A group of nearly 2,000 professional physicists and astrophysicists have signed a letter, drafted by members of the Equity & Inclusion in Physics & Astronomy Facebook group and addressed to the Supreme Court justices, repudiating the lines of questioning put forward by Justices Antonin Scalia and John Roberts which implied that affirmative action disadvantages black students by putting them in situations they are not equipped to handle, and that furthermore diversity has no role to play in the ostensibly objective world of science.

Man, Supreme Courting has really taken its toll on Roberts. Unless...

Today Washington, D.C. was all atwitter with the graduation of President Obama from first-term president to second-term president. Here is your Inauguration 2013 yearbook.

When in the Course of human/corporate person events shit gets to the point where John the Supreme Corporate Baptist himself starts fantasizing about socialism, you can usually count on those time-tested right wing psyops tactics to coax him back from the ledge long before George Will is forced to break a sweat. And so one naturally wonders of a violent historical aberration like Obamacare, to whom did the Chief Justice turn for moral guidance during that lonely, tormented month when the Federalist Society thought police set loose the full phone bank of cognitive repo men on the guy? Theory: it was Nicki Minaj. For one thing, the guy has not one but two kids in middle school. Herewith, the slightly more compelling evidence:

Frequent readers of National Review Online's The Corner might have stumbled over this odd foreign word in contributor Michael Walsh's column about Chief Justice John Roberts: Dolchstoss, which Walsh uses to refer to Roberts' ruling that the Affordable Care Act is constitutional. Literally translated, Dolchstoss means something like "dagger-thrust," but, like so many other words, this one has a particularly interesting valence. Let's take a look at Kevin Baker's 2006 Harper's article "Stabbed in the back! The past and future of a right-wing myth," shall we?

Almost no one was able to predict that Chief Justice John Roberts would join the Supreme Court's liberal bloc in voting to uphold the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate — which means a lot of the coverage, especially from the right wing, has focused on what caused Roberts to vote the way he did. Because, sure, it could be that he genuinely believed in the law's constitutionality, but isn't it more likely that he did it to please his masters at the Washington Post?

John Roberts, former character actor as "the dad who wears khaki shorts and stands with his hands on his hips a lot," joined the liberal wing of the Supreme Court in upholding the Affordable Care Act, or "Obamacare." In doing so, he gave a lot of people who don't pay attention reason to celebrate him on Twitter. They're idiots.

Great news for the holiday weekend, everyone: One of the last broad federal bans on corporate political donations has been declared unconstitutional by a freedom-loving U.S. District Court judge in Virginia.

Bitchy silver fox John Roberts, until recently host of CNN's American Morning, will leave the world of strained objectivity behind for right-wing insanity parlor Fox News, where he'll serve as senior national correspondent. Enjoy clipping Roger Ailes' toenails, new guy!

In your icy Tuesday media column: Kathy and A.C. are back for New Year's eve, Larry King's nearly done at CNN, John Roberts leaves morning TV, and HuffPo's profitability confirmed.

As CNN's John Roberts was preparing to interview David Axelrod last week, he turned to co-anchor Kiran Chetry and said, bitchily, "'Scuse me. Would you mind not doing that while I'm talking? Thank you. Appreciate that. If you don't mind."

Have you been watching Elena Kagan and some senators trade canned platitudes about The Law this week? Yeah, same here. But let's give Kagan credit for getting senators to stop comparing justices to "umpires" who call "balls and strikes."

In your tribute-laden Tuesday media column: John Roberts in follicle change caper, the Supreme Court hates reporters and death row inmates equally, Rupert Murdoch's birthday, and MSNBC is made of air.

According to SCOTUS expert David Lat at Above the Law, the John Roberts resignation "rumor" AMI's RadarOnline.com posted earlier today was part of a law professor's lecture on not trusting supposedly credible sources. It almost makes sense!

RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively that Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts is considering stepping down. "RadarOnline.com has been told that Roberts, 55, could announce his decision at any time." The Pulitzer hunt heats up! Update: RadarOnline.com has retracted.

Two on-air personalities at MSNBC are celebrating birthdays today: Keith Olbermann is turning 51; and Ed Schultz, the host of The Ed Show, is 56. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts turns 55 today. Fashion designer Narciso Rodriguez is celebrating his 49th birthday. Model Lily Donaldson is 22. Alan Cumming is turning 45. Hedge funder Dan Och is 49. Bridget Fonda is turning 46. Retired ballet great Mikhail Baryshnikov is 62. Oscar-nominated actor James Cromwell is turning 70. Comedian Patton Oswalt turns 41. And actress Mimi Rogers, who may be best known for being the first wife of Tom Cruise, is 54 today.

From the man who brought you My Son is Gay and The Phone Call, we celebrate John Robert's holiday-themed classic. Watch and laugh.

These days, ruined neocon actors scrounge for roles while Nancy Pelosi sings hippie drug songs in respected theaters and the liberal media elites run off to Canada to fornicate in public.

• Yet one more newspaper is folding. Hearst's Seattle Post-Intelligencer will shut down its print operations tomorrow, but its website will live on. [Seattle PI]
• The Sci Fi Channel is changing its name. To Syfy. This is not a joke. [NYT]
• CNN says it plans to "devote the bulk of its news effort this week" to covering the global financial meltdown. How timely! [NYT]
• Are CNN anchors Kyra Phillips and John Roberts secretly dating? [NYM]
• Book sales in the U.S. are down slightly, but they're up in Europe. [NYT]
• Andy Samberg will host the 2009 MTV Movie Awards. [THR]
• Barack Obama will appear on The Tonight Show on Thursday. [The Caucus]
• More on last week's management shakeup at Fox. [Variety]
• Sopranos creator David Chase is back at HBO with a new mini-series. [AB]
• Race to Witch Mountain was No. 1 at the box office this weekend. [AP]

Keith Olbermann turns 50 today. Designer Narciso Rodriguez is celebrating his 48th. Actor Alan Cumming is turning 44. Mikhail Baryshnikov is 61. Hedge fund mogul Dan Och turns 48. Model Lily Donaldson is turning 21. Tom Cruise's first wife, actress Mimi Rogers, turns 53. Actor James Cromwell turns 69. Tricky is 41. The rapper Lil Jon is 38. Bridget Fonda is 45. And Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, who so spectacularly mangled Barack Obama's oath of office a week ago, turns 54 today.