For those of you who missed the "Justice Sunday" protest against the judicial filibuster, Tony Perkins, the Family Research Council and American Taliban friends are back with Justice Sunday II. Justice Sunday II, to be held on Sunday, August 14th in Nashville, Tennessee, brings together some of the leading lights of the American reactionary right […]

In yesterday's piece "Supreme Limitations on Democrats", I argued that liberals and progressives of all stripes should not reflexively oppose the nomination of Judge John Roberts to replace Sandra Day O'Connor. (Admittedly, when I wrote the piece, it was Judge Edith Brown Clement I had in mind.) The argument for restraint in the confirmation process […]

Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced her resignation today, surprising most of the media that had been maintaining its vigil over the ailing, octagenarian Chief Justice. While President Bush in his statement this morning said he would not nominate a successor today, his choice will come soon, likely after his upcoming European trip. But […]

Only days after the Senate reached a tenuous compromise to preserve the judicial filibuster, it appears the first Supreme Court vacancy of the Bush era may be imminent. AP reports that Chief Justice Rehnquist is preparing to step down and that the White House is already preparing to nominate his successor. There is an emerging […]

AP has reported that the Senate 12 have brokered an 11th hour deal to avert a showdown over the nuclear option. The deal announced by Senator John McCain preserves the Democrats right to filibuster, but gives Priscilla Owen, Janice Rogers Brown and William Pryor a vote on the Senate floor. If the early blogosphere feedback […]

The Perrspectives Document Library has been expanded to include materials and resources for the Senate showdown over the judicial filibuster. The Judicial Filibuster Resource Center includes resource guides from the Center for American Progress and Media Matters, key background articles on the origins of the Nuclear Option, and background on key GOP players like Bill […]

On Sunday, April 24th, Senate Majority Leader Bill First will join James Dobson, Tony Perkins and assorted members of the conservative American Taliban for "Justice Sunday." This made-for-TV event is part of the Right's ongoing war against Senate Democrats' use of the filibuster to block a handful of Bush judicial nominees. As Frist prepares to […]

On Monday, San Francisco County Superior Judge Richard Cramer ruled in favor of the city of San Francisco and a dozen same-sex couples, stating that withholding marriage licenses from gays and lesbians is unconstitutional. While this is but one positive step forward in the struggle for equal marriage rights for all Americans, it is clear […]

For the raging right, National Public Radio is the poster child for liberal bias in the media. From Accuracy in Media and the Media Research Center to the National Review and Bill O'Reilly, NPR (or "National Palestine Radio" to its detractors), is the bete noir. How very surprised, then, they must have all been while […]

Two recent news developments highlight once again the fallacy of "rational rejection" of the rights of gay Americans by social conservatives. In their ongoing quest to mask theology as social science, they have once run into the dual brick walls of the academy and the Supreme Court. The first instance of conservatives being "mugged by […]