A Modest Proposal
Many have recently expressed concerns that the Iraqi constitution may overemphasize religion.
I believe I have the solution. Don’t worry about the language of the Iraqi constitution. The key to keeping the Iraqi government secular is constitutional interpretation.
I therefore propose that President Bush donate Justices Stevens, Ginsburg, Souter, and Breyer to Iraq, to be Justices of a new Iraqi Supreme Court. These Justices can be relied upon to secularize the Iraqi government, regardless of the actual language of the Iraqi constitution, or any traditions of religious observance in Iraqi public life.
We’d miss them, of course. But sometimes sacrifices must be made — for the greater good, you understand.
Very funny! When can we start the petition?
Monika (db2880) — 8/25/2005 @ 6:07 pmUhm, I don’t think I’d miss them. I’d breath a big sigh of relief, as though I just found out I’d been healed of cancer.
Texas Techie (cf6418) — 8/25/2005 @ 6:14 pmI want to go on record. “The Iraqi Constitution is a living document”. Screw the originalists!
Lew Clark (e8e70d) — 8/25/2005 @ 6:39 pmTexas Techie,
I guess you haven’t been reading the blog long enough, or you’d know that I was being ironic when I said we’d miss them.
Patterico (756436) — 8/25/2005 @ 6:45 pmWe could then petition to take possesion of their homes, since they will not be using them for awhile.
One problem is, we would then hear in the MSM, “Iraq wasn’t about the oil after all, it was about a clean sweep of the Supreme Court!”
MD in Philly (b3202e) — 8/25/2005 @ 6:47 pmCan we get Boxer, Kennedy, Reid and Clinton to clerk for them as well?
bureaucrat (825e78) — 8/25/2005 @ 7:10 pmYour appraoch would be doubly effective! Remember, those justices are smitten with the idea of incorporating international legal opinion in their considerations, so I’m sure we could count on them to force USA Constitutional law into their interpretations of Iraqi law (a beautiful irony, given their reluctance to give full weight to the USA Constitution when considering domestic USA cases).
Levans (a429ef) — 8/25/2005 @ 7:30 pmWe should send Pat Robertson over there to talk some sense into them.
Shredstar (532850) — 8/25/2005 @ 7:42 pmThe only problem with this initiative is that Justices Stevens et al. will probably wind up citing Iranian or Pakistani laws in upholding Islam as the primary source of Iraqi laws.
Oy (so to speak).
SMG
SteveMG (4c8f76) — 8/25/2005 @ 7:48 pm[…] https://patterico.com/2005/08/25/3507/a-m… […]
tjic.com » Blog Archive » LOL! (47e56a) — 8/25/2005 @ 8:17 pmSweet! Improve two countries at once!
Me likey!
TallDave (e15e0b) — 8/25/2005 @ 8:37 pmWe could then petition to take possesion of their homes … Phil, I believe we can do this now based on their recent ruling, as long as a Wal Mart would economically improve their neighborhoods … and that’s all up to other judges, isn’t it.
Perhaps a few lower appeals court judges, sensing an opportunity to move up …
Harry Arthur (b318a5) — 8/25/2005 @ 9:04 pmI keep hearing that this is an iraqi process. But maybe its just buck passing.
actus (a5f574) — 8/25/2005 @ 9:26 pmActually, they would not live long in Iraq.
The only countries that would tolerate them are the ones comprising Western Civilization and the tenants there of–The very civilization that these peoples rulings seek to destroy.
Are they suicidal, or just dumb?
Rightminded (395c10) — 8/25/2005 @ 10:19 pmSomehow, I think that the intellectual climate in Baghdad might give them a different sense of what international legal trends are than they’re getting in Washington. Perhaps the risk of having one’s head sawed off on an internet video would give them a new clarity on the rights of captured terrorists.
AST (19c915) — 8/25/2005 @ 10:19 pmAST,
You are probably correct. I HAVE NOT seen any indications of intelligence with those four anyway, so they would not miss their heads. It would just be normal for them.
leaddog2 (9c66d1) — 8/26/2005 @ 5:38 am“The only countries that would tolerate them are the ones comprising Western Civilization and the tenants there of–The very civilization that these peoples rulings seek to destroy.”
I mean, don’t they know that every great civilization has fallen once child executions were banned?
actus (a5f574) — 8/26/2005 @ 5:50 amThat would be like flushing the toilet four times.
JoeS (4ce997) — 8/26/2005 @ 7:27 pm