Sandra Day O'Connor

beats William Rehnquist to the finish line. Statement from Bush in about a half hour, but apparently he won't name a replacement until he returns from the G8 next Friday at the soonest.

I don't think he can appoint the same person he's already got picked out to replace the Chief; an ultraconservative for an ultraconservative is one thing, but an ultraconservative for the Court's most important moderate and swing vote is something else entirely. Among many other ramifications, any nominee put forth who has the approval of James Dobson means that Roe will be, in short order, overturned.

Speaking for everyone on my side of the aisle, we cannot allow that to happen. So this will probably be the biggest battle of the summer (not to mention our lifetimes and that of our wives, sisters, and daughters).

So much for light blogging over the holiday ...

You know, this Live 8 is really going to be huge

I confess that I only paid attention a little when Bono succeeded in getting the developing nations' debt cancelled, but the Chronic has a rundown of the concerts:

On Saturday, stages in Philadelphia, London, Edinburgh, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Barrie (a city in Ontario, Canada), Moscow and Johannesburg will be joined by an estimated 1 million fans and 2 billion viewers. It's almost easier to list artists who are not playing on one of the stages than to name all who are involved.

Stateside, the bill at the Museum of Art in Philadelphia boasts Alicia Keys, Black Eyed Peas, Bon Jovi, Dave Matthews Band, Def Leppard, Destiny's Child, Jay-Z, Josh Groban, Kaiser Chiefs, Keith Urban, Linkin Park, Maroon 5, P. Diddy, Rob Thomas, Sarah McLachlan, Stevie Wonder and Toby Keith.

And that's just one city. U2, Coldplay, Mariah Carey, Snoop Dogg, R.E.M., Pink Floyd, Elton John and Madonna are just a few of the artists playing elsewhere.

G8 leaders meeting in Scotland will -- maybe -- take note. Andrew will liveblog it (or at least take some pictures; Chris Bowers will be there also, but Annatopia is missing out). One.org has an action alert for us to click. And if all you want to do is watch the music, there's eight hours' worth on MTV starting at 11 a.m. CDT tomorrow and highlights on your ABC affiliate from 7-9.

Update (7/5): In the comments, Albert points out I got his name wrong. And Chris B.'s pictures turned out really good.

Light blogging ahead

during the holiday weekend.

Bush's speech was -- as expected -- a zero. I did notice that CNN and other MSM outlets seemed to have grown a pair in their coverage of it. Karl Rove and Dick Cheney have retreated to their undisclosed locations to plot their next attack on America's enemies (that would be the judiciary, the Senate, or the left in general but would not include Osama or al-Qaeda).

A calendar of progressive activist events coming in July has been posted at Houston Democrats and also the Democratic Underground.

Matthew Cooper -- as well as that douchebag of liberty, Robert Novak -- will probably avoid being jailed over the Plame affair, but it remains to be seen if Judith Miller will manage likewise.

Watch for one hell of a Friday afternoon document dump tomorrow.

This weekend at least, I think I'll stick to the chicken.