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Live, on a day where Senator Byrd has passed away , the Roberts court whores itself again in proper fashion , the hearings start form Elena Kagan. Watch live video from MSNBC (Live) on Justin.tv

It seems that Democracy Now is the only place where you can find serious, actual grown up, 1 on 1 banter that isn't about garnering ratings or entertainment points, but to informed their viewer on the most important news events and situations of our time. Today, DN featured the settled discussion (for now) in a week long respectful back and forth debate between Glenn Greenwald and Lawrence Lessig on Elena Kagan's nomination. Simply put, for those who didn't have a chance to see or hear about this discussion that took place on the invaluable Amy Goodwin's show, it was the "settling of the score" for these two renowned legal figures on the left after their back to back appearances on Rachel Maddow's Monday show. Even though both certainly left the show with the same sentiment on Kagan as they held before, but exhibited a level of decorum, as well as intelligent colloquy, severely missing in our usually terrible television discourse. Here's the ent...

In the minds of some , Thurgood Marshall hated the Constitution, everything American, and is a fool for not recognizing how great slavery was .

The segment that stood out the most for me in MSNBC primetime tonight on Elena Kagan was not Ezra Klein and Jonathan Turley on Countdown, nor the potential growing (and hopefully respectful spat) between Glenn Greenwald and Lawrence Lessig. Rather, it was the third segment on Rachel Madoow's show that highlighted the main perspective that I harbor for today's well-bantered nominee for the highest court in the land. It displays for my eyes that Kagan, despite her tremendous credentials, just doesn't have the strength to keep to the court to the left like the terrific predecessor she hopes to replace, John Paul Stevens. Now besides Roberts being a virtually classless arrogant a-hole like he normally is, Maddow strikes the right point on Kagan being able to fight, something that Diane Wood would have provided in my opinion (and certainly Dawn Johnsen would have bestowed if need be.) But the terrific Dahila Lithwick tracks just a main problem with Kagan here: Does she t...

Kagan and Obama are definitely alike, as the President has said and cherished about his friend. Sadly, our dumb media will focus on what stupid and dishonest stuff the Republicans and conservatives will say, once again providing kindergarden discourse in a time where high level discourse will only suffice. And what about Arlen Specter, if he needs anymore on his mind : Of political interest is what Arlen Specter will do. He voted against her for solicitor general, when he was trying to be a Republican, because she ducked questions he felt were critical. His primary will be over by the time the hearings start, but he'll likely still be a Democrat this time around and vote for confirmation. The White House will begin consultations with Senate Democrats, presumably including Specter, on Wednesday or Thursday. Jonathan Turley has just said that Kagan will "move the court to the Right." Basically agree and thensome. The reason why I agree with Turley and Greenwald ...

Well, the White House looks even sillier trying to debunk all the reports of them choosing Kagan, because they have chosen just her. More to come on this folks. She moves the court to the Right sadly, and it is a choice that is another centrist happily go lucky choice from the President. I sure can't wait until the White House can explain her Goldman Sachs ties, as well as her problems with diversity .

No matter how much she is liked by conservatives, Elena Kagan will still be painted by them as far to the left. In the minds of conservatives, everyone is simply a far-leftist . Every.........ONE : I hasten to repeat that no matter how sensible Kagan may be on the national-security and executive-power issues that aggravate the Left, it doesn’t follow that conservatives should welcome her nomination. For on a host of other issues—abortion, same-sex marriage, race and gender quotas, and an aggressively secularist reading of the Establishment Clause, to name just a few—there’s no reason to believe that Kagan would be anything other than a doctrinaire liberal judicial activist. Even when they are a weak minority and their ideas are both irrelevant and disastrous, conservatives will always want everything THEY want at every single time. It just only makes common simple sense that President Obama chooses someone who truly has a liberal background. A true liberal background not locate...

While everyone is speculating that the centrist Elena Kagan maybe John Paul Stevens replacement on the Supreme Court, a new contender has emerged out of nowhere. Montana federal judge Sidney Thomas is that new name in the race to join the highest court of the land. An administration official says President Barack Obama is considering federal appeals court judge Sidney Thomas of Montana for the Supreme Court, one of about 10 people under serious review. The Associated Press has confirmed the names of seven of them. Among the others under consideration are former Georgia Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears, federal appeals court judges Diane Wood and Merrick Garland, Solicitor General Elena Kagan, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. Here is Thomas' wikipedia page for those who want to check out on this man .

It is the right way to try and fight the corporate elites , though now people will be funny and call Unions and Activist Group people themselves with this move. That’s the message in a letter that a powerful coalition of liberal groups and unions have fired off to Pelosi and Reid, urging them to seize on the SCOTUS decision allowing corporate money to fund elections to deal a death blow to the influence of big money in politics — by approving public financing of campaigns. The letter they’ve sent to Reid and Pelosi, to be released this afternoon, urges them to adopt a measure called the Fair Elections Now Act, which has 129 co-sponsors in the House and would enact public financing of federal elections. Campaign finance reform types say the act would give candidates the option to run for office on a mixture of small contributions and limited public funds — strengthening campaigns funded by grassroots fundraising and undercutting the power of large corporate donors. You should ...

Administrations of the future (and even this one if it happens) have every right now it seems to torture if protection for tortuous acts continue: The Court’s denial of review of Rasul, et al., v. Myers, et al. (09-227) leaves intact a federal appeals court ruling that former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and ten military officers are legally immune to claims of torture and religious bias against inmates who were at Guantanamo but have since been released. T he Obama Administration had urged the Court not to hear the case, saying that, whatever claims the four ex-detainees were now making, they had no legal basis for those challenges at the time they were at the U.S. military prison in Cuba — that is, between January 2002 and March 2004. The D.C. Circuit Court had ruled in favor of immunity, and in doing so avoided a repeat of its earlier decision — vacated by the Supreme Court — that Guantanamo prisoners had no constitutional rights. The Justices had ordered reconsideration of ...

(Image from TPM ) Who honesty cares if she doesn't break John Roberts record for most "yea" votes. I honestly don't. And by the way, they not only placed the first Hispanic Judge on the Supreme Court, but they placed the most experienced judge ever on the court. Update: And here's the video: