I'm scared, Sarge.

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court, which has not had a vacancy in more than 11 years, is like a dam holding back the floodwaters.

With all but one of the justices older than 65, President George W. Bush is likely to have three or more nominations in the next term that legal scholars say could easily change the court's stance on abortion, affirmative action, gay rights, the role of religion in public life and many other issues.

The first opportunity could come within days or weeks, as some insiders expect Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, 80, to resign soon as it becomes increasingly clear he is unable to continue to function in his judicial or his administrative capacities because of an apparently severe form of thyroid cancer and debilitating treatment.

Since Rehnquist is an archconservative and abortion foe, his replacement with another conservative would have a huge impact in only a few areas.

But an eventual resignation by Justices John Paul Stevens, 84, or Sandra Day O'Connor, 74, could dramatically alter the court's stance on a number of 5-4 cases, like last year's decision upholding some forms of affirmative action. If both of them go, or one is joined by one of the others in the liberal or moderate conservative bloc, then there could be a revolution in the court's jurisprudence, legal scholars say....

"There is very little settled law if you give Bush the chance to replace O'Connor and/or Stevens," said Stephen Wermiel, an American University law professor. "Abortions, affirmative action, gay rights, role of religion in our public life, all of these are things the court has been evenly divided and are in play. There is no question Thomas and Scalia would vote to overrule any precedent I just named."

The rest of the article goes on to say that moderate Republicans would support Dems attempts to block extremely conservative judges, so there's at least that. However, my civil liberties remain skeptical.

The bright spot in my week:


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SAMPLE PLATE shown above.
Don't forget to personalize yours! Suggested: "DRAFTME", "DONTREAD", "WEDOOMU", "SEENOEVL", "JOBLESS", "FEARFAGS", "4MOREWARS", etc!!

(courtesy of someone fabulous on NYCL)

I love this lady:

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY - When a woman wearing a Kerry/Edwards shirt was told she could not vote at the polls while wearing affiliated clothing she became upset. Ramsey said several people offered to lend her a coat and calm her down, but the women refused. Instead, she yanked off her shirt and went inside to vote. Witnesses told Ramsey that, luckily, the woman was wearing a bra.

Outstanding.