Like Bob, I have also received a freebie cell from Sprint with six months usage on it. Unlike Bob, I have no feelings about Sprint one way or the other. My old cell, on another system, works just fine for me, but it’s very old school — no camera, no bells, no whistles. This thing that Sprint is pushing is loaded with all of those, and can supposedly be used as a modem for my laptop, which could be handy when I’m on book tour in a couple of months.

To me, this is the same thing as a review copy of a book or film, or — ahem — a free trip to Amsterdam. (Sigh.) My policy is basically, anyone who wants to send me free stuff, or fly me to fabulous foreign cities, is more than welcome to do so, but there are no promises involved on my end. If it sucks, I won’t refrain from saying so. If I recommend something, I’ll do so because I genuinely mean it.

…but I don’t see this Kerry filibuster promise going anywhere. Especially when the filibuster news is followed with crap like this :

Senator Harry Reid opposes Samuel Alito but the Democratic leader is signaling he will NOT back a filibuster to keep him off the Supreme Court.

Massachusetts Democrats John Kerry and Ted Kennedy are among members of the rank-and-file who are threatening a filibuster in an attempt to block Alito’s confirmation vote.

But so far, Reid is offering them no support.

The Nevada Democrat told reporters yesterday, quoting now, “There’s been adequate time for people to debate.”

When was the last time you got the feeling that the Democrats were willing to risk going down in flames on principle? Okay, lemme rephrase that. Have the Democrats ever given any indications that they care more about fighting the good fight than their own job security?

Given the one-two punch of announcements from Sens. Kerry and Reid, one of two things is going on here. One, the Democratic caucus is so poorly managed that they still can’t bother to coordinate with each other and send a unified message on something as important as the confirmation of a man who will completely shake up the Supreme Court. Two, the Democrats have a “good cop / bad cop” strategy going on by having their highest profile member (with the safest seat) rile up the base and have all the bloggers shouting “Give ‘em hell, Kerry”, while their leader does the only thing Democrats seem especially good at : kissing moderate ass. Either way, it’s a sad, pathetic spectacle for a party that’s actually convinced itself they can win back the Congress this year. Convincing people to vote against Republicans isn’t the same as convincing them to vote for you.

Alito is clearly hostile to the concept of personal liberty, has proven himself to be a willing shill for the government and big business, openly admitted to lying about his past views, and supports the “just a theory” that the President can write his own laws and ignore the ones he doesn’t like. If this isn’t reason enough to oppose Alito’s confirmation with every tool at your disposal, then where do you draw the line in the sand? The fact that there is even debate about whether or not the Democrats are willing to filibuster this guy should bring a tear to your eye. Aren’t the big fights like this the reason you devoted your life to public service in the first place?

So…what are you waiting for?