Sunday--Happy Valentine's Day

another semi-holiday promoted to a consumerist orgy.

Well, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has died. I never saw the charming side of him that so many friends and colleagues interviewed by the media have extolled. What I saw was a "conservative" who thought the Constitution had been brought down from the mountain by Moses and should be applied as written two hundred odd years ago. Unfortunately for Scalia's notions people change, conditions change and society changes over time and I doubt that the Founders (that sainted group that gave us that sacred document) really meant to apply an iron legal straight jacket to society. Why bother with a process to amend it if that is what they intended? So now the social/political war can be waged on another front. We not only will get no action from our politicians (it is an election year after all and they have more important things to do than legislate) but we probably won't get much from the Supremes either except, maybe, 4-4 deadlocks.

Does anyone else think this is a truly messed up argument for a tax increase? In the wake of Bobby Jindal's insane fiscal policies aren't there far more urgent problems that the continuation of LSU football? How about the continuation of LSU as a major university? Or the rebuilding of the black wards of New Orleans which still have not recovered from Katrina? Or...name your favorite program/cause? That LSU football needs the largess is such a lame reason for tax increases.

Another case of government responding to their true masters: business. Or at least some businesses. I want labeling on foods because I want the information so I can make a reasonable decision on what foods I buy. I think anyone who goes into the grocery and picks up "food" items without looking at the label is a fool and I am not in favor of protecting fools from foolishness. But I want the information and I think it should be readily available at the point where I am making my choice--in the supermarket, restaurant, etc. I also wonder how much Monsanto muscle is behind this effort to chip away at the legal requirement to provide information to consumers?