Judicial Activism

The last threads holding our society together is the rational nature of the judicial branch.

I saw a wing nut holding a sign that said "stop judicial tyranny". What she was really saying was, "stop rational thinking and start imposing my world view on the rest of society". She's too brainwashed to realize that it's not the judicial system that's suddenly changed in the last 5 years. It's her.

The judicial system in this country has not suddenly gone out of whack. What is out of whack is the legislative and executive, combined with a bunch of very vocal and very extreme minority.

Bottom line, if you keep repeating a lie long enough, it becomes it's own truth.

That's why the whole concept of "judicial activism" has taken root. The right wing are really masters at doing that. It's deceitful and it's shameful - which is why it works for the right wing but not the left.

Let me make this clear. If you think there is "judicial activism" over running our legal system, you're an idiot. Explain to me why you believe that, and I'll rip your argument to shreds.

Chances are, if you do believe in this notion of judicial activism, it's because you generally believe what you're told. You listen to the right wing "family values" crowd, and instead of rationally investigating it for yourself, you find it easier just to parrot their talking points and make them your own. You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, but you believe in it fervently.

In many ways, lawyers are like engineers. There is a science to the law, and it's very specific in it's language and intent. Gay marriage is an excellent example. A Christian Republican judge in California recently ruled that the prohibition against gay marriage was unconstitutional.

Examine that for a moment. Here was a judge whose religious and "moral" inclination probably tell him that gay marriage is wrong. Yet, when he examined the law, it was clear and unequivocal. Because the judge is of impeccable integrity, he does his job and rules on the law and not let his own moral judgment cloud the issue.

That's what I do every single day as an engineer. That's what most judges do.

The people who are the real "activists" are the people who are constantly observing the issues through their moral filters. The problem isn't the judge, the problem is the observer.

Occasionally, you do have aberrations, such as judge Moore who wanted to bring a huge 10 commandments display into his courthouse. He's obviously lost touch with the principals of law, but for the most part, I think the judges do a pretty good job.

The issue is also compounded by the main stream media's reluctance to state the obvious. They will show the crazy woman holding the "stop judicial activism sign", and just report that there were "demonstrators". They don't go far enough. They need to state that the judges were doing their job within the law - which is truly the case. The media tries to be so balanced that they actually give credence to crazy points of view. They make outright lies seem like not a falsehood, but just another point of view.

And now for the quote:

Protesters gathered outside the hospice again Wednesday, many upset by the rulings. "This is a clear-cut case of judicial tyranny," said Tammy Melton, 37, a high school teacher from Monterey, Tenn.

Tammy is just too stupid to be a high school teacher. She knows nothing about the law. She knows nothing about the methods that judges use to rule on the merits of a case. All Tammy knows is the bullshit that is fed to her by the people that she follows. I don't doubt for a minute that her emotions are genuine. I'm sure she's quite anguished over the situation. Unfortunately, she just does not have the cognitive ability to understand the issues, but she certainly does have the boundless energy to speak her falsehoods and get the media to report them.

Soo... the news media reports what Tammy Melton, 37, the high school teacher from Monterey, Tennessee, said. They make it seem like a rational point of view. They perpetuate the notion that it's okay to be bat-shit-crazy.

This sucks..

Meanwhile, looking at the front of yahoo news we see that the Minnesota school shooting has completely dropped off the front page. I'm not the least bit surprised.