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Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia Misses the Point
Judge Scalia has been touting his theory that the Constitution is not a
living and breathing document, but that Judges should interpret the
Constitution based on the intention of when it was written in the 18th
Century.
This, in my opinion, is utter nonsense. For if we are to interpret the
Constitution as it was written in the 18th Century, then only white men
who own property would have the right to vote; women would not be able
to vote or run for office; Blacks would not be able to be citizens;
local authorities could shackle prisoners and put them in stockades and
parade them in front of the public, just to name a few.
The U.S. Constitution is a living & breathing document. It was written
with enough ambiguity so that it would flow with society as norms &
morals change. It is not a stagnant piece of paper to be interpreted
literally as it was written in the 18th Century. That is the beauty of
the Constitution, since it can be interpreted in today's society, not as
it was back in the 18th Century.
For example, back in the 18th Century, the notion that 'All men are
created equal' meant white males. That is not the case today as it
pertains to mankind, which would include women, blacks and Hispanics.
Thus, Justice Scalia's interpretation is out of date, as well as his
ideas.
He claims to be the son of a Sicilian father who came to the U.S. as a
teenager, knowing little English. My father came from Italy when he was
16-years old without any knowledge of English and he became a boxing
promoter as well as owner of a restaurant. He was able to help other
individuals who were not as fortunate by providing them jobs &
opportunities. My father would be aghast at another Italian speaking the
way Justice Scalia is speaking.
Scalia also indicates that torture of a detainee could be justified. In
no uncertain terms can torture be justified as it has constantly been
found to be true that torture does not result in getting accurate
information, as well as the fact that it brings us down to the level of
our enemies. The United States has lost its moral high ground due to
attitudes such as Justice Scalia regarding to detainees and human
rights.
In the article, it quotes another fellow conservative U.S. Appellate
Judge Alex Kozinksi saying that times are changing and people are
listening to Scalia and that more individuals are following his
ideology. Heaven help us if this is so, for if it were there would be no
civil rights movement, no women's rights movement, no gay rights
movement, and all the advances we have made as a society would be turned
back 200 years. Such cannot be allowed to happen.
The U.S. Constitution has survived over 200 years with limited amount of
amendments because of its restriction on the Government, on what it can
do to the People. It is not being interpreted by some such as Scalia as
it should be interpreted.
In point of fact, some Justices like Scalia allow the Executive Branch,
to wit; the Presidency, to trample on the Constitution by allowing the
present Administration to run amok without any checks & balances as our
founding fathers demanded there should be.
With Justices like Scalia on the side of the Administration and with
their conservative attitudes, the American individual should be afraid,
should be very afraid of their own liberty & rights, because they are
being trampled upon by the likes of Justice Scalia and the present Bush
Administration.
The county deserves a full time prosecutor who will roll up his sleeves
and fight the crime problem in this county. Any prosecutor and his chief
assistant who has tried as few as two cases in 20 years isn't rolling up
their sleeves to get the job done.
Tax revenues are low. Our prosecutor has the largest budget over at
$3.3 million dollars. He has the largest staff ever. He has the
taxpayers buying him a new car every year. We need to do more with less
not less with more.
Every time I turn around the prosecutor is on another junket, either the
national or state prosecutor's association or some other meeting. My
philosophy is basically taking care of the crime problem in Saginaw
County, not taking care of problems in other states.
Fiscal responsibility is part of the prosecutor's job. This means making
sure policy and procedures in law enforcement are followed so the
taxpayers don't get stuck with the tab. The present prosecutor has
failed in this regard.
It would be my goal to prosecute violent offenders, career criminals and
the worst of the worst within the shortest time possible. We need to get
them off the streets.
Drive by shootings used to happen at night, not they happen in broad
daylight. People are not as safe today as they were even 10 years ago.
This needs to be changed.
A full time prosecutor working for Saginaw County residents is
essential. We all have to roll up our sleeves and get to work
prosecuting crime.
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