Courtship

Now that the “trust us, she’s an evangelical Christian” nomination of Harriet Miers to the United States Supreme Court has fallen to the scrap heap of American history, President George Bush has shifted gears and tapped Samuel Alito for the job.

And, although we are constantly reminded that it’s not supposed to matter, if Alito is indeed confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court, he will become the fifth Roman Catholic sitting on the highest court (Roberts, Scalia, Thomas and Kennedy being the other four).

Supporters of Alito note that he is a strict constructionist, and not one of those “activist judges” who so rankles the Religious Right. Which we at Holier Than Thou find just a bit ironic, given the Catholic League’s unique thoughts on Constitutional law.

So, just how does Bill Donahue, president of The Catholic League, suggest amending the Constitution?

A) Requiring a unanimous vote from all nine Supreme Court Justices before a law created by a simple majority of Congress can be overturned.
B) Requiring that all members of the U.S. Supreme Court be active church members or participate in other “faith-based” activities.
C) Requiring that all governmental institutions, including public schools and the U.S. Supreme Court, offer 10 minutes per day be devoted to prayer or silent meditation.
D) Barring Muslims from many top governmental jobs, including federal judgeships and therefore, the Supreme Court.



ANSWER:
A) Shifting the balance of power guaranteed through the Constitution by requiring a unanimous vote from the Supreme Court before a law created by Congress could be overturned.

So much for a supporting a strict constructionist view of the Constitution, eh?

In the meantime, Holier Than Thou would also like to thank the good folks at DefConBlog for linking to our site. They can be found at www.defconblog.org

Also, in reference to our “Playing Doctor” posting on 10/19, we have since been told that Indiana State Sen. Miller has withdrawn her legislation that would have barred doctors from giving fertility treatments to women who couldn’t prove that they were regular churchgoers. Apparently, Sen. Miller noted that the issue was more complex than she had first thought, and so she needs to mull it over more before moving forward.