Somehow the activist judge is never a Republican, not an ultra Conservative, nor a person who has not lived a privileged life. Somehow the activist judge is deemed a bleeding liberal, a believer in civil rights, a person with compassion, and someone who had to work his/her way up the social ladder.
And somehow, the lemming like, uneducated, selfish, evangelical Bible first Constitution second, bigoted, fearful citizenry buy the B.S. spoon fed by immoral, unethical, lying Republican Senators, many of whom have not stepped out of their Ivory Tower and into the real world for too long a period of time.
In two opposite decisions, the activist judges made it very clear whose side of the fair coin they are on, and whose side of the political fence they sit. (yeah, yeah, the Supreme Court is supposed to be immune from politics). The activist judges in both cases were those who were appointed by a Republican President, and who have constantly voted for what the political right wing constantly harangue and hysterically shout about.
By a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court held that Americans have the right to own a gun for self defense anywhere they live, expanding the Conservative courts embrace of gun rights since John Roberts became chief justice. (AP Press). In making this decision the court has weakened the gun control laws of both the District of Columbia, as well as the city of Chicago, both cities experiencing violence by the use of guns for the past few years. Both cities were trying to control the free flow of guns in urban areas which have impeded the quality of lives of their respective citizenry.
Reciting his arcane and refusal to look at the social climate in America, activist Supreme Court justice Samuel Alito said this ruling limits the states and cities ability to devise solutions to social problems that suit local needs and values. But then too bad about that.
I suppose Justice Alito does not drive through the mean streets of either Chicago or Washington, and sitting upon his perch in some lofty castle protected by the FBI, he could care less about the wasted lives killed by guns owned by people who have the freedom to purchase as many as they wish.
In a reverse decision, by the same activists judges in a 5-4 decision, (this time Justice Roberts having a change of heart), the same Republican activist judges were appalled that the Christian Legal Society (CLS) which sued to get funding and recognition from the University of California's Hastings School of Law was denied its self appointed right to disallow anyone homosexual from joining that campus group. The CLS requires that voting members sign a statement of faith and regards "unrepentant participation in or advocacy of sexual immoral lifestyle" as being inconsistent with the faith. (If this were a church related group or a non university group the CLS should and could continue their bigoted and homophobic immoral behavior), but the group meets on the San Francisco campus.
The court in a 5-4 judgement upheld a lower court ruling saying the Christian groups First Amendment rights of association, free speech and free exercise were not violated by the college's nondiscrimination policy, (Jesse J. Holland Associated Press).
Once again activist Justice Alito wrote a strong dissent for the courts conservatives saying the opinion "was a serious set back for freedom of expression in this country. Once again, sitting upon his perch in his Ivory Tower, activist Justice Alito does not see the denial of rights to a minority of any importance. The fact that any minority restricted from the majority has no speech at all is of non importance.
We have a great divide in this country that seems to stem from who it is who say they own the understanding and original meaning of the Constitution as written by our founding fathers. No one was alive when the Constitution was written but many seem to think they have the power to speak for the authors of the Constitution. Any new idea or perceived change to the Constitution by the Justices who understand that America has grown from need and reality deem that behavior as activism. Those on the right of center who seem to think they can channel the fore fathers, say you can not change the tenants of the Constitution. Perhaps they then want to go back to slavery, deny Women the right to vote, reverse the Civil Rights Act, and remain thirteen colonies.
Elana Kagan is going through the insane and silly stage production of Senate approval. Her clerking for Justice Thurgood Marshall has been labeled as being a clerk for an activist Justice, by good ole boys Senators Jeff Sessions of Alabama, and Jon Kyl of Arizona. They both labeled Justice Marshall the first Black American to be appointed to the Supreme Court as an activist Justice because he understood the imbalance of rights toward the minority populations in this country. Thurgood Marshall according to Senator sessions and Kyl did not follow the letters of the Constitution because he felt that separate but equal was a bad thing.
I think, from now on when called names for supporting the right of all, for promoting fair and equal, for fighting for he underdog, those of us who realize the status quo only supports the middle aged white man and his wife, should embrace the names and say as Sister Sarah so eloquently shouts, 'YOU BETCHA".
Activist Judges, yep the Republicans on the Supreme Court do it so well.
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