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Source: "THE BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC"  By: Mormon Tabernacle Choir



Roberts: Scene at State of the Union 'Very Troubling'

Jay Reeves

AP

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (March 9) -- U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts said Tuesday the scene at President Barack Obama's first State of the Union address was "very troubling" and that the annual speech to Congress has "degenerated into a political pep rally."

Responding to a University of Alabama law student's question about the Senate's method of confirming justices, Roberts said senators improperly try to make political points by asking questions they know nominees can't answer because of judicial ethics rules.

"I think the process is broken down," he said.


U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts address students at the University of Alabama Law School in Tuscaloosa, Ala.,  on March 9, 2010.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts speaks at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Tuesday. He criticized the annual State of the Union address as a "political pep rally" and faulted the confirmation process for nominees to his court.


Obama chided the court for its campaign finance decision during the January address, with six of the court's nine justices seated before him in their black robes.

Roberts said he wonders whether justices should attend the address.

"To the extent the State of the Union has degenerated into a political pep rally, I'm not sure why we're there," said Roberts, a Republican nominee who joined the court in 2005.

Roberts said anyone is free to criticize the court and that some have an obligation to do so because of their positions.

"So I have no problems with that," he said. "On the other hand, there is the issue of the setting, the circumstances and the decorum. The image of having the members of one branch of government standing up, literally surrounding the Supreme Court, cheering and hollering while the court - according the requirements of protocol - has to sit there expressionless, I think is very troubling."

Breaking from tradition, Obama used the speech to criticize the court's decision that allows corporations and unions to freely spend money to run political ads for or against specific candidates.

"With all due deference to the separation of powers, the Supreme Court reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests - including foreign corporations - to spend without limit in our elections," Obama said.

Justice Samuel Alito was the only justice to respond at the time, shaking his head and appearing to mouth the words "not true" as Obama continued.




In response to Roberts' remarks Tuesday, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs focused on the court's decision and not the chief justice's point about the time and place for criticism of the court.

"What is troubling is that this decision opened the floodgates for corporations and special interests to pour money into elections - drowning out the voices of average Americans," Gibbs said. "The president has long been committed to reducing the undue influence of special interests and their lobbyists over government. That is why he spoke out to condemn the decision and is working with Congress on a legislative response."

Justice Antonin Scalia once said he no longer goes to the annual speech because the justices "sit there like bumps on a log" in an otherwise highly partisan atmosphere.

Roberts opened his appearance in Alabama with a 30-minute lecture on the history of the Supreme Court and became animated as he answered students' questions. He joked about a recent rumor that he was stepping down from the court and said he didn't know he wanted to be a lawyer until he was in law school.

While Associate Justice Clarence Thomas told students at Alabama last fall he saw little value in oral arguments before the court, Roberts disagreed.

"Maybe it's because I participated in it a lot as a lawyer," Roberts said. "I'd hate to think it didn't matter."

Source: www.aolnews.com/nation/article/chief-justice-is-latest-critic-of-president-obamas-scotus-scold/19391700

Filed under: Nation, Politics, Top Stories









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Michel Chossudovsky is a frequent contributor to Global Research.  Global Research Articles by Michel Chossudovsky
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EDITORIAL By: Christian Jorgensen

Saving America

Now is the time for all of us to come to the aid of our Country !!! For the first time in any of our lives we have found ourselves in a Constitutional crisis. Since the beginning of our great Country there have been many attempts made at amending the Constitution. The framers of our founding document realized that, for its meaning to stay intact, there could never be changes made to it. It was made clear by the language in it, that there were to be no amendments made to the Constitution of the United States of America. To do so would erode its guarantees that we as a people would remain free and self determining, that regardless of social status, no one person could impose his will on another person in relation to that person's inalienable rights for the pursuit of happiness. As long as that person obeyed the laws of society, he was guaranteed certain inalienable rights. The framers knew that to change one part of it, would affect its structure as a whole. Like a Spider Web, to cut one strand would compromise the integrity of the web as a whole.

Now, as a political party, we are facing a similar crisis. The conservative ideal, the principals that unite us as a whole, are having our connecting fiber cut along the lines of ideological divides. We have extreme right wing Republicans favoring their one size fits all approach, no room for deviance from the party line, battling moderate Republicans (Rino's) who are willing to sell their soul for power and money, and who are willing to cut a deal with the Devil. Who are in turn in conflict with Independent and just barely right of center independents or centrists depending where you draw the line on being a conservative, who want an end to the business as usual. I am not saying we don’t all want an end to business as usual, all I know is neither party has helped get us out of this mess. It is almost like they are joined at the hip. There are far too many deals being cut that leave us tax payers holding the bill. There is too much Pork on both sides of the isle and it seems no one is truly looking out for us, the tax payer. There is no doubt that a Conservative’s ideals are; Pro life, less taxes, less Government is better Government, Government out of our lives, The Government has no wealth, only our wealth, Christian based faith, Pro business.


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The Constitution of the United States of America is a perfect document when left unchanged, desecrated if changed, that we as a people have a right and an obligation to defend the Constitution of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign or domestic (Today’s Politicians). The list is long, but there is no mistaking our differences with Utopian and Progressive based Liberals who believe your money is their money, that the Government is wealthy. That is where we must all unite at once, we must save our ideological differences of party for another day and defeat this great Politically Correct Devil that will consume our wealth and freedoms and render us slaves to a Godless society. We can’t afford to worry about where to dig the well as our Country's framework burns. The conservative tent must be all inclusive, Just as hard core Republicans do not have the numbers to defeat the libs, neither do the moderates nor Independents alone have the numbers. We must put our differences aside and come together as Conservatives; business as usual must end now, and we need an overwhelming show of force, an unmistakable mandate and new politicians with a spine. We must unite now, or it will be forever too late !!!!

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