Today in Supreme Court History: August 3, 1994

8/3/1994: Justice Stephen Breyer takes oath.

Justice Stephen Breyer

 

Comments

[Dan Schiavetta]

Breswick & Co. v. United States, 75 S.Ct. 912 (decided August 3, 1969): the Interstate Commerce Commission, which had approved a merged railroad’s application to be considered a common carrier, runs into objections of prior shareholders (who will suffer a loss) and into a turf war with the Securities and Exchange Commission; Harlan grants a stay by fashioning a bond which will protect shareholders; the decision is notable because Harlan relies on the opinion of the Clerk of the Court as to whether a single Justice can issue a stay in these circumstances

[Dan Schiavetta]

today’s movie review: Spy Kids, 2001

What a wonderful movie this was to take kids to — and ours were just the right age to enjoy it. Two children, Carmen and Juni (Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara) find out that their parents (Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugnino) are actually international spies and get wrapped up in a globe-trotting adventure, fighting an evil conspiracy unwittingly led by the host of their favorite children’s show.

These kids are Hispanic and also completely American and this movie was very popular with the emerging population of Hispanic-American families like ours (my wife is Dominican). Like our own kids, and like pretty much every American-born child of immigrants, they speak with no hint of a foreign accent. Yet they are fluent in their parents’ language. A magical moment for me was when Carmen has to give the computer her “full name” to enter a supersecret installation. The natural and almost musical way Alexa Vega switches to perfect Spanish to say “Carmen Elizabeth Juanita Bravo Cortez” not only reveals the beauty of that language but how easy it is for children to function in two or even more languages. I have known children of Peruvian immigrants who could easily speak three languages (English, Spanish and Inca).

The movie was well done and has a lot of depth to its characters which kids will pick up on without having to spell it out too broadly — not only the family but Alan Cumming as the basically clueless TV host, Tony Shalhoub as his evil second-in-command (who kids will recognize is the brains of the operation), Teri Hatcher as a villain who has a “history” with the father, and Robert Patrick (the emotionless robocop from “Terminator”) as her accomplice. It also has lots of heart as we see the father reconcile with his estranged older brother (Danny Trejo) and we see the children (particularly the insecure Juni) grow and develop confidence as they get adept at the spy game. It’s a children’s North by Northwest.

It was also a fun movie for us parents, particularly as Banderas and Gugnino get back into their spy personas mid-movie. At first Carmen and Juni can’t believe their parents are spies — “They’re not cool enough to be spies!” Well maybe we parents have led more interesting lives than you kids suspect . . . !

[Frank Drackman]

Allright! (Man!) one of my daughter's favorite movies (so pretty much had to be one of mine)
Now you gotta do "Hotel for Dogs" (or "Top Gun" hey, they're military pilots, they all love that movie, no matter how unrealistic it is (Tomcats were horrible in close range ACM (I'd tell you....)

Frank "that'll just about cover the Flybys"

[Syd Henderson]

Hey, I don't have kids and I loved the movie and will watch it any time. Good cast, too. It was my introduction to Danny Trejo, Alexa Vega and Alan Cummings (who is a personal favorite). I also love the original approach to special effects. Robert Rodriguez liked working with a somewhat limited special effects budget so he could get creative. It also shows in his section of "Grindhouse" which far outshines Tarantino's.

[Frank Drackman]

Did Breyer take the oath by Eminent Domain??

[Dan Schiavetta]

I'm a bass player and was struck by the fact that the video for that song did not show a bass!

[Frank Drackman]

More like "all about that Ass" MT's blown up to Meghan McCain proportions.