Alito it is. Before you listen to left-wing demagoguery about how radical he is, take the time to read what he has written. His most well-known opinion, the dissent in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, is linked here. For a judicial opinion, it reads very well, and he comes off like a reasonable interpreter of the constitution and past opinions. It's going to be difficult for Democrats to stop his nomination, especially if his supporters get out early and frame the debate. At any rate, this fight will be of a much higher quality than Harriet Miers' nomination would have been.

---

My fantasy football team, Rico's Roughnecks, is awesome. Solid 128-66 victory this weekend moves me to 5-3. Not that you care.

---

Saw Wedding Crashers over the weekend. If you haven't seen it, go now. If you have, watch it again. Hilarious. Of the recent Vince Vaughn-Owen Wilson-Luke Wilson-Ben Stiller-Will Ferrell movies to come out, it might just be the best. I can't remember the last movie I enjoyed so much in the theaters. Countless funny jokes left me ROTFLMAO! LOL!! JK!!! Plus, it's got Christopher Walken in it, so that's always worth a few points in my book.

---

On a semi-related note, I wonder how much I would have to pay Vaughn and Wilson to crash my wedding. If only I hadn't gotten married before seeing the movie.

---

For today's Rap Lyric of the Day, I go to my good personal friend Notorious B.I.G., or as I called him, "Biggie." Growing up on the streets of Brooklyn was a difficult experience and something I would not wish on anyone. We all either rose above the streets or perished on them. Like Biggie, I was able to get out of the hood. We all used different methods. For him, it was wicked rhymes. For me, it was my dope mathematical skills. So today we remember Biggie and reminisce about what it was like in the hood.

Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis
When I was dead broke, man I couldn't picture this
50 inch screen, money green leather sofa
Got two rides, a limousine with a chauffeur

Rest in Peace, Big Poppa.

---

Now my friends, I must say good night once again. I'm off to crash a funeral.

The withdrawal of Harriet Miers' nomination to the Supreme Court is a good thing. I'm not saying that as any ultra right-wing conservative who thinks every court member should be personally bombing abortion clinics or anything. I say that because the Supreme Court is the domain of unbelievably intelligent and experienced judges. In a meritcracy, Harriet Miers had no place on the Supreme Court. Were she not close with George W. Bush, she would just be another private practice attorney or lower level judge in Texas (albeit an intelligent one). This sets the stage for Bush to nominate a qualified conservative, which not only has the benefit of uniting his base, but also of framing the debate in a way that the democrats can not win in the long term. As long as Bush nominates an obviously qualified jurist, Democratic attempts to filibuster him or her will be (rightly) seen as blatant partisan attempts to hijack the democratic will of the people. I imagine Harriet Miers would have been a staunch conservative, since I don't think Bush would have nominated such a wild card if he wasn't absolutely certain of her stances, but she does not possess the intellectual pedigree to fill a seat once occupied by the likes of Oliver Wendell Homes, John Jay, and my personal hero John Marshall.

---

In other news, it's time for the rap lyric of the day! Woo! Today, our entry comes from my favorite homey in the LBC, Snoop, who reminds us all of our ultimate goal, to be rich and famous and yet retain our street cred. P.I.M.P. indeed.

"F-I-F-T-Y-C-E-N-T and S-N-O-O-P D-O-Double G
Internationally known and locally respected..."

Til Monday, G.

Note: my blog no longer has a title. I got tired of "Ryan's Random Thoughts" and I wanted something more creative, but as you may know, I'm not a creative guy. Thus, it will remain empty until I think of something that I enjoy. Suggestions are always welcome.

---

Rap Lyric of the Day

They say I gotta learn but nobody's here to teach me
If they can't understand it, how can they reach me?

--Coolio

Holla. Some news and funny stuff bright and early this morning. First, some thoughts on terrorism. For everyone who thinks we should not take a hard line with terrorists, I would like to point you to the illustrious president of Iran. According to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Samir Na-ee-nah-nah-jar?), Israel should be "wiped off the map." Mind you, this is not a terrorist, this is the titular leader of a country. If he's saying that, imagine what the terrorists believe. Anyway, I guess the point is, we needed a dramatic shift in the Middle East. The Iraq war and the War on Terror have not been executed perfectly, but the fact remains that the status quo was a dangerous tempest that bred and exported radical Islamism. The road of appeasement leads nowhere good. Full article here

---

In much more light-hearted news, The Onion wrote an article about the cherished history of my beloved Notre Dame. I was proud of my school before, and that was before I knew Jesse Owens led the Irish to victory over Hitler and Rommel in 1936.

Notre Dame Football Announces Improvements To Its Storied History
October 27, 2005 Onion Sports

SOUTH BEND, IN—With their football renaissance derailed, at least for the moment, by a current 5-2 record that includes losses to rivals USC and unranked Michigan State, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have elected to improve in the one area where they still outclass all other college football teams: their legendary history.


"Although we have great hopes for the future of our football program, Notre Dame has greater hopes for a facet of that program that is far more important to our university: our past," Notre Dame athletic director Kevin White said in a press conference Monday. "With that in mind, we will be making improvements, additions, and revisions that, like our history itself, have been 118 years in the making."

Notre Dame's history, perhaps the most storied in sports, already includes such legends as Knute Rockne, George Gipp, and Joe Theismann. However, once the program's history has been revised, it will also include Hall of Famers such as Bo Jackson, formerly of Auburn; Archie Griffin, formerly of Ohio State; and Red Grange, formerly of Illinois.

"All these Hall of Fame players are definitely worthy of going down as the greatest in history," Notre Dame coach Charles Weis said. "And since the College Football Hall of Fame is right down the road from us here in South Bend, we can easily make sure that the history they go down in is Notre Dame's."

Weis said that, while he certainly inherited a good history when he took the coaching job in South Bend, he wants to make that history a great one.

"I fully intend to be the primary architect of Notre Dame history's return to prominence and relevance," Weis said. "I inherited a program that had only won 11 national championships between 1924 and 2005. I promise you that, by this time next year, the Fighting Irish will have won at least 10 more in that same time period."

Director White and Coach Weis said that although the improvement of the 1887-2005 seasons will not be finalized until later this year, they have already begun drawing up plans for the historical revision.

Some of the highlights of Notre Dame's new history:

1869: The first college football game is played this year, on Nov. 6, between Princeton and Rutgers, with the understanding that the winner will go on to play Notre Dame later in the afternoon for the national championship

1887: University board approves the Athletic Department's request for a new sports team, and Notre Dame football is officially born on the playing fields of South Bend, IN, the same year as future Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz is born in West Virginia

1936: The Fighting Irish football squad travels to Nazi Germany to represent America at the Berlin Olympics; ND split end Jesse Owens gains 187 yards and scores three touchdowns in a 42-17 gold-medal-winning rout of the heavily favored Rommel-coached SS squad

1943: With the boys fighting World War II overseas, the women of Notre Dame take the reins of the football team and pummel the notorious draft-dodging Michigan Wolverines to bring home another national title to South Bend

1944: In December, the Notre Dame defense successfully holds off a German advance to win the Battle of the Bulge; meanwhile, in the Pacific theater, the Irish offense invades and retakes the Philippines; the team finishes the season ranked #2 in all polls

1956: Future Notre Dame quarterback and six-time Heisman Trophy winner Joe Montana is on June 11 in New Eagle, PA of a vestal virgin born

1957: Notre Dame quarterback Paul Hornung, in a vote that remains controversial to this very day, splits the Heisman Trophy with the man who is now widely regarded as the best football player of all time, halfback Jim Brown of Notre Dame

1961: 31 points down in the fourth quarter of an away game against highly ranked Ohio State, Notre Dame, led by 12-year-old freshman phenom Joe Theismann, scores 42 points to win in overtime

1970: Notre Dame turns down offers from the ACC, the Big Ten, and the National Football League, electing to remain a Division I independent

1975: Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, an undersized fourth-string transfer student, is allowed to dress for and play in the last and only game of his college career; in the final moments of the game, "Rudy" tackles the Georgia Tech quarterback, forcing a fumble which rolls into the end zone and is recovered for an Irish victory; Notre Dame jumps up 23 spots in the polls for a share of the national championship; Ruettiger is awarded the Butkus and Nagurski trophies

1984: In the last seconds of the national championship at the Orange Bowl, Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie's last-second Hail Mary pass is intercepted in the end zone by Notre Dame cornerback Deion Sanders and returned 106 yards for the winning touchdown

1991: All-time Notre Dame scoring leader Jerome Bettis is given the nickname "The Bus" not only for his great size and reliability, but also for his ability to put the entire Fighting Irish team on his back and carry them to away games as far away as Florida and California

2005: The Oct. 15 victory of the Fighting Irish over #1 ranked USC, 27-31, is marred somewhat when Trojan Matt Leinart, who attempts to run the ball into the end zone in a last-second quarterback sneak, gets hit by the entire Notre Dame defense and is killed instantly as time runs out

---

And I'll be back with the rap lyric later today. Seacrest out.