STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

blubirde · Chanel

Alito = New Supreme Court Justice

Kari · Dooney & Bourke

You know, I have very mixed emotions here. I am trying not to be a sore loser since I really didn't want this man on the court, but in a way that's just the way our system works. There are more republicans in Congress, but across the nation that is the way the elections went. I try to remember that and not get upset, but I feel so helpless most the time on these big issues.

One thing I keep thinking is that maybe he will turn out to be like some of the other justices of the past that were appointed because they were conservative, but once on the court will end up to be less so and even more liberal than everyone thought.

tri_sarah_tops · Marc Jacobs

blubirde wrote:

Any thoughts? Personally, I'm opposed to Alito. What's more disappointing than his nomination, to me, is the lack of Dems fighting against his nomination (or at the very least more debate). I'm wondering... who DOES represent me anymore?

Ick. I really don't even know where to start. I'm really disappointed in the whole situation and like Blubirdie I really wish that the Dems would have at least put up a better fight. Our constituion is already being trampled on and this appointment is just going to make it that much worse. His ideology is very concerning, and it's not even the abortion stuff that bothers me. It's stuff like this:

In a dissent to Doe v. Groody, Alito argued that qualified immunity should have protected police officers from a finding of having violated constitutional rights when they strip-searched a mother and her ten-year-old daughter while carrying out a search warrant that authorized the search of a residence. The mother and daughter were not referred to in the warrant, although the affidavit with the warrant requested permission to "search all occupants of the residence and their belongings." The majority opinion found that the warrant did not grant such permission, arguing that references to the affidavit in the warrant were specific and the omission of the language in question was not found to be the result of an error, clerical or otherwise.[34] This controversial opinion earned Judge Alito the nickname "Strip-Search Sammy" from his detractors.

And then there's his views on the unitary executive. Very problematic, especially with all of the crap that's going on now. I don't think he respects balance of power in the way that the Constitution intends. I'm starting to think that we might as well fire Congress, destroy the Constitution and let Bush have free reign. That sounds extreme but when considering everything that's been going on lately, that's essentially what's happening. And it really bothers me that the majority of the population doesn't realize what's going on (or care).

I guess I'm with Kari on this one. The only thing we can really do is hope that it's not going to be as bad as we think.

blubirde · Chanel

tri_sarah_tops wrote:

blubirde wrote: Any thoughts? Personally, I'm opposed to Alito. What's more disappointing than his nomination, to me, is the lack of Dems fighting against his nomination (or at the very least more debate). I'm wondering... who DOES represent me anymore? Ick. I really don't even know where to start. I'm really disappointed in the whole situation and like Blubirdie I really wish that the Dems would have at least put up a better fight. Our constituion is already being trampled on and this appointment is just going to make it that much worse. His ideology is very concerning, and it's not even the abortion stuff that bothers me. It's stuff like this: In a dissent to Doe v. Groody, Alito argued that qualified immunity should have protected police officers from a finding of having violated constitutional rights when they strip-searched a mother and her ten-year-old daughter while carrying out a search warrant that authorized the search of a residence. The mother and daughter were not referred to in the warrant, although the affidavit with the warrant requested permission to "search all occupants of the residence and their belongings." The majority opinion found that the warrant did not grant such permission, arguing that references to the affidavit in the warrant were specific and the omission of the language in question was not found to be the result of an error, clerical or otherwise.[34] This controversial opinion earned Judge Alito the nickname "Strip-Search Sammy" from his detractors. And then there's his views on the unitary executive. Very problematic, especially with all of the crap that's going on now. I don't think he respects balance of power in the way that the Constitution intends. I'm starting to think that we might as well fire Congress, destroy the Constitution and let Bush have free reign. That sounds extreme but when considering everything that's been going on lately, that's essentially what's happening. And it really bothers me that the majority of the population doesn't realize what's going on (or care). I guess I'm with Kari on this one. The only thing we can really do is hope that it's not going to be as bad as we think.

Your point reminds me of a recent argument I got into with the boy. It was about the media. I think most of the American public would agree that this man is a bad guy to have on the Supreme Court IF they knew things like the decisions you just discussed, TST. However, have you heard this reported on your local news station? Has abortion been discussed or reported on by ABC News? No. Why? Two reasons, imo. One, it's too complicated. It takes too long to tell a genuine, indepth story like the "Strip Search Sammy" one. Two, it's too controversial. Mainstream corporate media doesn't want to take a chance and offend their sponsors so they don't tell the hard stories. Or discuss the touchy subjects.

Ugh. That's all I got. Ugh.

halleybird · Hermes

blubirde wrote:

Your point reminds me of a recent argument I got into with the boy. It was about the media. I think most of the American public would agree that this man is a bad guy to have on the Supreme Court IF they knew things like the decisions you just discussed, TST. However, have you heard this reported on your local news station? Has abortion been discussed or reported on by ABC News? No. Why? Two reasons, imo. One, it's too complicated. It takes too long to tell a genuine, indepth story like the "Strip Search Sammy" one. Two, it's too controversial. Mainstream corporate media doesn't want to take a chance and offend their sponsors so they don't tell the hard stories. Or discuss the touchy subjects. Ugh. That's all I got. Ugh.

I agree with you here, but I think you mean network TV, not the media in general. I have seen some pretty scary stuff about Alito on cable news and in print.

blubirde · Chanel

halleybird wrote:

blubirde wrote: Your point reminds me of a recent argument I got into with the boy. It was about the media. I think most of the American public would agree that this man is a bad guy to have on the Supreme Court IF they knew things like the decisions you just discussed, TST. However, have you heard this reported on your local news station? Has abortion been discussed or reported on by ABC News? No. Why? Two reasons, imo. One, it's too complicated. It takes too long to tell a genuine, indepth story like the "Strip Search Sammy" one. Two, it's too controversial. Mainstream corporate media doesn't want to take a chance and offend their sponsors so they don't tell the hard stories. Or discuss the touchy subjects. Ugh. That's all I got. Ugh. I agree with you here, but I think you mean network TV, not the media in general. I have seen some pretty scary stuff about Alito on cable news and in print.

Generally speaking I mean network TV but I tentatively include cable news in that category, although to a lesser degree.

halleybird · Hermes

blubirde wrote:

halleybird wrote: blubirde wrote: Your point reminds me of a recent argument I Generally speaking I mean network TV but I tentatively include cable news in that category, although to a lesser degree.

You are probably right about that. Thankfully, we live in a world where Internet journalism also exists and thus is not controlled by Murdoch, et al.

blink · Coach

I actually watched the hearings last month on CSpan. I am a boring boring girl sometimes!

I napped during some of it, obviously because it was like watching golf on tv on a Sunday...BUT I did make sure to watch the more recognizable Democrats like Kennedy, Leahy, Feingold and also the certain Republicans I consider to be crazy, like Coburn (who actually I still think is a nut, but I thought he put forth moral points about abortion...even though I disagree with putting his ideas into law).

AND about the media coverage of all of this, it was ridiculous! I was thoroughly annoyed that so much attention was put to the questioning from the Democrats, especially Kennedy, they made it look like he was being so irrational! And I didn't get that vibe at all when I was watching, I actually got the feeling that Kennedy has a pretty good relationship with chairman Arlen Specter and that their "strong words" were just normal business debate and Kennedy shouldn't have been so criticized from the media for it. But bottom line, the mainstream media failed to explain to the general public what Kennedy and other Democrats were being so passionate about in the first place (the CAP membership stuff), more attention was paid to the drama of it all!

It's as if the media simply wants us to think that all Democrats are just trying to be difficult out of spite. In order to get the full story these days, you really have to do your own researching, and not every smart voter has time to do that!

This is a little off topic, but the Democrats really really need a leader right now, don't they?

halleybird · Hermes

lorelei wrote:

But bottom line, the mainstream media failed to explain to the general public what Kennedy and other Democrats were being so passionate about in the first place (the CAP membership stuff), more attention was paid to the drama of it all!

You are SO right about this. Again, it's not all media, but it is most of TV news.

cc · Marc Jacobs

Well, he split with the conservatives on his first case:

WASHINGTON - New Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito split with the court’s conservative wing Wednesday night, refusing to let Missouri execute a death-row inmate contesting lethal injection.

Alito, handling his first case, sided with inmate Michael Taylor, who had won a stay from an appeals court earlier in the evening. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas supported lifting the stay, but Alito joined the remaining five members in turning down Missouri’s last-minute request to allow a midnight execution.
full story

The law firm I work for just represented a major corporation in a Supreme Court case. I guess Alito's pro-business leanings could help them win, which I guess would be good for me in a way. Maybe we'll get bigger raises this year! Probably not, but despite my personal feelings about him and the dealings of corporations I'll be disappointed if they lose. I did a ton of work for this case.