And after that ridiculous rant, some cooler words from the Claremont Institute:

I sympathize with conservatives who desire to have Congress overrule court decisions when those decisions are wrong. But this reaction is more a sign of desperation, less a commitment to constitutionalism. Too often the conservative preference for Congress over the courts rests on nothing but unqualified majoritarianism, the central problem the Federalist aimed to solve. Many conservative pundits are fixated on the fact that federal judges and justices are unelected; but when they lament “unelected judges,” they are in fact lamenting the Constitution of Madison and Hamilton.

The Constitution wisely separates power between and among three branches of government, with Congress the most popular among the branches, the presidency less so, and the courts most (though not completely) removed from the people. Our problem is not unelected judges, but the fact that for at least half a century all three branches have largely ignored the Constitution and have produced laws, policies, and judgments that stand in violation of it. And too often, the American people have elected and re-elected men and women to constitutional office who have little regard for the Constitution.

The emphasis of our politics should be the Constitution and what it means. Rediscovering the original intent of the Establishment Clause is as good a place as any to begin, and we should applaud Mr. Hostettler for his efforts.

Quite right, and I must strive to live those words, whether anybody else does or not.

Cole, again with the over-the-top scolding bullshit:

Life, for me at least, can not be reduced to a beating heart or a cluster of cells with the potential to become a human. Regardless, someone elses moral certainty about what life is does not give them the legal right to impose that viewpoint on other people. Michael and Terri Schiavo were not to be afforded the right to do what they felt was best in this situation, because Michael and Terri Schiavo’s concept of life differed from what some in the Right to Life community believe.

One is left to wonder exactly what Cole believes life is, or as in this case, can be reduced to. Swear to God, I’ve asked him that question one hundred different ways, and he can’t, or won’t, answer it. Rule of law, he whimpers, sneaking a peek out from behind his mommy’s skirts. His own moral certainty, and the mind-bending arrogance assumed thereby, leaves me slack-jawed…he believes himself infallible. Which is why I’ve come to the determination that Cole is a piss-poor thinker. It is somehow literally impossible for him to connect all of the disparate facts that played out over one and one-half decades in the Schiavo case. For Cole, it only comes down to what a judge says. Which should certainly come in handy over the years, no? Judge says this, judge says that, that’s the way he’ll jump.

But that’s a horrible mindset to have. One other judge awarded more than one million dollars to be spent on taking care of Teri Schiavo in perpetuity, as Michael Schiavo swore, under oath, in front of that same judge, to do. Why is Cole not taking up the vain defense of that judge’s order? One wonders, but only for a little bit, if one has any sense of the world we live in and the direction in which it is headed (with well-intentioned but wrong-headed fools like Cole pouring it on). Which, let’s not forget, has been certified, in Florida and by the Supremes, to be that if you’ve committed NO crime, you’re no use to anyone and your spouse wishes it (and you’ve got blood money in the bank to pay the lawyers), the courts can just outright kill you.

All of Cole’s handwaving and “rule of law” about judges is completely besides the point. Never forget that Cole is an academic, practicing in academia (and he’s probably bouncing off the walls that this comes down during summer break). He lives in a world that is, to my eyes, completely insulated. I base this on my (thankfully, exceedingly rare) brushes with academicians. They seem to live by rules, committees, meetings, quorums. That’s ultimately neither here nor there, but it’s important to establish the facts.

But I’ll have no more of this ridiculous notion that it is impossible for judges to fail and that it’s wrong for Americans to petition for redress against their failures. This is America, and by God, those son-of-a-bitches work for ME. Like-minded folks just might go and elect representatives that will work to redress those grievances at every opportunity (another whiny bitch of Cole’s). Being an academician and an egghead of the highest order, Cole has forgotten that it’s possible, in a republic, to do that very thing. That failure of memory, of history, is the ultimate failing of all the elitist bastards who know better than everybody else, and why I find them so damned contemptible. Worse than that, for a theoretical conservative and theoretical libertarian, Cole has ceded dominion of the individual to the state. And that, my friends, is beyond contempt.

It’s equally impossible for Cole to shut his yap up, which I find totally hilarioius:

Well, not really. The Happy Dance of Death goes on and on and, I presume, ever on, until we all fall over, dead of our own hand from being surrounded by such pusillanimous toads.

Thanks to Dr. Pauly, I know that my hero and virtual mentor, TJ Cloutier, is at the final table of the $5K NL event out at the WSOP. Play resumes in an hour and a half. I hope he kicks some young punk* boo-tay, and rides that to a Main Event win. He’s due, and he deserves it.

And if any of you jacklegs want to get me an autographed (”To The Fat Guy”) copy of his book, I’ll PayPal ye.

* Us old guys mature gentlemen gotta stick together.

I’ve mentioned EverNote here before. It’s still in beta, but it’s bloody well essential to the way I run my life after only 6 months of using it. I strongly recommend that you go give it a look if you’re an organizer putz who digs productivity porn. Here are a bunch of user stories that will kick-start some cool ways of thinking about how to use it. For what it’s worth, all of my bidnesses are run off this thing, and I’ve really only barely scratched the surface of it’s geekitude.

I am, however, still patiently (and growing growlingly impatient as the days and weeks pass) waiting for the Palm synch. I think my digital life will be complete when that hits.

Idiot headline of the day: Chronic Insomnia Baffles Sleep Experts

I guess if it didn’t baffle the experts, the experts, operating under an appropriate lack of bafflement, could cure it, and it wouldn’t be chronic, now would it?

I swear…they actually pay people to write that kind of article.