eureka college. >> illinois. he went to college in illinois. that woman is -- all the news and commentary now on "countdown." >> i want my straws. i want my straws. good evening from new york, republicans opposing the supreme court nomination of elena kagan are going to lose. but as the confirmation hearings kicked off today, republicans show they might still snatch defeat from the jaws of more defeat. our fifth story this evening. but first, the formalities. elena kagan, solicitor general of the united states who argues government cases before the supreme court in her opening statement today did nothing to change what she herself has called the vapid and hollow nature of confirmation hearings, assuring critics in the vaguest terms of her impartiality. >> what i've learned most is that no one has a monopoly on truth or wisdom.