Former Supreme Court Justice David Souter -- the Boo Radley of the federal bench -- is moving up in the world, reports the New York Times, giving up his iconic New Hampshire farm house for some nicer place closer to town. And when it comes time for Souter to unload the old place -- the sort of humble digs befitting a man once billed as a latter-day Abe Lincoln -- he'll do so voluntarily and happily, completely free from government intimidation or coercion or blackmail.
Unlike the home sale forced upon Suzette Kelo of New London, Connecticut, whose court case will forever attach like a stain to the retiring justice's name.
Showing posts with label U.S. Supreme Court. Show all posts
Showing posts with label U.S. Supreme Court. Show all posts
Monday, August 3, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Save Michigan; Nominate Granholm
I'm really conflicted about the prospect that Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm might be Barack Obama's first pick for the Supreme Court.
As a native Michigander, who has watched Granholm's reign of error, even from a safe distance, with dismay, I think it would be a blessing for my home state. The woman has been a disaster. Replacing her with a Shetland pony would be a step up. Barack Obama would be doing all Michiganders a favor if he took Granholm off to Washington, where she can live out her days, entombed in that marble mausoleum, posing as a legal scholar -- posing being what Granholm seems to do best. Her clerks would steer her clear of the most extreme bouts of stupidity. She might even bring a little comic relief to the stodgy and cerebral proceedings. Her political career thankfully would end. We'd see little of, and hear less from her. Her absence wouldn't necessarily save Michigan. That still rests with voters making better choices. But it's a potential start along the road to recovery.
Don't I think she'd make a terrible Supreme Court justice? Of course I do. But almost anyone Obama picks will do the same. It's a gimme that he'll pack the court with Bozos, since gender and race and overactive "empathy" glands are the primary litmus tests he'll apply to potential nominees. I'm resigned to the purging of all common sense, and all originalists, from the court. It's change Americans voted for with Obama and it's change Americans deserve, good and hard. Hoping the court will save us from disaster is just another straw to grasp. Give it up, already. It's over. Find something else to focus on, like macramé or oil painting.
On balance, therefore, I would rather have Granholm embarrassing herself as a Supreme Court justice, as one vote among nine, than have her continuing along in her political career, dragging my home state further down in the mire. By seeing her in the news less, I can more easily imagine she doesn't exist. By imagining she doesn't exist, I can sleep better at night. And by sleeping a little better at night, I can maintain some semblance of sanity in these absurd and insane times.
As a native Michigander, who has watched Granholm's reign of error, even from a safe distance, with dismay, I think it would be a blessing for my home state. The woman has been a disaster. Replacing her with a Shetland pony would be a step up. Barack Obama would be doing all Michiganders a favor if he took Granholm off to Washington, where she can live out her days, entombed in that marble mausoleum, posing as a legal scholar -- posing being what Granholm seems to do best. Her clerks would steer her clear of the most extreme bouts of stupidity. She might even bring a little comic relief to the stodgy and cerebral proceedings. Her political career thankfully would end. We'd see little of, and hear less from her. Her absence wouldn't necessarily save Michigan. That still rests with voters making better choices. But it's a potential start along the road to recovery.
Don't I think she'd make a terrible Supreme Court justice? Of course I do. But almost anyone Obama picks will do the same. It's a gimme that he'll pack the court with Bozos, since gender and race and overactive "empathy" glands are the primary litmus tests he'll apply to potential nominees. I'm resigned to the purging of all common sense, and all originalists, from the court. It's change Americans voted for with Obama and it's change Americans deserve, good and hard. Hoping the court will save us from disaster is just another straw to grasp. Give it up, already. It's over. Find something else to focus on, like macramé or oil painting.
On balance, therefore, I would rather have Granholm embarrassing herself as a Supreme Court justice, as one vote among nine, than have her continuing along in her political career, dragging my home state further down in the mire. By seeing her in the news less, I can more easily imagine she doesn't exist. By imagining she doesn't exist, I can sleep better at night. And by sleeping a little better at night, I can maintain some semblance of sanity in these absurd and insane times.
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