Micah 6:8. One interesting proposal, from Louie Crew, is an amendment of the Catechism

to quote Micah 6:8 correctly:

“Question: What response did God require from the chosen people? Answer: God required the chosen people to be faithful; to love justice, to do mercy, to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with their God.”; and be it further

Resolved, That all future printings of The Book of Common Prayer include this correction in an erratum until a new edition is approved.

Explanation:
It is much easier to love justice than to do it. It is much easier to be merciful than to love mercy. We should set for ourselves the high standard that Micah articulates.

The NIV translates the verse this way

He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

and the KJV

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

On this one, I agree with Dr. Crew.

GC2K3. I find it hard to believe that it was just a few months ago a friend of mine, a pastor of a UMC church, asked about the Episcopal Church's General Convention and I replied that I thought it would be a relatively quiet affair. Of course that was before New Hampshire nominated a man who had left his wife and children and was living with sex partner.

In preparation for the General Convention, the Theology Committee of the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church released a report ("The Gift of Sexuality: A Theological Perspective") that, while not an endorsement of Biblical ethics and morality, at least recommended a "cooling off" period: "Because at this time we are nowhere near consensus in the Church regarding the blessing of homosexual relationships, we cannot recommend authorizing the development of new rites for such blessings."

Nevertheless, the Convention has the task of affirming or rejecting the Robinson nomination. Talking with a vestry member tonight (actually Friday night, I see by the time I post this it will be Saturday morning), he said he thought the Robinson nomination would be the first order of business and will set the pattern for the convention.

The Diocese of California has proposed a number of proposals, one calling for "Rites for Blessing and Supporting Committed Relationships;" another which attacks anyone who seeks deliverance from sexual bondage. Similarly, the Diocese of Newark has a proposal which condemns by name the American Anglican Council (AAC) for running a campaign focusing on "God's Love Changed Me."

Wetting Down. I just got a note from the fellow who was my best man (actually, the note was from his wife) -- he has been promoted to Captain in the Navy, which is the equivalent rank of Colonel in the infantry forces - one step below flag rank. I am very thrilled.

They will be having a 'wetting down' party in about 10 days. (Actually, I'm not sure if the Navy calls it that.)

Santorum was right. A state district court judge threw out the charges against a man arrested on solicitation of sodomy in a public park in Charlotte, NC.

Links/E-mail. I finally updated my links and e-mail. I had previously had a mailto: with my e-mail address in it. The spambots got ahold of it and I got to the point where I couldn't bear to open my mailbox. Anyway, you know the routine. substitute the @ for the -at-.

Bonhoeffer. This movie will be playing in town at the Avalon -- I'd like to see it (and perhaps take my son, age 5, to it. He is very facinated with DB -- he has a book that he regularly asks us to read to him). Here's a good article on the documentary.

Foreign Law. USA Today has an article today noting the reliance by several justices upon case law from other countries. I've noticed this for awhile in Justice Breyer's opinions -- basically it turns out to be an appeal to authority to support one's own predetermined opinions.

What strikes me as interesting is that it's the white liberals on the court who are the leaders in this trend. As can be imagined, they only look to European opinions -- one never finds reliance on any African Courts or, say Jewish courts.

Liberal Supreme Court. Get used to the phrase -- start using it, it reflects the reality. See Stuart Taylor, here, if you need convincing.

"Bring 'em on". I don't see what the Democrats problem with this is. But then, I grew up the son and grandson of a Marine -- this is typical talk.

My Grandfather fought at Belleau Woods, the spot that GySgt. Daniel J. "Dan" Daly uttered the famous line to his men: "Come on, you sons of bitches! Do you want to live forever?" (near Lucy-le-Bocage, 5th Marines June 6, 1918.) Same battle: "I have only two men out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold. " - 1st Lt. Clifton B. Cates, July 19, 1918.

Here are some more:

"You don't hurt 'em if you don't hit 'em." -Lieutenant General Lewis B. Puller, 1962.

"Hard pressed on my right. My center is yielding. Impossible to maneuver. Situation excellent. I am attacking!" -Ferdinand Foch

"We're surrounded. That simplifies the problem!" -General Puller

"We're not retreating, Hell! We're just attacking in different direction!" -Gen. Oliver Smith

[Withdrawn]

Thinking on the Declaration. This is not a call for rebellion -- the drafters of the document observe "that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed." Thus begins the tipping point, the transition to the statement of the case against the government: "But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security." The bulk of the document "is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states..."

Interestingly enough, it begins not with a burdensome law or demand, but with this: "He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good." That almost sounds like it could've been lifted from Scalia's dissent in the Lawrence case.

The drafters note that they have tried to obtain relief from these injuries: "In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. "

So they appeal to "to the Supreme Judge of the world."

Then they note that because of the repeated injuries effectively void the relationship with the prior state and create a new one: " that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as free and independent states, they have full power to levey war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do."

Make Way for Mr. McCloskey. I just heard this news, via Orin Judd. (Yes, I'm even ripping off OJ's headline.)

Fittingly, I think, my wife and kids had gone blueberry picking today.

Rest in Peace, Mr. M.

When facing a protestor. Here's a statement, purportedly from the Commanding General, 1st Marine Division:

When you guys get home and face an anti-war protestor, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend, because she knows she's dating a p****

Mojo. The June 2003 issue of MOJO magazine has a nice CD included -- titled Instant Garage, the 28-track disc includes tracks by The Kinks, the Ramones, the Electric Prunes, and a lot of minor bands that might otherwise get overlooked.

tracklist:

mc5 – kick out the jams
electric prunes – i had too much to dream last night
sonics – psycho
new york dolls – personality crisis
ready men – shortnin’ bread
the bush – to die alone
jonathan richman and the modern lovers – she cracked
the express – wastin’ my time
gil bateman – daddy walked in darkness
love – 7 and 7 is
rocky & the riddlers – flash & crash
she – outta reach
ramones – i wanna be your boyfriend (demo)
kinks – milk cow blues
little john & the monks – black winds
alarm clocks – no reason to complain
count five – psychotic reaction
artesians – trick bag
dean carter – jailhouse rock
iguanas – again and again
the nazz – open my eyes
wailers – dirty robber
paul revere and the raiders – just like me
bunker hill – the girl can’t dance
the brave new world – train kept a rollin’
amboy dukes – baby please don’t go
the rats – rat’s revenge part 2
mouse and the traps – sometimes you just can’t win

A Tale of Two Cases. Most of you are familiar with the facts of the first case, as recounted by Justice Kennedy:

. . . officers of the Harris County Police Department were dispatched to a private residence in response to a reported weapons disturbance. They entered an apartment where one of the petitioners, John Geddes Lawrence, resided. . . The officers observed Lawrence and another man, Tyron Garner, engaging in a sexual act. The two petitioners were arrested, held in custody over night, and charged and convicted before a Justice of the Peace.

The relevant statute, Tex. Pen. Code Ann. § 21.06, declares that an offense is a Class C misdemeanor under Texas law, subject to a fine of up to $500. Lawrence and Garner were each assessed $200 fines.

The facts of the second case, as described by Justice Souter:

In March 1997, Petitioner Gail Atwater was driving her pickup truck in Lago Vista, Texas, with her 3-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter in the front seat. None of them was wearing a seatbelt. Respondent Bart Turek, a Lago Vista police officer at the time, observed the seatbelt violations and pulled Atwater over. According to Atwater’s complaint (the allegations of which we assume to be true for present purposes), Turek approached the truck and “yell[ed]” something to the effect of “[w]e’ve met before” and “[y]ou’re going to jail.” He then called for backup and asked to see Atwater’s driver’s license and insurance documentation, which state law required her to carry. Tex. Tran. Code Ann. §§521.025, 601.053 (1999). When Atwater told Turek that she did not have the papers because her purse had been stolen the day before, Turek said that he had “heard that story two-hundred times.”

Atwater asked to take her “frightened, upset, and crying” children to a friend’s house nearby, but Turek told her, “[y]ou’re not going anywhere.” As it turned out, Atwater’s friend learned what was going on and soon arrived to take charge of the children. Turek then handcuffed Atwater, placed her in his squad car, and drove her to the local police station, where booking officers had her remove her shoes, jewelry, and eyeglasses, and empty her pockets. Officers took Atwater’s “mug shot” and placed her, alone, in a jail cell for about one hour, after which she was taken before a magistrate and released on $310 bond.

Atwater was charged with driving without her seatbelt fastened, failing to secure her children in seatbelts, driving without a license, and failing to provide proof of insurance. She ultimately pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor seatbelt offenses and paid a $50 fine; the other charges were dismissed.

[some citations omitted.] The original offense, driving without a fastened seat belt, is governed by Tex. Tran. Code Ann. §545.413 which provides a punishment of "a fine of not less than $25 or more than $50."

Disclaimer: Before I go on I believe I should add the requisite disclaimer that these laws are "uncommonly silly.”

So how did the Supreme Court view these cases? In the sodomy case, the Court found the Texas law an improper moral code that burdened a fundamental freedom. In the seat belt case, the Court found tossing a mother in jail for failing to fasten her seat belt was constitutional.

The Judges who voted with the majority in both cases: Kennedy and Souter.

Query: What if Texas were to pass a law requiring safe sex? I.e., no sodomy without condoms?

Myth of the Conservative Court. For most of my life I've heard the Supreme Court labeled "conservative" or even "right-wing." After the term just concluded we heard Kimberle Crenshaw of UCLA on PBS discussing "broad themes that really sound very much like a Warren Court coming out of a very conservative court's mouth." Last Sunday saw NY Times doyenne Linda Greenhouse write: "Will the Court Move Right? It Already Has." Charles Lane, writing in the WaPo describes "an increasingly conservative court."

This is a myth and no matter how much the mantra is uttered, it remains a myth.

For those who have a shred of integrity, there is the beginning of a breakdown of the myth. Dahlia Lithwick describes this past week as "a shockingly progressive set of decisions from a supposedly conservative court." To which former Clinton solicitor general Walter Dellinger agrees:

But the number of progressive results is close to stunning.

The method of funding of Legal Services for the poor by "taking" the interest on lawyers trust accounts is upheld against a property rights challenge.

The Family Medical Leave Act is upheld as applied to the states, in spite of strong case law on state sovereignty.

Justice Powell's lone opinion in Bakke sustaining the use of race for diversity becomes the opinion of the court.

A capital case is overturned because of ineffective assistance of counsel.

The retroactive extension of the time for bringing sex abuse charges is held unconstitutional.

Bowers v. Hardwick is overruled.

In fact, this Court is a liberal court.

Consider: the twin big rulings of the past term: upholding state sponsored racial discrimination and discovering right to homosexual activity.

In the prior term the Court ruled for pornographers striking down the Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996. It further ruled that executions of mentally retarded criminals are "cruel and unusual punishments" prohibited by the Eighth Amendment. (This is as good a point as any to add that I don't necessarily disagree with the court on these rulings -- my point is that this is a "conservative court" is a myth.)

In the 2000-2001 term the Court ruled the ADA required the PGA to provide Casey Martin a golf cart, allowed the jailing of people for failing to wear a seat belt, and did something involving Al Gore.

In the 1999-2000 term, the Court struck down a state law prohibiting partial birth abortion, banned student led prayers before football games, and reaffirmed the Miranda decision (it should be remembered that Miranda was a 5-4 decision of the Warren court, this was 7-2, with Rehnquist writing the opinion).

In prior terms, the Court struck down the Line-Item Veto, held that school districts can be liable under Federal law for offenses by students, and struck down a state initiative effectively granting special gay rights in Colorado.

In fact, this is a liberal court with a few bones tossed to the right.

By the Time I Get to Phoenix . It's a little after midnight here in Phoenix and I've gotta whine again -- I'm really getting tired of traveling. On this trip at least we're staying in a very plush resort -- as you can imagine the resorts are empty in June in Phoenix. My room is on the ground floor about 40 yards from a 25 meter swimming pool, so I get up and swim first thing in the morning.

I've really missed access to the internet. My work provider is down (or off or something). I hadn't put my home ISP software on my laptop, so I was flat out of luck. What I've really missed is being able to read Supreme Court opinions -- I can't get over how much the 'net access to these opinions has changed my life -- ten years ago I would be down at the Court to get slip opinions to read -- that was the only way until we got the paperback opinions in the library 2 to 3 weeks later (I didn't have Lexis or Westlaw access either). Since it's the end of term I have been motivated to go out and get some of that free trial software to install so I could read these things. Well, it's been a busy week as well. More later.

Hiatus. I believe I will be taking a hiatus from blogging through the period of Lent.

My Turn. Five minutes ago, my daughter handed me the book -- she's done reading it in less than 24 hours. I couldn't tell how much she liked it -- I know she doesn't want to spoil it for me. She may post a review here later.

Harry. We just got back from picking up Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Half the church was at the Borders we were at. In fact one parent who indicated disapproval with the whole thing was dismayed to find it so popular. We got to the store about 8:30 and my daughter and her friends had a great time (from what I could tell). After awhile I couldn't locate them but finally found them all planted right in the middle of the occult section playing cards. They said they figured that kept people from browsing through those books and if anyone did, they made derisive comments.

Okay, so a passive-aggressive streak runs in my family -- I'm pleased with her.

Time to Stand Up. The June Virginia Communique is out with a message from our Bishop, Peter Lee, that sets forth some of the concerns with respect to the New Hampshire situation, yet fails to set forth a position. I have tremendous respect for Bishop Lee, although I frequently disagree with him. He is an attorney and was Phi Betta Kappa -- in short, he has a keen intellect.

In his message, he lays out the basic facts but does not indicate how he will stand. Please pray for Bishop Lee to stand faithful.

Astounding! I'm not planning on reading Hill's novel -- yet, this note on a very revealing admission caught my eye. If anything, Prof. John O. McGinnis is too kind to Hillary -- I can not believe she ever contemplated this.

Books. I just finished reading Josephine Tey's The Daughter of Time based on a recommendation from a friend. Next up will probably be Royal Blood: Richard III and the Mystery of the Princes by Bertram Fields (on the same subject). I'm also listening to The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson with the audio book Holes by Louis Sachar on deck.

Friday night, I'll be taking my daughter and her friends from church to Borders so they can pick up Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I'm on the library's wait list for that one, although at nearly 900 pages (over 255,000 words), I don't know when I'll find the time. (I'm also on the wait list for the audio recording). The publishers have released a great teaser:

Dumbledore lowered his hands and surveyed Harry through his half-moon glasses. 'It is time,' he said 'for me to tell you what I should have told you five years ago, Harry. Please sit down. I am going to tell you everything.'

One last thing, before I forget -- if you haven't stopped by the Brothers Judd web site for their reviews and treasure trove of related links, you really are missing a treat. I stop by after nearly every book I finish to check on their thoughts -- it's amazing how much they've covered.

Unfinished Business, Bishops, Books, etc.. Helena, MT - (I love this dateline thing) I've got a great deal of unfinished business. This is almost a note to myself. I want to talk about my niece's confirmation, which happened last Sunday. The election for Bishop in NH happened last weekend and I have some thoughts about that. In the meantime, here are a couple of stories: Dancing in the aisles and lover's kiss greet election of gay bishop and Bishops criticize election of gay man. The following is from the statement from the Bishops of South Carolina:

The Anglican Communion now faces one of its greatest crises ever over the question of whether or not same sex relationships are sinful or to be blessed by the church. Earlier today, on the second ballot, the diocese of New Hampshire elected the Rev. Canon Gene Robinson to be their next bishop. To his credit, Canon Robinson made no secret of his involvement in a relationship with his same sex partner, whom he named but didn't make a focus of the election process.

This election causes us the gravest possible concern, for if the church ratifies it, we would clearly be approving of the relationship in which Gene Robinson is involved. This is not about a person or a diocesan election process; it is about a radical change in church doctrine.

The union in which Canon Robinson participates is not Holy Matrimony but an intimate relationship outside the bounds of marriage. This would be true whether he were cohabiting with a man or with a woman. For the church implicitly to sanction such a partnership will be a clear repudiation of the teaching of Holy Scripture and the tradition of the church; it also would signify a massive overhaul of the Christian theology of marriage by the Episcopal Church. It would in addition be against the expressed will of the Anglican primates at the recently concluded meeting in Brazil, as well as the two documents commended by the primates, "True Union in the Body", and the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops' Theology Committee report. Finally, it would be against a whole host of General Convention resolutions on this subject dating back several decades.

We keep hearing about doing justice in the Episcopal Church; we think it is important to stop and consider what this means. The currently unchanged official position of the Episcopal Church is that the only proper context for the expression of sexual intimacy is between a man and a woman who are married to each other. For the last two decades, there has been a debate about whether or not to alter this teaching, a conversation which has been so challenging and difficult precisely because to move to bless same sex partnerships would represent such a breathtaking departure from all previous Christian teaching.

* * *

If Gene Robinson's election is confirmed by General Convention, it would bring through the back door a practice that the Episcopal Church has never agreed to approve through the front door. How can this be considered doing justice? We do NOT have a theology for same sex relationships, and to agree to the Robinson election would be tacitly to sanction relationships still searching for a theology. We do not believe such a theology is possible without doing violence to Holy Scripture. . . .

This really hits the nail on the head.

It's my own belief after having read the biographies and statements of the candidates that in most respects Robinson was the most moderate and temperate of the candidates. Nevertheless, he is living in open defiance of the Doctrine and Discipline of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. It would've been better to not fill this vacancy.

Still more unfinished business: I realize I've failed to update my current reading. I'll try and get to this next week.

Six Pack. What a game -- six pitchers combine for a no-hitter against the mighty Yankees. This is the first time the Yankees have been no-hit in my lifetime!

Naturally, this take me back to my childhood when Blue (5), Abbott (1), Lindblad (1), and Fingers (2) combined to no-no the Angels.

[We won't talk about Ted Lilly tonight]

More -- good article on no hitters here.

Best Ever. ESPN writer Rob Neyer has put together the all-time ball team for each team -- looking these over I've got to say that I am actually in general agreement with his choices. It's important to note, however, that the all-time team just features those players who played with the team in the current city -- not all the players that ever played with the franchise (which is why you won't find Walter Johnson on any team).

Here's Neyer's A's all-time team (err, from Oakland):

C Terry Steinbach 1986-1996.
1B Mark McGwire 1987-1997.
2B Dick Green 1963-1974.
SS Miguel Tejada 1997-2002.
3B Sal Bando 1966-1976.
LF Rickey Henderson 1979-1984; 1989-1993; 1994-1995; 1998.
CF Dwayne Murphy 1978-1987.
RF Reggie Jackson 1967-1975; 1987.
SP1 Catfish Hunter 1965-1974.
SP2 Vida Blue 1969-1977.
SP3 Dave Stewart 1986-1992; 1995.
SP4 Bob Welch 1988-1994.
RP Dennis Eckersley 1988-1995.

My only disagreement with this list would probably be shortstop -- Bert "Campy" Campaneris. I might also go with Antonio Rafael Armas Machado in right -- if looking at the position from the defensive standpoint. (SI named that trio -- Armas, Murphy, and Henderson -- the greatest defensive outfield ever).
Last, maybe Tony Phillips instead of Dick Green at 2nd (which also highlights the fact that this is an Oakland only list -- I'm sure the all-time A's team would have Nap Lajoie at 2nd).

Nolan Ryan makes three different teams lists -- and arguably should've made the Mets (over Leiter). [But see, Mark Byron's comments. He's made me take a closer look and I have to agree.] Don Baylor makes two as DH -- not a real position, right? (I mean if you were to choose someone from the Yanks roster to be DH, wouldn't you chose Joltin' Joe, since Neyer put Mick in CF?) And why not the Babe on the Red Sox all-time pitchers list?

[Where's Dave Kingman?] [That is a joke.]

Never Forget. Unfortunately, the 20th Century gave us far to many things to "never forget." One of these was the extermination of the Czech village Lidice. Here is the story. On June 10, 1942, the Nazis wiped out the entire village in reprisal for the killing of Reinhard Heydrich.

Travelogue, Pt. 1. Salt Lake City - I guess I'm getting the dateline, a la Rick Bragg. This wasn't one of the cities that I was supposed to be visiting -- just passing through, but with airline problems I'm at the Airport Marriott. In the meantime, I wanted to make an account of the places I've been to so far this year -- it has been a busy one.

I've spent a lot of time in eastern Ohio: Akron, Canton, Kent, Cleveland and Lorain. I will stay that I was really surprised at how much I liked Cleveland -- none of that "mistake by the lake" talk around me. I'm already forgetting where else I've been -- St. Paul, MN, as well as Prior Lake and Mankato. Kokomo and Indianapolis in Indiana and Chicago (where we celbrated Mother's Day at Lou Malnati's. I think that's it -- if I remember anyplace else, I'll add it. This is just the first five months -- I'll do a part 2 later.

The Lamb by William Blake

Little Lamb, who made thee?
Dost thou know who made thee?
Gave thee life, and bid thee feed
By the stream and o'er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing, woolly, bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice?
Little Lamb, who made thee?
Dost thou know who made thee?

Little Lamb, I'll tell thee,
Little Lamb, I'll tell thee:
He is called by thy name,
For he calls himself a Lamb.
He is meek, and he is mild;
He became a little child.
I a child, and thou a lamb.
We are called by his name.
Little Lamb, God bless thee!
Little Lamb, God bless thee!

Mad Bomber Caught? Interesting development -- my daughter and I had just left the Olympic Square and were at the subway station when the bomb went off -- we were fine but it was nerve-racking for my wife watching on TV waiting for us to get home. I want to see the proof on this. I hope they got the right guy.

Dear Diary. Two quick notes: (1) Last night Debbie and I helped our oldest daughter and her friends plant lawn flamingos at a neighbor boy's house. (2) Spent most of the day yesterday fixing the book shelves that inexplicably fell off the wall -- still not sure how that happened.

Don't Censor Me. It's late spring and time for the censors to arise again -- you know Barry Lynn and the thugs at the ACLU. Today it's the government telling a senior she has to delete "God" from her graduation solo.

I'm an old geezer, so let me go with an old song (1994) -- I wouldn't do hers, I'd do one from Audio A:

You can take God out of my school
you can make me listen to you
You can take God out of the pledge
but you can't take God out of my head
Listen to me closely, lend me your ear
the substance of my statemnet lets you know I'm sincere
Government officials, shapers of the land
I've to to tell you something you need to understand

You can't take God away from me
you can take my life, my land, my liberty
Lock me up, I'll still be free
'cause you can't take God from me

You can take God out of the law
you can make me listen to ya'll
You can take God out of the start
but you can't take God out of my heart

Listen to me closely, lend me your ear
the substance of my statemnet lets you know I'm sincere
Government officials, shapers of the land
I've to to tell you something you need to understand

You can't take God away from me
you can take my life, my land, my liberty
Lock me up, I'll still be free
'cause you can't take God from me

You can't take God, you can't take God away
You can't take God, you can't take God away
You can't take God, you can't take God away
You can't take God, you can't take God away

You can't take God away from me
you can take my life, my land, my liberty
Lock me up, I'll still be free
'cause you can't take God from me

Chortle. It's not nice, but it is funny to think if Kyoto Protocol passes, Enron lives and prospers. By opposing Kyoto, Bush dooms Enron. Story here.

Sid takes the Red Pill. Michael Isikoff demonstrates Sidney Blumenthal lives in his own personal Matrix.

More. Here is Christopher Hitchen's early take on the book.

And - "Tom" is correct, in his comments. I should've titled this "Sid takes the Blue Pill." If you take the red pill, you embrace reality -- taking the blue pill, well, let Morpheus explain: "You take the blue pill and the story ends. You wake in your bed and you believe whatever you want to believe."

Finally. Hitchen's Atlantic review is online.

Hedging Bets. The Rockford College graduation speech by New York Times reporter Chris Hedges deserved to be booed -- not just because he was opposed to the battle for Iraq, not just because he's anti-American, but it has to be the most ponderous, pretentious commencement address I've ever heard. You can listen to it to courtesy of the Rockford Register Star.

More This guy won a Pulitzer? Not quite. He was part of a "team" that won a Pulitzer -- This story that he co-wrote was the only one submitted that had his byline. Sort of like saying Rickey Dudley won the Super Bowl last year.

Baptism. We came back from St. Paul to be godparents to two adorable twins, Brian and Benjamin. There were 35 baptisms at our church today -- we do them every other month. I think the real treat was an entire family that got baptized together. Most services we use the standard Episcopal baptismal font and dribble. Today we pulled up the floor boards (there's a tank under the altar table) for a good dunking, which really is the right way to do it, IMO. Our rector was raised Baptist (in England), so I could see he was thrilled to "take a swim."

BTW, speaking of baptism -- the best depiction of baptism on film? See the movie Tender Mercies with Robert DuVall.

More. The Associate Rector, Marshall Brown had an excellent sermon which started off thusly,

“Do Episcopalians believe in transubstantiation?”

Well, first of all, what are we talking about? In the beginning of the 13th century, the Catholic church defined the way Christ is present in the sacrament of Holy Communion with the doctrine of transubstantiation. In the philosophical language of the day, people believed that you could divide things into two parts: their “substance,” and their “accidents.” And according to this line of thinking, something like bread is made up of two parts: flour and water – which are “accidents,” on the one hand, and secondly “breadness” – which is its “substance.” And so when the priest consecrated the bread, it’s so-called “accidents” of flour and water stayed the same, but its “substance – its “breadness”, was transubstantiated into the body of Christ.

But the problem was, this was not a Biblical or theological line of reasoning, but a worldly philosophical argument. And so from the moment the doctrine was formulated, people got it wrong! There was a long period of misunderstanding, which culminated in the Protestant Reformation. The great majority of the common people, as well as most of the trained religious folk, misunderstood the doctrine. They believed not in transubstantiation but in what one might call “transaccidentalism.” The were stories of bread bleeding when the priest broke it, and things more outlandish than that! And so there grew up a tremendous misunderstanding and superstition about the sacrament of Communion. As we gather this morning, we believe that Jesus Christ is really and truly present in this sacrament. We believe it with a passion. But we Anglicans, you see, don’t particularly like explanations.

Queen Elizabeth I, when asked what she believed about the bread and the wine, said these famous four lines:

T'was God the Word that spake it,
He took the bread and brake it.
And what that Word did make it,
That I believe and take it.

The entire sermon can be found here.

Very Happy. I have been married to this beautiful bride for 22 years now.

Unfortunately, I finished a project yesterday in St. Paul, Minnesota yesterday morning and we spent the day (and night) driving back to DC from there. My wife spent her pre-K through 6th grade years there, so the whole family came along for the week. They had a great time and I worked hard and saw a lot of good stuff. I can't believe we drove all the way back from there -- we left after 11 a.m. CDT and got home around 9 a.m. EDT.

It was also my baby's 2nd birthday. More pictures later (and maybe more thoughts -- my brain is down now -- no sleep).

I am tired, but I am a happy man.

The Matrix: Overloaded. Saw the 2nd chapter in the Matrix on Thursday. My opinion: a good chase scene -- some interesting dialogue, nevertheless, the movie runs way too long. Start by cutting the whole prayer/rave party in Zion. [BTW, Zion's ethnic diversity is great -- too bad there's not similar veins of diversity for other categories, such as age, ideology, faith.] Also the expository dialogue runs a little too long. But maybe I was missing something. Yes, I will see it again, but not until my free ticket arrives and not for a month or more.

Still too violent.

Sleep on it. The new General Motors Corp. commercial uses a clip from the Meatloaf song, Paradise by the Dashboard Light.

Let me sleep on it
Baby, baby let me sleep on it
Let me sleep on it
I'll give you an answer in the morning

Ah, but do you remember the punchline:

So now I'm praying for the end of time
To hurry up and arrive
'Cause if I gotta spend another minute with you
I don't think that I can really survive
I'd never break my promise or forget my vow
But God only knows what I can do right now
I'm praying for the end of time, it's all that I can do-oo-oo
Praying for the end of time
So I can end my time with you.

What is the temperature at which paper burns? A good essay on a great book.

Go Annika!

Absence of Malice. I didn't like this when Elliot Rosen did this to Paul Newman. I don't like it that the fibbies are doing it now to Dr. Steven Hatfill. Sequels are almost never as good as the original.

Where's Wilford Brimley? ("You had a leak? You call what's goin' on around here a leak?! Boy, the last time there was a leak like this, Noah built hisself a boat.")

Haw! LA Mag does Chick.

Big Green. In case you missed it -- and it didn't seem to get a lot attention -- the WaPo had a very good series on the Nature Conservancy. Yes, it's pretty much what the Washington Times and other periodicals have done over the years, but it's nice to see the official newspaper of the conventional wisdom giving this story some attention.

Cinco de Bennett. We just had our little family dinner of tacos toasting Mexico's defeat of the French in the Battle of Puebla. [BTW, has France won any battles since before Waterloo? Or are they just the Devil Rays of the World? Oh, okay.]

Which brings me to Bill Bennett (Over/Under = $8 million), who has apparently replaced brother Bob as the black sheep of the Bennett family with disclosure (and admission) of his gambling problem.

I'm not going to throw stones -- I've gambled in the past -- I've bought a lotto ticket and have signed up for a square on a pool. Obviously, never anything big. But the point is that I guess I've never thought of gambling as a "per se," absolute sin, like lying or stealing or adultry. [You can see from my Inferno Test Score, below, that I have my areas of failings.] It falls into that grey zone of activities like drinking and smoking where context and amount (or situation and addiction, if you prefer) are factors as to whether it is "sinful."

Nevertheless, the sheer amount wagered -- an $8,000,000 net loss -- if reported correctly, over a 10 year period, would cross the threshold into sinful behavior, IMO.

William Bennett has acknowledge his addiction to tobacco in the past -- when he was Drug Czar Garry Trudeau took him to task on this (the moralist Trudeau being unable to distinguish between a legal and an illegal addiction, I guess). Therefore, the fact that the guy is a sinner is not surprising.

But it is disappointing. There have been admissions and disclosures over the past 20 years that have shaken people or disclosed persons to be liars, hypocrites, dupes, etc. Sometimes, I have been surprised -- while Jim Bakker didn't surprise me, Jimmy Swaggert did (although I never had any appreciation for either of them). The high profile "Reverends" have all had moral failings exposed: be it Pat Robertson and his ponies and the gambling, to Jesse Jackson and his mistress and payoffs. The list could be very long: Martin Luther King, Tony Campolo, John Howard Yoder, Mike Warnke, Jim and Tammy Faye, Swaggert, and on and on.

Yet, I don't know that Bennett's failings are significant enough to join this list -- I don't think he's been involved in fraud or adultry or the rest.

I'm not sure if this even approaches the Amy Grant line (high-profile Christian entertainer who divorces husband just because he doesn't turn her on for another guy who does). The Amy Grant line? Is that sort of like the Mendoza line?

Well, there has long been a perception of varying degrees of virtue and vice, just as there are levels of heaven and hell (again, see Dante). The Church of Rome distinguishes between mortal sins and venial sins. I disagree with this doctrine, slightly. I believe that all sin separates us from God -- even the most minor (yet, who is to say what's minor -- look at this list of what God hates). Nevertheless, there does seem to be Scriptural authority for degrees of sinfulness.

As an aside, are the critics of Bennett disclosing they believe that gambling is immoral, even though he apparently not ever labeled this activity a vice? I think there is an element of this, although I suspect the glee is merely a transference of claims of vice. By and large, in Protestant American culture, gambling has been viewed as sinful -- although I don't think you could project that sin on the American Catholic with respect to bingo and so on.

So is Bennett a hypocrite? ("One who plays a part; especially, one who, for the purpose of winning approbation of favor, puts on a fair outside seeming; one who feigns to be other and better than he is; a false pretender to virtue or piety; one who simulates virtue or piety.") I don't think so. As I note above, he comes out of a tradition (Roman Catholic) that doesn't treat gambling as sinful on its face. But maybe I'm splitting hairs. I think Hillary Clinton with her public pronouncements on the greedy capitalists, yet secretly made boo-coo bucks with her cattle trading is a hypocrite. Michael Moore = hypocrite. Jimmy Swaggert = hypocrite. Jim Bakker = hypocrite.

I think if we found out that Bennett were smoking pot, yes, you could call him a hypocrite (afterall, he has consistently opposed drug use). Yet, Bennett the tax-paying gambler -- engaging in a legal activity -- doesn't seem to be a hypocrite.

Now, were he doing this activity in violation of the law -- or were he lying about it in his IRS filings, then you would be correct in labelling him thusly.

Nevertheless, Bennett has fallen -- if not from grace, at least from public favor. Is it surprising? That Bennett did this -- yes -- he's sharp enough to have predicted this reaction. The reaction is not surprising -- nor that another person falls. This may be his own Waterloo. Or his Puebla.

The Dante's Inferno Test has sent you to Purgatory!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Very High
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	Moderate
Level 2 (Lustful)	Very Low
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	Low
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Very Low
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	Low
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Very Low
Level 7 (Violent)	Low
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	Moderate
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Low

Take the Dante Inferno Hell Test

Judges There has been some excellent discussions lately concerning the delays in the confirmations of Judges and the recess appointments of Judges.

History or Who's Fault is It Anyway?

Juan Non-Volokh ("JNov") has a good review of the history of delays here in response to the "It was the Republicans fault" essays by JJ Gass and Jack Balkin. I particularly appreciate the fact that JNov traces the roots back to the Fortas-Thornberry nomination by LBJ. He goes on to note that "Democrats retaliated against two of Nixon's High Court picks..." One of those picks, Clement Haynsworth, was nixed in clear retaliation for Fortas (the Washington Post editorial page acknowledged it was wrong to oppose Hayesworth when he passed away), the other, G. Harold Carswell, was manifestly unfit for the office. (Somewhere at home I have a newsclipping from then White House counsel William Hubbs Rehnquist denying he would be considered because "I'm not a Southerner, I'm not a woman, and I'm not mediocre" [or words to that effect].) That defeat led to the nomination of Harry Blackmun.

Another Judge who was unfairly slimed, but not mentioned thusfar, was Judge Kenneth Ryskamp who was nominated by the elder Bush to a seat on the 11th Circuit but rejected by the Senate Judicairy Committee in 1991. At that point in time, this was an escalation in the partisanship because this was a sitting District Court Judge who received the ABA's highest rating. A year ago, I wrote:

Judge Kenneth Ryskamp was nominated by Bush Sr. in 1990 or 91. I remember doing some work in Florida a few years later with some of those notorious "left-wing" attorneys (yeah, politically they might have been), and I noticed they had quite a few cases before Ryskamp, so I asked about him. They all thought he got a bum deal -- they acknowledged he was conservative, but they thought he was fair.

It's been a dozen years, but this one still ticks me off.

So how does this downward spiral end? Someone has to make the first move and I believe that George W. Bush did make a step in the right direction when he sent up his first slate of nominations, containing Roger L. Gregory and Barrington D. Parker, both Democrats. Indeed Gregory had been nominated by President Clinton (and appointed to the 4th Cir. as a recess appointee), but not confirmed before the end of Clinton's term. It would've been nice to see the Senate Democrats take a similar step in recognition of this peace offering, by confirming the rest of that first slate. Alas, Miguel Estrada, part of that first slate, has not been confirmed. Maybe Gass or Balkin can tell me where the Leahy gang has similarly offered de-escalation?

Recess Appointments

The Gregory appointment mentioned in the item above shows that recess appointments of Judges, while rare, does happen.

Back here I noted that William Brennan was a recess appointment to the Supreme Court. According to information on the Cornell website, this happened on October 16, 1956. "Three months later, on January 14, 1957, Brennan was formally nominated to the Court, and the Senate confirmed the appointment on March 19, 1957."

If you haven't done so, please read Lawrence Solum's essay: "Going Nuclear: The Constitutionality of Recess Appointments to Article III Courts" on his blog.

In my note above, I said that Bush should pick a fight with the Senate Democrats and recess appoint any judge whose nomination had been pending for a year and had not received a hearing. I agree with Prof. Solum's assessment, this would be going nuclear (except, doesn't that mean that President Clinton already went nuclear when he recessed appointed Gregory?). Nevertheless, the situation has changed -- the President's party is now in control of the Senate. Perhaps my view on this will change again -- I could see recessing Estrada if there is no hearing. Yet, I think the President's party has made it easy for the the Democrats by allowing a fillibuster lite version of this.

Another Olive Branch
Last thing -- I mentioned earlier one scenario that could take place should the Chief Justice step down would be to nominate Breyer to take his place:

It could be that Bush might go to Joe Biden, former chair of the Judiciary Committee, and Teddy Kennedy, to broker a deal to get a conservative along the line of Rehnquist -- J. Michael Luttig? -- named to the Court, in exchange for the elevation of Stephen Breyer to the CJ spot. [Breyer was Chief Counsel, U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, 1979-1980, when Biden was chair -- and with his Harvard connection, is considered to be a Kennedy man] It could be argued that this would slightly tip the Court to the left, because Breyer would have authority to pick the writer of the decision (that is, when he is in the majority). And a Luttig is not any more or less conservative than Rehnquist.

This could still happen -- it's in Bush's nature, I believe, as a firm-handed peace-maker.

Programing Note. I guess I was mistaken when I said I'd be on hiatus during Lent. Actually, it looks like it will be much longer. I've had a busy spring for work -- which impacts everything else -- I'm primarily responsible for doing the homeschooling of my daughter who is in 8th grade.

At least I'll be seeing America.

I'll be back, albeit infrequently.

At The End. According to the Gospel of John:

30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
* * *
38 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away.
39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.
40 Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.
41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid.
42 Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

At the end there were just two of them: Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus.

Joseph was described as a secret follower and Nicodemus, who visited Jesus under cover of darkness were not two stalwart disciples -- neither one proclaimed him or stood up for him while he was alive. Yet they were there at the end when his number one man had denied him, another had betrayed him and he was hanging lifeless on a criminal's cross.

Joseph and Nicodemus.

In the Gospel of Matthew, we learn that Joseph gave his own tomb for Jesus' body -- so that it wouldn't go the way of the remains of common criminals.

Who were these two? I heard Sam Ericsson once say that they were both lawyers -- or at least teacher of the law -- which seems consistent with their few mentions in the scriptures. It's a small point of professional pride.

Neither one gets more than a handful of mentions in the Scriptures, yet they were there at the end.

Bishopric. According to The Daily Telegraph a minister who left his wife and children and took up with a lover "emerged yesterday as the favourite to become . . . bishop" of the Diocese of New Hampshire. This would normally be outrageous, but I guess in this instance it's okay since the Rev. Gene Robinson, 55, is openly gay and his lover is his male partner.

Reading the materials on the five candidates, it actually appears that Robinson might be the theological moderate of the group -- the group is all very far left of center, without a doubt. Also, I should note that Rev. Ruth Lawson Kirk is exceptionally beautiful -- I'm going to be "lookist" (or anti-lookist, I guess), but I don't think a Bishop should be so beautiful.

Cross Burning. So what happened? Who won? Who lost?

I characterized the decision as striking "down a Virginia law which declared the burning of a cross a crime." Yet, the Washington Times reports "Court upholds Virginia's ban on cross burning." Both are wrong, both are right. The WaPo headline writer has it closer to what happened: "State Bans on Cross Burning Upheld; High Court Affirms Parts of Va. Law but Strikes Down Others"

As I indicated below, I agree with Justice Thomas on this one -- he cast his vote as a dissent, meaning he lost. He would've affirmed the lower courts convictions as would I. Accordingly it's a loss for Virginia law and for a Virginia Law.

The best simple explanation of the Court's decision is by Eugene Volokh here but the best overall explanation is here by Howard Bashman.

A big winner has to be Kyle Still who predicted here the outcome and the rationale.

Art News. According to London Newspapers Cornelia Parker's reworking of Auguste Rodin's The Kiss was "vandalized" last weekend. To refresh your recollection, Ms. Parker wrapped the original sculpture in a mile long length of string and called this her work of art. (Picture at right)

Personally, I think Parker committed the act of vandalism and the man who cut the string is nothing more than a perfomance artist. Call it The Liberation of The Kiss. It's too bad the folks in England missed this performance and are, instead acting in a truly fascist fashion.

I guess it depends on who's ox is gored.

More. It appears that the fascists in England have undone this brilliant performance art -- vandals!

War Jokes. I think one of the better ways to remember the events surrounding this war might be through Jay Leno's monologues. Accordingly, here are some of his lines, in chronological order.

Monday Night March 24
Last night I thought I was watching the war coverage and I see this convoy of 100 Humvees coming down the street and then I realize, it’s just celebrities going to the Oscars.

A very dramatic moment last night when documentary film producer Michael Moore stunned Hollywood and the world when he wore a suit. I didn’t know he had a suit!

Do you know about this? When you get an Oscar, I believe you have to give it back so they can inscribe your name on it. They give it to you, then they take it back and then they return it to you. At least that’s what they told Michael Moore.

You think right about now Saddam Hussein is suffering from Iraqtile dysfunction? His army is not performing. Very serious problem in Iraq.

The good news – not only do we have the Iraqis on the run, but late today, two of the Dixie Chicks surrendered.

Tuesday Night March 25
Iraqi TV has managed to stay on the air despite having virtually no resources left and no programs to put on. Kind of like ABC.

A fierce sandstorm hit Iraq today. Visibility was reduced to less than 50 feet. Or, as we call that in L.A., "Clear skies."

A new category was introduced at the Oscars this year: Best Non-supporting Director. It went to Michael Moore.

As you know, Michael, who won an Oscar for best documentary, then made some anti-war statements during his acceptance speech and got booed. He was really mad when he was giving that speech. I haven't seen him that angry since he was charged for two seats on a Southwest airplane flight.

In London, you know who's launching a music career? Osama bin Laden's niece. I guess the Dixie Chicks have an opening act now.

Wednesday Night March 26
President Bush is asking Congress for $75 billion to fight the war – and that’s just for gas money.

There are now reports that Saddam Hussein was injured in the initial U.S. bombing and he’s now receiving medical care in an underground bunker. In fact, he asked his doctors if he was going to live and they told him, "Oh yeah, absolutely, you’ll live – until the Americans get here ... then you’re screwed!"

The man who built Saddam Hussein’s bunker, I think he’s German, said today that it’s impossible to destroy. Well, of course the builder is going to say that. All contractors say that. "This bunker will withstand anything. And once we get some aluminum siding ... that patio deck will last the rest of your life."

Have you noticed lately there are a lot of retired military officers giving their analysis on all the TV shows? The bigger the network, the bigger the analyst. Like NBC news has General Norman Schwarzkopf, CBS has General Terry Smith. I feel bad for some of the smaller stations like Channel 11 here in L.A. they have Colonel Clink.

The Food Channel has Cap’n Crunch and Colonel Sanders.

In Baghdad, they don’t even need TV. They just look out the window. It’s like CNN 3-D.

Well, let’s see what’s happening with Michael Moore. Or, as he’s also known – the 4th Dixie Chick.

Today Michael Moore made another impassioned anti-war speech – he went on and on. Then finally the woman at the McDonald’s drive-thru took the mic back and said, "You want your Big Mac combo or not? Make up your mind!"

Thursday Night March 27
Today President Bush said we would stay in Iraq for as long as it takes. It’s the same policy he had in high school.

Bush has promised to rebuild Iraq after he’s done destroying the country. Now, if we could just get Governor Gray Davis to promise to rebuild California after he’s done destroying it, that would be terrific!

Friday Night March 28
Let’s see what the latest on the war is. They say the U.S. military has been bombing Iraqi positions in south central Baghdad. Boy, you thought things were rough in south central L.A.! What the hell is south central Baghdad like? That’s a tough neighborhood.

Today stealth bombers dropped two of those huge satellite-guided bunker buster bombs – 4,700 pounds each. They were called Anna and Nicole.

President Bush said today the war is not about timetables. It’s about winning. Hey, it worked in Florida.

You know what’s amazing? People are complaining the war is taking too long. "The war effort is taking too long.” It’s a week! That’s what I love about our country. It’s okay for "American Idol” to take 10 weeks to pick a bad singer, but the war: "Hey, hey, come on!”

Here’s kind of a weird story. Way back in 1980, Saddam Hussein was given a key to the city of Detroit. Did you know that? A dignitary from Detroit traveled to Iraq and as a goodwill gesture he gave Saddam Hussein the key to the city. Of course, Saddam never actually went to Detroit. Way too dangerous. He wouldn’t do that.

Monday Night March 31
Thank you for coming out on such a warm day. Ninety degrees here in Los Angeles. People were sweating like Donald Rumsfeld trying to explain his battle plan.

Our American troops say one of the biggest problems in Iraq is trying to tell whose side some people are on. Yeah, like Peter Arnett and Geraldo Rivera.

Did you hear about this? Today NBC fired pinhead Peter Arnett. He gave an interview on Iraqi television criticizing the U.S. military and saying our battle plan was all wrong. The good news is, after he said that, today he was given an honorary Oscar.

He gave the interview on Iraq TV’s top morning show, which is hosted by Saddam’s son. It’s called "Good Day, Uday"!

I don’t think NBC should have fired Peter Arnett. To teach him a lesson they should’ve made him cover arena football.

It’s amazing, isn’t it? We have smart bombs and dumb reporters.

This week Donald Rumsfeld issued stern warnings to Iranians and Syrian people telling them not to cross the border into Iraq. We’ll be watching, don’t try to cross the border. Good luck, we can’t stop them from crossing the border in Tijuana.

On Friday, the United States bombed Saddam Hussein’s personal luxury yacht. That’s when you know Republicans are out to get you, when they blow up your yacht. There is no meaner crime!

The U.N. has decided to restart the oil for food program with Iraq. You know what you get when you combine heavy crude oil and food? Kentucky fried chicken.

Here’s a little-known fact: Do you know that in 1980 Saddam Hussein was given the key to the city by Detroit? Isn’t that amazing? The more we bomb Baghdad, the more it starts to look like Detroit.

Tuesday Night April 1
Today is April Fool's Day, the day we traditionally honor the French.

Today Dick Cheney walked into George Bush’s office, walked into the Oval Office, and said, "You want to run things for a while?” Bush said "sure” and Cheney went "April Fool's!”

The latest reports from Baghdad are saying that Saddam Hussein has been taking a lot of vitamins. B-1s, B-17s, B-52s ...

On Saturday a British ship arrived with food and medical supplies. Well sure, anytime you’re eating British food you’re gonna need medical supplies.

Wednesday Night April 2
Here’s some good news – things seem to be going a little better in the war effort. It was reported today Americans now control 40 percent of Iraq, which is pretty amazing when you consider Americans don’t even control 40 percent of L.A.

Yesterday Saddam Hussein told his troops that victory is at hand. Americans are on the run and Iraq will win the war. Then he said, "April Fool's!”

And today Saddam Hussein issued his second statement to the Iraqi soldiers. He said, "Run!”

The Pentagon says the Iraqi military is having a tough time trying to figure out where we’re going to attack next - you know, since we pulled Geraldo off the air.

They said today one of the few places left with working phones in Baghdad was the Palestine Hotel. If you’ve never been to Baghdad, the Palestine Hotel is just a stone’s throw from the Israeli Hotel.

On Monday, former President George Bush threw out the first pitch at the Cincinnati Reds game. Now al-Jazeera network is reporting that the ball missed the catcher, killed five Iraqi civilians and destroyed a baby milk factory.

Former NBC correspondent Peter Arnett, with the bad comb-over, was fired by NBC after giving an interview to Iraqi state TV. Even Tom Arnold turned down a pilot for Iraqi television.

Thursday Night April 3
Today U.S. forces attacked Saddam International Airport. How does fighting work at the airport? Do you have to show up two hours early for that?

Do the troops have to check their weapons in the metal detectors?

We had another war-related casualty today. France hit the ground when they tried jumping on our bandwagon.

Saddam Hussein released a statement that says he has no fear of the U.S. Army. Well, of course not – he’s dead!

I saw something sad today. I went by Circuit City and I saw Geraldo standing next to some TVs showing Iraq and he was pretending to be reporting.

Anyone else notice that we really started to win the war after Geraldo left?

And last night our friend Bill O’Reilly defended his Fox co-worker by saying that the information that Geraldo gave out was already known and had been released. Yeah, by Peter Arnett!

Friday Night April 4
Welcome to "The Tonight Show.” I’m Jay Leno’s double. Jay’s in his bunker, 60 feet below the Earth.

I had something strange happen to me yesterday, I’m coming to work, i turn on the radio in the morning, the war is going badly, we weren’t in control, the enemy was escaping and the people of Iraq hated us. Then, I’m driving home, we’re winning every battle, racing toward Baghdad, cheered on by Iraqi people, and then I realized: On the way in I was listening to National Public Radio when I commuted to work. And on the way home, I was listening to Fox News.

The bad news is it looks like Saddam Hussein is still alive. The good news: We still get to kill him.

I thought this was nice – on the video today, Saddam Hussein thanked Peter Arnett for filling in for him. Very nice of him.

I guess our forces seized Saddam international airport. Troops got in in less than three hours. Three hours?! That’s better than LAX.

By the weekend, it looks like Baghdad is about to fall, and we will soon control the entire city. So you know what that means? Sell the electric cars, get an SUV, Lincoln navigators for everybody. Free gas!

The electricity is out in Baghdad. So apparently they must have PG&E there too.

You know where Saddam Hussein’s palace is? It’s located on Saddam Hussein Boulevard right next to the Saddam Hussein soccer field, which is next to the Saddam Hussein airport. This guy names everything after himself; he’s like Donald trump with better hair.

Donald Rumsfeld now admits the war plan has taken a little longer than expected. He said, for one thing, they wanted to throw Geraldo out in the first week.

Monday Night April 7

As you know we all lost an hour over the weekend, which is nothing compared to Saddam Hussein. He lost an airport, a couple of cities, a few tanks…

As you know our forces have taken Saddam Hussein International Airport and renamed it Baghdad International Airport. Is the right name? Shouldn’t we have called it something more appropriate like the no thanks to France or Germany International Airport?

Even though the airport has only been under U.S. control for a couple days you can already see the American influence: all the airlines are broke, the food sucks, the luggage is lost, and all the pilots are drunk already!

Since we now control it, it’s now the only airport in the world where the cab drivers actually speak English.

Not going too good for Saddam Hussein. He was on TV yesterday, and tomorrow I understand he’s going to be on an episode of "Crossing Over”.

Over the weekend U.S. troops found a huge cache of weapons at a high school in Baghdad. You know what that means. Their high school students are just like our high school students.

What do the Iraqi Republican Guard and the Los Angeles Clippers have in common. Neither one will be around for the playoffs.

The Pentagon said today Geraldo Rivera can go back into Iraq. Apparently we must be running out of people to shoot at.

Tuesday Night April 8

Over the weekend I thought I was watching war footage. A bunch of men in uniform were waving white flags and surrendering - it was the Detroit Tigers.

It doesn’t look good for Saddam and his sons. Yesterday we bombed the Baghdad restaurant where they were eating. In fact, today I went on the Internet and they were selling pieces of Uday and Qusay on eBay!

The military said we’ll be able to confirm Saddam is dead through DNA testing. We actually have a sample of his DNA. Isn’t that amazing? So apparently Monica Lewinsky is working for the CIA now.

Coalition forces may have a dozen 55-gallon drums containing chemical weapons. The information minister said: "Those are not chemical weapons. Those are peaches in light syrup."

According to the L.A. Times, the United States post office chartered two cargo jets to deliver mail to our troops in the war zone. Boy, if the Iraqis think our military is heavily armed, wait till they see our postal workers!

I’ve been watching our friend Ted Koppel, he’s covering the war in Iraq. He does a great job. Terrific reporter, Ted Koppel, but here’s my question: With that hair, does he really need the helmet?

Wednesday Night April 9
Did you see the Iraqi people dancing in the streets today? It made me realize, you know what they need more than food and medicine? Dancing lessons. They don’t know how to dance. They haven’t danced in 30 years.

Tonight President Bush warned, don’t be too gleeful, there are still pockets of resistance. Barbra Streisand, the Dixie Chicks, Susan Sarandon …

Of course the other big news: We don’t know if Saddam Hussein is dead, or just not dead yet.

Reports are coming in now that Saddam Hussein has been spotted in central Baghdad. Parts of him were also spotted in northern Baghdad, western Baghdad and eastern Baghdad.

You know that story by now. The U.S. military bombed a restaurant where they thought Saddam Hussein was eating. Well, actually, the military heard it was either Saddam Hussein or Geraldo. So they figured either way they’d make their move.

They dropped four 2,000-pound bombs on the place. Actually, we may have killed two birds with one stone. It turns out it was also karaoke night.

We have now captured all of Saddam Hussein’s palaces and residences; he has no place to live! If he thinks Bush was hard on him before, wait till Saddam sees how Republicans treat the homeless!

Some Iraqis are looting the presidential palaces, taking stationary, ashtrays, pillows, even a grand piano. Reporters say they haven’t seen looting like this since Clinton’s last days in the white house.

Thursday Night April 10
How many have filed their taxes already? You know, President Bush still hasn’t filed his taxes. Not because he’s been too busy. He’s just waiting to see if he can write off Saddam Hussein as a total loss.

In the paper today, they said there’s going to be a big meeting this week to discuss postwar Iraq with the leaders of France, Germany and Russia. Or, as they’re also known, the "axis of envy."

It’s very exciting watching this footage from Baghdad, isn’t it? You know, to see Saddam Hussein kicked out of office, driven from office … it’s the same feeling people had when Kathie lee got knocked off Regis.

Of course, people are looking for clues if Saddam Hussein is alive or not. He hasn’t appeared on TV now in a number of days. Of course, for celebrities here in Hollywood, that’s a fate worse than death. Jesse Jackson is going, "Not on TV for three days … he must be dead!”

Did you see the Iraqi people tear down that statue of Saddam? Hard to believe he won 100 percent of the vote in the last election. Voters are so fickle, aren’t they? One day they love you, the next day, oh boy ...

Kev, you know the last thing that Saddam said to his sons? "I told you we should have used the drive-thru.”

Friday Night April 11
Before we get started, I’d like to welcome all the Iraqi people who are watching the show on brand new TV sets they just stole.

We’ve entered a new phase of the war: We’ve gone from "shock and awe" to "loot and scoot."

As you know, a tremendous amount of looting is going on in Iraq right now. Believe me, that’s nothing – wait till the oil companies get there.

People are stealing everything. After they knocked down the giant statue of Saddam Hussein, they showed that one guy hauling away the giant broken head. What are you going to do with that? That’s so typical of a guy. Guys will take anything that’s free and think, "Hey, this will go great in the house!” You could offer a guy a Rembrandt for 200 bucks, they’re going, "Where would I put it? It doesn’t go with anything in the house.” You give the guy a free giant broken Saddam head for free and they’re thinking, "I can put a beer on it, it looks great.”

Here’s something I thought was really nice – President Bush saw to it today that all the celebrating Iraqis were all given absentee ballots for the next presidential election in Florida.

U.N. Secretary-General Annan said today he thinks the arms inspectors should resume looking for weapons in Iraq. Forget looking for arms in Iraq – how about looking for are backbones in the U.N.?

Monday Night April 14
This is like holy week, isn’t it? We had Palm Sunday, it’s also Passover, this week is also Easter. You know, between the rescue of our POWs and the Tigers winning a game – this is truly the week of miracles.

I had a pretty good day today. I bought four chairs and a table on eBay from some guy in Baghdad – 12 bucks. Beautiful dinette set, fabulous!

Today President Bush announced that all this time he’s been misprouncing the word "Iraq." He said it’s actually pronounced "Syria."

The leaders of Russia, France and Germany – or, as I call them, the "axis of envy” – gathered for a summit on what their part in the rebuilding of Iraq should be. You know something? I think France should participate in rebuilding Iraq. When it comes to having experience about what to do after losing a war, nobody does it better than the French.

The Canadian prime minister has ordered the Canadian navy not to capture any of Saddam’s henchmen if they try to flee Iraq by sea. The Pentagon is stunned by this. They had no idea Canada had a navy.

Today President Bush said that Slovakia has already offered its help in demining Iraq. Listen to this: Exxon and Mobil have offered their help in de-oiling Iraq.

Tuesday Night April 15
Today was tax day, of course, the one day every American wishes they were an illegal alien.

Technically, you’re not paying taxes. According to the Bush administration, your bank account is being liberated.

Let’s see what’s happening in Iraq - or, as the pentagon is now calling it, Gateway to Syria.

Whoever is in charge of rebuilding Iraq, here’s what they should do – put all the furniture into the rooms first. Then make all the doorways smaller than the average couch. This way, next time the looters won’t be able to get the stuff out.

For the first weeks of the war the ratings at cable news stations were way up. But they’ve fallen in the past couple of weeks. You know why? Most of those early viewers were Iraqi soldiers tuning in to Geraldo to find out where the Marines were.

CNN reports that when they broke into Uday Hussein’s palace they found pornography, Cuban cigars and pictures of President Bush’s twin daughters. I’m sorry – that was Bill Clinton’s apartment.

Wednesday Night April 16

Well it’s looks like the war is over. That’s a good sign. According to the latest poll just out today, 71% of the American people approve of president bush. Bush is very, very happy. Of course he’s happy. It only took 49% of the vote to win the election. This gives him a tremendous cushion.

Now that the war in Iraq is over, a lot of people want President Bush to focus on economy. You know who really wants Bush to focus on the economy? Syria.

I tell you something, a lot of people are afraid we are going to go to war with Syria. But you have to understand, Syria is not Iraq. It is less dangerous, it’s less of an enemy, it has less of an army, and it has less oil.

American officials have accused Syria of possessing chemical weapons. And today Hans Blix, U.N. weapons inspector offered to spend the next three months not finding any of their chemicals weapons too.

Today the Iraqis sat down for talks on how to put together a post war government. They would have sat down yesterday, but somebody stole all the couches. They had to stand around and mingle really.

Now there are reports from Baghdad that officials are taking bribes for favors, giving jobs to their relatives, taking money under that table for contractors. You know what that means? This war is less than a month old, already they have an American style democracy.

I guess you know all of Iraq’s oil fields are under U.S. control. Which is kind of ironic since all the gas stations here are run by Middle Easterners.

Today the homeland security code was lowered except here in Los Angeles where it was raised to code red. Nothing to do with the Middle East, just Rodney King out driving again.

Our old friend Rodney King was driving 100 mph the other night in his SUV, hit a telephone pole, bounced off a tree, smashed through a fence, slammed into a house. Nice to see after all these years Rodney’s still got it. Hasn’t lost his touch.

DOD rules, State Drools. Apparently, there's a lot of jockying for who's going to be running things in Iraq, after the fall. U.S, Coalition, or UN? Department of State or Department of Defense? Put me down for the DOD for two simple reasons: (1) they have a proven record (Douglas MacArthur, George Marshall [howls of protest answered below]) (2) their goal will be to get out of the business of running Iraq as soon as possible.

MacArthur gave the Japanese women's sufferage, labor unions, free press, and a pacifist constitution.

George C. Marshall was Secretary of State when he administered the Marshall Plan, but he was put in that position by President Harry S Truman when he was a general in the Army. Those who might claim this was a Department of State project would probably try to argue that Johnny Unitas was a San Diego Charger.

But more important, which agency do you think will try to get the job done the quickest and most effectively? Or put it this way, would you want your country to be run by Vince Brooks or Kofi Annan?

O'Connor the Callous Racist. The Supreme Court today struck down a Virginia law which declared the burning of a cross a crime. Sandra Day O'Connor wrote the majority/plurality opinion*. Of course the reason she voted the way she did and wrote the opinion is because she is a notorious racist appointed by the most racist President (until the current Bush), Ronald KKK Reagan.

No, I don't believe this, but that is what some would have you believe. Writing in the NYTimes yesterday, Adam Cohen states "Justice O'Connor . . . has written a number of decisions that stand out as not merely conservative, but callous." His evidence of this? "In 1988, she rejected the claim of a North Dakota child, who lived 16 miles from her school, that she had a right to ride a school bus without paying a fee that her family could not afford."

I imagine there are a number of things that put me on the road from liberalism, but this type of thinking is one of them. Yes, Justice O'Connor did write the majority opinion in Kadrmas v. Dickinson Public Schools, 487 U.S. 450, 462 (1988) which upheld a state statute allowing a school district to charge parents a transportation fee. While I disagree with O'Connor in Kadrmas (not to mention in the current cross burning case), her opinion is probably correct and consistent with Supreme Court precedents. [BTW, the record in the Kadrmas case shows that while the state was going to charge the family a total of $97 for transportation, the family opted to not use the bus and ended up incurring transportation costs of about $97.]

Just from reading this one brief essay, I can see Cohen is bright enough to understand O'Connor's opinion, yet he deliberately misconstrues it so he can paint her as "not merely conservative, but callous." Applying Cohen's logic, I could say that Tom Daschle is not merely liberal but unpatriotic. Michael Moore is not merely a Marxist but a traitor. Ted Kennedy is not merely a drunk, but a killer (well, that one is actually true).

Just because O'Connor struck down the Virginia law doesn't mean she's a racist -- she's just wrong.

I agree with the Justice Clarence Thomas dissent:

In February 1952, in light of this series of cross burnings and attendant reports that the Klan, “long considered dead in Virginia, is being revitalized in Richmond,” Governor Battle announced that “Virginia ‘might well consider passing legislation’ to restrict the activities of the Ku Klux Klan.” ‘State Might Well Consider’ Restrictions on Ku Klux Klan, Governor Battle Comments, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Feb. 6, 1952, at 7. As newspapers reported at the time, the bill was “to ban the burning of crosses and other similar evidences of terrorism.” Name Rider Approved by House, Richmond News Leader, Feb. 23, 1952, at 1 (emphasis added). The bill was presented to the House of Delegates by a former FBI agent and future two-term Governor, Delegate Mills E. Godwin, Jr. “Godwin said law and order in the State were impossible if organized groups could create fear by intimidation.” Bill to Curb KKK Passed By the House, Action is Taken Without Debate, Richmond Times Dispatch, Mar. 8, 1952, at 5 (emphasis added).

That in the early 1950s the people of Virginia viewed cross burning as creating an intolerable atmosphere of terror is not surprising: Although the cross took on some religious significance in the 1920's when the Klan became connected with certain southern white clergy, by the postwar period it had reverted to its original function “as an instrument of intimidation.” W. Wade, The Fiery Cross: The Ku Klux Klan in America 185, 279 (1987).

Strengthening Delegate Godwin’s explanation, as well as my conclusion, that the legislature sought to criminalize terrorizing conduct is the fact that at the time the statute was enacted, racial segregation was not only the prevailing practice, but also the law in Virginia.2 And, just two years after the enactment of this statute, Virginia’s General Assembly embarked on a campaign of “massive resistance” in response to Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). See generally, Griffin v. County School Board, 377 U.S. 218, 221 (1964); Harrison v. Day, 106 S.E.2d 636 (Va. 1959) (describing “massive resistance” as legislatively mandated attempt to close public schools rather than desegregate).

It strains credulity to suggest that a state legislature that adopted a litany of segregationist laws self-contradictorily intended to squelch the segregationist message. Even for segregationists, violent and terroristic conduct, the Siamese twin of cross burning, was intolerable. The ban on cross burning with intent to intimidate demonstrates that even segregationists understood the difference between intimidating and terroristic conduct and racist expression. It is simply beyond belief that, in passing the statute now under review, the Virginia legislature was concerned with anything but penalizing conduct it must have viewed as particularly vicious.

Accordingly, this statute prohibits only conduct, not expression. And, just as one cannot burn down someone’s house to make a political point and then seek refuge in the First Amendment, those who hate cannot terrorize and intimidate to make their point. In light of my conclusion that the statute here addresses only conduct, there is no need to analyze it under any of our First Amendment tests.

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* Yes, this was one of those famous hydra-headed opinions -- parts I, II, and III carried a majority, parts IV and V of the opinion only a plurality.