Are the Body Snatchers Invading?

The good news is life is continuing on. The bad news is that something has been killed. One of the most touching aspects of the RBG was the piece about the relationship between Scalia and Ginsberg, two justices on the opposite sides of the judicial spectrum who shared a love of opera. Will that continue in the light of the bitter divisions that are the legacy of the latest round of Supreme Court nomination hearings? The Judiciary Committee is not the court, but it’s hard to imagine someone with the bearing of a Kavanaugh mixing it up with his ideological rivals in the way that others have done in the past. Still, and this might roil conspiracy theorists on both sides of the aisle, there seems to be some modicum of dignity left in the Senate. However, inflammatory the hearings and deep the divisions, it's important to report that the decorum and the level of discussion actually existed in a totally different universe than that of Trump’s Tweets. Despite the ad hominem attacks, there were still many thoughtful moments in which the level of discussion exceeded anything that comes out of The White House. You may have been appalled by the gladiatorial spectacle, or if you're an MMA fan, been delighted by the sight of blood and guts, but it was heartening to note that there were no Invasions of the Body Snatchers. The executive and legislative branches are still separate, if only in temperament, and whether you write it off as simple lame duck antics, someone like Jeff Flake turns out to have a mind of his own. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger says Nietzsche (and Kelly Clarkson). Who knows what will happen if America survives the current civil war?