Politics as a Religious Experience

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I think it's sensational that Sonia Sotomayor has been nominated for the Supreme Court by President Barack Obama. Apparently so does Matt Drudge, his headline reading, "Obama Picks Latina." So this is a black man nominating an...American...whose parents are Puerto Rican...who is a...no! a woman? That noun ends in an "a" - it's feminine!

Oh will the diversity never end!?

Let's take a look at the current Supreme Court breakdown:

John Roberts: White Male, Roman Catholic
John Paul Stevens: White Male, Protestant
Antonin Scalia: White Male, Roman Catholic (half Italian)
Anthony Kennedy: White Male, Roman Catholic (Not a "real" Kennedy)
David Souter: White Male, Episcopalian
Clarence Thomas: Black Male, Roman Catholic (Succeeded Thurgood Marshall)
Ruth Bader Ginsburg: White Female, Jewish
Stephen Breyer: White Male, Jewish
Samuel Alito: White Male, Roman Catholic

Okay, that's:
89% White vs. 75% of the population*
89% Male vs. 49% of the population*

*Based on 2000 Census

So clearly we're under representing women and minorities, right? But just take a look at the religions:

56% Catholic vs. 25% of the population
22% Jewish vs. 1% of the population
11% Protestant vs. 51% of the population (Protestant meaning Christian but not Catholic)
11% Episcopalian vs. 1% of the population

Oy vey! How did all those Jews and Catholics get into the Supreme Court?

While we're diversifying the Court by increasing both the woman and minority categories, we're gaining another Catholic, making 2/3 of the Court Roman Catholic and wiping out Episcopalians entirely.

But even without her nomination, I've noticed a very disturbing trend in the homogeneity the United States Supreme Court (that's homogeneity as in "sameness," not "gayness"). A full 44% of the Supreme Court is controlled by men named John or Anthony. Where are all the other names? So far a Christopher has not been chosen, though John has been the name of 9% of all Supreme Court Justices to have served.

Indeed, the lack of diversity is a shame.

Two scoops, with sprinkles.

Oops.

Though I walk throught the valley...

The separation of Church and State.

Dial Denial

It's time to get a landline, because it might just decrease my rampant binge-drinking.

In and article entitled, "More Americans Drink And Dial On Cell Phones: Is the U.S. turning into a wireless, drunken nation?" Channel Matters reported on a recent CDC study connecting binge drinking and cell phone use:

A new study from the Centers for Disease Control released Wednesday found that more than one in every five Americans are now using only mobile phones, and pulling the plugs on their landlines. The study also found that Americans who choose to use only mobile phones also are more likely to be binge drinkers.

It continues:

Results from the July through December 2008 study also found that for some reason, the prevalence of binge drinking (defined as having five or more alcoholic drinks in one day during the past year) among wireless-only adults (36.7 percent) was nearly twice as high as the prevalence among adults living in households that had landline phones only (19.7 percent).

Five drinks in one day over the past year? It's a good thing they didn't do this poll at a college, where no one has a landline and many drink that much at least once a week. Oh, wait... The CDC might be onto something... But seriously, five drinks in one day in the past 365 days? If we measured obesity by how much food a person ate one one day in the last year, I'd be screwed.

My post-erg marathon (42,195 meters) meal:

1. Bacon, tomato, and cheese egg-white omelette
2. Bagel with cream cheese
3. Belgian waffle with syrup
   
4. Bowl of cereal
5. Homefries
   
6. Banana
7. Glass of chocolate milk
8. Glass of orange juice
9. Glass of cranberry juice
10. 2 Glasses of water

I must be so fat. I wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that I'm a neurotic e-mail checker.

But I misled you a bit:

No further information was released about these findings and the CDC didn't attempt to explain the correlation between binge drinking and cell phone-only usage.

For that matter, so did Channel Matters, which just goes to show that if it bleeds, it leads, even if if the headline (sub-header, in this case) lies to you.

Have a good one, I'm going to go have less than five beers and call my friends on my cell.