Wednesday, April 09, 2025
Well, Justice Sotomayor has had it...
Yesterday the Supreme Court issued a 5-4 ruling in Trump v. J.G.G., vacating a DC Circuit Court opinion that upheld a temporary restraining order against the Trump administration that attempted to stop the government from deporting Venezuelan nationals under the Alien Enemies Act. The four dissenters were Justices Jackson, Kagan, Sotomayor, and Barrett. The most striking part of the dissent was this, from Justice Sotomayor:
Far from acting “fairly” as to the controversy in District Court, the Government has largely ignored its obligations to the rule of law. From the start, the Government sought to avoid judicial review, “hustl[ing] people onto those planes” without notice or public Proclamation apparently “in the hopes of evading an injunction or perhaps preventing them from requesting the habeas hearing to which the Government now acknowledges they are entitled.” That the District Court is engaged in a sincere inquiry into whether the Government willfully violated its March 15, 2025, order to turn around the planes should be reason enough to doubt that the Government appears before this Court with clean hands. That is all the more true because the Government has persistently stonewalled the District Court’s efforts to find out whether the Government in fact flouted its express order.
The Government’s conduct in this litigation poses an extraordinary threat to the rule of law. That a majority of this Court now rewards the Government for its behavior with discretionary equitable relief is indefensible. We, as a Nation and a court of law, should be better than this. I respectfully dissent.
So, there's that. But still, a dissent.
Tuesday, April 08, 2025
My Wordle Habit
For the past several years, I have played Wordle pretty much every day-- and most days I write a little poem about it on Facebook. There are a lot of people who have dropped the habit, but I can't shake it. Here are some of the things that I love about Wordle:
-- It's not much of a commitment. In the absence of something odd, it usually can be completed in a few minutes.
-- Unlike much of our lives, vocabulary is rewarded!
-- People who play have feelings about it, especially when a word seems unfair (ie, "Kazoo")
-- The game is governed by a firm set of rules, most of which (ie, no plurals) are never stated by the game makers.
-- Some days are just harder than others-- just like real life.
Monday, April 07, 2025
Great concerts!
Like a bad promoter, I forgot to post haiku Friday's topic on FB. Still, we got three solid entries:
This one from Des:
Salsa, African
beats. We danced all night to those
Carlos Vives’ tunes.
beats. We danced all night to those
Carlos Vives’ tunes.
This from Jill Scoggins:
Last-minute invite:
Springsteen at Houston’s Summit.
The Boss delivered.
Springsteen at Houston’s Summit.
The Boss delivered.
And an anonymous post:
We rode Norton there—
Mick rode piano sans belt!
Opened mouth—crowd roared!
Mick rode piano sans belt!
Opened mouth—crowd roared!
Sunday, April 06, 2025
Sunday Reflection: Moments of Joy
Can we talk about joy?
Everyone I know who has a profound faith aspect in their lives has been propelled towards joy through that faith. It sounds odd, I know-- we often think of faith as somber and hard-- but it has certainly been a part of my own journey.
I think the root of that joy is in the freeing nature of the essence of faith-- that there is a God and it is not me. To know that there is a creator of the universe, an order to things that we may not understand (and that is ok) uncorks something in us. And of course it does!
There are times I have expected joy but did not feel it: when I won a trial, or an award of some kind. But when I do feel it is when I may not expect it: when I am skiing, or driving and singing, or in church. It comes up unbidden, real, alive, good. Like that still, small voice it is something that is beyond me.
I want more of it.
Saturday, April 05, 2025
Maybe we aren't doing this right?
Friday, April 04, 2025
Haiku Friday: Memorable concerts
On Sunday, I saw Kraftwerk in Minneapolis-- the first time I have seen them since the 1990's, in Detroit. (That's actually a photo I took at the concert above).
Let's haiku about memorable concerts this week! Here, I will go first:
Ramones in August
Warehouse in Anacostia
Sweat revelation.
Now it is your turn! Just use the 5/7/5 syllable pattern, and have some fun!
Thursday, April 03, 2025
PMT: It's Tariff Time Again!
Yesterday, President Trump imposed a new round of tariffs, largely directed at our top trading partners (though not, this time, Canada and Mexico). I have some thoughts:
-- I DO think we need to capture some of the manufacturing that has shifted wholesale to China. This is one way to do that-- but it is going to produce a shock to the system we may not be ready to handle, because of Chinese products our own manufacturers need, and the low-value products we are not good at producing.
-- One anomaly is that if we really wanted to restrict China, we would probably not also smack around the alternative low-cost producing countries, like Vietnam and India. What this combination of actions will spell is the end of $5 shirts at Wal-Mart and cheap toys at Target. That's fine with me, but it will matter to a lot of people.
-- It might be surprising to some that the EU makes up a higher percentage of imports than China. I suspect there are two core causes of that: (1) that products from the EU, like cars, tend to have high value; and (2) it could be that much of what comes from the EU is not manufactured goods but services.
-- The point of this, according to Trump, is to encourage manufacturing in the US. Some of that might happen-- but it will take a while. And in the meantime, a slew of side-effects (including inflation) will be something we have to deal with....
Wednesday, April 02, 2025
1 1 1 1
Something unusual is happening with this year's Final Four in the Men's tournament: All four of the # seeds made it through, the first time that has happened since 2008, and only the second time in the history of the tournament. Kudos to the people who did the seeding-- but it also speaks to the way talent is getting more concentrated in a few schools due to NIL money and the transfer portal.
Tops seeds making it through has historically been more true in the women's tournament, and that was the case this year (with the exception of #2 seed UConn, which won out over #1 seed USC, which was missing their star player, Juju Watkins):
So we are looking at 8 teams left in the two tournaments, and 7 are #1's. This could get kinda boring, huh?
Tuesday, April 01, 2025
On the road
I like driving-- I like it a lot. When I was a little kid, driving represented freedom, the ability to go wherever you wanted. Hey, you want a candy bar? Just drive on down to the store and get one.
And when I grew up I learned that my sense of things was exactly right. Even now I will be driving to work and think "if I wanted, I could just drive on out to California." I don't, but freedom is having the option to do something as much as it is the doing.
I like the feeling of driving, too-- the way a car is an extension of your body that makes you much, much faster. I've had a variety of cars, but I always look for the same thing when I buy one: if I decide I want a candy bar, will it feel good to get there?
