How Appealing



Monday, October 10, 2005

“Letters reveal Miers’ profound admiration for Bush”: The Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Tuesday will contain an article that begins, “Harriet Miers, President Bush’s nominee for the Supreme Court, quickly developed a deep and almost gushing admiration for her boss from her earliest days in Texas government.”

FOXNews.com reports that “Conservative Critics Question Miers’ Abilities.”

Tuesday’s edition of The Telegraph (UK) reports that “Bush nominee faces rebellious Senate.”

WorldNetDaily.com reported yesterday that “Harriet Miers contributed to Hillary’s election in 2000.”

And The Seattle Post-Intelligencer on Tuesday will contain an editorial entitled “Court Nomination: Uncertain justice.”

Posted at 10:18 PM by Howard Bashman



Part two of today’s CNBC interview with Justice Antonin Scalia: You can access part two by clicking here (Windows Media). I linked to video of part one of the interview in this post from this morning.

Posted at 10:00 PM by Howard Bashman



“Dobson will explain Miers information”: The Rocky Mountain News provides an update that begins, “Focus on the Family founder James Dobson will take to the airwaves Wednesday and Thursday to clarify what information he got from the White House or other sources about U.S. Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers.”

Bloomberg News reports that “Miers’s Firm Backed Sham Shelter, Senate Report Says.”

The Gainesville (Tex.) Daily Register today contains an article headlined “‘Our Judge Meier’ – Former Gainesville resident mistaken for Supreme Court nominee.”

Online at NPR.org, Ron Elving has a “Watching Washington” essay entitled “Overlooking the Key Question for Miers.”

And The Philadelphia Daily News today contains an editorial entitled “A nomination even the Right doesn’t like: Why Harriet Miers must drop out of Supreme Court selection.”

Posted at 7:08 PM by Howard Bashman



“Analyzing Paul Mirengoff’s Piece — and Announcing My Position on Miers”: “Patterico’s Pontifications” offers this post, in which Patterico concludes, “Unless something changes drastically, I will be opposing the Miers nomination.”

And just yesterday at the blog “Underneath Their Robes,” we learned that “A3G officially opposes the nomination of Harriet Miers to be an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court!!!”

Posted at 6:02 PM by Howard Bashman



“Why anti-Miers conservatives misjudge Bush’s choice”: Dante Chinni will have this op-ed Tuesday in The Christian Science Monitor.

Posted at 5:32 PM by Howard Bashman



Blogging Harriet Miers: The blog “The Truth Laid Bear” has a page devoted to the topic. On the nomination’s one week anniversary, it looks like “How Appealing” currently occupies third place in the overall [quantity based?] rankings. [Ed.: But one and two are group blogs, right?] [Ed.’s ed.: Must you be so competitive about everything?]

On Wednesday, I’ll be able to post online the newest installment of my monthly appellate column, which appears today in The Legal Intelligencer. It’s titled “Miers Nomination Catches Bush Off–Base.”

Posted at 5:05 PM by Howard Bashman



“New Supreme Court needs new First Amendment direction”: Paul K. McMasters has this essay online at the First Amendment Center.

Posted at 4:00 PM by Howard Bashman



“Mike Price, Time Inc. Settle SI Lawsuit”: The Associated Press provides a report that begins, “Time Inc. has settled a $20 million defamation suit filed by former Alabama football coach Mike Price over a Sports Illustrated article about a night of drinking at a topless bar in Florida.” A statement from Sports Illustrated can be accessed here, and Coach Price has also issued a statement.

Posted at 2:14 PM by Howard Bashman



“Miers and Brimstone: Let’s stop pretending there’s no religious test for nominees.” Christopher Hitchens has this essay online at Slate.

Posted at 1:00 PM by Howard Bashman



“Justice Scalia says ‘not a chance’ to cameras; In a rare interview, the Supreme Court judge talks about TV coverage of legal cases, the confirmation process and the changing court”: MSNBC provides this transcript from today’s broadcast of the “Today” show. You can view the video from the broadcast by clicking here (Windows Media).

Posted at 10:20 AM by Howard Bashman



“In furor over pay raise, sights are set on judges”: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette today contains an article that begins, “Citizen groups angry about state legislators’ big pay raise want to vote incumbent lawmakers out of office on Nov. 8. There’s only one problem — there aren’t any legislators up for re-election next month. So the pay-raise protesters are doing what they consider to be the next best thing. They’re urging Pennsylvanians to take out their frustrations on two state Supreme Court justices who are up for a 10-year retention election on Nov. 8 — Russell Nigro and Sandra Schultz Newman, both of Philadelphia. Ousting them, the protesters say, would send a strong statewide message that political incumbents aren’t safe, no matter who they are, and it might even lead legislators to rethink the raise.”

In earlier coverage, The Philadelphia Inquirer recently published an article headlined “New target for anger over raises: Judges” and an op-ed by Timothy Potts entitled “Pay back two Pa. justices on Election Day.”

And The Philadelphia Daily News last week published an op-ed by columnist John Baer entitled “Disgruntled voters get chance to send message.”

Posted at 9:35 AM by Howard Bashman



“Scalia Says Confirmation Too Politicized”: The Associated Press provides this report.

And NY1 reports here that “Final preparations are being made for this year’s [Columbus Day Parade] festivities, which will feature U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia as Grand Marshal.”

Posted at 9:24 AM by Howard Bashman



“A Lifelong Texan Called to Serve; An outsider in D.C., a player in Dallas”: T.R. Goldman and Lily Henning have this article (free access) in today’s issue of Legal Times.

Posted at 9:20 AM by Howard Bashman



“Does Gender Matter? A Feminist Look at the Nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court.” FindLaw commentator Joanna Grossman has this essay online today.

Posted at 7:12 AM by Howard Bashman



“Unlikely Figure Getting Calls on Miers”: Today in The New York Sun, Josh Gerstein has an article that begins, “Within hours of President Bush’s announcement that he was nominating Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court, the phone at Lawrence Littwin’s Upper East Side apartment began ringing off the hook. The callers were reporters eager to hear about the five stormy months Mr. Littwin spent working for the nominee nearly a decade ago.”

The Washington Times reports today that “Half of Senate Republicans doubt Miers” and “GOP rank and file back Miers.”

The Chicago Tribune reports that “Even Republicans take up Bush-whacking; Some conservatives join insurrection on policies, nominations.”

Newsday reports that “Alleged Rove secret riles senators.”

The Denver Post reports that “Senators press Dobson to talk; What did Rove say about Miers? Judiciary panelists want to know what the evangelist was told to win his support for Bush’s court nominee.”

The Dallas Morning News contains articles headlined “Home on Sunday, Miers attends church twice; Nominee visits Episcopal church and breakaway congregation“; “Talk of a Miers ‘back room deal’ raises concerns; Senators to ask about remarks suggesting vote was pledged“; and “Critics see a spoils system in the White House; Administration denies cronyism, says only the most qualified are hired.”

And in The Los Angeles Times, Ronald Brownstein’s “Washington Outlook” essay is headlined “Be It Confidence or Hubris, Bush Nominates Boldly.”

In commentary, The Hartford Courant contains an editorial entitled “No Need To Rush To Judgment.”

In The Washington Post, Al Kamen’s “In the Loop” column is entitled “U.S. Doesn’t Corner the Market on Cronyism.”

In The Chicago Sun-Times, columnist Robert Novak has an op-ed entitled “Conservative rift in GOP hard to heal.”

In The Boston Globe, columnist Cathy Young has an op-ed entitled “Bush’s faith-based nominee.”

The Arkansas News Bureau offers an op-ed by John Brummett entitled “Cut to the chase: Confirm this woman.”

In The Topeka Capital-Journal, Gregory L. Schneider has an op-ed entitled “Nominee leaves conservatives confused.”

And in The Washington Times, Mark Steyn has an op-ed entitled “Brick-by-brick strategy.”

Posted at 6:44 AM by Howard Bashman



“Occupational Hazard”: The New York Times today contains an op-ed by Coleen Rowley and Dylan Blaylock that begins, “Even as the public focuses on President Bush’s most recent Supreme Court nomination, the business of the court goes on. And this week, it will take up a First Amendment case, Garcetti v. Ceballos, that is crucial not only to government workers across the country, but to all Americans concerned about free speech and national security.”

Posted at 6:38 AM by Howard Bashman



“Quagmiers”: In the October 17, 2005 issue of The New Yorker, Hendrik Hertzberg has a “Talk of the Town” comment that begins, “It’s early yet, but plumbing the depths of Associate Justice-to-be (or not to be) Harriet E. Miers, if there are any, promises to have more in common with archeology than with law. Figuring out who she is, and what she would be likely to bring to the Supreme Court, will be like deducing the life story of some mid-level functionary of an ancient Pharaoh’s court from a few shards of pottery found in the rubble of a looted tomb. The papyrus trail, in other words, is sparse.”

Posted at 6:20 AM by Howard Bashman