Rather than put words into the proverbial mouth of my wonderful reader, I would prefer to quote the comment in full:
Now boo hoo Tabletop Joe Trump’s puck seems to me like a wonderful man who has a wonderful family . Are you a religious man Tabletop Joe ? Everyone needs religion , whichever religion you choose ... that’s just my opinion and not growing up Catholic but having converted I can say this is a very admirable attribute , looks like he is very giving to the community of his time talent and treasure....Where to begin with this?
Boo Hoo Tabletop Joe
For starters, let's make clear that the people who Judge Kavanaugh and modern Republicans want to hurt generally doesn't include me. I will benefit from their tax cuts (minimally) and, as a white male, their decreasingly covert racism isn't directed at me. Therefore, save your boo hoos for someone else.
Wonderful Man/Wonderful Family
As to the "wonderful man who has a wonderful family," that's fine and great. Some would say the same about me, even if they think my ideas are the worst thing in the world. Curtis Painter, I'm sure, also has a lovely family, but that doesn't mean that I want him to play QB for the Indianapolis Colts. I only care about a football player's football playing (to put a comically fine point on it). Similarly, I care about a judge's approach to the law, not his approach to his own family. However kind he is in person is irrelevant to me because it is such a longshot that I will ever get to meet him personally as to be effectively impossible. However, his jurisprudence will affect me (and you).
On judicial philosophy, I am given to understand that he doesn't believe in the exclusionary rule and wants to eliminate that. For the uninitiated, the exclusionary rule states that the government can't use evidence against you if they violated your rights and illegally obtained it. It's the thing that keeps the police from breaking into your house, for example.
Further, I have no illusion that a Justice Kavanaugh will be the 5th vote to overturn, either explicitly or sub silencio, Roe v. Wade. Now, I've had plenty of conversations with so-called conservatives who tell me that abortion doesn't bother them as long as it's not a 3rd trimester abortion. To them, I would say that you should actually, you know, read Roe v. Wade. However, to save you some time, I'll summarize: the state has no business getting between a woman and her doctor in the 1st trimester; the state has an interest in getting involved during the 2nd trimester to protect the mother's life; the state has an interest in getting involved during the 3rd trimester to protect the baby's life. There it is. Apparently Judge Kavanaugh believes that the government knows better than a woman and her doctor what is proper for her. These are not easy decisions, and it appears that this judge does not believe that determining what grows inside one's own body is a fundamental right. I disagree.
Judge Kavanaugh has also written about how he believes that a sitting president can't be indicted. I'm sure that had nothing to do with Donald Trump's selection of him, though. I'm likewise sure that it will never come up because the Mueller investigation is one with which Donald Trump has fully supported, as he is concerned that our nation's elections be free of foreign interference, right?
Religion
My commenter believes that "everyone needs religion." I disagree. If you are happily ensconced in your faith, I am happy for you. If you are happily ensconced in atheism, I am similarly happy for you. I do not believe that everyone needs religion. Regrettably, too many people use religion as a justification for their own desire to look down on others, to judge others, and to exclude others. It is those who use religion for such profane purposes that put so many people off from religion. It kind of reminds me of when I was young and couldn't stand Phish for no reason other than the band's fans were just intolerable.
Everyone does not need religion.
Time, Talent, and Treasure
I too give my time and talent for good causes. I do some pro bono legal work, and I play in two rock n' roll bands that donate a lot of money to charity and no money back to me. That doesn't make my ideas the right ones for public policy, and it doesn't do so for Judge Kavanaugh, Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, Elizabeth Warren, or anyone else.
Elected representatives are our employees. Just like I don't really care how giving my paralegal is in her own community if she can't do her job to my liking, I don't care how giving my representatives are in their community if they don't do their jobs to my liking. While I recognize that a judge doesn't represent me, he is supposed to represent the law.
My big takeaway about Judge Kavanaugh is that he will use the Court not to protect the weak from the whims of the powerful but rather to protect a privileged, wealthy minority from the whims of democracy.
Are you positively sure this judge posesses “ covert racism “ and are you absolutely sure that he will “ overturn “ Roe v. Wade ? I mean he’s a judge and he can decide what and how he wants to vote on an issue at any point in time , he can flip flop on issues if he wants , he can be senile about the issues ( since judges get to serve , what ? Forever ? Idk , I’m sure you can enlighten me on that one ) I’m sure there’s been instances over the years where a “ liberal” judge has raised eyebrows and voted “ conservative ... and vice versa . AND , what is exectly “ liberal “ and “ conservatively”.... I wonder ,does it depend on the situation of the issue at hand whether your stance is considered( labeled ) liberal or conservative ... I would think so .... and does it matter ?! I’ve grown very weary of all the severely divided rhetoric that does just that ... seeks to divide. I’ve seen issues discussed on CNN that have been skewed so badly and overblown so much that they reek of propaganda just to divide the country ... and the SAME for Fox ! Why can we not elect a damn judge without simply celebrating the process this great country of ours has ? And why if some people do not like our process , why do they not leave and go to other countries to live ?
ReplyDeleteI refuse to look at everything , and I mean everything ,through EITHER a liberal or conservative lense ... and hate the process ( ie the world ) because of it ! As I said before ... I hold many beliefs , and they are not EITHER liberal OR conservative ones !
Put the hate to rest , it serves no good anywhere to anyone .
And , not I’m apologizing for going to mass. I do not pass judgement on others that do not celebrate some sort of religion at all . I also do not think I’m above others for being Catholic and celebrating mass . Catholics do not proselytize. I know some religions do, I have no beef with them or other religions for any reason. (Or atheists either ) so whatever gets you through ... I’m merely saying that to have a religion , any religion , and to be faithful and practice it is generally a good character attribute in my book . It’s also good for the heart and soul .
Oh, and BTW, IU Health and St Vincent Hospitals both evaluate and reward their employees for their community involvement and volunteerism and give points for it on their yearly employee evaluations, which effects their raises . I merely point that out as an FYI .