President Kerry's first Supreme Court nominee should be...

[xray s]

Mario Cuomo.

He is one of the most thoughtful, intellegent minds in the public arena. I still regret he didn't make a run for president in '92.

Can you imagine his impact as a counter-weight to the reactionary justices on the court?

One day, seeing Cuomo replace the ghoul Rehnquist as Chief Justice...now that would be a great day in American history.

[Lex]

1. Bill Clinton.

That's my pick.

[hlthe2b]

9. Clinton would be problematic-- he lost his license to practice before

Supreme Court... I would see one hell of a tough confirmation, though i personally would back it. Cuomo though would be terrific.

[Dookus]

2. Cuomo is brilliant

but he's 72 years old. A bit old to be put on the court.

[RichV]

3. Way too old

No way he'd be the nominee. We need somebody in their 40s or early 50s to sit on the court a long time.

[xray s]

5. Oh, I don't know

Mario at 72 beats a whole lot of others at 52. Even if he only sat on the court for 8 or 10 years, those would be great years.

[Warren DeMontague]

4. President Who?

Just Kidding.

Supreme Court Justices?
How 'Bout John Perry Barlow?

[xray s]

10. oops!

my bad. should have taken keyboarding in HS! :)

[Warren DeMontague]

19. That's allright...

It hapens with alarmig freqecny to me, too.

[PragMantisT]

11. Hell yeah!

and Bob Dylan. Then Robert Hunter.

We would be back to being a great country!

[fishwax]

20. But he's a republican!

Only kidding. Coming from Wyoming myself, I can understand Barlow's justification for being in the republican party (wanting to effect change in a one-party state)

[Warren DeMontague]

21. Is he really?

I couldn't tell if you were kidding about the republican part, or not. If not, that's pretty weird-- I mean, the EFF is taking on the GOP on, like, every issue across the board. Here's their take on the PATRIOT Act:

Under PATRIOT, civil liberties, especially privacy rights, have taken a severe blow:

The law dramatically expands the ability of states and the Federal Government to conduct surveillance of American citizens. The Government can monitor an individual's web surfing records, use roving wiretaps to monitor phone calls made by individuals "proximate" to the primary person being tapped, access Internet Service Provider records, and monitor the private records of people involved in legitimate protests.

PATRIOT is not limited to terrorism. The Government can add samples to DNA databases for individuals convicted of "any crime of violence." Government spying on suspected computer trespassers (not just terrorist suspects) requires no court order. Wiretaps are now allowed for any suspected violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, offering possibilities for Government spying on any computer user.

Foreign and domestic intelligence agencies can more easily spy on Americans. Powers under the existing Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) have been broadened to allow for increased surveillance opportunities. FISA standards are lower than the constitutional standard applied by the courts in regular investigations. PATRIOT partially repeals legislation enacted in the 1970s that prohibited pervasive surveillance of Americans.

PATRIOT eliminates Government accountability. While PATRIOT freely eliminates privacy rights for individual Americans, it creates more secrecy for Government activities, making it extremely difficult to know about actions the Government is taking.

PATRIOT authorizes the use of "sneak and peek" search warrants in connection with any federal crime, including misdemeanors. A "sneak and peek" warrant authorizes law enforcement officers to enter private premises without the occupant's permission or knowledge and without informing the occupant that such a search was conducted.

The Department of Justice, with little input from Congress and the American people, is developing follow-on legislation - the Domestic Security Enhancement Act (nicknamed Patriot II) -- which would greatly expand PATRIOT's already sweeping powers.

[fishwax]

23. He may not be anymore

But he was for years.

But Wyoming is a different kind of state. Republicans there aren't always of the evil variety (with notable exceptions like Dick Cheney and the Matthew Sheppard Assholes). The rank and file are mostly libertarians (so they're half right ;).

But Barlow was a Repub for a long time, and was actually county chairman of the party for a time. It's not on his eff bio anymore, but I've read it in several places, and he talks about being a republican in this article about burning man:

http://www.disinfo.com/site/displayarticle887.html (seventh paragraph)

But he's definitely no RW'er, I don't think. And I really dig JPB. In fact, I think now would be a good time to listen to Cassidy :)

[fishwax]

24. Appreciate the take on the Patriot Act

I think I'll have to look further into the EFF. I'm mostly familiar with him through his lyical contributions. :)

[AntiCoup2K4]

22. Does he have any legal experience?

I suppose the advantage is that most right wingers wouldn't have a clue who he is (with the possible exception of Anndrew Coulter, who is an alleged Deadhead despite his/her enormous capacity to hate.

And will Robert Hunter also be nominated?

[Octafish]

6. Mario Cuomo was the name to sprang to mind.

As was "Dennis Archer" - head of the ABA, former Mayor of Detroit, former Michigan Supreme Court justice, and a heckuvaguy.

BTW: I agree about the ghoul Rehnquist. The sooner that pill-popping fascist gets impeached, tried and imprisoned, the better.

[goclark]

18. Dennis Archer would be fantastic!

[T Bone]

7. if it is for Chief Justice, here is a good dark horse candidate

Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana.

He would be there forever since he is young. You would see a so much better side of him once he was set in that position FOR LIFE.

The Republicans would vote to confirm him as well.

I tell you you he would be an absolute GREAT choice for Chief, appointed at his young, relatively speaking, age.

[Crachet2004]

8. Someone smart, someone liberal, someone qualified...

But most of all, some relatively YOUNG.

[PragMantisT]

12. Morris Dees from the Southern Poverty Law Center

The man who bankrupted the Aryan Nations.

[Syrinx]

13. interesting

The thought never occurred to me, but that's an interesting.

[PragMantisT]

15. He's one of my heroes

I don't think there is anyone around with as much integrity and decency as Mr Dees. And yet, he doesn't show up in the media much. Guess he has a pretty tough job.

[Syrinx]

17. he does good work

He also was behind putting one of the many factions of the KKK out of business, and had their headquarters seized. I think it was down in Mobile about 20 years ago.

I'm not aware of any major KKK prescence in Alabama anymore (though I'm sure there are some self-styled groups lurking in the shadows), and Dees is a very big part of the reason.

[MikeG]

14. Hey folks, I got a ticket. And just as qualified as Long Dong Silver.

[napi21]

16. An interviewer asked Cuomo about the SC this past week.

He said he wasn't interested. He was much happier being able to speak his opinions, and as a SC justice, he wouldn't be able to.

I forget who was doing the interview, Tweety I think.

Mario would make an excellent SC judge, but we have to respect his wishes too.

[Warren DeMontague]

25. I'm hardly the expert on Judges

But it seems the 9th Circuit would make for an excellent bullpen.

[ronabop]

26. How about Eliot Spitzer?

I dunno about his personal views, but I like his wall street work. :-)

-Bop

[jdonaldball]

27. Nelson Mandela

nt

[Mr.Green93]

28. Hillary nnd Bill

[Gothmog]

29. Larry Tribe is my pick

He wrote the definitive treatise on Constitutional Law.

[Toots]

30. Al Gore

Then throw in Hillary and Bill for good measure. Hell maybe even Janet Reno to really get their panties in a bunch.