As written, the bill would ban women from seeking an abortion without written consent from the father of the fetus. In cases where the identity of the father is unknown, women would be required to submit a list of possible fathers. The physician would be forced to conduct a paternity test from the provided list and then seek paternal permission to abort.

The effort by Western groups like Planned Parenthood International to promote legalization of abortion throughout the world has produced a strange side effect: the mass-scale killing of female fetuses. Several years ago the New York Review of Books published an article on the tens of millions of women "missing" around the world because they were killed off before being born.

Asked why he used to hold a position diametrically opposed to the one he was defending as mayor, Ed Koch replied, "Because I was an idiot!"

That's the great thing about being young. You can be an idiot, and then you can become more sensible when you grow up. Paying taxes, getting married, having kids, saving for retirement--these facts of life introduce an element of responsibility that simply isn't there when you're young.

Models, like small children at adult dinner parties, should be seen but not heard. But supermodel Gisele Bundchen is apparently suffering from Tyra-envy. Recently she took on Pope Benedict and offered some sage comments on current social issues.

Challenging the Pope's appeal to young people to defer sex until marriage, Bundchen said, "Today no one is a virgin when they get married. Show me someone who's a virgin." I bet I can meet Bundchen's dare, although I don't want to be the one doing the research. Even so, Bundchen is confusing facts with values here. She is describing how, in his view, people do act, while the Pope is talking about how people should act. Bundchen's logic is analogous to someone who calls for an end to speeding laws because "no one goes the speed limit. Show me someone who doesn't speed."

Next, Bundchen addresses contraception. "I think it should be compulsory to use a contraceptive." Compulsory. I nominate Bundchen for contraception czar to enforce this rule. Fortunately the technology is now available to install cameras in every bedroom. Finally, abortion. Bundchen wants to know what's the big deal? If a woman "thinks she doesn't have the money or the emotional condtion to raise a child, why should she give birth?" For Bundchen the unborn child simply doesn't exist. She is like one of those plantation mistresses who couldn't understand the hubub about slavery. "There's work to be done and none of us wants to pick cotton, so why not make the slaves do it?"

Hey, I don't like to pick on someone so cute. But precisely because she's a supermodel, the young girls listen to people like Bundchen. Can't she find a better cause, or simply walk the catwalk and smile?

The current issue of First Things cites this telling excerpt from Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men:

"Here a year or two back me and Lorretta went to a conference in Corpus Christi and I got set next to this woman, she was the wife of somebody or other. And she kept talking about the right wing this and the right wing that. I ain't even sure what she meant by it. The people I know are mostly common people. Common as dirty, as the sayin' goes. I told her that and she looked at me funny. She thought I was sayin' somethin' bad about 'em, but of course that's a high compliment in my part of the world. She kept on, kept on.

"Finally told me, said: I don't like the way this country is headed. I want my granddaughter to be able to have an abortion. And I said, well ma'am, I don't think you got any worries about the way the country is headed. The way I see it goin' I don't have much doubt but what she'll be able to have an abortion. I'm going to say that not only will she be able to have an abortion, she'll be able to have you put to sleep.

"Which pretty much ended the conversation."

Today I'm reading about a big scandal: Justice Scalia's daughter was arrested for drunk driving. No, it wasn't Scalia. It was his daughter. Who is 45 years old and lives in Illinois. Next we'll be reading about how Justice Thomas' fourth cousin failed to pay his property taxes. Is any of this news? No. A scandal? No, because no public interest in involved whatever.

The real scandal is Ruth Bader Ginsburg making political proclamations from the bench. She does it in the guise of dissents. Of course legal dissents are what Supreme Court justices are there to provide. Ruth Ginsburg doesn't like the recent decisions on partial birth abortion and hiring discrimination. I have no objection to Ginsburg reading her objections aloud. She can shout them from her rooftop if she's so inclined.

When Ginsburg calls upon the American people and the Congress to pass laws reversing Supreme Court rulings, however, she steps over the line. The judge is supposed to be removed from the political process. Rights are often asserted against the will of the people. Judges already have a lot of power, and they should not use the bench as a bully pulpit to promote their legislative agenda. This is why we have separation of powers.