What I’m Doing: About to Quit the News (!)
I’ve had this song stuck in my head for two days now.
I’m about to bust out the whole album (Daft Punk, Discovery) and relive my junior year of high school.
I’m getting a little frustrated with the news.
I’ve tried watching as much of the Sotomayor confirmation hearings as I could stomach… The whole enterprise is such a frigging circus. If I remember my high school civics correctly, these hearings are supposed to give Senators time to determine whether or not the President’s nominee has the qualifications and the judicial chops for the post. As I watch, I see some Republicans doing a wonderful job probing important issues on which Judge Sotomayor has ruled… Then I see Republicans using their time as pseudo-stump speeches. The Democrats aren’t doing much better either. On the first day of questioning, both Sen. Schumer and Sen. Feinstein’s questioning were off the mark. For the most part, every Democrat I’ve seen has used their time to support Judge Sotomayor.
All of it – the questioning, the coverage of the questioning – is sickeningly partisan in the worst sort of way… I’m not upset that Republicans are hostile to the Democrat nominee or that Democrats are slobbering over Judge Sotomayor. I’m upset because both parties seem so eager to destroy or laud Judge Sotomayor that both parties have forgotten their constitutional roles in this nomination process. (At least, though, no one is lynching this candidate like Clarence Thomas. I’m happy that Judge Sotomayor doesn’t have to face those disgusting antics.)
If I ignore the Sotomayor hearings, I see Pres. Obama pop back up on the news like some broken whack-a-mole. It doesn’t matter to which news channel I turn… there he is, selling some program for some disaffected group. Cap and Trade. Health care reform with a “public option.” Housing for folks who can’t pay their bills. More tax-payer dollars for college students. The “Fairness” Doctrine might make a return. Those czars are getting weirder by the day. The elites are still pounding Palin for being an uppity woman without the proper degrees. Democrats are still after the Bushitler and Cheney.
I am finding some laughs, though. Mostly about Obama getting snubbed in Russia. Or that members of Congress should be required to enroll in whatever health care program they force give us.
Anyway, Dear Husband’s playing the only Deftones song I can stand: “Passenger.” You know why it’s the only one I can stand?: Maynard James Keenan.
The night’ll be looking better when we head off to Ugly Mug. (!)
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Fasti, if the Ugly Mug is the type of establishment I think it is, then I will tell you that Sam Adams Summer Ale is very tasty, and Leinenkugel has a Classic Amber that just rocks. In the meantime, and at great risk of dating myself, here’s my tune for when the world makes no sense at all:
We are beer drinkers here, Big B. If not beer, then port of any kind.
Ugly mug happens every Wednesday at the Chop House: bring any mug, $5, and you can drink all the beer on tap that you’d like. The only downside – you can’t drink any New Belgium beers!
You can get Guinness and Boulevard, though! 
Ahh… The Ramones. Wolfman (who used to frequent the blog) is a good friend and big into punk.
I really should start to educate myself on that old school punk!
I haven’t been following closely, but I will cautiously agree with a portion of your frustration: I, too, hear much more rehearsal of stump speeches, from both sides, than legitimate, useful question of judicial philosophy. Of course, as a commentator on MPR’s coverage this morning, said, there is no question that needs to be asked in the hearing, since they are a sham. Said the commentator (an author of a Supreme Court history, I forget the name), the senators are just making speeches, the nominee is too well coached to drop any bombs, and pretty much any legitimate legal question a senator might have can be answered by reading the established record.
Still, I’d like to think there is some value to broadcasting these hearings. Were I coaching debate, I might enjoy having my Lincoln-Douglas debaters sift through the C-SPAN and YouTube recordings and identify key legal and philosophical points they could use in their debate cases!
I thought that Sen. Spector’s and Sen. Hatch’s questioning was really, really interesting. The MSM kept labeling it as “boring” (!) and wouldn’t cover it so much.
I had also considered the problems with broadcasting these hearings (and any Congressional antics really). It’s very helpful because we get to see what these cretins are doing with our money and the like, but for these nomination hearings, broadcasting them almost seems like a detriment (for the reasons that you and I listed).
If you’re a debate coach, have you’re children watch Dinesh D’Souza debates. It’s not in any formal style (just the rules of whichever college he happens to be debating at), but his delivery, respect for the audience, and commend of the subject matter make him a gripping debater.
First, Fastidious, it should be “command of the subject matter,” not “commend.” Second, I wonder if anyone actually checked out those music videos.
This Sotomayor trial has been a circus, albeit an informative one. I’ve learned conclusively that around 2% of folks don’t know anything about the judicial branch’s operation, yet 99% of politicians like to weigh in on them.