At least compared to every other justice appointed since 1953:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PFRWv6GaC00/SkosbeIhqsI/AAAAAAAAAAk/B6Qi7n4_TBQ/s1600-h/Graph.png

http://epstein.law.northwestern.edu/research/SuperMedians.html

I'm unsure when i last saw this list, but here's the top 20:

Comments: the Exorcist is required re-watching for everyone who participated in the jindal discussion -- me, Jordan, Scott, BD, and Blue. Edit: and hobbesist, too.

Fantasia and The Graduate are very good movies.

The Exorcist, Doctor Zhivago, and Jaws are pretty good movies.

The Phantom Menace and Titanic are the only two stinkers on the list as far as I know (I haven't seen Gone With that old Wind or Ben-Hur.)

This list is comforting compared to highest box office grossings that aren't adjusted for inflation. Those lists have way suckier movies on em.

If Jeter is telling the truth, that entire umpiring crew needs to be fired immediately for incompetence--and Selig should join them in oblivion if the firing takes longer than a week. There's been a lot of bad ball and strike calls this year, but ignorance of the rules to that extent should be grounds for immediate termination--and the fact that the others didn't step in to reverse the idiot at third should get them fired, too.

Phillies reps watch Pedro Martinez work out in the Dominican Republic.

Pitching is scarce these days, and the Phillies could use an edge in the East to hold off the Marlins, Braves, and Mets. If Pedro is looking good and his salary demands are not extortionate, the Phillies would probably be wise to snap him up before someone else does.

can I get an Amen-

Look, Israel can determine for itself -- it's a sovereign nation -- what's in their interest and what they decide to do relative to Iran and anyone else.

in China. Massed police look pretty threatening.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/05/china-uighur-riots-xianjing

So a pal of mine just finished eight years on a TV show, and he's decided the best way to celebrate unemployment is to rent a villa on Lake Como for two weeks. And even better, invite me and the family to join him. (His wife is an old friend, his daughter is one of Tess's best friends.)

Mooch Vacation!!

Any suggestions? I'll be in Milan for two days. Then, god help me, driving to Como. So far The Lovely Deanna has identified some outlet shopping opportunities -- including the deleriously excessive outlet mall called Foxtown in Switzerland. Which has its own casino!

Heh.

There's also a bar in Bellagio based on Dante's inferno. The upper story is, well, you know, full of cherubs and a skylight. The basement room is all black light and papier-mache demons. Not sure how they dress up purgatory. Maybe they make you wait an extra long time for a table.

Heh.

Any suggestions would be welcome. Suggestions involving wine or cheese or ham accrue bonus points.

I have no problem with the people selected in this round, but have doubts on the accuracy of the tally.

The site has been acting weird on me for at least since we went back in time, which is weird all by itself. I get kicked out and need to log in again about every 3-4 times I visit, for no apparent reason. Sometimes entire diaries with comments show up after I do so that I could not see before.

Have the election again after some of the recent kinks have been ironed out.

...I was curious but afraid to ask...lol

Today, we have new mods listed...

Congratulations to Bernard, Marcus Aurelius and Sulla.

All hail the brand spanking new Triumvirate!

The term triumvirate (from Latin, "of three men") is commonly used to describe a political regime dominated by three powerful individuals. The arrangement can be formal or informal, and though the three are usually equal on paper, in reality this is rarely the case.

Let the internecine warfare begin!

Best Wishes, Traveller

Whatever. I'm sick of that guy.

http://www.metafilter.com/83015/Wayne-Whipples-Peace-Flag

On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress passed its Flag Resolution which described the flag only in general terms. "Resolved that the flag of the United States be 13 stripes alternate red and white, that the union be 13 stars white in a blue field representing a new constellation." Nothing in the resolution dictated how the stars and stripes were to be arranged, resulting in some interesting designs.

So says a well-crafted internet website. So, if this is true, western tradition seems to be moving away, slowly, from its Enlightenment roots. Which may not be a bad development for us, as it will be interesting to see which way the debate moves in the next 20 years.

Of the BRIC countries, Russia has a strong tradition of atheism, derived from the legacy of the Soviet Union. I would put China and ourselves, philosophically, on the side of evolution because of the consonance with Hindu, Buddhist and Confucian views. I have no idea how strong Brazil's RC tradition is, but I hear a bit about evangelism, group exorcisms etc there, so it may not be too different from the general trend in the west. What is also interesting is the close connection between free marketeers and evangelicals. I've linked to this series before.

Former Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair has been killed, a source has confirmed to ESPN.com.

McNair, 36, suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the head in downtown Nashville, police spokesperson Don Aaron said. A female victim was also found dead. Aaron said the woman has not been identified, pending notification of next of kin.

The incident happened near 2nd South & Lea Ave in Nashville.

**********

I know Nashville a little, I wonder what the real story is?

Still, only 36 years old...too damned young.

I'm curious if it's a suicide or a crime of double homicide?

traveller

The inevitable happens with two out in the top of the first inning.

A Padre fan caught the ball, and was asked by the FOX guy in the stands why he didn't throw it back, and got the "well, duh" answer: "Because it's worth a lot of money!"

American capitalism is alive and well in San Diego on the Fourth of July, and thank God for it.

Honduras withdraws from OAS.

No dedicated sports bars in my neighborhood. Well, that's a lie. There is one, but they're not too fun at all, and cater to rich dillweeds.

So I go to the "real bar" after Manny had been to the plate twice. 0 for 1 with a walk.

"They'll walk him all night", said Trav, (not you, Trav, but a buddy of mine half our age who's an extreme Dodger fan, and a bit of a drunk.) Score: 5-Zip.

"What's with the red hats, guy?", I yelled. The Dodgers were wearing red caps. WTF???

"Don't know. Maybe it's a 4th of July thing. It sucks. Looks like Angels caps", he snarled, grimacing.

"I know, it's because Manny's back and he's on the rag", I offered, innocently.

Travis cocks his fist, and threatens to remove my jaw. All in fun, of course. After all, Manny's got girl hair, and he got caught using girl drugs, so..........

Bartender buys me my second pint.

Padres hit a homer. Clean shot. I go outside to taunt. Travis doesn't like watching Dodger defense, only offense. He'd rather smoke and drink when the enemy is at the plate. "Kurosawa's done for", I offered, purposely mis-pronouncing Kuroda's name.

"We got more, just wait." Travis knows he's being needled, but considering the source, he chuckles, corrects me, then insults me good and proper.

Next thing I know, some Padre launches another one, got it all, and only a fine leaping catch by Juan Pierre saves a certain homer. Replay reveals that Pierre simply loped over a few yards and made an easy catch. Third pint. What do you expect? I'm a lightweight, drinkee-wise.

I'm chatting up the bartender and drift away from the game a bit. After all, she bought me a pint, and she's a fine lass, except for the extra poundage and the tattoos. But what the heck. She's got a Dodger tee shirt, and has a rather fetching sway when she walks. Dodgers up 6-3. The 7th inning just takes forever. She offers me "Yeager-Bomb". I gracefully decline. I'm a lightweight and I've gotta bicycle home. No cabs for Zelig. (Yea, I know what that drink is, I just don't care to explain.)

I look up. Ninth inning. Padres up. "Who is that horse", I gasp as the Dodger closer lets one fly. "Broxton", Steve the bar-back replies. He's drying a glass and can't take his eyes off the screen. Broxton unleashes another. Holy crap. I slap my head. 101 mph fastball, right down the pipe. Game over. A few more pitches, and the game was really was over.

Dodgers win 6-3.

Anybody needing any accuracy regarding this pretty good baseball game should google it. All I got are impressions. Go Dodgers.

...weird for the Republican party for a while now.

I voted for Bush 1, (I must have lost my mind), but even for me...it just seems odd how terrible things are for Republicans.

Like Karma coming home in a vicious way or something.

Twilight Zone I tell you.

We have somehow stepped into an alternate reality.

There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone.

Traveller

Manny walks in first trip to the plate--Dodgers score five runs before the seats get warm.

It's the pine for you, Mr. Pierre.

Cubans get outsmarted by another baseball prospect.

If he's 21, he may end up as a left-handed version of Stephen Strasburg. If he's 26, he's still going to make a pile of money.

that will allow me to send emails to more than 300 recipients at a time. Ideally, to be managed from the Mail app in Mac OSX. Any suggestions?

Gmail tops out at 100. I created a hosted website with Cablevision but they only go up to 250.

--and it wants its Wimbledon Men's Singles final back. Andy Roddick broke British hearts everywhere by beating Andy Murray, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6, 7-6, to advance to the finals.

While Roddick has been playing some great tennis this year--a SF at the Aussie, his best ever result at the French (R16), and now his first major final in I-honestly-don't-know-how-long (2005 Wimbledon?)--let's not kind ourselves. All the necessary "Any given Sunday"/recognition of epistemic limits/stranger-things-have-happened qualifications notwithstanding, I think we're looking at Federer's 15th. Taking this one to four sets would qualify as a good result for (the other) A-Rod, and even that may be too much to ask.

The Rolex commercials are going to be unbearable.

Your crack assassination team arrived at Petco Park one day too soon.

I sure couldn't understand much of her statement. It didn't make a whole lotta sense. Is she an idiot or something?

What do you think her family was thinking?

Is this an outside-the-box prelude to 2012?

Why couldn't her kid -- the one in slippers -- keep still for 7 minutes while on National TV? She looked to be around 8 yrs. old. That's old enough not to stare at the ground, shuffle and make noise while mommy is speaking to the media.

How could Palin ever take a job in the media? She can barely talk with a script. Does anyone else notice this?

I wonder if Todd...

... vagrant enough for ya, Trav.?