Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Second Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor got underway today, and the partisan rhetoric was predictable. Democrats fawned over her and Republicans remained circumspect.

For conservatives, however, the issues surrounding Sotomayor all boil down to essentially two major areas of concern.

First, with no further aspirations of higher office, will her opinions on the High Court extend further into the arena of "policy" than they did during her tenure on the lower courts?

And second, will she be able to cast off the cloud of doubt that has encircled her among Republicans because of what they perceive to be her willingness to engage in identity politics?

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In February, President Barack Obama went on national prime-time television to sell his stimulus package to the American taxpayer, arguing that its quick passage would mean immediate economic relief.

Nearly five months later, the economy continues to sink while the jobless rate continues to rise. With only 11 percent of the "emergency" spending package going to things that would have an immediate impact on the economy (temporary tax cuts, infrastructure spending and assistance to the unemployed), it is really no wonder.

What is a wonder, however, is the all-too-typical way money is being spent.

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My esteemed colleague, Civil Liberties Guide Tom Head, offers a very well-written piece on the Supreme Court's recent ruling in Ricci v. DeStefano, and while his insight is as sharp as always, his analysis of the matter and his final opinion about the case call for a conservative perspective.

Last week, the Supreme Court issued a 5-4 ruling in the reverse discrimination case regarding 19 white firefighters and one Hispanic firefighter who were denied promotions because they outperformed African American firefighters on an objective exam. In this case, the City of New Haven, Conn., bowing to threats of litigation from its minority firefighters, discarded the test's results solely on the basis of the firefighters' race, a direct violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Typically, I make a point not to refute other Guides' opinions, but in this case, I must depart from tradition for purposes of clarification. After all, Head considers the decision in this case to be an example of "right-wing judicial activism," when the reality is that if the ruling had gone the other way for the reasons outlined in the dissenting opinion, it would have been a clear case of left-wing judicial activism.

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Sarah Palin's decision to step down from her governorship and hand over the reigns to Lieutenant Gov. Sean Parnell later this month has once again made her the subject of media attacks.

This time, Palin's decision -- which I believe is the right decision for her -- is being called everything from "illogical" to "flaky." Some are even questioning her mental health.

I personally have seen many of these same bloggers and pundits take criticism for their own work and they just about fall short of a meltdown when they're forced to defend themselves. I think a lot of credit must be extended to Palin for taking as much as she did for as long as she did. When the scales were finally tipped and Palin was spending more time dealing with the accusations and less time dealing with the people's business, she made a sacrifice. Some say she "flaked out," others will say she didn't fulfill her obligation to her constituents, but I feel what she did was in their best interests and not her own.

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