NOT a trailer for the new Star Trek Film...

Roland Burris

"I love this part. He was turned away because they said he didn't meet the high standards of the Senate. Gee. I wonder which senator turned him down. Do you think it was the one who embezzled the money? Maybe it was the one that got caught with the hooker? I know, I'll bet it was the one caught fornicating near the urinal in the airport bathroom." --Jay Leno

Aside from the issue of whether or not the Senate SHOULD refuse to seat Roland Burris, is the perhaps more interesting issue of whether the Senate CAN refuse to seat him. Article I; Section 5 of the United States Constitution provides in relevant part: “Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns and qualifications of its own members.”

From that, it would seem pretty straightforward that the Senate does have the power. But Supreme Court precedent would seem to disagree. In the case of Powell v. McCormack (1969), the Supreme Court ruled that the House of Representatives could not refuse to seat Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. (who had been embroiled in scandal). The Court ruled that the House could not add additional qualifications to those in the Constitution (age, residency, and citizenship).

I doubt that the Burris case will make it to the Supreme Court, but it would be interesting to see if the Roberts Court would agree with the Warren Court decision.

As to whether Burris should be seated, it is highly unlikely I would be enthusiastic about anyone appointed by a Democratic governor. But I recently read something that makes me particularly concerned about Burris. Politico is reporting that “Burris sought death for innocent man.”

While state attorney general in 1992, Burris aggressively sought the death penalty for Rolando Cruz, who twice was convicted of raping and murdering a 10-year-old girl in the Chicago suburb of Naperville. The crime took place in 1983.

But by 1992, another man had confessed to the crime, and Burris' own deputy attorney general was pleading with Burris to drop the case, then on appeal before the Illinois Supreme Court.

Burris refused. He was running for governor.

Deputy attorney general Mary Brigid Kenney ended up resigning in protest. Personally, I have no respect for any prosecutor more concerned with getting convictions than ensuring justice. Those willing to let an innocent man rot in prison for political advantage deserve to change places with that innocent man. Burris was willing to let Cruz stay on DEATH ROW. He certainly should not be elected (or selected) to the Senate.

Hopefully, Illinois will impeach Blagojevich with all deliberate speed.

For Sale in Illinois

"President-elect Barack Obama said he got a little choked up as he left his house in Chicago and headed for Washington, D.C. It was especially painful because as soon as he left, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich sold Obama's house." --Conan O'Brien

"President-elect Barack Obama and his family made the move from Chicago to Washington, D.C., over the weekend, so their daughters, Malia and Sasha, could start school with the other kids coming back from break. They're enrolled in the Sidwell Friends School, which is a very exclusive private school. Chelsea Clinton went there, and to give you an idea of how exclusive it is, someone got ahold of the school lunch menu. Now this for real. One day menu's, local pumpkin and sage soup, salad du jour, Caesar salad, chopped salad, spaghetti and meatballs, roasted butternut squash [on screen: a copy of the menu]. Disgusting, really disgusting stuff. No one would feed to that kind of garbage to their children. And while that might seem like a bit much for a bunch of 6-, 7- and 8-year old kids, I was actually looking through their wine list this morning and it's very reasonably priced. What would you recommend with Funyons, a Chablis?" --Jimmy Kimmel

"And for the next two weeks, President-elect Barack Obama will be living full-time at a hotel right across the street from the White House. This is historic because this is the first time a Democrat has checked into a Washington hotel room under his own name." --Jay Leno

"Hey, congratulations to Gov. Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol, who had her baby. They named the baby Tripp, which is better than the name Sarah Palin suggested. She wanted to call the kid Joe the baby." --Jay Leno

The Downside of the Detroit Bailout

An A Capella Star Wars Tribute To John Williams

Obama, Japan

"This is weird. In Japan, officials in a small town called Obama -- there's a town in Japan called Obama -- say they're going to invite Barack Obama to visit. Yeah. And actually, a similar trip happened after Bill Clinton was elected, and he was invited to Horndog, Thailand." --Conan O'Brien

"Barack Obama spent his first day as president-elect putting together his transition team. And if you believe MSNBC, by tomorrow he will have chosen all 12 of his disciples." --Jay Leno

What A Difference One Percent Makes

Obama Headquarters

"And, of course, it was a huge celebration over at Barack Obama headquarters, otherwise known as MSNBC." --Jay Leno

"All the major networks declared Barack Obama the winner at 11 last night, except for MSNBC, which declared Obama the winner six months ago." --Conan O'Brien

"Hey, did I call it or what? Six months ago I predicted Ralph Nader would come in third. Did I call it?" --Jay Leno

"A huge turnout in Hollywood. In fact, for the first time ever, there were more celebrities in voting booths than in rehab." --Jay Leno

"Anybody get a robo-call from Bill Clinton? They had those out there, too. See, I knew it was from Clinton right away, because if a man answers, it automatically hangs up." --Jay Leno

"And in what has to be one of the most ridiculous moments yesterday, it looks like convicted Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska has won re-election. How does that make the guy who lost feel, huh? What's that concession speech like? 'We gave it our best, but the voters preferred a convicted, 84-year-old felon.'" --Jay Leno

Racism On The Hard Left

As I said in my last post, racism isn't dead. But it can be found in surprising places. It turns out that Barack Obama and I have something in common. We have both been called a name by Ralph Nader. As I explained in my very first post to this blog, Nader once referred to me as a fascist child of the ruling class. Now Nader has referred to Obama as an Uncle Tom. In this video, Shepherd Smith of Fox News tries to give Nader a chance to backtrack. But he throws it back in Smiths face.



To my mind, Nader had one redeeming feature. His third-party runs took votes away from the Democratic candidate. Alas, it seems that Nader has no redeeming features left.

A Reason To Celebrate

Let me first say congratulations to Barak Obama.

I didn’t vote for Obama and I strongly believe he was the wrong choice. Not because of a character flaw, but because I believe the policies he will attempt to enact will be the wrong ones for this country.

But there is still good reason to celebrate Obama’s victory, even if you are a Republican. Oh how far we have come. A little more than 3 months after I was born, Martin Luther King was assassinated. 40 years later an African-American has been elected president.

Some will say that this election proves racism is a thing of the past. I wish it were so. Racism is still with us, though much weaker then it was. The power of racism, in my opinion, has been both magnified and exaggerated for some time. I saw it as an employment attorney interviewing prospective clients who believed they were fired because of their race, and I saw it again with my students in the South Bronx. Racial discrimination is often blamed for adversity, even where it doesn’t exist. What is truly awful is when racism is used as an excuse not to try. Why should I work hard if people are just going to discriminate against me?

Obama’s election has conclusively demonstrated that racism and racists are not nearly as powerful as some have thought them to be. I fervently hope that this election will bring the United States closer to the dream of a color blind society.

I wish Barak Obama and our country success over the next four years. I will do my best to help by being a vocal critic of our President elect as I become a member of the loyal opposition.

RIP Don LaFontaine

Don LaFontaine, the voice of what seems like the majority of movie trailers over the past 25 years, passed away on Monday. I had known the voice but not the face until the Geico commercial and a New York Lottery commercial. The good folks at Funny or Die put together a nice tribute video.

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

That's Liberal Hypocrisy

There has been a great deal of criticism over Sara Palin’s agreeing to run for vice-president even though she has young children at home. At first I dismissed it, but then I thought a little deeper about it. They may have a point. The children are our future and a parent’s first priority must be raising their children. It is far more important than personal ambition. The pressures of running the country really aren’t compatible with the responsibilities of raising young children. That is why I believe Barack Obama should drop out of the race.

Barack Obama? But he’s not a mother? But he is a father with 2 young daughters.

To be serious for a second, I find the criticism of Palin’s decision to accept the nomination deeply offensive. Remember that criticism is coming from liberals and Democrats with the media scrambling to find conservatives or Republicans that will join in with only limited success. It is the liberals that are being sexist here, that are reinforcing the glass ceiling that Hillary Clinton was trying to tear down.

I consider myself a feminist in that I believe a woman should have the opportunity to pursue any career a man might pursue, though they should also be free without social stigma to choose raising a family over a career. Women should also be free of sexual harassment in the workplace. But obviously I must be missing something because it seems to many liberal feminists are silent or are joining in the piling on of Palin. The National Organization of Women reflexively supports Bill Clinton, accused not only of sexual harassment but of rape, but attacks Sara Palin because she is “not the right woman” Ok, fine they disagree with her on the issues, But they should still be speaking out her right to raise a family and pursue the second highest office in the land.

That’s hypocrisy for you.