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Roberts Hearing: Day Two

Update: Law Prof Glenn Reynolds, writing over at his MSNBC blog, sums up a general consensus of opinion on today's hearings: The Senators bloviated, speechified and repeatedly touted themselves. In agreement: Slate's Dahlia Lathwick, Ann Althouse and me. Although none of them mentioned Jeff Sessions who I thought was the worst of the bunch.

Update: I tuned in to watch a little bit of the hearings. Sen. Jeff Sessions has been speechifying against abortion without asking a question for almost five minutes. I can't believe he wasn't interrupted and told to ask a question.

There will be a break and then Sen. Feingold will question Judge Roberts at 5:05pm. I hope he asks about the death penalty like he did at Roberts' 2003 confirmation hearing. If you're not by a tv, you can watch here.

The radical right isn't happy with Roberts' answers. One commenter there says, "...this nomination is shaping up as the biggest failure of the Bush presidency."

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Original post:

Here's an open thread on Judge John Roberts' confirmation. My latest Scoring Scotus, Judge Roberts Speaks, is up at Eric Alterman's Altercation today.

Armando at Daily Kos has details of early questioning by Sen. Specter. Here's a transcript of this morning's q and a session. ScotusBlog is live-blogging the hearings. So is National Journal.

Update: Crooks and Liars has the video of John Roberts speaking on the right to privacy.

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    Re: Roberts Hearing: Day Two (none / 0) (#1)
    by Kitt on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:46 PM EST
    OFF-TOPIC: The owners of St. Rita's nursing home in St. Bernard's parish have been charged with 34 counts of negligient homicide. Dan Abrams is interviewing the Louisiana AG.

    Re: Roberts Hearing: Day Two (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:47 PM EST
    This is a Dog and Pony Show, Senate-style. Left out entirely are the events last week and this week which call into question the legality of this government. • Bush has deployed MERCENARIES in a US state, as proven by the Democracy Now! video of encounters with heavily-armed, and in fact ILLEGALLY ARMED Blackwater mercenaries. • There is the imputation that they have been DEPUTIZED. • At the same time, the Bush admin. has attempted to shut down media coverage of their actions. • In a state covered with corpses, still, the actions of mercenaries in the disaster areas, who in Iraq had a total waver on legal responsibility, presents the obvious threat of mercenary MURDER of US citizens in their own homes (similar, horribly similar to what has been going on in occupied Iraq). • They have already announced plans to CREMATE disaster area victims. AUTOPSY WILL NOT BE INVOLVED. Official cause of death will not be ascertained. • Mercs, no press, no autopsy, destruction of the evidence. These actions are intolerable violations of Constituional government. These actions are IMPEACHABLE OFFENSES. This is treating Louisiana and Mississippi like Fallujah and Al Qa'im, with the mercs and media blackout. It is a serious crime against the Constitution. The Roberts' hearing is a joke in the face of the immediate need of an investigation into reports of the hiring and deputizing of soldiers-of-fortune in a US state, and the other actions this maladministration-for-profit and racism have committed in the last two weeks, while the media has been nodding off.

    Re: Roberts Hearing: Day Two (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:47 PM EST
    For protecting [mercenaries], by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States: For cutting off our Trade [and assistance in disasters] with all parts of the world: For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: [to pay for his wars] For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury: For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences [and tortured] For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province [Haiti, Iraq], establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries [and installing 15 airbases] so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies: For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments: [and reducing FEMA to a gross insult]. For suspending our own Legislatures [via electronic vote-fraud], and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.[at the whim of his religion] He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
    For these reasons and more, we demand impeachment. A felon who has committed these crimes has no right in a free state to select the judiciary. He is himself in violation of the Law itself.

    Re: Roberts Hearing: Day Two (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:48 PM EST
    Posted by wg: "easy does it Paul." Easy does it. Please do not post evidence of impeachable crimes when discussing the hearings into whether an unqualified Bush-insider should be allowed to roost in our Supreme Court for the rest of his life. And, wow, did you hear the FISA court discussed! I almost wet myself.