Today President Obama is going to nominate Elena Kagan to the United States Supreme Court and unless someone finds the proverbial live boy or dead girl in her closet she will be approved.
She doesn’t have many controversial decisions so her approval process is not likely to be hindered.
She has, however authored several papers on free speech issues one titled “Private Speech, Public Purpose: The Role of Governmental Motive in First Amendment Doctrine”. Two publications explored and advocated “alternative means of regulating some pornography and hate speech, or of alleviating the harms that such speech causes. , “Regulation of Hate Speech and Pornography After R.A.V,” Specifically, she endorsed limitations “directed at conduct, rather than speech. They will be efforts using viewpoint-neutral classifications. They will be efforts taking advantage of the long-established unprotected category of obscenity. Such efforts will not eradicate all pornography or all hate speech from our society, but they can achieve much worth achieving.”
This ideology should alarm anyone who believes in the first amendment. Lately it seems that politicians have made an art out of circumventing our rights, recognized by the Constitution, with political double speak (Like the Patriot Act, which should be called the George W Bush is a Traitor Act). It would appear that Judge Kagan is yet another apologist for a government that would usurp our Constitutional rights.
For the life of me I cannot understand why it is so difficult to understand the meaning of “shall not be abridged”
on the flip side she does show a Libertarian slant here:
“The Constitution has never been held to confer a right to a minimum level of welfare . . . .This determination comported with this nation’s traditional understanding that the Constitution generally imposes limitations on government rather than establishes affirmative rights and thus has what might be thought of as a libertarian slant. I fully accept this traditional understanding”.
“There is no question, after Heller, that the Second Amendment guarantees Americans “the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation.”
3 Responses
[New Post] Obama Nominates Elena Kagan for Supreme Court – via @twitoaster http://www.mikesouth.com/uncategorized/o…
i understand your concern. everyone needs to be vigilant and skeptical of whatever the government does. i get it. but man i’m glad it’s obama making these decisions instead of mccain/palin. obama’s not always right but he doesn’t seem loony when he finally makes a decision.
you and me both brother, any credibility McCain MIGHT have had went out the door when he chose that fool for his running mate….she defeated him and if thats the best the republicans can come up with in 2012 they will get their asses handed to them again….Im a Ron Paul kind of Republican, which is to say I’m Libertarian….and DAMN proud of it.