Here's hoping...

From here

Supreme Court Justice David Souter to retire?

People have been expecting the older members of the Supreme Court to retire for some time now, but instead it appears that Supreme Court Justice David Souter will be the next one to leave the bench. This gives Obama his first chance to bring onto the court someone who reflects his own views. Although, while Justice Souter was nominated by President George H. W. Bush, a Republican and moderate conservative, Souter himself has consistently sided with the liberal-wing of the court. So, this change is unlikely to alter the landscape overall.

The question now is whether Conservatives will want payback for all of the justices that were filibustered and obstructed during the George W. Bush years. I am hoping that the GOP can rise above tit-for-tat, but I am not very hopeful in the current leadership's ability to do so. It is more likely they will want eye-for-an-eye and will stand in the way of any justice that President Obama nominates.

Mod-Blog Mish-mash: Oscars and retirement

Rather than write two short posts I'm going to write one medium one, which we can discuss in the comments.  I've been thinking about both of these items for some time and hopefully they make some sense.

If you've spent any time looking at movie news websites over the last 4 months then you've probably heard some chatter about how Heath Ledger deserves the Oscar for his performance in The Dark Knight.  For as long as I've heard this talk I've thought it was foolish simply because most of it is sentimentality based upon his death and not the performance (which VERY few people have seen completely at this point).  This article summarizes my opinion quite well. Beware there is a little spicy language in the article.

Secondly, recently there's been a lot of chatter about Bret Farve coming out of retirement to play another season.  First off, is it really retirement if he hasn't missed any part of a season?  Secondly, if you're going to retire - stay retired!  If you're not sure whether or not you're going to play the next season say that, don't have an elaborate press conference and with tears in your eyes say that you just don't have the will to play anymore.  I like Bret Farve, I think he's a genuinely great football player and probably a pretty good guy as well, but seriously stay away from football for 2 seasons before you start talking about how you 'got the itch again'.  This has happened a good number of times ever since Michael Jordan decided to retire from basketball to be a baseball player then not then a basketball player again, so I guess it's just a right of passage for superstars anymore, but it's quite annoying.  Let the fans grieve and move on.

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Today is Bill Gate's last day at Microsoft

Apparently, today is "Gold Watch Day" for the King of Windows. After this, he moves onto full-time work at his charitable foundation, and the sidelines to watch and see how Microsoft survives without his guiding hand. Windows Vista does not bode well for a Steve Balmer-directed MS, but then again a power vacuum at the top gives new geniuses a chance to jump in and get their ideas heard.

Between this and the recent speculation over Steve Jobs's health, it is time to start wondering what the "Next Generation" of technology CEOs will look like. Will they be in new companies like Facebook and Digg, or will be see second-generation "princes and princesses" stepping into the shoes of these giants? It is due to be a bumpy ride on Wall Street as we jump into this unknown territory.

Foreign Policy at Work