Goodbye, Sandra...and Good Riddance! - (didn't belong on SCOTUS in the first place; incompetent!)

Ronald Reagan, like all presidents, made a few mistakes while he was in office, and one of his more regrettable blunders was nominating a judge by the name of Sandra Day O'Connor for a position on the highest court in the land.

Although many people in the left-wing media like to refer to her as a "moderate" jurist, that characterization only proves that they have no idea what a judge's job actually is. Using the word ''moderate'' to describe a judge is like using the word Jewish to describe a cat. The term simply does not apply. It is a political distinction, and part of a judge's job is to be apolitical.

Of course, some judges, like Ms. O'Connor and a few of her chums on the Supreme Court (USSC) have never been able to leave their political biases out of the equation when making legal decisions. But instead of journalists calling them what they really are, which is just plain incompetent, they get labeled things like moderate.

I don't know about you, but I've yet to figure out how a judge goes about making a moderate ruling. I was always under the impression that there were only two kinds of rulings, proper and improper, but apparently a third type exists somewhere in between the two.

Something else I keep hearing people in the media say is that Ms. O'Connor has been a key "swing vote" on the court. This assertion annoys the hell out of me, because the people making it are implying that the court is made up of four liberals, four conservatives, and the independent Justice Sandra, who sits around weighing the arguments of each ideological side and then, in her infinite wisdom, rules with the side she believes makes the most sense at any given time.

As I pointed out before, using such a term to describe a USSC justice is totally inappropriate. The words "swing vote" are political in nature, and therefore inapplicable. These people aren't a legislative committee; they're a panel of judges! Their rulings are supposed to be based upon the literal meaning of the written laws of the land, and when they consider cases in which questions of constitutionality are raised, they are duty bound to interpret the meaning of the words within that document without regard to their own political views.

The fact of the matter is that there are only two types of Supreme Court Justices, originalists, who try to understand what the Constitution's authors intended their words to mean when they wrote them, and activists, who seek to manipulate the intended meaning of those words to fit their personal ideologies.

Sandra Day O'Connor is--and has always been--a member of the latter group, and it is for that reason alone that she should never have been appointed to the high court, or been allowed to sit on any court which deals with constitutional issues.

Thankfully, she has just decided to retire, and in my opinion, not a moment too soon. Unfortunately, even if she is replaced by a competent originalist judge, there will still be five activists (aka fascists in black robes) gumming up the works for years to come, and their names are Stephen Breyer, John Paul Stevens, Anthony Kennedy, David Souter, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

About the Writer: Edward Daley is a freelance writer who resides in New England. He is owner of the website, The Daley Times-Post, which can be accessed at: http://users.adelphia.net/~thofab/index2.htm.

"Of course, some judges, like Ms. O'Connor and a few of her chums on the Supreme Court (USSC) have never been able to leave their political biases out of the equation when making legal decisions. "

How right on you are Charlite. Glad to see this flip-floppin' grandma (Sandy baby...not) take a hike. She has been awful on abortion, sodomy and religious symbols issues. Any judge who would seek to remove God I ask that God remove them. She was the female version of Anthony Kennedy... another slug of the species.

IMO John Paul Stevens gets little attention. This RINO-lib old geezer has sided with Ginsburg, Breyer and Souter almost totally. Souter is such a weasel.....Ruthie's little yes m'am lib wuss. I hope and pray his weasel den in NH gets grabbed and demolished by the town of Weare. Make em live by their own ghastly rulings.

PS: it's WAR on and for the Judiciary! Time for the GOP to go GUTS UP already.

Unfortunately, even if she is replaced by a competent originalist judge, there will still be five activists (aka fascists in black robes) gumming up the works for years to come, and their names are Stephen Breyer, John Paul Stevens, Anthony Kennedy, David Souter, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The 'Clowns of the Black Cloak'.

It's not a question of whether they agree or disagree with one another, it's a question of how they, as individuals, reach their decisions. A president shouldn't be concerned with a potential nominee's political persuasion, because judges aren't suppose to incorporate them into their rulings. The primary concern, other than if a person is mentally sharp, is if they can make unbiased rulings based on the literal meaning of the written law. I don't care in the least that Ruth Ginsburg is a liberal. The problem I have with her is that she seems incapable of keeping her personal ideology separate from her job as a judge.

MY CHOICE FOR SCOTUS......

ASHCROFT, John David, a Senator from Missouri; born in Chicago, Ill., on May 9, 1942; attended the public schools in Springfield, Missouri; graduated from Yale University 1964; received J.D. degree from University of Chicago School of Law 1967; admitted to the bar in Springfield 1967; taught business law at Southwest Missouri State University; state auditor of Missouri 1973-1975; attorney general of Missouri 1976-1985; Governor of Missouri 1985-1993; elected as a Republican to the United States Senate in 1994 and served from January 3, 1995 to January 3, 2001; unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 2000; attorney general of the United States, 2001-.

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