and some never, according to Kim Myong-gan, who runs the clinic.
Mr Kim’s short-term solution is unconventional. After an initial 20,000 yen (£100) counselling session, he produces photographs of 45 men, mostly professionals in their 40s, with whom the women are invited to go on dates and then, in almost all cases, arrange regular assignations in hotel rooms.
Mr Kim dismissed charges that his service was little more than a male prostitution ring. “The men volunteer and pay half the hotel and restaurant bills, so legally there is absolutely nothing wrong with it,” he said.
…over here, I can only imagine the cow that the radical right would have over “organized infidelity” pushed by a mental health/social services professional.
The rest of the article is pretty interesting on their demographic challenges, but not nearly as juicy as this clip or the headline would imply.
Gerbil on DBA provides:
Big doings over at Sesame Street…Cookie Monster is
cutting back on the cookies:
Cookie Monster Eating Fewer Cookies:
Something must be wrong in the land of Muppets. First PBS announced that “Sesame Street” would kick off its 35th season this week with a multiyear story arc about healthy habits. No problem there; childhood obesity rates are soaring. Then I learned of changes that turned my “Sesame Street” world upside-down.
My beloved blue, furry monster — who sang “C is for cookie, that’s good enough for me” — is now advocating eating healthy. There’s even a new song — “A Cookie Is a Sometimes Food,” where Cookie Monster learns there are “anytime” foods and “sometimes” foods.
As I noted on Tuesday, I am leaving my present position to start at USF, and gave notice that morning.
Today, my company announced layoffs… and I’ll be terribly surprised, having already given notice, if I hear one way or the other about whether I’d have been laid off otherwise. I’d like to think that my leaving voluntarily has saved someone else being laid off… and leaving certainly feels better than being laid off myself. From a purely personal perspective, I cannot help but be amused.
The economy here in the valley is certainly a lot better than it was during the bottom of the bust when Kana was having its big rounds of layoffs, and I am not nearly so worried for many of my coworkers as I was for various folks at Kana at the time. Still, these are never a good thing and I’m sad for both my company and for those coworkers who are being let go.
via DailyKOS:
Vatican brackets: Place your bets.
It’s not just first-time buyers who are at risk of payment shock. Miseon and T.G. Kang just sold their town house in San Jose for $625,000 and bought a new home for $1.21 million.
“We paid a premium. We wanted this house. Without an interest-only loan, we couldn’t have afforded it,” said Miseon Kang, a pharmacist. “For five years, our payments will be OK. But after that, they’ll be a problem. My husband and I are concerned.”
Via Atrios
At some point, I really have to track down a copy of Matt’s book that’s apropos to the subject (Shaky Palaces: Homeownership and Social Mobility in Boston’s Suburbanization (Columbia History of Urban Life (Hardcover)), out of print)
Addendum: Loosely apropos, and for lack of a better place to put the link…. Meritocracy in America: Ever higher society, ever harder to ascend
Well, not really, despite their similarity. But do check out the Wal-Mart Fact Checker page.
link via MyDD
