Open To Ideas, Including From Outside Our Usual Borders: "Americans' ability to draw on ideas from all around the world, synthesize them and integrate them into our lives and our institutions is one of the abiding features of American ingenuity and one of the abiding strengths of American [society]. Something tells we that we will survive the occasional citation of a European court." A few sound words concluding a criticism (citation in my discussion) of the suggestion that a reference to an European Court decision in the Supreme Court's homosexual sodomy opinion was somehow a threat to our sovereignty. It is but one of a line of often passionate criticisms of Supreme Court justices finding international judicial decisions of some relevance to our system. Others can be guided by us, but not us they ... how sadly parochial.

As I note in the linked piece, it is just a piece of an overall xenophobia. For instance, other nations who disagree with us on Iraq are not just mistaken ... they aren't worth our respect. The alternative is a threat to our "sovereignty" ... a "sovereign" is a king. Aren't we over that? Doesn't the Constitution bar titles of nobility partly because of that very fact? I might be stretching here, but the word continues to leave a bad taste in my mouth. It got my notice when a libertarian party candidate suggested removing sovereign immunity so governments too can be sue for wrongs. They would probably appreciate this too ... a piece (with personal commentary) on how blacks need to change directions in the fight for civil rights, including a good deal of personal effort to help build the necessary foundation for success. If Bob Herbert can listen to views libertarians might honor, we can admit that foreigners have something to teach us as well.

Baseball: Tonight was typical of the Mets ... these guys are not ten or so games below .500 for nothing. After coming from behind in the final game and thus sweeping the Reds (first sweep of the season), they lost the first two games vs. the Braves. No shock. Seo had his third bad game ... the game turned on a pair of three run homers (two pitches). The second game was slow water torture. Jason Roach (filling in for Leiter, who surely had the potential to pitch comparably given his year thus far) pitched six, coming within a batter of leaving with a very respectable 3-2 score. The Braves got the home run though, so it was 5-2. The Mets, on the other hand, missed opportunity after opportunity down to the eighth where an error assisted bases loaded situation (one that even upset the usually copacetic Braves pitching coach) ended with a f-ing pathetic grounder back to the pitcher. Bound to happen. Still, even the lowly Devil Rays and Brewers have their days. The Indians tonight one hit the Yanks. The Mets have so few days against good teams ... and not one truly exciting late inning result that I recall. Tonight would not be the first.