I find this, from the Washington Post, very reassuring: somebody has the same trouble I have with Alito's name:
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) referred to the nominee as "Alioto," confusing him with the former mayor of San Francisco.Every single time I see Alito's name in print I read 'Alioto', and have to go back and reread it to get it right. The Aliotos--not just the former mayor, but his daughter the perennial mayoral candidate, and granddaughter the appointed Supervisor and unsuccessful congressional candidate, and I think maybe a restaurant or two--are annoyingly ubiquitous in San Francisco. I've probably seen the name 'Alioto' at least 50,000 times (conservatively) in my (nearly) 30 years in the Bay Area. It's damned irritating to have some Johnny-come-lately with almost exactly the same last name--just close enough to guarantee confusion in whatever working brain cells I have left.
I know this is completely trivial, and the nomination is Serious Business; I'll write something serious when and if I think of anything to say. It's just that this has been bugging me ever since Bush named him, and it's a huge relief to see I'm not the only one.
[That's all, folks]
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