While Kagan Cracks Jokes ...

Toiling,--rejoicing,--sorrowing,
Onward through life he goes;
Each morning sees some task begin,
Each evening sees it close;
Something attempted, something done,
Has earned a night's repose.

Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,
For the lesson thou hast taught!
Thus at the flaming forge of life
Our fortunes must be wrought;
Thus on its sounding anvil shaped
Each burning deed and thought!

Onward through life he goes.

Is His Gun-Control Concurrence Justice Thomas’s Finest Hour?
By Ashby Jones, Wall Street Journal

Down in our nation’s capital, the day belongs to a lot of people: To retiring Supreme Court justice John Paul Stevens, who Monday capped his lengthy career on the court; to Elena Kagan, who survived her first day of Senatorial grilling; to Robert Byrd, an institution within the institution, who died on Monday at age 92.

But in the mind of some law professors and Supreme Court watchers, the day belonged to Justice Clarence Thomas, for his concurring opinion in McDonald v. Chicago. [link]

His opinion didn't make the papers.  His position went duly un-noted. Katie Couric was too busy singing the praises of that vapid candidate for the Court that Obama retched to acknowledge the brilliance of the effort. 

But like the homage paid to "The Village Blacksmith":  Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend, for the lesson thou hast taught!