Sotomayor's Confirmation

Now a certainty - as I long ago predicted.

Interesting process. Canadians who seem wedded to our judicial appointment process always denigrate the US system as being a "circus" etc. This was no circus - it was dignified, useful and interesting.

I recently was in US and at a dinner with friends. I asked them to name the members of the Court. My doctor pal was able to name 8 of the 9.

Challenge - next time try this out with your friends re the Canadian Supremes. I would be very surprised if they could name very many. Why? Because our system has no transparency. Canadians do not know who is in the running, what their views are, and how they got there. Pity - since the Charter has made them very important players in the lives of all Canadians.

Rewarding Obnoxious Behaviour

Question:

How can one get invited to the White House, presumably at taxpayer's expense, and have a beer with the President?

Answer:

Be obnoxious.

So, let's see. A Harvard Prof gets incensed because a police officer has the audacity to question his identity. He raises a raucus. He gets arrested.

A police officer, who presumably realizes that the obnoxious "suspect" is who he says he is, decides to teach him a lesson and arrest him anyway for "disorderly conduct". Charges are dropped.

The President of the USA, who in the midst of a economic recession, decides he wants to act like the school Principal, and wades in. He calls the police stupid. He then discovers that perhaps the blame was not entirely on the police, and ( as he is wont to do), backs down .

Now to reward them both (or to "incentivize" their bad behaviour) he invites them both to the White House for a beer.

This is truly a "teachable moment".

Obama And Gates

Question:

Why would a lawyer, law professor and President of the USA publicly condemn a police officer over an incident about which the former knows nothing?

Question:

How does one "calibrate" one's words???

Just thought I would ask.

Obama's Health Care Speech

I know I am still on vacation, but I could not resist.

I listened to Obama's Press Conference on health care reform while I was on the treadmill at the Y in Phoenix. Again I was impressed by his apparent intelligence, his "down to earthiness" and his logic.

But once one drills down a bit, one sees the problem I have with the President. One of Obama's favourite rhetorical tricks is to set up a "straw man" and then shoot it down. For example, he compared his health care reform ideas with the current situation where a doctor who sees a patient with a sore throat is "incentivized" (an Obama made up word) to perform a tonsillectomy rather than treat the sore throat ( which may be caused by an "allergy", according to Doctor Obama) because a tonsilectomy pays more. Who the heck is this unethical doctor?? Do doctors actually perform surgeries because they "pay more"??? Does Obama have evidence of this or has he just made it up? We should not be "incentivizing" this doctor, we should be suspending him.

Oh, Obama. You just break me up.

On Vacation !!!

Do not fear... I have not abandoned my blog. The I.T.P. is on vacation. Yay!!

Lots to write about when I get back. Lots on my mind.. Sarah Palin ( I like her, still... maybe even more!), the Michael Jackson death saga, Obama ( do you all still think he is doing a great job???), etc.

So.. I will be back.. probably in a couple of weeks.

Enjoy those crazy, lazy, hazy days of summer, and I will see you in September...or sooner even.

ITP