Michigan voters to elect three Justices in 2012

Governor Snyder is appointing state Supreme Court justice Maura Corrigan to a spot in his cabinet:

Gov. Rick Snyder has named Michigan Supreme Court Justice Maura Corrigan as director of the state's Department of Human Services, calling her a "true champion of children and families."

The GOP governor said Thursday he'll name a replacement for the court before Corrigan steps down Jan. 14. Corrigan is one of four Republicans on the seven-member court and has been deeply involved in children's issues while a justice.

One aspect of this that isn't often mentioned is that this will result in a special election for this seat on the 2012 ballot. This means that we will have three seats to elect in the 2012 election - those held by Marilyn Kelly and Stephen Markman, which will be for eight-year terms (through 1/1/2021); and one for the seat held by Corrigan's yet-to-be-named successor, which will be for the remaining two years of Corrigan's 2007-2015 term. (Note that the 2-year partial term will be listed separately from the 8-year regular terms).

While we're on this topic, Justice Marilyn Kelly, a Democrat, is over 70, so she won't be able to run again. That means we will have an open seat on the Court in 2012 - one that you know the other party will contend very heavily. And you know they will campaign for all three of their candidates together, like they did for Bob Young and Mary Beth Kelly (as opposed to the fragmented approach MDP leaders took in 2010).

In 2012, what is now a 4-3 Republican majority could turn into a 4-3 Democratic majority again - or it could be a 5-2 majority for either side. Since incumbency is much less of a guarantee for incumbents than it was just a few years ago, let's see what we can make of this!

Bits of Tid: August 7, 2009

• This week is Single Working Women's Week. Today is Purple Heart Day, Professional Speakers Day, and Lighthouse Day, and Particularly Preposterous Packaging Day.
• Exodus 20:16:

  Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor

  Hey conservatives, that's a Commandment! How about following it?
• Speaking of which: healthcarefactcheck.com.
• Tigers' magic number: 53.
• Say hello to our newest Justice!
  

Bits of Tid: July 31, 2009

• Governor Granholm has issued an executive order allowing Michigan to move forward on becoming more energy efficient.
• Look at the list of President Obama's first Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients! What an amazing list - stretching from Ted Kennedy to Sandra Day O'Connor, Billie Jean King, to Desmond Tutu!
• Sen. Max Baucus ('D'-MT) has 'no idea' how he'll vote on Sotomayor's nomination next week. No idea because he's not very smart? Or because he's not very progressive? Either way, it tells me that there are other Finance Committee members who are more deserving of the Chairmanship than Baucus. (And yes, I figured out years ago that the Finance Committee does not handle SCOTUS nominations.)
• Do the Lions want another 0-16 season? It looks like the answer is yes, as evidenced by their signing of a WMU alum to their roster.
• Tigers' magic number: 60.
• Here's something neat:
  

Bits of Tid: July 27, 2009

• US home sales went up in June. We're not completely out of the woods - not by a long shot - but things may have bottomed out.
• Pollution does wonders for your IQ. Which is to say, you wonder why your IQ is so low.
• Speaking of which: Sarah Palin in late-night comedy.
• Tomorrow the Senate Judiciary Committee votes on Judge Sotomayor's nomination.
• Are you a hunter? If so, you might be interested in this.
• Facebook users: Follow the instructions and post this as your status:

  Facebook has agreed to let 3rd party advertisers use your posted pictures without your permission. Click on SETTINGS up at the top next to the log out link. Select PRIVACY. Then select NEWS FEEDS AND WALL. Next select the tab that reads FACE BOOK ADS. There is a drop down box, select NO ONE. Then SAVE your changes. (REPOST to let your friends know!)

• Five years ago tonight:
  

Bits of Tid: July 18, 2009

• Today is Cow Appreciation Day, National Hot Dog Day, and Toss Away the "Could Haves" and "Should Haves" Day. So don't tell me you should have eaten a hot dog while appreciating a cow!
• While politicians debate the specifics of health care, the President makes sure we remember what's most important in this discussion.
  
• Speaking of which, have you checked out the Health Care Action Center on BarackObama.com?
• Five Republican judges became Democrats. In Alabama.
  
• Walter Cronkite:

  "A career can be called a success if one can look back and say: ´I made a difference.´"

  Thank you, Walter, for making a difference for all of our nation. Rest in peace.

Bits of Tid: July 14, 2009

• On the one hand, it's sick that some are going after Malia Obama, Age 11, for the way she dresses. On the other hand, what it tells me is how little they have to say about her dad that's actually substantive, legitimate criticism. What does it tell you that instead of talking about his policies, they'd rather obsess over his daughter?
• Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to Sonia Sotomayor: "Unless you have a complete meltdown, you're gonna get confirmed."
• From Daily Kos: Things I Learned Watching the News.
• When someone's in pain, it's not a good time to tell them what the f%$# they can or cannot say.
• Here's another cool website: Ta-Da Lists. It lets you set up several to-do lists at once. Trust me, it can make your life less chaotic than it sounds.
  
• I hope you don't live in Blanding, UT! LOL!
• Tigers' magic number at the Break: 72.

Bits of Tid: May 28, 2009

• Guess which judge said this:

  Because when a case comes before me involving, let's say, someone who is an immigrant -- and we get an awful lot of immigration cases and naturalization cases -- I can't help but think of my own ancestors, because it wasn't that long ago when they were in that position... When I get a case about discrimination, I have to think about people in my own family who suffered discrimination because of their ethnic background or because of religion or because of gender. And I do take that into account.

  Sonia Sotomayor, right? Wrong. Samuel Alito said it at his confirmation hearing in 2006.
• At any rate, it looks like Sonia Sotomayor might not be filibustered.
• Rush admits it: America's a center-left nation!
• Apparently, you can get arrested for corruption in Iraq.
• Memo to Dick Cheney: Don't mess with Obama's National Security Advisor.
• We're all paying the price for the fact that millions of Americans are uninsured.
• From the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraph 2443:

  God blesses those who come to the aid of the poor and rebukes those who turn away from them: "Give to him who begs from you, do not refuse him who would borrow from you"; "you received without pay, give without pay." It is by what they have done for the poor that Jesus Christ will recognize his chosen ones. When "the poor have the good news preached to them," it is the sign of Christ's presence.

Souter to retire; who's next?

I'm sure you know this by now:

Justice David Souter announced Friday that he will retire from the Supreme Court after informing the White House of his plans.

In a brief letter to President Obama, Souter said, "When the Supreme Court rises for the summer recess this year, I intend to retire from active service as a justice."

Appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1990 to succeed longtime Justice William Brennan, Souter was expected to be a conservative force on the Court when he was appointed. He turned out to be anything but. His retirement comes as little surprise to those who have known Souter as a laid-back Justice who doesn't like Washington very much.

So what does President Obama want in a Supreme Court Justice?

"I will seek someone who understands that justice isn't about some abstract legal theory or a footnote in a casebook. It is also about how our laws affect ... peoples' lives, whether they can make a living and care for their families, whether they feel safe in their homes and welcomed in their own nation. I view that quality of empathy, of understanding and identifying with peoples' hopes and struggles, as an essential ingredient for arriving at just decisions and outcomes. I will seek somebody who is dedicated to the rule of law, who honors our constitutional traditions, who respects the integrity of the judicial process and the appropriate limits of the judicial role. I will seek somebody who shares my respect for the constitutional values on which this nation was founded and who brings a thoughtful understanding of how to apply them in our time."

Some names often included in Supreme Court speculation are Solicitior General Elena Kagan; Appeals Court Judges Sonia Sotomayor and Diane P. Wood; and someone named Jennifer Granholm. Note that all of these people are women; Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the only woman currently serving on the Court. Sotomayor would be the first Hispanic and the first non-white woman on the Court.

Those whom Obama doesn't appoint to succeed Souter will likely have a chance to join the court soon. Ginsburg, 76, has dealt with pancreatic cancer, while John Paul Stevens is 89, so I'd be surprised if neither of them retired soon.

Granholm, who clerked for the one and only Appeals Court Judge Damon Keith in the 1980s, has not been a judge and may be seen as more of a political appointment by Obama if she were selected. I would suggest that Obama select Granholm for the vacancy in the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals so she can be groomed for the SCOTUS at a later date.

Why we need to support Diane Hathaway for Supreme Court

Here are a couple of excerpts about Judge Hathaway:

Known for her hard work and integrity, Hathaway will restore fairness and impartiality to the Michigan Supreme Court. As a Circuit Court Judge, she has a record of being fair and impartial, putting the needs of ordinary citizens and families over those of big corporations and special interests. As a prosecutor, Hathaway took on drug dealers, put hardened criminals in jail, and kept Michigan's neighborhoods safe by going after drunk drivers, sexual predators and scam artists. A wife, mother of five and daughter of a police officer, she is endorsed by law enforcement and firefighters.

Hathaway is trying to defeat current Chief Justice Cliff Taylor in the November election.

Taylor's decisions put the insurance companies and corporate special interests that fund his campaigns ahead of struggling middle-class families. He repeatedly sacrifices judicial ethics and ignores the severe human impact of his decisions while enjoying one of the highest salaries and packages of taxpayer-provided perks of any judge in the country. Taylor's decisions have made it easier for sexual predators, terrorists and drunk drivers to avoid responsibility for their crimes. He also has a pattern of discriminatory decisions that hurt women in the workplace, including ruling against victims in rape and sexual harassment cases, virtually eliminating the ability to legally enforce protection from sexual harassment.

Keep in mind that judicial offices are nonpartisan races, so merely voting straight Democratic will not mean a vote for Judge Hathaway. You will need to vote for her on the nonpartisan section of the ballot.

Bits of Tid: July 18, 2007

• With deep sadness, we mourn the passing of Jim Gilmore's campaign. RIP, Gilmore campaign. We will miss you as much as we will miss Dubya when he leaves office.
  
  Now riddle me this: Jim Gilmore was a governor for four years, Mike Huckabee, for ten years, and Tommy Thompson was a governor for 14 years. Why is the press not giving as much attention to those three combined as they are to Mitt?
  
• Well, at least Romney never got a $400 haircut. But did get the next best (?) thing.
  
• Mom and I enjoy listening to the radio program Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me each Saturday on NPR. This Saturday's program, however, is going to be better than most.
  
• Hypocrisy anyone?
  
• State Supreme Court Chief ‘Justice’ Clifford Taylor has dealt with controversy surrounding his state-owned car, which he admitted to using for personal reasons. Now the MDP is buying that car:

“This car will be a continuing symbol of Taylor’s misuse of taxpayer money as we travel the state in it to campaign against his re-election. We also look forward to searching through the car to see what we can find.

Goody gumdrops!

• Congratulations, Congressman Conyers!


• Last year, WMU's president was fired. This week, Eastern's Board of Regents ousted their president and two others over the handling of the death of a student. Hopefully such msifortune will not befall CMU's Michael Rao.


• And finally, won't you vote for one of my pictures? The second Hardiman one is in a three-way deadlock with the two I didn't submit.

Bits of Tid: July 12, 2007

• NYC firefighters don’t like Rudy Giuliani.
  
• I wish I could get paid $440.50 per day to do nothing.
• The Bay City Times:

Senate Majority Leader Michael Bishop, R-Rochester, denied that there was a deal to balance the state budget. In exchange for raising taxes, he demands a remake of a wide swath of state government.
Give it a rest, senator.
Republicans couldn't get these changes done when they ran Lansing. They sure aren't going to eliminate public school pensions and retiree health plans, among other reforms, this year.

• Two new federal judges were confirmed for West Michigan on Monday. One - Janet Neff - was approved after Sam Brownback held up her nomination because she - gasp - attended a commitment ceremony. At any rate, Neff will vacate a state Court of Appeals seat which Governor Granholm will fill. Might I suggest Jane Beckering, the 2006 nominee for Michigan Supreme Court who got rave reviews? Appointing Beckering will help grow the Democratic bench for the state Supreme Court.
  
• Can’t wait to prove Dave Camp wrong.
  
• Tuesday was LiberalLucy’s birthday. Check out my greeting on MichLib.
  
• “Fly me to the moon, and let me play among the stars.”
  
• Yours truly has submitted another word for banishment to LSSU. Or is it a word?
  

  w00t - Color me surprised that this lousy excuse for a 'word' hasn't been banished yet.

  
  
• Detroit Tigers’ magic number: 75.

Six more reasons we need a Democrat in the White House in 2009

Supreme Court terms begin in October and end in June. Six of the nine justices are 67 years of age or older - older than many ordinary Americans will be when they retire.

Recent decisions assaulting women’s and employee freedoms have put a new focus on the Court. Given the likelihood that we will once again see at least one, if not two or more, vacancies on the Court during the next president’s term, the Supreme Court is poised to be a very crucial issue in 2008, one that I’d rank as important as Iraq, terrorism, and global warming. Perhaps it is the most important issue in the 2008 election, because it involves the heart of what our nation is all about: our freedoms.

Courtesy of Wikipedia, Here are the six justices who, as of the end of the 2008-2009 term (when justices often announce their retirement), will be at least 70 years old or will be approaching 70.

John Paul Stevens
Leans Left
Age in June 2009: 89
Took office: 1975

Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Leans Left
Age in June 2009: 76
Took office: 1993

Antonin Scalia
Leans - well, do I have to tell you?
Age in June 2009: 73
Took office: 1986

Anthony Kennedy
Leans Right, but considered quasi-moderate
Age in June 2009: 72
Took office: 1988

Stephen Breyer
Leans Left
Age in June 2009: 70
Took office: 1994

David Souter
Leans Left
Age in June 2009: 69
Took office: 1990