Faster Cars and Smellier Air

Tom the Dancing Bug is my favorite comic in current production.

Check out the typeface on the roundtable studio’s wallpaper of this week’s installment.

Even presidents who received a decisive mandate have traditionally cooperated with the Senate to find consensus appointments.

Our current president, whose victory was secured by the electoral votes of a single state, has so far chosen to ignore this convention. This seems to me to run afoul of the spirit, if not the letter, of Article 2, Section 2 of the Constitution:

He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court

It is interesting to note that no where does the Constitution mandate how many justices the court must have. This is set by statute. The current law of the land was established by the Judiciary Act of 1869

the Supreme Court of the United States shall hereafter consist of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight associate justices, any six of whom shall constitute a quorum

So the high court can lawfully function with as few as six sitting justices.

I am not affirmatively recommending that the Senate stop approving the president’s Supreme Court nominees. What I am saying is that they are not obliged to do so. The Senate Judiciary committee could be folded up tomorrow without explanation, and without causing any fundamental problem for the judiciary.

The president should consider this as he works to further limit the Senate’s input by keeping mum and running out what he thinks is the clock.

The Supreme Court makes decisions that affect our lives. We are absolutely entitled to try and influence its composition by acting through our representatives.

One more train item and then I promise to stop. The Washington Post published an article the other day about making Tysons, VA less pedestrian-hostile. This would be an important preparation for Metro Rail service, which is slated if I’m not mistaken for Spring of 2063.

The Dulles Corridor Rapid Transit Project has already gone so far as to give the future Metro stations unimaginative but uncharacteristicly concise names [dead link removed 2005-12-05].

While I am skeptical that Tysons could ever be reworked as a livable downtown, some pedestrian bridges might help. Or better yet, how about a sky gondola system?

Desperate times call for desperate measures.