To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Antonin Scalia would prefer that we trim a few branches from the Tree of Liberty:

Scalia called the writing of the Constitution “providential,” and the birth of political science.

“There’s very little that I would change,” he said. “I would change it back to what they wrote, in some respects. The 17th Amendment has changed things enormously.”

That amendment allowed for U.S. Senators to be elected by the people, rather than by individual state legislatures.

“We changed that in a burst of progressivism in 1913, and you can trace the decline of so-called states’ rights throughout the rest of the 20th century. So, don’t mess with the Constitution.”

Scalia joins Louie Gohmert and Glenn Beck in the quest to roll back the ravages of direct democracy, as well as Senator-Elect Doppelgangster. We’ll just note, again, that nobody really cared about this issue until The Sheriff Was Near.

Which, come to think of it, explains Scalia’s “states’ rights” reference.

Scalia, Breyer Spar Over Supreme Court Issues [Fox, via ThinkProgress]

“Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York asked federal agencies Sunday to investigate and ban reusable shopping bags with dangerous levels of lead following a Tampa Tribune investigation that found high levels in bags sold in the Bay area.” [Tampa Tribune]

The President’s Advisers are making a lot of noise about “getting” this election, never mind their repeated failure to get the last one:

The advisers are deeply concerned about winning back political independents, who supported Obama two years ago by an eight-point margin but backed Republicans for the House this year by 19 points. To do so, they think he must forge partnerships with Republicans on key issues and make noticeable progress on his oft-repeated campaign pledge to change the ways of Washington.

Ummm, right. You’ve already adopted the Republican healthcare plan, Republican financial reform, the Republican security state…

Oh, geez, that’s really impolite of us to start off Monday with a bummer. Any new kitty videos out there? No? Well, maybe this will be good enough for a laugh:

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Title: “Decision Points”

Author: George W. Bush

Rank: 1

Blurb: “Shattering the conventions of political autobiography, George W. Bush offers a strikingly candid journey through the defining decisions of his life.”

Review: “But this book isn’t perfect. Glorious Leader Bush’s experiments with firecrackers and frogs — experiments that shaped His thoughts on justice — goes unreported.”

Customers Also Bought: “The Gift”, by Susan Boyle

Footnote: 1,090 of 1,364 people found Gen. JC Christian’s top-rated four-star review helpful. Including us.

Decision Points [Amazon]

Buy or Die [Stinque@Amazon kickback link]

Huffington Post, Friday morning:

George Bush Book ‘Decision Points’ Lifted From Advisers’ Books

Keith Olbermann, via Twitter, Friday afternoon:

Oops. Bush lifted others’ passages for “Decision Points” http://huff.to/9BG8Gn Dramatic readings substitute for Thurber tonight on Countdown

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“The Supreme Court, without noting any dissent, agreed on Friday to leave the military’s ‘don’t ask/don’t tell’ policy in full effect while its constitutionality is under review in a lower court. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy referred the issue to the full Court. Justice Elena Kagan took no part in the order.” [SCOTUSblog]

Decision Points, George W. Bush, 2010:

I asked each man two questions. Do you have everything you need to win? And are you comfortable with the strategy? Each commander answered affirmatively. Tommy spoke last. “Mr. President,” the commanding general said, “this force is ready.” I turned to Don Rumsfeld. “Mr. Secretary,” I said, “for the peace of the world and the benefit and freedom of the Iraqi people, I hereby give the order to execute Operation Iraqi Freedom. May God bless the troops.” Tommy snapped a salute. “Mr. President,” he said, “May God bless America.”

American Soldier, Tommy Franks, 2004:

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