Right-Wing Judicial Activism Runs Amok

of the Supreme Court are not protecting our liberties. Plain and simple. Sad, but true, in my opinion.

I'd say this has been a long progression that's been going for decades, and the Bush criminals are definitely taking advantage of the powers that the supremes have given the government - and the executive branch.

Whether it's privacy rights, property rights, warrantless searches, illegal wars, spending money to prop up dictators or free speech, the Supreme Court is acting like an enemy to liberty....

Some thoughts on this:

"The Men Who Destroyed the Constitution" - click here

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

in the judiciary for at least two decades....We're stuck with these folks...and the American voter is to blame.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

The decline of the Court may have been a long time coming, but the original 5-4 decision to halt the 2000 vote count in Florida was one of the main signs that the institution had been corrupted by political interests. After this decision (by a conservative court that was a supporter of 'state's rights') the Court lost a great deal of respect. If they had forced a fair recount in Florida, Gore would be President... but with Lieberman as VP. That might have been sort of like Kennedy and Johnson...

The religious right's political payoff is the appointment of rabid right-wing justices, who also tend to mindlessly support corporate interests over public interests. It all looks like a serious attempt at a right-wing takeover of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government.

Keep this up, and we can say goodbye to science and law and democracy, and say hello to religious fundamentalism and totalitarian dictatorships.

On the other hand, if a President is impeached, does that raise the possibility of getting rid of his judicial appointments as well?

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

The metaphor for who else but George W. Bush is appropriate because he lured voters to the polls in 2000 with false campaign promises.

The label is also ironic in that the original Pied Piper played his mesmerizing music in Germany -- birthplace of the fascist “Brotherhood of Death” society (BOD) imitated by the secret Skull & Bones fraternity at Yale and admired by Adolph Hitler, who made BOD’s skeletal symbol a decoration on SS uniforms. Bush 43, as we all know, was a Yale Bonesman.

And then there is Shrub’s grandfather, Prescott Bush, the first family Bonesman whose New York City bank did business with Nazi financiers during WWII in violation of the Enemies Act.

Now connect those dots to George H.W. Bush, also a Yale Bonesman, who helped organize the rightwing Committee on the Present Danger (CPD) during the Reagan administration.

In 1997, CPD members formed a new and more dangrous neocon front organization, Project for a New American Century (PNAC). The founders included Bush 43’s brother Jeb and the prime architects of Gulf War 2 -- Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz and Scooter Libby.

According to PNAC doctrine published before 2001, a preemptive war to overthrow Saddam Hussein would be supported by the American people if they suffered a "catastrophic and catalyzing Pearl Harbor-type event" (PNAC's words). Thus, to George W. and his neocon pals, 9/11 was an excuse to attack Iraq, not a cause.

Domestically, 9/11 was a flag-waving, bullhorn moment used by Bush in conjunction with the Patriot Act and his notorious signing statements to gain an authoritarian grip on America

Dub-ya and the rightwing GOP sought total dominion over our traditional, two-party political system. They wanted and still do permanent control of Congress, an enduring GOP White House, conservative Supreme Court, rightwing federal judges, Republican governors and legislatures in all 50 states, and a muzzled press. The way it was in Germany before WWII.

Runaway rightwing judicial activism is only part of the price we will be paying for electing a goose-stepping Pied Piper who was never qualified to be president in the first place.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

The cross-section of views in the current Supreme Court range from pro-corporate to pure-corporate, and the pool from which these nominees come is filled with legions of future Alitos and Scalias.

Florida's top court just ruled to protect voting machine suppliers from independent or objective scrutiny because it would gut "the protections afforded those who own trade secrets."

Courts, defending corporations, eroding the value of the commons.

See story.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

...any decision that does not fit into the Right Wing/Corporate agenda....

This is the great con job of the century...the naive masses voting in Right Wing politicians who appointed crony judges to do their bidding...People who thought that they were stopping abortion....but in reality it was a classic "bait and switch" game to appoint pro-corporate judges to the bench.

The 2000 Bush vs. Gore decision usurped the power of the lower Florida court, which was allowing the continued ballot counting, ranks right up there with Roe V Wade in terms of "judicial activism," yet in this case it was Right Wing activism and that's all that counts. They're only for "states rights" when the states are supporting their causes.

It horrifies me that we will be dealing with these Bush cronies for two decades. Clarence Thomas in particular is the ultimate example of a crony judge... In the end, it's the naive, conned "values" voters who will suffer from crushed workers' rights. Their kids will end up working for minimum wage at any of the new Dollar Stores that are migrating like mushrooms across the land...selling cheap merchandise from China...or if they get lucky, maybe they'll get a management job at a PayDay Loan outlet...which are equally mushrooming.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

The Transformation of American Law, 1780-1860

The Transformation of American Law, 1870-1960

The 2nd book is largely about the hijacking of the 14th Amendment- which was meant to give rights to former slaves, but has been used almost since it was written to give rights to corporations.

Remember, the Bush nominees claim that they are Strict Constructionists- which means they claim to interpret the Constitution according to the Framers' intents... the 14th Amendment was not meant to give corporations more rights than human beings, but that's how it has been used.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

It would be impossible to decide which was the worst ever Supreme Court. Notwithstanding it's pomp and circumstsance, it has always been a haven for political hacks of every description and of every aptitude. Consitutional Law is a fraud. This was my opinion as a freshman in law school and it continues to be today. Politics first has always been it's hallmark. The law is truly a ass and no more so than in those allegedly hallowed halls.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

The author is not debate the issues, just paradeing a so-called list of horribles. Maybe if the hyper text would be to the actual decisions and he debated the merit of the decisions I would give his opinions some weight.

The abortion decision he lists does not change the holding in Casey, but says to wait until the law is applied to judge its consitutionality. The ruling regading issue ads, affects both sides equally, Move-On and Religous Right could both take advantage of it. As for the endangered Species act, there has been a problem with the act since its begining, namely its an uncompensated governmental taking.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Are these judgments in line with the Constitution or not. Its only judicial activism if they aren't.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

If you are a political animal on the left, you learn to roll with the punches. Though we may hate to admit it, sometimes we just shake our heads and mutter: “Sweet Jesus, save us from chickenshit Democrats.”

Most of us know how our government operates, time and the Republican Party has stripped us of most of our illusions about “National Interest, National Defense, Law & Order, Balance of Powers,” all that stuff you hear mentioned all the time. Most of us now realize that our input on matters “way beyond our ability to understand,” are decided by people we’ve seldom heard of. These people are not elected leaders, in most cases they are rich and powerful opportunists intent on imposing their will on all the rest of us.

Rupert Murdoch, for instance. Megalomaniac does not do justice to guys like Murdoch. These guys want to rule the world, and they don’t have any moral values to guide them. They want what they want, when they want it. Murdoch has the power to determine what news millions and millions of American’s hear, His version of the news. There are two or three million “Murdochs,” in America, and they determine “National Interest, National Defense, Law & Order, Balance of Powers, all that stuff you hear mentioned all the time.

Guys like Rupert Murdoch tell the Supreme Court what to do.

We know how to get rid of elected leaders who rat us out, but how do we get rid of the real leaders, who own the elected leaders who rat us out.

.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

When a nominee has the faintest trace of liberalism.

The Dems, on the other hand have rolled over repeatedly, allowing the pretense of objectivity by candidates willing to perjure themselves as to their intentions to be taken as fact. Every progressive in the country knew what the outcome of Thomas, Scalia, Alito and Roberts would be. The Dems allowed such outrageous lies as Thomas' claim not to have thought about abortion pass without much more than a raised eyebrow.

I am really tired of watching the forces of fascism fight like it means something, while defenders of freedom make half-hearted attempts and fail. If you look at the votes on such key issues as the bankruptcy bill, confirmation votes, the immigration bill (which doubles legal immigration and quadruples the number of H1B visas - guaranteeing that wages continue to slide) you know that we have outright enemies and two-faced "friends," very few of whom are interested in much beyond feathering their own nests.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

I can't fault Republicans for voting their position. I do fault the Democrats for not standing up and recognizing what Roberts and Alito stand for. In both cases there was a PR campaign to portray them as Boy Scouts even though their records said otherwise and the Democrats ignored the facts and pretended the PR campaign was the truth.

It is time to hold our elected representatives feet to the fire and demand that they vote for our interests instead of what is easiest or what keeps the party happy. I don't vote for someone by party, I vote for whoever says they will do the most of what I want in government. I have to say that we could clear the slate of everyone in Congress and I can't think of a single one that I would recommend keeping.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

...will be with us all for a very long time. The Catholic Church, my church but not me, most catholics are fundies who will sell out america for the popes and their religious beliefs. Five members of the SCOTUS are Catholics who despite the admonitions of Jesus to render to Caesar... and render to God... and our US Constitution nevertheless have chosen to ignore those admonitions.
Evangelical fundies are just as bad as they too have forgotten those admonitions by Jesus and our Constitution.
Fundamentalists, be they Islamic, Catholic or evangelical are dangerous to the US and the entire world.
The fundie right wing Catholic religious in America will say that they are nothing like Islamic fundies because they don't kill. Just ask our over 3500 dead and 26,000+ maimed, in mind and body, troops. Also please just ask the 655,000 dead and 2-4million maimed and displaced Iraqis what the Republican religious right wingers have done to them.
In a million years the Catholic Church cannot make restitution for what it has done by endlessly supporting the Republican party, the party of war-death-kill for PROFIT and world domination.
Nor can the Catholic Church ever make restitution for endorsing and supporting Hitler and the Nazi party and the Holocaust, before(Reichskonkordat of 1933, Pope Pius XI) during(Pope Pius XII and Ratzinger/Benedict XVI aka a member of the Hitler Youth that gave up Jews to the nazis) and after(one of the two main conduits aiding escaping Nazis) It is true some kindly rabbis have pointed out that Pope Pius XII saved some 230,000 jews. BUT he should never have been aiding Hitler and the Nazis in the first place.
As a Catholic, growing up I was taught that we are not to sin in the first place.
The Popes and the church have committed these egregious acts of sin and PRIDE many times. Can we all remember Galileo, the crusades(and the muslims have not forgotten that) the Spanish Inquistion, the Holocaust(and the Jews have not forgotten that and I don't blame them) and WWII and now right here in America via the papal support for the Republican party starting with Reagan, then Daddy Bush and now Little Shrub, the very worst of all.
What scourges have the Catholic Church and right wing Catholics in America brought down upon America and the entire world yet another time. Just ask Monsignors Bill O'Reilly, Sean O'Hannity, Joe O'Scarborough, Chris O'Matthews and Tim O'Russert and Glenn O'Beck(ex-catholic, now Mormon). And let's not forget Scalia, Thomas, Roberts and Alito(all right wing Catholics) for what they are doing to end democracy in America and replace it with 'theocratic corporate fascism'.
People complain about the neocons, and rightly so, for hijacking our government. But the Straussian neocons came about as a result of the Holocaust. The neocon hijacking of our gov't must be scrutinized and examined in great detail. But so too must the hijacking of our gov't by the present and previous popes and the Catholic Church.
The merging of church and state is corrosive to both. Political power in the hands of religious fundamentalist fanatics who have merged with the slime of politics especially Republican party politics may bring about the end of our democracy. Scalia, in a May 2000 speech, advocated and called for the END of the rule of law AND the END of democracy in America. And this piece of scum is on the SCOTUS.
Somehow, I just don't think that destroying America is the right thing to do.
The evangelicals will have to go after the evangelical fundies, my hands are full trying to remind Catholics that their allegiance must first be to God, not the popes who are mere mortals.
Let us all DEMAND peace and diplomacy and stop these endless religious wars.
WWJD?

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

And we thought the Reagan legacy was bad! Bush almost makes you nostalgic for the good ol' days of Reaganism. I said almost.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

I'm not willing to believe that were stuck with these people when there twisting the law to suit themselves. We the People need to put some new checks and balances in so that they are not above the law, like G. W. Bush thinks he is. This is sappose to be OUR country not theirs. This government is in need of an overhauling. Corrupt should not be the norm or acceptable. The time has come to take our country back.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Over 100 years ago, the Supreme Court ruled (in Plessy vs. Ferbuson) that separate-but-equal public accommodations (railroad cars) did not violate the constitution. So Jim Crow, white/black water fountains, seating areas in restaurants and theatres- all perfectly legal. That astonishingly racist doctrine remained the law of the land until 1954 when the Supreme Court ruled (Brown vs. Bd of Ed) that separate is inherently unequal, so segregated education, anyway, violated the constitution. From that decision, all other Jim Crow rules and policies were eventually struck down with various decisions holding that separate is inherently unequal, and the state cannot force black people into separate facilities.

Today George Bush's Supreme Court has re-adopted Plessy vs. Ferguson as the law of the land. Good news for the Klan: Segregation now, segregation forever, as they liked to say.

Most judges are legal appointees and have strong political and class biases which shape their decisions. They decide what outcome they want, then come up with some analysis to support that outcome. The entire concept of stare decisis - that the law is the law and is constant, and is not changed just because the politics of the judges change - is a complete lie. Everything in this country is now under attack by Bush and the right-wing Supreme Court. Save the Constitution. Impeach.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Let's see which presidential candidates and other politicians will be willing to speak up and call these 5 justices what they are...ACTIVIST JUDGES! Where have we heard that before?

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]