Damage is Being Done
[Posted by The Angry Clam]
Some of you might remember the futures market fad that surrounded the last election, where people were using it to sort out what the hundreds of polls in various states meant.
Well, Tradesports didn’t disappear after the election, although it did spin off its current events markets to a separate website, Intrade.com.
I went over there to keep an eye out on the Miers confirmation futures. They started trading at around 94 points (a point is ten cents, so this is $9.40 for a contract that pays out $10.00 if it occurs… think of it like a percentage estimate of the event happening).
Now, her confirmation futures are trading around 70 points. Still not good, but it shows that there is some uncertainty out there at this point that she’ll be confirmed.
Bear in mind, though, that these are small volume markets, and perhaps not as representative as a broader one would be. Still it makes me happy to see that some people think that there is a chance we could sink this abomination.
— The Angry Clam
If Conservatives continue as they have been it will be a wonder if they can get through the hearings without completly reinventing the english language
Mad Hatty (de5fcb) — 10/7/2005 @ 9:05 am“She’s got to convince the conservative world that she understands the word ‘strict constructionist,'” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., one of three Judiciary Committee conservatives”
AP.com ‘strict constuctionalist’ would be two words…not one big one.
You all are beginning to have the look and feel of cable news channels when they obsess together on some pathetic story like Natalie Jackson Katrina. Make your best arguments and stop hyperventilating about Ms. Miers.
Maybe you could get a team of elite unnominated jurists to argue the case. Surely no one would be able to counter their abilities, developed from pre-birth where they studied, in utero, laminated copies of the U.S. Constitution.
You know, I don’t pretend to know the best answer even though I did attend an elite university where grade inflation helped me look even smarter. But I have read the Constitution many times. It is a short, focused document of incredible power. An intelligent person of character should be able to handle a job consisting of interpreting that document. Leading conservative pundits who demean Ms. Meirs’s qualifications have already lost the respect of many like me. It remains to be seen if this disaffection is permanent.
martins (fb2430) — 10/7/2005 @ 11:19 amMartins,I agree. Many like me who changed to conservative thinking and voting over time will jump ship if this kind of arrogance and obsession continues. Maybe the die-hards will say, who cares! Well, the Democrat party will care when those of us won over to the Republican side by GWB move away again because the “true conservatives” are getting really scary. This isn’t just Miers. I started feeling uncomfortable hearing Bush derided for planning to help rebuild New Orleans. What did you expect? He’s president of the country!! As for Miers, he knows he could never get the nuclear option through and by just trying it, Republicans lose a lot in the country. If you have a problem here, blame the Senate.
Florence Schmieg (a1e126) — 10/7/2005 @ 1:50 pmHas anybody investigated
Frank Laughter (0c1359) — 10/7/2005 @ 5:03 pmthis to see what the implications are?
This is the link that was intended for the previous comment:
Frank Laughter (0c1359) — 10/7/2005 @ 5:05 pmhttp://chronicle.com/free/2005/10/2005100602n.htm