RALPH G. NEAS

Once again, Pat Robertson leaves us speechless with his insensitivity and arrogance.

The nation will be shaped for decades by decisions that are made by President Bush and the Senate about the future of the Supreme Court.

You never know what’s going to happen at a confirmation hearing.

Obviously, there's the temptation to sit back and smile, .. But there's so much at stake, we have to do our due diligence.

The death of chief justice Rehnquist and the president's nomination of John Roberts raises the stakes for the court and the American people exponentially.

We do not believe voters gave President Bush a mandate to turn back the clock decades on so many of our legal protections.

Law-abiding Americans deserve to know that their government will not secretly tap their phones, read their medical records, access their library accounts or otherwise invade their personal lives, with no oversight or accountability. Law-abiding Americans also deserve to know that when law enforcement can show an impartial judge clear evidence of criminal activity or a threat to national security, swift and decisive action will be taken to protect the public. That is the balance we must achieve.

Confirming John Roberts would endanger much of the progress made by the nation in civil rights over the past half century.

One of the worst consequences politically would be for the majority of Democrats to vote for someone who, in the near future, would overturn well-established precedents on clean air, clean water, privacy, equal opportunity and religious liberty.

We do not believe voters gave President Bush a mandate to turn back the clock decades on so many of our legal protections.

The death of chief justice Rehnquist and the president's nomination of John Roberts raises the stakes for the court and the American people exponentially.

Once again, Pat Robertson leaves us speechless with his insensitivity and arrogance.

Confirming John Roberts would endanger much of the progress made by the nation in civil rights over the past half century.

The nation will be shaped for decades by decisions that are made by President Bush and the Senate about the future of the Supreme Court.

You never know what’s going to happen at a confirmation hearing.

One of the worst consequences politically would be for the majority of Democrats to vote for someone who, in the near future, would overturn well-established precedents on clean air, clean water, privacy, equal opportunity and religious liberty.

Law-abiding Americans deserve to know that their government will not secretly tap their phones, read their medical records, access their library accounts or otherwise invade their personal lives, with no oversight or accountability. Law-abiding Americans also deserve to know that when law enforcement can show an impartial judge clear evidence of criminal activity or a threat to national security, swift and decisive action will be taken to protect the public. That is the balance we must achieve.

Obviously, there's the temptation to sit back and smile, .. But there's so much at stake, we have to do our due diligence.