When to pay attention

Over on andrewsullivan.com, guest-blogger Alex describes an egregious case of eminent domain and wonders what the Supreme Court will do about it.

Well, I don't know. And, as much as I didn't like the result of the Kelo ruling, I can't say with confidence that it was the wrong ruling.

I think the real problem is that people don't pay attention to these things until they get to the Supreme Court. Yes, the Supreme Court should act as a check against tyrannical governments, but if I'm counting on the Supreme Court to keep my local municipality from taking my house, I'm not doing my job as a citizen.

But we don't. And when something like Kelo happens, we blame the Supreme Court, rather than the local government that thought this was a good idea in the first place. And then Supreme Court openings become ultimate high stakes contests, and everyone digs in their heels.




Also on as.com, Alex compares the primary season with two methods of evaluating presidential candidates -- power rankings vs. resume.

Of course the key difference is that regardless of the early season power rankings, every team plays their full schedule, and can build up a resume to be used when that takes precendence. In the primary season, candidates who do poorly in the early power rankings drop out and don't get to build a resume.