Our Political Vegetative State (Joseph Farah On Judicial Despots Immune To The Rule Of Law Alert)

Worldnetdaily.com ^ | 04/12/05 | Joseph Farah

[goldstategop]

Those who brought about her demise told us it was because she was in a "persistent vegetative state."

The evidence didn't support such a finding. In fact, I don't believe human beings ever become "vegetables."

But I do believe governments and political systems can reach the point of "persistent vegetative states," and, judging from the fallout from this remarkable legal case, the United States just might be there.

Let's recall just what happened in the last days of the life of the disabled Florida woman.

A local county elected politician, a judge, made the determination to accede to the wishes of Terri's estranged husband to pull her feeding and hydration tube, thus sentencing an innocent, non-terminal handicapped woman to death. He did this despite mixed medical opinions about her prognosis. He did this despite the urgings of her parents and siblings. He did this after taking money from several attorneys representing her estranged husband and despite accusations and suspicions that Michael Schiavo abused Terri and may have tried to kill her, leading to her medical condition.

The U.S. Congress passed a law in emergency session and got it signed by President Bush in the middle of the night calling for a federal court review of all the evidence in the case and the restoration of Terri's feeding and hydration tube. The federal court showed contempt for Congress and refused to follow the wishes of the American people.

The U.S. Congress issued a subpoena to the county judge, which he ignored.

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush pleaded with the county judge to restore the feeding tube, citing Florida law that trumped his decision. He dismissed the claims of the governor.

There are many more extraordinary details of this case, but I want to focus just on these for the moment.

Members of Congress were huffing and puffing about the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals after its decision to ignore the will of Congress. Yet there has not been a move by the most powerful branch of the federal government to hold the federal court accountable for its contempt of Congress or its role as an accomplice to judicial homicide.

This is what I mean by a "political vegetative state."

The rule of law and the will of the people have been ignored, abused, subverted, undermined, trampled, raped and mocked in this case. And no one in Congress is lifting a finger to do a thing about it.

No one in the governor's office of the state of Florida is doing a thing about it.

Is that leadership? Is that responsiveness to the will of the people? Is that executing the rule of law?

I suspect members of Congress are a little embarrassed to be outfoxed by a local politician-judge. I suspect some of them are shocked to find out how easy it is to ignore a congressional subpoena and an act of Congress.

However, if there are no consequences for these actions, then every American should feel free to ignore future subpoenas and future acts of Congress as Judge George Greer did and as the 11th Circuit did.

I suspect Jeb Bush is humiliated. I suspect he is happy to be out of the spotlight – to have the pressure off of him now that Terri is gone. Unfortunately, he has signaled to the people of his state and the rest of the country that he is a paper tiger who can also be ignored.

Unless these renegade judges are reined in – and I mean with criminal prosecution, if necessary – this case will represent a landmark, not just in the state-sanctioned death of an innocent woman, but in the breakdown of law and order in our society.

In other words, it wasn't Terri who was in a persistent vegetative state. It is our system that is in a political vegetative state.

[goldstategop]

Look again folks: There are judicial despots who are immune to the rule of law. They're above the law and can do anything they want. From Pinellas County Judge George Greer to U.S Ninth Circuit Court Of Appeal Judge Stephen Reinhardt and company. Politicians lose control of their bladder at the sight of judicial outrages and cringe at holding out of control judges accountable for their conduct. It wasn't Terri Schiavo who was in a coma; its our justice system. The krytocrats who rule our country are its new criminal class.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[kingattax]

UNelected maniacs and ELECTED idiots with no testicular fortitude. .......we better start electing people with the guts and the resolve to start impeaching these arrogant judges.

repubs better wake up..."It's judges and the borders, stupid"

[snowsislander]

I suspect members of Congress are a little embarrassed to be outfoxed by a local politician-judge. I suspect some of them are shocked to find out how easy it is to ignore a congressional subpoena and an act of Congress.

However, if there are no consequences for these actions, then every American should feel free to ignore future subpoenas and future acts of Congress as Judge George Greer did and as the 11th Circuit did.

Mr. Farah is correct: we have come a long way from Peter Rodino's Judiciary Committee to today's lily-livered acceptance of Judge Greer's contemptuous treatment of Congressional subpoenas.

[Theodore R.]

Did you notice how Dr. Frist who emphatically first declared Terri "not in a vegetative state" now seems to be in one himself, politically at least? Bring back Trent Lott: he could hardly do any worse!

[Walkure]

Farah has some good points but he misses 2 important ones:

1. A serious flaw in the Constitution is that appointment of federal judges is left to the Senate, and not the House. One reason elimination of the fillibuster is so constitutional is because a judge may get 51 (out of 100) floor votes in the Senate, but those 51 Senators may represent ONLY EIGHTEEN PERCENT of the US population. The injustice of this is obvious and inherent. What conservatives should move for--and yes this will take a long time of course--is a constitutional amendment to move federal judicial nominations to a body (House) representative of the people and sensitive to popular will, and away from a remote, elitist body (Senate) out of touch with the masses of Americans.

2. The real problem, though, is not 1., above. Rather JUDICIAL REVIEW itself is the real problem. Judicial review of legislation passed by legislators elected by a free people is expressed nowhere in the US Constitution. Furthermore it is inherently un(small d)democratic. Legislators and the POTUS, along with state governors and legislators take an oath to uphold the Constitution, it should be assumed that any legislation passed by the above bodies and signed into law by the above executives is consitutional per se. Judicial review merely spits in the face of popular will. I hate to praise Europe (or even the UK) but they have had the good sense not to be burdened by this odious doctrine.