Monday, December 31, 2007

John Woodruff, 92; Won A Gold in Hitler's Berlin

John Woodruff, 92, who helped refute Adolf Hitler's theories of Aryan racial supremacy with his dramatic gold-medal victory in the 800-meter run at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, died Oct. 30 at an assisted living facility in Fountain Hills, Ariz.

read more | digg story

George Orwell's supressed preface to Animal Farm

I know that the English intelligentsia have plenty of reason for their timidity and dishonesty, indeed I know by heart the arguments by which they justify themselves. But at least let us have no more nonsense about defending liberty against Fascism. If liberty means anything at all it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.

read more | digg story

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Mississippi State's defense, late TD beat Central Florida

Mississippi State wins Liberty Bowl, beats Central Florida 10 - 3.

read more | digg story

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Al Oerter, Olympic Discus Champion, Is Dead at 71

Al Oerter was a discus thrower who became the first modern track and field athlete to win four consecutive Olympic titles in one event.

read more | digg story

John Woodruff, an Olympian, Dies at 92

John Woodruff’s halting, come-from-behind victory in the 800-meter run in the 1936 Berlin Olympics astonished the sports world and helped embarrass Adolf Hitler.

read more | digg story

Friday, November 23, 2007

Group hopes to find mass grave of 1905 lynching victims | ajc.com

In Watkinsville, Ga. a group hopes to find the mass grave of victims of a 1905 lynching.

read more | digg story

Croom has Mississippi State on track this season

Defying critics, MSU football coach Sylvester Crooms has found success for this team this season.

read more | digg story

Saturday, November 17, 2007

A famed detective reaches the end

When the world first met Easy Rawlins, he was 28. It was post-World War II Los Angeles -- a city full of opportunity and without a long history -- not a bad place to be for a smart, confident black man. Fired from his job, Easy was in need of fast cash to pay his mortgage. So he agreed to find a missing blonde, and his adventures began.

read more | digg story

Saturday, November 03, 2007

The Birth Order Predictor Test

You Are Likely a First Born

At your darkest moments, you feel guilty.
At work and school, you do best when you're researching.
When you love someone, you tend to agree with them often.

In friendship, you are considerate and compromising.
Your ideal careers are: business, research, counseling, promotion, and speaking.
You will leave your mark on the world with discoveries, new information, and teaching people to dream.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Some Random Thoughts

One of the main reasons I left the Republican party and eventually joined the Democratic party was that the conservative wing of the GOP just became meaner and meaner over the years. When they complained that George Bush was too liberal I knew it was time to find a new home. The same crowd is now attacking GOP Presidential contender and hopeful Mike Huckabee because he's not hateful enough for them, and because over the years when he was Governor of Arkansas he actually worked in a bipartisan way with that state's Democratic legislators to sometimes use government to help others (gasp! didn't he know government never did anything good!). Here's a good article by Roger Simon on how the rabid right wing doesn't like Huckabee because he's not conservative enough. For the record I disagree with candidate Huckabee on several issues, but he seems a decent human being who actually stands on principle, which puts him way ahead of the other GOP candidates.

Now that Missippi State University's football team is only one win away from being bowl eligible, due in no small part to Coach Sylvester Croom's coaching in the face of multiple injuries and a killer schedule, what are all those Croom haters with their "fire Coach Croom" websites going to do now?

Thank God the Georgia Supreme Court saw fit to free Genarlow Wilson, even if it was only by 4 - 3 vote. Now how about the other people unjustly in jail due to Georgia's draconian idiotic sex offender laws?

I thought I'd seen everything in a lifetime of playing, coaching and watching sports. But this play with 15 laterals used to score a last second touchdown in the Trinity - Millsaps collegiate football game is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen in sports.

In closing have a happy halloween tomorrow. I plan to give out candy and reread H. P. Lovecraft's "The Call of Cthulhu" myself.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Coaches Sylvester Croom and Rich Brooks winners both.

Both MSU Coach Sylvester Crooms and Kentucky Coach Rich Brooks have proven themselves winners.

read more | digg story

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Genarlow Wilson is free ... but others are not | ajc.com

Georgia law still punishes teens for consensual sex, with long prison sentences and lifelong listing as a sex offender, making no distinction between teen agers and older predatory molesters. AJC op ed article asking for the Georgia legislature to start making distinctions and retroactively freeing other "Genarlow Wilsons".

read more | digg story

Friday, October 26, 2007

Genarlow Wilson released | ajc.com

The Georgia Supreme Court voted 4 - 3 to release Genarlow Wilson today. He was a serving a 10 year sentence and facing life as registered sex offender for having consensual sex with another teenager when he was only 17 and the other teen was 15.

read more | digg story

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Andrea Batista Schlesinger: Don't Give Lou Dobbs a License to Kill Spitzer'

Instead of a rational debate over pros and cons of Governor Spitzer's proposals, Lou Dobbs go on his usual tirade of name calling and hate mongering. Schlesinger calls him on it with this well reasoned and written article.

read more | digg story

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Class Act returns to Nebraska 10-20-07

My dear sister in law lives near Omaha, Nebraska with her family, and through that connection I became a Nebraska fan in the 1990's. I'd followed the Cornhuskers ever since I saw them play in the what I and many others consider the greatest college football game ever played, the Thanksgiving, 1971 classic in which Nebraska beat Oklahoma 35-31. I was actually rooting for the Sooners in that game because I was a fan of Oklahoma running back Greg Pruitt and quarterback Jack Mildren. However I remember being impressed with Nebraska great Johnny Rodgers play that day, along with the defense of Nebraska lineman Rich Glover.

My favorite memory from watching the Huskers in the 90's and rooting for them along with my wife's dear sister and her family is the Fiesta Bowl in which the 1995 Nebraska team dominated Steve Spurrier and Florida by a score of 62 - 24, and trust me, the game wasn't really even that close.

Lately though, the Huskers have fallen on hard times. I quit rooting for them when Head Coach Frank Solich was fired after going 9 - 3 in 2003. I remember that their new coach Bill Callahan didn't impress me when he took over, not so much because he wanted to change to a more modern offense, but because he seemed arrogant and dismissive of some of the people and traditions that had paved the way for Nebraska's previous success. I remember something in particular about his doing away with a time honored walk on program for Nebraksa high schoolers who didn't earn scholarships. As time went on it appeared that many die hard true Nebraska fans (not just an outside observer like myself) didn't care much for Callahan either.

Fast forward to today, Nebraska has fired Athletic Director Steve Pederson, former coach Tom Osborne has been hired as an interim AD, and Callahan's job is probably toast come the end of this season. Jason King has an excellent article on the return of class act Osborne (whom I rooted for in his unsuccessful run for Nebraska Governor back in 2006) and the scandalous way that Callahan and Pederson treated former players over the last few years. Since taking over Osborne has said all the right things and taken steps to restore the dignity and class of the Huskers public relations and football program. I wish him and the football team well, but I won't really be rooting for them again until they get a new coach.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Kentucky Stuns Top-Ranked LSU in 3 OTs

University of Kentucky football team Stuns Top-Ranked LSU in 3 OTs

read more digg story

Go Wildcats!!! Special kudos and a shout out to number 17, E. J. Adams of Gwinnett County, Georgia.

Terence Moore: Tomlin

College Football still not committing to diversity in hiring of head coaches.

read more digg story

Terrence Moore is one of the better sports columnists writing today. He reminds me a little of the late great Ralph Wiley, who mixed commentary on American society and race relations in his sports writings. The best sports writers, such as Jerry Izenburg , Paul Zimmerman, and Pat Jordan do that, and Moore is fast becoming one of the best writers around. You might not know it if you read some of the comments and letters sent to the Atlanta Journal Constitution though, as there is apparently a segment of the Georgia population that virulently hates Moore, even if he writes something they agree with. My own take is that Moore is a talented, courageous writer, but some folks are going to hate him for being different from themselves. Moore is totally right on in this article, but then he usually is.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Why You Should Never Give Up on a Troubled Youth

Some very powerful stuff. Will definitely resonate with anyone who has - or has been - a troubled child.

read more digg story

Sunday, October 07, 2007

More October Reading - The Supremes, cont.

Some more suggested readings on the Supreme Court:

Clarence Thomas has an autobiography out, entitled My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir. Thomas is probably one of the most polarizing figures of our time, loved or hated, with few people ambivalent about him. He's also probably the most famous person on the court. I haven't read his memoir yet, but have it on my list. Regardless of your political persuasion, you should probably check this one out.

For another look at Thomas, here's a recent biography, Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas, by Kevin Merida and Michael Fletcher. Some other biographies include Judging Thomas: The Life and Times of Clarence Thomas, by Ken Foskett; and First Principles: The Jurisprudence of Clarence Thomas by Scott Douglas Gerber. I doubt many minds will be changed by any of these books, but I do think that Thomas is a person that more Americans need to know about, since the odds are that he will be around a long time shaping Supreme Court decisions.

There are other justices on the Supreme Court who are authors, I would recommend in particular that everyone check out Active Liberty: Interpreting Our Democratic Constitution, by Justice Stephen Breyer, along with A Matter of Interpretation: Federal Courts and the Law, by Justice Antonin Scalia. Breyer is one of the court's more liberal justices, while Scalia is arguably one of the more conservative (along with Thomas) so reading the two of these works should give you a good idea of the competing judicial philosophies of the two groups.

Former justice Sandra Day O'Connor has written several books, some dealing with the court and some not. I'd recommend The Majesty of the Law: Reflections of a Supreme Court Justice for her thoughts on the court and other legal issues. She's also written a memoir of her early life entitled Lazy B: Growing Up on a Cattle Ranch in the American Southwest, which was cowritten with H. Alan Day.

Hopefully some of you will get a chance to check out at least one of these titles. I'd be interested to hear what you think of any of them.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

First Monday in October - some assigned readings

Note, this is an updated and more extensive list than the one I originally posted on myspace.com.

As everybody who took my steet law class knows (or should remember) the "First Monday in October" is when each yearly session of the Supreme Court of the United States starts. As that date is almost upon us, the old history teacher has some assigned reading (optional, of course - but the content will be on the test!) regarding our nation's highest court:

"The Dissenter" New York Times Article written by Jeffrey Rosen on the court's oldest justice John Paul Stevens.

"The Brethren" First published in the 1970's, still an excellent look at the inner workings of the court, and a good history lesson behind current issues still in the news, such as abortion and executive priviledge. Written by Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong.

"The Supreme Court: The Personalities and Rivalries That Defined America" As the title says, this is a history that shows how the personalities and relationships between justices has had an effect on law (and therefore our lives) since the founding days of the court. Written by Jeffrey Rosen, along with Thirteen/WNET.

"The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court" A look at the court and the men and women who have served on it over the past two decades. Written by Jeffrey Toobin.

"The Supremes' Greatest Hits: The 34 Supreme Court Cases That Most Directly Affect Your Life" A quick study of some of the major decisions of the court their practical relevance to you and me. Written by Michael G. Trachtman.

"A People's History of the Supreme Court: The Men and Women Whose Cases and Decisions Have Shaped Our Constitution (Revised Edition)" Written by Peter Irons. A populist look at how the court has dealt with the rights of minorities over its history.

"The Courage of Their Convictions: Sixteen Americans Who Fought Their Way to the Supreme Court" Also by Irons, a look at some individual court cases and the real life people behind the events that led to the SC's decisions.

"Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Control of the United States Supreme Court" This book covers the Harriet Miers nomination and subsequent nomination and confirmation of Samuel Alito and the resulting changes for the Supreme Court. A very good book (as are all of the above) written by Jan Crawford Greenburg.

I could go on, but I'll stop here for now, though I'll probably have another list later in October. If you're not a reader (for heaven's sake, why not???!!) then you might at least want to rent a good little movie called "First Monday in October" and watch it. It gives a humorous look at court, but it came out in 1981 and basically predicted Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's elevation to the court (and it wasn't too far off on how her views subtly changed over time once she got on the court either). At any rate, a good movie, but try to read one of the books if you can. For those who are financially impaired like myself, try the local library, although I'm sure the authors would appreciate your buying a copy.

Best wishes, later,

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Upset no. 3!!! Go Duke football! Duke 20 Northwestern 14 !!!

Being as how I always root for the underdog ( I once had a statue of Saint Jude, patron saint for lost causes on my desk) I've been quietly rooting for the Duke Blue Devils football team and their head coach Ted Roof to get a win or two under their belt. I was impressed with Roof back when he was with Georgia Tech.
When I woke up this morning scanning the college football scores on line, there it was!! Duke 20, Northwestern 14! Way to go Blue Devils!!! The only thing that could have made this weekend better would have been if Arkansas had beaten Lou Saban...oh, well, I guess you can't have everything.
Seriously, congratulations to Coach Roof and the football Blue Devils.

Go Wildcats!!! Upset no. 2 - Kentucky 40, 9th ranked Louisville 34

Another college team I'm following and supporting this year is the Kentucky Wildcats. I've actually been a closet Wildcats football fan ever since the time years ago when my hometown guy Bill Curry was their head coach and his wife was a history teacher at the school. I've liked present coach Rich Brooks ever since the days when he was with the Atlanta Falcons, and there's the personal connection as well. One of the defensive backs is the son of a good friend who used to work at my school with me.
Anyway, it was great to see the Wildcats beat 9th ranked Louisville in a barn burner last night 40 - 34. Way to go Kentucky Wildcats!

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Go Bulldogs!!! (of the Mississippi State variety)

One of the collegiate football teams that I'm rooting for this year is Mississippi State. Two reasons, first I'm a big fan of Bulldog Head Coach Sylvester Crooms, whom I think is a real class act. Second, one of the defensive linemen for the team is the son of one of my best friends, a lady who teaches at my school. She's also a class act, as is her family.

Anyway, Mississippi State beat Auburn (at Auburn!) today 19-14 for their second win in a row. Here's a link:

Mississippi State 19, Auburn 14

Go Bulldogs! Of the Mississippi State variety, that is

Thursday, August 09, 2007

A Bad Idea

It was a bad idea in 1980 for the United States. Ditto for the Soviet Union in 1984. Likewise for many of the African nations in 1976. I'm talking about boycotting the Olympic games of course. The idea of an Olympic boycott is spreading again due to China's human rights abuses at home and its support of oppresive regimes in Sudan, Myanmar and North Korea.
Some U.S. legislators are calling for a boycott, as are some Canadians . This has stirred some voices against the idea of a boycott as well, most notably in Germany.

My take is that boycotts never work. In fact, I think they are counterproductive. I remember watching the 1976 Montreal Olympics. My heroes from those games are John Walker, Lasse Viren, and Ivo van Damme, but they could just as easily have been Mike Boit, Miruts Yifter, and Filbert Bayi; all great African athletes who lost a chance to bring world attention to their respective countries and the plight of black South Africans suffering under apartheid by their NOT competing at Montreal. Likewise I thought the U. S. made a major mistake by not sending a team to the Moscow Olympics in 1980. Instead of changing Soviet policy at the time we simply gave them a propaganda coup by allowing them to claim that we were afraid to send a team.

And of course our past and present economic boycotts against countries such as Iraq, Cuba, North Korea and other countries have worked so well, right? No, actually in most cases, trade and interaction work more towards changing regimes than adopting boycotts and sanctions. I'm not saying that we shouldn't speak out against China's human rights policies - we should, but staying home from the 2008 Bejing Olympics won't help anyone in China or Sudan, while engaging in constructive engagement and reaching out through competing in events such as the Olympics (even as commercial and bloated as the Games have become) just might be of help in the long run.

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Class Acts

This morning Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia won the New York City Half Marathon (thats 13.1 miles for the non track fans out there) in a time of 59 minutes and 24 seconds, easily beating American 10,000 meter national champ Abdi Abdirahman by more than a minute. I've always admired Gebrselassie, ever since he won the Olympic 10,000 meter race in the Atlanta Olympics back in 1996. He's a great runner, on a par with all time greats like Paavo Nurmi, Emil Zatopek, Vladimir Kuts, and Lasse Viren as far as career accomplishments go, but that's not the main reason I like him. Throughout the years he's been a fierce competitor on the track, but also a graceful and giving champion off it. Brian Cazeneuve of Sports Illustrated has written a good article that shows both sides of the man, the runner and the person who wants to help his countrymen accomplish things of more lasting import than simply running. I recommend it to those of you who realize that success can be found as much in helping others as in your own individual accomplishments.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Post July 4th thoughts

The nation's birthday has come and gone, Major League Baseball's All Star game has happened, the immigration bill died in congress, and two former Presidents are briefly in the news. Regarding the July 4th holiday, we had a subdued celebration this year. I had planned on marching with the local Democratic party organization in the local parade, but was unable to make it. The teen moralist vegetarian has started working, the pre teen animal whisperer is trying to find a veterinarians office that will let someone her age volunteer, and the saint is looking for work in her field (computer networking).

I'm officially "off" for the "summer" (basically the latter half of June and the first half of July) but have been going in to school anyway to make sure that records, schedules, and reports are caught up before school starts up again in early August. Have had time to read a few good books though, among them Departing Glory: Theodore Roosevelt as ex-President, by Joseph L. Gardner (a 1973 book that still holds up very well), and 1912: Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft and Debs -The Election that Changed the Country, by James Chace, whose previous books include a biography of Truman's Secretary of State Dean Acheson. I enjoyed both books, interesting to see how progressive Theodore Roosevelt became after he left the White House, among other things. Next up is a more recent (2005) biography of TR's post Presidential life and activities, When Trumpets Call: Theodore Roosevelt After the White House, by Patricia O'Toole to see how it compares with the other two books.

As I mentioned earlier, two brief news notes of past Presidencies, "Lady Bird" Johnson, President Lyndon Johnson's wife passed away. She was a proponent of conservation causes, and was a dignified First Lady and had lived to the age of 94. My prayers go out to her family.

In another news item I noticed that the Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library and birthplace is now under Federal control and the new director, Timothy Naftali is promising that the Library will attempt to portray a more objective view of the Nixon Presidency and Watergate than the Library had when it was privately run.

In closing, I wish I could say that I was disappointed that the Immigration Reform Bill didn't pass, but any finished product was going to be so far right wing and bigoted that the country is better off. Interesting how some folks claim "amnesty" includes fines, back taxes, and other legal penalties when applied to hard working people who came to this country for a better life, but then blithely support a convicted individual like "Scooter" Libby not having to serve any time. Guess there's "amnesty" and then amnesty.

God Bless, till next post.

Sunday, June 03, 2007

Immigration debate shows true colors of right wing

I've been busy for the last few months with both my real life job and my graduate studies in history, but I can't put off weighing in on the Immigration bill debate any longer. The right wing groups in the Republican party (and a few right wing Democrats) remind me of the anti-integration groups of the 1950's and the 1960's. Back then the same rhetoric was used against liberals who wanted the laws changed so that a minority of our society could be allowed to take full advantage of American citizenship. The George Wallaces and the Marvin Griffins and the Strom Thurmonds of that era sounded very similar to the Tom Tancredos and the John Cornyns and the Tom Coburns our own era. Lest anyone thinks that I'm oversimplifying or unjustly demonizing those who don't support President Bush and the majority of the Senate on this bill, I offer as evidence the following article from the New York Times "President’s Push on Immigration Tests G.O.P. Base" (NYT Registration required).

My favorite quote from the article? Senator Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma). "We are not all that stupid." Oh, yes you are Senator, don't underrate yourself. Here's a nice website on the good senator.

Friday, February 23, 2007

This date in history

Perusing the New York Times this date in history web site page for February 23rd I came across some interesting tidbits. Today's the 52nd anniversary of the first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine. Growing up my father always told me that Jonas Salk was one of the true heroes of the modern age, and I agree with that assessment. Like all historic figures there is some controversy over some of Salk's actions, but the bottom line is that he led the effort to give the world a workable polio vaccine and refused to patent it. His memory deserves the thanks of millions for that act alone.

Also, American educator, writer, and civil rights leader W. E. B. DuBois was born on this date in 1868. DuBois was another truly great American who fought against racism his entire life. The fact that he left this country at the end of his life, discouraged by racism and soured by what he considered our system's failure to bestow true economic, social, and political equality on all our citizens is a stain on our country's history, not a blemish on DuBois himself. Historian David Levering Lewis wrote a magnificent two volume biography of DuBois. W.E.B. Du Bois: Biography of a Race, 1868-1919 won the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for Biography as well as the Bancroft and Parkman prizes. W.E.B. Du Bois: The Fight for Equality and the American Century 1919-1963 won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Biography. I highly recommend both volumes for a clear look at this complex man and the times he lived through.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Random Thoughts 02-11-07

1. The whole Anna Nicole Smith saga is kind of sad to me. Not making any judgments about her lifestyle or what may have caused her death, but it's still a sad story. That's all. I think when she lost her son was the part that really struck me. For a parent to outlive their child is about the worst thing I could imagine.

2. Along that line, I was rooting for Tony Dungy and the Indianapolis Colts to win the Super Bowl, and I was quite happy to see them victorious, but as I was watching the award ceremony I couldn't help but think that Dungy would probably trade it all just to get his older son that died last year back. The thing about Dungy, though, is that he's a Christian man who "walks the walk" and lives out his faith. I'm sure that has sustained him, in fact he has said as much. Still, it made the Super Bowl victory a little bittersweet to me. Dungy has been a role model of mine ever since I read a Sports Illustrated story about him and his measured calm leadership style back in the early 1990's. He's a class act.

3. I've always been one who was basically ambiguous about the Pro Bowl. I hardly ever watch it, but I thought it was a good way for the league to celebrate it's stars and treat them to a Hawaiian vacation and week long get together. However I'm starting to think it may be time to jettison the game, just like the league did the "runner up championship game" decades ago. The risk of injury may be too much. Drew Brees injuring his elbow yesterday and the memory of the Robert Edwards injury years ago all make me wonder what the owners and coaches are thinking about it. Of course Edwards injury happened while just playing touch football in the sand in the week running up to the game, and Brees should be well in a couple of months, but it seems that anything that lessens the chance of injury is what would be best for the players. And along that line, is Ben Roethlisberger still riding a motorcycle?

4. I recently saw one of the best films I've seen in a long time, "Pan's Labrynth" directed by Guillermo del Toro. It's a mix of horror, fantasy, and a realistic (sometimes graphically so) war story, but to even try to describe it that way is an oversimplification in my mind. Basically it's the story of a young girl named Ofelia who is thrust into the horrors of 1944 post civil war Spain when her mother marries a cruel Army Captain who is stationed in a wilderness area in the north of Spain trying to subdue a local band of rebels. Ofelia is a bookish young girl who loses herself in a fantasy world. Whether or not the world is true is ambiguous, but the twin plots of Ofelia's adventures and the conflict between the Captain and his men with the rebels and their sympathizers make for a riveting story. I saw it about a week ago and still can't get it out of my mind. I highly recommend it, but a warning it's rated R for graphic violence and adult language. It's a film for adults and teenagers, not young children.

5. I'm back in graduate school after a decade long hiatus, so my blogs will probably be infrequent for a time. This time I'm working on an M.A. in American History and the course I'm in right now is History of the American South since 1865. Great course, great teacher. I'm really enjoying it, but since I'm a little behind on my reading I'm cutting this piece short. Perhaps later I'll comment on the 2008 Presidential race and the Iran and Iraq situation. A lot is going on, but my main focus for now is American post civil war Reconstruction and the advent of Jim Crow in the southern states.

Sunday, January 07, 2007

Random thoughs 01-07-07

Just a few random thoughts on a rainy Sunday morning:

1) Is the world better off with Sadam Hussain hung? My gut reaction is no. I'm becoming more and more anti-death penalty. In this case, we have one thug hung by other thugs, the better for the original thug to become a martyr. In the meantime more of our troops die defending the Iraqui government, a group that seems unable to control itself. I say it's time to let these guys fight it out for themselves, since they seem so determined to continue in civil war.

2) Harriet Miers is quietly resigning to go back to private life. It was my support of Ms. Miers for the Supreme Court that earned me the appelation of "worst blog on the web" from another reviewer blogger. I still think she would have made a good Supreme Court Justice. Anyone who has studied the Court's history knows that many of the "best-prepared" nominees turned out to be mediocre Justices while some of the "least-prepared" turned out to be great. In Ms. Miers case we didn't get to find out, mainly due to her moderate politics rather than any thing else.

http://www.omgn.com/nexus/?p=634/