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 Friday, May 29, 2009

Stuart Shephard, Focus on the Family’s resident wit, offers a humorous illustration about why “impartiality” and not a misguided sense of “empathy” should be the most important quality in a judge.  Today’s episode of “Stoplight” shows why Chief Justice Roberts’ philosophy of “impartial umpire” is preferable to Judge Sotomayor’s “policy making appellate judge.”



posted on Friday, May 29, 2009 6:39:45 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

Linda Chavez explains what’s at state with the Sotomayor nomination.  Excerpt:

 

Presidential elections have consequences -- and few are more important than the power to shape the federal judiciary. With the selection of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace retiring Justice David Souter on the U.S. Supreme Court, President Barack Obama has begun the process of altering the federal courts.

posted on Friday, May 29, 2009 6:37:27 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

Fox News reports on this disturbing infringement on religious liberty.  Normally, stories about the state clamping down on “house churches” come from places like Communist China, not the United States of America which is supposed to guarantee “free exercise of religion.”  Chanel 10 San Diego also reports.

posted on Friday, May 29, 2009 6:36:20 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

Matt Barber explains.  Excerpt:

 

This underscores the fact that all hate-crimes laws, both state and federal, inarguably advance "unequal" protection of the laws. This flies in the face of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

posted on Friday, May 29, 2009 6:34:33 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

LifeNews reports.

posted on Friday, May 29, 2009 6:32:50 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

Mario Diaz explains.

posted on Friday, May 29, 2009 6:31:34 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

Cal Thomas exposes the Left’s “biography” double standard when it comes to judicial nominees.  Excerpt:

 

If these humble beginnings mattered, as they relate to Sotomayor's view of the Constitution, Clarence Thomas should have sailed through his confirmation hearings instead of being subjected to "a high-tech lynching," as he famously put it. Clarence Thomas also came from humble beginnings (as did George W. Bush's Hispanic Attorney General Alberto Gonzales), but biography matters only if you're a liberal. If you evolve into a conservative, it is irrelevant, at least to the elites.

posted on Friday, May 29, 2009 6:30:20 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

The Heartland Instituted reports.  Excerpt:

 

South Carolina could become the latest state to implement a tax credit scholarship program allowing low-income children to attend the private school of their parents’ choice, if a bill introduced during the spring session becomes law.

posted on Friday, May 29, 2009 6:29:02 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

CitizenLink reports.  As does Fox News.

posted on Friday, May 29, 2009 6:27:37 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

CitizenLink reports.

posted on Friday, May 29, 2009 6:25:32 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

The Wall Street Journal reports.

posted on Friday, May 29, 2009 6:24:16 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

The AP reports.  Excerpt:

 

Sen. Richard Shelby said Friday the government should have allowed the marketplace to decide General Motors' fate and that the huge federal stake in the company puts Washington on "the road to socialism."

posted on Friday, May 29, 2009 6:22:17 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   
 Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Andrew McCarthy explains what’s at stake with the Sotomayor nomination.  Will we be a “nation of laws” in which all have a right to “equal justice under law” or will become a nation where unelected judges dictate policy regardless of the plain meaning of our Constitution?  Excerpt:

 

Obama and the lawyers in his administration are fond of invoking the rule of law. Yet that golden standard stands on the conceit, honored more in the breach than in the observance, that “we are a nation of laws, not of men.” It holds that there is an objective corpus of law — of the community’s reasoned consensus, shorn of passion, fear, or favor — under which we’ve agreed to be governed and to which those chosen to represent us owe their fidelity. It’s a nice ideal. Increasingly, though, our real governing standard is the one made infamous by the legendary litigator Roy Cohn: “Don’t tell me what the law is. Tell me who the judge is.”

 

Our ideal of judging was perhaps best explained by John Roberts during his 2005 confirmation hearings. The judge is like an umpire, Roberts mused. The umpire calls balls and strikes; he doesn’t design or alter the rules of the game. That’s how it’s supposed to work. The judge’s courtroom is the level playing field where even the visiting team can win if the law — the objective law — is on its side. Sure, the crowd and the local paper will root, root, root for the home team. The rules, however, don’t have a rooting interest. Justice is blind. The umpire is there to see that justice is done — not manufactured.

posted on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 7:33:19 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

As The Hill reports, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee has called for a thorough and deliberate examination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s record, temperament, and judicial philosophy.  This is exactly what is needed.

posted on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 7:31:24 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

As the nation begins to examine President Obama’s first nominee for the Supreme Court, an examination of his stated criteria in selecting a judge is important.  Obama has stated that an important concern for him when considering a judicial nominee is that person’s capacity for “empathy.”  There is grave concern that “empathy” is merely Barack Obama’s code word for liberal activism.  Several conservative commentators have examined the “empathy” standard and what it means for the Constitution and our liberty.  Here’s a sampling:

 

Thomas Sowell, “Sotomayor: ‘Empathy’ in Action

 

You might think that this was some kind of popularity contest, instead of a weighty decision about someone whose impact on the fundamental law of the nation will extend for decades after Barack Obama has come and gone.

 

For those who believe in the rule of law, Barack Obama used the words "rule of law" in introducing his nominee. For those who take his words as gospel, even when his own actions are directly the opposite of his words, that may be enough to let him put this dangerous woman on the Supreme Court.

 

Even if her confirmation cannot be stopped, it is important for Senators to warn of the dangers, which will only get worse if such nominations sail through the Senate smoothly.

 

Rich Lowry, “A Bad Day for Impartiality: Obama Uses Empathy as a Code Word for Judicial Liberalism

 

Impartiality has been supplanted by empathy. The old-fashioned virtue of objectivity — redolent of dusty law books and the unromantic task of parsing the law and facts — is giving way to an inherently politicized notion of judging based on feelings. Lady Justice is to slip her blindfold and let her decisions be influenced by her life experiences and personal predilections.

 

Jonah Goldberg, “Empathy vs. Impartiality: When they Conflict, the Supreme Court must Choose the Latter

 

But Obama has something specific in mind when he talks about empathy. He wants the justice’s oath to in effect be rewritten. Judges must administer justice with respect to persons, they must be partial to the poor, and so on.

posted on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 7:30:00 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

Curt Levey at the Committee for Justice answers some common concerns about the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court.  He particularly addresses concerns over Sotomayor’s record on the Second Amendment right to bear arms.  Excerpt:

 

Obama’s choice of one of the few federal judges with a bad record on gun rights is particularly perplexing. Earlier this year, Sotomayor and two of her Second Circuit colleagues ruled that Americans have no individual Second Amendment rights in the face of state or local regulation of firearms – that is, unless they happen to live in the District of Columbia. Even the liberal Ninth Circuit ruled the other way. Now every red and purple state Democratic senator who considers voting for Sotomayor will be forced to explain to his constituents why he’s supporting a nominee who thinks those constituents don’t have Second Amendment rights. Because they can send red state Democrats running for cover, gun owners are the one interest group that could completely change the political equation on judicial nominations if they’re drawn into the debate. Obama’s selection of Sotomayor makes that virtually certain.

 

As mentioned by Levey, Ken Blackwell also examines Sotomayor’s record on gun rights.  Excerpt:

 

She [Sotomayor] is one of only three federal appellate judges in America to issue a court opinion saying that the Second Amendment does not apply to states. The case was Maloney v. Cuomo, and it came down this past January.

 

That means if Chicago, or even the state of Illinois or New York, wants to ban you from owning any guns at all, even in your own house, that’s okay with her. According to Judge Sotomayor, if your state or city bans all guns the way Washington, D.C. did, that’s okay under the Constitution.

posted on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 7:26:28 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

The Washington Times reports.

posted on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 7:24:10 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

Stuart Taylor explains at the National Journal.  Excerpt:

 

Sotomayor also referred to the cardinal duty of judges to be impartial as a mere "aspiration because it denies the fact that we are by our experiences making different choices than others." And she suggested that "inherent physiological or cultural differences" may help explain why "our gender and national origins may and will make a difference in our judging."

 

So accustomed have we become to identity politics that it barely causes a ripple when a highly touted Supreme Court candidate, who sits on the federal Appeals Court in New York, has seriously suggested that Latina women like her make better judges than white males.

 

George Will also examines the identity politics of the Sototmayor nomination.

posted on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 7:22:35 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

Meredith Turney explains.

posted on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 7:20:33 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

CitizenLink reports.  As does the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

posted on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 7:19:06 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

LifeNews reports.

posted on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 7:17:35 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

LifeNews reports.

posted on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 7:14:06 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

The prestigious Heritage Foundation has a new “rapid response” resource on the nomination of Sonia Stotomayor.

posted on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 7:12:09 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   
 Tuesday, May 26, 2009

This morning President Barack Obama announced Sonia Sotomayor as his nominee to replace retiring Justice David Souter on the U.S. Supreme Court.  Despite Sotomayor’s inspiring life story of overcoming hardship, her record indicates that she is a radical liberal who seriously misunderstands the proper role of the judiciary.  In a snickering response at a Duke University forum, she said that “the court of appeals where policy is made” indicating that she takes for granted that judges (and not the elected representatives of the people) take an active role in shaping public policy.  She has scorned the idea of judges remaining impartial in rulings.  And in a controversial case now before the Supreme Court, she upheld a racially discriminatory policy in Connecticut.

 

AdvanceUSA (and many other organizations and concerned citizens) urge the Senate to take their constitutional responsibility to provide “advice and consent” to the president on judicial appointments seriously.  They should thoroughly and carefully examine Sotomayor’s record and judicial philosophy in Judiciary Committee hearings, on and off the Senate floor, and in the forum of public debate.

 

Despite a substantial Senate majority for the President’s party, Sotomayor’s confirmation is not a certainty.  If enough concerned citizens raise objections to her nomination, Senators could feel pressure to oppose her nomination.

 

But even if Sotomayor is nominated, a robust debate over her qualifications (specifically) and of the proper role of judges (generally) will be of great benefit for this nation and for conservatism.

 

Keep checking AdvanceUSA Blog for the latest information on Sotomayor’s nomination and on the proper role of judges in our constitutional representative democratic republic.  You should also check the Bench Memos blog at National Review Online for more insightful commentary.


President Obama announcing his Supreme Court nominee


posted on Tuesday, May 26, 2009 6:56:04 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

The AP reports.

posted on Tuesday, May 26, 2009 6:50:41 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

LifeNews reports.

posted on Tuesday, May 26, 2009 6:49:43 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

Harry R. Jackson, Jr. explains the background story behind the need for Congressional action to protect the traditional definition of marriage in the District of Columbia and praises the “courageous” Congressmen who proposed the DC Defense of Marriage Act.

posted on Tuesday, May 26, 2009 6:48:18 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

LifeNews reports.

posted on Tuesday, May 26, 2009 6:45:32 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

The Day reports.

posted on Tuesday, May 26, 2009 6:44:26 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

LifeNews reports.

posted on Tuesday, May 26, 2009 6:43:23 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

CitizenLink reports.

posted on Tuesday, May 26, 2009 6:42:17 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

Kathryn Jean Lopez explains another reason to support the DC Opportunity Scholarship school voucher program which Congress and President Obama are trying to kill.

posted on Tuesday, May 26, 2009 6:41:14 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

LifeNews reports.

posted on Tuesday, May 26, 2009 6:39:47 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   
 Thursday, May 21, 2009

Congressman Mike Pence (R-IN) proposed an amendment to the Foreign Service reauthorization bill which would have eliminated mandates that require the State Department to promote the radical homosexual agenda overseas.  Unfortunately the amendment was defeated.  Congressional Quarterly reports (article for subscribers only).  Excerpt:

 

Mike Pence, R-Ind., who said that the language would prioritize gay rights over other issues, offered an amendment to strike the language and replace it with a broad statement of support for universal human rights that did not mention sexual orientation.

“I oppose mandating that our secretary of State, diplomatic and consular staff promote a gay-rights agenda around the globe, over and above other issues,” Pence said.

The amendment fell on a voice vote.

 

Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) also proposed a pro-life amendment which would have ensured that the innocuous-sounding “Office for Global Women’s Issues” contained in the bill would not have promoted abortion.  His amendment was also defeated.

posted on Thursday, May 21, 2009 8:23:42 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

LifeNews reports.

posted on Thursday, May 21, 2009 8:21:05 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

CitizenLink reports.

posted on Thursday, May 21, 2009 8:19:46 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

New Hampshire

 

In a surprising but welcome twist, it appears the New Hampshire same-sex marriage bill might be stopped in its tracks, at least for now.  Governor Lynch had promised to veto the original same-sex marriage bill if some protections were not inserted for religious freedom.  The NH Senate quickly adopted the changes, but the NH House rejected the bill by a vote of 188-186.  Maggie Gallagher explains today’s events at NRO as does CitizenLink.

 

California

 

The Supreme Court of California is expected to soon announce its ruling on whether the recently passed ballot initiative to ban same-sex marriage will be upheld.  Not only is traditional marriage at stake, but whether judges will be allowed to usurp their Constitutional power and overrule the clear will of the people regarding the definition of marriage.

 

Washington, DC

 

Though it is not a state (although some would like to treat it like one through unconstitutional means), the District of Columbia has become an epicenter of the growing rift over the definition of marriage.  The DC City Council recently voted to institute same-sex marriage in the District and its resolution will become law if Congress fails to act.  While many African Americans in the District are outraged over the prospect of “gay marriage,” a bi-partisan group of Congressmen proposed legislation to preserve the traditional definition of marriage in the District at a press conference today.

 

Maine

 

Voters in Maine might get the chance to vote on the traditional definition of marriage if enough signatures can be gathered.  The Maine Marriage Alliance and others are hoping to collect 70,000 signatures or more so the recent law enacting same-sex marriage in Maine can be overturned.  Click here for more information on the signature campaign.

posted on Thursday, May 21, 2009 8:18:43 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

The Pew Forum takes a look at the conflict between same-sex marriage and religious liberty.

posted on Thursday, May 21, 2009 8:15:59 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   
 Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Ed Gillespie gives a preview of the upcoming Supreme Court nomination fight and urges Senators to take their Constitutional “advise and consent” duties seriously, even if that means vocal opposition.

posted on Wednesday, May 20, 2009 7:37:25 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

The Boston Herald reports on the grassroots effort to overturn the recently passed same-sex marriage law by the Maine legislature.

posted on Wednesday, May 20, 2009 7:36:20 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   
 Tuesday, May 19, 2009

There is grave concern over how proposed legislation designed to reauthorize funding for the State Department would promote the homosexual agenda on marriage and hate crimes and could lead to promoting abortion world-wide.  The bill would mandate special benefits for homosexual members of the Foreign Service and Peace Corps and for their “domestic partners.”  It would also establish other pro-homosexual policies, and could even lead to the promotion of abortion as a “woman’s right” as part of American foreign policy.

 

CitizenLink also reports.

posted on Tuesday, May 19, 2009 5:24:28 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

LifeNews reports.

posted on Tuesday, May 19, 2009 5:23:00 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

David Limbaugh parses President Obama’s “abortion double-speak” in his column at Townhall.com.

posted on Tuesday, May 19, 2009 5:21:33 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

LifeNews reports.

posted on Tuesday, May 19, 2009 5:20:04 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   
 Friday, May 15, 2009

LifeNews reports on this positive news for the pro-life movement.  Pro-lifers must continue the work to expand the “culture of life” so that we can see real protections for the unborn in our laws and courts.  Don’t let elitist media coverage discourage you.  Pro-lifers are not a political liability and the “rights of the unborn” is still an important issue.

 

The Reuters blog also reports.

posted on Friday, May 15, 2009 8:36:33 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), now the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, explains in the Washington Post the kind of Justice President Obama should appoint to the Supreme Court and warns against nominating a liberal extremist.  Excerpt:

 

If President Obama nominates to the Supreme Court a highly qualified individual with a distinguished record that demonstrates judicial restraint, integrity and a commitment to the rule of law, his nominee will be welcomed in the Senate and by the American people.

 

But if the president nominates an individual who will allow personal preferences and political views to corrupt his or her decision making, he will put before the public a central question: Are we willing to trade America's heritage of a fair and neutral judiciary -- anchored in the rule of written law that applies equally to all people -- for a high court composed of robed politicians who apply the law differently based on their personal feelings toward a particular person or issue?

posted on Friday, May 15, 2009 8:33:52 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

CitizenLink reports.

posted on Friday, May 15, 2009 8:31:42 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

Ken Blackwell makes the case for keeping the “three-legged stool” of conservatism united.  Social, economic, and foreign policy conservatives must work together to ensure our nation and national values remain strong.  Excerpt:

 

The conservative movement in America must unite. The movement is often spoken of as having three parts: economic, social and national security. All three parts of the conservative movement are gravely threatened by the alliance of President Barack Obama, Congressional Democrats led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Harry Reid, activist judges, and the president’s loyal supporters in the mainstream media. Conservatives must realize their common interests and unite around a shared agenda to preserve the core conservative principles of limited government, individual opportunity, personal responsibility and strong families. The conservative vision of faith, family and freedom hangs in the balance.

posted on Friday, May 15, 2009 8:30:04 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

Congressman Broun (R-GA) defends his introduction of the Federal Marriage Protection Amendment in the U.S. House.  Considering the all-out assault on marriage going on in the states and the District of Columbia, a Constitutional amendment protecting the traditional definition of marriage from unelected judges is needed now more than ever.

posted on Friday, May 15, 2009 8:27:50 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

Janice Shaw Crouse takes a look at our ailing public school system.

posted on Friday, May 15, 2009 8:25:15 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   
The Washington Post reports.

posted on Friday, May 15, 2009 8:21:11 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

posted on Friday, May 15, 2009 8:19:13 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

CitizenLink reports.

posted on Friday, May 15, 2009 8:17:10 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

World Net Daily reports on this good news for the rights of religious leaders to speak out on political issues.  This is a victory for religious freedom and free speech.

posted on Friday, May 15, 2009 8:10:46 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

LifeNews reports.

posted on Friday, May 15, 2009 8:08:17 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

One News Now reports.

posted on Friday, May 15, 2009 8:06:39 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   
 Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Ed Whelan takes a critical look at Barack Obama’s “empathy” standard for judges.

posted on Thursday, May 14, 2009 3:13:14 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

The AP reports.

posted on Thursday, May 14, 2009 3:12:19 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

LifeNews reports.  While Curt Levey explains what the failure of Dawn Johnsen’s nomination means for the kinds of judges Obama will or will not be able to get confirmed.  Excerpt:

 

Dawn Johnsen’s troubled nomination is emblematic of at least three obstacles that Obama’s High Court nominee will encounter if she is as unabashedly supportive of judicial activism and liberal causes as Johnsen…

 

Click here to read Levey’s three reasons.

posted on Thursday, May 14, 2009 3:11:23 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

Jill Stanek catalogues President Obama’s bad positions on pro-life issues, but also finds encouragement from the fact that the President might be making pro-abortion policies less popular with the American people.

posted on Thursday, May 14, 2009 3:09:57 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

CitizenLink reports on the logical consequences of the push for “gay marriage” in America.

posted on Thursday, May 14, 2009 3:08:46 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

The AP reports.

posted on Thursday, May 14, 2009 3:07:37 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   
 Monday, May 11, 2009

NRLC explains in a recent press release.  LifeNews also reports.

posted on Monday, May 11, 2009 8:25:35 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

The Washington Post reports that President Obama is promising a so-called compromise on the DC school voucher program.  Congress and Obama approved a budget which destroyed the popular and successful DC Opportunity Scholarship which allowed low-income children in our nation’s capital to attend the school of their choice.  Obama is now saying he will allow the program to continue for the currently enrolled students but will not allow new students to apply for or enter the program.

 

The president’s hypocrisy on this issue is galling.  If the voucher program is good for the current students, why does the president not want more underprivileged DC residents to benefit from the school choice program?  Perhaps he just wants to silence opposition.

posted on Monday, May 11, 2009 8:23:27 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

Earlier we linked to two of Thomas Sowell’s articles on judicial activism and Barack Obama’s opportunity to appoint a new justice to the Supreme Court.  Here are links to and excerpts from his next two articles in the series.  In light of the importance of judicial nominations for the future of the nation, Sowell’s advice should be heeded.

 

Empathy vs. Law Part III.  Excerpt:

 

It is all too easy to say "a president has a right to appoint the kind of people he wants on the Supreme Court." He does. But that does not mean that those who don't have the votes to stop dangerous nominees from being confirmed are obliged to vote for them or to stand mute.

 

Since Justice David Souter is likely to be replaced by another liberal, it is all too easy to say that it is no big deal. But with all the indications already as to how the Obama administration is trying to remake America on many fronts, the time to begin alerting the public to the dangers is now.

 

Given the age and health of other Supreme Court justices, more replacements are likely during Obama's time in the White House. Time is an opportunity to mobilize public opinion and perhaps change the composition of the Senate that confirms judicial nominees.

 

But time by itself does nothing. It is what we do with time that matters.

 

Empathy vs. Law Part IV.  Excerpt:

 

While President Barack Obama has, in one sense, tipped his hand by saying that he wants judges with "empathy" for certain groups, he has in a more fundamental sense concealed the real goal -- getting judges who will ratify an ever-expanding scope of the power of the federal government and an ever-declining restraint by the Constitution of the United States.

posted on Monday, May 11, 2009 7:46:58 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

LifeNews reports.

posted on Monday, May 11, 2009 7:44:07 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

Dan Lips reports on last week’s rally by Washington parents who want the DC Opportunity school voucher program to continue (with photos) at NRO.

posted on Monday, May 11, 2009 7:41:47 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

Harry R. Jackson, Jr., an African American pastor in the DC area, shares his personal experience fighting to oppose same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia.

posted on Monday, May 11, 2009 7:37:10 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

The AP reports.  But, as The Bulletin reports, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is pressing Congress to leave the decision of the council alone, thus instituting same-sex marriage in DC by default.

posted on Monday, May 11, 2009 7:35:50 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

LifeNews reports.

posted on Monday, May 11, 2009 7:32:45 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   
 Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Please contact both your senators today and urge them to oppose the hate crimes bill (S. 909)!

 

Dangerous hate (thought) crimes legislation will soon be considered in the Senate Judiciary and then the full Senate.  Expanding hate crimes to include “actual or perceived gender identity or sexual orientation” would allow the government to prosecute people for their thoughts opening up dangerous threat to religious freedom, free speech, and “equal justice under law.”

 

And if that wasn’t bad enough, it appears that pedophilia and many other disturbing practices could be considered “sexual orientations” protected by hate crimes law.

 

Our friends at FRC have a website where you can get involved to fight hate crimes.

 

Contact your senators today!

posted on Thursday, May 07, 2009 3:27:54 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

Reason.tv has a powerful video and article about the DC Opportunity Scholarship.


posted on Thursday, May 07, 2009 3:23:41 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

CitizenLink reports.

posted on Thursday, May 07, 2009 3:21:57 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

Curt Levey at the Committee for Justice has some helpful thoughts on Barack Obama’s pending Supreme Court nominee.

posted on Thursday, May 07, 2009 3:20:36 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

The brilliant economist and author Thomas Sowell talks about the proper role of judges in light of the impending opening on the US Supreme Court which President Obama will fill in a recent two-part column (read part one and part two here).  Sowell warns of the dangers of “activist” judges who ignore the Constitution and make decisions based on personal bias and “empathy,” while promoting impartial judges who will understand their limited role and make decisions based on the law as written and not personal whims.  Here are some excerpts:

 

From part 1:

 

In the American system of government, presidential term limits restrict how long any given resident of the White House can damage this country directly. But that does not limit how long, or how much, the people he appoints to the Supreme Court can continue to damage this country, for decades after the president who appointed them is long gone.

 

 

The biggest danger in appointing the wrong people to the Supreme Court is not just in how they might vote on some particular issues-- whether private property, abortion or whatever. The biggest danger is that they will undermine or destroy the very concept of the rule of law-- what has been called "a government of laws and not of men."

 

From part II:

 

"The criterion of constitutionality," he [Oliver Wendell Holmes] said, "is not whether we believe the law to be for the public good." That was for other people to decide. For judges, he said: "When we know what the source of the law has said it shall be, our authority is at an end."

posted on Thursday, May 07, 2009 3:19:14 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

Gary Bauer explains.

posted on Thursday, May 07, 2009 3:15:25 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

The Washington Post reports here and here.

posted on Thursday, May 07, 2009 3:12:27 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

Reuters reports.

posted on Thursday, May 07, 2009 3:11:01 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

NewsOn6 reports.  While this potentially life-saving form of ethical stem cell treatment is still rather expensive, couples can still choose to donate their left-over umbilical cord stem cells for the benefit of others.

posted on Thursday, May 07, 2009 3:07:35 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

Wesley J. Smith explains.

posted on Thursday, May 07, 2009 3:06:22 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   

LifeNews reports.

posted on Thursday, May 07, 2009 3:04:00 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #   
 Friday, May 01, 2009

NPR reports that liberal Supreme Court justice David Souter will soon retire giving President Obama his first opportunity to nominate a judge for the high court (The Atlantic also reports).  In recent decades the courts have amassed unprecedented and unconstitutional power and often used that power to radically change American justice and social structure.  Who a president appoints to the Supreme Court will affect our nation for years after that president leaves office.

 

Concerned citizens need to be watchful and be sure to voice their opinions on the proper role of judges (especially to both your senators, who will be tasked with approving or rejecting Obama’s nominations).

 

Ed Whelan and Wendy Long provide some initial thoughts on what to expect at the Bench Memos blog at National Review Online.

 

Check out the judicial nominations category for more information on this important issue.

posted on Friday, May 01, 2009 4:50:27 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #