Professor Bainbridge...on law, politics, religion, culture & food

It is good to hate the French

Nick Schulz has the latest catalog of reasons.

Martha’s PA

I try not to be a materialistic person (well, okay, not really, but at least I feel guilty about it), but there are a couple of Hollywood perks I'd really like. One is my own jet (or at least a fractional share). The other is a personal assistant. I've known a couple of LA types who had a PA, and it just seemed incredibly useful. So I understand where Martha's coming from on this one, but still ... doesn't this go a bit beyond the bounds of good taste?

According to my sources, Stewart — who is convinced she will definitely be sent to Danbury Correctional Institution in Danbury, Conn. — is taking no chances on her prison stay. She has apparently sought out and found an inmate who is already incarcerated there and willing to work for her. This woman, who is serving time for embezzlement, is supposed to be Martha's eyes and ears — sort of a glorified assistant — during what could be a 16-month run in the big house, sources said.

It certainly won't help her argue remorse at sentencing!

Zell Miller on Hugh Hewitt’s Show

Hugh has the transcript up of his interview of Zell Miller. Makes fascinating reading, especially with Miller now heading up Democrats for Bush.

The latest Scalia flap

I was thinking about posting this am on the ongoing blogosphere meme dealing with Ian Ayres' and Barry Nalebuff's patently absurd critique of Scalia's use of only one leg of a round-trip airplane ticket, but Tom Smith did such a good job of deconstructing the whole business that I will simply refer you to his must-read post.

The Pledge Case

In arguing the Pledge case, plaintiff Michael Newdow opined that:

His daughter would be singled out by not saying the Pledge, and would be coerced to participate. "Imagine you're a third-grader in a class of 30 kids. That's enormous pressure to put on a child" to conform, Newdow said.

I wonder if he's given any thought to how his daughter would feel if she goes down in history as the kid who took down the Pledge of Allegiance? Talk about being singled out! I wonder if he knows the story of William Murray, whose mother Madalyn Murray O’Hair got the Supreme Court to throw prayer out of the schools?

Today, William Murray is a born-again Christian, “the No. 1 spokesman for prayer in the schools,” in the words of U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms. He is also the author of five books, the most recent being "Let Us Pray."

Before his mother died, Murray observed of his family that:

Jesus says that “following me will cause brother to hate brother and separate mother from son.” In the case of my family, that is an absolute truth. Most people who study that passage see it abstractly, but in the case of my family … it has been split in a variety of ways because of my desire to follow Jesus. My brother, my oldest daughter, and my mother.…

Clarke

Fred Kaplan says Richard Clarke is "too shrewd to write or say anything in public that might be decisively refuted." Then how does he explain this transcript of a background briefing given by Clarke in 2002? (As Kevin Drum observes, "there's not much question that the tone of this briefing sure doesn't sound much like the tone of the book.") And how would he respond to this damning op-ed? What it all comes down to is that Clarke's got an axe to grind and a book to flog, while everybody in both the Clinton and the Bush administration has asses to cover and partisan points to score. Mistakes were made and there is blame in plenty to go around, and nobody has the guts to stand up and say "look, I screwed up, but here's how I'm going to fix it." As Kevin Drum observed, that's going to happen just as soon as pigs fly.

Scalia’s Latest Misdeed

This is worth the attention of Yale law and business professors and the NYT? Only in the topsy-turvy echo chamber of elite left-liberal opinion.

The 9/11 Commission

The more I watch the 9/11 Commission in action, the clearer it becomes that the Commission is not about fact-finding, if it ever was. Instead, it has become a mere exercise in covering one's ass and scoring partisan points. The whole thing is a massive joke and ought to be shut down.