What's been on my mind lately? Read on...
It’s my last day of work today. Next is three weeks of packing up and finishing up in Boston, then I hit the road for two months of vacation – not bad!
There are a few things I’d like to do before I leave town, notably:
I’m sure I’ll add to the list in the next couple weeks.
I finished scanning in a roll of 120 size film from the Rolleiflex last night – there’s a picture from New York and a couple from the Somerville Open Studios opening reception a few weeks back. Check ’em out here.
I was disappointed the other day to find that O Cantinho had replaced their amazing (and cheap) sandwiches and appetizers with a full-blown dinner menu. They still offer the sandwiches and stuff for lunch, but it’s all real entrees at dinner time. Aside from changing the menu, they spruced the place up in an attempt to make you feel good about paying $20 a dish (instead of $20 for a complete dinner for two). I’m sad – it was one of my favorite Boston restaurants.
In spite of the rain, there were plenty of people out and about for the Somerville Open Studios. Definitely check out the former Masonic Temple on College Ave if you get a chance.
In the rest of the world, May 1st is Labor Day, however in the US, it’s Law Day. In 2002, President Bush released this proclamation about Law Day, saying, among other things:
“Our forefathers imagined a well-qualified judiciary put in place through a dynamic and constructive interaction between the executive and legislative branches of Government. Under our Constitution, the President selects individuals for nomination to the Federal judiciary and the Senate provides its advice and consent. In all cases, both branches of Government strive to make certain that only men and women of the highest intellect, character, integrity, judgment, and experience are appointed to serve our Nation and its citizens in these critical positions.”
Now, given this list of blocked judges (a scant 7 out of hundreds nominated), how many of them fit the qualification of being able to “render decisions that are based upon the law and facts of each case, without regard for popular opinion or political or other extraneous pressures?”
As I was searching for more information about these folks, I found the Department of Justice’s own website for Judicial Nominations. For example, on the page for Priscilla Owen, several links are provided to documents supporting her nomination (and none contesting it). The contradictory nature of these documents would be amusing if it weren’t so awful – for example, one justifies Owen’s unconstitutional stance on abortion by citing the percent of the population in Texas that supports the procedure. Fortunately, our rights are not determined by a majority vote (and especially not a majority vote in Texas).
As a side note, if the administration is so concerned with the public opinion and majority rule, why aren’t they listening to polls like this?
Aside from the appalling idea that Senate Republicans may exercise their “nuclear” option and push the nominees through, I was pretty surprised that there are documents from organizations like Concerned Women for America posted on the Department of Justice website without any disclaimer or counter-opinion. This group gave their America Patriot Award to Jesse Helms for his “fights against liberalism, abortion, and the homosexual agenda.” Can I post a rebuttal on the DoJ site? I gave Jesse Helms an award, too, but it didn’t have the word “patriot” in the title…
Be sure to check out all the art this weekend at the Somerville Open Studios, especially Tova’s art and Dan’s photographs at Maven Realty in Davis Square.
I was introduced to a great game last night – Blockus. It’s one of those simple-to-explain games that turns out to be really fun to play and difficult to play well. It’s on my list of things to get once I’m settled on the West Coast.