The black clouds steadily rolled in to darken the future

Alito Expected to Be Confirmed Today By JESSE J. HOLLAND

WASHINGTON (AP) - Samuel Anthony Alito Jr., the son of an Italian immigrant and a longtime lawyer, prosecutor and judge, is poised to take his place as the 110th Supreme Court justice behind what is expected to be the most partisan victory for a high court nominee in modern history.

Alito and Roberts are expected to lead the nine-member Supreme Court into a new conservative era following the retirement of O'Connor, the court's first female justice and a key moderate swing vote on issues like assisted suicide, campaign finance law, the death penalty, affirmative action and abortion.

Something tells me that, along with the day Bush was elected for a second term, we the people will look back on today as another dark turn for our country. Unfortunately, Alito will sit on the bench much longer than Bush will be in office.