On observing birds by Billy Collins
All posts by Phil
A Show of Solidarity
In support of Canada’s seal hunters and the Inuit community, Canada’s Governor General Michaelle Jean gutted a seal and ate a slice of its heart. She said in a ceremony on Monday that the Inuit’s seal hunting was not inhumane.
That just has a wholesome warmth about it, doesn’t it?
Friday Fight: A Little Sparing
Perspective on Sotomayor Nomination
From The American Thinker:
If they can stomach it, Republicans should prep themselves for Sotomayor’s confirmation hearing by reviewing tapes or reading transcripts of Judge Janice Rogers Brown’s hearing. Brown was President George W. Bush’s African-American nominee to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Democrats weren’t so smitten with her compelling life story that they were incapable of asking her tough questions.
…
Democrats are counting on Hispanics forgetting that it was Democrats who blocked Honduran immigrant Miguel Estrada’s nomination to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals solely because they couldn’t abide the prospect that President Bush might elevate the first Hispanic to the Supreme Court. Hispanics should be insulted by the race-baiting.
In fact, I heard a Hispanic woman this morning on a talk show express her outrage at the way politicians and pundits talk as if Hispanics cared nothing for ideas and values, only for ethnicity.
Linda Chavez recommends a healthy public discussion about Judge Sotomayor’s statement about being a better judge than a white man simply by being a Latina woman. Senators should talk about “whether a justice should base his or her decisions on the law or on personal experiences and preferences.”
Teachout After Delivery Room
The Twilight of Newspapers
NY Times raises prices, could become non-profit to guilt liberals into donating to the cause. In other news dialogue, what will happen to cartoonists when newspapers fold? Doesn’t seem to be a ripe time for a new news organization, a paper, site, or network of some kind? I wish I had a mind for business (at least for a little while).
Storyville Coffee Donates One Month’s Profits to Jusice Mission
Storyville Coffee Company, based in Seattle, Washington, is giving all of its profits for May to the International Justice Mission to help free slaves around the world. Company officials talked to The Christian Post about it:
“The cost of giving everything away for one month felt necessary when we stopped to consider the value of a rescued human life,” explained Ryan Gamble, co-president of Storyville Coffee Company, to The Christian Post.
“At first we considered giving a portion of the profit away, but that didn’t feel right. Then we talked about giving all of the profit away, but that didn’t seem like enough either,” he said. “Ultimately we decided that anything less than everything would not be enough.”
I need to buy some coffee.
Napolitano on Government Power Grabs
You can get Judge Napolitano’s book, A Nation of Sheep, which is his argument against American loss of freedom at BookCloseouts.com for $9.00 for a limited time. It’s also on Amazon here. His latest book, Dred Scott’s Revenge: A Legal History of Race and Freedom in America, looks excellent too. Make sure your library has a copy or three of both books.
I’ve Been Changed, That’s What
Books what changed my life: The Literary Saloon notes Rowan Williams’ selection for life-changing books. Williams is the Archbishop of Canterbury who has overseen the dismantling of the Anglican Church over the past few years.
Yuki 7 and the Seductive Espionage
A book by artist Kevin Dart, focusing on a female espionage world, has an animated trailer to go with it. “A Kiss from Tokyo” is very much like Charlie’s Angels or James Bond without the James. It’s appealing work, though the subject matter could be improved. The book, Seductive Espionage, goes on sale next month.