(John Paul Jones Memorial in DC)

During his engagement with Serapis, Jones uttered, according to the later recollection of his First Lieutenant, the legendary reply to a quip about surrender from the British captain: "I have not yet begun to fight!"

Justice John Paul Stevens recently announced his retirement from the US Supreme Court. Dawn Johnsen withdrew her nomination to the Office of Legal Counsel yesterday after facing a filibuster threat from Senate Republicans and Democrats Ben Nelson and Arlen Specter. Republican Senator Lugar from Indiana supported Johnsen's nomination.

Once obscure, the office [of Legal Counsel] became controversial in the administration of President George W. Bush when its political appointees, citing sweeping theories of presidential power, secretly signed off on interrogation and surveillance policies that bypassed statutory and treaty restraints. Ms. Johnsen was an outspoken critic of those claims after they came to light.

An Indiana University law professor, Ms. Johnsen had also served as acting head of the Office of Legal Counsel during the Clinton administration. During the Bush administration, she helped lead a coalition of Clinton-era alumni of the office in proposing changes to restore its reputation and independence.

In a 2008 essay titled "Restoring Our Nation’s Honor," Ms. Johnsen wrote: "We must avoid any temptation simply to move on. We must instead be honest with ourselves and the world as we condemn our nation’s past transgressions and reject Bush’s corruption of our American ideals. Our constitutional democracy cannot survive with a government shrouded in secrecy, nor can our nation’s honor be restored without full disclosure"

 
Obviously Obama should nominate her as Stevens's replacement.

I have tickets to see Them Crooked Vultures and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin fame at the Scaragon Brawlroom next month.