The United States Senate confirmed the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court. It will be the first time that four women have served on the Supreme Court at the same time. Judge – soon to be Justice – Jackson will not be sworn in or seated until Justice Breyer has in fact retired. Justice Jackson will be the 116th Supreme Court Justice.
Following is Judge Jackson’s background:
- Law Clerk US District Court Mass, 1996-97
- Law Clerk U.S. Court of Appeals – 1st Circuit, 1997-98
- Supreme Court Law Clerk, 1999-2000 (Justice Breyer)
- Private practice, 2000-2003
- Including Feinberg & Rosen LLP
- Office of the Federal Public Defender of DC
- Assistant Public Defender, 2005-2007
- Vice Chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, 2010-14
- Judge on US District Court for DC, 2013-2021
- Judge on US Court of Appeals for DC, 2021-currently
- 8.9 years of Judicial experience, more than justices Thomas, Roberts, Kagen & Barrett combined
- More than:
- 4 of the last 10 justices had at their confirmations
- 9 of the last 17 at their confirmations
- 43 of the last 58 appointed since 1900
- Married to Dr. Patrick G. Jackson, gastrointestinal surgeon – General surgeon at Georgetown University Hospital
36% of Americans support Biden’s selection of Ketanji Brown Jackson to become an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court. 17% oppose his selection and 46% do not know enough about her. [NBC 3/22/22]
Ben Franklin: The Thirteen Necessary Virtues
In The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, we find a list of thirteen virtues that “occurr’d to me as necessary or desirable.”
These names of virtues, with their precepts, are:
- TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.
- SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.
- ORDER. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.
- RESOLUTION. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.
- FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.
- INDUSTRY. Lose no time; be always employ’d in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.
- SINCERITY. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.
- JUSTICE. Wrong none by doing injuries or omitting the benefits that are your duty.
- MODERATION. Avoid extreams; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.
- CLEANLINESS. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation.
- TRANQUILLITY. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.
- CHASTITY. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.
- HUMILITY. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.
[Thanks to Joel Jankowsky]
While almost half of men in the United States support the idea of paid paternity leave, fewer than 5% take more than two weeks. [NYT 3/6/22]
More than 87,000 Americans died of opioid overdoses over the 12 months that ended last September, according to preliminary federal data.
Narcan or naloxone is a drug that can quickly reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
To help to reduce the number of overdose deaths, free vending machines are popping up around the country to dispense does of this drug. These vending machines are being installed in New York, Los Angeles, Michigan, Indiana, and Kentucky. [Axios—What’s Next 1/11/22]
2.55 million middle school and high school students are regular users of some type of tobacco product – combustible, smokeless, or electronic. This amounts to 13% of high school students and 4% of middle school students.
The number of users grows when students are asked whether they have ever tried these products. 6.5 million youths said yes – 34% of high school and 11% of middle school students. [WP 3/22/22]
Odds and Ends
75% of people in the United States never tweet.
Nearly three times more Americans 56%, donated to charities during the pandemic than typically give money to politicians and parties. [Axios Finish Line 3/7/22]
Tesla CEO Elon Muck has acquired a 9% stake in Twitter to become the largest shareholder.
In Sri Lanka, government is a family affair. The President is Gabaya Rajapaka. His brother, Mahinda Rajapaka, is the country’s prime minister and another brother, Basil Rajapaka, is the finance minister. [NYT 3/26/22]
In 2003, more than 90% of respondents to a survey conducted by the C.D.C.
said they had an operational landline phone in their homes. As of June 2021, that number had dropped to just over 30%. [NYT 3/24/22]
A recent poll found that half of Americans approve of mask mandates, down from 75% who supported them in December 2020. [NYT 3/12/22]
Automobile sales in America account for close to a trillion dollars in annual economic activity and provide 2.3 million jobs. [NYT 4/3/22]
A friend regularly collects the Safeway food buying coupons that come in the Saturday Washington Post. Yesterday she went grocery shopping. The cost of what she selected was $70.00. When the value of the coupons was deducted, her final bill was $40.00.
Since “The Bachelor” debuted on ABC in March 2002 and the “The Bachelorette” the following year, only six couples who met on those shows are currently married. [NYT 4/3/22]