This news on the Supreme Court nomination of Samuel Alito — the Washington Post has revealed Alito co-authored a 1986 Justice Department opinion that said employers should be able to legally fire HIV-positive employees. The opinion stated “fear of contagion, whether reasonable or not,” was a sufficient reason for firing an HIV-positive worker. Alito later said : “We certainly did not want to encourage irrational discrimination, but we had to interpret the law as it stands.” Meanwhile the Senate Judiciary Committee announced confirmation hearings for Alito will begin January 9th. President Bush had pushed for a confirmation vote by year’s end.