Twitter

Obviously, I haven't been blogging for a while.  Yesterday, I finally gave in and set up a Twitter account.  Time will tell if I actually get into it.  Given that I rarely put anything on Facebook, the odds are probably not great, but I invite you to follow me at @toddcpearson.

Scalia and illegal immigration

Richard Posner is a Reagan appointee and probably the most widely respected federal circuit court judge in the country.  His bio is here.  

John Roberts, at his confirmation hearing, said that the role of judge is to be an umpire; to call balls and strikes.  That is what Posner does, in my judgment.  And, here, Posner goes to the extraordinary step of calling out Scalia, his superior, in this article.  Yes, Posner has a lifetime appointment too, but this is a rare challenge.  You can read it here.  

Bad actors

I'm a social libertarian, fiscal moderate, and defense hawk. For that reason, Obama gets a "favorable" rating from me, although that stunt last week on immigration was so brazenly political that I lost some respect for him. I agree with the policy, but not with the way that it was implemented or the manner in which it was done.

As far as my defense hawk side, I think that I know bad people when I see them, and I don't think that just talking with bad people is always the answer.  If there is truth to this story, a firm response is imperative because they are just giving the free world the finger in the most blatant manner possible.

Meet Scarlet

If you look hard, you will see one of our 4 dogs, Scarlet, 30 feet up in our weeping willow tree. It is listing a bit, and she has learned to climb to get a better view of the neighborhood. This has become part of her daily routine.

Political ad of the day

Airlines

I have never understood why people buy stock in airlines.  Every airline seems to go bankrupt (and wipe out all equity) every 10 years.  But it isn't all the fault of the airlines.  The taxes and fees are extremely onerous.  See below for a flight that I just booked to Salzburg, Austria.

Flight

$911.00

Expedia booking fee	$7.00
Taxes and fees	$709.10

Total:

$1,627.10

Nomadic dog

For several years neighbors on the next street have allowed their dog (a Sheltie) to just roam the neighborhood, peeing and pooping in the yards of everyone else, not to mention getting our dogs whipped up by an unrestrained intruder on their territory.  Not only is it completely irresponsible for a pet owner (the next street has a lot more traffic that goes a lot faster), it is just not neighborly behavior.

Last year, my wife registered a complaint with the police department, and an officer went and spoke with them.  Nothing changed.  I called again today to register another complaint, and the officer was very sympathetic.  He told me this story (not exact quotes):

"I totally understand.  My neighbor does the same thing.  Just last night I looked out and saw his dog taking his umpteenth crap in my yard.  So I went out, picked it up, and went over to the neighbors' house and rang the bell.  I said to him 'your dog seems to like crapping in my yard more than your yard, so I thought that I should return this.  Where do you want me to put it?"

I think that I find the right person to help us.

Let the horse race begin

Obviously, I am an independent. Also, since being eligible to vote, my vote has been a barometer in every election. I voted Reagan (84), Bush 41 (88), Clinton (92 and 96), Bush 43 (00 and 04), and Obama (08). A cynic might conclude that I read the political winds and vote accordingly, but I would beg to differ. Neither of Bush 43's wins were foregone conclusions by election day by any stretch of the imagination. Instead, I would argue that my votes are all the empirical evidence that you need that independents decide every election.

That is the lead-in to the first Gallup Daily tracking poll --

PRINCETON, NJ -- Mitt Romney is supported by 47% of national registered voters and Barack Obama by 45% in the inaugural Gallup Daily tracking results from April 11-15. Both Obama and Romney are supported by 90% of their respective partisans. . .

These results are the first from Gallup Daily tracking of registered voters' general election preferences, which began on April 11 and will be reported daily on Gallup.com on the basis of continuous five-day rolling averages. . .

The race breaks down into the expected patterns by party, with 90% of Democrats supporting Obama, and 90% of Republicans supporting Romney. The Republican results show that despite the rancor and divisiveness of the Republican campaign, the vast majority of Republicans are backing Romney in the head-to-head battle with Obama, as they have in ballot tests earlier this year.

The crucial voting bloc of independents breaks toward Romney by 45% to 39%, giving the GOP challenger his slight overall edge.

Right now, unlike the slight majority of independents, I'm leaning Obama. But I'm ready to listen to Romney's sales pitch over the next 4 1/2 months.

Tebow to NY

I wonder if he will sell any tickets or draw any viewers?

People who are criticizing the Jets for taking on a $5 million trade penalty in Tebow's contract don't understand the economics. I guarantee that the Jets have already recouped that $5 million in jersey sales and enthusiasm.

Douche Daddy

Today, my son called me a "douche" for the first time. I didn't know whether to be mortified, or to ask him what took him so long.

Vikings stadium

I doubted this day would ever happen. I assumed that the assholes on the City Council would prevail and would sink this.

The Legislature now has first and goal at the one yard line. 50-50 they screw it up.

A majority of the Minneapolis City Council now backs Mayor R.T. Rybak's plan to fund a new Vikings stadium in Minneapolis, setting up a last-ditch effort by Gov. Mark Dayton to persuade reluctant Republican legislators to support the project.

The surprise announcement Monday that seven council members had signed letters of support seemed unlikely just a week ago, when seven members publicly opposed the plan. But after heavy lobbying by stadium backers, including Gov. Mark Dayton, Council Member Sandra Colvin Roy abandoned her insistence on a citywide referendum and gave Rybak the majority he needs.

"I didn't change my mind," Colvin Roy said Monday. "I made up my mind."

The deal is far from done, however. Legislators were still scrambling Monday to obtain an agreement with charities over the use of charitable gambling funds to pay for the state portion of the stadium. It is also uncertain whether there are enough votes at the Legislature to pass the plan.

"Now [the] motion shifts over here to the Legislature," Rybak said at a state Capitol news conference. "If the Legislature acts, the City Council will act as well."

We probably can't create something on par with Soldier Field or Lambeau. But Target Field set a high bar. They need to build a 100 year stadium for the Vikes, not a 30 year stadium.

A link posted upon request by my better half

Link.

Redundancy

I saw a commercial for the University of Maryland University College. Haven't they heard the joke about the Department of Redundancy Department?

Romney wins Iowa

A win is a win in the political perception world. Thank goodness. Only if Romney or long-shot Huntsman is the GOP nominee will I get a chance to exercise my brain in deciding for whom to vote in November.

Newt

This is rich.

At his final event Sunday, in Waterloo, Iowa, Gingrich was asked what his greatest weakness was.

"It's probably that I'm too reasonable," Gingrich replied.

The world gets better a little at a time

Link.

In 2012, the world's tyrants and dictators are sleeping a little less
comfortably than they did a year ago. And that, in its own way, is good
news.