Put Palin on the Supreme Court

Why are old stories like this one ((Sept. 13, 2008) being recycled, i.e. listed in the side column of a current article? --Especially a not-well-written article where the attempt at satire was too underplayed; it took me some paragraphs to get it, and judging from the comments, many readers never did.

Please, no Palin, she's embarrasing enough as she is. Thanks for the free speech useage, but I want my money back.

Is she serious?

It has been the stated goal of the religious right to appoint conservative judges to overturn Roe vs. Wade for years. Bush is on board with this plan. Every single judge that Bush appointed to every single Federal bench that came open during his tenure was a right wing Christian conservative. The Democrats were stymied when the GOP controlled congress, and Bush got to appoint two right wing Supreme Court Justices.

First Bush appointed John Roberts to replace Sandra Day O'Connor when she stepped down. When Chief Justice Wm. Rehnquist died in 2005, Bush appointed Roberts as Chief Justice, and then filled O'Connor's empty chair with Samuel Alito. Both Roberts and Alito are Catholic, and both are outspoken against abortion.

Bush has appointed two of the nine Justices, including the Chief Justice. The current Supreme Court has been sharply divided on a number of high profile issues, including abortion rights, affirmative action, eminent domain, gay rights, the separation of church and state, sovereign immunity, and states' rights. The number of close votes in cases involving these areas suggests that a change of one or two key justices could completely shift the thinking of the Court on such issues.

Right now there are four Justices who are elderly and will soon either retire or die. The next President will get to appoint at least two new Justices. If the next President is McCain, those two will both be conservative right wing Christians. McCain has publicly PROMISED to do this, and explicitly said that his goal is to overturn Roe vs. Wade.

Supreme Court Justices are not being paid to interpret the Bible. They are being paid to interpret the Constitution.

Most Americans, even most Republicans, value the separation of church and state. That clause is in our Constitution to protect us from exactly what is going on in America today! Allowing any religious group (especially a radical one) to control the interpretation and application of our laws in the highest court in the land is NOT democratic. Nor is it wise.

I don't care if you are a disappointed Hillary supporter or an undecided Independent or a life-long Republican or are pro-Obama. ANYONE, regardless of stripe, needs to vote against a candidate who had declared his intention of appointing partisan judges. Judges are supposed to be impartial. That is the basis of our legal system. Without that, you might as well live in a dictatorship, without recourse to law.

And NEWSWEAK shouldn't waste what little talent they have left on boobs who desire Nuremberg-style show trials to go after Bush. I never took you for a CHEKKIST functionary Lithwick,but then, I have been wrong before......

Oh man, i was about to write this raging comment, thanks those of you who confirmed that this article was a satire. What I love about it, is that the article points out how straight up crazy people are these days. It wouldn't have surprised me much if there were journalist out there who would have actually written this. In fact, there probably is. There may even some of you who would agree with this. I can't wait til we get to point when reason rules this country and i don't have to second guess articles like this.

Do not worry! Palin will kick ass in DC.

In a few weeks we will make a choice that will decide our future. I follow a economist named bob proctor who has called the top and bottom of every market crash since the 70s correctly. He perfectly predicted the current real estate market meltdown ,and the picture he paints about what will happen in the next couple years Is terrifying. He thinks it will be worse then the great depression. Banks in the US are going under one after the other. Country wide the largest morgage bank in the world Bear Stearns and Lehman brothers , and Merrill Lynch which are 3 out of the top 5 wall street firms. And now Fanny and Freddy which hold 50 percent of the home loans in the United States. The goverment took them over because they are essentially bankrupt. If they didn't the entire financially system would virtually shut down, the stock market would crash And we would suffer beyond what any of us have seen before The future of these companies will fall into the hands of our next president
Bush just like Mcain doesn't understand the economy.

That not just my opinion its his own words. Not only does he not understand how to fix it
He does not understand exactly what is broken. Its no surprise that he doesnt. The people that make up these
securities use complex math models very few people understand.
Bush and mccain both can take the credit for this mess since they helped deregulate the laws that were protecting us.


Bush's economic advisor Phil Graham wrote the deregulation bill that allowed banks take risks with all of our future.
Now Phil Graham is the head of mccains economic policy ,and mccain wants to make him the next secretary of the treasury.
No one in this country can afford for that to happen. The last time bush met with his economic advisors was in march. He either didnt realize or didnt care that anything was wrong. Phil Graham had the guts to say we are in a mental recession after he helped create the worst economy in our lifetime.
It will take the best and brightest minds in the world to get us out of this nightmare. As bad as bush has done mccain would be
incredibly worse because things are in much worse shape. The next president will not inherit a surplus like bush did but a tanking economy and a 11,600,000,000,000 deficit. Most of Bush created and it will take decades to pay it back.
If you do what you have always done then you will do get what you have always __________

When it comes to policy bush and mccain are the same 90 percent of the time.
So why are the polls even close then ?

The chairman of mcains campaign recently said that people don't vote on issues

they vote on a personality composite which means. He is trying to sell you personality instead of results.
He believes people will vote against there own self interests.

Lets teach him we are smarter then that .
Hold them accountable now while it will still help
Elect Obama Biden 2008

Ms Lithwick,
This was a really poor effort at saracasm. Sam Harris is much better at it. The Supreme Court is not an institution where we dump those deemed unqualified for political office. Politicized as it may have been over the past 200 hundered years, it still IS a Court and at least in the 20th century, it has required formal legal training to be eligible for a position there. For some of us, the Court still maintains some of its mystique and glamor and it would be good to keep it that way.
I think a more appropriate position for Ms Palin is the one originally designated for President Bush: Commissioner of Baseball. There she could exercise her leadership skills, her sportsmanship and who knows? Maybe she will pick up new skills like tobaco chewing or something! I would suggest that your next column entertain those possibilities. Disrespect for the Court serves no one.

Let the "dumbing down" of America continue! Why is it that our country looks down on the highly educated? Since when is being someone who I would want to have a beer with a qualifier for President? I want a president who thought education was important and put forth the time and effort to go beyond a basic four year degree. Not some "regular guy" (or gal) who reminds me of my un-educated buddies. I don't think Americans understand what the president does. I don't think that when GE needs a new CEO they will hire a guy who managed a MacDonalds for six years! I get the joke, but I'm not laughing!

Jesus Christ, you scared me for a moment.

I can just picture that hateful smile of hers in black robes. *Shudder*

Ms. Lithwick's suggestion of a Supreme Court position for Sarah Palin is a great idea, however it is doubtful she is qualified for that either.
It is easy to like Palin. She is attractive, meticulously dressed, well coiffed, and an excellent communicator. She'd be a great candidate for mom of the year were it not for apparent disdain for her children!

Mrs. Lithwick -

Palin is the Christian equivalent of bin Laden. She should be locked up, and frankly, so should you for suggesting such a dangerous and idiotic idea.

"And if any branch of government is in need of a mother of five who likes shooting wolves from helicopters, the court is it."

This is insane 'thinkng'.

"Her main concerns have been the hot-button social issues ... Palin wants to do away with abortion and strongly opposes gay marriage."

Have you completely forgotten that judges are supposed to be IMPARTIAL???

"supports teaching creationism in schools"

Why does America hate science? Why does it want one partcular myth 'taught' in the schools?

"the Supreme Court has often been the lone defender of the rights of women, gay couples and atheists, installing a Sarah Palin there would do far more to undo these things than getting her into the White House."

You type that as if NOT defending women's rights, gays' right, athests' rights was a good thing.

"Whatever your views of Washington insiders, clearly some knowledge of the ins and outs of the Congress, the various agencies, NGOs, and lobbyists, is helpful in a vice president."

Yes, they are, and all of them are completely and utterly lacking in Mrs. Palin.

"Governor Palin understands the fundamental tediousness of constitutional checks and balances."

And then sh!ts on them.

"She knows that if a court gets it wrong, you just build a better court."

What Mrs. Palin did in Alaska did NOT "build a better court". It built a biased one.

" ... as the chief executive of Alaska, a style of governance that features the not-infrequent firing of dissenters."

Oh wait, I get it now - this piece is SATIRE. (I'm not counting on your readers actually graspng that - note the 3 comments immediately below.) Or do you actually 'think' dissenters SHOULD be fired?

"nor even the Constitution itself will be a match for the force of her will."

A la Hucklebee. YIKES, America!

Thankfully, Dahlia Lithwick's article was satire, and a warning to me that I've read more than my share of politics this election cycle. There's a dangerous line between mocking and actual beliefs that's becoming increasingly blurred. Kudos to you Mrs. Lithwick for writing an article that accurately assess the regard for Palin's abilities by her most ardent supporters. Pssst, you were kidding...weren't you?

I have to admit, that the satire in Mrs. Lithwicks article ran parallel to the many ACTUAL opinions I've read of Palin supporters in other publications. As I read on, I competed with loud voices in my head drawing questions of my own that made reading this article quite difficult. Passages like; "...if any branch of government is in need of a mother of five who likes shooting wolves from helicopters, the court [supreme] is it," or, "...Palin understands the fundamental tediousness of constitutional checks and balances. She knows that if a court gets it wrong, you just build a better court." So you see, it's passages like these that had me asking myself questions like; You have got to be kidding me? Did someone not receive the ransom money in exchange for the release of the NEWSWEEK editor before this edition went to press? Is writing and publishing an article while inebriated a new trend that I haven't learned of yet?

Thankfully, Dahlia Lithwick's article was satire, and a warning to me that I've read more than my share of politics this election cycle. There's a dangerous line between mocking and actual beliefs that's becoming increasingly blurred. Kudos to you Mrs. Lithwick for writing an article that accurately assess the regard for Palin's abilities by her most ardent supporters. Pssst, you were kidding weren't you?

DALIA, YOU SCARED ME FOR A WHILE. I AM GLAD I READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE. YES, SARA PALIN SHOULD TAKE HER STORM OF LIES TO NOWHERE...OR BACK TO ALASKA AND TAKE CARE OF THE POLAR BEARS AND WOLVES. THANKS TO CHARLES GIBSON WHO EXPOSED HER FAKE AND INFLATED IMAGE AS A TRUE LEADER. SHE DEMONSTRATED LACK OF EXPERIENCE AND LACK OF PRUDENCE WHEN ASKED ABOUT THE BUSH DOCTRINE AND THE RUSSIANS IN GEORGIA. GOD FOREBID IF A PERSON LIKE PALIN EVER BECOMES PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
OH BY THE WAY, DID YOU SEE THE INTERVIEW HANITY HAD WITH PALIN? HE LOOKED LIKE HE WAS INTERVIEWING MY GRANDMOTHER. IT LOOKED LIKE IT WAS REHEARSED! WHAT? DO I WANT TO VOTE FOR THE PALIN-McCAIN TICKET TO NOWHERE? HELL NO! THANKS, BUT NO THANKS!