Links and Notes

I was more than a little surprised that Scott Pruitt resigned; I mean, now?  I guess my wonder if the other 28 things he's done didn't prick the conscience of the President... just saying.  I suspect that yes, his successor can do the job with the scandal, but albeit with the lightning rod, and that just might be good enough.

Watched "Michael Collins" today... I think put it on the Netflix queue when I had gotten some books on the Irish Civil War (months ago) and lo and behold... anyways, I did like it, didn't realize it had an all-star cast, and... well, I think the liner notes at the end had it right -- no one will even know if de Valera ordered the hit or not (picking Alan Rickman to play him made him the heavy); I mean, my impression is that he has been dumped for every other thing of ill-repute in Irish history (while running the place for fifty years or so), but... well, I just wonder if in this case... as well all know from modern Irish history, splintering and violence is part of their way....

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/whats-the-most-rewatchable-movie-of-all-time/

Hmm...these movies (some of them) seem to be on a lot, which might explain why...

https://www.vox.com/2018/6/27/17511048/mitch-mcconnell-supreme-court-anthony-kennedy-retirement
This could be me, but I've always felt Garland was a casualty of the Borking; GOPers waited a long time to get vengeance, and putting the two together in Mitch McConnell's hands is simply a dream come true.  I would some other GOP senator would go and suggest that between the two -- like the atom bomb -- we now have a weapon too terrible to use, and we just go and put it back in the box, referred to only as a horrible example. Especially because...
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/4/14/15295474/anthony-kennedy-retirement-replacement-nomination-supreme-court

I don't quite buy this; to me, the better solution is NOT to let the courts have so much power in the first place... nowadays we use the judiciary as yet another front in culture/legal/political wars which is fine but it simply of course puts some decisions beyond the pale of reversal and that is always unacceptable to the losing side.  If the judiciary would punt (i.e., staffed with the right judges) you would have a truce, as the fight would shift to fields where it is more fluid...