John G. Roberts, Jr.

I can't believe it. I can't believe he nominated Roberts. He's an ultra-conservative, Clarence Thomas type jurist. Nicer than Scalia but, in my hot so humble opinion, he'll rule in a very similar fashion. I feel socked in the gut. My friend G asked me what I expected. I don't know. I guess I had no right to expect that Baby Bush would nominate someone more moderate. I should have known that he would pick someone like Roberts. After the last election, I felt like a non-person. I didn't mean for it to. Intellectually, I knew (and I know) that the tide will turn. The thing is, the Supreme Court is a LIFETIME appointment. A young man like John Roberts has a good 30 years left to live. That is a LOT of time to influence society. I know people like him say they are just interpreting the Constitution as it was written in 1787, but THIS IS NOT 1787. I'm not saying the Constitution isn't relevant. IT CERTAINLY is. It just means that our view of the Constitution will be different because our society is different. Thomas Jefferson (so I've heard) reportedly thought that the Constitution should be reviewed and revamped every 20 years or so. I don't think that's necessary, but we live with a legal system that relies on interpretation of law. Reading any document requires reading it with an eye for when it was written but no one reads a book as if they ARE in past. No matter who you are, the way you grew up, your society, your lifestyle affects how you read a book or a document. If you are a 25 year old stock broker who grew up in New York City, you are going to read any document with a different lens than 45 year old farmer who has lived in the same small ranching town his entire life. My lens views the world with an equal focus and with the filter that my hands need not be involved in other peoples' lives.

OK I'm done spewing now. I'm sure I'll feel better in the morning. Please take all I say in here with a grain of salt. I could talk about this for hours and I just threw out a few thoughts and I'm not sure they were congruent.