I have not written about Michael Jackson because, well, I have had nothing to say about his passing. But the Family Guy aspect of my sense of humor can not resist this:

A 2002 will by Michael Jackson, which was filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday, could lead to conflict over the singer’s assets between Mr. Jackson’s family and the executors he named in the will.

The five-page document, dated July 7, 2002, gives the entire estate to a family trust, and names his mother, Katherine Jackson, as legal guardian of his three children and beneficiary of the trust. If she were incapacitated or died, then the singer Diana Ross would get custody of Mr. Jackson’s children.

(Emphasis supplied.) Diana Ross? Why not Elizabeth Taylor? La Liz must be pissed . . .

Definitely speaking for me only

Via Kos, Joe Lieberman in 2006, when he was running for reelection:

After making that promise to the people of Connecticut in 2006, Liebrman now says:

“If we create a public option, the public is going to end up paying for it . . . That’s a cost we can’t take on.”

Joe Lieberman, now and forever, a bald faced liar.

Speaking for me only

Tracie Powell of CQ:

Looks like the Supreme Court has delivered conservatives a not-so-new wedge issue. . . . Patrick J. Buchanan’s exhortation [!!!] to the Republican Party to present it as race-based bigotry against white males — for political gain. . . . “The nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court presents [the GOP] an opportunity. For, even if the party loses the battle and Sotomayor sits on the court, it can win the war.” . . . Finally, some semblance of a GOP survival strategy emerges.

(Emphasis supplied.) Uh, what? That's the strategy? Continue alienating non-whites and women? Hell of a strategy. For those who missed the 2008 election, here were the demographic breakdowns:

Your turn.

One really great aspect of Al Franken becoming the junior Senator from Minnesota is it unhinges the crazies at the WSJ Editorial Board beyond their usual lunacy:

Mr. Franken now goes to the Senate having effectively stolen an election. If the GOP hopes to avoid repeats, it should learn from Minnesota that modern elections don't end when voters cast their ballots. They only end after the lawyers count them.

Allrighty then.

This is an Open Thread.

The Constitutional Accountability Center has an amusing catch of the National Review/Hoover Institution "scholar" Thomas Sowell betraying his ignorance in his zeal to argue for right wing judicial activism:

I think that the most interesting Justices, by far, were Justices Scalia and Thomas. Both remain the most principled members of the Court. . . . Justice Thomas, in particular, remained willing to front new theories on critical questions . . . No other member of the Court is so independent in his thinking. . . . I disagree profoundly with Justice Thomas’s views on many questions, but if you believe that Supreme Court decisionmaking should be a contest of ideas rather than power, so that the measure of a Justice’s greatness is his contribution of new and thoughtful perspectives that enlarge the debate, then Justice Thomas is now our greatest Justice.

(Emphasis supplied.) The SCOTUS as a "contest of ideas?" I would have thought that the traditional view was that contest was supposed to play out in the "political arenas." Is Goldstein conceding (and would conservatives concede) that the "appellate courts engage in policymaking?"

So much for the "umpire calling balls and strikes" ay?

Speaking for me only

In honor of Chuck Todd, I am announcing a new feature for the upcoming Sotomayor confirmation hearings - any acknowledgment in the Traditional Media that the Gang of 5 conservatives on the Roberts Court are judicial activists. Here is today's addition, from the New York Times Editorial page:

On another point, the ruling underscored the emptiness of the “judicial activist” label that Republicans like to use in debates over nominees to the federal courts, including Judge Sotomayor. In the firefighters’ case, she actually refused to second-guess the city’s decision — an act of judicial restraint. It was the court’s conservatives, including Chief Justice John Roberts, who voted to overturn the decision of an elected government.

(Emphasis supplied.) Half a demerit to Adam Liptak:

Is this a joke? Apparently not. A federal advisory panel is asking the FDA to ban Percocet and Vicodin because they contain acetaminophen.

A federal advisory panel voted narrowly on Tuesday to recommend a ban on Percocet and Vicodin, two of the most popular prescription painkillers in the world, because of their effects on the liver. "In 2005, American consumers bought 28 billion doses of products containing the ingredient." According to the panel,

The two drugs combine a narcotic with acetaminophen, the ingredient found in popular over-the-counter products like Tylenol and Excedrin. High doses of acetaminophen are a leading cause of liver damage, and the panel noted that patients who take Percocet and Vicodin for long periods often need higher and higher doses to achieve the same effect.

First, questions. Does this apply to Perocdan as well? Percodan has aspirin and Percocet has acetaminophen. Is aspirin ok? I thought doctors liked to give out Perocet vs. Percodan because they said Percoet, with acetaminophen, was easier on the stomach lining.

The latest over-the-top "solution" to the problem of drunk driving -- brought to you by the zealots at Mothers Against Drunk Driving -- would dramatically increase the value of companies that manufacture and sell ignition interlock devices.

A new highway bill pending before Congress would instruct all 50 states to require every motorist convicted of driving under the influence equip their car with interlock systems that shut down a vehicle when a measured amount of alcohol is detected. ... There are already about 150,000 interlock system now in cars in the U.S., placed there for drivers with multiple DUI convictions. But the proposed mandate would expand the use of interlock systems exponentially; MADD's statistics indicate that nearly 1.5 million Americans are arrested annually on DUI charges, making it the number one crime for which American are arrested.

Only one-third of the drivers arrested for a drunk driving offense are repeat offenders. While the majority of first offenders will never be involved in an alcohol-related accident or arrested for a similar offense, MADD wants to burden them with an expensive gadget that will typically keep them from driving even if they're under the legal limit. The MADD plan has been adopted in some states, but MADD will settle for nothing less than federal legislation.

[more ...]

I've been stuck for two days trying to fix my Fujitsu "scansnap" scanner. A few weeks ago, it began scanning documents in 8.5 × 14 instead of 8.5 × 11, and the court told me they couldn't accept my attached filings that way. For some reason, the scanner software wouldn't open and I couldn't get into the program to change the setting. How do you even know who to call when these things happen?

After five uninstalls and reinstalls, I almost threw it out the window. The scanner still scans but the computer refused to recognize the software. Then I decided to use my HP all-in-one printer that has a scanner function but it wouldn't recognize my computer even though it's on the network. Since I wasn't about to throw two machines out the window, I went back to trying to uninstall and reinstall the Fujitsu software. About 4:00 this afternoon, after wasting about 8 hours on this, the scanner mysteriously reset itself to regular size pages. I still can't access the software but at least I can get my stuff scanned so I can file scanned documents with the court. What a waste of time.

Hope your Monday and Tuesday went better. Here's an open thread as I catch up on the news and watch Weeds and Nurse Jackie, both of which I missed last night. All topics welcome.

Rachel's Law, named after a murdered police informant, goes into effect in Florida on Wednesday.

The new law will require police departments to train officers who recruit confidential informants, tell informants they can't promise a reduced sentences in exchange for their work and allow informants to consult with a lawyer if they ask.

....The bill "makes it more safe for people to be able to cooperate with law enforcement officials across our state," [Gov. Charlie] Crist said.

Will it make their testimony any more reliable? I doubt it.

U.S. District Court Judge David Hittner today reversed the magistrate court judge's order granting bail to indicted financier Allen Stanford. (Background here and here.)

Stanford's lawyers say they will appeal to the 5th Circuit.