Liberal Logic - Various & Sundry Edition

“Anybody who makes $250,000 becomes a millionaire very quickly if you save it. You just need four years"

Gov. Jerry Brown on his millionaire tax that actually starts at $250K per year.  So, the millionaire tax starts at the income level well below what a millionaire makes, and apparently these people don't have to spend any of this money  in a four-year period.  I guess someone is paying all their expenses for them.  Including the really high tax rates they pay in California.

In more local news, Washington, D.C. is like most cities/states, they are in a budget crunch.  They are looking for ways to raise revenues.  They have decided in their infinite wisdom one of the ways to do that is to increase the hours per day that sale of alcohol will be available.  They are considered having it available for purchase 21 hours per day.  Mind you, the buses and metro system don't run until 4 am, but hey, there are "other ways" to get home.  Awesome.  More drunks in D.C.  just what we need.

"Why is a big Gift, a Boat load of money, with no strings attached, a burden to States?"

Justice Elena Kagan during oral arguments on the new Medicare payments to the states.  Oh, I don't know, maybe because it raises everyone taxes and there is no opt out.  And telling them what they spend the money on is an attached string, no?

"I guess my greatest fear, Mr. Clement, with your argument is the following: The bigger the problem, the more resources it needs. We're going to tie the hands of the Federal Government in choosing how to structure a cooperative relationship with the States. We're going to say to the Federal Government, the bigger the problem, the less your powers are. Because once you give that much money, you can't structure the program the way you want."

Justice Sonya Sotomayor during oral arguments on the new Medicare payments to the states.  Yes, that is exactly what we are saying Justice.  It is called federalism.  Maybe you have heard of it.  It is in that document you are supposed to be upholding, remember the oath you took?

 “You are -- you are saying that because you represent a sizeable number of States, you can destroy this whole program, even though there may be as many States that want it, that don't feel coerced, that say -- think this is a good thing?”

Justice Ruth Bader-Ginsburg.  So you want to force the many because of the few?   Typical.

Quote of the Day - Anthony Hager Edition

For a known Regressive jurist to coddle convicted murderers and side with the Ninth "Circus" is completely predictable. Understandable, no, but completely predictable. But to question the safety of a lethal drug? Maybe I'm unclear on the concept. It just seems logical that a drug administered to fulfill a condemned prisoner's death sentence would be, by necessity, unsafe. If the drug were safe, it would have difficulty achieving its stated purpose, now wouldn't it? God help us, what has happened to our brains! Educated jurists speculating on whether or not lethal drugs are safe for their intended use is a sure sign our system has abandoned all sanity and common sense.

Anthony Hager on Elana Kagen's first SCOTUS decision.  The court was hearing a case on the safety of a lethal injection drug.  How exactly did this court case make it to the Supreme Court?  Seriously, a lethal injection drug is unsafe?  Uh, yeah, it is meant to kill you, of course it is unsafe. 

I am not an advocate for the death penalty, matter of fact I strongly oppose it.  That being said, what a complete waste of resources to bring this to the high court. 

You can read full article here. 

Justice Kagan - Kagan Confirmed to Supreme Court

Today, during a very violent thunderstorm, the senate confirmed Elana Kagan to be our next supreme court justice.  Kagan who has no judicial experience will be sworn in on Saturday.  While it is great that that court will have a third woman sitting on the bench, is not the choice of conservatives. 

We don't have a great trail to see how she will vote, yet we can pretty much guess.  She will vote along the liberal voting bloc of the court down the line.  I can't imagine her every stepping outside of that box, regardless of the case in front of her.  Sotomayor told the senate that gun rights is settled law, yet voted against it the first chance she got.  Kagan will be no different. 

Five republicans crossed party lines to vote for her confirmation.  With the current make up the senate, at least one had to. 

Lindsey Graham
Olympia Snowe
Susan Collins
Judd Gregg
Richard Lugar

The only real surprise in this is many people expected Scott Brown to cross over party lines and approve her vote and Lugar.  The other four are par for the course of their voting histories.  Another surprise was Ben Nelson crossing party lines and voting nay.  I think that this has to do with his health care vote more than anything else.  He has already upset the people who will re-elect him, so this seems like nothing more than appeasement.  It also becomes pretty easy knowing that she would get in anyway. 

I happen to believe that Kagan was the best of the bunch that was on the short list, but it certainly isn't good news.  I wonder if Justice Ginsberg is reading the tea leaves and will announce her retirement before the mid term elections which will most certainly put Obama in a position to nominate someone that will have to garner more republican support in order to be confirmed. 

Kagan Nominated to the High Court

Elena Kagan has been nominated for the next justice on The Supreme Court according to the AP. Kagan, who may or may not be gay, if confirmed will be the youngest member of the court. No one will be able to say that she lacks qualifications. The woman has had an excellent education and a very impressive resume; including being the Dean of Harvard Law School. She has virtually no written record to scrutinize and publically her temperament is very even-keeled according to the people that she has worked with over the years.



The one down upside that I have found around the blogosphere is that the far left doesn’t seem to like her much. I think that may be because she has not been very open about her personal viewpoints, which can make one question how she really will vote. If you remember, when George H.W. Bush had his one chance at putting someone on the court, it didn’t quite work out as conservatives would have hoped.


I am not sure what exactly President Obama and Vice President Biden asked her during the interview process, but obviously they feel comfortable enough to nominate her. The one thing that I think that people should keep in mind is that time is running short on the far left trifecta that this administration has. The entire house is up for re-election in a few short months and they effectively will be gone after their August break, and one third of the Senate will also be running for re-election.


President Obama has not given up on Cap and Tax or Immigration “reform”; which will be nothing more than amnesty to the millions of illegal aliens in our midst. Picking someone who is considered to be more middle of the road and easily confirmable is saying to me that is exactly what he is planning on doing, as they are fully aware that once January comes along, they will not be able to get much done for the next two years. Even if the Republicans don’t get control of the house, the overwhelming majority will be gone, and the senate will also be, at least, more evenly divided. This of course will force Obama to be more willing to accept Republican/Conservative ideas in order to get anything done. Not something he has been willing to do much of up until this point. Ultimately, the woman will get confirmed. There is no way that Graham will vote against her. Her level of education and her resume will make him feel that she is well qualified and he will vote for to confirm her. The republicans will, of course, still need to question her with vigor, but they must ask themselves if it will be worth slamming her so close to election day. I think that should be saved for the rest of the President’s agenda this summer. I fully expect the President to get as much done as he can for the rest of this summer while he still can.