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Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Internet?
What's the last thing in the world you would want a Supreme Court justice to be doing?
Why "doing his own research on the Internet," according to Rep. Tom DeLay on FOX News Radio's Tony Snow show on Tuesday night.
Here's DeLay's full quote on Justice Kennedy's many failings:
"We've got Justice Kennedy writing decisions based upon international law, not the Constitution of the United States. That's just outrageous, and not only that, he said in session that he does his own research on the Internet. That is just incredibly outrageous."
Unfortunately, Snow was too slow-witted to pick up on this fascinating tidbit, embedded as it was in a Delay rant against Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.
And as you can see in the quote, DeLay does not elaborate on why he finds Justice Kennedy's research habits to be "outrageous."
So we have a great mystery, which hopefully some more enterprising reporter will plumb in the coming days: why is Tom DeLay outraged by Justices doing research on the Internet? Is he worried that their minds will be polluted by pornography? (Remember Justice Potter Stewart's famous 1964 opinion, where he wrote that he couldn't define pornography, but "I know it when I see it.")
Or perhaps they might wander upon some material not previously edited or scripted by the White House?
Who knows...DeLay has been braying loudly about exercising what he calls the power of Congress to rein in judges who don't rule the way DeLay wants them to. We can only hope that DeLay introduces a bill banning federal judges from using the Internet to do research. In the ensuing debate, we might finally find out why DeLay is afraid of the big bad Internet.
Dick,
Speaking of the internets, there is a heads up action alert in the blogosphere about Microsoft pulling its support from a gay rights bill in Washington state. It's from John over at Americablog. It's long because it's important. Here's the link and please take the time to read this: http://americablog.blogspot.com/2005/04/take-action-microsoft-abandons-gays.html
I imagine that if Rush hadn't called high school children teenange rapists last week, Tom DeLay would be on that show, with a much wider audience for his craptrap.
More and more corruption, bullying, and fascism from this administration. Now, Rice is bullying people to keep their lips sealed on Bolton until he is confirmed. Hmmmm....sounds like the Mafia now.
http://thinkprogress.org/index.php?p=678
Noam Chomsky tonight - I couldn't get in, dammit
He was on KUOW "weekday" this morning, I have an
audio archive file of the show - GREAT !
(his talk in Meany Auditorium, Univ. of WA, will be video broadcast on Saturday locally & the also on local public radio)
One of the things he said was that the Bush administration is geared to "... shine the boots of the rich, and kick the poor in the face..." !
http://www.kuow.org/m3u/weekday-a20050420.m3u
Speaker’s Forum, Wednesday, May 4th at 9:00pm
Noam Chomsky: ‘Illegal but Legitimate: A Dubious Doctrine for the Times’ Noam Chomsky - scholar, activist and author - is one of the most quoted public intellectuals in America and a powerful voice of dissent in the American political landscape.
You know, Tom DeLay better damn well hope that every single federal judgein this country from the Supreme Court on down enjoys only the best of health.
It doesn't take much to put the thought of violence in one of crazy redneck residents of Wingnuttia and before you know it, they'll go off and do harm to someone in robes. I know. I grew up there. People brought shotguns to school board meetings.
I'm telling you, it doesn't take much
The Internet represents Education
Education Evolves to Independance
Independance Evolves to Democracy
The last thing Tom Delay wants is Democracy.