Despite all the hoopla--it appears that Kagan ISN'T a lesbian--so that Identity politics canard is just a bunch of gossip so far as it stands...
As for your Judges point--not all justices have been judges. Supreme Court Justices that haven't been judges before they were put on the court include: William Rehnquist--Chief Justice Earl Warren--Chief Justice Felix Frankfurter--(a founding member of the ACLU) Louis Brandeis--developed the "right to privacy" concept before being on the court..
There were many more--41 in fact--that were never judges... So while I agree that being a judge is probably a good thing--it isn't entirely out of the ordinary to have legal minds that were not judges also be in the mix...
As for her not having written a lot--that's only partially true. In the years where she was not working in various administrations--either as solicitor general or in other gov't posts--she published a number of really important legal articles that have been widely cited. Within the time period she had to write these--she was considered fairly prolific--it's just that she hasn't really been employed in this kind of academic setting where you have time to write for long enough--so you are correct that there is less out there than there could be.
As for Randi Rhodes--I agree with your point--but I would note that it makes a difference if it is Bush/Cheney themselves saying that "if you are not with us, you are with the terrorists" vs. a talk radio host. One of these people was an elected official who has power over you--the other one is a private citizen employed by a media company that you can choose not to listen to with no other consequences. Similarly--it's like saying that statements by Obama and Rush Limbaugh have equal standing in our lives--that's just not true..
Anyway.. The president cannot repeal DOMA, cannot repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell, and Gitmo--and this is just fucking weird--cannot apparently be closed until the legislature allocates funds to close it--AND THEY WON'T????? All of these things are legislative acts that the President cannot arbitrarily erase. He appears to be moving on DADT through his Sec Def and the Military and laying the legislative groundwork for it. DOMA--I don't think he ever made any claims about trying to overturn that... and Gitmo--he has signed stuff about closing it, I believe (although I might be mixing something up here), but I do know that the Congress has refused to pass the funding needed to close down the facilities... which just strikes me as fucking odd...
So.. I understand some of your ranti-ness.. and I do think there are some distinct broken promises by Obama--and I don't like his smooth slip into that executive authority glove that was crafted in the Bush administration... but i think your rant may be just a tad misdirected and/or based a bit on some misinformation.
Be vigilant and always question--but make sure you are asking the right questions and not being led to false or at least misleading accusations..
I know that we've had justices before who have not previously served as judges I just think it is easier to generate an informed opinion. I feel like this is a 'trust me I know what she's all about' moment...
As for the obama issues I just feel that his response to these issues that he campaigned on he sort of ignored. I do think he is making progress on DADT. He has not really put any pressure on Congress about GITMO however. As for DOMA I know he didnt run on that but I sure wish he had... ;>
As for Randi vs Bush/Cheney that was certainly an exaggeration on my part but I do think it is funny to hear the same style arguments.
This was definitely more of a rant on my part. I am just frustrated. Drew
.. about the ranty part.. It is one of the reasons I do not actually listen to 92.1 that much anymore. I can stand stephanie Miller in the mornings, mainly because she is funny... but when it gets serious--it gets irritating really fast.
Personally.. I trust Obama over the long run more than I trust most of his followers.. he has a slow, patient style that gets a lot done, but it doesn't "react" particularly quickly... and that seems to lead to a lot more annoying screaming than anything else. If you look a the bigger picture--he's gotten more constructive things accomplished in the last 2 years than Bush did in the previous 8.. and he's laid the groundwork for changes that will make reversals a lot harder... For example--on DADT--when it is changed--there will be no possibility of repeal... just like with the health insurance reform--yes.. it isn't perfect--but it's a big step and the long hashing out does make it more likely that people wont' really want to go through the process of nuking it to go back to a worse status quo... so.. this is why I am watching and waiting..
As for DOMA--that is a longer term project.. unfortunately.. I think it is a generational thing. In about 15 years--the baby-boomer generation (the earliest ones like my parents) will start to fade away and that will signal the real end overall of opposition.. they are the last big cohort of people where there is even perhaps a majority of people opposed to gay marriage--after them, the war is lost..
Personally.. I'm just waiting for 2012 and to watch the Republicans nominate someone like Palin and then watch the party implode for good... then maybe the process of rebuilding a serious conservative-middle party (something like the current Tories in the UK) can happen.. This will be good... and then we can go about blowing up the democrats so we can get something more like a "liberal democratic" party==liberal-tarian type group...
As for your Judges point--not all justices have been judges. Supreme Court Justices that haven't been judges before they were put on the court include:
William Rehnquist--Chief Justice
Earl Warren--Chief Justice
Felix Frankfurter--(a founding member of the ACLU)
Louis Brandeis--developed the "right to privacy" concept before being on the court..
There were many more--41 in fact--that were never judges... So while I agree that being a judge is probably a good thing--it isn't entirely out of the ordinary to have legal minds that were not judges also be in the mix...
As for her not having written a lot--that's only partially true. In the years where she was not working in various administrations--either as solicitor general or in other gov't posts--she published a number of really important legal articles that have been widely cited. Within the time period she had to write these--she was considered fairly prolific--it's just that she hasn't really been employed in this kind of academic setting where you have time to write for long enough--so you are correct that there is less out there than there could be.
As for Randi Rhodes--I agree with your point--but I would note that it makes a difference if it is Bush/Cheney themselves saying that "if you are not with us, you are with the terrorists" vs. a talk radio host. One of these people was an elected official who has power over you--the other one is a private citizen employed by a media company that you can choose not to listen to with no other consequences. Similarly--it's like saying that statements by Obama and Rush Limbaugh have equal standing in our lives--that's just not true..
Anyway.. The president cannot repeal DOMA, cannot repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell, and Gitmo--and this is just fucking weird--cannot apparently be closed until the legislature allocates funds to close it--AND THEY WON'T????? All of these things are legislative acts that the President cannot arbitrarily erase. He appears to be moving on DADT through his Sec Def and the Military and laying the legislative groundwork for it. DOMA--I don't think he ever made any claims about trying to overturn that... and Gitmo--he has signed stuff about closing it, I believe (although I might be mixing something up here), but I do know that the Congress has refused to pass the funding needed to close down the facilities... which just strikes me as fucking odd...
So.. I understand some of your ranti-ness.. and I do think there are some distinct broken promises by Obama--and I don't like his smooth slip into that executive authority glove that was crafted in the Bush administration... but i think your rant may be just a tad misdirected and/or based a bit on some misinformation.
Be vigilant and always question--but make sure you are asking the right questions and not being led to false or at least misleading accusations..
Reply
As for the obama issues I just feel that his response to these issues that he campaigned on he sort of ignored. I do think he is making progress on DADT. He has not really put any pressure on Congress about GITMO however. As for DOMA I know he didnt run on that but I sure wish he had... ;>
As for Randi vs Bush/Cheney that was certainly an exaggeration on my part but I do think it is funny to hear the same style arguments.
This was definitely more of a rant on my part. I am just frustrated.
Drew
Reply
Personally.. I trust Obama over the long run more than I trust most of his followers.. he has a slow, patient style that gets a lot done, but it doesn't "react" particularly quickly... and that seems to lead to a lot more annoying screaming than anything else. If you look a the bigger picture--he's gotten more constructive things accomplished in the last 2 years than Bush did in the previous 8.. and he's laid the groundwork for changes that will make reversals a lot harder... For example--on DADT--when it is changed--there will be no possibility of repeal... just like with the health insurance reform--yes.. it isn't perfect--but it's a big step and the long hashing out does make it more likely that people wont' really want to go through the process of nuking it to go back to a worse status quo... so.. this is why I am watching and waiting..
As for DOMA--that is a longer term project.. unfortunately.. I think it is a generational thing. In about 15 years--the baby-boomer generation (the earliest ones like my parents) will start to fade away and that will signal the real end overall of opposition.. they are the last big cohort of people where there is even perhaps a majority of people opposed to gay marriage--after them, the war is lost..
Personally.. I'm just waiting for 2012 and to watch the Republicans nominate someone like Palin and then watch the party implode for good... then maybe the process of rebuilding a serious conservative-middle party (something like the current Tories in the UK) can happen.. This will be good... and then we can go about blowing up the democrats so we can get something more like a "liberal democratic" party==liberal-tarian type group...
The next 10 years are going to be interesting...
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