Required: An Originalist to Replace Scalia, No Matter Who Is Elected
I am about to say something I’ve not heard from anyone on the right. A position so bold, so shocking, and so unthinkable that you haven’t ever heard it uttered out loud — unless you already read the headline of this post.
As long as the Senate is controlled by Republicans, the only candidate they should accept as a replacement for Antonin Scalia is an originalist — even if a Democrat wins the next presidential election.
I often hear people on the right say that we need to adopt the tactics of the left. When this means deception, trickery, and other dishonest tactics — and yes, some people on the right do advocate this — I cannot agree. But there is one thing that I think the left does better than we do, and I think that needs to change, and that is: using the power they possess, as ruthlessly as necessary to achieve their objectives.
This is not to say that Democrats don’t worry about how their actions look. It is to say that they don’t change what they do based on concerns about how their actions will look. So they do what they want anyway, and just portray it in the best possible light — an easier task for them than for the GOP, to be sure, since Democrats know that Big Media will have their back.
I think Republicans need to be like the left, and say: we’re doing what we think is right, and damn the consequences. Republicans need to step up and say:
Antonin Scalia was an originalist. We need to maintain the balance of the Court, and therefore we will not accept anyone, in any adminstration, that does not continue his important originalist role. To do anything less would disrupt the balance of the Court and sacrifice our fundamental rights, mostly notably under the Second Amendment.
But you can’t do that! people will say. You can’t say that! It’s certain electoral suicide!
Maybe it is and maybe it isn’t. I’ll leave the bit about making it look pretty to others. Power for power’s sake is for those who want nothing out of life besides perks. For the rest of us, power is a tool to be used. There’s precious little that really matters: preventing our children from inheriting crushing debt, fighting the expansion of welfare programs like ObamaCare, and the Court. For these things, if you have power, follow the example of the Democrats and use it.
Saying this out loud may help move the “Overton window” — the narrow range of things that society considers acceptable to say out loud. I’m not interested in hearing about how we can’t do this. Revolutions aren’t started by people who worry what people will think.
As long as Republicans hang tight — and I maintain there’s no real reason to think they won’t — this is a moot point until next year. But it’s worth saying now, because those who want to take this position should lay the groundwork now by making these arguments now, so they won’t have to say anything different in a Hillary or Bernie administration.
P.S. This should go without saying, but I’ll say it for the sake of thoroughness. Originalism is the only legitimate judicial philosophy. So we should always demand it when we can. At all times.
But especially now.
Ding.
Patterico (86c8ed) — 2/18/2016 @ 7:44 amGreat idea!
One small point: Democrats don’t really need to care very much about how their actions are perceived, since they know with certainty that the mainstream media will ensure that they are received favorably by their consumers.
Republicans, on the other hand, know that their message will be disseminated by people who hate them and wish to see them destroyed.
orcadrvr (41c165) — 2/18/2016 @ 7:52 amAnd they do that with deception, trickery, lies and other dishonest tactics. That’s their SOP.
As soon as you, the Republican hierarchy or anyone else states “We need to maintain the balance of the Court” the origionalists have a problem. We don’t need to maintain one single solitary non-origionalist on the court whose duty it is to determine the original meaning of the Constitution. Anyone on the Court that feels it’s okay to pull non existent laws and interpretations out their butt does not believe in the Constitution and should be kept as far away from it as possible.
Also, if there is a Hillary! or Bernie administration the country is gone anyway and there is nothing the Supreme Court can do about it. Remember, it’s not that either was elected President, it’s that there were enough Americans who voted for them.
Rev. Hoagie™® (f4eb27) — 2/18/2016 @ 8:03 am“I’ll leave the bit about making it look pretty to others.”
OK, let me take first crack:
Change ” using the power they possess, as ruthlessly as necessary to achieve their objectives.”
Luke Stywalker (a005cd) — 2/18/2016 @ 8:04 amTo: ” using the power they possess, as ruthlessly as necessary to defend constitutional principles.”
Which would preclude Donald Putin from having any say in the matter, since he hasn’t the remotest clue what principles are.
Luke Stywalker (a005cd) — 2/18/2016 @ 8:06 amI thought of that today when I read the Obama is not going to Scalia’s funeral. (See his pal Kendrick Lamar’s album cover with the dead judge.) The first president in 65 years not to attend a justice’s funeral. Not only did W attend Rehnquist’s, he gave the eulogy.
And what effing good did that do him?! or the Republicans? I am so sick of Republicans being nice and measured and reasonable and cooperative.
Fight the power! Or lose it, forever.
Patricia (5fc097) — 2/18/2016 @ 8:13 amfood stamp himself isn’t gonna lose any sleep over any of this i don’t think
happyfeet (a037ad) — 2/18/2016 @ 8:17 amthis is why there were a 100 candidates in that election,
https://www.adn.com/article/20160217/murkowski-obama-s-supreme-court-nominee-should-get-senate-hearing
narciso (732bc0) — 2/18/2016 @ 8:18 amNo, he’ll be out golfing with Trent Lott, on one of Donald’s courses. Nevertheless, it would be nice to have one political party that demonstrates some reason to care about who wins.
Luke Stywalker (a005cd) — 2/18/2016 @ 8:22 amI guess one could be on the righteous aggressive side and say all of the Supreme Court justices should be originalists,
and all we are asking for is that one who was be replaced by one who is.
MD in Philly (at the moment not in Philly) (deca84) — 2/18/2016 @ 8:23 amunfortunately they don’t even know what question to ask
http://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/grassley-shows-why-republicans-have-it-coming-to-them/
narciso (732bc0) — 2/18/2016 @ 8:40 amIn the eyes of lefties, Antonin Scalia was born of originalist sin. (LOL)
Cruz Supporter (102c9a) — 2/18/2016 @ 9:08 amAmen!
We are long past the time when the GOPe habit of mouthing tough words before bending over, dropping their pants and asking the left to be gentle with the reaming will be tolerated.
If the GOP caves on this and allows Obama to put another leftist on SCOTUS (there is no way he would put forth anyone who wasn’t a leftist hack of the level of cognitive defectiveness and lack of integrity of Sotomayor, Kagan and Ginsberg) the GOP will die. There will be a conservative party that will rise that will take the political fight to the left, if I have to start it in Texas.
Cram their own words from the NYT, from their multiple videos of their own obstructionist words when a republican was president right down their obnoxious throats and make them eat till they are doubled over with the agony they deserve for their anti-American evil.
There are not sufficient words to define the contempt and loathing I have for the likes of Reid, Schumer, Obama and their extreme leftwing MSM cheerleaders.
Pete (8f91c0) — 2/18/2016 @ 9:37 amI had a conversation about this with mrs. carlito last night. We both agree that the current President has the right to nominate someone, and that the Senate has the right to do whatever they do. I thought I would share her POV, as she’s a more lockstep conservative than I am – she feels that, given the checks and balances, she’s OK with a Supreme Court that errs on the side of personal liberty. In other words, if it goes 5-4 liberal, but we have a conservative congress and executive, she’s OK. I thought it was an interesting perspective.
carlitos (c24ed5) — 2/18/2016 @ 9:41 amNot really. Over the last few decades presidents and vice presidents have been absent from about half the supreme court funerals. Though the press have been reporting that Clinton skipped Thurgood Marshall’s funeral, and that’s not true.
Milhouse (87c499) — 2/18/2016 @ 9:46 am“Originalism is the only legitimate judicial philosophy.”
– Patterico
No, it’s not. There are no solutions; only trade-offs.
Leviticus (efada1) — 2/18/2016 @ 9:49 amIf we are to remain (or regain) a Constitutional Republic, this is vital.
askeptic (efcf22) — 2/18/2016 @ 9:49 amOne cavil: if you talk about maintaining the balance of the court, then when Ginsburg or another make-it-up-as-you-go justice goes you’ll have created an expectation that they should be replaced by someone of a similar ideology. I know you don’t mean that to happen. We need originalists on the court because it’s right, not because of the balance. A court with 9 originalists would be unbalanced, and it would be wonderful. They’d be fighting with each other all the time, but they’d be fighting over what the constitution actually means, not what they’d like it to mean.
Just say that anyone who is not an originalist is “out of the mainstream”, and repeat it as often as necessary, until it becomes true.
Milhouse (87c499) — 2/18/2016 @ 9:51 amHow is going 5-4 liberal in any way “erring” on the side of personal liberty? How does taking rights away from the people and the states add to personal liberty? How would inventing laws, regulations and rules from whole cloth advance personal liberty? How does forcing me to buy a product I don’t want to buy, fund an action directly opposed to my religion like abortion or be forced into slave labor in the name of sexual orientation expand my liberty, or yours?
Rev. Hoagie™® (f4eb27) — 2/18/2016 @ 9:52 amLOL… as if GOPe is going to do anything other than roll over and play dead, no matter how horrid Obola’s nominee might be.
have you learned nothing from the last 7 or so years?
redc1c4 (01e9b5) — 2/18/2016 @ 10:02 amBravely, they ran away…
redc1c4 (01e9b5) — 2/18/2016 @ 10:05 amthey are very diligent to prevent any such reoccurrence,
http://www.campusreform.org/?ID=7301
narciso (732bc0) — 2/18/2016 @ 10:10 amWe needed to improve the “balance” on the court as it existed during Scalia’s tenure, and we need to greatly improve it now. Maintaining the present makeup, three conservatives, one fool, and four rabid centralists who seek to dismantle our Republic, won’t even slow our descent into a tyranny that we will be ashamed to leave to our children.
The problem is that our GOPers’ are so full of themselves that they think they can change the stripes on the tiger by letting it continue to dine on the remains of our country. Just look at the faces in redc1c4’s link in #21. These fools think that the world revolves around them, and that by reluctantly appeasing Democrats they will set the standard for proper behavior in our Republic. The slightest bit of humility would allow them to see that they have not been part of the puzzle for many years. They are nonentities. As Cruz has demonstrated.
BobStewartatHome (a52abe) — 2/18/2016 @ 10:44 amAs said above,
The “liberalism” of today is nothing about liberty,
It is about license imposed on the rest of us whether we like it or not.
And indeed, 9 originalists would be the best balance of all.
MD not exactly in Philly (deca84) — 2/18/2016 @ 11:05 amThere is a legislature to make the law.
This article is timely.I have been amazed that nobody in authority in the party of stupid(ieGOPe)has thought to mention that we will not confirm any more radical left wing judges who are out of the mainstream. This is a standard no brainer tactic of the left-go on offense and don’t cower in a corner. In this case we have power and precedents on our side-but unfortunately we have cowards and opportunists carrying our banner.
R Solomon (f2fb68) — 2/18/2016 @ 11:49 amIn my opinion if the usual GOP failure theater occurs and we get another arch leftist on the court the GOP’s days are numbered. They would be shown to be useless as a political party and much as I abhor the ineffectiveness of a third party we would be left with little choice.
LOL… as if GOPe is going to do anything other than roll over and play dead, no matter how horrid Obola’s nominee might be.
have you learned nothing from the last 7 or so years?
The GOPe is probably moving the furniture right now so they don’t hurt themselves as they roll over.
Jerry (2b5ad3) — 2/18/2016 @ 12:13 pmPope just handed election to trump our next president. See cruz campaign’s latest slime on rubio photoshop slimy lie. cruz should run for further!
trump our next president (e01173) — 2/18/2016 @ 12:33 pm#27 trump our next president,
Perry, your poor grammar, incoherent sentence structure, and sixth grade mastery of spelling always shines through. Just like your poor reasoning. Less Gallo wine, more Gingko Biloba! (LOL)
Cruz Supporter (102c9a) — 2/18/2016 @ 12:40 pmWith all the human hate, suffering and destruction on this earth from Africa to Asia to the Middle East and down to South America, I cannot figure out for the life of me why this Pope finds it necessary to stick his nose in the business of the one nation that founded modern freedom and was built by immigrants.
Rev. Hoagie™® (f4eb27) — 2/18/2016 @ 12:42 pm29.With all the human hate, suffering and destruction on this earth from Africa to Asia to the Middle East and down to South America, I cannot figure out for the life of me why this Pope finds it necessary to stick his nose in the business of the one nation that founded modern freedom and was built by immigrants.
Because he is a Jesuit trained and brainwashed socialist. I was Born and raised Catholic. I denounce this Pope. He is nothing more than a man in a robe. He lives with envy and greed and ego if he thinks he can dictate to others socialism. Priests and Popes are way too political today to be doing any of Gods work. Shame on them all.
jrt for Cruz (bc7456) — 2/18/2016 @ 12:53 pmThe Pope lives in a walled community, yet lectures us that we don’t need walls. Barack is surrounded by men carrying concealed weapons, yet lectures us that we don’t need concealed weapons. Hillary takes money from banks, then lectures us that banks have too much influence upon politicians.
The nice thing about eating at Taco Bell is that they say, “We like tacos, and we won’t stop you from enjoying them!”
Cruz Supporter (102c9a) — 2/18/2016 @ 1:26 pm(LOL)
31.The Pope lives in a walled community, yet lectures us that we don’t need walls. Barack is surrounded by men carrying concealed weapons, yet lectures us that we don’t need concealed weapons. Hillary takes money from banks, then lectures us that banks have too much influence upon politicians.
no worries….Franny, Barry, and the Beast will all be put where they belong.
God sees all and has all the patience in the world.
jrt for Cruz (bc7456) — 2/18/2016 @ 1:54 pm27.Pope just handed election to trump our next president. See cruz campaign’s latest slime on rubio photoshop slimy lie. cruz should run for further!
trump our next president
so obvious this is feet.
jrt for Cruz (bc7456) — 2/18/2016 @ 1:58 pmyes yes totally obvious
happyfeet (a037ad) — 2/18/2016 @ 1:59 pmThe pope’s wall was built by Pope Leo back in the day, because muslum arabs robbed the city of it’s gold and silver.
mg (31009b) — 2/18/2016 @ 2:12 pm‘Twould be nice if Republicans in Congress counted men of integrity, perspicuity and character among them.
‘Twould be nice if Popes were universally so gifted as well.
DNF (755a85) — 2/18/2016 @ 2:13 pmA couple of charts recapitulating the recent past we all recall with current progress tracing out a similar line:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-18/you-are-here
Revolution is not a four-letter word btw.
DNF (755a85) — 2/18/2016 @ 2:24 pm37. And once again:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-18/did-bartender-waitress-jobs-recovery-just-end
Not sure what historians will have to debate over in estimating Crack Whore’s consequence.
DNF (755a85) — 2/18/2016 @ 2:35 pmmr. poopy pope tear down this wall
happyfeet (a037ad) — 2/18/2016 @ 2:40 pmIf you like trashing Trump, here’s someone you’ll love:
http://www.breitbart.com/big-hollywood/2016/02/18/kanyes-insane-snl-ego-rant-im-bigger-picasso-kubrick-apostle-paul/
DNF (755a85) — 2/18/2016 @ 2:46 pmShe was thinking of things like abortion rights, gay marriage, civil rights, etc.
carlitos (c24ed5) — 2/18/2016 @ 2:50 pmI’m cross-posting here a comment I just left on another post (the one about Thomas Sowell’s endorsement of Cruz) because I’d like to get the broadest possible cross-section of answers from Trump supporters:
——
I’ve got a question for you Trump fans.
If Trump would be so trustworthy in making good Supreme Court picks, why’d he pick an ignorant schmuck who’s apparently never read the Bill of Rights to send Trump’s cease-and-desist letter to Ted Cruz?
Ooooooh … I know, everything will be different then. As POTUS, he’ll pick the best people.
But it’s pretty important whom you pick as your lawyer when you’re trying to become the POTUS, too. Ask Al Gore; he had David Boies, who’s amazing, but nobody else who had a lick of sense, and Boies couldn’t do it all. The team Jim Baker assembled for Dubya out-lawyered the Gore team at every stage and in every way, in both state and federal court, en route to their ultimate 7-2 victory in the SCOTUS — and Ted Cruz was part of that legal team.
So tell me please: Did Trump hire this schmuck who wrote his cease-and-desist letter because the schmuck is cheap? Or is Trump really that bad a judge of legal talent?
Beldar (fa637a) — 2/18/2016 @ 3:06 pmjrt for Cruz (bc7456) — 2/18/2016 @ 12:53 pm
If he is just a man in a robe, why do you call him Pope?
I know many Catholics, some practicing, some lapsed, and some who are now of other Denominations. Not one sounds off like you. Even the Sedevacantists don’t spew your type of bile. I highly doubt you have ever been a Catholic, but, if I am mistaken, then you have an impoverished knowledge of the Faith which can be corrected if you wish. Mercy is for everyone, but not everyone asks or accepts it. I will pray for you.
Our Father…
felipe (56556d) — 2/18/2016 @ 3:21 pmNot much hope with TFG… https://t.co/Gqqrww25FI
Colonel Haiku (a28485) — 2/18/2016 @ 3:25 pmTeh Pope smokes dope.
Colonel Haiku (a28485) — 2/18/2016 @ 3:27 pmVia Hot Air, subject The Bern:
Next I’ll look for background on the Dope.
DNF (755a85) — 2/18/2016 @ 3:29 pm30, 43. Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
What follows is good reproof to us all, but Francis is not up to snuff. It’s his job.
DNF (755a85) — 2/18/2016 @ 3:48 pmAs an altar boy, taping the clanger so the bell didn’t ring, for the next set of altar boys, was the best part growing up Catholic!!!
mg (31009b) — 2/18/2016 @ 4:06 pmAre we buckets that must be filled with blessings?
Job:
DNF (755a85) — 2/18/2016 @ 4:09 pmShe was thinking of things like abortion rights, gay marriage, civil rights, etc.
carlitos (c24ed5) — 2/18/2016 @ 2:50 pm
So were we.
A person is not allowed to act on the belief that marriage is between a man and a woman, something that even Obama said he believed until a few years ago.
It used to be assumed that a nun couldn’t be made to purchase health insurance that covers abortion.
MD in Philly (at the moment not in Philly) (deca84) — 2/18/2016 @ 4:12 pmBeldar, with that query you have simultaneously preached to the choir and spoken to a brick wall. I’ve noticed that Trump fanbois will justify damn near anything he does, good, bad or indifferent. They will not notice or care. The ONLY thing that matters is that empty platitude “Make America Great Again”. How he plans on doing that, nobody, much less Ol’ Squirreltop, seems to know.
Bill H (dcdd7b) — 2/18/2016 @ 4:27 pmIf the Pope walked the walk, he would reprove the governments of Mexico and the countries of Central America for not improving the living conditions of the masses living in those countries. And he would do it often, not just flippantly.
Colonel Haiku (a28485) — 2/18/2016 @ 4:31 pmJust my opinion…
Colonel Haiku (a28485) — 2/18/2016 @ 4:31 pmAre you a practicing Catholic? I ask that not to be a snot, but if you are, that’s a fairly heavy statement.
Bill H (dcdd7b) — 2/18/2016 @ 4:31 pm…Originalism is the only legitimate judicial philosophy …
How many justices in the entire history of the Supreme Court have been originalists?
James B. Shearer (0f56fb) — 2/18/2016 @ 4:36 pm41 So tell me please: Did Trump hire this schmuck who wrote his cease-and-desist letter because the schmuck is cheap? Or is Trump really that bad a judge of legal talent?
Was Trump badly represented in his divorce and bankruptcy cases?
James B. Shearer (0f56fb) — 2/18/2016 @ 4:38 pmJames – are you really suggesting that maybe he picked a crappy lawyer on purpose?
JD (34f761) — 2/18/2016 @ 5:16 pmI don’t see how the selection of a good lawyer is in any way relevant. In many cases, it is a function of how much money you are willing to spend, or a function of simple geography.
JD (34f761) — 2/18/2016 @ 5:18 pmWell, Colonel, if he walked the walk he’d take down the wall around the Vatican and throw open the gates to immigrants from all over the world. IOW, locking the gates to Vatican City at 11:30 pm every night is un-Christian.
Or we can just admit the Pope like all other leftists is a hypocrite.
Rev. Hoagie™® (f4eb27) — 2/18/2016 @ 5:31 pmI’m a practicing Lutheran. I say this not to be a snot, but because Pope’s like this made me one.
Rev. Hoagie™® (f4eb27) — 2/18/2016 @ 5:38 pmTrump probably buys attorneys who will do business his way, just as he has done business by buying influence. It works for him but do you want him wheeling and dealing with the taxpayers’ money?
DRJ (15874d) — 2/18/2016 @ 5:40 pmNeither the Pope or Trump are responsible for this silly brouhaha, it’s a manufactured dispute instigated and propagated by a dishonest and self-serving press. It’s a game of Let’s you and him fight. Nothing more.
ropelight (6b59d0) — 2/18/2016 @ 5:46 pmAs I pointed out, that firm handles real estate matters, so who would some of the candidates who would fit the bill, Miguel Estrada is still eligible right.
narciso (732bc0) — 2/18/2016 @ 5:47 pmThat’s the money quote, ropelight. Now tell me how the Pope isn’t responsible for this silly brouhaha.
Rev. Hoagie™® (f4eb27) — 2/18/2016 @ 6:02 pmI don’t think Trump is much of a Christian in any aspect of his life.
nk (dbc370) — 2/18/2016 @ 6:07 pmBut who is the Pope to say who is a Christian and who isn’t, right?
nk (dbc370) — 2/18/2016 @ 6:09 pmCoronello, I wouldn’t expect this Pope to be walking the walk anytime soon. As in ever.
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/full-text-of-joint-declaration-signed-by-pope-francis-and-patriarch-kirill-61341/
From Havana, no less!
All over the M.E. Coronello, Christians are being exterminated by some unidentifiable exterminator. The churches are being ravaged, looted, and profaned by some unknowable ravager, looter, and profaner.
You know what I think we’re dealing with, Coronello? That outer space alien head hunter from those 1980s Arnold Schwarzenegger movies. Middle Eastern Christians are being extirpated and nobody knows who the eff’ is doing it.
Mystery upon mystery.
This is what passes for courage in the Catholic Church these days.
Walking the walk? That’s so 11th century.
Steve57 (f61b03) — 2/18/2016 @ 6:11 pmApparently Christians all over the M.E. are being wiped out by “work place violence” like those soldiers at Fort Hood.
Maybe the Nzika virus is crucifying people in Mosul.
Dunno.
Dammit. This is such a tough nut to crack. What possible anti-Christian forces could be operating in Syria and Iraq to achieve this result.
I throw up my hands in complete frustration. I join the Pope in beseeching the international community to act against this exterminationist threat against Christians, Yazidis, and other religious minorities which we have yet to identify.
Inshallah, we may yet achieve this.
Steve57 (f61b03) — 2/18/2016 @ 6:22 pmMr. Trump might could redeem his soul by doing good Christian stuff when he’s president like paying off the debt and helping poor people have access to cheap affordable energy.
If I were the pope I’d tend to my own knitting and make a baby blanket and let the local 4H kids raffle it off.
But that’s me.
happyfeet (831175) — 2/18/2016 @ 6:23 pmFor once we agree. Do the Christian thing and open up the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve.
Cheap affordable energy = oil.
So lets quit goofing off and chopping up eagles at wind farms or frying hawks on the wing at Ivanpah and get back to the serious business of drilling.
Steve57 (f61b03) — 2/18/2016 @ 6:31 pmyes yes
i wish Mr. Pope would help free the economy from its cruel and oppressive shackles
but it looks like he has an altogether different agenda
it’s so depressing
happyfeet (831175) — 2/18/2016 @ 6:38 pmThe Pope’s agenda is best discussed after dinner over limoncello.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/limoncello-recipe.html#!
Don’t doubt me on this one.
Steve57 (f61b03) — 2/18/2016 @ 6:47 pmHoagie, here’s the full exchange between Phil Pullela of Reuters and the Pope as reported by the Catholic News Agency: (emphasis added)
Hoagie, the Pope was responding to a loaded question from a dishonest reporter working for a dishonest propaganda service masquerading as a news organization. Trump doesn’t think only about building walls. His immigration initiative is much more multi-faceted and involves deporting illegals but allowing the return of honest and hard working immigrants who want to contribute to America instead of crooks and sponges who came her illegally to commit crimes, peddle drugs, and live on welfare.
So, a careful reading of the Pontiff’s remarks reveals he really didn’t excommunicate Trump at all.
ropelight (6b59d0) — 2/18/2016 @ 6:59 pmPazuzu or Baal obviously, possibly wagon.
narciso (732bc0) — 2/18/2016 @ 7:06 pmThe very people who should be standing up for Christianity during these dark times are the same folks who deflect and mine issues they can use as “squirrels”, Steve. That goes for Obama, the Pope and every other purported leader of the free world.
Colonel Haiku (a28485) — 2/18/2016 @ 7:12 pmoh that’s mighty white of the pope not to excommunicate Mr. The Donald
happyfeet (831175) — 2/18/2016 @ 7:17 pmNoblesse oblige.
ropelight (6b59d0) — 2/18/2016 @ 7:30 pmRev. Hoagie the reason that the pope and others feel so free to criticize us is that we take it. No one is afraid we will start rioting or killing. Or even objecting mildly.
Patricia (5fc097) — 2/18/2016 @ 7:31 pmoh i’m a grab a few handles of tito’s in kansas on the way back here in march
limoncello is my new thing
with basil
i never heard the word handle used like that til i got to the west of mid btw
happyfeet (831175) — 2/18/2016 @ 7:33 pmPicture a world grim and grey
Colonel Haiku (a28485) — 2/18/2016 @ 7:36 pmJust spinning ’round, night and day
Dizzy with eternity
They lead ’em down to the sea
On the beach near Tripoli
Beat ’em down onto their knees
Pray to their false god, grab their knives
Proceed to end good Christian lives
Once full of hope, now full of grace
They stood fast with no loss of faith
Such courage we must not forget
Hasn’t got a name just yet
Always awake, always around
Singing ashes to ashes all fall down
Ashes to ashes all fall down
ropelight, I listened to the entire exchange and the aftermath with the so-called news people. You are absolutely, positively correct on the wording and just as wrong one the emphasis. You emphasize ” only about building walls,” where the emphasis was on walls in the discussion. That makes a world of difference. You know I agree with you most of the time but the Pope was deliberately trying to draw an emphatic conclusion that Trump wants to wall out people and the inference was “indiscriminately”. The Pope wasn’t even pulling the usual leftist meme that it’s racist to want to defend our borders. He was emphasizing it was wrong to build walls not bridges and said to do so is un-Christian thereby verbally lashing any and all Christians with whom he disagrees. He can no more excommunicate Trump than he can me, neither of us are Catholic, but to call us heathens (un-Christian) is a slur I will not soon forget.
Rev. Hoagie™® (f4eb27) — 2/18/2016 @ 7:48 pmHe may be the Pope but even he can’t excommunicate a Presbyterian.
DRJ (15874d) — 2/18/2016 @ 7:48 pmOne more point ropelight. If the Pope “was responding to a loaded question from a dishonest reporter working for a dishonest propaganda service masquerading as a news organization” his best and most intelligent reply should have been: “Gentleman, as our Lord said ‘render unto Caesar’, you are asking me political questions, I am only a humble Priest question me on faith”.
Rev. Hoagie™® (f4eb27) — 2/18/2016 @ 7:53 pmHe might also keep in mind that as a Lutheran it was my guys that started that whole ugly Reformation thing thereby opening up the Enlightenment.
Rev. Hoagie™® (f4eb27) — 2/18/2016 @ 8:01 pmit was the mostest beautiful reformation ever if you ask me
which nobody ever does
happyfeet (831175) — 2/18/2016 @ 8:08 pmi asked alexa to play “2cellos” tonight – it’s all just prime stuff
it does the trick somehow
happyfeet (831175) — 2/18/2016 @ 8:09 pmI believe noblesse oblige refers to the second estate, the nobility not the first estate, the clergy. The obligation of the clergy to the third estate, the commoners, was to save their immortal souls. The Pope should concentrate on that, not U.S. immigration and naturalization.
Rev. Hoagie™® (f4eb27) — 2/18/2016 @ 8:10 pmthey do “smooth criminal” with their two widdle cellos
happyfeet (831175) — 2/18/2016 @ 8:10 pmhere
oh.
google says they were on glee
nobody tells me anything
happyfeet (831175) — 2/18/2016 @ 8:11 pmI totally agree. A holy person does not concern himself with worldly things such as who has enough to eat, or clothes to wear, or a place to sleep, or a doctor when he is sick. These are material things, not spiritual, and all they do is distract from what is important like when will Israel rebuild that Temple and issue Christ a visa so He can come back; and what is the best snake for handling at revival meetings?
nk (dbc370) — 2/18/2016 @ 8:19 pmThe rhetorical question, “Is the Pope Catholic?” seems to be a legitimate question these days. It seems that Francis’ religion is actually leftism.
What’s sad is that Francis fails to identify that boundaries and walls are absolutely necessary in a fallen world which is punctuated by so many evil do-ers. Or as John Adams famously said, “If men were angels, we wouldn’t need to write the Constitution.”
Cruz Supporter (102c9a) — 2/18/2016 @ 8:33 pmBy the same token, if men were angels, we wouldn’t need boundaries, and walls, and door locks. People who ride around in vehicles with bullet proof glass shouldn’t be throwing rocks.
It makes me laugh that you and she think those things are “rights” yet you claim she is conservative. More conservative than you at least. Wasn’t Stalin more conservative than you as well by that token?
NJRob (a07d2e) — 2/18/2016 @ 10:00 pm@ Mr. Shearer, who asked, I assume in good faith, “How many justices in the entire history of the Supreme Court have been originalists?”
Answer: All of them before the second half of the Twentieth Century, and a fluctuating plurality-to-majority thereafter. It’s the plurality part that’s a problem. But before roughly the end of WW2, it never occurred even to the pointiest heads at the “best” law schools to suggest in their writings that the Constitution was a “living, breathing document” into which the well-intentioned could foist their fantasies.
The whole idea of making sh*t up and pretending it’s in the Constitution is a product of my lifetime (not just my adult lifetime, though; I’m 58).
Beldar (fa637a) — 2/19/2016 @ 1:21 amIf you’d told Mr. Justice Jackson, for example, that the Constitution included (in either the Due Process or Equal Protection Clauses of the 14th Amendment) a right to same-sex marriage, he’d have gazed at you blankly for a moment, and then he’d have turned on his heel to look for a security guard to take you into custody so you wouldn’t be a threat to anyone else at the cocktail party.
Beldar (fa637a) — 2/19/2016 @ 1:23 amSeriously, if you plot the SCOTUS cases, you can see the edge of the cliff the SCOTUS jumped off.
Sweatt v. Painter, Brown v. Board — all simply corrections to implement the Fourteenth Amendment’s original intention, even though they roiled the nation.
Griswold v. Connecticut? Pure fantasy, and one of the very best examples of hard cases making incredibly bad law. That was the precipice, and it tumbled us down a slippery slope that led directly to Roe v. Wade, Lawrence v. Texas, and now Obergefell v. Hodges. The Supreme Court is in an existential crisis, and Donald Trump couldn’t explain why or how to fix it if his life depended on it.
Beldar (fa637a) — 2/19/2016 @ 1:28 amI’d bet $1000 that if Donald Trump were shown a photo of the current SCOTUS, he couldn’t identify more than three members, and even with captions he couldn’t correctly identify more than three of the presidents who appointed them.
Beldar (fa637a) — 2/19/2016 @ 1:30 amYour correct Beldar. I doubt he knows the difference between a birdie and a triple bogey.
Bobby Jones (31009b) — 2/19/2016 @ 1:46 amhttp://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2016/02/how_scalia_and_ted_cruz_saved_the_2nd_amendment.html
mg (31009b) — 2/19/2016 @ 2:41 amTrump swabs have no clue what they are about to vote for.
Cruz/2 Amend.2016
All you Cruz haters should go out of your way and drive to see him speak. It might help your life.
mg (31009b) — 2/19/2016 @ 2:46 amDon’t replace him with a pedophilia harboring pope. Bernie Law should have been executed for his actions, but no, he resides inside a wall of shame. Catholics need to wake up. homo priests are a sin.
mg (31009b) — 2/19/2016 @ 3:52 amCruz/West.
Homo priests are a contradiction.
Rev. Hoagie™® (f4eb27) — 2/19/2016 @ 6:02 amOut of 112 about 103.
Rev. Hoagie™® (f4eb27) — 2/19/2016 @ 6:05 amThat’s where we differ, nk. I think religious persons and religions themselves should be concerned with feeding, clothing and sheltering the poor as well as helping to educate and heal them as these are natural and needed things, not worldly. ( Money, gold and the Popemobile are worldly). That is called charity and unfortunately government has decided where, when and to whom I need be charitable and that’s called redistribution, commonly known as communist. A holy person can not exist without being material but he can without being political. Building a wall for national security is not spiritual therefore, should not be of interest to the Pope. The Pope had all the time to cuddle up with a communist dictator like Castro and from Fortress Cuba all he could see was America’s immigration invasion not the poverty, abuse and slavery surrounding him. Wow, very limited sight and very poor judgment for a supposed Christian to side with anti-Christ’s against believers.
Why are you concerned with Christ’s passport and snake handlers? How exactly does that relate to a wall, poverty, the Pope or Cuba?
Rev. Hoagie™® (f4eb27) — 2/19/2016 @ 6:47 amRev.
MD not exactly in Philly (deca84) — 2/19/2016 @ 6:58 amI think nk was being sarcastic in some of that.
He has a streak in that in him.
of
MD not exactly in Philly (deca84) — 2/19/2016 @ 6:58 amWell, MD as they say Good walls make good neighbors (an piss off democrats).
Rev. Hoagie™® (f4eb27) — 2/19/2016 @ 7:04 amthis is the fundamental problem ‘if men were angels’ we wouldn’t need government, but we are a fallen people, hence you can’t have ‘heaven on earth’ all these nice things are evidence of faith, however the main message is the one the point seems to miss,
re emanations and penumbras, it’s unclear where the dividing line was, but it was part of the assault on traditional values, that characterized the 60s
narciso (732bc0) — 2/19/2016 @ 7:05 amThe clergy helped spread the concepts of why we needed to revolt against England. 29 of the signers had degrees from seminaries. The whole clergy can’t talk politics thing is an invention of LBJ.
Tanny O'Haley (c674c7) — 2/19/2016 @ 7:47 amI think the First Amendment is less contentious than the Second Amendment.
Tanny O'Haley (c674c7) — 2/19/2016 @ 7:50 amThe clergy is slowly being turned leftist, Tanny O”Haley and as soon as they’re sewn up like the educators are the clergy will be encouraged to talk politics. It’s only when a group doesn’t spout Marxist left that there’s a gag order.
Rev. Hoagie™® (f4eb27) — 2/19/2016 @ 7:54 amBeldar,
I don’t see how Obergefell v. Hodges could be decided on the 14th amendment when anti-sodomy laws were legal before the 14th through Lawrence v. Texas.
If anti-sodomy laws were legal at the time the 14th amendment, how can the 14th amendment say homosexual marriages are required under the constitution?
Just like how can they say hanging is cruel and unusual punishment when they were fine with hanging when the 8th amendment was passed?
Tanny O'Haley (c674c7) — 2/19/2016 @ 8:00 amshort answer, justice white, was no longer on the court, so such rank sophistry wasn’t acceptable, re bowers v. hardwick,
narciso (732bc0) — 2/19/2016 @ 8:09 amlike here,
https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/478/186
narciso (732bc0) — 2/19/2016 @ 8:12 amWhy not play hardball?
The House and Senate could use their constitutional authority and resize the US Supreme Court at six justices, and say that justices will remain based on seniority, with the junior members (Kagan and Sotomayor) being released.
Dustin (2a8be7) — 2/19/2016 @ 2:20 pm92 Answer: All of them before the second half of the Twentieth Century …
So Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. was an originalist? According to Wikipedia:
Holmes in his earliest writings established a lifelong belief that the decisions of judges were consciously or unconsciously result-oriented, and reflected the evolving mores of the class and society from which judges were drawn. Holmes accordingly argued[2] that legal rules are not deduced through formal logic but rather emerge from an active process of human-self government …
Is this consistent with being an originalist?
James B. Shearer (0f56fb) — 2/19/2016 @ 5:17 pmRev. Hoagie™® (f4eb27) — 2/19/2016 @ 7:54 am
Roger that, Hoagie. It was brought about through the selection, education, and promotion of those candidates for the seminary who were most malleable, or had a natural affinity to leftism.
felipe (56556d) — 2/19/2016 @ 5:44 pmKeep preventing Obama from filling the seat. Then Bernie or Hillary will nominate Obama for the seat.
Tillman (a95660) — 2/20/2016 @ 7:22 pm