The liberal blog Think Progress and the libertarian blog Hit and Run are engaged in an interesting point/counterpoint analyzing the opinions of Samuel Alito.

While the interest group armies are going to be hyping this nomination to death as a fund raising vehicle, it would be interesting to see the issues he’s touched on really discussed in depth.

For me the really interesting case is his dissent in Bray v. Marriott over Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Personally, I would say that Title VII, like much of the Civil Rights victories from the 60s, is all but dead. If you want to have some fun get some alone time with a Black friend and ask them about their experiences with work place discrimination. If they trust you enough to be honest it will likely be a real eye opener. (If you don’t have a Black friend, let me know and I’ll find you a pen pal.)

ASIDE: The Hill has quotes from both Hackett and Brown on the nomination. Interestingly though, much of their quotes are already out of date given that DeWine appears to be breaking up the Gang of 14. Smart move… he needs to keep the wolves happy, and by the looks of things Alioto will make them very very happy.

UPDATE: Hair Trigger Sirota is already out of the gate using the Alito nomination to attack Paul Hackett… this time for not being hard enough on “archconservative DeWine”. LOL

If you ask me, this quote from Hackett is right on the money:

If I were sitting there, that’s what I would want to know: Where does he stand on the issue of privacy?


What’s so hard about that? It’s not about attacking Mike DeWine… it’s about fighting for our rights. That’s the heart of the matter. That’s what brought down Bork. Democrats need to draw a line in the sand over privacy. If they can’t do that, then there really isn’t much of a Democratic Party anymore now is there?

UPDATE 2: Democracy Guy doesn’t like the way Hackett is using “punditspeak”. That might be a valid point. It’s hard to shift gears from being an outsider to “the candidate”.

UPDATE 3: Bilmon’s Casey as the Bat is a very interesting perspective. (via Prairie Weather)

UPDATE 4: Kos says call. I agree. (via MediaGirl)

Also, check out MediaGirl’s collection of comments by feminists.