Well, this will be fun

Supreme Court Justice Souter To Retire : NPR

The Republicans will go apeshit at the confirmation hearings. And there’s nothing they can do! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!! Obama could nominate Bill Clinton, and all they could do is whine. I think Clinton would be a pretty good justice, actually.

Life support

Update: Hearing on Bruno’s auction postponed as talks continue – Business News from The Birmingham News – al.com

Really, though, it’s just a temporary measure before they harvest the organs.

I have to apologize to Jeff Sessions

Historian Michele Bachmann Blames FDR’s “Hoot-Smalley” Tariffs For Great Depression | TPMDC

I always thought he was the dumbest person in Congress. I guess I was wrong. He’s still pretty dumb.

It’s a great day, really

After 75 years, lights out for Bruno’s Supermarkets – Business News from The Birmingham News – al.com

Bruno’s is getting auctioned off in bits and pieces today. Unless someone buys the whole chain — which is extremely doubtful — the best case scenario is that someone like Kroger’s buys a lot of the stores and keeps them open. But many stores are certain to close, especially in already hard-hit poor areas. Let’s congratulate the people responsible:

• The Bruno family, whose pursuit of a quick buck destroyed Joe Bruno’s legacy.
• Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, who began the process of stripping the chain for parts, allowed stores to deteriorate, and saddled it with debt, driving it into bankruptcy the first time.
• Ahold, the Dutch company that took over from KKR and did basically the same stuff for a few years.
• Lone Star Funds, the current owners, who have apparently stripped whatever KKR and Ahold couldn’t get from the carcass, and which has allowed the stores to deteriorate to such a degree that some of them are actually scary to enter.
• The employees, who are about as happy to work there as you’d expect, and who have refused to allow the union to make any further concessions to keep the stores open.
• The bankruptcy court, which is allowing the management to pay out $40 million in bonuses to poor, abused executives of the company.

And, okay, Wal-Mart and Publix. Still…

No, anything but that!

What Does Specter’s Switch Mean For The Committees? | TPMDC

But for now, keep in mind that the next most senior minority member of the Senate Judiciary Committee is Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT). He used to chair that committee, and there may be term limit rules that prevent him from taking Specter’s place. Behind Hatch are Iowa’s Chuck Grassley (ranking member on Senate Finance) and Arizona’s Jon Kyl (the minority whip). If they don’t swap out those coveted positions for Specter’s slot on Judiciary, next in line would be…Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL).

Let me just tell the Republicans that you do not want the Evil Little Troll as your captain in a future Supreme Court confirmation hearing. Trust me. He’s extremely stupid and will say what he thinks.

No more filibusters?

Arlen Specter for Senate 2010

“I have decided to run for re-election in 2010 in the Democratic primary.”

He says he won’t be an automatic vote for cloture… but you have to think that he’d be a whole lot more likely to vote for it. If nothing else, he doesn’t want a big primary fight, which is what will happen if he acts too Republican.

That was a mistake

Judge sentences former Compass Bank teller to two months in prison after she pleaded guilty to stealing $14,500 from a customer – al.com

If she’d stolen $14.5 million, she would have gotten off with probation.

Oh, I’m all for Conferdate

Monday is Conferdate holiday for Alabama – WAAYTV.com – Huntsville, Alabama – News Weather, Sports |

Unfortunately, it’s Confederate Memorial Day, in which we honor all those who gave their lives for the right to own people. Hooray!

[Raises hand]

Now closing: GeoCities, a relic of Web’s early days | Webware – CNET

Raise your hand if back in the day you pronounced the name to rhyme with “atrocities”.

Hooray for bigotry!

Alabama House resolution honors Miss California for opposing gay marriage – Breaking News from The Birmingham News – al.com

Hell, we still have that Jim Crow constitution that the Republicans oppose getting rid of, enshrining this little bit of pointless hatred is just par for the course.