Sorry for being silent so long. One thing after another....

Anyway, a few things that have been on my mind.

1. So Ken Lay died today. Here is an interesting story about how various editors at Wikipedia reacted by changing Lay's entry to reflect that the cause of death was a heart attack or suicide, with heart attack apparently winning out. I was joking with Fitz-Hume this morning about how soon people would start suggesting that Lay faked his death, but in fact such speculation started almost immediately. (See this post at the WSJ Law Blog for some representative comments.) Of course, some people had been suggesting Lay would flee the country before his sentencing anyway, so they probably weren't surprised by this development. I'll note for the record that I have no real doubt that Lay is actually dead, and won't demand his body be displayed al-Zarqawi-style to prove it. But if I had Lay's money, and motivation, I'd give faking it some thought. Or maybe I just have those thoughts after watching Body Heat.

2. Speaking of movies intruding on my real life lately, I watched Marathon Man for the first time this weekend. And the next day I got a postcard from my dentist reminding me to schedule a checkup. I think I may put that off a while.

3. I'm sure NASA enjoyed all the "rockets' red glare" headlines it got by launching a shuttle on July 4 despite finding "a pencil-size crack in the foam insulation around the shuttle's fuel tank." Remind me again why we're still pouring money into the shuttle program?

4. A couple of weeks ago, The Stranger ran its Queer Issue. (as opposed to the others?) Some funny items, and some serious ones -- lots of good stuff, actually; worth checking all the links. Anyway, Dan Savage had an essay about gay adoption. (Savage and his husband have an adopted son.) Savage's modest proposal was that proposed gay adoption bans also include already-adopted kids. After all, he notes, if kids are so bad off with gay parents, why let the ones who are with them now stay? Savage thinks that the specter of yanking real, non-hypothetical kids away from actual, non-straw-men parents and tossing them into fetid foster care systems would highlight the need for loving adoptive parents of any stripe. (Note that the Arkansas Supreme Court did the right thing on this issue last week.) First, Savage's idea is pretty clearly unconstitutional -- I'm fairly certain that due process would require an individualized best-interests-of-the-child determination as opposed to retroactively declaring thousands of parents unfit. Of course, it's been a while since I've taken Family Law, so I'm open to rebuttal. But while Savage may be right about the sensibilities of his fellow Washingtonians, I think he's better be careful what he wishes for. There are plenty of state legislatures who would gladly accept his terms.

5. I had a great time last week posting some Supreme Court thoughts at De Novo. The very end of the term coincided with the "one thing after another" mentioned above, so I kind of withered and didn't end it with the showstopping number I was hoping for. Oh well. I have to say I'm not terribly excited over any of the final opinions. I have to agree with Prof. Kerr's overall term analysis. I may try to cobble together the last few thoughts pinging around in my brain into a coherent post, but I won't impose at De Novo any longer. I do encourage you to check out the posts in our little conversation, though. There are some very good ones and much thought-provocation. In fact, we seemed to have helped inspire a few thoughts from Prof. Berman. Thanks again to PG and Will for playing along.

6. Via Steve Minor, I see this neat post about a citizenship ceremony at Monticello on the 4th. It reminded me of a ceremony I went to not too long ago. What really struck me was how happy the judge was. I suppose almost every case in federal court involves at least one party who is in bad shape, and they're rarely much fun. So I'm sure it was a blast for the judge to engage in some happy business from the bench. The judge even allowed relatives to take pictures, and my guess is that even David Souter would be okay with that. I love the oath, especially the part about forsaking any allegiance to foreign princes and potentates. The judge urged the new citizens to vote and take part in jury duty. Those were some happy, happy folks, and it made me feel good as an American to know that my country is still worth choosing. These ceremonies are held fairly regularly in district courtrooms everywhere, and I highly recommend checking one out.

Alternative post title: How can something so small make so much of something so disgusting?

As alluded to earlier by Milbarge and myself, I recently became the proud father of a healthy baby girl. My wife and I are one week into this whole parenting experiment, so I feel obligated to share my expertise.

1. There is no reasoning with an infant. In this way they are very much like religious fundamentalists. No matter how many times you tell them their bottle is warming up and that it will be ready in a minute, they will continue to scream incoherently until they get what they want.
2. You can hold a baby too much. They are fine with it, but after a while your arm starts to hurt, and Advil can only do so much.
3. Child care really cuts into your drinking time.
   
4. So many dirty dishes/clothes/diapers. It never ends. Life becomes about washing.
   
5. You are still yourself in the morning. Getting a new family member that you are responsible for does not change your likes, hobbies, bad habits, or sense of humor.
   
6. Nature vs nurture is facinating to watch. For instance, before she had even really seen me, my daughter was already stretching exactly like me. According to Mrs. Haff, this was very uncomfortable in the womb.
   
7. Sleep is a wonderful and precious gift. Cherish it.
   
8. What would be outrageous to pay for phone sex seems perfectly reasonable when trying to contact the on-call weekend pediatrician because green stuff is coming out of your kid's eye. (Fairly standard tear duct infection, no need to worry.)
9. Typing a blog post takes twice as long when one arm is consumed with proping up a mini human whose head is to heavy to be independently operated.
10. Not being able to do what got you and your mate into this predicament really sucks.

It is amazing, and highly entertaining watching the personality already developing. All in all, this is still very surreal. I'll be going about my day and look down and there is a little person in my arms, and this time it isn't a drunk midget.