Friday, 13 February, 2004

If It Quacks Like A Duck.. One story I've been following is Justice Scalia and the Supreme Courts descion to hear a case that will decide whether the records of VP Cheney's energy tak force will be released to FOI requests. That latter case is an enourmous can of worms on its own. Some feel it was compounded beyond endurance by the revelation that after picking that case up, Scalia went on a private duck hunting trip to Louisiana with his 'friend' Dick Cheney. They even flew down together on the same plane, which I believe belonged to another participant in the hunt - and the energy task force. Now many believe that Scalia is not in a situation where he can render impartial decisions and ought to recuse himself. Justice Scalia doesn't think so Yahoo! News - Scalia Defends Hunting Trip With Cheney. Others point out if this is not an instance for recusal when would be Looks like Duckgate | TomPaine.com. TomPaine also has a current Op Ed out listing the language of the Federal code that deals with recusals and noting the number of Major newspapers whose editoarial boards have weighed in for recusal Ducking the Law. Still its not as open and shut as it might seem The Associated Press article has a quote from Justice Ginsburg which clearly indicates that she does not regard it as a world stopping event (My brother-in-Law Al clerked for Ruth Bader Ginsburg when she was a Judge on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals and they remain close). Others point to the slippery slope issue which would open the door to constant pressure for SCotUS personal to remove themselves from cases on a regular basis. The Court can't work that way, there is a reason why the law leaves this up to a Justice on the call of their own conscience. All the same, I am beginning to have a problem with Scalia. I have read a number of excerpts of speeches he has given over the years and can only conclude he has no real use for democracy. I'm not sure he would recognize justice if it were a rottwiller and were hanging off his posterior. He seems more keyed into the natural and divine rights of privilege. Take this quote from a statement he made in response to this: (from the AP) It did not involve a lawsuit against Dick Cheney as a private individual," Scalia said in response to a question from the audience of about 600 people. "This was a government issue. It's acceptable practice to socialize with executive branch officials when there are not personal claims against them. That's all I'm going to say for now. Quack, quack. Quack, quack, that was within the quotation marks. He was making a joke I suppose. Be without doubt; though, that mocking tone signifies. And what it signifies is the contempt that man has for you. 11:25:46 PM    comment [];trackback [];

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