[published on August 14, 2005 in my previous blog, "The Flatland Oracles"]
The Religious Right's Proposals for Ending 'Judicial Activisim.'
Religious rally attacks 'arrogant' judges. Read full story for latest details. [CNN.com - Law]
I don't have much to say about this, because I have my blood pressure to think of. Here are some choice quotes.
"All wisdom does not reside in nine persons in black robes," House Majority Leader Tom DeLay told the crowd. "The Constitution is clear on the point that the power to make laws is vested on Congress."
The president of The Catholic League, Bill Donahue, suggested a constitutional amendment to say that "unless a judicial vote is unanimous, you cannot overturn a law created by Congress."
The court is trying to "take the hearts and souls of our culture," he said.
Dobson evoked the framers of the Constitution, saying: "These activist, unelected judges believe they know better than the American people about the direction the country should go. The framers of our great nation did not intend for the courts to have absolute and final power over us."
But wait. There's more!
At the rally Sunday, Mike Miller, 54, of Gallatin echoed many of the speakers comments on judicial power, saying he believes Supreme Court justices try to create laws with their rulings instead of interpreting the Constitution.
"Activist justices -- we're trying to find out what we can do to stop that activity," he said. "Our laws are based on the Ten Commandments."
<quoted from above-cited CNN article; emphasis added>
I'd like to explain to them that our Founding Fathers believed in a little thing called 'separation of church and state', not to mention 'checks and balances' (including checks on the power of the legislature by the judicial branch---that's what the Supreme Court is for, Mr. Miller.) Someone give him a copy of The Federalist Papers, stat!
But I am absolutely certain they wouldn't understand. They wouldn't want to understand. The religious right doesn't care about being right. They're all about being "righteous" in the manner of the Pharisees.
Don't these people ever read the Gospels? Or do they just spend all their time on Revelations and the Old Testament? It sounds to me as if they need a refresher---specifically in the injunctions against making a parade of your superior virtue, loud public praying and other attempts to call attention to yourself, and assuming that you're in a position to judge the righteousness of others.
For further discussion of the religious right, see my blog "The Heretic's Handbook."
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