I Would Be Remiss If I Overlooked Today's Biggest Announcement -- Vacancy On The Supreme Court

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, a moderate-conservative and the first woman ever to serve on the Supreme Court, important for her voting record on issues like abortion and the 2000 election, has announced her retirement from the high court. It is the first retirement in 11 years and, most surprisingly, preceeded that of expected retirement by ailing Chief Justice William Rehnquist. It was an announcement almost surely expected in the nation's capitol, but one which has shocked the press corps nonetheless.

This signals an important moment in American politics, one in which conservatives will be faced with a looming challenge from moderates and liberals as to their respective special interests in keeping the court fairly balanced. It goes without saying that a primary, though frequently glossed-over, contention of the 2004 election was the certainty that a retirement would create a divisive, and certainly heated, battle for confirmation of a new justice amongst members of the Senate.

We should all be paying close attention right now. The future of our country and, likely, many of the freedoms which we take for granted are once again under fire. What will it take to convince people of all viewpoints that equality must truly mean equality for all people, not only those with the most money and power?

To my friends who think it's a losing battle, I can only say that until the battle is fought there is no way to know. America's perceived "conservatism" is merely that: a perception. The "silent majority" will lose their voice if they remain silent through what is soon to come.