Eugene Robinson on Sotomayor

In this column, Eugene Robinson, columnist for the Washington Post, talks about the Sotomayor nomination. In particular, he discusses the Ricci case, which critics have charged show her as a reverse racist, in fact hinged on the point of law as to whether the city of New Haven, CT had acted legally in cancelling a test. The decision was that they did. Note, the case was NOT to decide which firefighters were qualified.

Higher Education

This article looks at higher education in America and argues that its greatest failing is that does not teach students to be self-aware thinkers. Not an original idea, but an important one.

What I'd do if I could go back in Time

...is the title of one of those rather silly Likeness quizzes available on Facebook. As usual, few of the ten answers fit what I would do, and for years I've pondered off and on about writing a science fiction novel around what I'd do, and a friend and I have had several discussions of it.

What I'd do seems to show my librarian's heart... I'd go back to the burning(s) of the Library of Alexandria, and rescue all the materials stored there. Then I'd go find other such lost treasures. For example, the ancient Irish used runes on sticks to record their law codes and more, and I'd love to save them. Another thing I'd do is get DNA samples from great leaders (using, of course, my own definition of great leaders) and study them, and maybe clone them. Would need to think a lot about the ethical implications of that last one.

Sotomayor on Bias

This article quotes more completely what Judge Sotomayor has to say on the subject of judge's personal bias, and what she says is very reasonable.

"Conflict" between Science and Religion

This post on the always interesting About.com Alternative Religions page discusses the "conflict" between science and religion very intelligently and with a high degree of sanity - in my humble opinion.

Interesting article on Gay Marriage

This article by a bisexual mixed-race man makes the argument that the next step in the marriage equality battle ought to be lawsuits in federal courts, that several court cases that have been decided in favor of gay right and interracial marriage give good precedents that the Supreme Court would likely follow in deciding for gay marriage rights.

Susan Boyle's Disabilities

This article mentions what I hadn't known before, that Boyle has learning disabilities and neurological damage from not getting enough oxygen at one point. Despite that, she took care of her mother until the mother died two years ago, and she had the guts to enter the competition, where she performed magnificently. For someone who has lived as isolated a life as she has to suddenly have so much attention on her would be hard for anyone to deal with. I understand that she has entered a treatment facility for nervous exhaustion AFTER winning 2nd place in the talent show. She has plans to make an album though. What a great example of courage she is, and I'm so glad she has her chance to shine.