Morning Coffee (133)

Prevyet! Fall, my favorite season besides Spring and Summer, is in full swing in my part of the world. Chilly mornings are invigorating, are they not?

We've had a lot of readers drinking the Coffee lately. I think one day last week we had an amazing 15 unique visitors. Granted, they spend an average of something like 20 seconds on the site, but we have speed readers as fans, so that isn't troubling one bit. It is easy for the MC's readers to breeze through three to four pages of entertaining, political insight in less than a minute. That's, as they say, just the sort of people with whom we roll.

I must apologize about politics dominating the topics within my little slice o' the blogosphere the last, say 75 years. That's what it feels like anyway. But this (the insanity, i.e. the 2008 Presidential Race) will be over in a month. Remember, though, "they" are telling you that this is the most important election of your lives, so it's best to remember to vote come Election Day. Is it really the MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION IN YOUR LIFE!!!!??? Who knows? I personally think it's a lot of tripe, but what do I know? I'm not on TV, thus nothing I say can be trusted.

Supreme Courtesans:

I will say one thing about the importance of this election, however. The next President may well have the opportunity to nominate no less than five Supreme Court Justices. You remember those people, right? The Judicial branch of the government and all? Yeah, they're not so irrelevant as one might think; they actually do things that affect your lives.

So let's take a look at the current Justices. There are, as you surely know, nine seats on the Court, one of which is filled by the Chief Justice. I'm also sure that you know that these are lifetime appointments, so once a judge is confirmed, he or she could be there for a long time. With that being said, there are at present five Justices age 70 or older (88, 75, 72. 72, 70). By the end of the first term of the next President, their ages will be 92, 79, 76, 76, and 74, respectively. It is very likely that at least three Justices will be named within eight years, possibly more.

I know that the masses turn to the Morning Coffee to find out "what it means" (sarcasm), but I can't tell you what it means this time. What I can tell you is that there is a possibility that, despite Congressional oversight, our next President could nominate so-called activist judges who could be confirmed. It is a possibility. This would have a major, lasting impact on our lives since we could be saddled with his/her pick for 30 plus years. I have never seen this issue mentioned in the media, which I find amazing considering the current average age of the Court (68). I think that the power of nominating justices is one of the most potent in the Presidential arsenal, because his/her choices can be directly tied to his/her Presidency for decades. Many other Presidential decisions or policies, while influential, can be overturned or reversed. Once a Justice is nominated and confirmed, well, until death or retirement, we're stuck with him. A Supreme Court Justice has never been removed from office. Legally, the Justice must be impeached by majority in the House of Representatives, and convicted by two-thirds of the Senate. Only once has a Justice been impeached, and the Senate failed to convict him because his impeachment was largely because foes disagreed with his decisions.

This is just one more thing to think about while casting your vote, or perhaps, the heavens forbid, even before entering the booth. We're lucky that we get a say, however weak that say might be, in who our leaders will be. We might as well exercise that power prudently.

Thesauri:

Is anyone tired of hearing the words "fundamental" and "maverick?" In three debates, these two words have been used 61 times. The Maverick family has a fundamental difference in opinion with the McCain/Palin campaign on how they use of the word (which was based on an ancestor's refusal to brand his cattle) because they are, after all, liberal Democrats. Worse, religious fundamentalists, who could be considered mavericks that have fundamental differences in the way mainstream religions do things, are voicing their displeasure with both campaigns for their adoption of the word fundamental.

I wish they would look in a thesaurus, as these relatively new inventions are quite handy. Anyway, these campaigns are just a coupla mavericks who really put the F.U.N. in fundamental...

Unfortunately, that's all I've got time for today. One saved round: While it's true I haven't heard the media mention the Supreme Court issue, it was briefly mentioned in a blog written by a kid I used to know, about which I just became aware of last night. This blog entry, dated 02 Oct, was not the inspiration for today's Cup of Coffee, I assure you. But check it out if you wish. He discusses politics as well, and pays particular attention to Washington State, as he currently lives there. I think.

Word of the Day:
Euphonious (adj): Pleasing or sweet in sound; smooth-sounding.

On This Day in History: King John of England loses his crown jewels in The Wash. Oops (1216). Christopher Columbus makes landfall, believing he's reached East Asia. Dolt (1492). The implementation of the Gregorian calendar makes this day vanish in Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain in the year 1582. Magic. The citizens of Munich are invited to join Bavarian royalty in the celebration of the marriage of Prince Ludwig and Princess Theresa, becoming the first Oktoberfest. Hangover (1810). President Roosevelt (Teddy) officially renames the Executive Mansion to the White House. Deft (1910). Khrushchev bangs his shoe on a desk at the UN General Assembly. Irate (1960). Today's apparently the National Coming Out Day in the UK. Also it's Freethought Day, in the US, during which time secularists and freethinkers reflect on the Salem Witch Trials (which also ended today in 1692).

"What the wise do in the beginning, fools do in the end. You can always count on Americans to do the right thing – after they’ve tried everything else!" - Winston Churchill.