Last week, I talked about California's Proposition 8 and the ridiculous notion that the government should be able to ban gay marriage - a private matter pertaining to private citizens. This week, as promised, I'd like to talk about Sonia Sotomayor, her naysayers' prattle over things like "empathy" and how these issues are connected. It's mostly about justices adhering to the law rather than legislating from the bench and being swayed by public opinion.
When President Barack Obama nominated Sotomayor, he made the following statements, taken from a transcript published by MSNBC:
"First and foremost is a rigorous intellect, a mastery of the law ... a recognition of the limits of the judicial role, an understanding that a judge's job is to interpret, not make law, to approach decisions without any particular ideology or agenda, but rather a commitment to impartial justice, a respect for precedent, and a determination to faithfully apply the law to the facts at hand"
Obama went on to echo Oliver Wendell Holmes, saying a justice should bring life's experiences to the bench and consider how decisions affect the lives of real people in everyday life.
It sounds to me like Obama wants someone who fits the mold of a Supreme Court justice while having some old fashioned common sense. Judges live real lives before they become justices and they're human. Their lives and experiences color their work, just as ours do. Any other expectation would be foolish at best.
The law is a living thing that evolves with society. As times change, laws are interpreted differently. Rush Limbaugh knows Obama isn't going to nominate a conservative, but make no mistake, they wanted him to nominate a liberal white guy, because they believe he would hold the core values of the old white guys' club. These people are insane about race.
Limbaugh and his complaints about Sotomayor being a racist are a prime example. All she said was that a wise Latina woman would probably make a more intelligent decision regarding a minority than a white guy. Oh golly, how awful and racist. Limbaugh is an overpaid charlatan and a snake oil salesman who should be tarred, feathered and ran out of town on a pine rail. He's the one who said Colin Powell's endorsement of Obama had to be about race because they're both black. Give me a break.
Some believe the Supreme Court is far to the left of the American public and that Sotomayor will add to that imbalance. We don't need activist judges, but we don't need neo-con judges trying to destroy separation of church and state either. I don't want the Supreme Court to look like the 700 Club or a peace rally in the quad. We need a middle ground, because none of it is really about justice. There will be no justice in this country as long as tobacco companies make billions, pot smokers go to jail and real criminals with good lawyers walk free.
If you're ready for a little higher truth, chew on this. All these issues, like gay marriage and Supreme Court nominees, are there just to keep you from noticing what's really going on. Anna Nicole, Scott Peterson, the girl they never found in Aruba, flag burning, gay marriage, abortion, saying "under God" in the pledge of allegiance - it's all a big damned distraction to keep you from realizing you're a lot of sheep being herded into the slaughterhouse.
This country is controlled by a single ruling class that includes the Republican and Democrat parties and the big corporations who make it all happen. This supposed two-party system is a sham. There's only one party-the party in power. Take a listen to the wisdom of Ron Paul. He said the only way to achieve real change in this country is for the nation to band together and vote in a third party candidate who isn't part of the machine. The only difference between a Republican and a Democrat is the nonsense they shout from the stump in an election year. Elections, debates and tiffs between candidates are nothing more than theatre.
It's the WWE and the Republicans are the bad guys this season, so the Democrats went off the top rope and swept the elections. It'll be the Democrats next season. They're all slopping from the same trough and they're all in bed together when the lights go out. We live in a semi-fascist, one-party government where there is no real competition and change is impossible. Stop believing the lies. Stop voting for these political machine robots. Stop the madness.
Write to John at jrfrees@bsu.edu
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