Bush has nominated conservative appeals court judge John Roberts to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the US Supreme Court. Roberts is 50 - meaning he will affect the course of US law for the next 25 to 30 years - and while he has only limited experience as a judge, has generally taken a hard conservative line. TalkLeft has the dirt on his decisions if you're interested.
What's scary is that this is just the first nominee. Chief Justice Rehnquist is also expected to retire soon (he has thyroid cancer), meaning that Bush will get to make two Supreme Court picks. His decisions will determine the course of America for a generation. If he picks extremist conservatives, we may see a hard turn towards a theocracy, with decisions on access to abortion and the seperation of church and state being rolled back. We may also see the US effectively legalise arbitrary detention, or even torture, if Bush's nominees favour the administration line. The confirmation hearings will literally be a battle for the soul of America - and its a battle we should all be very, very worried about. For all its flaws, America has generally been a beacon of freedom to the world. I'd like to see that continue, rather than see it fall.
i know i'm opening myself up to accusations of histrionics, but it does seem that global events being what they are, the US is gradually losing its place as the world's premier democracy.
ReplyDeletei know that democracy is all about 'reflecting the will of the people', but what kind of country is the US becoming under the pressure of the war on terror, and the general slide towards conservatism?
with the increasing entrenchment of conservatives in powerful positions, the liberties the Americans trumpet so loudly are under threat from fundamentalism of various kinds.
sure, maybe it's just the political wheel turning back over to conservative for awhile, but it remains disconcerting in a world where the formerly reclusive US is happy to strike out militarily...
deep breathe sock.... deeeeeep breeeeatheee.
ReplyDeletei was waxing lyrical about the repercussions for liberty in the US in light of the overturning of major laws like Wade v Roe under the new supreme court.
as i said "the wheel is probably turning conservative".
well, the theocracy thing is a bit of a furphy. the bigger danger is that the RelRight has an excessively large influence on the future direction of the country. as it is things like creationism and other obviously fundamentalist ideas are gaining way too much ground. and personally i see that as a threat to all political persuasions.
ReplyDeletefor example, what would happen in an imaginary world were hard science is brought to a grinding halt because the guiding hand of 'jebus' will sort out problems like global warming?
plus, this particular type of lobby group is being closely watched in other countries like Australia and here. do you really want to be told to stop doing all the fun things in life?
and that's not OTT, it's a very real aim of these groups. the democracy component is that government should represent the will of the people. places like the US and here are already christian countries, how much more christian can we handle them being?
"how much more christian can we handle them being?"....As much as the people of America want it to become you moron....It's called democracy!
ReplyDeletesector you completely missed the point.
ReplyDeleteyes, it is a democracy, so they can choose whatever direction they like. But, one of the premises of democracy is open and free speech, and an open and free society.
if fundamentalist christianity is preventing either of these things, it has to be considered a 'bad thing'.
as it is, fundamentalism is already threatening to undermine many of the great American traditions. and that is bad for the US in the long term.
Che Tibby......Can you please list the many, great American traditions?
ReplyDeleteSure, no problem.
ReplyDeleteFreedom of speech.
Freedom of religion.
An entrenched democratic constitution.
Freedom of the media.
Impartial jurisprudence and justice system.
An open civil society.
Freedom of expression in art and music (rock and roll, baby!).
A non-overt class system.
Full democratic franchise.
*Relatively* open citizenship (i.e. not being born American doesn't preclude eventual citizenship).
The US was a trailblazer in many of these traditions.
But, the extent to which they've been applied over the past centuries has waxed and waned.
Yeah i agree che tibby....Especially freedom of religion!
ReplyDeleteah. i guess that makes you a christian then.
ReplyDeletethe vested interest shows.
>"in the good old days when the US really was a beacon of democracy".
ReplyDeletecripes you dont have to go back very far to when they were apatheid isolationist and so forth. and jsut after that many of the people who now say it was a beacon of democracy were probably complaining about the fact htat it wasnt comunist enough and was supressing comunist groups and so forth.
Just a note of history here to those terrified of Christians. Remember who founded modern America? Anyone?
ReplyDeleteCripes! It was the Puritans. Well now, weren't they Christian, and shucks, even fundamentalists? Well blow me down, the earth hasn't imploded yet.
Honestly I feel like I could wave my rosary at some secular humanists, and induce them to wet their knickers. Give you lot power and us "religos" would be off into the re-education camps faster than you can say "Hegal made love to Dawin".
In a nice labour camp in an un-named blue state of America:
- Yes. Democratic Unit 67843 reporting. God and the tooth fairy are not real. Hail Science. Hail materialism. Only the empirical is true. Scientists decide the truth. Religion is the opiate of the masses. I am happy. They are feeding me well. I am free. I have free speech. Thank humanisim. -