More on the Supreme Court
Yes, I know. You don’t have to tell me. MoveOn is a biased group. They don’t like Bush or his friends, and are not afraid to say so and speak out.
And in the case of fearing what Bush might try to put on the bench of the Supreme Court, they are right on target.
From MoveOn:
The only clear indication from Bush about who he might nominate is that he intends to follow the example of his two “model” judges—Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia. These two have weighed in from the far-right fringe for decades, and another judge in their mold could shift the balance on the Court significantly.
Below are just a few examples of landmark cases where Scalia or Thomas voted against O’Connor to try to strike down core rights and freedoms. In many cases if they had one more vote they would have succeeded.2
Worker’s Rights: Nevada Dep’t of Human Resources v. Hibbs, which protected the right of workers to care for newborn children or gravely ill family members.
Women’s Rights: United States v. Virginia, which allowed women to attend all publicly funded schools. (C’Connor was not on the Court at the time of Roe v. Wade, but has opposed Scalia and Thomas on reproductive freedom issues in such landmark cases as Planned Parenthood v. Casey)
Church and State: Locke v. Davey, which ensured that states could not be required to fund religious training.
Environmental Rights: Friends of the Earth , Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services (TOC), Inc., which protected citizens’ rights under the Clean Water Act to sue against the illegal dumping of mercury and other toxins.
Civil Rights: * Dickerson v. U.S., which upheld the “Miranda” guarantee that people accused of crimes are read their rights. * United States v. Fordice, which protected the rights of those still suffering from the effects of state-enforced racial segregation. * Grutter v Bollinger, affirmed the right of state colleges and universities to use affirmative action in their admissions policies.
Civil Liberties: Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, which blocked the government from indefinitely detaining American citizens without charges, an attorney, or any basic rights.
On Capitol Hill, today’s resignation unleashed a swarm of right-wing fringe groups and corporate lobbyists pushing for a nominee who will favor narrow prejudice and greed over the rights of the American people.
If we can deliver 250,000 signatures and comments by Tuesday, we can make sure the voice of ordinary Americans can compete with this swarm and tell our senators to stand up for our rights.
All of the Supreme Court cases mentioned above were very important ones, and several directly related to our health and wellbeing.
MoveOn has a petition if you want to sign, which calls on our Senators to do what it takes in the crucial weeks ahead to protect our rights.