Watching TV

Yarmouth Boat House

I've been watching the Sam Alito hearings this week. This is the first time that I have had the opportunity to actually observe the details of the governmental process over an extended period, and I have to say that it's interesting.

My sense is that Alito is probably a good lawyer and judge, but he wouldn't be a very interesting cocktail party guest. He strikes me as being a technoweenie when it comes to the law - so immersed in the technical details that he can't really communicate on a social level.

I think the record is pretty clear that he's conservative, but I don't believe that he comes to the bench with a specific agenda. I don't have a problem with conservatism per se, and as long as he has an open mind and is thoughtful, I could live with a conservative view of law and the role of the Supreme Court.

On the other hand, I really don't care for the way that the politicians are alternatively attempting to crucify him, and then establish him as the epitome of legal rectitude. And the grandstanding - - - this process could be done in half the time if those dudes would just stop talking to their constituencies, and focus on the job that they are there to do.

Ultimately, it is clear that all that really matters to those bozos is how the judge would rule on specific cases. And it doesn't matter whether his ruling is consistent with the intention of the constitution - all that really matters is whether the special interest groups get the answer they want. It's a real shame that we don't see any true statesmen any more.

I'm trying to decide what to do at Peters Valley this summer. Tillman's workshop is on Pt/Pd - that would be interesting, but it really focused on a specific technical approach that I'm not even sure that I want to do. The John Kiersten workshop is interesting, but my sense is that this is his first attempt at teaching a workshop, and I am reluctant to gamble that he will be organized enough to make the time worthwhile. And I am concerned that he may be planning to do a lot of shooting himself, and that could detract from what the class does. The third option is the session with Neal Rantoul - that's probably the most appealing although it does sound fairly structured, and I am concerned about how much of it will be devoted to digital. Have a couple of weeks to decide what to do.

This picture is from our week at Cape Cod last year. We discovered this area in Yarmouth many years ago and I always enjoy going back.