First things first: in theory, judicial review does not violate the Constitution. The whole point is that the judiciary is calling a law by Congress not just bad, but not a law at all, as it is in violation of the supreme law of the land (read close, and you'll see the caveat: 'laws made in pursuance of the Constitution'). On the theoretical basis, they're simply calling a spade a spade. So there! (I hate theory debates. No one ever gets it)

Second things second: Real ID, that glorious government program that I doubt would have been approved by the people (speaking of Judicial review, I want to see the many and varied cases that could get brought against this particular act...), may not go into effect. At least, not any time soon. Realizing that, no, you cannot get the entire country re-ID'd by the time graduation rolls around, they pushed back the date and lessened the threats. May I just add that state IDs should be left up to the STATE, not the federal government. I admit I'm a bit of a state's rights girl (subsidiarity for the win), but I think even those in favor of a strong national government can see that a state ID, paid for by the state, and issued by the state, should be designed by the state. A national ID already exists: it's called a passport. This whole thing gets my goat because it really affects travel. It's hard enough flying these days without the hassle of having to get a passport for domestic travel. In some ways, this is all a little too "Utopia" for me (Thomas More's Utopia; excellent commentary on the beginning of the end of good government-- wherever it may be)

Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and my family plans this year are the kind of insane that only we can cook up. However, before everything gets lost in hustle and bustle, two links and commentary:

First, the just plain interesting. Archaeologists have found the cave of Romulus and Remus. This is cool to me because I spent a semester in Rome, studying and living. Also, I'm Italian, and was born and raised with a very firm grasp that, not only was I Italian, I was a Roman born, going back to time immemorial. The empire, the laws, the history, the glory all lay in my direct bloodline. It's heady stuff, that. To find the cave... well, while the saying may be "if it's not true, it's to the point," finding the sacred place for the first Romans is amazing. I mean, I know Romulus and Remus and their story and Aeneas and his, I've read the Aeneid in Latin for goodness sake. To know that this place of myth and legend and glory and power EXISTS, in time and space, under the ground I walked on, is amazing.

Second, the interesting and politically charged. Scientists say that they can change skin cells into stem cells. This is a boon because, while there have been stem cell alternatives to embryonic stem cells for a while, this is a personalized stem cell, which does away with the threat of rejection. Aside from that, it's amazing that science has progressed to this point. Scary, in fact. As someone who is pro-life in all aspects, I have to praise the work of these scientists for coming up with an alternative that does nothing but create, and hasn't an element of destruction in it. It's sort of exciting. At the same time, it's scary that humans have taken this power into their own hands. It seems god-like: to mutate one cell into another, even if it is through scientific means. It will certainly stir debate, but debate is good. Something with so much potential to improve the quality of life shouldn't come at the price of new life.

And with that, I wish you all (if there are any of you...) a Happy Thanksgiving! Don't get trampled on Black Friday if you venture out, and enjoy your time with your family if you stay in. I'm sure there's football to be watched. ^_^