Advise & Consent: Hearings start today over the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court in what is likely to be a losing battle by the Democrats to maintain an ideological balance on the court.

Kavanaugh would replace Anthony Kennedy, who for many years was the swing vote on crucial issues. Kavanaugh is more conservative than Kennedy and the presumption is that Chief Justice John Roberts would become the swing vote, if the court has one at all.

Kavanaugh is considered to be an “originalist,” a somewhat extreme conservative who reads the law literally, strictly, and with no room for connotation or interpretation. The Constitution says what it says.

Originalists don’t allow for social changes since the Constitution was written. The late Justice Antonin Scalia, for example, argued that the death penalty is legal because at the time the Eighth Amendment was passed, execution was considered neither cruel nor unusual.

A five-member conservative majority would possibly restrict access to abortion and limit racially-weighted college admissions while upholding voter suppression, gun rights, and a greater role of religion in public life.

The last time a conservative replaced a liberal on the court, it resulted in the Citizens United decision, which allows for unlimited corporate donations to political campaigns, increasing the influence of money in politics.

The Democrats are looking to block Kavanaugh in revenge for Republicans blocking the last nomination by President Obama, resulting in President Trump making the appointment. The Democrats are also worried about the legitimacy of an appointee who may have to vote on issues regarding Trump’s presidential power and the Russia investigation.

Labor Day: President Trump celebrated labor Day in part by attacking the head of the country’s biggest labor federation. He said on Twitter, “Richard Trumka, the head of the AFL-CIO, represented his union poorly on television this weekend. Some of the things he said were so against the working men and women of our country, and the success of the U.S. itself, that it is easy to see why unions are doing so poorly. A Dem!”

Trumka had said on Fox Newsthat Trump has done more to hurt American workers than help them. He said unemployment is down, but so are wages.

This came just three days after Trump cancelled a long-awaited pay raise for federal workers, claiming that it’s a budget emergency. Even so, he tweeted, “Our country is doing better than ever before with unemployment setting record lows.”

Trump Justice: The President was also on Twitter yesterday complaining about Attorney Gen. Jeff Sessions because the Justice Department indicted two Republican congressmen for corruption just two months before the mid-term elections. “Two easy wins now in doubt because there is not enough time. Good job Jeff. The Democrats, none of whom voted for Jeff Sessions, must love him now.”

Trump evidently thinks the Justice Department should consider politics above corruption.

Swoosh: Unemployed quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who started the movement among football players to take a knee during the National Anthem, will be the face of Nike’s “Just Do It” 30th anniversary advertising campaign.

The Nike advertisements show Kaepernick with the slogan, “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.” Kaepernick took a knee during the National Anthem during the 2016 football season in protest of police shootings of black men. Many other players have followed, but Kaepernick hasn’t played since. He’s been a frequent target of vitriol from President Trump.

Gino Fisanotti, a Nike vice president, told CNN, “We believe Colin is one of the most inspirational athletes of this generation, who has leveraged the power of sport to help move the world forward.”

Snake Eyes: Eight people were shot and wounded during a dice game in a public area at a San Bernardino, Calif. apartment complex. One 17-year-old was critically wounded, police said.

Investigators said both rifles and handguns were involved in the shooting, but no weapons were recovered and no suspects captured.

Ivory Massacre: Eighty-seven elephants have been found dead and stripped of their tusks near a protected sanctuary in Botswana.

The elephants were discovered by Elephants Without Borders while they were conducting an aerial census.  Botswana has the largest elephant population in the world.

“I’m shocked, I’m completely astounded,” Mike Chase of Elephants Without Borders told the BBC. “The scale of elephant poaching is by far the largest I’ve seen or read about anywhere in Africa to date.”

From the Base Line: John Millman, a little-known 29-year-old Australian who was  unseeded and ranked 55^th, stunned Roger Federer last night in the US Open in a 3 ½ hour match that finished after midnight. The scores were 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (3).

Federer is considered one of the greatest tennis players ever. “I just thought it was very hot tonight,” Federer said. “It was just one of those nights, I guess, I felt I couldn’t get air. There was no circulation. … Maybe when you feel like that, you start missing chances.”

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