Here’s a graphic from the lateset Sojourners mailing:

Look at that bad military man and his evil ways, trying to encourage that prepubescent child to serve his country. Look at that peace-loving mom, with violence clearly on her mind.

Look at the website they want you to visit, and see who the spokeswoman is.

Look at the blog for this effort.

A selection:

Mitt backs war, but his boys are safe at home

Because, as we all know, if you support something, your kids must be directly involved in that effort. You like the police? Your daughter better be a cop. You like getting your trash hauled away every week? You better hope you have at least a nephew working as a sanitation engineer.

The message boils down to this: folks, don’t let your 12-year-old child be the next Casey Sheehan!

Because, as we all know, Casey Sheehan was just a child victim, not a hero who died at the hands of terrorists, while defending his country and the good people of Iraq.

Speaking of Constitutional law, here’s a liberal edit, via Will Franklin.

By the way, did you know Alannah Myles’ “Black Velvet” is about Memphis and the Elvis subculture? I never knew anything beyond the chorus, from those stupid ’80s collection commercials on TV.

U.S. Senate candidate Ed Bryant visited the University of Memphis Law School this afternoon to deliver the kick-off address for the local chapter of the Federalist Society. Bryant spoke on Constitutional law, government ethics, judicial confirmation and the recent politicization of the judiciary.

“Politics has captured the entire process of the nomination and confirmation of federal judges,” he said.

Bryant started his speech by reminding students of the history of the Constitution’s ratification, and touched on Hamiltion’s Federalist Papers, Marbury v Madison and McCulloch v. Maryland, before moving to more recent events in order to provide some context to discuss the confirmation of John Roberts, the Supreme Court nominee currently before the Senate.

Bryant said he fears too many judges “accept the prinicple of the evolving document,” which has two serious consequences: 1. the power of the Judicial Branch is inflated, and 2. the judicial system is destabilized, causing Americans to doubt the finality of rulings and making it difficult to determine future rulings.

He brought out a good point: if judicial activists want the law to change in order to reflect society, there is already a way to allow for that sort of dynamic activity; it’s called the admendment process. Change should come through new laws and amendments, not through new interpretations.

Bryant said he is unsure when “advise and consent” became “advise and prevent,” but pointed to the not-too-distant Scalia confirmation in 1986 (98-0) as a model for what could and should be.

“Judicial confirmation has morphed into the most bitter version of a political campaign,” Bryant said, to the point where political groups such as NARAL are now running ads on television to oppose the confirmation of Judge Roberts.

Bryant said Roberts is a “great selection,” who received the highest ABA rating and is universally acclaimed by his peers. He also made some predictions: Roberts’ confirmation will be filibuster-free, he will be approved by the Senate by a vote of 75-25, and Bush will appoint two more justices before his term expires in 2009.

During the question and answer period, Bryant said he was generally not in favor of judical term limits or “court stripping legislation,” preferring instead to use the current and historical process to put good judges on the bench; Bryant said it all starts with the Senate Judiciary Committee.

He also said the judicial nominees shouldn’t have to answer questions about specific cases or issues and that a nominee’s religion shouldn’t factor into the process.

Funniest line of the day, during the question and answer period:

Q. “I’m not a student or a lawyer, but…”
A. “But you stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night?”

Pop psychology luminary Malcolm Gladwell has another article on health care that I’ve been meaning to read. Judging from reactions in the blogosphere, I must have overestimated the severity of Gladwell’s earlier criticism of Canada’s socialized health care system.

These days, you can be a media hero(ine) if you stage an anti-war “prayer vigil” for the troops.

But if you happen to be in the military, you are now discouraged from public prayer.

And if you’re a Supreme Court nominee who at one time defended a law allowing a public moment of silence (see item #5), you’re suspect.

Charles Krauthammer shares my baseball blues:

They [the Washington Nationals] began losing games in ways that even the Cubs hadn’t invented.

It’s a crying shame, but misery loves company.

Anti-Bush author David Corn (note my special forwarding url) has a replacement for the “Bush Lied, People Died” bumper sticker, after watching Hotel Rwanda this weekend:

As I watched the film, it occurred to me that Bush’s misadventure in Iraq–which has consumed the lives of nearly 2000 American soldiers and tens of thousands (maybe over 100,000) Iraqi civilians–has rightly prompted widespread outrage here and abroad, while Clinton’s indifference (and that of other Western leaders), which in a way allowed Hutu extremists to kill so easily hundreds of thousands of Tutsis in one of the most time-efficient massacre of the 20th Century, prompted hardly a burp of indignation.

I wonder, has Corn seen Black Hawk Down?

A new conservative publication for Memphis and the Mid-South is launching in September, the Main Street Journal. I had a hand in rolling out the website, so I invite you to check it out and let me know what you think.

Conservatives in Memphis and the surrounding areas will be thrilled to have an alternative to the Memphis Flyer and the Commercial Appeal. It’s a must-have for people with an interest in local politics and culture, and a year’s subscription is only $20.

The premiere issue includes articles by Rep. Marsha Blackburn, Fmr. Rep. Ed Bryant, and other local leaders, plus a theatre column, a restaurant review and lots more.

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is currently going for $1,825.00. You have six days and six hours left to place your bid.

This is going around the blogs, but is it really a great zinger if you have to go all the way back to 1940 to find it?

Click image to view.