Vox Day #fundie

Vox Day #fundie voxday.blogspot.com

Amend or go home

Remember when all the progressives and moderates were saying that a Defense of Marriage Amendment was unnecessary because Congress passed a law? Yeah, well, they lied:

A divided U.S. Supreme Court overturned the federal law that defines marriage as a heterosexual union, saying it violates the rights of married gay couples by denying them government benefits.

Between legalizing abortion and the government dismantling of marriage, the USA has now officially entered Sodom and Gomorrah territory. I wouldn't put too much confidence in that "God bless America" notion. The best-case scenario is that He's not paying attention. Following American politics these days feels like watching Gibbon on fast-forward; an imperial decline and fall measured in years rather than centuries.

I find it remarkable that Republicans still bother passing this sort of law when it has been clear since at least 1973 that the Supreme Court will simply overturn anything that is effectively conservative. Amend or don't bother.

UPDATE: And they effectively overturned Proposition 8 in California by refusing to hear it. Taken together, these two "rulings" make it official: American democracy is entirely dead.

The court avoided a ruling on the merits in a second gay-marriage case involving California's Proposition 8 ban on gay marriage, saying that both the Supreme Court and a federal appeals court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case. That means a federal district court's ruling striking down Proposition 8 stands, which could clear the way for same-sex marriage to resume in California.

Notice how the Supreme Court will jump in and wave the Constitution whenever it wants to override something, but turn around and claim it has no jurisdiction whenever it wants to leave a lower court decision intact. Pass a law, pass a referendum, it doesn't matter. The black robes now rule.

40 comments

old comment by Arctic Knight

This is something I've been hearing from conservatives for years, if the conservative agree with a ruling from the SCOTUS, then the judges are "just doing their job to support the Constitution." However, it they disagree with a ruling, then the SCOTUS is filled with "activist judges who have an agenda to destroy the Constitution and the American way of life."

Somehow, they just can't grasp the concept that the entire purpose of the SCOTUS is to evaluate laws and compare them to the the Constitution, throwing out any laws that violate the Constitution and preserving laws that are in harmony with the Constitution. The judicial branch was put in place to prevent congress from passing and enforcing unconstitutional laws. It's all part of the checks and balances.

old comment by UHM

"American democracy is entirely dead. [] Pass a law, pass a referendum, it doesn't matter."
I'm sure you wouldn't say that if the people had outlawed Christians to marry. Would it then also be "judicial activism" or "restoring of constitutional rights". It's not actually your opinion that leads so many people despise you, it's the hypocritical and nihilistic way you argue it.

"Notice how the Supreme Court will jump in and wave the Constitution whenever it wants to override something, but turn around and claim it has no jurisdiction whenever it wants to leave a lower court decision intact."
You can save your whining, had the court taken the case it might have struck down all constitutional amendments of states outlawing same-sex marriage. The problem is that that would have created the precedent than non-state lawyers can defend a law. Which would have created a fuckton more cases.

old comment by

"since at least 1973 that the Supreme Court will simply overturn anything that is effectively conservative."

Maybe if so-called conservatives weren't constantly trying to trample the constituional rights of everyone but rich white males and their corporations, they wouldn't have had so many of their plots foiled.

Having said that, have you been paying attention to what the far-right wing SCOTUS nutjobs have been doing for the past decade or so? They've just handed you people all future elections with Citizens United and the overturning of the Voting Rights Act unless Congress can do something to fix those outrageous rulings. WTF are you whining about?

old comment by Anon-e-moose

How to destroy DOMA. And in a way that doesn't require a Supreme Court Judge-level grounding in law, neither:

1- Go to http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html

2- Click on 'Edit', then 'Find'.

3- Type in the word 'Marriage'.

4- Now type in the words one after another 'God', 'Jesus' and 'Creator'.

5- ?????

6- DOMA destroyed.

As is your argument, VD & all your butthurt fundie ilk. Now, unless you want to go to the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington DC and tear up that nasty ol' US Constitution, because it no longer gives you the right to persecute anyone not exactly like you, then frankly you've got a better chance of taking over the White House, Capitol Building & Supreme Court in a solo armed insurrection than getting your hands on said document to tear it up.

...but keep watching the film "Olympus Has Fallen", VD. Mayhaps fantasy might bleed over into Reality if you have enough 'faith'...! [/hyper-sarcasm]

(There's even a scene in "World War Zed", in which the actual Constitution is 'saved' from the encroaching zombie horde...!)

old comment by dionysus

Between legalizing abortion and the government dismantling of marriage, the USA has now officially entered Sodom and Gomorrah territory

Given that Sodom and Gomorrah's crime was treating strangers poorly I'd say we became that long ago, when we decided that we owned the world and could barge into other countries, assassinate their leaders, and/or install a dictatorship that's friendly to our interests.

Following American politics these days feels like watching Gibbon on fast-forward; an imperial decline and fall measured in years rather than centuries.

You're kind of right. While the strength of the candidate field has certainly declined over the years it's not the fall of the US. We've had bad leaders before and we've always bounced back from it. Hell, Lincoln (one of the very best) was preceded and succeeded by some of the worst presidents in US history. Obama's okay, but I kind of expected better of him. Dubbya was absolute rubbish though.

Taken together, these two "rulings" make it official: American democracy is entirely dead.

American never was a true democracy. It's always been a Constitutional Republic. That means that we elect leaders to represent us and while generally the majority gets what they want, the minority are protected from the tyranny of the majority. As much as I complain about the state of US politics, it's actually quite a brilliant system.

Pass a law, pass a referendum, it doesn't matter.

If it violates others' rights then you're damn right that the law doesn't matter. How would you feel if the majority voted to ban all Christians from voting? Would you complain about judicial activism then? Or would you hold strong on your opinion that the law is the law and the majority should get what they want?

old comment by Rachel

Theodore Beale, aka Vox Day, wrote, "Notice how the Supreme Court will jump in and wave the Constitution whenever it wants to override something, but turn around and claim it has no jurisdiction whenever it wants to leave a lower court decision intact. Pass a law, pass a referendum, it doesn't matter. The black robes now rule."

Beale is a complete moron who doesn't understand the first thing about civics. This is the check-and-balance system. Civil rights can't be taken away by popular referendum because the US is a nation of laws and not of men. The Supreme Court was doing its job. Just because you don't like the results, you break out the hysterics. Put on your big boy pants, assuming you have any, and realize that you AREN'T on the right side of history.

old comment by Hasan Prishtina

Following American politics these days feels like watching Gibbon on fast-forward; an imperial decline and fall measured in years rather than centuries.

Gibbon argued that the Roman Empire fell in part because of the official adoption of Christianity:

The clergy successfully preached the doctrines of patience and pusillanimity; the active virtues of society were discouraged; and the last remains of military spirit were buried in the cloister: a large portion of public and private wealth was consecrated to the specious demands of charity and devotion; and the soldiers' pay was lavished on the useless multitudes of both sexes who could only plead the merits of abstinence and chastity. Faith, zeal, curiosity, and more earthly passions of malice and ambition, kindled the flame of theological discord; the church, and even the state, were distracted by religious factions, whose conflicts were sometimes bloody and always implacable; the attention of the emperors was diverted from camps to synods; the Roman world was oppressed by a new species of tyranny; and the persecuted sects became the secret enemies of their country.

If you're losing, VD, it seems that you're watching Gibbon in reverse.