Speaking of the Supreme Court, the inimitable Dahlia Lithwick sits through First Monday (and takes time to check in on Winona.)
Category: The Rehnquist Court
Fool us once…
The Supreme Court decides to sidestep the New Jersey Senate controversy, paving the way for Lautenberg to serve as the Democratic candidate. To be honest, I’m surprised the Court was savvy enough to realize that nobody wanted to hear another election-deciding opinion from them.
The Supreme Court’s War on Kids.
So much for Independence Day. “The majority opinion in Earls reflects some of the worst results-based decision-making we’ve seen since Bush v. Gore. And like Bush v. Gore, it is rooted in panic, expediency, and a twisting of prior precedent to fit the facts.” Dahlia Lithwick excoriates the Supreme Court for their recent decision to force urine tests on high school kids.
One Nation and Countless Careerists, Under God.
“Oh my name it is nothin’, my age it means less
The country I come from is called the Midwest
I’s taught and brought up there the laws to abide
And that land that I live in has God on its side.”
Bob Dylan, “With God on Our Side”
A Federal Court declares the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional, and all Hell breaks loose, with editorialists, Senators, and even our Fearless Leader lining up to decry the decision. (For their part, the House scurried out onto the steps of the Capitol to recite the Pledge en masse.) I dunno. I know I’m not the mean in these particular instances, but as a kid forced to recite the Pledge every morning in elementary school, I always found the name-dropping of God a bit strange and superfluous. I guess the lesson here, folks, is don’t vote against God in an election year. Speaking of which, the GOP are latching on to the decision as a centerpiece to their fall campaigns. Hmmm…corporate malfeasance still seems a higher priority to me than this judicial slighting of our national deity. Somehow, I think He can handle it. (But, just in case, the Supreme Court today ensured that everyone’s tax money can be used to pay Him tribute.)
How much is Justice, again?
According to CNN, the Supreme Court currently includes five millionaires, the richest two being Clinton appointees (Ginsberg, Breyer), and the poorest those of Reagan/Bush, Sr. (Thomas, Kennedy.) Just goes to show, wealth doesn’t always correlate with wrongheadedness.