Scalia Many Times Favored Right Wing Republicans Not The Interest Of American People

Scalia vs. USA

The death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia provides a great opportunity for America. Many of his decisions have been in favor of the right-wing Republicans and against the best interest of the American people, democracy, and more recently, the planet.

Begin with the decision to appoint George W. Bush president by stopping the recount in Florida when thousands of votes were never even counted and 500,000 more people voted for Gore. That is not democracy.

The Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision to allow corporations and individuals to buy elections and candidates is contrary to any democratic principle. The Koch brothers are planning to spend more than $300 million in support of their Republican candidates. That is not democracy.

U.S. Supreme Court justices No more brawling

Antonin Scalia will be remembered as a “giant” among U.S. Supreme Court justices. What kind of giant remains to be seen. I believe history will, by a preponderance of the evidence, show Scalia was not just a pugnacious, combative jurist, but one who enjoyed brawling. He seemed to enjoy beating on others, whether by intellect or simple in-your-face verbal bullying.

Did he have the intelligence to carry out the duties of Supreme Court justice? No doubt. Only time will allow a thorough and more accurate judgment of the man as a Supreme Court justice. We are far too close, and the arguments surrounding his legal opinions are much too strident and vitriolic, to be clearly dissected by either the left or right wings of American politics.

On one thing and one thing only, I dearly hope both the reader and the political parties can agree. This United States does not need a new Supreme Court justice who will engage in intellectual brawls for the sake of the fight and personal enjoyment. The rancor and open mutual distrust, disrespect and outright name-calling between those to whom we have entrusted our and our children’s fate must cease. For those who believe nationwide political violence can’t happen here, break out the history books.

Mired in a pit of political self indulgence, we, like adolescents in a school yard, seem to be hurling ever more nasty insults at our rivals. How long before the first stone is cast? Stones are everywhere, and ours have names like “Armalite,” “Browning,” “Smith & Wesson” and many, many others. Think, people, think!

By: Joseph M. Burgess

Charles Grassley and Mitch McConnell Do A Disservice To Americans

Swelled Head Mitch McConnell

Tossup needed

I read with both dismay and disgust that both Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Judiciary Committee leader Charles Grassley have both decided that they will not hold hearings on any Supreme Court nominee put forth by President Obama.

Whether you love or hate the president, it is not only his right, but his constitutional duty to name a successor to Justice Scalia. Their refusals carry about as much merit as Sen. Charles Schumer’s did when he proposed the same thing at the end of President Bush’s term. To refuse a hearing — based not on a lack of judicial qualifications, legal experience or Bar Association recommendation, but only on who makes the recommendation — only further politicizes an institution which is already far too political. There are bad rulings on both sides, conservative and liberal alike, and we would be far better off if we had no idea of the politics of a nominee. Before Scalia’s death, we had three conservative votes that would not waver, and also three liberal votes that were also completely predictable, with Kennedy and occasionally Roberts as toss-ups. We need more toss-ups.

And I wonder how happy Sens. McConnell and Grassley will be if they have to hold hearings for the nominee of newly elected President Bernie Sanders! Just do your jobs, and leave the politics out of it.

By: Michael Buchanan

Originalist approach of Justice Antonin Scalia

Judicial intent

Although Justice Antonin Scalia was widely considered an individual of great intellect, character and charm, his originalist approach was a point of contention. The concept of originalism is an approach to interpreting the U.S. Constitution based on the perceived original intent of its framers.

But English words and terms are often open to various interpretations — including constitutional terms like “general welfare,” “natural born citizen,” “take care” and “cruel and unusual punishments.” Even the framers had their differences about the meaning of certain terms.

Who Should Pick Justice Scalias Replacement.

We've seen and heard a lot from the right and left on who should get to choose Justice Antonin Scalias replacement.
Justice Scalia once said, "I would not like to be replaced by a successor who went on to undo everything I have done over the last 25 years."

I'm not a Justice Scalia fan but I do believe that President Obama is a fair and balanced President. He has almost a year left in his term and should nominate the next Supreme Court Justice.

The nominee should be vented yes but should have a proven track record on being fair and level headed. No one picked for this high court should be able to  rule on personal feelings. Questions on abortion and religion should not be a requirement of the picking process. Most Judges have a track record like any job and should be looked at how well they performed on there job up to this point.