John Kerry has a new anti-Alito petition and will be entering the gathered signatures into the Congressional Record!  Please sign it and share it far and wide.

Dear Friend,

I've studied Judge Alito's legal record. I met with him one-on-one. After all this, I am left with one simple conclusion: if Judge Alito becomes Supreme Court Justice Alito, he will move the Court backwards.

I will vote against Judge Alito's confirmation, and I hope a majority of Senators choose to join us on the Senate floor, voting and speaking out against him. I know we face tough odds, but this is an important fight.

The bottom line is Judge Alito cannot be trusted on the Supreme Court. We can't trust him to stand up to government abuse of power. We can't trust him to ensure all citizens enjoy equal protection under the law. We can't trust him to protect our right to privacy. We can't trust him to defend mainstream American values.

To muster enough Senators to defeat Judge Alito, the American people have to make it clear that they are against his nomination. That's where you come in. By speaking out, you will help us convince other Senators to join our fight.

We can do this!  Be sure to also check out SusanHu's great diary about some Senators who need that extra nudge to do the right thing.

cross-posted from dembloggers and my blog

Today's Alito letter appears in the comments; but this issue is so tremendous, it needs more than a letter's worth of air time.

Bush gets permission slips:

Taken together, the memos advised the President that he had almost unfettered latitude in his prosecution of the war on terror. For many years, Yoo was a member of the Federalist Society, a fellowship of conservative intellectuals who view international law with skepticism, and September 11th offered an opportunity for him and others in the Administration to put their political ideas into practice.

...Soon after September 11th, Yoo and other Administration lawyers began advising President Bush that he did not have to comply with the Geneva Conventions in handling detainees in the war on terror. The lawyers classified these detainees not as civilians or prisoners of war--two categories of individuals protected by the Conventions--but as "illegal enemy combatants." The rubric included not only Al Qaeda members and supporters but the entire Taliban, because, Yoo and other lawyers argued, the country was a "failed state." Eric Lewis, an expert in international law who represents several Guantanamo detainees, said, "The Administration's lawyers created a third category and cast them outside the law."

Given his druthers, that's where shrubya would like to be, too - outside the law, wholly unfettered by pesky prohibitions and stifling statues.  His legal advisors have been all too happy to indulge these imperialist fantasies, arguing that being a war-time president allows him to do anything necessary for the defense of the nation.  Torture?  No problem!  Indefinite detention?  Sure!  Spying on Americans?  Why not; you're the leader!

I don't know when exactly a preternatural deference to the president came into vogue, but this is not a healthy state of affairs for our country.  It's alarming, but to be expected, from his own staff.  It's despicable when Senators invoke it to seat Alberto Gonzales as the chief law enforcement officer in the land.  If it works its way onto the Supreme Court, I think we will find ourselves at a full-blown constitutional crisis.  All the Padillas in the world could sue and it wouldn't matter one whit; the Supreme Court crowned boy george once and they could do it again.  Only in the future, they might not take the courtesy to label the rule unfit for establishing precedent.

Take the anti-torture amendment, for example:  

For Justice - Day 8 - Old Boys Club

by Teacher Toni

 Do you remember when you were a kid, and members of the opposite sex had "cooties?"  Some boys might have even gone so far as to post a sign like this

on the door of their hang out.

Sadly, some boys never grow up and never want to let the girls (or African-Americans, or Hispanics, etc.) in their club.  This brings us to today's installment of keep Alito off the Supreme Court.

Old Boys Club entry is below the fold

Also below the fold is a wealth of contact information for taking action against Alito, as well as a few other great pieces about this nomination.  And don't forget - the completed series of letters (12 total) will make a great informative booklet!

This weekend's issue is separation of church and state, finishing with a wonderful letter from bootribber Alice.

Dear Senator:

I was born an American.  Among all the blessings of my birth, that one has had the most powerful influence on my life.  My parents did their best to educate me in their religion, but as I grew older I came to see that it was a matter of choice.  The sacred documents of my country assured me that I was free to develop my own personal version of what God is.  I am free to join a church, to worship or not, to pray or not, to believe what I will.

The creeds of America became my religion, I share them with anyone who tries to convert me to his own version of the truth.  I have faith that all men are created equal, that we are alike even though each is different.

I am proud to belong to a nation that functions by the rule of law, with nobody above that law.  I believe in the concept of fairness, and of opportunity shared by all.  I believe that what is between my god and myself is a private matter.

The founders of the United States very deliberately gave us a democratic republic that eliminated class distinction and religion.  As Noah Webster told us in 1783  "The very idea of a system of religious principles...is totally repugnant to the spirit of christianity.  Every establishment is only a milder term for tyranny... It is an insult to humanity, a solemn mockery of all justice and common sense...."

This view has been opposed since our beginning when the Rev. John Mason warned Americans that they would "have every reason to tremble, lest the Governor of the universe...crush us to atoms in the wreck."

The founders shared the belief that Europe's melding of religion and government had been bad for both, so they guaranteed our basic freedoms with the Bill of Rights; separating our state from any established religion.

Religious reactionaries have been relentless in their attacks on our secular state.  In the 1820's Senator Richard M. Johnson had to defend the Post Office from accusations of sacrilege.  President Lincoln ignored demands that the Constitution be amended to declare Jesus Christ lord of the land.

Now, we are subjected to the threats of Pat Robertson and his comrades of the cross, along with the so-called `war on Christmas.'  As Esther Kaplan points out in her book  "With God on Their Side"
      "You cannot underestimate the extent to which the Christian Right feels like this is the culmination of their work.  This is the moment they've been waiting for.  Roe v Wade was the single most important factor in the rise of the Christian Right as a social movement, and the brass ring has always been to stack the Supreme Court so they can overturn that decision.  They have the Senate, they have the presidency.  This really is their moment and they are going to pull out all the stops."

Fundamentalists thrive on creating adversity, chaos and strife. Dominion is their goal, never peace.  I am deeply frightened of the extreme animosity that smolders in our country, and dread that the confirmation of Samuel Alito could be the spark that sets it off.

Inevitably, a Justice will be influenced by his private morality and religion;   but Judge Alito seems to believe it is constitutionally permissible to disregard the rights of both unbelievers and unorthodox believers.  A man such as this does not belong on the Supreme Court.

Please contact your senators and pass this info along!  A wonderful action item is to take the completed essays (there will be 12 total) and put them together as booklets to hand out to people...subtly drop in your doctor's waiting room, etc.

Today's action item is about separation of church and state.  The fundagelicals are beside themselves with glee at the thought of Alito on the bench.

Threatened by the religious right over his nomination of Harriet Miers, President Bush  selected their preferred choice.  This nomination has been applauded by Christian fundamentalists who fear a loss of their power.

Pat Robertson said he "can see the majority shifted on the court, instead of 4 to 5 against the Lord, going 5 to 4 in His favor."  Television ads placed by religious groups hail Alito as a savior and protector against evil forces such as "The ACLU's attempt to scrub away our religious heritage."

Every decision by Judge Alito has favored the public display and proselytizing of the religious.  He has indicated in meetings with Senators that he believes the Court has gone too far in separating church and state.

We need to make sure the Senate is paying attention; America was never intended to be a theocracy.  Let's leave a nice pile of faxes for them to find on Monday morning!

So far in the 12 Days of Justice daily series you have learned that:

• Judge Samuel Alito does not respect the primary role of the Legislative branch of our government.
  By Tampopo



• Judge Alito will threaten the fundamental rights and basic legal protections for working Americans of all ages.
  By AP



• Judge Alito has violated the laws and ethical codes that govern the conduct of federal judges and was a member of the radical and discriminatory group CAP.
  By Steven D



• Judge Alito's view of discrimination against persons with disability is so restrictive that "few if any...cases would survive summary judgment."
  By susanhu

Todays diary for Day 5 will be a short and to the point explanation of Judge Alito's views concerning women and abortion rights. It will deal with his radical and demeaning views from the perspective of his positions revealed in certain abortion cases, memos, applications, and discussions of Roe v Wade.

Join me in the back alley below the fold.

It's all in a day's work for Mr. ScAlito. Today's Anti-Alito Brigade For Justice piece is up and the indefatiguable Susan Hu did not disappoint!

It appears, from his dissent in Nathanson v. Medical College of Pennsylvania (1991), that Judge Alito's view of discrimination against persons with disability is so restrictive that "few if any...cases would survive summary judgment." (ThinkProgress)

Most critically, the Bazelon Center has released an exhaustive compendium of "'highlights of a long and troubling record' of disability right cases [including very recent decisions] decided by Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito."

As recently as 2002, "Judge Alito ruled along with other judges on the Third Circuit excusing local zoning boards from engaging in a process to identify reasonable accommodations needed to provide equal access for people with disabilities. (Lapid Laurel, L.L.C. v. Zoning Board of Adjustment of Scotch Plains, 284 F.3d 442 (3d Cir. 2002)." (Bazelon Center's analysis via Ragged Edge Magazine)

Game on!  Let's bombard our congresscritters with yet more phone calls, emails and the much-harder-to-ignore faxes befitting a dangerous idealogue like ScAlito.  And share this far and wide, won't you?  Below is yet more information on Alito's judicial hubris for the arsenal, as well as additional groups and resources for fighting his nomination:

This diary is number three in the 12-part series "For Justice."  For Day 3, Steven D treats us to a true work or wordsmithing regarding Alito's violations of judicial ethics.

The following letter is ready to send to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, as well as other Senators. Feel free to adapt it as you see fit. Click here for Senate Judiciary Members and click here for for a list of all Senators.

We're gonna send the Alito nomination the way of Miers'!