Barbarian America

The Supreme Court, which is packed with Republican right wing appointees, has now ruled that Americans have a constitutional right to own weapons of personal destruction. This is a departure from the existing understanding of the second amendment, and it represents activist right wing judges creating a right that did not previously exist. The New York Times editorial board weighs in on the decision:

This is a decision that will cost innocent lives, cause immeasurable pain
and suffering and turn America into a more dangerous country. It will also
diminish our standing in the world, sending yet another message that the United
States values gun rights over human life.

We still execute people at the same time that we refuse to provide health care to about 50 million of our own citizens, we now proudly tout our "right" to kill each other with guns, we invade and occupy foreign countries on false premises, kill hundreds of thousands of civilians, and the list goes on and on. As a country we are barbarians. This is how we are viewed by other more civilized peoples.

Jim

Bush Is Bushwacked By The Supreme Court

This is good. Columnist Eugene Robinson in today's Washington Post:

So yesterday, for the third time, the high court made clear that the Decider has
no authority to trash the fundamental principles of American jurisprudence. In
ruling 5 to 4 that foreigners held at Guantanamo Bay have the right to challenge their detentions in
federal court, the court cited the Constitution and the centuries-old concept of habeas corpus.
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy's majority opinion seems broad and definitive
enough to end the Kafkaesque farce at Guantanamo once and for all.
"The laws
and Constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary
times," Kennedy wrote. Again, it's amazing that any president of the United
States would need to have such a basic concept spelled out for him.

Well, it's not really all that amazing given that the president is dullard George W. Bush.

Is former Senator Sam Nunn from Georgia on Obama's short list for Vice President? Don't go there, Barry. Nunn is an anti-gay bigot who scapegoated gays and lesbians in the matter of gays in the military. He is one of the main reasons we still have "Don;'t Ask, Don't Tell." The gay community would rebel, and rightly so, if Barak selected Nunn.

Jim

PHOTO: A poster in Madrid attests to the active gay scene there.

Congress Can Correct The Supreme Court

The July 26 New York Times has an interesting article on what can be done to de-politicize the court by balancing out the hard line conservatives appointed by Bush. In a nutshell, Congress has the power to "adjust" the number of justices on the court. A Democratic Congress could increase the number in order to give a Democratic president the opportunity to appoint liberal justices:

If the current five-man majority persists in thumbing its nose at popular
values, the election of a Democratic president and Congress could provide a
corrective. It requires only a majority vote in both houses to add a justice or
two. Chief Justice John Roberts and his conservative colleagues might do well to
bear in mind that the roll call of presidents who have used this option includes
not just Roosevelt but also Adams, Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln and Grant.

Of course, this assumes that the Democrats win the presidency in 2008 and maintain control of both houses of congress. It also assumes that the Democrats have the political will to reverse the backward course that the Roberts Court has charted - which is not a given. It does give us some hope that the damage done by the Bush-appointed neanderthals can be limited.

Photo: "Bradley" - by Bob Russell

Jim