Making Conservatives Cringe Since 1977

Alito: Where were you in '72? From Attytood: A lot has been said this morning about Samuel Alito, President Bush's nominee for the Supreme Court, and his impeccable legal resume. Well, here's one portion of his resume we hope gets some very, very close scrutiny over the next few weeks, before his confirmation hearings. Where were you in '72? Specifically, what were the circumstances of Alito getting a coveted slot in the Army Reserves that year, while the Vietnam War was still raging? Is Alito yet another "chickenhawk" who avoided the war and now will be deciding on life-or-death cases involving our young men and women fighting in Iraq and elsewhere today? --- Additions to the Record: Public Interest Research Group v. Magnesium Elektron, a 1997 case in which Alito cast the deciding vote in a 2-1 ruling that not only blocked certain rights of citizens to sue polluters under the Clean Water Act, but threw out a $2.6 million fine against Magnesium Elektron for violating the act. The decision was effectively reversed two and a half years later by a Supreme Court ruling in which Scalia was one of two dissenting votes. - Ramifications: . . . three weeks ago, the Supreme Court decided to review Rapanos v. United States and Carabell v. Army Corps of Engineers, two landmark cases that challenge the reach of the Clean Water Act and call into question state-level versus federal authority to protect the environment.