Antonin Scalia

Sarah Palin And Michele Bachmann: The Advancement Of Ignorance, Stupidity And The Destruction Of The Republican Party! :(

Ronald Leave a comment

The Republican Party has a major problem that will destroy all chances of its success in the future, and will be a “gift that keeps on giving” to the opposition Democratic Party: former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, both potential candidates for the Presidential nomination in 2012!

Both ladies, admittedly attractive in appearance, are a true nightmare for the party, and both are a major blow to the promotion of women in politics!

They are a true embarrassment to womanhood itself, as they personify total ignorance and stupidity, not only about science but also about history, and really, it seems, about ANY area of human knowledge!

It is not an issue of conservatism being attacked, as indeed the concept of women as conservatives can be legitimate. It is simply the reality that every time either of these women open up their mouth and speak, they make the eyes roll into the back of the head of any intelligent person who observes and listens.

Does either lady have the ability to EVER express anything that makes sense or shows knowledge, or is seen as rational, sane thinking? Apparently, the answer is NO! 🙁

Michele Bachmann had just asserted that the Founding Fathers ended slavery, failing to realize that the Civil War 75 years later ended slavery. She had just come from a lecture about the Constitution from Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, who had “lectured” a group of Tea Party members of Congress about that sacred document, which he has totally distorted with his ridiculous “originalist” interpretation, including supposedly, his recent statement that the Constitution did not protect women, because they are not mentioned in the Constitution! That statement by Scalia also makes one roll his eyes to the back of the head! Can Scalia really believe that, and if so, why is he on the Supreme Court?

But, for now, getting away from the loss of status and prestige of the Supreme Court by the behavior of some of its members, a subject that will be addressed again in the near future, before we can recover from Michele Bachmann and her inane, ludicrous statements for the “umpteenth time”, before we can fully calm down, along comes Sarah Palin, again attempting to “hog” the spotlight with her moronic statements and tweets! 🙁

In reaction to President Obama’s State of the Union address, Palin reacted to the “winning the future” line of the President, by employing WTF as an obscene statement that everyone knows what it is, but which I will not explain here! LOL

Is that appropriate for a potential Presidential candidate to use in political discourse out loud with the media? Is this dignified and acceptable for someone who wants to be taken seriously as a legitimate voice? Is there a need to answer this? 🙁

Adding insult to injury, Palin proceeded to state that the “Sputnik” reference of Obama was not appropriately used, as the Soviet Union of old had “won” the space race, but that it had led to their downfall!

Such an assertion makes one want to gag and throw up! Oh really, the Russians won the space race? It was the Soviets who landed on the moon in 1969? And their being involved in competition in space is what caused their downfall, rather than their involvement in Afghanistan, and their reckless military spending, a policy that is the major cause of our national debt and deficit today, and which Palin fails to see and understand?

The responsible leaders of the Republican party have to be dismayed by these two women, both endorsed by the Tea Party Movement, who are separately and together destroying the credibility of the Republican Party for the long haul!

One would wish, somehow, that we could put a muzzle on their mouths, and send them the message, shut up and be gone! 🙁

But, of course, there is freedom of speech, and neither lady will shut up, and so the Democratic Party sits by observing events, having a lot of good laughs, and enjoying “the gift that keeps on giving!”

But we must also mourn the destruction of both science and history that these women, and those who believe in them, represent, and in fact the destruction of KNOWLEDGE!

As Bill Maher, the comedian, expressed a few weeks ago, if the Founding Fathers were to come back today and witness the mediocrity of today’s Republican leadership, and the role of these two women, and a few members of the Supreme Court, they would be stunned, and certainly comment that women should never have been given the right to vote, let alone to run for public office!

And that would be indeed sad, as many women have contributed a great deal to our political discourse, and they stand by and mourn the embarrassment to their gender represented by the two morons, Bachmann and Palin! 🙁

The Age Of Right Wing Republicans Begins! State, National, And Supreme Court Evidence Of The Changed Reality! :(

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A number of pieces of news today makes us aware of just how far right wing this country is to be taken by the Republican Party, once the new 112th Congress begins tomorrow! 🙁

News comes that the GOP Governors of many states are declaring “war” on public employee unions, making them the scapegoat of the economic crisis the nation faces! 🙁

The myth is that public service employees are overpaid, have too many benefits, and don’t work very hard. The facts are that people who work for state and local governments are NOT overpaid, and never have been, and while benefits might be better than average in a country where only 15 percent of private employers provide a traditional pension, the reason for their existence is exactly because pay in these jobs is below what many privately employed workers receive.

This is a case of turning the people of the states against their own teachers, police officers, firefighters, prison guards, nurses, social workers, librarians, and agency workers as a move of revenge, as if it is the fault of these workers that economic conditions are terrible.

Rather than blame corporations and the refusal of government to regulate their practices in the public interest, instead the goal is to destroy labor unions of all kinds, even though only NINE percent of all workers are union members! 🙁

Also, we learn that Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Antonin Scalia have no problem being partisan, when they are supposed to be objective and neutral on public matters.

Roberts has sworn in top aides of Speaker John Boehner, a highly unusual action, and Scalia, promoting his concept of “originalism”, now states that women are not protected constitutionally by the “equal protection” clause of the Constitution! 🙁

How outrageous such a statement is, and if that were to be utilized in the future by the Supreme Court majority, it could set us back to the 19th century, and include African Americans, Latinos, Jews, Catholics, and others as not being protected by the Constitution! Is this a move to repeal the 20th century by a reactionary Supreme Court, which would be overruling past Supreme Court cases upholding “equal protection”? 🙁

And finally, Darrell Issa is now asking corporations what laws they want considered for repeal as interfering with their economic activities, as he begins his term as head of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee in the House of Representatives! What could be more corrupt than that, and yet, Issa has the gall to say that the Obama Administration is the most corrupt in a long time! 🙁

It is hard to imagine that by 2012, there will not be “buyer’s remorse” about the Republican Party control of the House and growing influence in the Senate.

And realize that all that the Democrats need to regain control of the House of Representatives is a gain of 25 seats, certainly a manageable possibility!

The Evolving Supreme Court: The Dynamics Of Nine Human Beings Working Together!

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The Supreme Court has undergone a lot of change in the past five years, with four appointments to the Court.

George W. Bush appointed John Roberts as Chief Justice and Samuel Alito as an Associate Justice, while Barack Obama chose Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan as Associate Justices.

Roberts has certainly made his impact as Chief Justice, and has become controversial because of his activism, which contradicts his testimony that he believed in “stare decisis”, the role of precedent in deciding whether to accept past Court decisions. Instead, Roberts has become a confrontational Chief Justice, including criticizing President Obama for attacking the revolutionary Citizens United Case of January, 2010.

Alito seemed to be quieter, but this year, he openly objected to Obama’s criticism of the Citizens United Case, and is now regarded as an outspoken conservative firebrand in the same vein as Roberts, meaning that the four conservatives on the Court are very aggressive in their advocacy. No one would ever accuse Antonin Scalia or Clarence Thomas as being “wallflowers” in their activist views, even though Scalia claims to be an advocate of “originalism”, interpreting the Constitution based on the actions of the Constitutional Convention of 1787.

But the liberal side of the Court has also been much more outspoken. Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, now the oldest member of the Court, is certainly willing to express her views, and Justice Stephen Breyer is seen as the intellectual leader of the liberal wing of the Court.

But even the newest Justices are making clear their liberal tendencies. Justice Sotomayor is seen by the New York Times as “guiding” the liberal wing. Sotomayor spoke up for prisoner rights, with a challenge by Justice Alito.

And Justice Elena Kagan has joined Sotomayor in what is described as a subtle shift of the Court, with Sotomayor more passionate and Kagan as a “bridge builder”, but yet seen as strengthening the liberal wing. Kagan is seen as having the ability to draw Anthony Kennedy, the truly independent member of the Court, to consider her side of the issue, much like John Paul Stevens used to be able to do that in his latter years on the Court.

What this all means is that the Supreme Court is in constant readjustment of nine human beings, with evolution of the dynamics fascinating to watch and to evaluate on a regular basis! 🙂

What If The Republicans Had Won The Presidency And Control Of Both Houses Of Congress In 2008? :(

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Let’s just imagine for a moment that the Republican Party had won back both houses of Congress in 2008, and that John McCain and Sarah Palin had become President and Vice President on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009.

How would the United States be different?

1. There would be no movement toward health care coverage for more than 30 million Americans.
2. Credit Card reform would not have occurred.
3. Student Loan reform would not have become law.
4. Wall Street reform would not have been passed in any form.
5. The domestic auto industry would be gone, except for Ford Motor Company, causing miilions of job losses, both direct and indirect.
6. Unemployment would be closer to 17 percent, instead of 9.8 percent, as there would not have been any economic stimulus.
7. Two Supreme Court nominees, much more like Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, would be sitting on the bench.
8. Major Food Safety legislation would not have become law.
9. The end of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” for gays in the military would not have happened.
10. John McCain would have been hostile and antagonistic toward the news media to a greater extent than even Richard Nixon, displaying his anger and fury on a regular basis.
11. Sarah Palin would have made so many errors in statements and actions that people would have longed for the days of Dan Quayle as Vice President.
12. There would be growing concern about the possibility of Sarah Palin as President, were John McCain to have a health crisis, reminding many of the fear of Dan Quayle when George H W Bush had a health crisis in office.
13. Relations with the rest of the world would be far more confrontational, nationalistic, and belligerent.
14. Open war with Iran and Pakistan, adding to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, would have been likely.

There are other scenarios to imagine and to discuss, but is not the above enough to make one want to wake up from this NIGHTMARE? 🙁

Justice Antonin Scalia And Separation Of Powers Seminar To Congressional Conservatives Headed By Michele Bachmann: An Egregious Conflict Of Interest! :(

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Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, one of the most controversial members of the House of Representatives, one of the leaders of the Tea Party Caucus in the House, and infamous for outrageous statements and actions and for promoting political confrontations, has now gone beyond the pale.

She has decided that members of Congress should take “courses” on the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Bill of Rights, all designed to promote the “conservative” interpretation of these sacred documents.

Anyone serving in Congress should be expected to KNOW these documents by heart, and should NOT be promoting a distorted view of these documents, as Michele Bachmann and her ilk have been doing for years already! And to allow the Tea Party Movement, with its distortion of history and reality, to be the so called “cosponsor” of this series of seminars is even more outrageous!

But it gets worse, as Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, the most conservative member of the Court in the past hundred years, and a promoter of “originalism”–the concept that every legal decision should be based only on 1787 and the Constitutional Convention, with no consideration of modern times or changes in the 223 years since 1787–has agreed to give the first seminar on “separation of powers”!

Does not Justice Scalia realize that “separation of powers” means just that, and that therefore, it is inappropriate for him to be trying to influence or in any other way involve himself with actions of the legislative branch? 🙁

The Supreme Court is supposed to be non-political in nature, but apparently if a conservative such as Scalia wishes to be political, that is alright. And if Justice Clarence Thomas’s wife wishes to become involved in a pressure group that could theoretically have an influence on future cases before the Court, that apparently is fine! 🙁

But imagine if Justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Sonia Sotomayor, or Elena Kagan were to lecture to a liberal Democratic group or advocate a modernist view to people on Capitol Hill, you can be assured there would be moves to impeach them as having violated “separation of powers”!

This is the double standard, the hypocrisy, of conservatives, Republicans, and the Tea Party Movement, who all claim to be “holier than thou”, when they are engaged in clearcut violations of the Constitution by what they are doing, and what Justice Scalia has agreed to do!

But then, Justice Scalia, as brilliant as he is recognized to be, is also an extremely arrogant man! That sums it up! 🙁

Tenth Anniversary Of Bush V. Gore Supreme Court Decision: Its Effect On America! :(

Ronald 1 Comment

This weekend marks the tenth anniversary of the Supreme Court intervention in the 2000 Presidential Election, the infamous case of Bush V. Gore.

The Republican majority Supreme Court took an unconstitutional action, unprecedented in American history, when it interfered in the vote recount in Florida to declare George W. Bush the winner over Al Gore by the measly margin of 537 votes despite a substantial popular vote lead of Gore, throwing the 25 electoral votes of Florida into the Bush camp, and making him the closest winner of the Electoral College since the 1876 Presidential Election, when Rutherford B. Hayes was declared the winner of the electoral college by one vote, despite a popular vote lead by Samuel Tilden.

There was nothing in the Constitution that provided for such a Supreme Court intervention, and for a Court with Antonin Scalia preaching “originalism”, it was a shocking abuse of power, but with no recourse by Gore or anyone else, as the old adage of Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes reverberated: “The Constitution is what the Supreme Court says it is!”

The effects of eight years of the George W. Bush Presidency have been massive, most of it bad, and one has to wonder how the nation would have been under eight years of Al Gore.

Of course, conservatives and Republicans will be praising the fact that Al Gore never made it to the White House, but it is clear that in many ways, life would have been different in America had Gore taken the oath of office.

Among the differences:

1. The war in Afghanistan would have been on the front burner, not on the back burner, and Osama Bin Laden would likely have been captured or killed, instead of being allowed to escape.
2. The Iraq War would likely have not been waged, and instead the problem of Iran likely would have been addressed in a way whereby Iran would not be the major menace it is today in international affairs, as the Iraq War only strengthened Iran in the Middle East.
3. The reaction to Hurricane Katrina would have been far different, and New Orleans would be further along toward recovery with far less loss of life at the time of the tragedy.
4. The national debt would not have been doubled, as it was from 5 to 10 trillion under Bush, as the massive Bush tax cuts would not have occurred, and the massive spending on two wars at the same time would not have been done.
5. The Medicare Part D legislation would not have occurred, but if it developed in any form, would have been paid for, not adding massively to the national debt.
6. Torture would not have been endorsed by President Gore as it has been by President George W. Bush.
7.We would not have witnessed the abuse of power by Vice President Dick Cheney, who scarred the Vice Presidency’s reputation.
8. There never would have been a second time in the Defense Department for Donald Rumsfeld, who served earlier under President Gerald Ford, and that would have been good for the military who go into our combat operations.
9. Movement on the environment, particularly on global warming and climate change, would have been further accomplished than it has been.
10. The issue of poverty, which was being pursued as a future subject for consideration by Bill Clinton in his last year as
President, would have been a major agenda item by a President Gore.
11.The Gore Presidency would have been, generally, another age of progressive reform, more the true successor to the Great Society of Lyndon B. Johnson, than the comparatively disappointing Presidencies of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton in the eras of domestic reform.
12. Health care reform would likely have been passed years earlier than it has been under President Barack Obama.

It is clear that America today would be a very different country had only the Supreme Court stayed out of the Presidential Election of 2000, and the nation today suffers from the tragedy of eight years of George W. Bush! 🙁

Senator Al Franken’s Judgment Of The Supreme Court: NOT “Equal Justice Under Law”!

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Senator Al Franken, Democrat of Minnesota, gave a very important speech last week on the Supreme Court’s right wing turn before a progressive legal organization, the American Constitution Society.

He condemned the Roberts Court for favoring corporations over every day Americans, and blamed conservative legal scholars, and the Federalist Society, for promoting the concept of “originalism”, regularly advocated by Associate Justice Antonin Scalia!

The lives of ordinary people matter, but the conservative legal advocates have made the American Civil Liberties Union seem “unAmerican” for backing the rights of the less fortunate and the less powerful in society, Franken declared!

The senator pointed out that Justice John Paul Stevens has said that every Justice appointed after him thirty five years ago, with the exception of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, has been more to the right than his predecessor in the position. The Supreme Court has NOT exercised judicial restraint in its decisions, and instead has been radical in ignoring one hundred years of judicial decisions that limited corporate rights in campaigns and election in its Citizens United case in January!

The Court has decided, Franken declared, that no individual’s rights come above the rights of a corporation to profit and influence! 🙁

A whole century of decisions that gave meaning to the Constitution for labor, women, minorities, immigrants, the poor, and others seen as not having wealth and power, is now under attack!

Progressives, Franken concluded, must fight to create a level playing field, which many may have thought was settled law, but is now under attack by an activist, conservative Court!

In many ways, constitutionally, we are moving backwards a century, and progressives must not sit on the sidelines as the rich and powerful regain their former dominance! Franken is absolutely correct in his assessment, and this is a speech which needs to gain widespread notice!

The Effect Of New York City On The Supreme Court

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With the nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, that august body will now have, upon confirmation of Kagan, four members who spent their early years and much of their life in New York City, and ironically, in different boroughs of the city!

Antonin Scalia spent his formative years in Queens County; Ruth Bader Ginsberg in Brooklyn; Sonia Sotomayor in the Bronx; and Elena Kagan in Manhattan!

Also, the liberal bloc on the Court will consist of the three women and Justice Stephen Breyer, and that will mean the three Jewish members of the Court, along with its first Hispanic or Latino member, will be seen by the hinterland as out of touch with America. But realize the long range historical effect of New York City and State on American history, and one can understand why the city and state have had such an impact!

There has long been a tendency to favor New York for Justices, including, among others, Benjamin Cardozo, Felix Frankfurter, Charles Evans Hughes, and John Jay.

So the New York and Northeastern influence on the Court is an interesting reality, particularly at a time when the Tea Party Movement seems to be striking out against modern America, which is primarily influenced by that center of culture and commerce!

After all, even the terrorists see New York City as the center of America in ways that cannot be matched anywhere else in the nation!

The Supreme Court’s Return To The Gilded Age: A Blow Against Democracy!

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The Supreme Court on Thursday dealt a major blow to democracy, which will reverberate throughout the American political system for a long time, unless somehow the Congress can overcome the decision by legislation, which is highly unlikely, certainly in the short run! 🙁

In Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the five member conservative Court majority of Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy, and Chief Justice John Roberts radically reversed one hundred years of campaign law, including the more recent McCain-Feingold legislation, and allowed corporations unfettered access to involve themselves in any way they wish and in any amount of funding they wish to invest in electoral politics in America.

The Gilded Age of 1868-1896 was infamous for the corruption that was endemic with corporate support of politicians who backed corporate monopoly. This is what led to the Progressive Era, New Deal, Great Society and more recent efforts to restrict corporate ability to affect the American political system.

Now, in one fell swoop, the political system goes back to the late 19th century mentality, and highly benefits conservatives and Republicans over liberals and progressives and Democrats. At a time when it is obvious that there is too much coziness as it is between corporate America, conservatives and Republicans, the majority Republican court picked by Ronald Reagan and the two George Bushes now has the capacity to dominate the future of American politics, and defeat Democrats, liberals, and progressives attempting to equalize opportunity for those people and classes that have never had a fair shake in our country, and have seen brief bursts of reform followed by constant retrenchment once the conservative forces regained supremacy.

The chances of real change and reform now under President Obama are greatly restricted by this Court decision, and it makes a mockery of the idea that the Scalia influenced Court majority that is supposedly “originalist” and believers in limited powers, is pursuing that, as this marks another example of the radicalism and activism of the Court, as was the case in the infamous Bush v Gore case on the 2000 presidential election.

Now conservatives talk through both sides of their mouth, about limited government while establishing more activist government in favor of the rich and the powerful over the masses of Americans who are not rich and powerful.

Now the corporations with their unlimited treasuries can blackmail politicians to do their bidding or they will be defeated by funding campaigns that will make past spending look like a minor investment! To call this case free speech is a mockery of the First Amendment, as how can corporations be considered “people”? It is similar to the Gilded Age period when the Supreme Court corruptly used the 14th Amendment, originally passed to promote “due process” and “equal protection” for African Americans and other minorities, to protect corporations’ rights to develop into monopolies!

Have we come through a whole century of working toward electoral reform to see it destroyed by this radical Court majority that shows it has no principle but its own aggrandizement? 🙁 Chief Justice Roberts has been a sore disappointment, as he pledged a limited Court approach during his confirmation hearings in 2005, but now has been dazzled by the “activist conservative” approach of Antonin Scalia, who has “twins” named Thomas and Alito to copy him as if he is a deity! And Justice Kennedy, who occasionally swings to the left, unfortunately two thirds of the time swings to the right and seems more than ever to be the only hope for those on the left, but less and less often as each case arrives and he, more than ever, goes to the right!

More than ever, it is essential somehow to convince Justice Kennedy to reconsider his move to the right or else some other way gain a fifth vote to reverse the damage to democracy this horrible case has wrought! 🙁

Certainly, this is one of the very worst decisions of the Supreme Court in recent times, and really, in all the history of the Supreme Court. The Court majority should be condemned openly for what they have done, working against our democratic system! 🙁