***”Judicial activism results from the enlistment of judges on one side of the culture war in every western nation. Despite its denials by some that any such conflict exists, the culture war is an obtrusive fact…Democracy and the rule of law are undermined while the culture war is altered in ways the electorate would never choose.” [Robert Bork]
V. Summary Big Picture – The FAR RIGHT corruption of American law – along the exact lines Robert Bork protested.
A. PRINCIPLES – ask YOURSELF – how [if] the 1969=2023 Republican dominated “courts” have honored BASIC American principles, as understood 1776-1968: “All men are created equal..the Pursuit of Happiness.” “We the people..form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility..promote the general Welfare.” “No man is above or below the law.” Fairness…Decency…Respect…Equality…Opportunity…the Common Good…Justice…Rule of Law.
***”Democracy rests upon two pillars; One, the principle that all men are equally entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and the other, the conviction that such equal opportunity will most advance civilization.”
[ Justice Louis Brandeis ]
B.PROCESS – ask YOURSELF -how [if] the Right Wing has demonstrated faith in, and an obligation to follow accepted, historic, legal processes – as understood 1776-1968. Specifically how “the law,” 1776-1968 was understood as a process of precedent and manner of dispensing “justice.” Was a “court” understood to be a vital part of American democracy – and therefore – expected to observe “American” values and codes people recognized and accepted as “just and fair”? Is “our” legal system seen as being “just and fair,” 1968-2023?
***”The success of any legal system is measured by its fidelity to the universal ideal of justice.”
[ Chief Justice Earl Warren ]
C. PURPOSE. – ask YOURSELF – what was the purpose of the American legal system, 1776-1968. Many would likely say to enforce the laws, as developed, 1789 forward. The assumption being that a court rendering judgment would be solely “legal”; that people would get “justice” from judges and juries that was “just and fair.” NOW – ask YOURSELF: does the DOCUMENTED evidence show this for 1969-2023 – OR – does it show a rigged system that operates from reactionary ideology and fringe “legal theories”?
***”In imitation of our Master, we Christians are called to confront the poverty of our brothers and sisters, to touch it, to make it our own and to take practical steps to alleviate it.” [ Pope Francis ]
D. PATTERNS. – ask YOURSELF – what is the DOCUMENTED PATTERN of 1969-2023 Republican dominated “courts”? What is the DOCUMENTED “win” and “loss” record, 1969-2023? WHO. have been the consistent “winners” and “losers”? How do these PATTERNS compare to 1901-1968 courts? What has been the damage to American society, government, economy, standard of living? When one favored group wins 75% of its cases, and another favored group wins 90% of its cases – would a “reasonable” person begin to question that “court’s” objectivity?
***”There can be no equal justice where the kind of trial a man gets depends on the amount of money he has.”
[ Justice Black }
E. PROBLEMS – ask YOURSELF – how [if] rulings by Republican dominated “courts,” 1968-2023, have created..or..exacerbated..or..lessened..or..solved.. major problems facing American civilization: corruption…economic inequality…gun violence…voting rights…political money…gerrymandering…discrimination…economic functioning…poverty…government functioning… education…access to courts…rule of law…global warming…health care…social media…hunger…homelessness..addiction…deaths of despair……Is America better off, or, worse off due to 1969-2023 “court” rulings???
***”But humanity’s greatest advances are not in its discoveries – but in how those discoveries are applied to reduce inequity. Whether through democracy, strong public education, quality health care, or broad economic opportunity – reducing inequity is the highest human achievement.” [ Bill Gates ]
E. PERSPECTIVE. – ask YOURSELF – how do the Rehnquist and Roberts “courts” compare to other American courts, to foreign courts? Research “courts” in Nazi Germany [“Hitler’s Justice”], Soviet Russia, Communist China, Putin’s Russia, other authoritarian regimes; courts in England, Canada, Australia & New Zealand, Western Europe, Japan. Were there any 75% or 90% “win” rates for any group or government? Were their courts packed with ideologues? Research American courts 1789-1985. How does the “Lochner Era” compare to the Roberts “court”?
***”The most successful tyranny is not the one that uses force to assure uniformity but the one that removes awareness of other possibilities.” [ Allan Bloom ]
G. PEOPLE – ask YOURSELF – who are these “justices,” 1969-2023? Research Rehnquist, Scalia, Thomas, Roberts, Alito; Barrett, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh – both pre-court and as “justice.” What were their backgrounds, their DOCUMENTED biases, their recorded statements and job applications? What happened during their “Supreme Court” nomination process – before their reached the Senate? Do they reflect America?
Read: Millhiser’s “The Agenda,” Dworkin’s “The Supreme Court Phalanx,” Marcosson’s “Original Sin,” “The Rehnquist Court,” “The Rehnquist Choice,” “The Partisan,” “Capitol Games,” “Strange Justice,” “Courting Disaster,” “Closing the Courthouse Doors,” “Justice on the Brink,””Supreme Inequality,””The Case Against the Supreme Court”……………..
***”Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without strategy.”
[ General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. ]
H. PREVARICATION. – ask YOURSELF – how honest have 1969-2023 Republican “justices” been? Multiple books have been written asserting 1969-2023 Republican “justices” have committed perjury, lied under oath, blatantly misled Senators, broken promises not to do something, etc., etc., etc. If untrue, these authors could have been sued – none has. Lower court judges have done the same. This is all public record – research it – before you dismiss this. Then – they have lied in their opinions. “Dobbs” is one big lie, start to finish, so is “Shelby County” [Texas proved it within hours]. Read dissents – why did the dissenters say what they did, what did they accuse Republican ideologues of doing?
***”Anybody who doesn’t take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either.”
[ Albert Einstein ]
I. PERVERSITY. – ask YOURSELF – how often have 1969-2023 Republican “justices” “turned away from what is right, good, or proper..” or. “to misconstrue or misinterpret, esp. deliberately; distort.” [dictionary definitions] On matters big [ideological and constitutional] and “small” [cruelty], the Rehnquist and Roberts “courts” have been tragically guilty. Review the “win-loss” record, 1985-2023.
The recent “supreme court” has perverted the First and Second Amendments – twisting the and distorting them – from 1789-1985 accepted meanings. “Speech” has now become virtually everything, including bribing politicians. By their definition – we need to re-evaluate history’s judgment of John Wilkes Booth – he “spoke” out his feelings with a gun.
They’ve, by testimony of state supreme court justices, perverted 1789-1999 understood principles of corporate law [Hobby Lobby]. They’ve invented bogus theories to deny people access to courts. They are perverting American law to favor Right Wing wish lists. They’re lying about American “history and tradition.”
That they are “judges” and “justices” is a perversion of the “conveyor belt” process by which reactionary Senators approved them; and – blocked Democrat presidents from approving many/any judges.
Republicans have made a MOCKERY of American law, of “the rule of law.” In so doing, they have also dramatically lowered living standards of people like YOU – a big part of the plan demanded by their rogue funders.
***”I am of the opinion that a good Judiciary lends much to the dignity of a state and the happiness of the people..On the Contrary a bad Judiciary involved in party business is the greatest Curse that can befall a Country.” [Andrew Jackson]
J. PREJUDICE. – ask YOURSELF – did 1969-2023 Republican nominated “judges” and “justices” enter the federal judiciary with, or without, definite legal prejudices? What does the KNOWN, DOCUMENTED, Republican nomination process tell you? What demands were placed upon those people? See the DOCUMENTED 2005 Miers controversy. – WHY. she was forced to decline – and then, WHO. was her replacement. – none other than a man often labeled a rigid, reactionary political hit man: Samuel Alito. Examine “justice” Alito’s pre-court positions, behavior as a “justice,” rhetoric, opinions. Would a “reasonable” person think “justice ” Alito is free of definite prejudice he has put into American law? Examine “justices” Rehnquist, Scalia, Thomas, Roberts, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett similarly.
***”The greatest and boldest pleasure which man can have in this world is to discover new truths, and the next is to shake off old prejudices.” { Frederick the Great ]
K. PROSPERITY. – ask YOURSELF – have 1969-2023 “supreme court” decisions increased, or, decreased, middle class prosperity? Is the share of American income and wealth distributed – as it was in the great middle class golden age, 1947-1973? Research UNSPUN IRS, GAO, CBO official statistics for pre- and post-1980. Look at tax burdens for rich and middle class, corporations. Research tax evasion – WHO WAS [AND IS] doing it. Research court access denial [Roberts “court”], forced arbitration [Roberts “court”],; attacks on labor unions [Roberts “court”]; virtual unlimited rich and corporate “campaign donations” [Roberts “court”]; reducing health and safety regulations [Roberts “court”]. WHY is economic inequality increasing since 1973, and, especially the last 30 years? You are NOT gullible enough to accept this was/is a “natural” occurrence are you?
***”The most perfect community is one in which the middle class is in control and outnumbers both of the other classes.” [ Aristotle ]
L. POSTERITY. – ask YOURSELF – what will future American generations say about the 1969-202X Republican dominated “supreme courts”? Will they see ANY wisdom, ANY true justice, ANY decisions that made America better? When they examine the TRACK RECORD of “winners” and “losers,” 1969-202X – what will they say?
Prior to 1969, the universal worst Supreme Court decisions of all time were: “Dred Scott,” “Plessy,” “Korematsu.” All were later corrected. These have now been joined by: “Bush-Gore,” “Heller,” “Citizens United,” “Shelby County,” “Espinoza,” “Dobbs” [at the end, so far, of a long string of First Amendment assassinations]. None of these decisions made America a better place – and – current reality indicates a much worse country; a country convulsed with cruelty, crime, injustice, massive economic inequality.
No serious, mainstream, fact-based American historian can say that the 1980-202X Republican ‘court” created America is anywhere near the golden middle class prosperity of 1947-1973. THAT, at this point – May, 2023 – is the present and – the future created by 1969-2023 Republican “justices.” The “happiest people on earth”, for many years, live in Scandinavia. YOU might want to ask WHY.
YOU. might also ask. WHY, and HOW, the entire arc of American civilization, and the expectation, and over all trend of each succeeding generation doing better – has been DELIBERATELY REVERSED after 1980. This country has more wealth, in total – BUT – WHO has it? WHY is it said there are two systems of justice: one for the rich, and one for YOU and me? Why, and how – has the Rehnquist-Roberts “court” created SUPER CITIZENS – real human “people and paper people – who have been given special privileges?
THIS is why these posts ‘ “The FAR RIGHT Threat to Democracy” has been done. In the last 40 years, what should have been available to YOU, YOUR children, YOUR grandchildren – has been DELIBERATELY stolen fromYOU. Not by street thugs, but by white collar criminals – the corporations, the reactionary billionaire funders, the Republican “justices” placed on the “supreme court.” As Kurt Andersen said, the Democratic New Deal of 1933-1965 has been replaced by the Republican RAW DEAL of l980-202X.
There is no joy in what we’ve said here – but it is the FACTUAL truth. Compassion has been replaced by monstrous greed. Wisdom and justice replaced by manufactured hatred. Hope replaced by manufactured fear. “We’re all in this together” replaced by manufactured division [as in divide and conquer].
***”In Iroquois society leaders are encouraged to remember seven generations in the past and consider seven generations in the future when making decisions that affect the people.” [ Wilma Mankiller ]
With Justice For All 