Feb 27 2008
Stop the presses: Supreme Court Justice listens to oral arguments
Ladies and Gentlemen, a new day has dawned! News outlets are reporting that a Supreme Court Justice actually listens to oral arguments presented by both sides and does not ask questions. This has gone on for two years!
In a risky move, Justice ClarenceThomas made the earth shattering statement “I still believe that, if somebody else is talking, somebody should be listening.”
We can not permit such radical idealism to sit on the Supreme Court. We expect our judges to get up there and ask questions. We expect our judges to wow us with their self- importance. We expect these former professors of law to prattle on endlessly, interrupting lawyers in mid-speech during the course of the dog and pony show. We expect these superior legal minds to dazzle us with their brilliance for our entertainment (and theirs). There is no room for “listening” in our government-especially in our justice system.
That Thomas has been a rebel from day one. He has the audacity to actually base his well thought out rulings on the Constitution of the United States of America. He has the audacity to reject the court of world opinion, while refusing to bend, twist and distort the Constitution to his will. He has the audacity to base his opinion on the evidence presented. This is an absolute outrage!
It is easy to laugh and mock and ridicule but these attacks on Justice Thomas are very offensive to me. There are those in the media that detest Thomas and his constitutional roots and therefore search diligently for some perceived offense. Some members of the media go so far as to assault his southern heritage.
Sure he’s says that he gets the information he needs from all of the other judges as they ask their questions. But we know that’s not true. We know it is because he is not smart enough to think of those questions himself. After all, he’s a black boy from the South. You know they ain’t got no learnin’.
Obviously I am being sarcastic. Clarence Thomas is one of the greatest minds to ever grace that bench. I have watched over the course of years as certain sects of society attempt to deride and derail him in their efforts to diminish his great accomplishments. Why? Because he’s on the wrong side of the political spectrum.
Look at the most recent articles vilifying his silence on the bench: “Georgia born,” “struggled to master standard English,” “spoke Geechee a dialect of former slaves.” It’s a good thing there are no photos of him dressed in tribal garb.
We find all the key elements one expects to discover when attempting to trivialize the importance, prominence and legacy of one of the most remarkable men to sit on that stage; All in their effort to push their own agenda which is to remove the constitution from the bench and this country.
It is obvious. It is vile. It is disgusting. It is transparent. One does not meet your agenda then set out to destroy. Set up to minimize the impact or the importance. This says more about “you” than it does Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
How great it would be if certain media outlets took a page from his book; Shut up and listen. You just might learn something – such as report the news as it is as opposed to creating it.
