SeattlePI: Young Alito defended privacy, gay rights

[understandinglife]

This image provided by Princeton University's web site shows the 1972 yearbook entry for Samuel A. Alito in Princeton's yearbook, the Nassau Herald, the year Alito graduated. The yearbook write up mentions the intention of President Bush's Supreme Court nominee, Alito, to "go to law school and eventually warm a seat on the Supreme Court." (AP Photo/Princeton University)

Young Alito defended privacy, gay rights

By CALVIN WOODWARD
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

November 2, 2005

WASHINGTON -- In college, Samuel Alito led a student conference that urged legalization of sodomy and curbs on domestic intelligence, a sweeping defense of privacy rights he said were under threat by the government and the dawning computer age.

President Bush's choice for the Supreme Court, in a report written years before ubiquitous personal computers made electronic privacy the everyday concern it is now, warned of the potential for abuses by officials and companies collecting data on individuals.

Three decades before the Supreme Court decriminalized gay sex, Alito declared on behalf of his group of fellow Princeton students that "no private sexual act between consenting adults should be forbidden." Alito also called for an end to discrimination against homosexuals in hiring.

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More at the link:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1154AP_Alito_Privacy.html

Most interesting.


Peace.

[Sanity Claws]

1. This is the stuff that will torpedo his nomination

Fundies hate stuff like this.

[thebigidea]

2. I'm sure Dobson is getting "secret information" as we speak

I have it on good authority that the young Alito also laughed several times at a John Waters movie.

[Neocondriac]

4. And...

may have had a big crush on Devine !

[joeybee12]

3. I'm sure he no longer believes in this...his judicial record points

otherwise...HOWEVER...this is just the sort of stuff that the right hates to hear--it will give them pause, and maybe the united support for his by all the brain-dead in this country might start to crack just a little.

[understandinglife]

7. And, we can expect responsible Senators to ask Mr Alito if he ...

... still maintains his (responsible and appropriate) stance on these issues; if not, why not.


Peace.

[shance]

5. Cant they be creative? Here we go with the John Roberts School of Mislead

These were the same bogus rationalizations bought and paid for media used to paint John Roberts as a "compassionate conservative".

Just ignore the privileged white male supremecy slips they are wearing. Nothing to see here, move on.

[Kikosexy2]

6. That was then...

and this is now...he's a right wing extremist.

[daleo]

8. He probably smoked a doobie in 1972, too.

This may be chaff to make liberals go, "he's ok then". I tend not to trust items going back to someone's undergrad days, especially if they seem opposite to a person's later behavior and beliefs. Lots of neo-cons claim they started off as liberals - it is almost a requirement, I think.

[rzemanfl]

9. Harriet, first you pick yourself and then you pick a gay-loving

Italian machine gun fan. Tell me again how brilliant I am or you're fired.

[Little Star]

10. Say what????

Does this mean he only hates women? His mother will not be happy to hear this.:rofl:

[Spinzonner]

11. No inconsistency

He's just decided that the Constitution doesn't give the courts the right to force privacy and freedom on people.

[WI_DEM]

12. What matters not is his opinions as a Judge not his writings

of 35 years ago. This won't hurt him with the fundies.

[zara]

13. He saw the light!!!!

The path to the Supreme Court on the conservative side of the aisle must have seemed shorter.
Or, like Scalia, Scalito has a Libertarian streak.

[merwin]

14. Young Scooter Libby protested the Vietnam war.

[electricray]

15. The best part about right-wing fundamentalists is that they spook so easy.

Right now they are sitting around thinking that this guy is a closet case that has been lying in wait and will turn Souter on them. They actually believe that everyone is as devious and conniving as they are. This could be it for old Sammy-boy.

[pschoeb]

16. Complete BS, journalists are the lowest from of life

God can these journalists borrow a brain and get a clue. The report is a CONFERENCE report, you know one created by a GROUP. Just because Alito headed up the conference, doesn't make the opinions his at all, it means he was in charge of coming up with discussion points and making it run smoothly, and writes up the summary of findings, but the summary of findings are what the GROUP finds, not what Alito believes. The opinions then, are the majority opinions of a group of 1972 Pincetonians, not Alito's.