Idea storage

Friday, July 22, 2005

Plug for my brother

A musical that my brother, Ben Winters, co-wrote, opened Wednesday night in Albany, NY. "Breaking Up is Hard to Do," based on the songs of Neil Sedaka sold-out, and already had its run extended. It also got a great review from the Schenectady paper (can't link as requires a subscription).

Neil himself was in attendance, and seemed to be having a great time.

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

Supreme Court nominee John Roberts

I was obviously wrong in predicting that Gonzalez would get the pick. However, I still see him a strong candidate for the next spot that opens, possibly Rhenquist's after one more session.

From the reports I heard, Bush went farther than any President in recent memory, and perhaps history, in the numbers of Senators he consulted before making a selection. I gotta say, not that I'm a fan of the President, but that was a smart thing. Why have a nasty confirmation hearing if you don't need to?

Judged from the appearances alone, Roberts doesn't look like the kind of guy who would knock a teenager up, or be found in a strip club or smoking a joint behind a bowling alley. I won't say he looks like Ward Cleaver, but he looks equally puritan. I bet he gets confirmed easily. Hopefully the Court will still need one more vote to overrule Roe v. Wade (assuming that Scalia, Thomas, Rhenquist, and Roberts would all vote to overrule it in a heartbeat).

Good luck, America! (meanwhile Canada goes ahead and legalizes gay marriage ...)