But I know I could reasonably be the parent of a ten-year-old already. There are people I was in high school with who have kids in high school now. I'm good with that. I know I'll be a middle-aged parent of a high schooler, but not everyone is.

I'm not saying it is unrealistic. I am saying it is depressing to watch someone I best remember as the ingenue, play the mother.

I've read more tha one print magazine (I say print, because I have higher fact-checking standards for these than for online works) that claim Melinda Clarke is 32. Or, let her claim it.

She could be, but I bet they're letting her claim it. Imdb lists her d.o.b. as April 24, 1969. Her father was a soap opera actor, so there are probably soap fans (usually obsessive by nature--speaking from experience) who remember her birth. Her father was on Days of Our Lives for decades, playing Mickey Horton. She was on DoOL from 1989-90.

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Current Favorite names of horses that may be running in the Preakness:

Scrappy T
Afleet Alex
Galloping Grocer

I mostly like the name Afleet Alex because Alex is my brother's name. I'm kind of torn between Galloping Grocer and Scrappy T as to which is my favorite name.

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That is what professional horse-racing needs: more whimsy.

Actually, I think a lot of sports could benefit from more whimsy. This is why I advocate for more streakers at sports events, especially if they paint their naked (or, if they're modest, be-thonged) bodies with pointless slogan. Triple points if it is the players who tackle them instead of the security staff!!

Yes, I watch ESPN highlight reels for just such an eventuality. No, this would not work nearly as well for hockey or curling.

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Does anyone here watch Without a Trace? 'Cause I'm dying to discuss the stupidness of last night's episode.

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I can talk about it tomorrow -- after I watch my tape of it.

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Cool. Sorry...didn't mean to ruin it for you. You may love it! Then we can compare/contrast. (Can you tell I'm writing end of the semester essays?)

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'Cause I'm dying to discuss the stupidness of last night's episode.

I thought it was kind of stupid. Or, self-indulgent. Flatmate blurted, 20 minutes into it, "This is very clumsy, isn't it?" That was when we both twigged it was all in Jack's head. Which, lame.

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Flatmate blurted, 20 minutes into it...

Yeah, when it all started falling apart (I think about 20 minutes before the end), I looked at Emily and said, "This better end up being a dream, 'cause otherwise, it's the worst hour of television known to mankind." And, the thing is, it was written and directed by series creator. I guess, due to Joss, I've come to expect more from a creator.

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I believe you were not evil.

Is this to imply that I am now?!!

I think I could live with that.

"s" is for spoiler font, so I use it happily. Though I guess no one was complaining.

Waay overslept.

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doom doom doom doom....

I've been wondering this for a while, but now I'm sure it's true: The current administration and the party in power is the most radical in the history of the US. Seriously. Or at least since the writing of the Constitution.

You might have heard about the Real ID act - that for all intents and purposes created a national ID card. This is attached to an important Defense bill so it's almost certain to pass.

There is a curious part of the act that uses an obscure part of the Constitution to declare that the Department of Homeland Security may do certain things that are completely outside the purvue of the US court system. If this part of the act is allowed to stand, it means that congress can pass any law it wants and (with a few exceptions) declare that the US court system (including the Supreme Court) may not rule on the law's constitutionality. So that whole part of our system of government that says that the judicial branch is part of a system of checks and balances - we're gonna throw that away....

[link]

(the link includes the relevant text of the bill.)

So if judicial review is the basic mechanism that enables the Federal court system—from the Supreme Court on down—to rule on the constitutionality of laws and government actions, then how could it be possible for Congress to pass a law that includes language prohibiting judicial review for the law in question? In other words, if Congress could somehow exempt a law from judicial review, then the principle of judicial review would be completely gutted because they could just exempt from judicial review any law they wanted to, even if that law is blatantly unconstitutional or it violates basic human rights. Surely this isn't possible?

Opponents of the concept of judicial review appeal to an obscure and cryptic article of the Constitution, the (in)famous Article 3, Section 2 (A3S2 for short), which states:

In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.

That last sentence is the kicker, because it looks for all the world like language that would enable Congress to wave a magic A3S2 wand over any piece of legislation no matter how outrageous and have it be completely exempt from review by the courts. The implications for the system of checks and balances if Congress actually invokes this provision are about as profound as it gets, which is why no Congress in American history has ever opted to open that particular can of worms... until now.

You can read more on the tinfoil hat implications of this here if you're interested, but I'll sum it up for you: Congress has crafted a completely unprecedented provision that guts the principle of judicial review by granting the DHS secretary complete and total immunity from the courts when it comes to the construction of "barriers and roads" in this one specific geographical region, and they've buried this provision inside a national ID card act which is itself attached to a large military appropriations bill that no Congressperson in their right mind would vote against (money for the troops and all that).

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