U.S. Supreme Court Justices - Retaining Integrity

Cross-posted by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

Living in the rarefied air of Washington D.C. as a Congressman, Senator or Supreme Court Justice, makes it difficult to stick to your claimed principles. Lobbyists and powerful activists may live next door or down the street. A simple lunch in a local restaurant, cocktail parties, your daughter's soccer game - everything in daily life exposes the "mighty" among political servants to political pressures.

How do they "mingle" with their community and stay true to the core beliefs they professed - the "professions" that got them the job in the first place? The answer is, in all-to-many cases, they do not.

While Congressmen and Senators may be voted out of office, Supreme Court Justices are appointed for life. How difficult it must be to sit on the highest court in the land and uphold a private person's right to keep the land they own. How difficult it must be to protect America's sovereignty when you adore everything European and see Europe as "the" desirable model for this country.

It is not only difficult to reside in Washington D.C. and retain political integrity, integrity seldom seems to be a goal. Power is the goal, and the extremely liberal social environment of our Nation's capital breeds power as well as the mongers seeking to use that power to control you and me; seeking to protect us from everything but their principle-less decisions and laws.

Doug Patton makes a case for reducing the court to perhaps, just Justice Roberts "reading briefs at a card table in his chambers...." I don't think one Justice is the answer, and I don't think Mr. Patton does either, but for the privilege of sitting on the U.S. Supreme Court, Congress might mandate Justices to live in middle America, and NEVER attend a social function in our Nation's capital, especially at the invitation of a lobbyist, a Corporation or Congress.

New Oversight of Supreme Court Needed
By Doug Patton
June 30, 2008

My old boss, U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, one of the few non-lawyers on the House Judiciary Committee, used to tell me about how Congress has the power to regulate the federal courts.

"Constitutionally, we could reduce the Supreme Court to the Chief Justice sitting in his chambers at a card table if we wanted to," he would say.

I thought of that unused congressional authority as I pondered why it is that the Supreme Court tends to pull its members to the left.

In recent decades, from Abe Fortas and Thurgood Marshall, appointed by Lyndon Johnson in the 1960s, to Clinton appointees Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the 1990s, liberal Democrats are rarely disappointed in the left-wing positions of their appointees on virtually every issue. Not so with justices appointed by Republican presidents.

Certainly there are reliable minds on the court that can be trusted with the strict interpretation of the constitution. Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas have proven themselves worthy of our respect in that regard. Similarly, Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito are slowly building a reputation for eschewing judicial activism and for defending the concept of original intent.

But Republican nominees frequently fail to live up to the hopes of those who believe in strict adherence to the Founders' constitutional intentions.

In modern times, perhaps the biggest disappointments began with former California Governor Earl Warren, a Republican appointed by President Dwight Eisenhower to serve as Chief Justice.

Richard Nixon's appointments of Warren Burger and Harry Blackmun were a disaster. Both men voted in the majority on the most infamous Supreme Court ruling of the 20th Century, 1973's Roe vs. Wade, with Blackmun writing the majority opinion. The result is forty million Americans aborted.

David Souter, appointed by President George H. W. Bush, has so abandoned any semblance of conservative jurisprudence that he is now counted consistently with Ginsburg, Breyer and John Paul Stevens on the left end of the court.

Two Reagan appointees, Sandra Day O'Connor and Anthony Kennedy, turned into two of the biggest disappointments of the era. O'Connor's left turn culminated two important recent cases, Carhart vs. Stenberg and Lawrence vs. Texas. The Carhart case struck down Nebraska's ban on partial birth abortion. Lawrence created a constitutional right to sodomy, thereby throwing the door open wide for the movement to legalize same-sex marriage.

With O'Connor now retired, Kennedy is widely considered to be the court's "swing vote." But increasingly, Kennedy's decisions are viewed as activist liberal votes. He wrote the majority opinion in the aforementioned...(read more)...

Doug Patton is a freelance columnist who has served as a political speechwriter and public policy advisor. His weekly columns are published in newspapers across the country and on selected Internet web sites, including Human Events Online, TheConservativeVoice.com and GOPUSA.com, where he is a senior writer and state editor. Readers may e-mail him at dougpatton@cox.net.

More on controlling Americans:
Obama's Senate Bill S.2433 - A UN Global Tax on the U.S.

Technorati Tags: U.S. Supreme Court,Constitutional Law, Supreme Court Justices

Midland Reporter-Telegram: Hatchet Job on Giuliani and the GOP?

Is Giuliani in bed with the open borders NAFTA highway crowd??? You will have to decide.

Here’s an excerpt from the Midland Reporter-Telegram article.

Giuliani's ties to Houston law firm gives him Texas boost

Republican Rudy Giuliani -- thrice-married, liberal on social issues and a consummate New Yorker -- seems an unlikely White House contender to be embraced by a Texas' GOP establishment rooted in the energy industry and dominated by religious conservatives.

But the former New York mayor has built a formidable political base in Texas with the help of well-connected Republican money men. He owes his advantage in part to his role as a name partner with a powerhouse, Houston-based law firm known for its impressive roster of energy-giant clients, Bracewell & Giuliani.

His partnership in the law firm has also brought Giuliani unwelcome criticism in connection with some of the firm's more controverisal clients, including a Spanish contractor involved in planning part of a Texas superhighway toll road known as the Trans-Texas Corridor. . .

I would like to thank Proprietor Nation for bringing this to our attention with the article, Hatchet Job Masquerading as Political Analysis. Although PN has done an excellent job of demonstrating political bias especially in the Midland Reporter-Telegram’s characterization of the GOP, I do take issue with PN’s characterization of those thousands of Texans - mostly bi-partisan - who are fighting the Trans Texas Corridor and it’s Spanish partner, Cintra. PN hinted that Texas farmers and other landowners are being taken in by Conspiracy theorists.

“Texas farmers and other landowners are worried their property rights will be trampled to make way for the highway. Conspiracy theorists see Giuliani, because of his highway connections, as allied with a cabal of international monied interests plotting to supplant the United States with a North American Union that includes Mexico and Canada . . ."

Far from conspiracy theory!!!

The Trans Texas Corridor (part of the open border NAFTA highway) is a multi-billion dollar reality. I should know because I spoke at the TXDOT hearings on the TTC last year!

Millions of Texas land acres and thousands of Texans will be fighting a losing battle over eminent domain. And just in case you aren’t too interested, the NAFTA highway goes all the way from Mexico to Canada – so your state may be affected as well.

Here’s an excerpt from the enlightening web page devoted to bringing Texans the truth about the Trans Texas Corridor – CorridorWatch.org.

Last weekend (August 2007) Governor Perry vetoed 49 more bills.

Property protections were dashed with the veto of an eminent domain bill TxDOT didn't like. Another bill that would have required TxDOT to consider using existing highway routes for future TTC routes was struck down. A bill that called on the Attorney General to study the impact of international agreements on Texas was ridiculed by the Commission and also vetoed by the Governor.

A few more vetoes smack of retaliation dealt to those who opposed the Governor's view of the TTC, HPV, TYC or education during the session. . .

Anyone who cares to look at the maps of the upcoming NAFTA highway will note that this eminent domain issue doesn’t stop at the Texas border!

Aside from my criticisms of the PN article, it is a great read and a good primer on how to spot bias. Here’s an excerpt from the PN article: . .

Right from the get go, the article is suspect. Imagine, the shoe on another foot. One could see this sort of lead in, Democrat Hillary Clinton, scandal ridden, highly polarizing and with negatives already at or near 50%, has bucked convention and continues to lead nationwide. Let's try another... despite his Mormon background, flip flopping on key issues, and reputation for being to slick for his own good, Mitt Romney maintains a lead in Iowa.

While it is pefectly fine to lead in in such a way, if there is going to be straight analysis, we will expect to understand how he has bucked the conventional wisdom that a social liberal could lead in a social conservative party. Instead, what we get is a nebulous reason that is really just an excuse to attack Rudy in a backhanded and terribly unfair sort of a way.

But the former New York mayor has built a formidable political base in Texaswith the help of well-connected Republican money men. He owes his advantage inpart to his role as a name partner with a powerhouse, Houston-based law firmknown for its impressive roster of energy-giant clients, Bracewell &Giuliani. . .

It can’t be stated enough – all politics is local! We can complain all day long about the MSM, the NY Times, The Boston Globe, etc., but if we ignore the bias in our own local newspapers, we’ve missed the point entirely!


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Eminent Domain, Obama, and the little guy

Yesterday three minor news stories came together into one story, and then the story really got interesting. Hang in there and read on. Don’t you want to find out why Obama positioned himself in alignment with the rotation of the earth?

(1) Congress was opened for the first time by a Hindu prayer. The Hindu cleric’s prayer to open Congress was disrupted by some Christians. Read three different takes on this from Christian Newswire, Religion Clause, and the lefty Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

(2) Eminent Domain Reform was introduced in U.S. House of Representatives. The Castle Coalition reported yesterday that Reps. Maxine Waters (D-CA) and F. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) introduced the Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2007 to stop taxpayer funding of eminent domain abuse. . . “It prevents Americans’ federal tax dollars from being used to kick them off their land for private development, while allowing federal money for traditional public uses like roads and post offices. ” According to Steven Anderson, director of the Castle Coalition, “Unsurprisingly, tax-hungry governments and land-hungry developers prey on those that are less likely to be able to defend themselves. It is vital that the federal government stop subsidizing this blatant abuse of power.”

Eminent Domain reform is desperately needed following the disastrous Kelo vs the City of New London Supreme Court ruling. This reform should have broad bi-partisan support. Lefty groups, however, are a bit too fond of portraying the “little guy” as an inner city minority or a member of a “marginalized” group. In fact, the little guy is just as likely to be a farmer or rancher who will lose family land to the NAFTA highway, to some kind of questionable “city” government, or to big money private development.

Read about the consequences of Kelo vs City of New London. “In Kelo v. City of New London, the U.S. Supreme Court held that anyone’s home or business can be taken if the government thinks someone else can make more money with the land. The floodgates to eminent domain abuse have busted open. However, there is a silver lining.” Also read The Impact of the Kelo Decision from reason.org.

(3) An Iowa farmer is being threatened with Eminent Domain by the Maharishi Vedic City. Bob Palm and his two brothers have 149 acres of farmland that has been in their family for 115 years. After the Palm brothers announced plans to raise hogs on the farm, the Maharishi Vedic City became upset because the city does not allow the sale of any non-organically raised product (that means only vegetarian). The city offered to buy the farm to build a park after appraising the farm’s value at $2,675 per acre. The Palms refused to sell and the “peace-loving” cult threatened to bring Eminent Domain proceedings. Currently they are at a standoff.

I am really curious. Isn’t this America, the land of the free and home of the brave? How did Maharishi Vedic City become a genuine city in Iowa? Aren’t all American cities held to some basic standards of freedom of diversity? Apparently not so! In Maharishi Vedic City no one is allowed to sell non-organic products. The city is vegetarian. The official language is Hindu Sanskrit. Need I go on? So how can this so-called American city even be considered a real city much less bring Eminent Domain proceedings against a neighbor?

For some history on the Utopian, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and his Transcendental Meditation cult read Heaven on Earth .

Living in the hope of spending the afterlife in heaven is a definite waste of the glorious gift of human life. So every individual must try to create a heavenly environment on earth, and one Hindu spiritual leader thinks it's very much possible to build heaven on earth!
He is Maharishi Mahesh Yogi — the notable Vedic teacher and celebrated guru of transcendental meditation, and the vital force behind such Vedic institutions as the Maharishi University of Management and the Maharishi International University.

According to a 2000 article by Rick Ross it’s all about big money and politics:

Today, amazingly, the Maharishi is still purveying bliss - only to the gentry, not below stairs. He has become a fashion icon. His sly smile no longer looks down from a thousand college notice boards, but he is the pin-up of politicians, accountants, doctors, businessmen and journalists. In this era of anxiety, his New Age message is the antidote to executive stress.

What is Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's Natural Law party?

According to the Natural Law Party (U.S.) "50-Point Action Plan to Revitalize America," "there are simple, humane, cost-effective, scientifically proven solutions to all of America’s problems. The Natural Law Party was founded to implement these solutions immediately in government." The discussion of their actual policy in their printed material and web site, while quite lofty, is extremely vague. Nowhere in the literature they mail to prospective members do they mention that all of these "solutions" are based on products of one controversial group. But in actuality the Natural Law Party is a global "political" front -- with organizations in 80 countries -- for the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's Transcendental Meditation (TM) movement. The Maharishi is a Hindu monk who began teaching TM in the 1950s. The public best knows him for his association with the Beatles, who learned TM from him in the late 1960s. It's interesting to note that in 1957, the Maharishi claimed he would bring the world to enlightenment within 10 years -- and would then retire to the caves of the Himalayas to spend the remainder of his days in quiet meditation. Yet, today he governs a world-wide spiritual empire worth over $3.5 billion dollars.More details and source documents.
Return to top.

Also read Secrets of the Natural Law Party. Here’s an excerpt from the chapter Unnatural FAQs:

. . .Since the 1970s, the Maharishi has touted TM as a secular form of meditation that does not conflict with any religion, philosophy, or governmental system. But in fact, insiders report that TM is secretly a very fundamental form of Hinduism. According to former Maharishi International University professor Anthony D. DeNaro, the Maharishi once snapped, "When America is ready for Hinduism, I will tell them." The Maharishi incorporated his original movement as a religious organization with himself as its "spiritual head." He has said that he chooses the names of Hindu gods as mantras for his followers. Four U.S. courts have found that TM is religious or a religion. . . .

All the more reason why this city isn’t an American city and should not have the power of Eminent Domain!

Obama woos Vedic City, folks! Also see Politico Blog. Here’s an excerpt from with bold added by me.

FAIRFIELD, Iowa-Sen. Barack Obama drew his heartiest welcome of a two-day swing through Iowa in the state's capital of inner peace. . .Obama had positioned himself in alignment with the rotation of the earth, in accordance with the teachings of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, whose followers moved en masse to this small Iowa city more than 30 years ago.The Maharishi’s transcendental meditators, along with vacationing pilgrims from the East Coast, turned out in large numbers in the town’s traditional green square to hear the Illinois senator deliver his stump speech on the night of July 3-more people, Fairfield’s sheriff said, than had come out to greet a sitting president.“I saw him and I thought, ‘Oh my god, this is somebody who could lead us into a new era,’” said Nancy Watkins, an international student adviser at the Maharishi University of Management.

A liberal’s take on the event. Here’s an excerpt. Highlights added by the liberal:

Meditating Iowans At Peace With Obama CBS News, NY turned out in large numbers in the town’s traditional green square to hear the Illinois senator deliver his stump speech on the night of July 3 — more people, Fairfield’s sheriff said, than had come out to greet a sitting president. ..... "Somehow we have lost the capacity to recognize ourselves in each other,"” Obama said, to an intently nodding crowd of at least 1,000. "You know, people talk a lot about the federal deficit, but one of the things that I always talk about is …an empathy deficit," he continued, to applause. ...... Obama spoke as Washington wallows in a summer of intense conflict. Subpoenas are flying from the Hill to the White House. ..... In some of his speeches, he didn't even mention President Bush. ..... This is a central gamble of Obama's campaign for President. The loudest voices in the Democratic Party — from Chairman Howard Dean to former Sen. John Edwards and Sen. Hillary Clinton — have been sounding steady notes of confrontation with the White House. Clinton and Edwards argue that they will win the partisan wars. ..... Obama argues that the country, and even partisans, are tired of partisan warfare. .... a suburb — the fist new city incorporated in Iowa in decades — called Maharishi Vedic City, in which all buildings face East.

Now I wonder if the crowd was nodding in agreement with Obama or just head-bobbing in transcendental meditation? No matter. It sure looks like Obama won’t be visiting any farmers facing Eminent Domain these days, now does it? Obama’s got more bread to butter and he knows exactly where to find it!

H/T to Iowa Voice “Gurus Love Obama” (from someone living in the midst of these folks) . . .

Oh, by the way…you know what that “Yoga flying” really is? They cross their legs, go into a “trance” (some “herbs” might be involved, if you get my drift), and then proceed to hop/bounce around a gymnasium. They barely get a few inches off the floor, yet they think they’re actually flying. And that’s just stage 1! Pure freakin’ nutjobs.

So if they want to be supportive of Obama, more power to ‘em. But I’ll just bet you won’t see any “Endorsed by The Maharishi University” on any campaign flyers anytime soon.

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