• Politics,  Supreme Court

    SCOTUS WATCH: A NEW JUSTICE Nominated Tomorrow?

    Michelle Malkin has SCOTUS PICK: WHO WILL IT BE?

    Fox News reporting tonight that the White House will announce its SCOTUS pick tomorrow.

    The Washington Post has Bush May Name New Court Nominee on Monday

    Real Clear Politics has a round-up of SCOTUS vacancy news (see right sidebar).

    SCOTUS Blog looks at front-runners.

    Reuters/WaPo on Alito and Luttig.


    The Prowler
    hears it will be Judge Samuel Alito. So does Erick at Confirm Them.

    Todd Zywicki hears Luttig, and and also points to Ideoblog’s analysis of Alito’s business and commercial law jurisprudence.

    Patterico takes a closer look at Alito’s dissent in Casey.

    Hugh Hewitt supports Luttig and underscores his War on Terror rulings. More background here.

    Flap has his choices SCOTUS WATCH: LUTTIG vs. ALITO? and SCOTUS Watch: A NEW Short List.

    Reuters has Luttig, Alito contenders as Bush mulls court pick.

    President George W. Bush on Saturday was narrowing his choices of Supreme Court nominees to replace Harriet Miers as Republicans said the short list consisted of highly credentialed, solidly conservative judges.

    Among the candidates most talked about were appeals court judges Michael Luttig and Samuel Alito. Bush, who is spending the weekend at his Camp David retreat, was expected to unveil his choice within days.

    A source close to the selection process who spoke on condition of anonymity said avoiding a battle with Democrats, who have warned Bush about picking a right-wing activist, would not be the president’s top priority.

    “What we know from the Miers nomination is that people on all sides of the political spectrum wanted the highest quality, and that’s what the president will deliver,” the source said.

    “I think it will be extremely difficult for Senate Democrats to oppose someone who is extraordinarily well qualified and who shares the president’s judicial philosophy,” the source added.

    Previously on Flapsblog, SCOTUS Watch: A NEW Short List.

    Samuel Alito, a 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge from Philadelphia.

    J. Michael Luttig of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, considered one of the most conservative judges on the federal bench.

    Luttig, 51, a judge on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, worked as a clerk for Scalia when Scalia was an appeals court judge.

    He helped in the effort to get Thomas and Supreme Court Justice David Souter — both nominated to the high court by Bush’s father — confirmed by the Senate. Luttig also has worked in the Justice Department and private practice.

    Alito, 55, is sometimes given the nickname “Scalito” — a comparison to Scalia, who shares his Italian heritage as well as his reputation for conservatism and a strong intellect. He is a judge on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia.

    Both men are fine judges on the federal court of appeals.

    President Bush could not go wrong with either of them.

    In addition to Luttig and Alito, Bush is also said to be looking at appeals court judges Michael McConnell, Edith Jones and Alice Batchelder.

    Priscilla Owen and Janice Rogers Brown are also possibilities, although the two judges — who were named to the appellate court by Bush — were initially blocked by Senate Democrats before making it through on a compromise deal.

    Flap handicaps the following choices in order of probability:

    1. Samuel Alito

    2. J. Michael Luttig

    3. Priscilla Owen

    4. Janice Rogers Brown

    5. Michael McConnell

    6. Edith Jones

    All six of these judges would make excellent nominees for the Supreme Court.

    Stay Tuned…….

    Update #1

    Knowing the President likes surprises Flap is mentioning another great judge of the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, Sixth CircuitAlice Moore Batchelder.

    Flap still thinks it will be Alito but with President Bush you never know……….

    Stay tuned………

  • Arnold Schwarzenegger,  Bear Flag League,  California,  Election 2006,  Politics,  Proposition 73,  Proposition 74,  Proposition 75,  Proposition 76,  Proposition 77,  Special Election 2005

    California Special Election Watch: Schwarzenegger in FULL Campaign Mode

    California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger speaks to the media while touring the Koreatown Galleria in Los Angeles, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2005. Elected two years ago to shake up a stagnated statehouse, the Republican governor is trying out various campaign messages in the closing days of a political campaign in which he hopes to push through a slate of ballot initiatives that would weaken public employee unions and clamp down on state spending.

    The San Francisco Chronicle has Schwarzenegger trolls for votes at San Diego restaurant

    Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger waded into a lunchtime crowd Sunday to kick off a final full week of campaigning for his four state ballot initiatives, telling customers waiting on shrimp salad and clam chowder that lawmakers have failed them.

    Schwarzenegger emerged quietly, without introduction, from the kitchen of Point Loma Seafoods. For 45 minutes, he shook hands, handed out campaign booklets, signed autographs and posed for photos. There were no speeches, no loudspeakers and — unlike many of his appearances — no protests.

    “Remember one thing: the Legislature couldn’t do it, so the people have to do it,” he told one customer.

    “The people have done a better job than the Legislature,” he told another, his voice barely carrying in the noisy crowd.

    With close races for Proposition 74 and 75 the Governor has taken the show on the road. Will it be enough?

    Why, of course!

    California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger speaks to members of the Persian community during a roundtable discussion in Los Angeles, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2005.

    Technorati Tags: , , , , , , ,

    Cross-posted to the Bear Flag League Special Election Page

  • Criminals,  Dentistry

    Dentistry Today: You Remember Me?

    Dr. David Gong murdered by his patient, Hailu Abje of San Francisco.

    The San Francisco Chronicle has Patient shoots dentist dead, then himself.

    Only theory police have so far is that man may have blamed doctor for bad teeth

    A 56-year-old dentist was shot and killed Thursday on the sidewalk near his San Francisco office by one of his patients, who said only, “You remember me?” before opening fire, police and witnesses said.

    The gunman then crossed the street, got into his car, and shot and killed himself.

    Police investigators, relatives and co-workers of the dentist, David Gong of San Francisco, were at a loss to understand why the 44-year-old patient killed him. They said the gunman, identified as Hailu Abje of San Francisco, had gum problems and had gone to Gong for treatment, but no one knew of any trouble between the two men.

    This is an unbelievable story.

    Mental illness can be the only explanation.

    Police investigator Dave Kamita studies items believed to be the victim’s strewn along the sidewalk at Jackson and Polk streets.

  • CIA Leak Case,  Liberal Morons,  Politics

    CIA Leak Case Watch: Apologize?

    Vice President Dick Cheney speaks at a rally at Robins Air Force Base Friday, Oct. 28, 2005 in Warner Robins, Ga. Cheney issued a statement saying he had accepted I. Lewis ‘Scooter’ Libby Jr. resignation ‘with deep regret.’ He added that Libby was entitled to a presumption of innocence in the case and praised his longtime aide as ‘one of the most capable and talented individuals I have ever known.’

    The ASSociated Press has Bush, Cheney Urged to Apologize for Aides.

    Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said Sunday thatPr esident Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney should apologize for the actions of their aides in theCIA leak case.

    Reid, D-Nev., also said Bush should pledge not to pardon any aides convicted as a result of the investigation into the disclosure of CIA officer Valerie Plame’s identity.

    “There has not been an apology to the American people for this obvious problem in the White House,” Reid said. He said Bush and Cheney “should come clean with the American public.”

    Reid added, “This has gotten way out of hand, and the American people deserve better than this.”

    Senator Reid must be SENILE.

    Did Reid ever hear of due process of law and the presumption of innocence?

    Reid also said that Karl Rove, the president’s closest political adviser, should step down. Rove has not been charged with a crime.

    This is laughable – just like Fitzpatrick’s case against Libby.

    REID = MORON