Elena Kagan, the U.S.’s solicitor general, is on nearly every speculative shortlist to replace Justice John Paul Stevens. Salon’s Glenn Greenwald isn’t sold on her (to put it mildly) because her views on lots of important constitutional questions aren’t clear. (And anyone who watched the last several confirmation proceedings knows that they’re not likely to be made any clearer during her hypothetical testimony; the name of the game is to duck and evade, a la I cannot answer in the event that such a case comes before the Court.”) A bunch of influential progressive legal types have taken to penning defenses of Kagan; Sam Stein at HuffPo says that they’re doing so at the White House’s urging, which means Kagan is President Obama’s choice. [G.D.]
The White House and CBS have been beefing over a blog post by Ben Domenech that speculates on Kagan’s sexuality. Slate’s Emily Bazelon and Dahlia Lithwick: “Why was Kagan’s sexuality blogging fodder to begin with? While he may have done it with the best of ironic intentions, [The Atlantic’s Marc] Ambinder described her as ‘a woman who has short hair, favors pant suits, hasn’t married, and doesn’t seem to be in a relationship.” Wow. Anita Dunn, who is working with the White House on the vacancy, says this is about “applying old stereotypes to single women with successful careers.’ We have to agree. Name a 49-year-old women with three kids and a hope in hell of making it to the court. There’s a reason there are few mommies on that short list.” [G.D]
Related: Ann Friedman talks about the insidious glee many liberals take in outing politicians as gay. Hint: it’s homophobic. [Shani]
In a case that has riveted and divided Long Island, Kevin Conroy, a white teenager, was convicted on manslaughter charges in the beating and stabbing death of Marcelo Lucero, an Ecuadoran immigrant in a Patchogue, N.Y., parking lot. “Mr. Lucero’s death had become a symbol of the anti-Hispanic harassment and assaults that Latinos on eastern Long Island said they had been victims of for years, and it helped spark an ongoing federal investigation into the Suffolk County Police Department’s handling of reports of racially motivated attacks against Hispanics.” [G.D.]
Atlanta played host to a relatively subdued revival of Freaknik this weekend, and some attendees complained about being bored. [G.D]
Womanists and feminists battle across racial lines. (Aside: there should be a special commendation for Clueless Liberal Self-Satisfaction given to Jezebel’s commenters, which is a cauldron of self-satisfied cookie solicitation on issues of race.) [G.D.]
Via NPR, a really depressing story on how American’s have all but lost faith in government. [Jamelle]
And while Americans may not trust government, Obama‘s presidency has boosted America’s image abroad. [G.D.]
A look at the Obama administration’s efforts to reach out to American Muslims. [Jamelle]
Sara Libby over at Ill Communication frowns at the mass flurry among journalists to chronicle their first experience with the KFC Double Down, but I found this account chuckle-worthy. Better their arteries than mine. [Alisa]
A rose by any other name would smell as “tweet”: Romeo and Juliet via Twitter. [Alisa]
