Nasty Spell of Wheather

Mother nature decided to send a vicious "welcome to 2008" gift to the bay area in the form of a series of fierce storms packing hurricane-esque winds. Ferry service around the bay was canceled for much of the day on Friday, and our bus and train (MUNI) service came to a grinding halt. As much as we bitch about the weather up here, we're not used to this. Here's a crazy before/after picture of a poor unsuspecting tree from sfist.com.

A tree in front of my apartment building was substantially pruned by the storm, with several large branches falling onto the cars parked on the street below. Only one car was damaged, which is pretty amazing considering the size of the limbs that fell. For once, I'm glad that my parking spot was inconveniently parked away from my apartment and the trees.

The tree branches tumbled on friday night, but are still occupying the parking spaces because the city has yet to come haul them away. Though my property manager was trying to cut them into pieces with a hand saw, a pretty ambitious venture considering that some of the limbs were about a foot thick.

With the streets are still littered with limbs, not to mentions some xmas trees still lying around, it looks like the city got napalmed.

Luckily for me, all I got was some wet feet and shoddy cable tv during the storm. About 14,000 bay area residents and business, though, are without power.

(Picture from SF.Gate.com)

Happy New Year to All!

Due to my office trying to get everything done before the holidays, I have been on a blogging break. And my goodness a lot has happened since I last was on here. Shootings in malls, shootings in Pakistan, and a Tiger ate a fellow SFer. Though I have to be honest with you, I feel worse for the tiger than the guy who was allegedly taunting the tiger.

I'll try to be better and definitely more interesting in the future.

City Girls Have Dense Breasts, Increased Risk of Breast Cancer

BBC NEWS: City living 'breast cancer risk'

I was originally going to talk about perky city boobs, but this is actually quite scary and serious. Apparently, women living in cities have denser breasts, due to (they think) increased air pollution, which in turn, increases a woman's chance to develop breast cancer. So go get checked all you urban ladies.

In other BBC News, the British continue to push the meta envelope.

Protesters protest free-speech debate

Local Coffee Shop Makes Good (Coffee)

After mentioning one of our great local eateries, Boogaloos, when giving our city a good economic colonoscopy a while back, now one of our local coffee shops, Ritual, made it into "The Economist" for having a fancy coffee machine.

NEAR the hard-working espresso machine at Ritual Coffee Roasters, a café in San Francisco, sits a stainless-steel box about the size of a desktop computer. This box, the Clover, produces a cup of coffee with a spectacle of streaming water, whirring motors and an ingenious inverse plunger. Zander Nosler, the industrial designer who invented the Clover nearly three years ago, seems to have done the impossible: attracted a cult following for a new coffee-making machine that is both slower and vastly more expensive than other machines and requires the undivided attention of a trained operator.

Now these two establishments are actually more or less across the street from one another in the Mission. And they are, by far, two of the most hipster establishments in the city.

Boogaloos is where everyone goes for breakfast the morning after a big night out at Casanova, Delirium, Beauty Bar, Latin American Club, etc. You see some crazy hipster outfits (a la BSL) and some people who obviously never went to sleep the night before. Great breakfast, even better people watching.

And then there's Ritual. Ritual is a coffee shop, that no matter what day, nor time of day you walk into, all the tables are full with people on laptops. Sure, some of them are students, but not all of them. The rest are "writers," or "bloggers," or "trustifarians,"and most of the time all three. And again, very very hipster. You need to have at least one visible tattoo and 3 pair of skinny jeans to work there, and there are more fixed gear bikes locked up outside than are in the inventory of the worker-owned non-profit cooperative bike shop down the street. But, the coffee there is incredible.

And honestly, I can't think of anything that would make this place more hipster than a $11k coffee machine that requires a trained technician to produce an incredibly slow $6 cup of coffee.

Reading This Blog Makes You Smarterer

I guess.

Get a Cash Advance

'ello, what's that govna?!

San Francisco is currently considering adding double-decker buses, similar to those used in Vegas that have toured London's streets for time immemorial, to its public transit fleet.

I foresee this as a way of men letting each other know if they are a "top" or a "bottom."

French Tuesdays

If you happen to live in New York, Miami, San Francisco, or Los Angeles, you might have heard of "French Tuesdays." But maybe not.

Basically, its an exclusive list of exclusive francophiles that have an exclusive party somewhere every second Tuesday. Although, if I got invited, this whole exclusive thing might just be a crock. Anyway, this is who it is for according to the website.

If you have a particular taste for Champagne, enjoy dancing on eclectic music, being surrounded by an elegant and international crowd, and like a "je ne sais quoi of French Flair...

You will love our happy and hip gatherings,
that take place in the trendiest venues of the city.

Every other Tuesday, from 7pm to 1am,
we invite our members for an evening of fun, dance, Champagne and fine food, spiced up with a twist of French romance and heavy accents.

Intriguing, non? But part of this sort of sounded like Günther

The four main things in Günthers life are Champagne, Glamour, Sex and Respect.

The one I went to was at a place called Vessel here in SF, which is not a French bar. It's more like a bar from an early Sex and the City Episode...you know one where Samantha is hot for some fancy rich guy, who takes her to a trendy new Manhattan bar...in like 1998? With like a glowing bar and glass bricks in the bathroom? I don't know if that was a Sex and the City Episode, but it seems like it. Anyway, it kind of looks like that.

So I guess a couple of french guys got together and decided that the best way to hook up with american chicks was to lure them into one place every other tuesday with images of Louis Vuitton and Moet & Chandon dancing in their heads. And I have THIS to say about that.

Pretty smart really. Yeah, good job with that one. Especially when you're trying to fool everyone by fashioning your look after Moby.Now, I knew coming into this, that this would not represent the France that I know. While there is a very chic jet set in Paris, most people there are not. I ran into la racaille more than I did people who worked for Yves Saint Laurent.

But there was really nothing french about it. The DJ was french, and his music definitely dipped more into the eclectic, but the crowd there just seemed likely a slightly better dressed version of the kind of people who would go to this place, sans prétexte d'une soirée française. And no one was really all that nice. I don't know if it was the supposed exclusivity or "frenchness," but it kind of made everyone act a bit pretentious.

Now, I'm actually in these pictures somewhere (ooooh), but here is my attempt at some Blue States Lose.

I'm not exactly sure what's going on here, but I think the guy on the left just gave the guy on the right the fastest hand job ever recorded.

"My mother must approve all my dates. She told me to get you this glass of ginger ale. Wait, where are you going?"

I think it might have been my fight or flight response kicking in after seeing these guys walking towards me, but the first thing I noticed in this picture was the "Exit" sign.

"So then he said, 'just think of this dress as being the exclusive sneak-peak preview of your boobs.'"

In french, to be surprised is to be "étonné(é)." As in she was étonnéé to discover that this whole time this guy had been talking about a "préservatif," he was not referring to jelly.

My day of civic duty

On Tuesday, which was when our local elections took place, I was ordered to report for jury duty, in what turned out to be a wage/hour dispute. So I spent half a day watching a group of about 24 people get questioned by the judge, and then by the attorneys, about their experiences with employers/employees and their general feeling about litigants. I got excused after the first round of peremptory challenges when it seemed like they would have enough people to (eventually) form a jury. In my line of work, we practically never go to trial, so I'm gong to totally put this on my resume as "trial experience."

During voir dire, I was one again reminded about how ridiculously overeducated this city is. Of the 24 people on the panel, I would say about 4 did not have at least a B.A degree. And two of those were first generation immigrants who would eventually be excused because their English comprehension wasn't all that great. There were 3 attorneys (one was retired), a PHD and ex-professor, two scientists who worked for biotech companies, and a bunch of MBAs that worked in web development or something like that (my tech comprehension is far worse than the excused jurors' English).

And then I went and voted. In a city with that many educated people, you think there would be a large number of qualified candidates for mayor, right? Not so much. This city is also full of a bunch of nutjobs. Here are some of the candidates other than Gavin Newsom. And yes, these are really from the voter guide.

GEORGE DAVIS

My occupation is Writer/Nudist Activist.

My qualifications are:

This is a One Issue campaign which is to Make Golden Gate Park Clothing Optional like the major urban parks in Europe. For other policy issues, a well known City Manager will be appointed.

Thoughts for today:

You are free to be nude!!! You are free to wear clothing. By California case law (In Re Smith 1972 and other court decisions), you have a freedom of choice.

Nude is not lewd.

With San Francisco's ranked three choices, voting for freedom of choice is as easy as one, two, three. Give George Davis a ranked vote, preferably #1.

If anyone should think this is not a serious issue, explain why George Davis has been illegally harassed by the San Francisco Police Department with 4 full arrests (handcuffs, booking, jail) in 5 weeks of campaigning followed almost immediately with a discharge of the citations by the San Francisco District Attorney.

Voters, you have a clear choice. Do you want police harassment of a legitimate non-violent cultural movement and censorship? Or, do you want freedom of choice and civil liberties?

For more details on George Davis and this campaign, visit the blogs at: www.gonakedyoga.com Or contact George at: vote4mayorsf@yahoo.com

George Davis

-------

GRASSHOPPER ALEC KAPLAN

My occupation is Vegan Taxicab Driver.

My qualifications are:

Born – Moscow, Russia; English – third but only language. Grasshopper: Vegan, Bay swimmer, owner Grasshopper Taxicab. Lifelong musician; guitarist, singer/songwriter. Compassionate, tolerant, supportive, loving. 13 years here residentially challenged.

To Impeach Is Patriotic. Promote swift removal: Bush, Cheney, Gonzales; Repeal illegal war criminal “unilateral executive” policies.

Locally, most important challenge – providing affordable housing. If you work here, you gotta be able to live here, so you can come back to work the next day fresh. Strengthen eviction protection. Legalize alternative housing situations, like commercially-zoned buildings, where many allready live.

Legalize everything. Legalize prostitution and sex work; make it SAFE. Make everyone happy. No problems, only solutions. Legalize cannabis; greens for peaceful purposes. Fund schools, hospitals, parks, roads.

Separate paths for bicycles. Convert Muni into world-class public transit system. Downtown assessment district funding free Muni for residents.

Total amnesty for all non-citizens; people ain't illegal. Let's celebrate our hardworking labor force while treasuring, protecting cultural diversity, encouraging hope, mercy.

Restore festival, carnival atmosphere; musicians, Artists, fun, love. Remember to smile, laugh, celebrate our wonderful existence, our fabulous planet; create / make Grassland model – beacon of mutual understanding, hope. Gratefully,

Grasshopper Alec Kaplan

-----

JOHN RINALDI

My occupation is Showman.

My qualifications are:

Hi, my name is Chicken John and I'm running for Mayor because I have a vision for the future of this city. I want a city that attracts artists, not one that chases them away; where innovation wins out over gentrification. In other words, a city that actually has a future, and not just a celebrated past.

What are my qualifications? Small business owner, community leader, champion of the arts. I converted my truck to run on coffee grounds with zero emissions. I've spent the last decade bringing people together in artistic endeavor, helping to make this city a better place.

Am I dumb enough to think I can win? Not really. But I do believe I can win the losing vote, and that's why I'm asking you to vote for me for second place. Think of it as an intellectual exercise, designed to raise the level of conversation.

We stand to lose a lot more if we don't even try: more bad public art, more greenwashing, more of the same magician's misdirection. We must resist a city apparatus that resists innovation, and hold its feet to the fire.

C'mon, it'll be fun. Vote for me.

Tashi Delek,

Chicken John

I totally voted for Chicken John, cuz he was right about one thing. It was kinda fun.

Dear flatmate

Dear flatmate,

When you came by my open house when I was looking for a roommate, I liked you. Well, actually after my long distance ex-girlfriend vetoed my previous choice, you were the only person still looking. But you seemed nice and I liked you. And you had living room furniture. You didn't have a job lined up, but you assured me that you had enough money in the bank to last you for a while.

That was May.

You've never been late with rent or bills, and for that I thank you.

But please . . . get a job. Here is why:

1. You are always around. As I said, I like you. But you're always around. And sometimes you have friends over. And some of your friends have babies. And sometimes all I want is a quiet apartment.

2. It's not like you do anything. Ok, I know you're starting a nonprofit or whatever, but seriously. I don't know what you do with your day. You visit friends and go to coffee shops. I figure out all the bills, take out the trash and recycling and do more than my share of cleaning. You also never go shopping nor cook. When you sit there and say you're hungry and sigh until I offer you some of whatever I am eating is getting old. As is when you eat my food. I have about 10 hours less free time in my day than you do, so could you please EFFING DO SOMETHING? I don't expect you to do more than your share just because you are sans emploi, but please. Buy your own food and some toilet paper from time to time.

So, in sum, when you come home from a day of hanging out with your friends, please don't tell me how exhausted you are and then ask me if I'm going "to eat all that."

Thank You,

TDA

Bush Appointee To Bring Hostility, Feathered Bangs to Position

Similar to how he appointed John Bolton, a man who was know for his active dislike of the United Nations, as United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Bush has appointed an avid critic of birth control as chief of family planning programs at the Department of Health and Human Services, Susan Orr. She will be in charge of about $283 million in annual grants to provide low-income families and others with contraceptive services, counseling and preventive screenings.

As noted in this Washington Post article:

In a 2001 article in The Washington Post, Orr applauded a Bush proposal to stop requiring all health insurance plans for federal employees to cover a broad range of birth control. "We're quite pleased, because fertility is not a disease," said Orr, then an official with the Family Research Council.

So if she's not going to be spending all that money on birth control, what should she spend it on? My vote goes to booze and hotel rooms.

So Incredibly Likely, I Can't Believe It Actually Happened! Part II

Another Reason to Dislike Leland Stanfurd Junior University. Donald Rumsfeld, America's former defence secretary, has been granted a prestigious one-year fellowship at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, a conservative think-tank. Mr Rumsfeld will join a task force on terrorism and ideology, along with George Schultz, the secretary of state under Ronald Reagan and a current Hoover Fellow.

To the credit of the students and other faculty, a good number have signed a petition opposing the appointment, largely because of Mr Rumsfeld's role in the invasion of Iraq. Honestly, if you wanted someone on a committee on "terrorism and ideology," wouldn't you want somebody who hadn't supremely fucked up?

Medellin

Ok, no, I'm not talking about Vincent Chase's movie that bombed at Cannes. He's just a pretty man.

Today the SCOTUS will (or has, damn time difference), hear argument in Medellin v. Texas, a case that deals with the President's power to direct state governments to comply with international treaty law (in this case, a decision by the International Court of Justice["ICJ"]) when it deals with an area of law that is traditionally left to the states (criminal procedure of sorts). More importantly, it will also deal with whether state governments have an obligation to follow the ICJ's decision even in the absence of Presidential action because international law is, by definition, federal law, and thus preeminent under the Supremacy Clause.

I doubt international law is going to stand much of a chance with the current Court even though this would be a good case to enforce the ICJ's decision because there are direct treaty obligations involved. None of that messy customary international law or jug cogens stuff that makes U.S. judges so uncomfortable.

More info than you probably care for available here.

SCOTUS feigns interest, but really can't get mind off of back 9

In a day of unreceptiveness, the Court seemed disinclined to let investors sue companies that were involved in securities fraud if they were not primary violators. I actually found this somewhat hard to believe. Basically there was a scheme that required the participation of a third party (sham transaction). The investors were trying to go after the third party as well as the defendant/company itself. Other than Ginsburg though, it doesn't seem the little guy had much of a chance. If you're really bored interested in a background of the case, take a look here

Elsewhere, the Court also declined to review a case against the C.I.A., that would have reopened the "state secrets" question in El-Masri v. U.S. (06-1613) as well looked into the agency's alleged "extraordinary rendition" program; where the CIA captures individuals and then ships them abroad to be interrogated and tortured so that they do not have to follow U.S. law or procedure. El-Masri alleged that he was kidnapped in Macedonia in 2003 and then taken to Afghanistan where he was held for months and tortured by his captors. El-Masri was released in 2004 after he says U.S. officials realized he was not involved with terrorism. The administration has never acknowledged El-Masri or his claims.

So if you get kidnapped and shipped off to a foreign land, tortured and then let go because it was all a mistake. TOUGH SHIT. As the government would like to keep it a secret that it might be engaged in activity prohibited by both US and international law, there will be no review. Shhhhhh. It's a secret.

This Court is starting to remind me of the Board of Supervisors at a gated retirement community.

Champions League: Liverpool v. l'OM

Olympique de Marseille 1- Liverpool 0

Allez les gars!!! Droit au But!!

l'OM is about to become the first french side to ever win at Anfield!

Celebrity smooches criminalized in India

Maybe we could learn a thing or two.

At an AIDS awareness event in April, Richard Gere embraced Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty and gave her several kisses on the cheek. Arrest warrants were promptly issued for the both of them on charges of violating "anti-obscenity" laws. I don't think you have to be hindu to be a bit weirded out by having now 52 year-old Richard Gere smooching on you in public after saying "no condom, no sex" in hindi to the crowd.

But if kisses on the cheek are considered obscene, how in the world did they manage to televise an AIDS awareness event?

Update: Gays in Iran

Turns out there might be some after all!

http://gawker.com/news/international-lover/where-to-find-hot-gay-sex-in-iran-303521.php

Ahmadinejad at Columbia-in Support of Lee Bollinger

Short Version

Yesterday, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke at Columbia University. A previous speech that was to take place last year was canceled for "security and logistical reasons."

The President of Columbia University, Lee Bollinger, and the rest of Columbia University came under scorching criticism for allowing the controversial leader to speak.

"I didn't expect Lee Bollinger to say Ahmadinejad is a moderate or he's been misunderstood," City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said. "The forum he provided is the issue. He and his university gave this hate monger an opportunity to speak on one of the most prestigious stages in all the world." (From AP via Yahoo).

I, for one, applaud the decision. I believe that bad ideas are like vampires; they don't survive exposure to light. I only saw clips of his speech here, but I thought it was interesting. When confronted with his "denial" of the holocaust, he said that he didn't deny it happened, only that he disagreed with what had happened to the middle east since, and that the holocaust did not justify the displacement of the Palestinians (i.e., the creation of the state of Israel).

Fair Point. You might not agree with it, but it's a fair point.

My favorite part though, was when he was asked about homosexuals in his country. Ahmadinejad denied that ANY homosexuals existed in Iran. The crowd erupted in laughter, as I would. In that one instant, he was transformed from some diabolical world leader into just a bigot in denial. And THAT is the power of the free-exchange of ideas.

I don't think Lee Bollinger's introduction (wherein he called some of Ahmadinejad's ideas "ridiculous" and the man himself a "petty and cruel dictator") was really appropriate given that he was the moderator, as opposed to an opponent in a debate. However, given the amount of negative publicity about his decision to even allow Ahmadinejad to speak, I understand why he chose to lead with how he disagreed with the man, but that he still allowed him to speak.

So I agree with Ahmadinejad's rebuke that it wasn't really appropriate to introduce a speaker in a way to immediately put him on the defensive and that the students should make up their own mind. He called this "Iranian tradition." I think a few political prisoners and former newspaper owners who would disagree that it is Iranian tradition to allow free speech.

Ahmadinejad also took spontaneous questions from the audience. Something I wish OUR president (who was so quick to criticize the University's decision to allow the Iranian President to speak) would do. Cuz I think our President has some pretty stupid ideas that I wish would see the light of day in an open forum.

So again, in allowing him this forum, a lot of this man's ideas, that would otherwise stay hidden behind unchallenged statements in other forums, come to light. I just found the whole thing on Youtube, so I'm going to watch it all for context I think:

Long Version

Ahmadinejad Speech Part 1: Wow, that's a lot of God talk. I guess this shows the big difference between our two cultures. I think he's trying to be relevant to Christianity? Some of this "science and religion are able to co-exist" talk sound sort of similar to christian fundamentalist yet apologetic creationists.

Ahmadinejad Speech Part2: Oh man, more God stuff? This is why I don't go to church, mosque, or temple. No wonder the highlights from this were so short. Science is illuminating? Didn't he say this already? Oh God, this is painful.

Ahmadinejad Speech Part3: Ok, I agree that Bush's wiretapping domestic citizens does create fear, but this is coming from the guy who runs a country that shuts down opposition newspapers and arrests people for their political views. Now he's talking about the misuse of science and alluding to nuclear capabilities. I think I know where this is going....

Ahmadinejad Speech Part4: Here it is. The nuclear powers have strayed from science and the teaching of the profits by not allowing countries to develop nuclear capability. Palestinian refugees were created by the creation of Israel. ooh, here we go.... He did say that the holocaust was a "historical event" so I don't know how people can say that he "denies" its existence. He says he wants to research it from "different angles." Not sure what that means. Now he says he wants to study its "root causes," that's fair. And now why should the Palestinians pay the price for the holocaust when they didn't have anything to do with it? I think that is a fair point.

Iran is a member of the IAEA and now he's citing their bi-laws and saying their reports say that Iran is pursuing peaceful nuclear energy. I don't think the IAEA agrees with that.

Ahmadinejad Speech Part 5: Now he is making it an issue of independence and self-determination. Now questions: "Do you seek the destruction of Israel?" Answer: "We love all nations" and how jews live in Iran and are represented in the government. But he says Palestinians have the right to self-determination. But the interviewer wants a yes or no answer. Ahmadinejad bristles and says that now the moderator wants to hear the answer he wants to hear, and retorts with his own "Is the Palestinian issue not an international issue of prominence? Yes or no?"

Now, in response to whether Iran supports terrorists, he says that Iran is actually a victim of terrorism.

Ahmadinejad Speech Part 6: Now, "why do you want to research the holocaust more?" He answers, "why do you want to stop?" "I'm not saying it didn't happen"

Now a question about Iranian women and their rights. "Women in Iran enjoy the highest degree of freedom." Wow. "There are hundreds of women scientists in the biotechnology field." Wow, hundreds.

"We don't have homosexuals in our country" BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

"It's not a crime to be a women" Uh oh, this is getting bad.

Ahmadinejad Speech Part 7: Question about the nuclear program. What are you seeking? Only to provide fuel to power plants. He again accuses the world powers of wanting to monopolize science. Not much more.

Moderator makes one last quip about how Ahmadinejad didn't have time to answer some questions, and didn't answer some of the questions posed to him. Wow, that never happens here. I think that was a rather lame an ungracious last word to get in.

Had to Share

I think you have to be sort of an internet dork to get these, but good lord they're hilarious.

http://lolsecretz.blogspot.com/

The Pick-Up Artist: Episode...uh...I don't know....the one with the strippers

In this week's episode, Mystery sends the three remaining boys to a strip club in an attempt to pick up on strippers.

While I've always found this show bordering on the inappropriate, I think this crosses the line. When I put on my "dude" helmet, I understand the logic here. Strippers are like asymptotes. You can get really close to them, but you can never touch them. They are unattainable. They have probably seen every trick in the book.

BUT, these are also women who do this for a living. This is their job. How they feed themselves is by taking off their clothes. Regardless what you think of this, I think it is really disrespectful to walk in here and do as Mystery said "Keep your money in your pockets." That's why the women are here, to make money, not to deal with your cheap ass. Ugh. Ok, I'm really done with this show now.

New Pick for AG Less Likely To Take Advantage of People Doped Up in Hospital

Today dubya nominated retired federal judge Michael B. Mukasey as Gonzo's successor at the top of the Department of Justice. Most of the articles I have read paint him as a "compromise" choice and a concession to Democrats and all those critical of the Britney Spear's VMA performance that this administration has become (analogy shamelessly stolen from Jezebel).

While I agree that he seems to be less bat shit crazy, I'm not totally sold. As a federal judge, he did seem to adhere to the constitution. He is also the judge that signed the material witness warrant of Joseph Padilla and was involved with his case while it was in New York. At one point during that case, he siding with Padilla over the government.

Since he has retired, however, he has not hesitated to wax poetic (see op ed piece here) about how the war on terror merits different standards for criminal convictions and how our system is not prepared for this on-going struggle. For example, at one point in his op ed, he said:

On one end of the spectrum, the rules that apply to routine criminals who pursue finite goals are skewed, and properly so, to assure that only the highest level of proof will result in a conviction. But those rules do not protect a society that must gather information about, and at least incapacitate, people who have cosmic goals that they are intent on achieving by cataclysmic means.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, is said to have told his American captors that he wanted a lawyer and would see them in court. If the Supreme Court rules--in a case it has agreed to hear relating to Guantanamo detainees--that foreigners in U.S. custody enjoy the protection of our Constitution regardless of the place or circumstances of their apprehension, this bold joke could become a reality.
(emphasis added).

So it seems that when he did adhere to constitutional standards in his courtroom he did it somewhat begrudgingly. Which, to be sure, is an improvement. But now that he is a position of a policy maker, I don't think he will exhibit the same impartiality he once had as a trial judge. While he seems competent (again, an improvment), I do not believe that he really is a concession to democrats or will significantly change the administration's stance on the war on terror.