The Smarmy Carny

According to Reuters, 69-year-old Russell Teeter has been sentenced to 22 months of wearing a shirt saying "I am a registered sex offender."

Why? For one, because he is a registered sex offender. What's more, however, is that he exposed himself twice to a 10-year-old girl at the gardening business he runs. If this weren't enough, just add the 10 or so previous convictions in the last 30 years, and you've earned yourself a t-shirt.

I have a problem with this whole t-shirt idea — They should make him pay for the shirt, too.

President George W. Bush issued the following statement on the passing of Chief Justice William Rehnquist:

Our nation is saddened today by the news that Chief Justice William Rehnquist passed away last night.

Laura and I send our respect and deepest sympathy to this good man's children, Jim, Janet and Nancy. We send our respect to all the members of the Rehnquist family.

William H. Rehnquist was born and raised in Wisconsin. He was the grandson of Swedish immigrants. Like so many of his generation, he served in the Army during World War II. He went on to college with the help of the G.I. Bill.

He studied law at Stanford University. He graduated first in his class. That included his future colleague Sandra Day O'Connor.

Judge Rehnquist and his late wife, Nan, raised their family in Phoenix, where he built a career as one of Arizona's leading attorneys.

He went on to even greater distinction in public service: as an assistant U.S. attorney general, associate justice of the Supreme Court and, for the past 19 years, chief justice of the United States.

He was extremely well-respected for his powerful intellect. He was respected for his deep commitment to the rule of law and his profound devotion to duty.

He provided superb leadership for the federal court system, improving the delivery of justice for the American people and earning the admiration of his colleagues throughout the judiciary.

Even during a period of illness, Chief Justice Rehnquist stayed on the job to complete the work of his final Supreme Court term.

I was honored and I was deeply touched when he came to the Capitol for the swearing-in last January.

He was a man of character and dedication. His departure represents a great loss for the court and for our country.

There are now two vacancies on the Supreme Court. And it will serve the best interests of the nation to fill those vacancies promptly. I will choose in a timely manner a highly qualified nominee to succeed Chief Justice Rehnquist.

As we look to the future of the Supreme Court, citizens of this nation can also look with pride and appreciation on the career of our late chief justice. More than half a century has passed since William H. Rehnquist first came to the Supreme Court as a young law clerk.

All of those years, William Rehnquist revered the Constitution and the laws of the United States. He led the judicial branch of government with tremendous wisdom and skill.

He honored America with a lifetime of service, and America will honor his memory.

May God bless the Rehnquist family.

Thank you all very much.

This week, Progress for America released a video highlighting Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's fair treatment during her 1993 confirmation hearings.

Watch the Ginsburg Precident video put out by PFA.

The PFA has begun a "Precedent, Not Politics" Roberts Confirmation Tour.

As is common knowledge now, Bush nominated John Roberts Jr. to fill Justice O'Connor's seat on the Supreme Court. The New York Sun referred to Roberts as a "Supreme Court nominee with conservative credentials who would inspire a minimum of fuss at a confirmation hearing." He has been described as a constitutionalist, which is encouraging.

Anti-Life groups are upset that Roberts may attempt to overturn Roe v. Wade because he tried to overturn it during his days as a lawyer, but they can't be so sure about that. At the time, Roberts was arguing on behalf of a client. Additionally, the AP Newswire has noted:

Pressed during his 2003 confirmation hearing for his own views on the matter, Roberts said: "Roe v. Wade is the settled law of the land. … There's nothing in my personal views that would prevent me from fully and faithfully applying that precedent."

Still, Roberts doesn't have a clear record on many issues, which can be disconcerting. He could possibly turn out to be another unintentionally non-conservative nomination to the Supreme Court.

Nonetheless, liberal advocacy groups like People for the American Way and the Alliance for Justice issued statements expressing dissatisfaction with Bush's recommendation, leading me to believe that this is probably an excellent choice.

The Drudge Report overheard liberal New York Senator Chuck Schumer talking about the Supreme Court nominees on his cell phone during an Amtrak ride. Schumer claimed that "We are contemplating how we are going to go to war over this."

Schumer reportedly hinted that they wanted to make sure that the President and Republicans chose a nominee who was more moderate than anticipated, much like the retiring O'Connor, and much unlike Justice Antonin Scalia.

As expected, Schumer dismissed the "Gang of 14" filibuster agreement as irrelevant to any Supreme Court nominee. Did anyone see that one coming?

As expected, Liberals are already moving to attack any of Bush's Supreme Court Nominees.

Before I had even posted about Sandra Day O'Connor's resignation, MoveOn had already sent out an e-mail promising attacks on Bush appointees. This just proves what they've been saying over at UpOrDownVote.com and it really comes as no surprise to me.

Here's the letter put out by MoveOn:

Dear MoveOn member,

Early this morning Sandra Day O'Connor stepped down from the Supreme Court, leaving the first open seat in more than 10 years. As a moderate Justice, she helped protect our rights for decades. With Bush likely to nominate a replacement in a matter of hours or days, our most basic rights and freedoms are suddenly very much up for grabs.

[blah blah blah]

[blah blah blah] In the next few days Bush, the Senate and the media will all be will be listening very carefully–gauging the public reaction to this vacancy and deciding how far they can go.

[blah blah blah]

[blah blah blah] the Republican leadership has exploited every opportunity to attack the basic American right to keep our private choices private, and to make personal decisions without government intrusion.

This vacancy could represent the biggest threat yet.

The only clear indication from Bush about who he might nominate is that he intends to follow the example of his two "model" judges–Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia. These two have weighed in from the far-right fringe for decades, and another judge in their mold could shift the balance on the Court significantly.

[blah blah blah]

On Capitol Hill, today's resignation unleashed a swarm of right-wing fringe groups and corporate lobbyists pushing for a nominee who will favor narrow prejudice and greed over the rights of the American people.

If we can deliver 250,000 signatrures and comments by Tuesday, we can make sure the voice of ordinary Americans can compete with this swarm and tell our senators to stand up for our rights.

Please sign today.

[blah blah blah]

[blah blah blah]

Ben, Joan, Justin, Eli and the MoveOn PAC Team
Friday, July 1st, 2005

P.S. As soon as we heard about the resignation, we put an ad on the air calling for Bush and the Senate to protect our rights and not nominate an extremist. [blah blah blah]

If you like it, help us keep it on the air [blah blah blah]

[blah blah blah]

PAID FOR BY MOVEON PAC
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

Note that they put an ad on the air "as soon as [they] heard about the resignation."

Of course, MO has no doubt that Bush will pick someone who is too far overboard, but they believe that they and their friends have the ability to influence how far overboard. They also paint the picture of Bush as deciding to listen to public opinion only to figure out how much they can get away with. More nonsensical rhetoric from the leftists.

Don't get me wrong — I'm not worrying about MoveOn. After all, they did everything they could do, and Bush still beat out Kerry 51/48! And as far as Scalia is concerned, Bush could hope to do so well in his nomination!

Sandra Day O'Connor announced today that she is retiring after 24 years on the bench. Huzzah!

Sure, O'Connor was a Reagan nomination, but she was also a swing voter. For those annoyed that W gets to "pick one," remind them that he's replacing another Republican choice, and that Clinton got to pick two SC judges.

Senate Liberals, no doubt, are poised to complain about any appointee that Bush offers up, no matter how moderate. I, personally, would be offended if Bush appointed anyone who wasn't deserving of Liberal gripes.

I'm going to be keeping my eye on UpOrDownVote.com, as it looks like it will keep a good eye on the situation. (UODV is run by Progress for America.)

You must see the internet commercial put out by UODV/PFA titled "Ben & George," as it rings true.