Promise and Uncertainty in the Middle East--Talking Points

Israel: Changing of the Guard, March 28^th 2006 Elections without Sharon

Kadima

· The party is made up of prominent defectors from both sides of Israel's traditional left-right divide, forming a new centrist movement that could win wide electoral support.

· The key question is: Without the glue provided by Mr Sharon's leadership, will the Kadima members - they don't even have a collective name yet - stick together to see through his vision, or fall apart squabbling?

· At the moment, Kadima is led by acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, considered a capable and seasoned politician, but with none of Mr Sharon's charisma or the heroic status he has secured among Israelis.

Likud

· The right-wing Likud party, co-founded by Mr Sharon after he left the army in 1973, was dealt a severe blow when he abandoned it - having already split the party with last year's withdrawal of troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip.

· Binyamin Netanyahu won back the leadership, and - after being repeatedly outmanoeuvred by Mr Sharon - is considered to have greatly improved chances against Mr Olmert.

Labour

· Labour is under new leadership of former union boss Amir Peretz, which makes it hard to predict the party's future prospects.

· Labour's long-standing platform, separation between Israel and the Palestinians, has been trumped by Mr Sharon's presumed vision - although he never spelt it out explicitly - of drawing Israel's borders to the country's advantage unilaterally, without negotiations.

· That seems to be the view of a large proportion of the electorate, according to the latest polls which suggest Kadima will still get 36-42 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, even without Mr Sharon.

Source: Manoeuvres to fill post-Sharon void, By Martin Asser

BBC News website, Jerusalem

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/4590580.stm

US Influence in Israel

· Officially, neither the White House nor the State Department is offering much diplomatic direction for the post-Sharon era, suggesting that doing so would be distasteful as the prime minister fights for his life. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice postponed a trip to Australia in order to be in Washington at a crucial juncture in Middle East affairs, while diplomatic sources said the White House was quietly making contingency plans in the event of Sharon's passing

· Nothing groundbreaking is likely to happen in the short weeks before Israeli elections are held March 28 - weeks that will be under the stewardship of Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

· "Under Sharon, he was the architect, and the US was basically following," says Stephen Cohen, national scholar at the Israel Policy Forum in New York. "But with somebody like Olmert, there is more of a chance of the US being more of an architect."

· But taking a leadership role in the process would be a departure for the Bush administration. It has primarily taken a "wait and see" approach to the conflict since it decided early on that it could not work with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Source: Peace prospects after Sharon

Israeli moderates may be key to any progress if the US keeps its involvement modest.

By Howard LaFranchi | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

from the January 09, 2006 edition –

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0109/p01s01-usfp.html

U.S. Aid to Israel

· Israel had been the largest recipient of U.S. foreign assistance for almost 30 years, and since 1985 has received about $3 billion in military and economic aid each year.[205] In fact, as much as 17% of all U.S. foreign aid is earmarked for Israel.[206] And, U.S. foreign military financing makes up 20% of Israel’s defense budget.[207]

· In 2004, Israel received $2.14 billion in FMF. In 2005, the nation’s military received an additional $2.20 billion. President George W. Bush’s budget request for 2006 includes $2.28 billion FMF aid for Israel.[208]

Source: http://worldpolicy.org/projects/arms/reports/wawjune2005.html#14

Palestine

Elections January 25, 2006

· The Fatah faction is holding on to the lead in the Palestinian Authority’s legislative election, according to a poll by the Birzeit University Development Studies Programme. 35 per cent of respondents would vote for the Fatah list in next week’s election.

· The List of Change and Reform—which includes the members of Hamas—is second with 31.3 per cent, followed by an independent group headed by Mustafa Barghouti of the Palestinian National Initiative with 5.7 per cent. Support is lower for the List of Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa, the independent Third Way, and the Alternative coalition.

· Fatah has been the dominant force in Palestinian politics for several decades, under Yasser Arafat and current Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas. Hamas was the top party in seven of the 10 Gaza Strip municipalities that held local elections in January 2005.

Polling Data

Which party list would you vote for?

• Fatah 35.0%
• List of Change and Reform (Hamas) 31.3%
• List of Independent Palestine (Mustafa Barghouti) 5.7%
• List of Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa 2.0%
• The Third Way (Independent) 2.0%
• Alternative (coalition of DFLP, People’s Party and FIDA) 2.0%
• Undecided 21%

Source: Birzeit University Development Studies Programme

Methodology: Interviews with 1,500 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, conducted from Jan. 5 to Jan. 7, 2006. Margin of error is 5 per cent.

Fatah List Barely Edges Hamas in Palestinian Ballot

January 17, 2006

http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/10571

Palestinian Authority

· The Palestinian Authority, the largest employer in the territories, is facing a fiscal crisis that could result, as early as next month, in it being unable to pay the salaries of its 130,000-plus officials and security staff, Nigel Roberts, the World Bank's man in the West Bank and Gaza Strip said in an interview to Haaretz.

· According to the World Bank, the unemployment rate in the territories exceeds 20 percent, with a rate of about 30 percent in the Gaza Strip, over 40 percent in the southern part of Gaza and among young people (ages 16-25) in southern Gaza, the favorite source of cannon fodder for Islamic Jihad, unemployment reaches the alarming rate of 70 percent.

· Roberts notes that the amount of assistance the Palestinians are getting - $5 billion in five years, or $300 per capita annually - is the highest granted to any entity since World War II.

Source: World Bank official: Palestinians on verge of bankruptcy

By Akiva Eldar, Haaretz Correspondent

www.haaretz.com

Fatah and Hamas

· The Fatah General Congress -- the supreme body within the movement empowered to select the two governing party organs, the Central Committee and the Revolutionary Council -- has not met since 1989. As a result, the most powerful elements of the formal party apparatus have remained the preserve of those who, prior to the formation of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in 1994, directed the PLO from exile in Tunis. During the long tenure of Yasser Arafat as head of Fatah and the PA, the party’s various committees and councils, with no real authority, were reduced to instruments of personal gain. Arafat again and again put off convening the Congress in the name of national unity, despite vociferous demands from the Fatah Higher Movement Committee, led by the veterans of the 1987-1993 intifada.

· This trend reached its apogee in December 2005, when Hamas captured a whopping 73 percent of the vote in the traditional Fatah bastion of Nablus. The success of Hamas’ well-oiled political machine confirmed suspicions -- and, in some quarters, substantiated fears -- that the Islamists will take a sizable number of seats in the upcoming Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) elections.

· As the January 25 elections approach, donor governments seem to be hardening their stances. Congress was first out of the blocks, calling in a non-binding resolution for Hamas to be excluded from the elections and threatening to cut off Washington’s subventions to the PA should Hamas participate in the government. Given existing constraints on US aid, however, the vote was largely symbolic.

· If the EU does follow through on its threat, member governments may find a workaround, as a European Commission official in Jerusalem has informally suggested. Instead of going directly to the PA, EU monies would be channeled to the World Bank, which would in effect become a stand-in paymaster for PA accounts of all kinds.

· The dilemma faced by the Palestinian president is that those whose gains he hopes to exploit may end up weakening his own position if they perform too well. Palestine could very well emerge from the January elections with internal checks and balances on the power of the PA executive, but because they will have come about through ad hoc politicking rather than serious institutional reform, they may produce a paralyzed Palestinian Authority rather than a more democratic one.

Source: Broken Ranks in the Palestinian National Movement

by Robert Blecher Media Monitors Network

(Tuesday January 03 2006)

· Israel's President Moshe Katsav said on Tuesday that talks with Hamas might one day be possible if the Palestinian Islamic group disarmed and abandoned its commitment to destroying the Jewish state.

· Even if there was no chance that Hamas would meet such conditions any time soon, the comments from Israel's ceremonial president appeared to be a sign of shifting attitudes ahead of Palestinian elections.

· Hamas, behind dozens of suicide bombings since a Palestinian uprising began in 2000, has consistently refused to disarm. But it has respected an 11-month-old truce to a greater extent than other Palestinian militant factions.

· Under Western pressure to ensure that the Palestinian election takes place as planned, Israel has agreed to allow Palestinian voting in Arab East Jerusalem, but barred Hamas from listing candidates on ballot slips.

Source: Israel may one day talk to Hamas, says president

17 Jan 2006 17:30:04 GMT

Source: Reuters

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L17253331.htm

U.S. Aid to Palestine

· U.S. economic aid to the Palestinians has averaged about $85 million per year since 1993; there has been no military aid. (See Table 3, page 6.)

· The President has requested $150 million in FY2006 and an additional $200 million in FY2005 supplemental aid for the Palestinians.

· About 80% of U.S. aid to the Palestinians is channeled through contractors and 20% is channeled through private voluntary organizations, both groups selected and monitored by USAID.

Source: http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/45198.pdf

Iran

· With Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, calling for Israel to be "wiped off the map," Israeli officials have special reasons for concern now that Iran has defied the West and said it will resume enriching uranium.

· The Israelis are engaged in a careful effort to press the United States and the Europeans to deal more urgently with Iran

Source: Israel Wants West to Deal More Urgently With Iran

By STEVEN ERLANGER

The New York Times

January 13, 2006

· Israel's acting leader says his country will not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon. Ehud Olmert is accusing the Islamic republic of secretly trying to build an atomic bomb.

· Asked by reporters if Israel could launch a military campaign against Iran's nuclear facilities, the acting prime minister, Ehud Olmert, replied that Israel cannot allow a country with hostile intentions to obtain weapons of mass destruction.

· Israel is believed to be the Middle East's only nuclear power, and 25 years ago Israeli warplanes bombed an Iraqi nuclear reactor.

· Israel has now come to regard Iran as its number one outside threat, a fear heightened when the Islamic republic's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, last year called for Israel to be wiped off the map.

· Iran denies it is trying to build an atomic bomb, saying its nuclear program is designed solely for the generation of electricity.

Source: Israel vows Iran won't get nuclear weapons http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200601/s1549689.htm

Additional Resources

The Education of Arnold Schwarzenegger

How is the education allotment determined?

· Every summer the California Legislature and governor decide how much money will go to kindergarten through 12th grade (K–12) public education and how it will be divided among school districts, county offices of education, and the California Department of Education. Although some changes occur each year, the system has looked about the same for more than 25 years.

· Each school district develops its own budget and pays all its expenses, from teacher salaries to energy costs.

· As of the early 2000s, almost two-thirds of the money was for general purposes, and almost 30% was earmarked for special purposes or categories of students.

· Each district has its own particular combination of federal, state, and local sources. The amount depends on:

· the average number of students attending school over the school year (average daily attendance or ADA);

· the general purpose money the district receives for each student (its “revenue limit”), and

· the support for specific programs for which it qualifies (“categorical aid”).

Source: The Basics of California’s School Finance System by EdSource www.edsource.org

What did the Governor and Legislature borrow and how has that impacted allocations for 2006-07?

· That deal was made after the governor took office in fall 2003, as he struggled to balance his first budget. Schools agreed to give up $2 billion they were owed under voter-approved spending formulas in return for his pledge that all the money would be restored in coming years.

· A year later, the state still had a deficit, and Schwarzenegger kept the reduction in place. Now, as the 2006-07 budget is readied, educators say the tab has grown to $5.5 billion — the amount schools would get if they had been fully funded since 2004.

From the Los Angeles Times: Gov. to Start Repaying Schools, By Evan Halper and Duke Helfand

Times Staff Writers http://www.latimes.com/news/education/la-me-schools4jan04,1,599237.story?coll=la-news-learning

How does California compare with other states in education spending and results?

· Certainly, a few states—including Massachusetts, Minnesota and New Jersey—stand out for acting on what both common sense and simple morality dictate: They provide more dollars to students in the most need. Unfortunately, California cannot be counted among their ranks. In our state, districts serving the most low-income students and students of color have fewer state and local dollars to spend than districts serving the least.

Source: California’s Hidden Teacher Spending Gap: How State and District Budgeting Practices Shortchange Poor and Minority Students and Their Schools, by The Education Trust—West www.edtrustwest.org

In 2013-14, 61 percent of California’s school-age population is expected to be Latino and black, and a sizable minority is likely to be English language learners. Many of these children currently have lower levels of educational attainment at all grade levels.

Source: California Budget Project: Making Dollars Make Sense www.cbp.org

The Achievement Gap

· 10% of low-income 4th graders are proficient in reading, compared to 34% of non-poor students. California ranks 26th in the nation on this measure.

· 12% of African-American 4th graders are proficient in reading, compared to 34% of white students. California ranks 9th out of 40 states that had data available on this measure.

· 11% of Latino 4th graders are proficient in reading, compared to 34% of white students. California ranks 18th out of 36 states with data available on this measure.

Standards and Student Performance Measurements

· Among 4th graders, 39% of students are proficient on the state reading test, while 21% are proficient on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. With an 18-point gap, California ranks 6th in the nation on the disparity between state and national performance measures for 4th grade reading.

· In math, 45% of 4th graders achieve proficiency on the state math test, compared to 25% who do so on the NAEP. With a 20-point gap, California ranks 11th in the nation on this measure.

· Among 8th graders, 30% of students are proficient on the state reading test, while 22% achieve proficiency on the NAEP. With an 8-point gap, California ranks 5th out of 47 states with data available on this measure.

· In math, 30% of 8th graders achieve proficiency on the state math test, compared to 22% who do so on the NAEP. With an 8-point gap, California ranks 11th out of 47 states with data available.

The High-School-to-College Pipeline

· The High-School-to-College Pipeline The state’s high-school graduation rate is 67%. California ranks 37th in the nation on this measure.

· 32% of high-school graduates are academically ready for college. California ranks 32nd in the nation on this measure.

· 48% of high-school graduates enroll in college the fall after they graduate. California ranks 44th in the nation on this measure.

· 50% of college freshmen earn a bachelor’s degree within 6 years. California ranks 29th in the nation on this measure.

Source: Education: The State We’re In is a companion to Getting Smarter, Becoming Fairer: A Progressive

Education Agenda for a Stronger Nation, the report of the Renewing Our Schools, Securing Our Future

National Task Force on Public Education, the Center for American Progress www.americanprogress.org and the Institute for America’s Future www.ourfuture.org

What will the impact be on California of federal cuts to education?

Projected 2006 federal budget cuts to key domestic discretionary programs, assuming House-passed appropriations levels, plus 2% across-the-board cuts (source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities):

· Total Elementary and Secondary Education: $158.3 million.

· Education for the Disadvantaged: $81.5 million.

· Special Education: $24.3 million.

· School Improvement: $49.0 million.

· Vocational and Adult Education: $10 million.

Source: Potential Impacts on California From Federal Spending Reductions Contemplated by House Republicans http://www.democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a46/pdf/FederalfundingCutsFactSheet.pdf

What portion of the California General Fund budget goes to Education?

· Proposition 98's (education) share of overall General Fund tax proceeds averages about 43 percent. As a percentage of new (additional) General Fund tax revenues, Proposition 98 gets approximately 54 percent, depending upon the factors and tests. For example, for an increase in General Fund tax proceeds of $100 million, Proposition 98 would get about $54 million on the average.

Source: California Department of Finance State Budget Section, Frequently Asked Questions http://www.dof.ca.gov/HTML/BUD_DOCS/faqs.asp#8

What portion of state tax money goes to schools...what about local taxes?

· The federal government contributes about 12% of the K–12 budget, up from about 8% in 1996–97.

· About 55% of the funds are from the state—generated by business and personal income taxes, sales taxes, and some special taxes.

· Local property taxes are about 25% of all funds. The Legislature and governor determine what part of these revenues go to schools.

· The tiny line near the bottom of the column—less than 2% of the total, or about $130 per student—is from the California Lottery.

· Miscellaneous local revenues are about 7% of the total. These come from a variety of sources, including special elections for parcel taxes (needs a two-thirds vote for approval); contributions from foundations, businesses, and individuals; food service sales, and interest on investments.

Source: The Basics of California’s School Finance System by EdSource www.edsource.org

Are all kids and schools getting the same amount of money - if not why not and what is being done about it?

· In our state, districts serving the most low-income students and students of color have fewer state and local dollars to spend than districts serving the least.

· These funding gaps between school districts—inter-district funding discrepancies—have been the subject of much debate and numerous lawsuits. Less attention, however, has been paid to the funding gaps separating schools within the same school district. These hidden gaps compound the injustices facing low-income and minority students. First, we spend less in the districts in which poor and minority students are concentrated. Then, we make matters worse by spending significantly less on the schools within those districts that serve the most such students.

· California spends $301 cost-adjusted1 dollars less per student in its high-poverty districts than in its districts with the fewest number of low-income students.

· California’s funding gap between its high- and low-minority districts is even greater: $573 cost adjusted dollars per student, or $472,152 less money every year for the average high-minority high school.

· A full 91 percent of California’s highest-poverty middle school math classes do not have teachers with a major or even a minor in mathematics.

Source: California’s Hidden Teacher Spending Gap: How State and District Budgeting Practices Shortchange Poor and Minority Students and Their Schools, by The Education Trust—West www.edtrustwest.org

Justice for All: The Supreme Court

Alito Talking Points

Samuel Alito, Supreme Court Nominee

· Alito worked for the solicitor general's office in 1981-1985, and also as deputy assistant U.S. attorney general from 1985-1987 before becoming a federal prosecutor and judge. President Bush picked him for the Supreme Court in October

· If confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate, the 55-year-old federal appeals court judge would succeed retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. She has often been the swing vote on abortion, the death penalty, affirmative action and other contentious issues.

· The Senate hopes to hold a final vote on Alito's confirmation by Jan. 20.

Source: Judiciary Democrats Want Alito Papers: Judiciary Democrats Call for Justice Department to Release More Alito Documents By JESSE J. HOLLAND Associated Press Writer, The Associated Press

· In Bray v. Marriot Hotels, a racial discrimination case involving an African-American female, the majority concluded that Alito’s dissenting view would protect employers from suit even in situations where the employer’s belief that it had selected the “best” candidate “was the result of a conscious racial bias.”

· In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, Alito supported a restriction on abortion access that required women to notify their spouses before obtaining an abortion—a restriction that was later found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court because of its impact on domestic violence survivors.

Source: Final Letter on Judge Alito from Women of Color, November 9, 200, presented by Silvia Henriquez, Executive Director, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health

What’s At Stake for Women

· FAMILY & MEDICAL LEAVE ACT: The groundbreaking Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA) has been instrumental in helping women and men balance their work and family responsibilities. More than 50 million Americans have used this unpaid leave to care for a seriously ill family member or spend time with a new baby. In a six to three decision, Nevada Dept. of Human Resources v. Hibbs, 538 U.S. 721 (2003), the Court ruled that state employees could challenge their state employers for violating their right to the FMLA. A contrary opinion would have deprived five million workers and their families of this important protection.

· QUALITY HEALTH CARE SERVICES: By a five to four vote in Rush Prudential HMO, Inc. v. Moran, 536 U.S. 355 (2002), the Court upheld an Illinois law permitting the independent review of an HMO’s decision to deny a treatment it considered not “medically necessary.” By holding that federal ERISA law does not preclude these types of state external review laws, the Court agreed that patients have the right to have an independent panel of doctors review the HMO’s decision about whether something is “medically necessary.”

· REPRODUCTIVE PRIVACY: The Constitutional right to privacy that enables women to control their reproductive health has withstood 30 years of attack. By a narrow majority, the Court has upheld this fundamental right and rebuffed numerous efforts to overturn its decisions. The most recent ruling, Stenberg v. Carhart, 530 U.S. 914 (2000), invalidated a state law that criminalized late term abortion procedures, even when necessary for preserving the health of the pregnant woman and could have outlawed the most common abortion procedures used during the second trimester.

· AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: Affirmative action programs have been invaluable tools for expanding opportunities for women and minorities, remedying discrimination, and bringing much needed diversity to America’s institutions. In a series of five to four decisions, including the most recent decision in Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 (2003), the Court has upheld the use of affirmative action to achieve these goals.

· PROTECTION AGAINST GENDER-BASED DISCRIMINATION: Since the 1970s, the Court has made clear that we should look closely at laws that treat women and men differently and exclude women from opportunities and benefits. In 1996, in United States v. Virginia, 518 U.S. 515, the Court struck down a males-only admissions policy that discriminated against women. However, as recently as 2001, the Court reinforced gender-based stereotypes about parenting in Nguyen v. INS, 533 U.S. 53, by allowing the government to have different rules for fathers and mothers when establishing citizenship for children born abroad.

Source: The National Partnership for Women & Families

HANGING BY A THREAD: 5 RIGHTS WOMEN COULD LOSE

Why One Supreme Court Justice Makes a Difference www.nationalpartnership.org

What’s At Stake for All

· Alito's support for letting top officials authorize spying without warrants inside the United States, detailed in documents released last week, has become a focus for critics who warn that he would be overly deferential to the executive branch in cases involving the separation of powers.

· Alito's critics point to a 1984 memo he drafted as a Justice Department lawyer, which defended government officials' right to spy domestically without warrants. The case in question involved whether President Richard M. Nixon's attorney general, John Mitchell, could be sued for FBI eavesdropping during a 1970 investigation into an alleged plot to kidnap Henry Kissinger, then the national security adviser. In the memo, Alito advised that the case be appealed only on procedural grounds; but he also wrote that the attorney general should have absolute immunity for the warrantless wiretapping.

Source: Alito faces harder review: Scrutiny likely on executive power, in light of 1984 memo, NSA spying, By Julie Hirschfeld Davis, Sun Reporter

· Limits on Congressional Power: Several of Judge Alito’s opinions have imposed limits on Congressional authority. Judge Alito has held Congress to a more stringent standard than that of the Supreme Court or other appeals courts hearing challenges to the same statutes. For example, Judge Alito argued in dissent in United States v. Rybar against a ban on machine guns that five other appellate courts and the Third Circuit itself upheld. Judge Alito also authored the majority opinion in Chittister v. Department of Community and Economic Development, invalidating parts of the Family and Medical Leave Act for exceeding the bounds of congressional authority—a position the Supreme Court subsequently rejected.

· Procedural Fairness: When given latitude in cases involving individuals’ procedural rights, Judge Alito consistently has decided to limit access to courts, at times leaving litigants with fewer procedural options. He has construed narrowly the constitutional requirements that individuals receive notice and an opportunity to be heard before being deprived of their rights. He has strictly interpreted standing requirements and has limited causes of action. He also has been reluctant to review the actions of executive branch officials, making it more difficult for individuals to hold the government accountable for its actions. There is also evidence that Judge Alito gives some groups of litigants more leeway than others to pursue their claims.

· Free Speech: Although Judge Alito has supported the free speech claims of business interests, government agents, and student groups, and has protected the press against libel claims, he has refused to extend this support to the claims of prisoners seeking access to newspapers and photographs of their families.

· Law Enforcement: Judge Alito’s opinions reveal a willingness to defer to law enforcement officials in criminal cases and a lack of sensitivity to class-based disparities in the criminal justice system. There is some evidence that he may treat wealthy litigants differently. Even when he finds that a defendant’s rights have been violated, he consistently declines to provide a remedy. As a result he ruled for the government in almost every case reviewed.

· Civil Rights: In the area of civil rights law, Judge Alito consistently has used procedural and evidentiary standards to rule against female, minority, age, and disability claimants. He has taken a markedly different approach to religious discrimination, ruling in favor of religious minorities in various contexts.

· Workers’ Rights: In the related field of workers’ rights, Judge Alito consistently has sought to limit the scope and reach of statutes protecting workers’ rights and to raise the bar that employee plaintiffs must overcome to bring legal claims. While many of these cases involved technical procedural issues, Judge Alito’s opinions are consistent in outcome. The employee or union would have prevailed in only five of the 35 employment and labor opinions he wrote.

· Environmental Law: When deciding environmental cases, Judge Alito tends to defer to regulatory agency decisions. He is reluctant to preempt state environmental laws and directives unless a federal statute is clear in its intent to achieve this effect.

Source: The Alito Project

http://campusprogress.org/uploads/YLSAlitoProjectFinalReport.pdf

Mainstream Opinion

· A majority of Americans support the confirmation of US Appeals Court Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court to fill the seat of retiring Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, according to a new Washington Post/ABC News poll.

· The survey found that 54 percent of the survey's respondents said the Senate should confirm Alito, while 28 percent said he should not be approved. That marks a modest increase in public support for Alito since November, when 49 percent of the respondents said he should be confirmed and 29 percent said he should not. In both surveys, about 1 in 5 Americans said they did not know enough about the nominee to have an opinion.

· The new poll found some evidence that the abortion issue plays an important but not decisive role in shaping public perceptions of Alito.

· Although his current views on abortion are not publicly known, memos that he wrote two decades ago, while he was a lawyer in the Reagan administration's Justice Department, indicated that he opposed Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion.

Source: Majority in US support Alito nomination, poll says By Richard Morin, Washington Post | December 22, 2005

More information on Alito can be find on the Findlaw Resource page:

http://news.findlaw.com/newsmakers/samuel.alito.html#cases