One of the most important events in the dark age the US has experienced since 2000--and WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT.

You may have heard today about U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's resignation. After you have moved past the sharp-intake-of-breath-and-sinking-feeling phase, with which I am familiar due to personal experience, you may ask yourself, as I did, "What can I do?"

Well, David NYC at the Daily Kos web site has some ideas:

Whatever happens with the Supreme Court nomination battle that is about to ensue, it's going to happen fast. Here are some things you can do right now:

• If you have a cell phone, sign up for People at the American Way's Mass Immediate Response site. This way, you'll be able to receive text message action items instantly as events break. (If you signed up during the nuclear option fight, you'll need to re-sign up.)

• Also sign up with the Save the Court, another PFAW website devoted specifically to this issue.

• Recruit friends and family members to the cause.

• Write to the President, telling him he should choose a consensus candidate to replace O'Connor.

• Contact your Senators to tell them the same thing.

• Sign MoveOn's "Protect Our Rights" petition.

• Contact members of the media and tell them you think Bush should nominate a consensus candidate. PLEASE be polite, be brief (200 words or less), and don't do copy-and-paste jobs - put things in your own words.

• Stop by Hunter's thread and make suggestions for potential nominees.