Sonia Sotomayor

Tom Tancredo stormed off the set of the Ed Show when he was debating health care with Markos Moulitsas. Poor baby. It all started when Tancredo started trash-talking the Veterans Administration, at which point Markos brought up his chickenhawk past.  

Democrats don't have much to complain about when it comes to Senate confirmation of President Obama's judicial appointments, but some of them are doing it anyway. As pointed out by Associated Press Writer Larry Margasak, of the 27 judicial nominations Obama has made so far, all five brought up for votes in the Senate have won relatively quick confirmations. This includes new Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.  

It seems no matter what the people want, judges are comfortably above public opinion. That is by design. But it can go too far.  

Barack Obama was elected president at a time defined by hope and fear in equal measure. It was a remarkable moment in our country's history -- a milestone in America's scarred racial landscape and a victory for the forces of decency, diversity and tolerance. For the first time in decades, electoral politics became a vehicle for raising expectations and spreading hope while it mobilized millions of new voters.  

Senate Republicans are gearing up to block the appeals-court nomination of U.S. District Judge David Hamilton, whose resume includes a stint as a fundraiser for ACORN, the community-organizing group recently tripped up by a series of embarrassing undercover videos. Conservative legal groups have described Hamilton as "ultra-liberal." His appointment to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago would provide an aerie perch from which to rule on appeals from Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin.  

Armed with a compromise bill that has the approval of the Attorney General broadcasters and the co-sponsors of the bill, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT.) was once again unable to consider the Free Flow of Information Act, which grants qualified protection for journalists and their sources from government overreach. That version, and one already passed by voice vote in the House March 31, was scheduled to be considered at the regular Thursday business meeting, but was again ...  

One year ago, Barack Obama saw a nation embrace his candidacy, elevating him from a one-term senator to holder of the country's most powerful office with such enthusiasm that both houses of Congress were carried along with him. This week it was clear that national spirit has been dampened. Almost all of the most-watched races went Republican, though there was a silver lining for Democrats in upstate New York. There the Conservative Party candidate for Congress pushed out a moderate Republican ...  

U.S. Supreme Court justices are reportedly split regarding an ongoing case about whether prosecutors should enjoy absolute immunity for unscrupulous acts. The Christian Science Monitor said based on comments made during oral arguments in the case of Pottawattamie County vs. McGhee, five Supreme Court justices appear divided into two rival camps and three justices remain centered on the prosecutor case. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John Paul Stevens, and Sonia Sotomayor reportedly agree victims of prosecutorial misconduct should be allowed to file civil suits against prosecutors.  

Sen. Lindsey Graham offers the least cogent commentary about New York-23 I've seen. Graham told Politico : To those people who are pursuing purity, you'll become a club not a party.