Like many people, I ponied up for the Red Cross in the early days of the Katrina disaster.  But since then, I've heard some disquieting rumors about how they use donations.  I don't expect a charitable entity to be 100% perfect, nor do I think one or two missteps in the confusion of an urgent relief effort should be an excuse not to donate.  And I don't get mad that the Red Cross banks some money for future disasters.  Still, the CEO's salary is almost half a million dollars a year.  So I've been looking for an alternative.

Noted with approval: Sen. Reid Says He'll Vote Against Roberts:

"This is a very close question for me. But I must resolve my doubts in favor of the American people whose rights would be in jeopardy if John Roberts turned out to be the wrong person for the job," [Reid] said.

Referring to publicly released memos that date to Robert's tenure as a Reagan administration lawyer, Reid said they showed the young attorney "played a significant role in shaping and advancing the Republican agenda to roll back civil rights protections." ...

The NY Times' piece on Justice Kennedy today is another in the Times' series of foolish (and, of course, utterly futile) attempts to kiss up to conservatives.  Most of the quotes in the article come from Robert Bork, and the notion that Kennedy is not a "true conservative" goes unquestioned throughout.  

In fact, it's full of unquestioned assertions.  In paragraph 3, we're blithely told that "some notable conservatives are calling for his impeachment" (they are).  But whether there are any legal grounds for such a move is not discussed (there aren't).