Month: October 2005

Is Bush’s new pick for SCOTUS justice – Sam Alito, nickname “Scalito,” – a hard-core conservative…. or just a heartless asshole? read his dissension in the 1990 Planned Parenthood v. Casey case in which the 3rd Circuit struck down a Pennsylvania law that included a provision requiring women seeking abortions to notify their spouses:

The Pennsylvania legislature could have rationally believed that some married women are initially inclined to obtain an abortion without their husbands’ knowledge because of perceived problems — such as economic constraints, future plans or the husbands’ previously expressed opposition — that may be obviated by discussion prior to the abortion

in other words: the state can tell a woman that she must check with her spouse before she gets an abortion.

Anti-abortion is one thing… but it sounds like this guy is just a JERK!

His confirmation should not go smoothly.

The opposition speaks in WaPo’s SCOTUS blog.

(click to enlarge)

Wilma surprised everybody when it was still a Cat 3 as it churned from the Gulf through to Florida’s Atlantic Coast. The power is still out for over 3/4 of the millions of residents of Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties and may not return for four weeks! (err… possibly not until Easter if you’re Dave Barry)

The Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel — despite hampered operations as a result of the storm — has great coverage of this catastrophe – which seems to have been very poorly covered by national media as a result of apparent disaster-fatigue (not to worry – the Bush boys finally made a visit yesterday).