Recently in Off Topic Category

Off topic but irresistable:  Right now (8:30 p.m. EST, January 24), MSNBC has up a headlined story titled, "Mortgage deal offers little homeowner relief."

Seven inches below on the computer screen, it has the following story, also in headlines, "Deal could help many troubled homeowers."

See for yourself (but you'll need to be quick because these stories change all the time). 

When the mainstream media takes opposite postions at the same time on the same page, you can see why there is room for, ummmm, doubt.

Michael Medved has this op-ed in the WSJ, titled The Secrets of Tebow Hatred.  "The NFL is generously stocked with forgiven felons, including millionaire wife beaters and dog killers. So how did a clean-living quarterback with deep commitments to charitable service and miraculous last-minute victories become the most controversial player in the league?"

Yesterday, Fran Tarkenton had this op-ed in the same paper.

Before every game, no matter what team I was on at the time, the coach would always ask the most devout player to say a prayer....  No one ever asked to win the game, probably for fear that God would punish us for asking. After this moment of devotion, the team would all shout in unison, "Now let's go kill those S.O.B.'s!"

Excessive entanglement of church and football notwithstanding, it's so refreshing to see a good role model in sports that I will root for Tebow and the Broncs, particularly given that they are the underdogs.

Off topic but interesting.

On the SF Chron website is a collection of photos of musicians who died at the age of 27, including Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, and Amy Winehouse.

The California Supreme Court does not plan to decide any criminal cases tomorrow, but there is one opinion coming out that is destined for the Cases You Have to Look Up Just for the Name file:  Save the Plastic Bag Coalition v. City of Manhattan Beach, No. S180720.

Here is one from the right message, wrong messenger file.  Sarah Anne Hughes has this post at the WaPo.

As President Obama honored fallen soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday, three members of the Westboro Baptist Church protested the ceremony, holding signs that read "Pray for more dead soldiers" and "God hates your prayers," as the controversial group has become known to do. They were met by about 70 counterprotesters....

Dennis LaBonte, who told CNN he was a military veteran ..., said the approximately 10 members of the group came in "support of the troops." LaBonte ... said he "thinks that it's an absolute shame that [the WBC] show up and disrupt people's funerals."

All unremarkable, right?  The counterprotesters are completely correct, right?  So who is Dennis LeBonte?  I edited that part out.

Totally off-topic, but I just had to share this wonderful article by James Delingpole in the London Telegraph, which I stumbled upon while looking for something else.

Matthew Perrone reports for AP,

The U.S. government says candy imported from Pakistan called Toxic Waste Nuclear Sludge is not safe to eat. Who would have guessed?

Last evening upon my return home, I found on my doorstep a flyer claiming irrefutable Biblical proof that the world will end this coming May 21.  Seems like a good occasion to recall how different newspapers will report the end of the world:

WSJ:  World Ends: Dow off 5000, Gold Steady

NYT:  World Ends: Women and Minorities Hurt Most

Sporting News:  Series Canceled -- No World

This somewhat off-topic post concerns a civil case that is interesting from a court-watching perspective as well as on the issues of public finance that pervade all government decisions today.

A California appellate court has declined the Governator's request to lift an injunction stopping him from selling off several state buildings and leasing them back before he leaves office.  David Siders has this story in the Sacto Bee.  The deal would trade valuable assets for a one-time infusion of cash and incur a permanent expense.  This is the kind of kick-the-can-down-the-road government financing the Governator was supposed to end when he stormed into Sacramento in what seems like an age ago.

So the only chance of lifting the injunction lies with the California Supreme Court, but there is one problem. Their building is one of the assets in question.

In California, the conflict is handled by the justices recusing themselves and seven court of appeal justices being designated to hear the case.  SCOTUS has no equivalent procedure, so they go ahead and hear cases concerning their own building.  See United States v. Grace, 461 U.S. 171 (1983).

There is, of course, a better approach to selling the Cal. Supreme building.  There is no valid reason for a court of statewide jurisdiction to be located on extremely valuable real estate in a city that is not the state capital.  If the state owns the asset, there is a huge opportunity cost in being there.  If the state leases the asset, the rent will be huge.  So the obvious solution is to sell the building and buy cheaper but equally functional digs in a lower-cost city such as Sacramento.  Apparently nobody is even considering that.

From the ever-expanding Cases You Have to Look Up Just for the Name File comes Michael Newdow, et al., Petitioners v. John G. Roberts, Jr., Chief Justice of the United States, et al., No. 10-757.  Professional pain in the derriere Michael Newdow is upset about religious elements in President Obama's inauguration this time. 

The D.C. Circuit opinion by Judge Janice Brown is here. Joined by Judge Ginsburg, she rejects the claims on mootness and standing grounds.  Judge Kavanaugh would find standing and reject the claims on the merits.

The CJ's role in all this is appending the words "So help me God" to the oath at the President-elect's request.  Why does this modest role get him the lead defendant designation?  As a publicity stunt, of course, in keeping with Mr. Newdow's chosen role as a professional pain in the derriere.  The practical effect will be the CJ's recusal from the forthcoming no-dissent denial of certiorari.

Is there an Oscar-type award for campaign ads? This ad deserves one.  Although the candidate has zero chance of winning the election, he's having a good time.

Off-topic but interesting:  Debra Saunders has this column on Australia's new Prime Minister Julia Gillard and how her personal life is not much of an issue. 

Totally off-topic.