Alito Confirmed

It is good to see Alito finally confirmed to the US Supreme Court. If Roberts and Alito do not drift to the left (as often happens on the court) then there should be a solid four votes on the Court that consistently respect the text of the Constitution and not their whims and policy preferences.

Kennedy now remains the lone swing vote. It will be interesting to see how he votes in the future. Will he continue to move left and sustain a 5-4 majority for Roe and other key social decisions or will he be wooed to the right by the intellectual fire power of Scalia, Roberts, Alito, and Thomas?

Only time will tell...

ROSE BOWL 2006

My first real post of the year, must address the Rose Bowl.

I was lucky enough to be in attendance of one of the greatest College Football games ever played. I am a huge USC fan so I was disappointed with the eventual outcome, however as a college football fan I was exhilirated to see two amazing teams slug it out in an instant classic. Here are some random thoughts on the game:

1. The Rose Bowl is one of the great public events ever. The environment the aescetics of the Rose Bowl are unsurpassed by any other bowl and by few if any other public events. It is just great to be there and soak it in.

2. USC was in command with 6 minutes left in the game...only to let it slip away. I would put it this way...USC opened the door just a crack and Vince Young kicked it in!

3. The Texas fans were at first cocky and by the end of the game they were relieved and overjoyed at having won. They were also very good winners. More than a few offered me congratulations and remarked how well USC played.

4. One Texas fan behind me remarked after the first play (USC got stuffed by the Texas defense) "This is not a Pac-10 defense you are facing!" yelling for anyone to hear. As USC passed for a first down on the next play I shouted back, "This isn't a Big-12 offense YOU are facing!" By the end of the game he had learned to respect USC's offense and he had kind things to say about the Trojans even in victory.

5. Why did Reggie Bush pitch the ball? (this probably cause a 6-10 pt swing in the game). Why did USC use a time out on the Texas extra point? They could have used it to try and get a feild goal with 19 seconds left in the game.

6. I hate instant replay.

7. The second Vince Young broke for the endzone I knew he was in...

8. I am glad I was able to enjoy history in the making.

I am bitterly disappointed...but What a great game!

New Year... Welcome Back

Obviously I have not been faithful to posting every day. The Semester became quite demanding and I was not as able to blog as much as I would have liked. I look forward to getting back on track and posting more regularly.