We woke up this morning 
to hear that Harriet Miers was no longer President Bush’s nominee for Supreme Court judge. They say she withdrew her name, but one can never trust such statements. It might be true or false. We have no way of knowing.
I favored Miers. My favorite columnist, Ann Coulter, opposed her viciously, but I have a lower standard than Ann does. I just don’t think that it takes very much mojo to be one of the Supremes.
Miers had what I wanted in a judge: a clear mind. A judge has to know how to look up the law and how to think clearly. Furthermore, he needs to know the difference between interpreting and legislating. Many of the Supremes obviously don’t know that, but it appears that Miers does.
The conservatives who whined about “qualifications” are wrong, probably misled in the herd mentality that typifies todays conservatism so often. Ann Coulter might have been the cowpoke that got them going. George Will certainly struck a stunning blow with his infamous column.
Conservatives have bemoaned the fact that Miers was an unknown and Bush passed over others who had taken a stand and paid the price over the years. Why all of the subterfuge, they protest? Didn’t Clinton avow that any judges he appointed must favor abortion?
I would answer that the left didn’t take power by announcing their intentions to remake America into something the founders opposed. They are only open now because they’re already in power. They own the courts, the law schools, the universities, the elementary and secondary schools, and even a fair percentage of “Christian” education. If Bush and Miers were open about their intentions, there’d be heck to pay.
Me, I’d be open and let the chips fall. That’s probably why I’m a plumber instead of a college professor. I’ll never sell my right to be open about my thoughts. And anybody like that would probably never get confirmed as a Supreme, either.
The spin machine on the left has swung into action: “The extremists had a litmus test and she didn’t pass it; Bush must not give in to them and bring a more conservative nominee!” It will take firmness and principle to regain the Court, and maybe subterfuge. I’m glad it isn’t my job.
in hope of resisting thieves. My sliding door cannot open with this bolt in place unless the door is cut with a torch or hacksaw. Automobile steel is pretty tough, so I think I’m safe with this.
While wife was at the meetings, I stayed behind in the motel room and worked on a paper I intend to deliver in mid-November at a scholars’ conference. By placing a small table at my patio door I could enjoy the outside air without the rain falling on me. From that vantage point I could also keep an eye on the Episcopal church across the street, which I found inspiring because it brought Anglican history to mind–men like Jeremy Taylor, Lancelot Andrewes, and John Wesley.