Stop Alito

I'm pretty much resigned to Alito's confirmation. But its best to go down fighting. I just received an e-mail from MoveOn, asking people to download portions of their anti-Alito petion and hand deliver them to their sentator's office. Hillary Clinton's office is only a mile or so from my house, so I'm going to do it on my way home. Anyone else who is interested should visit the MoveOn website for details.

MoveOn also suggested writing a personal letter to add to the petion. Here is mine:


Dear Senator Clinton:

I am writing, as a constituent and volunteer for MoveOn, to urge you to vote against the nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. I am also delivering a petition from MoveOn, signed by 50 fellow New Yorkers who oppose the nomination.

I am currently the associate editor of the Harriet Jacobs Papers. Jacobs, as you may know, was a woman who was born a slave. After she escaped, she wrote a book about her life to help the campaign for abolition, and later worked in Virginia and Georgia to assist the freedmen. Her daughter Louisa worked with her, as well as campaigning for Universal Suffrage. The Jacobs risked everything and fought tirelessly to the gain the rights for themselves and others that our constitution originally gave only to white men. To vote for Alito--with his abysmal record on civil rights--is to insult pioneers like the Jacobs, who forced America to live up to its lofty rhetoric.

Thank you for your consideration.