Addison Chernow

Via Reuters: Senate confirms Bush nominee Alito to high court

WASHINGTON, Jan 31 (Reuters) – A sharply divided U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court, backing a second conservative nominated by President George W. Bush in his effort to move the nation’s highest court to the right.

The largely party-line vote was 58-42 to replace the more moderate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor with Alito, a federal appeals judge since 1990, came four months after the Senate approved Bush’s first Supreme Court nominee, John Roberts, as U.S. chief justice.

Well my friends, I hope you like those civil liberties you had…. The court is now officially tipped severely to the right.

-A

Yep… You read that right. Those are our president’s views on the Constitution. At least that’s what Dvorak.org and Capitol Hill Blue are reporting this morning. In fact, just for context, here’s the quote from CHB:

“Stop throwing the Constitution in my face,” Bush screamed back. “It’s just a goddamned piece of paper!”

Interesting, don’t you think? So, Bush doesn’t like the constitution. Apparently, upon further reading, he’s not the only one, also from CHB:

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, while still White House counsel, wrote that the “Constitution is an outdated document.”

Ok.. We already knew that we had an administration who did not give a damn about the civil liberties of the American people. Apparently now, they don’t like our Constitution, either. Kind of brings me back to the comment the shrub made about how it [I believe the ‘War on Terror’] would be easier if it were a dictatorship. In my opinion, this guy needs to go and go now. Isn’t there some way, outside of an impeachment hearing, that we can force Bush out of office? Can’t we recall him like California did to Gray Davis? Seriously, this guy scares me.

Btw.. Anyone seen the rumor that Bush is drinking again?

-A

Technorati Tags: Bush, Politics

I’m a little late to the game on this one, but hey, I’ve got a full-time job and have been a bit busy.

Over the weekend I noticed that 1832 and MU Warrior were reporting on this story. The “Reader’s Digest” version of this is as follows: A dental student blogged about a prof, said some negative comments (even though he never named the prof.), and now the dental school has suspended him for violation of their conduct policy even though the school’s ethicist says there was nothing wrong with him posting this.

Honestly, I blogged while I was at Marquette. I said things about some of the BREC profs. that probably were negative. Guess what, the First Amendment guarantees me the right to do that as long as I’m not defaming or saying anything libelous about them. Now I’m sure that Marquette can supersede some rights since it’s a private institution, however, I would think that they could not touch something hosted on a privately owned server (though I am no lawyer).

Anyway, there’s an online petition that’s sponsored by Dr. McAdams, 1832, the CRs, the CDs, and several other groups. I’m linking to it because I think this whole this is a total load of BS and we should support the student’s right to criticize his prof.

If you want more on the story, there’s full coverage from:

Dr. McAdam’s MU Warrior
The Marquette Tribune
1832
JS Online
and even (thanks to Dr.McAdam’s since I don’t read the blog) GOP3.com

In closing, I think all of us, whether we’re current students or alumni like myself, need to make it known to Marquette that Free Speech is an important right and this student should not have been suspended because he exercised it.

-A

Technorati Tags: dental student suspended, Marquette, Marquette University

And this time I have proof! There was an a blog entry that I came across via John C. Dvorak’s blog called “Why Bush Believes His Lies“. It’s a pretty damn interesting read. Here’s a few snippets..

But recognition only raises the deeper question: why, in the face of incontrovertible evidence to the contrary, does Bush persist in this way? How does it help him to continue repeating himself to a nation that increasingly believes he is lying on several fronts? How does his refusal to meet with Cindy Sheehan help him?

There is a two-part answer to this question: First, as far as Bush is concerned, he is telling the truth; as Madeleine Albright recently said to Columbia Magazine: “the most serious problem is that George Bush now believes what he says.” Like many of my hospitalized patients, Bush has created a vast, detailed but vague delusional system he feels compelled to maintain at all costs. This system helps him manage the terrifying anxiety that threatens to make his already endangered inner world more chaotic.

This, if you hadn’t gathered yet, is being written by a shrink, In case you don’t believe me, here (from his bio):

Justin Frank M.D. is an expert in the field of psychoanalysis. A clinician with more than thirty year’s experience, Dr. Frank has also been a former columnist for Salon magazine and is a frequent writer on topics as diverse as politics, film, and theater.

Anyway, just through I should you know, share the news… Of course, most of us knew this all along….

-A

On iTunes: War Pigs from the album “We Sold Our Soul for Rock’n’Roll” by Black Sabbath

Technorati Tags: Bush

It’s official, we’re staying the Golden Eagles…

Dear Members of the Marquette Community,

I am pleased to announce that our athletics nickname effective July 1st will be the Golden Eagles. This decision was made by you, the Marquette community, through the “MU Voice” voting process. I want to thank all of you who participated in “MU Voice” for taking the time to vote for the nickname that we will use as we enter the Big East Conference on July 1st.

The name Golden Eagles has a proud association in Marquette’s history since it was our name from 1994 to the present. I am pleased that this tradition will continue in the Big East Conference, one of the most prestigious and competitive conferences in the nation. The Big East is also known for the academic quality of its student-athletes, and our Marquette student-athletes will be no exception. They excel both in the classroom and in athletic competition.

Ultimately, more than one-third of the Marquette community eligible to vote participated in either phase one or phase two of the voting process, with 35,777 total individuals casting votes. Thank you for your passion and enthusiasm for Marquette University. Your dedication is vital to ensuring our future progress and success.

Let me also thank Advantage Research, Inc., the independent firm that administered “MU Voice,” for creating and executing an honest, fair and scientific process. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the work of the Nickname Advisory Committee, comprised of representatives from the Marquette community, for ensuring the integrity and transparency of this process.

For additional information about our athletics nickname, including press releases and voting results, please visit www.marquette.edu/nickname [http://www.alumni.marquette.edu/mw_go.asp?l=575&g=DB2882F2-5737-4F32-9143-CFE7F36CBD63].

Of course, we know that Marquette is first and foremost an academic institution committed to educating men and women to be a leaven for good in our society. We must not lose sight of this important mission rooted in our 450-year Jesuit tradition. Thank you for your care and concern and for the pride we share in the values of this wonderful university. We Are Marquette!

Sincerely,

Robert A. Wild, S.J.
President

So we went through all that voting, for absolutely nothing.
-A