November 1
...serving up your daily dish.
Say what you will about Judge Scalito Alito. He's also an Outer Baristaville guy. From today's New York Times, a long profile, which paints the Supreme Court nominee's current abode in Sopranoesque terms:
Judge Alito owns the newest, most impressive house on a modest block in West Caldwell, N.J. It sits atop a hill and stands out from the surrounding jumble of ranch-style homes with brick faces.
Alito's daughter is the girl next door, captain of Caldwell High's swim team, and his wife is a Sunday school teacher in Roseland. So let's keep the debate civil, guys. We might need to go over and borrow a cup of sugar. (WCBS-TV story here.)
November 1, 2005 in Where For Art Thou? | Permalink
OK, now I see he should be disqualified. Supreme Court Justices should have taste, this house proves him unqualified as a leader.
Posted by: Kevin Lee Allen | Nov 1, 2005 10:07:06 AM
Should be an interesting skirmish to watch. I do not share the guy's political views, but US history is that the President selects someone with similar views on key issues. This guy is obviously qualified, no question. So the bottom line is do we disqualify someone from sitting on SCOTUS because we (1) disagree with their "judicial philosophy," however vague and uncertain that concept might be or (2) vehemently disagree with their holding in a particular case of great social import, such as Roe v. Wade. I can't see this guy going down in flames. The problem isn't Alito.
Posted by: montclair_is_crazy | Nov 1, 2005 10:14:48 AM
Yes Kevin, I agree completely. Sort of helps us identify another location for implementation of eminent domain doesn't it?
Posted by: jon Bonesteel | Nov 1, 2005 11:21:08 AM
I'm with Kevin! Apparently education and professional achievement does not guarantee taste! Well, it's probably a step up from a youth spent in Trenton. God forbid the Supreme Court has to make any binding aesthetic decisions!
Posted by: fussyhostess | Nov 1, 2005 11:25:23 AM
I have not been blessed with gaydar, and to me he just looks like a dorky ivy-leaguer!
Posted by: Black Irish | Nov 1, 2005 12:03:02 PM
Goofy - no, North Caldwell, maybe, but West Caldwell runs the whole gamut from modestly middle class and white to fabulously wealthy and white.
Posted by: Dogbert | Nov 1, 2005 12:16:40 PM
Well, at least THIS one has some judicial experience.
Posted by: Miss Martta | Nov 1, 2005 1:11:20 PM
This guy is my neighbor...don't try and jump on the Outer Baristaville wagon now! hahaha, just kidding.
In all seriousness, my mom seems to think that because he's Italian and from West Caldwell he's a great candidate. I then asked her which of his decisions she agreed with or could point to that demonstrate his command of Constitutional Law. She said nothing. I think that is a great example of how so many of us in this country proffer an opinion that they really know absolutely nothing about. Unless you read about it in the paper today or are an attorney, I think very few of you knew 2 days ago what Alito's position was in Planned Parenthood of Southern PA v. Casey, yet today you're ready to tell us whether Bush made a good pick or a bad one. As you all know, I am not a Bush supporter, but I think that we must all make a better effort to know why we are for or against something.
When my mom asked what I thought yesterday, I told her that I had no thoughts. Today I am doing my research. I still don't know where I stand. Yes, he is more conservative than my liberal-leaning self would like, but his constitutional analysis is admirable. He is intelligent and experienced, which makes him, in my opinion, a far better choice than Harriet Miers. I'll be watching the hearings closely to determine my final opinion. I think those of you who have something to say about it should do the same so that we can have an educated discussion about it and not a republican/democrat fueled one.
Posted by: Dana | Nov 1, 2005 1:38:36 PM
Sam Alito has shown by his opinion in the partial birth abortion case that he does not march in lockstep with the conservatives. Nor does he drape a US flag in front of his house as Joe McCarthy or Trent Lott would expect. Too bad for him that his many years of hard work have been tainted by being appointed by the Bush/Cheney neocon cabal.
Posted by: buycopy | Nov 1, 2005 1:59:48 PM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Alito
Here is a good source of unbiased and non-partisan information on Sam Alito. Wikipedia is the brain of the internet.
People that come to Baristanet know how about feel about Alito. He is a judicial plague. A cancer devouring our freedoms that will usher in the Totalitarian States of America.
Posted by: lasermike026 | Nov 1, 2005 2:04:11 PM
Lasermike, I really disagree with your statement. His record is not that offensive to a liberal point of view. Yes, he is conservative leaning, but as Buycopy noted above, he doesn't judge with a conservative agenda. The partial-birth abortion case is a good example. It seems to me that the biggest danger is his desire to strictly read the Constitution. However, he is also respectful of precedent. It seems that he's too intelligent to let partisan politics affect his legal analysis. I'm about 65% in favor of him thus far. Let's listen to the hearings.
Posted by: Dana | Nov 1, 2005 2:14:53 PM
buycopy,
I have to work hard to disagree with you more.
Alito has worked hard to remove the protections afford to us by the constitution, enumerated in the federalist papers, and exercise by the United State Congress.
Alito rules its ok to own a machine gun, it ok to fire someone on UNPAID sick leave while caring for a sick loved one, and it ok to fire someone because of their race. What part of this record makes him qualified to be a Unite States Supreme Court Justice? He's not fit to be judge in a back water village.
Posted by: lasermike026 | Nov 1, 2005 2:16:21 PM
I'm sorry Dana, you are not going to hear anything of value in the hearings. If he's good, he will avoid any direct questions. If Alito lets people know what he thinks, he will have a harder time getting confirmed and everyone knows this. The only thing you are going to learn about Alito is in his past record, who are his close colleges, and which political alliances he has.
Posted by: lasermike026 | Nov 1, 2005 2:22:04 PM
LM,
Look at the 2nd amendment...we have the right to own firearms. Listen to the reasoned approach of Dana. He believes in precedent and unlike you reactionary liberals he thinks through his positions based on the law. He doesn't approach the law as a legislative branch. The Libs want the Supreme Court to invent laws not enumerated in the Constitution.
Posted by: The Iceman | Nov 1, 2005 2:25:35 PM
well, for once, I hope that Butch is correct. Now, that would be entertainment!
Posted by: Kevin Lee Allen | Nov 1, 2005 2:37:20 PM
The second amendment provides the right to bare arms and a regulate militia. This does not currently exist.
Posted by: lasermike026 | Nov 1, 2005 2:39:20 PM
The hearings aren't the be all end all, but I would like to get a "read" on him. I want to judge his answers and hear what all the members of the Judiciary Committee have to say.
Posted by: Dana | Nov 1, 2005 2:42:10 PM
KLAD - John Roberts seems kinda gay too. Did you see that pic of him floating around the net? Maybe the Supreme Court will turn into a closeted homosexual love fest??
Posted by: butchcjg | Nov 1, 2005 2:57:55 PM
I would "bare" my arms but right now I'm cold./snark
Posted by: Miss Martta | Nov 1, 2005 3:14:51 PM
"Support your right to arm bears."
We all bitched and moaned about Harriet having no other judicial qualifications other than always agreeing with His Royal Bushness. Alito has judicial qualifications up the ying-yang and now everyone is all over him for being a Bush-Cheney-Evangelist puppet. Dana, you seem to be the only one here who is trying to do her homework (for which you will probably be roundly castigated). The rest of us will continue to engage in battles of wit, once again as unarmed warriors. I'd like to hear him out - SCOTUS Justices have often turned out to be quite a bit different than they sounded at first. Others, Bork comes to mind, have "seen foot - shot same" when given a chance to display their ideas. And, anyway, I was getting tired of Tony Soprano being the only celebrity in Outer Baristaville.
Posted by: Conan the Grammarian | Nov 1, 2005 3:43:51 PM
