I turned the radio to NPR this morning and heard Nina Totenburg say, "Abortion and gay rights may ring people's chimes and fuel political campaigns. But the fact is that Supreme Court decisions determining whether individuals have the right to sue and on what grounds actually affect the lives of far more people and shape the conduct of business in America."

Suffice to say, I was alarmed. I sped to computer and start Googling. Which, according to my daughter Cassie, is what I do. Whenever I hear something I don't understand or know much about, I go online to check it out. Cassie asked me to edit a short story she was working on over the weekend, and this is what I discovered about my self:

"When we were little," she wrote, "my mom was always googling this and googling that. As an example, she said 'for Pete's sake' all the time. Of course, my little brother had to finally ask, 'who's Pete?' My mom's eyes lit up with google madness and she immediately went online. Later, we suffered through a detailed explanation concerning 'minced oaths', like how during the Middle Ages people couldn't say for God's sake because holier-than-thous would have you before the Bishop, so instead they minced it- substituting Saint Peter for God- and said, 'For Saint Peter's sake' and nobody rolled their head."

Now you know the truth of me.

We had a good laugh about it and I related the story to my husband who cannot understand my obsession with digging out the facts this election- particularly underlying any and all Palin's claims. If Palin had studied the foundations of democracy- which is unlikely- she mustn't have interpreted the Ancient Greek aphorism "know thyself" as relevant to her life. Personally, I find it funny when my kids ridicule my past behavior. But, I digress.

Much has been said about the vital importance of this election. In my research for this Hub, hackles on the backside of my neck have been raised to new heights and I have to get the word out!

The next President of the United States will have sole responsibility for nominating Justices to the Court

Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Scalia, Thomas, and Alito vote as the Court's conservative wing. Justices Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg and Breyer are the Court's liberal wing. Justice Kennedy, a conservative who occasionally votes with the liberals, often determines the outcome of close cases. Stevens (88)", Scalia, Kennedy, Souter (69), Ginsberg and Breyer are all over or approaching 70 years of age.

This means the liberal arm of the Supreme Court, those, "marked by the belief that the U.S. Constitution is a living document which is open to new evaluation and modernization, that foreign law and precedent should be a factor in U.S. legal matters, and that certain rights or restrictions should be expanded," are at serious risk.

Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, William H. Taft, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt were Progressives who, as Wikipedia states, advocated the advancement of labor rights and social justice.

"The progressives were early proponents of anti-trust laws, regulation of large corporations and monopolies, as well as government-funded environmentalism and the creation of National Parks and Wildlife Refuges."

Please note, REGULATION OF LARGE CORPORATIONS AND MONOPOLIES, and then look at the current Supreme Court's track record in this regard, along with their docket of upcoming law suits.

I know that this week, Palin and McCain are trying to put the fear into your heart that Obama befriends terrorists- Ayer in particular. But the record shows this is another Swift Boat intended to raise anxiety and reelect an administration philosophy of trickle down dribble drops.

The Supreme Court track record during the Bush Administration more than anything else reflects the direction Republican's plan to take this country and it is not consumer friendly.

Please check out the links below and take this very seriously. The Bail Out was NOT an anomaly. It was an extension of an elite philosophy. And like it or not, voting for "them" will not raise you to "their level." You remain powerless.