I'm not sure if it's overstatement to say the Roberts court is dismantling the very foundation of our country, but they seem to be well on their way. Basic, mainstream positions -- desegregation, keeping abortion available and safe, sex discrimination, free speech -- have all been weakened, just in the last few months alone. And they're positions that have traditionally been championed by the Democratic party.

So, I'm wondering if the the folks with the "D" next to their name are starting to regret their YEA votes to confirm John Roberts, or to confirm Samuel Alito?

Oh, and cloture. Don't forget about cloture.

Since Napster, we've mostly seen IP rights as an issue over digital media. But in NYC, the battle has moved...into the kitchen?

...a handful of chefs and restaurateurs have invoked intellectual property concepts, including trademarks, patents and trade dress — the distinctive look and feel of a business — to defend their restaurants, their techniques and even their recipes, but most have stopped short of a courtroom...Some legal experts believe the number of cases will grow as chefs begin to think more like chief executives.

It's further evidence that dining (certainly in NYC, but really everywhere) isn't about food, as much as about theater. It probably started with the advent and popularity of Food TV, and the rise of the -- BAM! -- celebrity chef.

But it's a shame. Like music, food is communal. We cook, and we share.

How do you copyright a taste?

How do you copyright "a pinch of this," or, as many of our grandmothers would say, "You cook it until it's done!"

In today's SCOTUS decision to strike down desegregation, the Chief Justice wrote, "The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race."

You know, I cannot believe this has never occurred to us!

Wait...how about:

The way to stop the war in Iraq is to stop the war in Iraq.

Effing brilliant!

The way to stop poverty in our country is to stop poverty in our country.

Awesome. This shit is, like, so easy.

I really don't see why we even need a government anymore.

Apparently, New Jersey has no state song. And, apparently, there's talk of Bon Jovi being in the running? Puh-lease.

The only possible contender for this is, of course, Bruce Springsteen. The thing is, checking through the lyrics of his songs, most of his stuff is a lot darker than I remember, certainly everything before "The River."

And it's all about getting *out* of New Jersey.

But, you know, it's a rough and tumble kind of place. It can be dark. And there are plenty of times you want to get out.

I say embrace it, New Jersey. Pick a Bruce song.

The other problem is, of course, if you want Springsteen's best song, well, that one's not even about New Jersey. A snippet, from New York City Serenade:

Fish lady, oh fish lady
She baits them tenement walls
She won't take corner boys
They ain't got no money
And they're so easy
I said "Hey, baby
Won't you take my hand
Walk with me down Broadway...

Listen to your junk man, folks.

Listen to your junk man...

Isn't there a fine line between "enthusiastic commenters" participating in research, and bloggers simply doing reporters' work for them? For free?

I know the nascent citizen journalism movement is about us getting involved, but it didn't occur to me it would require pro-bono work for Time Inc.

Here are a few blog posts that may have been missed over the last day:

- populist's discussion of the possibility of a draft, which includes the words of a few soldier dissenters

- CommonDreamer's strategy to impeach Cheney, using the unitary executive theory to the veep's disadvantage

- ges's look back at Rose, a woman who saw ghosts, and who continues to haunt his memory

and finally,

- Chuck, who's haunted in a very different way, by a far-away war that still seems way too close

They're all worth a read.

Wow. Lugar has turned on Bush! He wants OUT of Iraq!

Right?

Lugar's position is unlikely to affect votes on upcoming anti-war legislation. Spokesman Andy Fisher said Monday that Lugar is not planning to switch his vote and embrace a deadline for troop withdrawals.

So what's the point? Like we often see from "moderate" Republicans, like Specter, or Graham, or McCain, it is all just words in a speech.

SCOTUS just ruled against the student in the "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case.

If only the banner advocated one of the many fine products from Eli Lilly, of course, none of this would have happened.

It's just the stuff growing from the ground that causes a stir.

I have just read Anne-Marie Slaughter's latest post here, in which she presents the following piece of horseshit:

We should insist that other nations respect the decision of a majority of the American people and of American courts on the legality of the death penalty—a position that we share with Japan, among other liberal democracies.

Here is the list of "liberal democracies" who practice the death penalty:

AFGHANISTAN, ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA, BAHAMAS, BAHRAIN, BANGLADESH, BARBADOS, BELARUS, BELIZE, BOTSWANA, BURUNDI, CAMEROON, CHAD, CHINA, COMOROS, CONGO (Democratic Republic), CUBA, DOMINICA, EGYPT, EQUATORIAL GUINEA, ERITREA, ETHIOPIA, GUATEMALA, GUINEA, GUYANA, INDIA, INDONESIA, IRAN, IRAQ, JAMAICA, JAPAN, JORDAN, KAZAKSTAN, KOREA (North), KOREA (South), KUWAIT, LAOS, LEBANON, LESOTHO, LIBYA, MALAYSIA, MONGOLIA, NIGERIA, OMAN, PAKISTAN, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY, QATAR, RWANDA, SAINT CHRISTOPHER & NEVIS, SAINT LUCIA, SAINT VINCENT & GRENADINES, SAUDI ARABIA, SIERRA LEONE, SINGAPORE, SOMALIA, SUDAN, SYRIA, TAIWAN, TAJIKISTAN, TANZANIA, THAILAND, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, UGANDA, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, UZBEKISTAN, VIET NAM, YEMEN, ZIMBABWE

In fact, we share the practice of killing people for crimes with the most barbaric of nations.

What a crock of shit. Do you really believe the shit you write?

Ooops. Was this full of vitriol?

Sorry, but I expect better. I expect writers here not to lie. Silly me.