One of the things I don’t like about this particular Word Press blog template is that there is no profile pic on the first page. It seems to me when I go to other pages I like seeing a pic of the person. It helps me know I’m in the right place and also seems kind of internet honest.
Speaking of honest, I have been thinking about Neil Gorsuch this morning. Hearings for his Supreme court nomination begin today. I have his book, The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia from the library. I have read a few pages into it. Today I skipped past the clear description and history of law around this issue to chapter 9 where he proposes his reason against legalizing assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Gorsuch prose and thoughts are clear and well wrought. He obviously has a brilliant mind. I wonder about the connection between intelligence and integrity. I hope that Gorsuch has integrity. My guess is he probably does. I want to watch a bit of the hearings today to see him in action. I think he will probably get the vacated Scalia seat. I have watched Supreme Court justice nominations before including the hearings for Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas. I don’t need to watch the entire thing (although I did watch a lot of the Clarence Thomas hearing).
We subscribe to Comcast which allows viewers to access C Span via their subscription. C Span is funded by cable TV. I haven’t found a good free streaming site which is troubling since it provides continual access to Congress as well as other fascinating events. But we have it queued up this morning so that when the Gorsuch hearings begin we can watch.
This afternoon I have to play with a local trumpet player at the funeral at my church. He apparently was in contact with the deceased recently who requested he play at his funeral. I think he has a jazz/classical background. He has been emailing about this gig. We are going to do several pieces together: “Just a Closer Walk with Thee,” “Take Five,” “Roses of Picardy,” and “When the Saints.” Yesterday as I was practicing these tunes, I told myself I should be able to play “Just a Closer Walk with Thee” and “When the Saints” by ear in the keys that are good for the trumpet guy.
Then I realized I was asking myself to do something that was not necessary. When playing by ear I often make mistakes. Why set myself up for that? I wondered. So I’m going to put together charts for those two tunes in the keys the trumpet player mentioned in his email. Also I plan to have my Real Book handy if he wants to do some playing in the prelude together in addition to these tunes. I fear he might be a bit of an academic jazz snob. He insisted on using his own version of “Take Five” because “The Real Book is wrong.” Yikes.
Anyway, I plan to be prepared to accompany him and include him as much as possible today. I also plan to play some of the usual excellent music I play at funerals and wedding: Bach and Mozart. I’m not an academic jazzer. I improvise, but actually attempt to play what I hear which is probably more poppy/rock and roll/classical or some lame combination of stuff.
POSTSCRIPT The trumpet player just emailed me charts for those two tunes. Bless his heart! That will make my day go better!
In Gorsuch, Conservative Activist Sees Test Case for Reshaping the Judiciary – The New York Times
This is a creepy little history of the money behind conservative judges.
What Gorsuch Has in Common With Liberals – The New York Times
I read this article differently after reading the next article. “Originalism” is an interesting and complex subject. It seems that one can be either a liberal leaning one or a right wing one. According to this article it helps to keep up to date ( this article cites Scalia’s last scholarly connection was when he was in school in the 50s, before the civil rights act! Can that be right?)
On Originalism in Constitutional Interpretation by Steven G. Calabresi
I can’t say enough about the web site: constitutioncenter.org. I have been reading my way through their app. I’m glad to see this article (and the others) are all online.
So, What Is Trump Hiding? – The New York Times
So the NYT app I use is buggy. This article had no text in it. I sent myself a link so I could use my browser to look at it. That’s why I bookmarked it. Haven’t read it yet, but at least now I can.
A ‘Community’ of One: The Times Gets Tailored – The New York Times
I don’t think the current Public Editor at the NYT is that good. This article outlines some terrible things the NYT is going to do with it’s interface. Fuck fuck fuck.
Margaret Atwood on What ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Means in the Age of Trump – The New York Times
I haven’t gotten to reading this yet, but definitely plan to.
Chris Hayes: By the Book – The New York Times
Once again many books to check out including one by the subject of the interview.
I can help you add a profile pic in the sidebar. Easy peasy.
Done. I wrote you on WhatsApp with info about how to change it.
Thank you! I figured out what you did. I’m not sure how I will end up using it. I like the big pic at the beginning of a post as well. Too much? Who knows?
Kind of like BuzzFeed does with their authors? Example: https://www.buzzfeed.com/ishmaeldaro/skip-the-wages