Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

My Near-Out-of-Body Experience While Watching the Debate Last Night: Hearing Clinton’s Answer To the Supreme Court Nominees Question

OMG. It came so late in the debate—the third-last question, the second-last on policy agenda, less than 10 minutes before the end. Asked what she would be looking for in selecting her Supreme Court nominees, she began not with a culture-wars answer or by referencing the need for diversity among the justices as concerned with […]

My Comments-Thread Comment to Robert Waldmann’s “From Small Town to Prison” Post

Robert Waldmann did something this morning that I’d planned to do: He posted an in-depth post about the NYT’s awesome article in yesterday’s paper titled “From Small Town to Prison,” by Josh Keller and Adam Pearce. Robert makes a critical point about the fiscal cause of the phenomenon that the Times article reports on, and […]

A Question For Democratic Senate Judiciary Committee Members to Ask Sri Srinivasan If Obama Nominates Him to Fill Scalia’s Seat

In private practice, prior to his appointment to the appeals court, Srinivasan successfully represented former Enron Corp CEO Jeff Skilling in a Supreme Court case. The Supreme Court narrowed the reach of the so-called honest services fraud law, invalidating one theory used by prosecutors for Skilling’s conspiracy conviction and ordering further appeals court review. Despite […]

Okay, let’s have a show of hands here: How many of you progressives want Obama to nominate a moderate to take Scalia’s seat? Because the Supreme Court should always be comprised only of arch-conservatives and a few moderates. How many want a former prosecutor, on the theory that the federal bench does not already have enough former prosecutors, and because the Supreme Court is just toooo pro-non-white-collar criminal defendant and tooo favorable to civil rights plaintiffs involved in the criminal-justice system?

Or how about another former Washington corporate mega-law-firm partner?  Like John Roberts?! Only moderate.  I mean, but what if he or she is an Asian?  And would be the first Asian on the Court?!  Or a woman?  Or, and a woman? Or what if she’s a woman whose husband is a military reservist?!  Or is a black former prosecutor, no gender preferred?  Or has political experience?! […]