Losing trust in Supreme Court
Infections starting to rise again, especially in Warren County
The Front Page
Morning Update
Monday, April 4, 2022
By Ken Tingley
The sad reality is most people cannot name the nine judges who comprise the Supreme Court. Actually, I will take it a step further. I think there is good chance that most people cannot name one member of the Supreme Court.
I was one of those people at one time, but about 15 years ago I read Jeffrey Toobin’s book “The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court.”
I found it fascinating how the court worked, but more importantly how the justices got along and worked well together.
That was important because this was the last line of defense in our democracy.
I’ve had to tell myself that repeatedly in recent years as the court was dragged repeatedly into our politics.
I still had faith in the court, but I’m not so sure about that anymore. Apparently, a lot of people are not so sure anymore.
There have always been judges with liberal and conservative leanings, but it was not unusual to see one of them cross over on an issue, especially justices like Sandra Day O’Connor and Anthony Kennedy.
We still see some of that from Chief Justice John Roberts, but rarely from anyone else.
Earlier this year in a national survey the Pew Research Center did, 54 percent of U.S. adults said they had a favorable opinion of the Supreme Court. The survey was conducted before Stephen Breyer announced his resignation.
The problem is that favorable rating was 69 percent three years ago.
Beginning with Mitch McConnell’s blockade of Merrick Garland’s appointment during President Obama’s last year in office, the politicians have increasingly made the Supreme Court a political football.
That is a recent occurrence.
Presidents and Congress used to look for qualified and fair jurists above all else.
Consider that in 1993, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, eminently qualified but also a liberal, was confirmed 96-3.
It was not surprising that President Trump’s three Supreme Court appointments had conservative records, but he politicized their appointments to the point that even he believed he owned their votes.
Ketanji Brown Jackson, another eminently qualified jurist, will receive far less support because of that politicization. It will almost surely break down along party boundaries. That will politicize the court further.
Her contentious confirmation hearing payback by Republicans for the poor treatment they believe Justice Brett Kavanaugh received, although he was accused of rape as a young man.
The recent decisions about voters rights and abortion may lead to not only social upheaval in our country, but even less confidence in the Supreme Court and their rulings.
Over the past year, some of the Supreme Court justices have shown concern for how they are viewed by the public.
Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett said that her objective was to convince the public that the Supreme Court “is not comprised of a bunch of partisan hacks.”
She might have been better served that day if she was not standing next to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the very definition of a partisan hack.
During a lecture at Norte Dame, Clarence Thomas proclaimed his colleagues do not rule on “personal preferences.” Of course, after the revelations of the past week, you have to wonder if the question is whether they rule on the basis of their’ spouse’s “personal preferences.”
After the recent confirmation hearing in the Senate and the revelations about Ginni Thomas’ role in the events of January 6, I suspect the next poll about confidence in the Supreme Court will show even less.
Infections rising.
With cases rising again in Warren County, I’m seeing very little reaction within the community.
My wife was getting her oil changed in her car this week with a dozen or so other people in the waiting room. She was the only one wearing a mask.
It appears that about 1 in 10 are wearing masks in the supermarket. Right now, the infection rate in Warren County is about twice what it is in Washington and Saratoga counties.
Washington County has not posted a Covid update on its website since March 25.
Reap what you sow
I saw a post on social media this past week of someone complaining that it cost $94 to fill up their Hummer.
Perhaps I was traumatized by the oil embargo of the 1970s, but after that fuel efficiency was my biggest concern when purchasing a car. It was always part of the equation. I’ve always believed that gas prices were going to go up.
So, I don’t have a lot of sympathy for the people with big trucks - who don’t really need them - or gas-guzzling SUVs about the pain you are experiencing at the pump. We all have to take responsibility for our choices in fuel efficiency when we purchase an automobile.
Supply and demand
Reminder that presidents don’t control gas prices. It is supply and demand.
during the pandemic. There was less demand and prices went down because there was lots of extra gas. When the demand returned, oil companies cut back on production and prices went back up. Now we have the added wild card of the energy demand in Europe because of the Ukraine war.
It is supply and demand and not any one economic policy.
Lecture series
I’ve been asked to speak at the Dr. Norman A. Enhorning Lecture and Lunch Series at SUNY Adirondack on April 26 at 1 p.m. With my second book “The Last American Newspaper” due out in the coming months, I will be talking about community journalism; what we did in the past and what needs to be done in the future. Since the program is part of the continuing education at the college, it does charge $75.
I am one of two guest lecturers on the program with one on forestry management at 11 a.m., followed by lunch at noon and then my program at 1 p.m.
My previous events over the past year have been far less formal as I’ve talked about my first book, a collection of columns from my time at The Post-Star. This will be a little more formal, but it will give me the opportunity to talk about the information crisis we will be experiencing in our communities.
See the registration information below.
You could have stopped after the first sentence of the Hummer piece 😀.
The most current partisan attacks on Supreme Court nominees began with the nomination of Robert Bork and continued with the contentious and acrimonious hearings for Justice Thomas. What happened to Judge Garland's nomination was unique, but it was one in a line of partisan actions against nominee's to the Court from both sides of the aisle. Actually the contentiousness goes back to the Senate's rejection of President George Washington's nomination of South Carolina's John Rutledge to be Chief Justice of the United States. But let's stick to more current times.
Whether or not they were justified depends more these days on where one sits politically than actual facts, but here we are. I have concerns about how the current situation is being handled concerning the demands for Justice Thomas to recuse himself or even resign, for the alleged actions or statements of his wife. The situation differs greatly from Judge Jackson saying she would voluntarily recuse herself from a situation she was personally involved in. Here we are demanding a sitting Justice recuse himself for the alleged actions or statements of another. There are many ethical and legal questions to be considered for Justice Thomas to recuse himself. Too many for this comment.
Today, a number of our fellow citizens are losing faith in our institutions and trust in the people who are supposed to be serving their nation and the people. It is indeed a challenging and dangerous time when one of those institutions is the Supreme Court of the United Sates..