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06/01/2006 - House Passes Abortion Bill With No Rape, Incest Exception
"The House passed a strict abortion bill Wednesday to allow the procedure only to save the life of the mother or to prevent “serious, permanent” health problems for her. It rejected abortions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest." Read on in the Times-Picayune.
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06/01/2006 - Blanco Says She'll Sign Abortion Bill
"Gov. Kathleen Blanco said Thursday that she'll sign a near-total ban on abortion- without exceptions for rape or incest victims – that is nearing final legislative passage." Read on in the Houma Courier.
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05/31/2006 - Blow the Whistle, Loudly
"The Supreme Court whittled away at the First Amendment yesterday, ruling against a prosecutor who raised concerns about the validity of a search warrant. The court made the law in this area messy, and even illogical." Read on in the New York Times.
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05/31/2006 - House Bill a Reaction to Office Raid
"The House Judiciary Committee said Tuesday it will begin drafting legislation to prevent the FBI from raiding congressional offices, a response to the recent search of U.S. Rep. William Jefferson's office." Read on in The Advocate.
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05/28/2006 - Dismissal of Lawsuits Over NSA Eavesdropping Sought
"The Bush administration has asked federal judges in New York and Michigan to dismiss a pair of lawsuits filed over the National Security Agency's domestic eavesdropping program, saying litigating them would jeopardize state secrets." Read on in the Washington Post.
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05/26/2006 - Avoiding Clash, Senate Sends Judicial Nomination to Floor
"The Senate cleared the way on Thursday for a top aide to President Bush, Brett M. Kavanaugh, to be confirmed for the federal appeals court, avoided a partisan showdown over a nomination that had been stalled for three years." Read on in the New York Times.
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05/25/2006 - Make No Law
"The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled today to mark up legislation dealing with the National Security Agency's program of warrantless domestic surveillance. What kind of bill it will report out is anyone's guess." Read on in the Washington Post.
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05/24/2006 - Gonzales Defends Phone-Data Collection
"Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales said yesterday that the government can obtain domestic telephone records without court approval under a 1979 Supreme Court ruling that authorized the collection of business records." Read on in the Washington Post.
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05/23/2006 - Digital Incompetence
"It's not as though identity theft is a new worry. Last year companies such as Time Warner Inc. and Citigroup Inc. were in the news for losing computer tapes with sensitive personal information. The Bush administration has created something called the President's Identity Theft Task Force." Read on in the Washington Post.
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05/18/2006 - Panel Revises Abortion Proposal
"A House panel decided Wednesday that restricting abortions to cases where the life of the woman is at state is too strict. So the panel broadened a proposed abortion ban to allow abortions to preserve a woman's health in certain high-risk situations." Read on in The Advocate.
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05/17/2006 - President Backs Off Wiretap Secrecy
"Reversing a position it has held for months, the White House on Tuesday agreed to brief all members of the House and Senate intelligence committees on a controversial domestic wiretapping operation – just as the architect of the program is facing a contentious confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill." Read on in the Los Angeles Times.
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05/13/2006 - Heard of the Constitution?
"What does one call lawmakers who express the opinion that a proposed bill is unconstitutional before voting for it anyway?" Read on in the Times-Picayune.
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05/12/2006 - More Domestic Spying
"When the New York Times revealed the National Security Agency’s domestic wiretapping program late last year, President Bush assured the country that the operation was carefully limited to international calls, targeted only al-Qaeda suspects and did not involved snooping on law-abiding Americans. That turns out to be far from the whole truth." Read on in the Washington Post.
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05/10/2006 - Pushing Back on Roe
"Roe v. Wade has been the law of the land for 33 years. Polls show that nearly two-thirds of Americans like it that way." Read on in TomPaine.com.
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05/09/2006 - Senate Rejects Award Limits in Malpractice
"The Senate on Monday once again rebuffed a Republican effort to limit jury awards in medical malpractice cases, taking the issue – a high priority for both President Bush and the majority leader, Senator Bill Frist – off the agenda for this year." Read on in the New York Times.
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05/09/2006 - A Tale of two Judges
"Senate Republicans leaders have decided to reignite the judicial nomination wars. The reason is politics." Read on in the Washington Post.
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05/04/2006 - Judicial Raises Clear Panel
"State judges would get pay raises ranging from 4.6 to 4.9 percent in each of the next two years under legislation approved by the House Judiciary Committee late Wednesday." Read on in the Times-Picayune.
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05/03/2006 - S.D. Voters May Decide Abortion Ban
"South Dakota touched off a national tempest with its strict new abortion ban, but the law also fomented a local grassroots movement and opened a schism in the state’s dominant Republican Party." Read on in Stateline.org.
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05/03/2006 - Acrimony Over Bush Judicial Nominations Resurfaces
"After months of relative quiet, senators raised the prospect yesterday of a return to bitter battles and a possible filibuster over judicial nominations, as the White House urged confirmation of two conservative nominees who have sought approval for years." Read on in the Washington Post.
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05/02/2006 - Phantom Constituents Behind Bars
"Demographers and voting rights advocates are rightly pressuring the Census Bureau to begin counting the nation’s 1.4 million prison inmates at their home communities --- and not as “residents” of the prisons, the current practice." Read on in the New York Times.
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04/30/2006 - Being Trivial Harder Now, But This Bill Manages
"It you’ve seen an American flag burned in Louisiana, you’ve probably also seen leprechauns on Clydesdales herding packs of fluorescent unicorns through the French Quarter. Or perhaps a Louisiana legislator focused on the truly important issues of the day." Read on in the Times-Picayune.
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04/30/2006 - Gay-Marriage Proposal
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered together to join two ideas in holy matrimony. On the right, covenant marriage, an option legalized by some states but widely shunned as too conservative. On the left, same-sex marriage, an option widely sought but outlawed as too radical." Read on in the Washington Post.
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04/28/2006 - Specter Wants More Debate on Spying
"New expressions of frustration over how little information the administration has shared about the National Security Agency’s warrantless eavesdropping on Americans flared yesterday in the Senate, one day after House Republicans barred amendments that would have expanded oversight of the controversial program." Read on in the Washington Post.
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04/27/2006 - Senate Approves Ban on Abortions
"Senators approved legislation Wednesday that would ban most abortions in the state if a landmark federal court ruling is ever overturned, allowing the procedure to save a woman’s life but not for those who become pregnanct through rape or incest." Read on in the Times-Picayune.
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04/24/2006 - It's Hard to Understand Why Abortion Test Is State Priority
"I’ve never met state Sen. Ben Nevers, D-Bogalusa, but I know his priorities differ greatly from mine these days." Read on in New Orleans City Business.
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04/22/2006 - Kiss-and-Tell No More
"A federal judge in Kansas has dealt another blow to the crusade by the state’s attorney general, Phill Kline, to restrict abortions under the phony banner of combating child abuse." Read on in the New York Times.
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04/21/2006 - Officials Go All-Out to Safeguard Vote
"As the city headed into the final two days before its first post-Katrina election, state and local election officials blanketed New Orleans in an all-out effort to ensure the legitimacy of an election in anticipation of threatened court actions." Read on in the Times-Picayune.
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04/20/2006 - Abortion Ban Clears Committee
"A bill aimed at outlawing most abortions in Louisiana cleared its first legislative hurdle Wednesday. But it wouldn’t go into effect unless the U.S. Supreme Court overturns its 33-year-old Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion, or if the U.S. Constitution is changed to specifically allow state to stop abortions." Read on in The Advocate.
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04/19/2006 - Justices Hear Case on Right to Choose Defense Counsel
"The right to counsel is a bedrock constitutional principle, guaranteed to criminal defendants by the Sixth Amendment. But what about the right to a particular lawyer? What about a defendant who wants the best, and can pay for it, but who is required as a result of improper government intervention to settle for second best, or worse?" Read on in the New York Times.
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04/18/2006 - New Orleans Vote Raises Fairness Issues
"New Orleans will vote for a mayor on April 22, but with many of the city’s citizens temporarily scattered out of state in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana’s election infrastructure is proving antiquated, dilapidated, and unfair." Read on in the Boston Globe.
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04/10/2006 - A Start on NSA Oversight
"It has been more than three months since the National Security Agency’s super-secret warrantless surveillance program came to light. In that time, critics have confidently denounced it as illegal. The Bush administration and its defenders have brandished a less-than-compelling legal theory to justify it." Read on in the Washington Post.
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04/09/2006 - Abortion Ban Foes Petition for a Choice
"Volunteers pushing to overturn the nation’s most far-reaching abortion ban are surprised and delighted by the response as they circulate petitions to put the law up for a public vote." Read on in the Los Angeles Times.
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04/06/2006 - Panel OKs Release of Displaced Voters List
"A Senate committee unanimously passed legislation Wednesday that would force state elections officials to provide political candidates a list of voters who have been displaced by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, a document that has been kept confidential so far." Read on in the Times-Picayune.
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04/03/2006 - What Gay-Marriage Ruling Means for Other States
"In ruling that same-sex couples from states that do not allow gay marriage cannot marry in Massachusetts, the state’s highest court dramatically narrowed the current battleground in the gay-marriage debate to a handful of states." Read on in The Christian Science Monitor.
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03/30/2006 - Panel Sinks Out-Of-State Vote Bill
"A bill to let displaced Louisiana voters cast ballots in out-of-state centers failed by one vote Wednesday in a Senate committee." Read on in the Times-Picayune.
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03/30/2006 - A Vote for Closure
"In ruling that New Orleans’ April 22 mayoral primary can proceed as scheduled, U.S. District Judge Ivan Lemelle said that, while more could still be done to make sure that displaced voters don’t have trouble casting their ballots, the city’s psychological health demands that the election proceed as scheduled." Read on in the Times-Picayune.
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03/27/2006 - How Abortion Bans Might Help the Debate
"The South Dakota legislature, in an effort to ban abortion, could force the US Supreme Court to enshrine Roe v. Wade as the law of the land for all time. If this happens, such a decision would soon become the poster child for unintended consequences." Read on in The Christian Science Monitor.
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03/26/2006 - La. Lawmakers to Consider Ban Against Abortions
"It has been 16 years since the Legislature took up the issue of abortion in a real way, and many people still remember what a circus it was." Read on in the Houma Courier.
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03/23/2006 - FBI, Police Spying is Rising, Groups Allege
"Inside the Time’s UP! Office on Houston Street in Manhattan, pictures of people taking part in an environmental protest line an old refrigerator. In one, a man with short hair and a chiseled physique is talking on his cellphone. In another, a large man wields a video camera." Read on in The Christian Science Monitor.
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03/19/2006 - Flaw and Order
"As New Orleans, and interest groups from outside New Orleans, continue to debate whether the April 22 election should proceed as planned, it’s worth remembering that there’s no magic number." Read on in the Times-Picayune.
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03/17/2006 - Feds Clear April 22 Election
"Despite objections by some prominent black leaders that much of New Orleans’ displaced black population will be unable to participate in the city’s April 22 elections, the U.S. Justice Department on Thursday approved state and city leaders’ plans for the election." Read on in the Times-Picayune.
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03/14/2006 - Bill to Ban Abortion Filed for Session
"A bill that would ban abortions except to save the life of the mother has been filed for debate at the upcoming legislative session, a measure its chief backer said is similar to one that became law in South Dakota a few weeks ago." Read on in the Times-Picayune.
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03/13/2006 - Former Top Judge Says US Risks Edging Near to Dictatorship
"Sandra Day O’Connor, a Republican-appointed judge who retired last month after 24 years on the supreme court, has said that the US is in danger of edging towards dictatorship if the party’s rightwingers continue to attack the judiciary." Read on in The Guardian.
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03/12/2006 - Why Courts Are Adopting Gay Parenting
"A heads-up to those of you still fretting about the alleged evils of gay marriage: The parade has moved on." Read on in the Washington Post.
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03/10/2006 - Big Easy Has Candidates, Ballots ... But Voters?
"The flooding after hurricane Katrina barely reached the wheels of New Orleans’ voting machines. So the machines are recertified and ready to go when residents vote next month. But that’s about the only bright spot in what is turning out to be one of the most complicated city elections in modern times." Read on in The Christian Science Monitor.
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03/10/2006 - St. Tammany Lawmaker Files Bill to Ban Most Abortions
"A bill that would make it a crime for a doctor to perform an abortion, a duplicate of a state law declared unconstitutional by the federal courts 14 years ago, was filed Thursday by a St. Tammany lawmaker for consideration in the legislative session that begins March 27th." Read on in the Times-Picayune.
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03/08/2006 - Secretary Wins Dream State Vote
"Can anyone recall the name of the major city in Florida where a hurricane was so potentially disastrous that the entire metropolis was placed under mandatory evacuation order?" Read on in the Times-Picayune.
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03/05/2006 - Life After Roe
"For the first time in 14 years, legal abortion in the United States is in serious jeopardy." Read on in the Washington Post.
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03/05/2006 - The GOP's Order on The Court
"Ken Mehlman has not had an easy time of it in his first year as chairman of the Republican National Committee." Read on in the Washington Post.
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03/03/2006 - How the Patriot Act Came In From the Cold
"It may be one of the most controversial congressional bills in years, but the USA Patriot Act is on the verge of becoming more entrenched than ever in US law." Read on in The Christian Science Monitor.
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03/02/2006 - Abortion Foes Split on Tactics
"South Dakota has reignited the battles over abortion – and not just the usual one between opposing camps. A long-simmering debate has also heated up within the antiabortion movement." Read on in The Christian Science Monitor.
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03/01/2006 - High Court's Hot Potato: Redistricting
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02/23/2006 - S.D. Abortion Bill Takes Aim at 'Roe'
"South Dakota lawmakers yesterday approved the nation’s most far-reaching ban on abortion, setting the stage for new legal challenges that its supporters say they hope lead to an overturning of Roe v. Wade." Read on in the Washington Post.
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02/21/2006 - Supreme Court Reopens Abortion Issue on Alito's First Day
"The Supreme Court announced today that it will hear a challenge to a federal law outlawing an abortion procedure, reopening the contentious issue on Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr.’s first day on the bench." Read on in the New York Times.
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02/20/2006 - Privacy Guardian Is Still a Paper Tiger
"For Americans troubled by the prospect of federal agents eavesdropping on their phone conversations or combing through their Internet records, there is good news." Read on in the Los Angeles Times.
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02/17/2006 - Legislators OK Letting Evacuees in La. Vote
"Louisiana lawmakers decided Thursday that New Orleans evacuees should get a chance to vote for their mayor and City Council in regional voting centers in Baton Rouge and other cities around the state." Read on in The Advocate.
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02/15/2006 - Asbestos Bill Is Sidelined by the Senate
"The Senate decided Tuesday night to all but kill legislation to create a $140 billion fund to compensate victims of asbestos poisoning." Read on in the New York Times.
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02/15/2006 - Patriot Act Games
"It seemed like a watershed moment for the Democratic Party. At the end of 2005, Democrats, along with a small band of Republicans, stopped a bad Patriot Act reauthorizations bill in its tracks." Read on in Salon.
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02/14/2006 - Bridging the Divide on Abortion
"For many staunch supporters and opponents of abortion rights, the search for a third way on the issue seems like so much phony political positioning." Read on in the Washington Post.
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02/09/2006 - White House Agrees to Brief Congress on NSA Surveillance
"Responding to congressional pressure from both parties, the White House agreed yesterday to give lawmakers more information about its domestic surveillance program, although the briefings remain highly classified and limited in scope." Read on in the Washington Post.
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02/09/2006 - Senate Weighs Fund for Asbestos Suits
"Having cleared a critical procedural hurdle, the Senate launched into debate Wednesday on long-anticipated legislation to move tens of thousands of asbestos-exposure claims out of the U.S. court system by allowing victims instead to apply for compensation from a $140 billion industry-financed trust fund." Read on in the Times-Picayune.
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02/08/2006 - Asbestos Settlement Advances
"Legislation to settle tens of thousands of asbestos lawsuits cleared a major Senate hurdle yesterday, in a setback for Democratic foes and their trial lawyer allies, who are waging a feisty opposition." Read on in the Washington Post.
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02/07/2006 - Keep the 'Mystique' Alive
"History is a terrible thing to waste. The recent obituaries for Betty Friedan, whose 1963 book, “The Feminine Mystique,” revived an American feminism then thought to be extinct and unnecessary, were striking in their recognition of how much explanation is now required about the world before the women’s movement." Read on in the Los Angeles Times.
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02/06/2006 - There Ought to Be a Law
"The Senate Judiciary Committee, which has summoned Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales to testify today about the administration’s warrantless wiretapping, is likely to focus on questions of its legality." Read on in the Washington Post.
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02/02/2006 - Specialists Doubt Legality of Wiretaps
"Legal specialists yesterday questioned the accuracy of President Bush’s sweeping contentions about the legality of his domestic spying program, particularly his assertion in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday that “previous presidents have used the same constitutional authority I have.”" Read on in The Boston Globe.
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02/01/2006 - She Built a Legacy by Preserving One
"Coretta Scott King, the dignified and determined widow of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who assumed her murdered husband’s burden as chief symbol of the civil rights movement and fiercely guarded his legacy – often in ways that drew pointed criticism – has died. She was 78." Read on in the Los Angeles Times.
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01/31/2006 - Alito Is Sworn In as Justice After 58-42 Vote to Confirm Him
"Samuel A. Alito Jr., who has been widely praised for his intellect and integrity but both admired and assailed for his conservative judicial philosophy, was sworn in today as the 110th justice in the history of the Supreme Court." Read on in the New York Times.
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01/25/2006 - AG's Memo Raises Questions on Patriot Act
"A footnote in Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales’s 42-page legal memo defending President Bush’s domestic spying program appears to argue that the administration does not need Congress to extend the USA Patriot Act in order to keep using the law’s investigative powers against terror suspects." Read on in the Boston Globe.
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01/20/2006 - Administration Paper Defends Spy Program
"The Bush administration argued yesterday that the president has inherent war powers under the Constitution to order warrantless eavesdropping on the international calls and e-mails of U.S. citizens and others in this country, offering the administration’s most detailed legal defense to date of its surveillance program." Read on in the Washington Post.
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01/19/2006 - On Abortion, Court Finds Middle Ground
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01/18/2006 - High Court Allows Physician-Assisted Suicide
"Physician-assisted suicide is legal in Oregon. So declared the US Supreme Court on Tuesday in deciding that Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act is not barred by the Bush administration’s interpretation of federal drug laws." Read on in The Christian Science Monitor.
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01/17/2006 - Senate Panel's Vote on Alito Delayed Until Next Week
"The top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee reached an agreement yesterday evening to wait until next Tuesday to vote on the nomination of Samuel A. Alito Jr. to the Supreme Court." Read on in the Washington Post.
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01/16/2006 - Still Seeking a Fair Vote
"Forty-one years ago, on Jan 15, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson placed a phone call to congratulate the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on his 36th birthday – but mainly to strategize about how they could win a monumental victory for equal rights." Read on in the Washington Post.
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01/13/2006 - A Hearing About Nothing
"A listless intellectual fog had fallen over the Senate hearing room on Tuesday, the first full day of questioning for Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. before the Judiciary Committee. As one Democratic senator strode out to the hallway during an afternoon break, he leaned toward me and said: “We have to hit him harder.'" Read on in the Washington Post.
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01/12/2006 - Meaningless Charade
"After nearly eight hours Wednesday, Democrats finally drew a little blood from Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. Just a little. Barely a pinprick. But the exchange woke the sleeping press corps from its slumber, and showed instantly what a farcical spectacle the whole proceeding had become." Read on in Salon.
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01/11/2006 - Democrats Press Alito on 'Inconsistencies' in Answers
"Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. underwent a second day of questions before the Senate Judiciary Committee today, as he methodically explained his judicial and legal memos and displayed an uncanny ability to recall facts from many long-ago cases." Read on in the Los Angeles Times.
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01/07/2006 - U.S. OKs Changes in La. Election Laws
"Elections law changes passed in last year’s two legislative session have won approval from the U.S. Justice Department, including a measure to allow “early voting” and another that would punish voter registration drive organizers who do not turn over the names of the new voters to local registrars within 30 days." Read on in the Times-Picayune.
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01/06/2006 - How Alito Would Shift High Court on Key Issues
"The potential replacement of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor with appeals court Judge Samuel Alito sets the stage for a series of significant shifts in the legal landscape at the US Supreme Court." Read on in The Christian Science Monitor.
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01/02/2006 - Spy Controversy, Redux
“We have a particular obligation to examine the NSA, in light of its tremendous potential for abuse … The interception of international communications signals sent through the air is the job of the NSA; and, thanks to modern technological developments, it does its job very well. The danger lies in the ability of the NSA to turn its awesome technology against domestic communications.” Read on in the Washington Post.
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01/01/2006 - Alito, In and Out of the Mainstream
"During 15 years as an appeals court judge, Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. has been highly sympathetic to prosecutors, skeptical of immigrants trying to avoid deportation, and supportive of a lower wall between church and state, according to an analysis of his record by The Washington Post." Read on in The Washington Post.
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12/22/2005 - Senate Votes to Extend Patriot Act for 6 Months
"A much-debated domestic surveillance law won a reprieve last night when senators agreed to continue it for six months to allow House and Senate negotiators to resume efforts next year to rewrite it for the longer term." Read on in the Washington Post.
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12/19/2005 - Congress Pushes Back, Hard, Against Bush
"From a standoff over the Patriot Act to pushback from Capitol Hill on the treatment of detainees, secret prisons abroad, and government eavesdropping at home, tensions between the Bush White House and the Republican-controlled Congress have never been more exposed." The Christian Science Monitor.
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12/18/2005 - Don't Run From the Truth
"Misreading Robert H. Bork’s 1987 shipwreck, the White House is bizarrely instructing its Supreme Court nominees to disown their prior attacks on wayward constitutional thinking from the high court." Read on in the Washington Post.
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12/17/2005 - Judge Alito on Civil Rights
"Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr.’s most important civil rights decisions collectively show an inclination to protect businesses from marginal civil rights claims and to make it more difficult for those who say they were discriminated against to win redress in the courts." Read on in the Washington Post.
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12/15/2005 - House Votes to Revise, Extend Patriot Act, Angering Senators
"The House voted 251 to 174 yesterday to renew the USA Patriot Act, setting up a confrontation over the revised anti-terrorism measure with a group of Democratic and Republicans senators who said it would not go far enough to protect civil liberties." Read on in the Washington Post.
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12/12/2005 - A Better Patriot Act
"The conference report on the USA Patriot Act reauthorization bill contains one major improvement over the previous version and a few minor ones. The new bill contains strong “sunset” provisions, under which the three most controversial provisions would lapse again after four years, not the seven of the earlier draft." Read on in the Washington Post.
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12/09/2005 - Equality Should Be Extended to All People, Not Just to the Majority
"Today, approximately one in 15 marriages is formed between two people of differing races – this is a statistic that would’ve been impossible a few decades ago. Up until the 1967 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in Loving v. Virginia, interracial marriage was forbidden in many states throughout the nation." Read on in the Shreveport Times.
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12/06/2005 - Dodging Debate on Alito
"When conservatives revolted against President Bush’s nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court, they proudly proclaimed their desire for a big debate over constitutional principles. Now they are running from the fight." Read on in the Washington Post.
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12/04/2005 - For Alito, a Tricky Question of Statement vs. Thoughts
"The recent disclosure of memos detailing Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr.’s opposition to abortion rights as a Reagan administration lawyer has created a delicate challenge for the 55-year-old federal appeals judge." Read on in the Washington Post.
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12/02/2005 - Expanding the Pro-Choicee Dialogue
"President Bush’s Supreme Court nomination of conservative Samuel Alito has reignited discussions over whether a woman’s legal right to choose an abortion is under a serious threat." Read on in The Christian Science Monitor.
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11/29/2005 - US Abortion Rights in the Balance?
"On Wednesday, America’s highest court will consider whether a New Hampshire state law which restricts teenagers’ access to abortion is constitutional." Read on in the BCC News.
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11/27/2005 - Parents, Children, Sex and Judges
"Conservatives want courts to be stingy in creating and expanding constitutional rights – except when they don’t. Liberals want courts to be creative and expansive in interpreting the Constitution – except when they don’t." Read on in the Washington Post.
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11/21/2005 - Judge Alito on the States
"There is perhaps no area of American constitutional law as important and as in flux at the Supreme Court as the balance of power between the federal government and the states." Read on in the Washington Post.
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11/17/2005 - 1985 Memo by Alito Has Legal Weight, Senators Say
"Two key Republicans and some Democrats said yesterday that Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. will be unable to assert during his confirmation hearing that his personal views have no bearing on how he might rule because he has stated legal opinions on contentious issues so strongly." Read on in the Washington Post.
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11/13/2005 - Civil Rights Focus Shift Roils Staff At Justice
"The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, which has enforced the nation’s anti-discrimination laws for nearly half a century, is in the midst of an upheaval that has driven away dozens of veteran lawyers and has damaged morale for many of those who remain, according to former and current career employees." Read on in the Washington Post.
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11/09/2005 - For High Court: Rights of States vs. Rights of Disabled
"In 1990, when Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act, lawmakers hailed the new civil rights statute as a means to help those with physical or other challenges more fully participate in mainstream American life." Read on in The Christian Science Monitor.
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11/07/2005 - Judge Alito on Abortion
"Liberals opposed to the nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. to the Supreme Court and conservatives ecstatic over it seem to agree that abortion is one area in which the judge will, if confirmed, shift the court substantially to the right." Read on in the Washington Post.
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11/01/2005 - Alito Leans Right Where O'Connor Swung Left
"In 1991, Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. voted to uphold a Pennsylvania statute that would have required at least some married women to notify their husbands before getting an abortion; a year later, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor cast a decisive fifth vote at the Supreme Court to strike it down." Read on in the Washington Post.
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11/01/2005 - Comparisons to Scalia, But Also to Roberts
"On April 5, 1990, four days after Samuel A. Alito Jr. celebrated his 40th birthday, he enjoyed a cakewalk of a hearing on his nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals." Read on in the Washington Post.
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10/31/2005 - Nomination Likely to Please G.O.P., but Not Some Democrats
"President Bush nominated Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. for the Supreme Court today, four days after Mr. Bush’s previous choice withdrew." Read on in the New York Times.
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10/30/2005 - Conservatives' Tactics Against Miers May Backfire Next Time
"Conservative activists crippled Harriet Miers’s Supreme Court nomination largely by challenging her judicial philosophy, debating the importance of her religious beliefs, demanding to see White House documents and derailing her before she reached a Senate vote." Read on in the Washington Post.
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10/28/2005 - A Departure's Lasting Damage
"The damage President Bush and the conservative movement have inflicted in their drive to pack the Supreme Court with allies will not be undone by Harriet Miers’s decision to withdraw her nomination." Read on in the Washington Post.
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10/26/2005 - In Speeches From 1990s, Clues About Miers Views
"Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers said in a speech more than a decade ago that “self-determination” should guide decisions about abortion and school prayer and that in cases where scientific facts are disputed and religious beliefs vary, “government should not act.”" Read on in the Washington Post.
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10/25/2005 - Rosa Parks, 92, Founding Symbol of Civil Rights Movement, Dies
"Rosa Parks, a black seamstress whose refusal to relinquish her seat to a white man on a city bus in Montgomery, Ala., almost 50 years ago grew into a mythic events that helped touch off the civil rights movement of the 1950’s and the 1960’s, died yesterday at her home in Detroit. She was 92 years old." Read on in the New York Times.
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10/24/2005 - FBI Papers Indicate Intelligence Violations
"The FBI has conducted clandestine surveillance on some U.S. residents for as long as 18 months at a time without proper paperwork or oversight, according to previously classified documents to be released today." Read on in the Washington Post.
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10/19/2005 - Miers Once Vowed to Support Ban on Abortion
"Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers once pledged that she would “actively support” a constitutional amendment banning abortions except to save a mother’s life, participate in antiabortion rallies, and try to block the flow of public money to clinics and organizations that help women obtain the procedure." Read on in the Washington Post.
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10/18/2005 - High Court Allows Inmate's Abortion
"Issuing its first abortion-related decision under new Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., the Supreme Court refused yesterday to block the court-ordered transport of a female prison inmate to an outside clinic for an abortion." Read on in the Washington Post.
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10/15/2005 - States Keep Eyes on High Court Docket
"One-of-a-kind state laws –such as Oregon’s physician-assisted suicide and Vermont’s campaign spending limits – may be getting the most attention, but there’s already plenty on the U.S. Supreme Court’s docket this year that will affect the day-to-day dealings of state governments." Read on in Stateline.org.
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10/13/2005 - Just Good Friends
"There are few things as hypocritical as American politicians hurling accusations of cronyism. The Democrats are lambasting George Bush about his weakness for promoting people such as Michael Brown, the horseman turned emergency-agency chief. But does anybody seriously believe that a Democratic president wouldn’t appoint cronies of his or her own?" Read on in The Economist.
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10/12/2005 - Emerging Supporter of Harriet Miers: Businesses
"Too close to the White House. Too few credentials. Not a bona fide conservative. By now, the right’s criticisms of Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers are well-known." Read on in The Christian Science Monitor.
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10/07/2005 - Experience Needed? The Long History of Nonjudge Justices
"John Marshall is widely revered as “the great Chief Justice,” but before joining the Supreme Court in 1801 he had never served a day in judicial robes and lost the only case he argued at the high court." Read on in The Christian Science Monitor.
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10/03/2005 - Bush's Mysterious Choice
"George Bush has nominated Harriet Miers, the White House counsel, to replace Sandra Day O’Connor on the Supreme Court. Ms Miers has never served as a judge, making her views on key legal matters hard to discern and thus disappointing activists on both the left and right who wanted clear indicators of how she would voter." Read on in The Economist.
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09/30/2005 - Roberts Confirmed as 17th Chief Justice
"John Glover Roberts Jr. was sworn in yesterday as the 17th chief justice of the United States, enabling President Bush to put his stamp on the Supreme Court for decades to come, even as he prepares to name a second nominee to the nine-member court." Read on in the Washington Post.
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09/26/2005 - The Next Nominee
"With Judge John G. Roberts Jr. all but certain to be confirmed as chief justice of the United State, attention shifts to the question of who will replace Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. In terms of the left-right balance of the court, this matters more than President Bush’s replacement of one conservative chief justice with another." Read on in the Washington Post.
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09/22/2005 - Judiciary Votes to Recommend Roberts's Confirmation
"John G. Roberts Jr. moved a step closer to becoming chief justice of the United States today as members of the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to send his nomination to the full Senate with a recommendation for confirmation." Read on in the Washington Post.
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09/21/2005 - Sticking Point of Voting-Reform Bid: Photo IDs
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09/17/2005 - The Case For a 'No' Voter on Roberts
"“Where are you?” That was the question Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) almost plaintively posed to Judge John Roberts as the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearings neared their conclusion. It is the right question." Read on in the Washington Post.
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09/16/2005 - Bout 1: Over. Bout 2: Huge.
"After four days in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, John Roberts appears headed for confirmation as the 17th chief justice of the United States, even as Democrats and outside groups gear up for the next, even more critical, fight." Read on in The Christian Science Monitor.
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09/15/2005 - For Roberts, Path to High Court Splits Candor, Caution
"As one of the most respected advocates practicing before the US Supreme Court, John Roberts held that a good lawyer should be able to argue either side of the case." Read on in The Christian Science Monitor.
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09/14/2005 - Sounding Less Consevative but Still Noncommittal
"Under detailed public questioning for the first time since President Bush tapped him for a seat on the Supreme Court, John G. Roberts Jr. appeared to sound a less conservative note on abortion-related issues than he had in the memos and briefs he wrote as a lawyer in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations." Read on in the Washington Post.
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09/13/2005 - Why They Legislate 'From the Bench'
"President Bush, in nominated John Roberts to be chief justice of the US – along with conservative senators questioning him during his ongoing judiciary committee hearings – insists that if confirmed, Mr. Roberts will not “legislate from the bench.”" Read on in The Christian Science Monitor.
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09/12/2005 - Georgia's New Poll Tax
"In 1966, the Supreme Court held that the poll tax was unconstitutional. Nearly 40 years later, Georgia is still charging people to vote, this time with a new voter ID law that requires many people without driver’s licenses – a group that is disproportionately poor, black and elderly – to pay $20 or more for a state ID card." Read on in the New York Times.
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09/07/2005 - A Defender of Independent Courts
"Today’s funeral service for Chief Justice William Rehnquist and the imminent start of hearings in the Senate on Judge John Roberts Jr., the nominee to succeed him on the Supreme Court, provide a moment to honor one of the vital but less celebrated hallmarks of Chief Justice Rehnquist’s 33-year service on the court: his proud record of defending the independence of the federal judiciary against attacks by politicians." Read on in the New York Times.
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09/07/2005 - California Legislature Approves Gay Marriage
"The California Assembly voted Tuesday to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry, making the state’s legislature the first in the nation to deliberately approve same-sex marriages and handing a political hot potato to an already beleaguered Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)." Read on in the Washington Post.
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09/06/2005 - Roberts Hearing Set for Monday; Rehnquist's Coffin Lies in Court
"The hearing on the nomination of Judge John G. Roberts Jr. to be the 17th chief justice of the United States will begin at noon on Monday before the Senate Judiciary Committee." Read on in the New York Times.
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09/06/2005 - Bush Nominates Roberts as Chief Justice
"President Bush nominated John G. Roberts Jr. yesterday as the 17th chief justice of the United States, promoting his nominee for associate justice to lead the Supreme Court and the rest of the federal judiciary even before Roberts was confirmed for the first assignment." Read on in the Washington Post.
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09/06/2005 - William Rehnquist, the Federalist
"Sitting on the high court for 33 years, more than half as chief justice, William Rehnquist might have easily expanded the Supreme Court’s influence in society. But he tried to avoid that by upholding the idea that power lies in an individual’s ability to remain self-governing, and that local governance is the safest power." Read on in The Christian Science Monitor.
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09/02/2005 - Calif. Senate Passes Gay Marriage Bill
"The California Senate voted Thursday to allow gay couples to wed, becoming the first legislative body in the nation to approve same-sex marriage without a court order." Read on in the Washington Post.
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08/30/2005 - The Democrats' Supreme Conundrum
"Reports that Senate Democrats are deeply divided over how to deal with the Supreme Court nomination of Judge John Roberts both oversimplify what’s happening and underestimate the conundrums the party faces." Read on in the Washington Post.
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08/29/2005 - All People Deserve to be Treated with Dignity
"What are we afraid of? That is the question that I want to ask all the people who are having a hard time with the whole idea of gay marriage." Read on in the Shreveport Times.
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08/19/2005 - Why Roberts's Views Matter
"Before entrusting Judge John G. Roberts with a lifetime position on the Supreme Court, the Senate must be able to determine whether he will uphold the fundamental principles of our Constitution and laws to continue our nation’s march of progress or whether he will adopt a cramped and contorted view of our Constitution that will turn back the clock." Read on in the Washington Post.
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08/16/2005 - Roberts's Files From 80's Recall Big Debates of Era
"Only an indistinct portrait of the young John G. Roberts Jr. emerged in thousands of pages released Monday by the National Archives from the Supreme Court nominee’s years in the Reagan White House. But the documents do provide a vivid reminder of the debates that consumed official Washington in those days." Read on in the New York Times.
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08/13/2005 - U.S. Gun Rights at Issue in UN Effort
"Expressing concern that the United Nations’ efforts to stem international gun running could impede the rights of U.S. gun owners, Sen. David Vitter, R-La., is proposing legislation to bar financing for the world organization should it infringe on Americans’ Second Amendment rights." Read on in the Times-Picayune.
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08/12/2005 - Blindly Battling Over Roberts
"I’m having a hard time figuring out who’s less rational: the liberal activists campaigning to defeat John Roberts’ Supreme Court nomination, or the conservative activists campaigning to support it." Read on in the Los Angeles Times.
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08/10/2005 - New Plans Are In Store for an Old Number
"Once they kept track only of who was eligible for old-age pensions. Today they’re used to validate personal information for a multitude of transactions – from renting a video to opening a credit account to receiving medical care." Read on in The Christian Science Monitor.
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08/05/2005 - In Private Practice, Roberts's Record Is Mixed
"As a private lawyer, John G. Roberts Jr. represented homeless Washingtonians who had lost their government benefits because of city budget cuts. He advocated environmental protections for Lake Tahoe, Glacier Bay and the Grand Canyon. He spent 25 hours assisting a convicted murderer with a death penalty appeal. He even helped gay rights activist win a landmark Supreme Court anti-discrimination case." Read on in the Washington Post.
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08/05/2005 - Not All Liberals Are Pro-Choice and Anti-Roberts
"I always feel sorry for telemarketers and pollsters who happen to catch me at home. I’m polite, but they usually get a lot more than they bargained for." Read on in The Christian Science Monitor.
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08/04/2005 - Americans Favor Job Protection Based on Sexual Orientation
"Mike Johnson of the Alliance Defense Fund, the legal arm of religious fundamentalists, is once again attacking gays and lesbians with his usual unsubstantiated smears. In his July 20 guest column, Johnson wants to deny gays and lesbians who work for the city of Shreveport the same workplace protections other workers receive regardless of their race, sex, national original or political or religious affiliation." Read on in the Shreveport Times.
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04/13/2005 - Health Insurers' "Shark Bite" Ad Campaign Attacking Medical Negligence System Takes a Bite Out of the Truth
"In a new advertising campaign, a health insurance industry group, America's Health Insurance Plans, bemoans "lawsuit abuse" and claims the medical liability system costs each U.S. household up to $1,200 per year. But a Public Citizen examination shows this claim is a dozen times too high." Continue reading at Public Citizen.
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02/07/2005 - Environmental Harm Cases Do Not Belong in Class Action Bill
A coalition of national environmental organizations unite to urge Senators to remove pollution cases from the 'Class Action Fairness Act of 2005'. Read the letter here.
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10/04/2004 - Public Citizen Show Business Files More Lawsuits than Citizens
American businesses filed four times as many lawsuites as do individuals represented by trial attorneys, and they are penalized by judges much more often for pursuing frivolous litigation, according to a report issued by Public Citizen. Read the report, "Frequent Filers."
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