Pitney on Sotomayor and the GOP; National GOP Staking Out A Candidate Against Boxer?

On The Room for Debate blog, Professor Pitney says that the thinking that Republicans will pay a political price for voting against Sotomayor is faulty. I couldn't agree more. He writes that

"It is especially hard to identify senators who got into trouble for casting protest votes against a nominee who was going to win anyway. . . . Republican candidates have performed poorly among Hispanic voters and often lag with women as well. But their future performance among these groups will hinge on other issues. The Sotomayor nomination will make little difference."

Meanwhile CQ Politics mentions how Senator Coryn has been talking up Carly Fiorina over our CMC alum, Chuck DeVore.

I don't know why Republican leaders feel the need to weigh in on every party battle before the first ads are even aired. Gentlemen, slow down. There's a lot that can happen between now and Election Day in 2010.

Minxin Pei on China-India Relations

Minxin Pei, the new director of the Keck Center, was interviewed about allegedly rising tensions between China and India for The Council on Foreign Relations. You can listen to the audio here of that interview here.

I believe that most of international relations is bunk. It purports to know something about political science and economics while studying neither. But hey, at least it's fun.

The jist of the conversation is that while India and China have gotten closer on economic issues, they still remain weary of one another's geopolitical influences. And they are in stiff competition for resources all over the world.

Much of the growth we see coming out of state-run, government inducing growth from China isn't the entrepreneurial growth we see from India. In short, China may be a better bet in the short term, especially as they are buying the U.S. treasury bills, but in the long run, I think the 21st century belongs to the English-speaking, Anglosphere -- India and the United States. For those that are curious, here are two books I recommend on China and India: Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics and Imagining India. You'll find they are both an engaging read, if a tad bit long.

At the risk of sounding like a Pollyanna, I'm not concerned about China and India "vying" for resources. If both of their economies grow faster, they'll be less inclined to fight when their economies downturn. Hurray for the peaceful march of economic liberalism.

O.C. Prosecutor Compares Serial Killer to Randy Kraft, a CMC Alum

In today's Los Angeles Times, Orange County prosecutor brought charges against an Illinois man suspected of killing five Southern California women between 1986 and 1995. Here's the essential mention.

Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Howard Gundy, the prosecutor in the case, said Urdiales "is one of these serial killers that belongs in the same kind of category that goes back to Jack the Ripper, and in modern days, guys like Randy Kraft, Ted Bundy."

If that name sounds familiar, it ought to. Randy Kraft, one of America's most infamous serial killer, graduated from CMC in 1968. He is currently on death row for the murders of 16 men. He is suspected to have killed as many as 67 people.