justice elena kagan, she seemed like the best champion in the courts. and she said that she was going to carry this cause into the court. just a few months ago, she gave a speech where she was asked about it. and she said well, you know, i have been thinking about it and maybe not -- maybe it will be the right thing to do. maybe it will change the dynamics of the justices. so i am not so sure anymore. it is almost like the order of the court descends on new justices. and they suddenly decide that cameras are not a good idea. >> justice souter famously said there would be cameras in the court over his dead body. you know, i agree with tony. i know tony has been the most eloquent about talking about the chances of this happening in our lifetime are slim to none. i do think they will be more receptive to increased audio availability. they now release all of the audio at the end of the week when the arguments take place. i read that in 10 years that they will stream the arguments live on the web in terms of audio. i think that video is a very different stor

and it's really funny, because if you watched the hearings for elena kagan the other day, one of the questions they asked her, you know, was, like, "where were you christmas day?" because that was the day of the bombing. and she was at first, like, very defensive, because she didn't know, whether, you know, it was a terror question, or whatever. and they're like, "no, we just want to know where you were." and she laughed, and said, "well, like all jews, i was probably at a chinese restaurant." and in new york city especially, it's sometimes twice as popular at least, compared to your next popular... your second most popular day. because, you know, for a long time chinese restaurants were the ones that were open on christmas. and it just became this interesting american jewish tradition. and it's specific to america. i mean, it's not like they're doing this in israel. >> hinojosa: it's also because of the fact that these are two immigrant groups that are not christian. >> yeah, the two largest non-christian immigrant groups. and they... you know, so chinese restaurants are open on sun

more importantly for supporters of same sex marriage, they're counting on elena kagan's vote. the court. she's presumed to be a vote in favor of same sex marriage. so it is not just sort of, well, isn't it good that it won't be 4-4. it is going to be same sex marriage supporters are breathing a huge sigh of relief that they didn't take the gill case because losing elena kagan's vote, which we don't know for sure how she will vote, but that would be a tremendous loss for the supporters of marriage equality and they, so they're very happy that kagan is in this case. >> and wasn't to take a look at a usa today poll done just this week, it was done by november 26th and 29th and apparently 53% of those questioned felt that same sex marriage should be legal. 46% said it should not be legal. 2% they were not sure, but, jeff, let me ask you a question, i don't know if i misspoke earlier, is this, you know, about equal protection and that all individuals having the same rights under the united states law? >> well, what makes this case so momentous, the proposition 8 case in particular

think video is a very different story, and i, too, was shocked and disappointed to see see see see elena kagan inflict width the stockholm syndrome. >> i have a question -- they're a lot 0 of talk this is the most political court in history. is this the first time in history people have said that? and that it's most political court in history, and secondly, whether that could change, whether the court is o'politicizeed, it's likely to stay that way. >> i don't think i've said and i don't believe this is the most political court in history. i think the court is always political. its think it's part -- it is a political institution. presidents appoint justices to reflect their political ideaol, whether it's franklin d. roosevelt trying to get the new deal -- a constitutional stamp of approval, or lyndon johnson trying to get desegregation through judicial review. and as for the most conservative reactionary of all time, i have criticisms with the roberts court but this is the court that brought us dred scott. these are really horrible decisions, and far worse than anything that this supreme cour

, and you reprint that testimony, your back and forth with elena kagan in "the debt bomb." what was the question you asked can her about fruits and vegetables? >> well, the question i asked is could the government tell you, mandate to you how many fruits and vegetables you would eat a day? and it really arises is what's the role for the government in terms of our lives? can, in fact, the commerce clause be viewed so widely as what was done in filburn v. united states, can it be interpreted so widely that we could eventually get to the point where we could mandate? well, we're doing it. we're doing it right now, as a matter of fact, because in terms of what they'll feed in the school lunch program, we're having an uprising across the country because of the rejection of what the government is saying, here's what you have to eat. here's what's available. so the point is our founders knew that for true liberty and freedom to be there, there had to be personal responsibility. and when the government dose beyond the level of -- goes beyond the level of a prudent exercise of gover

that he thought lindsey graham had a right that there should be some difference that voted for elena kagan and he regretted voting against roberts and alito on that principle. so maybe we will have some traction. the last question will come from an alarm in the audience which this the right to ask a follow-up question. [laughter] what qualities of the law school are you focusing on as the train the next generation of lawyers? >> what -- >> qualities. >> a law degree gives you a licence if that is the kind of monopoly to practice of the law. the wall is suppose to be the profession. if you are a member you are not satisfied with turning about. you know you have something special and you owe it to your community to use your talent to help make things a little better for others. i think another that commit herself to public service to make a living is necessary but also to remember the people that get what they need in their representation and will not have it unless you care. so they say i will do my job and i will collect my fees and i'm not interested in the rest of the world. i did not co

. >> it's not elena kagan. for so long, my favorite justice was david souter. because he was so delightfully odd. he didn't have a cell phone or computer. he didn't have an answering machine on his phone. he was late for william rehnquist's funeral because they couldn't leave a message and find out where he was. he didn't like and doesn't like electric lights. he moved his chair around his office over the course of the day to catch the sunlight. that's a true story. but the great thing about justice souter was that he sort of got the joke about being a supreme court justice. he understood it was important, but it wasn't all about him. i will just give you one example of that. for reasons that remain obscure, david souter and stephen breyer are frequently mistaken for each other. if you know what they look like they don't look anything alike. but people only have a vague sense and one time not too long ago, justice souter was driving from washington to his home in new hampshire. he stopped at a restaurant to get something to eat. and the couple came up to him an

. >> it's not elena kagan. for so long, my favorite justice was david souter. because he was so delightfully odd. he didn't have a cell phone or computer. he didn't have an answering machine on his phone. he was late for william rehnquist's funeral because they couldn't leave a message and find out where he was. he didn't like and doesn't like electric lights. he moved his chair around his office over the course of the day to catch the sunlight. that's a true story. but the great thing about justice souter was that he sort of got the joke about being a supreme court justice. he understood it was important, but it wasn't all about him. i will just give you one example of that. for reasons that remain obscure, david souter and stephen breyer are frequently mistaken for each other. if you know what they look like they don't look anything alike. but people only have a vague sense and one time not too long ago, justice souter was driving from washington to his home in new hampshire. he stopped at a restaurant to get something to eat. and the couple came up to him an