Brad e-mailed to ask that repost Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "An Injustice Is Born" to note that John Roberts, Jr. begins serving on the court today.
Roberts, NPR's reported, has retained all of Rehnquist's clerks and added additional ones. It takes a team when you're stepping into huge shoes that you really aren't qualified to fill.
Bully Boy will announce his next selection today, rumors say. This will be for Sandra Day O'Connor's spot. (O'Connor remains on the Court at present.)
Erika e-mails to note Kim Gandy's latest "Below the Belt" (NOW):
Molly worked long and hard for our cause, may she rest in peace. Just as she was one of the long-awaited reinforcements for Alice Paul, so now must we be the reinforcements for Molly Yard. Thank you Molly, for all your work for all of us. I can think of no better way to honor Molly's memory than to carry on her tireless quest for equality.
And so we go on with the work for women, day after day. These days, it seems like one step forward, two steps back. Despite our best efforts, it looks like John Roberts will be confirmed Monday as Chief Justice (boo, hiss). Thanks to all of you who called and wrote your Senators, organized protests, phoned, and sent emails. We did our best, but I can't say the same for all of our "allies" in the Senate. What's the point of being in the opposition party if you lie down and let the majority walk all over you?
Three cheers for the few, the brave, the "Nay" votes on Roberts, especially Minority Leader Harry Reid, Nev., who led the way, and California's Dianne Feinstein who laid out the case against Roberts better than anyone I heard. And SHAME, SHAME, SHAME to those who voted Yes: ALL of the Republicans (now, which party is captive to their "special interests"???), and many Democrats who hold themselves out as supporters of women's rights. Among the most surprising: Judiciary Committee members Leahy, Vt., Feingold and Kohl (Wisc.) and Senators Chris Dodd, Conn.; Carl Levin, Mich.; Patty Murray, Wash.; and Ron Wyden, Ore.; If you haven't done it already, take a minute to send an instant email message to YOUR senators — it will thank those who supported our rights with a NO vote, and will remind those who supported Roberts that women were watching!
And to finish up for this week, some brief news tidbits from around the globe. First, from right here in our illustrious nation, a so-called Christian school expelled an all-American high school cheerleader from for having lesbian parents. The rationale? "Your family does not meet the policies of admission," Superintendent Leonard Stob wrote to one of the mothers. Watch out! The morality police are on the prowl, and not even cheerleaders are safe.
Moving on to Saudi Arabia, where women got a boost from an unexpected source. Karen Hughes didn't go so far as demanding the right to vote for the women there, but did say they should at least have the right to drive, which at least is significantly more than her boss will say (despite his claims of "helping women abroad").
That's an excerpt. It starts out with Molly Yard before the excerpt and the events of the world continue after the excerpt. Click here to read in full.
Ned e-mails to say Adam Liptak's "Locked Away Forever After Crimes as Teenagers" is worth reading (New York Times). Tonya says to check out Carlotta Gall's "Monitors Find Significant Fraud in Afghan Elections" (I'm rushing this morning so no excerpts, check out if you're one of the few who goes to links. I may try to offer a tiny summary on both in the Democracy Now! entry later today.).
Bonnie's e-mailed to remind me to provide links to yesterday evening's entries (thank you, Bonnie): "Reporting from outside the US mainstream media" and "Reporting from outside the US mainstream media focused on Iraq."
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