July 15, 2009

Hello, from the road.

Somewhere in Indiana...

Photo 87

We're not even halfway to our goal today, but we needed to stop on an important mission and then again for some coffee and WiFi. In the car, we partook of some of the Sotomayorganza, but that got old after an hour or so. I had my notebook on my lap, and I wrote... I mean authored:
"wrote... authored..."
That was at 9:25 CT, when Sotomayor was in the middle of talking about some Ginsburg opinion. SS had already voiced the word "wrote" and then she changed it to "authored," as if "wrote" was a mistake. I know there are people who think "wrote" and then make a point to say "authored" — and do all sorts of other hoity-toity substitutions — but, jeez, if the simple world has already slipped out, move on. Don't let people hear that you do that.

Not that it's disqualifying or anything. Just something that made me want to write in my notebook, back in Wisconsin a few hours ago. Now, as I said, we are in Indiana.

A cute little girl walks up to our table and stares. I say hi. She thinks a bit, then says, "Y'all got 2 computers?!" I say, yeah. She's all, "How'd you get that?" I say, we just got 'em, as her dad/older brother shoos her along.

Back to my Sotomayor notes.
strategy: boring us to death

+ avoiding creating highlights for the nightly news

no one has ever said "precedent" so many times in a confirmation hearing
And I remember saying something like: "She's talking about precedent so much because it's her way to nullify anything that she ever did as a Court of Appeals judge. She did it because of precedent, so she's not really responsible for anything." But there's room to maneuver within the limitations of precedent, and in the things that she did — while citing precedent — we can perceive her leanings, and we quite properly want to know what her leanings are.

Other techniques she's using: speaking very slowly, laying out the basics of case law, and repeating the most innocuous platitudes about judging.

We switched over to the satellite radio. 60s on 6. "Mrs. Robinson," then The Happenings doing one of those quasi-pedophilia-type songs that no one would do anymore ("Go away little girl..."). Click to 80s on 8. "Rock the Casbah." The 80s sometimes beat the 60s. Not often, but sometimes.

We switch off the radio, and I read the comments to the baseball pitch post out loud:
Paul Zrimsek said — paren — "Placeholder for a thousand words of bafflegab involving depth of field and photo-editing software, somehow proving that Obama threw a perfect strike" — close paren. Ha ha. I would front page that.
Later, we get back to the Sotomayorganza, and it's Al Franken at last. He's talking about himself again, saying something that we start parodying: Here I am, Al Franken, a Senator, talking to you, Sonia Sotomayor; we are here, in the Senate, and I am talking and you are talking. Check the transcript and you'll see. He's in this inane "I am a Senator" mode, and he's breaking all records for using the word "I." He bumbles through pointless questions detailing cases and revealing he knows next to nothing about actual Supreme Court cases. He ends his segment by asking Sotomayor: What's the title of the "Perry Mason" episode where Perry Mason lost a case? This gives Sonia a chance to giggle a bit in a human manner — after being ploddingly robotic all day. She doesn't know the title, and it turns out Al doesn't either, which baffles old man Leahy.

Time to close up the MacBooks and hit the road again.

70 comments:

XWL said...

— but, jeez, if the simple world has already slipped out, move on. Don't let people hear that you do that.


Interesting typo, slipping an "l" into "word" to transform it into "world". Doesn't alter the meaning all that much, surprisingly. Seems Sotomayor is always on the look out for words and phrasings that might mark her as coming from a simpler world, and she favors the most tortured of locutions to prove she's a sophisticate.

Brevity. Soul. Wit.

(but not in Senate hearings, apparently)

(and so far Sotomayor, and the hearings in general, have lacked brevity, soul, and wit)

bagoh20 said...

Marilyn Monroe and Bruce Willis are there too?

AllenS said...

Relax, Alts and Meade, I've been carrying on the duties of live-blog the proceedings.

Matt said...

I think she is simply choosing her words carefully. The one thing all such hearings show is that candidates are cautious. I heard this morning that during his hearing Justice Thomas said when Roe v Wade was decided he had no opinion about it. This is most certainly a lie because he was in law school then.
But he - like Sotomayor - did not want to alienate anyone in the Senate. So they resort to taking no actual opinions.
However, in her defense [and others too] they really cannot give an opinion on a hypothetical case. There are way too many factors to consider in each and every case they potentially will face.

AllenS said...

live-bloging

Issob Morocco said...

Hopefully you are going to the highest point in Indiana, off of Arba pike road and Eliot Rd. by Bethel, IN,north of Richmond and SE of Lynn. There is a farmhouse that sells oxygen tanks as you ascend the 1257 feet above sea level.

Actually very beautiful countryside, if you have the time!

saintrussell said...

That little girl must have been from out of town. Hoosierland is not "y'all" country, at least not until you get down into the hills.

MadisonMan said...

How odd that a lawyer would choose words carefully. I mean, what are the odds that something like that would happen?

As for Perry Mason, Franken was obviously tossing a bone to the Gays, as Raymond Burr was gay. The Case of the Tumescent TItus was the one case he lost.

Original Mike said...

2 computers?

You must be rich. I think the govimt should take one of your computers from you and give it to a poor person.

It's only fair.

Dale said...

Interesting how you keep referencing "boring".


I am a political conservative.

But a s much as I may agree with certain people of my political persusasion, I find that many of them are people I probably should not like to have dinner with. Not that liberals are more interesting by nature - it's just that personality is so fascinating.


People I would prefer to NOT have dinner with whether I agree with them politically or not:

Rush Limbaugh
Sean Hannity
Al Franken
Nancy Pelosi
Harry Reid
Robert Gibbs
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Any current news anchor


People I would love to have dinner with, whether I agree with them politically or not:

Michelle Obama
Hillary Clinton
Sarah Palin
George W Bush
Rahm Emmanuel
Lynne Cheney
Susan Estridge
Jeananne Garafalo
Sonya Sotomayor's Mother

(Let's face it - women are basically more fascinating conversationalists)

rhhardin said...

Mind your corp.

AllenS said...

I'd like to have dinner with Christie Brinkley. That's it. I'll buy the drinks.

rhhardin said...

I think the plural is ``all y'all.''

MadisonMan said...

The Case of the Deadly Verdict is the one he lost. Client (Vera Miles) withheld evidence. Perry Mason eventually exonerated her -- so even though he lost the case, the client was eventually found innocent.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Her chosen words we so careful she would not even allow herself to tell Franken the first amendment with regard to the Internet was a very important constitutional question; really innocuous stuff.

A little frustrating.

former law student said...

Hoosierland is not "y'all" country.

Hoosierland, like its neighbor the Land of Lincoln, has four dialects, including South Midlands.

http://www.geocities.com/yvain.geo/diausa.gif

Pastafarian said...

"...Other techniques she's using: speaking very slowly, laying out the basics of case law, and repeating the most innocuous platitudes about judging."

You missed one: She's lying through her teeth. She's claiming that words that she's spoken didn't mean what they actually, by definition, mean. They've caught her in at least 3 bald-faced lies. I'm surprised someone hasn't used the word "perjury" yet -- or does it not apply in a proceeding like this?

But then, I guess this is the entire liberal judicial philosophy in a nutshell, isn't it? The meaning of words isn't up to the speaker, author, or framer -- the meaning of those words is decided by the listener.

former law student said...

Her chosen words we so careful she would not even allow herself to tell Franken the first amendment with regard to the Internet was a very important constitutional question; really innocuous stuff.

she's walking through a minefield.

A closed mouth gathers no feet, as my aunt always said.

jag said...

Al Franken asked Sotomayor if she knew the one case Perry Mason lost.

Kathleen Parker wrote a gushy piece about the love she and Sotomayor share for Nancy Drew.

Tom Coburn channeled Ricky from I Love Lucy.

We're doomed as a civilization...

AllenS said...

Good one, fls: A closed mouth gathers no feet.

Here's mine: A webbed foot is harder to swallow.

former law student said...

She's claiming that words that she's spoken didn't mean what they actually, by definition, mean.

You're not a lawyer, correct? To a lawyer, every word is ambiguous. Consider Humpty-Dumpty:

'The question is,' said Alice, 'whether you CAN make words mean so many different things.'

'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master—that's all.'

Alice was too much puzzled to say anything, so after a minute Humpty Dumpty began again. 'They've a temper, some of them—particularly verbs, they're the proudest—adjectives you can do anything with, but not verbs—however, I can manage the whole lot of them!

former law student said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
chuck b. said...

I don't think I'd want to have dinner with Rahm Emmanuel, and I don't know who Susan Estridge is (please do not tell me), but I would agree with Dale's list as well.

I would like to have dinner with the McCains--all of them. I bet they're a lot of fun after a couple of drinks.

fivewheels said...

"How'd you get that?"

This is why talking to kids is interesting sometimes. They'll innocently ask a simple question that doesn't seem to have a simple answer, and it can make you think. Or it can just be stupid and annoying, but you never know beforehand.

TitusHi,HowAreYou?IamSuperThankforaskin said...

You look fabulous in that picture darling.

Too fabulous for Indiana.

The state must be in an uproar with you walking the streets. Love that.

Love the glasses. Who are you wearing? My Prada wraparounds were everywhere in NYC this week. That and D&G glasses, natch. They are so great to wear on when the sun is out and on head when the sun goes down. Really they are all purpose and you can't go wrong.

So my advice to all of you is run don't walk to your nearest Prada store or Niemies or Saks (hopefully within walking distance from your fabulous loft) and get the Prada wraparounds. But make sure the Prada lettering on the side of the sunglasses is not too big-that's tacky.

Tell em Titus sent you.

Hugs, my doves.

bagoh20 said...

My yes list would include Gov. Sanford's mistress. She must be something.

Also my impression is that liberals tend to cry when drunk and conservatives laugh. Actually, that's mostly true when sober too.

TitusHi,HowAreYou?IamSuperThankforaskin said...

What's Indianapolis like? I am guessing not fabulous. Why can't there be more fabulousness?

Is Chicago the only fabulous Midwest city? I am thinking it is.

If I had to rank fabulousness in America it would be:
1) NYC
2) San Francisco
3) Chicago
4) Boston
5) Seattle
6) Miami

Sorry, just can't get into LA. Driving is so driving. You need to walk and work the runway.

Where is your roadtrip taking you?

Are you coming to the East Coast where it is really fabulous?

Ptown?
Vinyard?
Nantucket?
South Coast of Maine?

Let's hope.

Thanks doll.

bagoh20 said...

Sotomayor is simply lying repeatedly. That is undeniable. So what do we do about it? Nothing. So what was the point of this? Did we expect her to spin on the floor like Curly Howard? Would that even matter? Would that be worse than lying to us.

"Moe, Larry, Cheese!"

Confirmed!

rhhardin said...

McDonalds has a supply of paper napkins to write on, is why you'd want to eat there.

Anonymous said...

we needed to stop on an important mission

Most people would just say "restroom break" or, to be clever, "pit stop."

--

one of those quasi-pedophilia-type songs that no one would do anymore

Given the current fashion in women's, ahem, grooming, I'd have to say that pedophilia is more accepted than ever before :(

Peter

Baron Zemo said...

Dear lady it appears you muse has returned.

Perhaps he might regale us with tales of his feces.

Now doubt with corn it in honor of Indiana.

traditionalguy said...

Maybe Sonia is just a hard worker who tries her best to please everyone. Becoming a Princeton student does not mean that she ever quit trying hard to please her mother and be a success in life to thank her mother for her love and hard work.She has always worked hard and made it to the next rung in her life. I cannot see her wanting to start doing any damage at the Court, but expect she will simply use precedents and her good heart. Maybe in today's end of everything crisis melieu, she is just too boring for us.

Baron Zemo said...

Can his alter-ego Jeremy be far behind?

Ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha.

ricpic said...

You are tragically dated, Titus. The epicenter of fabulous is now Utah. East coast fabulosity was fading before your father made his worst mistake.

ricpic said...

I can't stand those ketchup packets at MickeyDees. Impossible to open them without finger mess. The classy McDonalds have little paper cups you can pump ketchup into, or into which you can pump ketchup. Messiness ruins a meal.

ricpic said...

tradguy has a hardon for Spitfire Sonia.

Ralph L said...

"Authored" might have been a subtle dig at other judges, whose clerks write most of their opinions, assuming SS proudly writes her own.

Meade gets a photo but no tag?

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Meade gets a photo but no tag?

Who says Meade's not taged ;)

David said...

Everyone is dancing around this possibility: "Lady not very smart, is she?"

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Given the current fashion in women's, ahem, grooming, I'd have to say that pedophilia is more accepted than ever before :(

So true. And don't get me started on those women who go for men who shave their faces.

Perverts.

Maxine Weiss said...

The first lady of blogging had better start working on her status updates:



http://mashable.com/2009/07/14/facebook-ultimate-time-waster/






___________

sonicfrog said...

Meade gets a photo but no tag?

Who says Meade's not taged ;)


Who says it's Meade??? :-)

Ignorance is Bliss said...

She's all, "How'd you get that?" I say, we just got 'em...

Answers like that are why this country is going to hell in a happy meal.

The correct answer is that you bought them with money you earned by providing a valuable service to your employer. If you want to expand further, you could have explained that you were able to do that because you worked hard in school to learn the skills you needed to become a productive member of society.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

"Lady not very smart, is she?".

I think we all knew that going in.

rhhardin said...

You should point out to the kid as well that you paid more for the computers than they were worth to the company that made them, because they were worth more than you paid to you.

All economy is based on disagreement. What you buy is worth more to you than it costs, and as well it is worth less to the seller than he gets from you.

The result is that both you and seller come out ahead on the trade.

Both of your standards of living go up.

Add that up over all the voluntary trades in the nation, and that's the rising standard of living of the nation.

All because people disagree.

One of the finest ways to generate disagreement is specialization and the division of labor.

One of the finest generalizations of that is international trade.

Then send the kid away.

Baron Zemo said...

My deal lady, please.

You should have told the toddler that you are a few fries short of a happy meal.

You are an educator after all?

TitusHi,HowAreYou?IamSuperThankforaskin said...

Utah, really Ricpic?

Salt Lake, Provo, which is hotter?

Ricpic, you go to Mcdonalds? That is very disappointing.

I also love your comments about my father's biggest mistake. I could eat those up for days. More please. thanks doll.

I went to a really trashy, tourist trap restaurant in NYC last night called Carmines. The food is served family style in these bowls that are the size of a laundry basket.

How is everyone? did you miss me? Let's get this party started. The summer is here. Let's listen to the song Summertime-in all its different incarnations-fabulous.

The women working the runways (streets) in NYC yesterday were all about short skirts, no nylons, tan legs and blouses unbuttoned to show cleave...I approve.

I love to see a thin women wearing a short skirt, with a plain white blouse tucked in and the blouse unbuttoned. Very sexy. Oh and big old pumps that you can tell are totally uncomfortable to walk in but make their legs look even longer and sexier.

Matt said...

Dale
People I would prefer to NOT have dinner with whether I agree with them politically or not:

Why would you put Ruth Bader Ginsberg on a list with Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity? Puzzling? I think she would make good conversation that would probably not be that political.

TitusHi,HowAreYou?IamSuperThankforaskin said...

Oh and I mustn't forget oversized fabulous and expensive designer sunglasses, perhaps covering up a little of the fun that was had the night before.

Also, fellow republicans I am wearing a retro, vintage Run DMC t tonight. Sleeves tight to accentuate guns, narrow at the waist, very rare.

I am totally kicking it old school.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Liberal I would love to have dinner with.

I wish she was on our side.

DADvocate said...

Geographically, Indiana is booorrring. I drove up and back down it recently. My son complained they used names with "hill" in them when there were no hills. I only enter Indiana for a purpose and not pleasure.

TitusHi,HowAreYou?IamSuperThankforaskin said...

And finally fellow republicans I did my last NYC hog (s) for quite some time.

Here is was:

Indian, actually from Indian, just visiting. Told me he would have his dick cut off if he did what he and I did in NYC. I admit I was intriqued, but then I had to go...time was wasting. Again, there is a plethora of the Indian in Boston.


Next, Brazillan. Yes, he was hot, but they come a dime a dozen here in Boston so I was not so excited. Also, Brazillans tend to be really narcissistic and to into their bodies.

And finally I sampled some Boznia Herezegovinia. I told him I empathasized with their struggle. Wasn't sure what their struugle was but I am sure the Bozzies had some struggle and just wanted to let him know that I cared. Or are they called Herzegovinians?

All were uncut, thanks for asking.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

BTW - has anybody found out who groped Brooks?

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Sorry, I didn't mean to shoo you away.

Penny said...

And that "singularity" stuff is creeping up the asshole in all of us, as we pretend to "speak" to each other.

It isn't going to be about who we think we are, or how we choose to show ourselves publicly. We ALL know how to do that monkey dance.

So do you want to be a monkey, or would you prefer to be a robot?

Unknown said...

I'll bet Al's performance inspired a lot of second thoughts in MI today.

Penny said...

Second thoughts make sense. Second acts, not so much.

Monkey..................Robot

?

somefeller said...

Monkey versus Robot!

Lawyer Mom said...

You go, Annie Warhol!

Lawyer Mom said...

You go, Annie Warhol!

JAL said...

Oh good grief.

It's Meade.

Anonymous said...

The comments here increasingly resemble Dresden Dolls lyrics.

Must be the Facebook, Twitter and post-Cabaret Noir sensibility of the age.

Sotomayor sounded like the incompetent 4th grade teacher your kid hated 5 years ago at a parent-teacher conference.

Penny said...

Does Meade know Charlie Brown?

Penny said...

somefeller, that was way too funny!

Smack down ending, but what the heck.

Humans seem to like it that way.

Penny said...

It's been fun, everyone, but going to bed now. Hoping to sleep, but if not, I am pretty damned good at amusing myself. ;)

Mr. Monkey ............... Mr. Robot

?

Kirk Parker said...

"He ends his segment by asking Sotomayor: What's the title of the "Perry Mason" episode where Perry Mason lost a case? This gives Sonia a chance to giggle a bit in a human manner — after being ploddingly robotic all day. She doesn't know the title, and it turns out Al doesn't either, which baffles old man Leahy."

And so it goes, in the last, lingering, Alzheimeric days of the Greatest Deliberative Body On Earth™

MM,

Dude, you owe me a new keyboard! (In re the "Case of the T.T.") You also make me miss Trooper...

PatCA,

I suspect you meant MN rather than MI.

Michael Haz said...

Meade - When you get there, please give Holly a good, long belly scratch for me.

Hoosier Daddy said...

What's Indianapolis like? I am guessing not fabulous.

Its not Titus and we like it that way. There's the East side of Mass Avenue that for the fabulous people like yourself but thats about it. Despite the lack of fabulousness Indianapolis has a pretty high percentage of the gay so if you're ever passing through, you might be able to score. I'm sure it won't be up to your fabulous standards but buggers can't be choosey now can they?

Hoosier Daddy said...

Oh and Southern Indiana is beautiful country. They don't say ya'll and there's no banjos either.

former law student said...

Southern Indiana is beautiful country. They don't say ya'll

They should say you-all or y'all. This was documented in a 1987 paper published by the American Dialect Society.

I couldn't find a detailed map of the South Midland dialect, but this map should be a proxy. Where South Midland is spoken, the generic term for carbonated beverage is "coke." Look at the red and brown counties in Indiana; that's where coke and thus South Midland predominates. "You-all" is part of South Midland.

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3331/1734/1600/Popsodacoke.1.gif