Oh wow! Thanks for that detailed post! It's tough being office bound while this is going on. :-)
Here's a great site to follow also.
http://www.scotusblog.com/movabletype/
Keep refreshing.........
I'm out here in Mountain Time, so was able to listen on satellite radio for an hour while I was driving out of town. Now I'm trapped myself while working and can't watch or listen right now either... depending on these quick moments of checking this thread.
Another great moment was Brownback's litany of quotations from liberal legal scholars showing that they fully recognize that Roe v. Wade is NOT the "settled law of the land."
Alito has been truly amazing in how carefully he is navigating the minefield of the questioning. His command of the case law and statutory law is so far above that of the Senators questioning him that it isn't even funny.
He takes a loaded, emotional question by a Democrat (or even by a Republican, for that matter), and answers it with detailed (but not obscure) fact and clear and easy to follow legal reasoning. His performance, in my opinion, is far out-doing Roberts. He's just not as telegenic or affable, but he grows on you. I think he's even growing on the Dems in spite of themselves, and it's driving them crazy.
Back to work.