You remember Roy Moore. He was the Alabama judge who was challenged by the ACLU for posting a copy of the Ten Commandments in his courtroom and began jury deliberations with a prayer for divine guidance. He became the personification of the movement in the United States to reduce the wall of separation between Church and State. Most people assumed that he has returned to well-deserved obscurity. Well guess again. As of last night, he is again the Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court.
Moore was not only known for his contempt for separation principles (a trend that I have written about) but his contempt for basic principles of the rule of law. He was removed after refusing to obey a federal judge’s order to remove a 5,200-pound granite Ten Commandments monument from the lobby of the Alabama Judicial Building. He was later investigated for the misuse of funds of Coral Ridge Ministries for his defense (though no charges were filed).
Moore was elected with the support of that towering legal figure, Chuck Norris, who called him a “true patriot.”
For his part, Moore told supporters last night to “go home with the knowledge that we are going to stand for the acknowledgment of God.” The crowd reportedly responded appropriately with “Amen.”
Source: AL.Com
Shano,
Vermont is a beautiful state. The residents like to keep it that way. You don’t see huge billboards and gas station signs along the highways. It’s a lovely place to visit. I’d consider moving there–but I’d miss the seacoast too much.
The Vermont rednecks are called ‘hunyucks’ but it really is simply poor people.
At least in Vermont the poor kids still get great public schools. Its a very civilized place with strong families and communities.
Vermont also held a 5% unemployment rate during the entire recession. A perfect model for strict regulation of Multinational corporations in this state bringing prosperity to the citizens, no doubt.
Dr X, Cook County annually leads the nation in Dem party line vote. How’s that working so far?
Bron, I said NH and Maine is redneck heaven. Vt. has more NYer’s than natives now. That’s why they elect Howard Dean, Bernie and Leahy. Many of the rednecks in NH and Maine don’t vote..they just started walking upright.
nick spinelli:
you got that right about VT, biggest bunch of rednecks I have ever seen.
That is why they vote for Bernie. 🙂
bettykath, Malcolm and MLK, Jr. did come together somewhat and we can only guess on how that relationship would have evolved. However, make no mistake @ why Malcolm was killed, he was a threat to Elijah Mohmamed and Louis Farrakan…they killed him. The nastiest fights are always intramural.
Anyone who has watched Spike Lee’s very good flick knows Malcolm had an epiphany after his haj. The epihany was not about his core belief of education and entrepeneuralism, it was about his view of the white man as devil. His epiphany helped change the focus of his ideal of change. It made it more positive, more based upon love than hate. A lesson that transcends just black and white realtionship. A philosophy we all need to embrace.
Nick,
Malcolm X was a hero of mine and I thought him tjhe most brilliant speaker I’ve ever heard. While Elijah Mohammed was pary of the murder, the FBI also appeared to have a role.
This presents an interesting situation. Judge Moore was removed by the Alabama Court of the Judiciary for violations of the Code of Judicial Canons. He was re-elected largely on the strength of his commitment to violate them again. It may be only a matter of time before we encounter another instance in which the judge determines that he will follow God’s law as he understands it rather than some federal court order, and we will be back at square one. Another reason that the popular election of judges is a bad idea.
Actually, it kind of depends on which Malcolm X you are talking about.
Pre-Mecca and Post-Mecca, he’s almost two completely different people. The epiphany he had about race while on the Haj really seemed to change his fundamental footing from radical to the point of almost being racist himself into a more realistic but still radical agent seeking social change that was more in comport with the egalitarian views of MLK. I admire Malcolm X a great deal, but when discussing him, I think that dichotomy of his views must always be kept in mind.
Moore Ray came down from the hill …
with the rules in his hand …
Throw Down!
NY-CT-reared, live in Chicago entire adult life. There are idiots everywhere, but it’s the kind of idiots that differ. A religious kook like Moore couldn’t be elected to the bench here in Chicago, but in IL we do elect judges or, actually, we vote yes or no, and it ain’t pretty.
One of the judges on the ballot yesterday was Cook County Circuit Court Judge Cynthia Brim who retained her seat with just above the necessary 60% of the required support. Last March Brim had to be removed from her courtroom when it became clear that a 45-minute tirade from the bench wasn’t going to stop on its own. The next day, Judge Brim was arrested for assaulting a sheriff’s deputy in her courtroom. She was suspended and given a Dx of psychologically unfit for duty and has been on leave since the arrest. Her case was continued until today, the day after the election. The local bar associations also advised against her retention, not just because of her behavior over the last year but because of her history in the courtroom prior to her tirade and arrest. Supposedly had serious problems with both temperament and knowledge of the law.
I do suspect that one difference between Cook County voters and the voters who voted for Moore is that many in AL probably voted for Moore because they knew about his crackpot positions and thought they were just peachy. It’s quite possible that Brim retained her seat in large part because many voters just vote blindly for judges, knowing nothing about the long list of candidates they’re voting on. I wish they’d at least check the local papers and a few websites that publish the lists of the sitting judges and candidates the bar associations recommend for rejection. But no, people just walk in and vote without a clue about who they’re voting for.
Here’s the Brim story.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/07/cynthia-brim-cook-county-_n_2089639.html
NickS,
Thank you. I like to think so. You are a rare bird yourself.
Messpo
Blood sucking capitalists! Seems accurate to me.
I think even GeneH with his dislike of Nick S would support him in that as Nick s says, these are two different things you compare.
Success through material success which also creates access is not the same as blood sucking capitalist.
They both exist.
nick, at some point before they were assassinated, Malcolm and MLK Jr. got together. It is rumored that Malcolm said something to the effect of “let them see me as radical and you’ll come off as very reasonable.” In fact, once they joined forces and once MLK Jr. also joined forces with black Africans, both were targets. Serious threats to the status quo are not allowed.
Mespo, I didn’t say Malcolm liked capitalists, I said he recognized the US as a capitalist society and preached on how to succeed in it. You don’t question the point that he wanted black folks to own the businesses in his community, do you? Malcolm was a realist, MLK, Jr. an idealist. They could have made a great team.
I grew up in the northeast and find it GENERALLY the least welcoming sector in the US. I have 2 uncles who moved to Vermont from Ct. and it took a decade for them to be accepted. You’re engaging in stereotypes, Mespo. Go to New Hampshire and Maine. Not where the vacationers go, but to where real folk live. They’ll go toe to toe w/ any other state vis a vis rednecks, including Alabama.
Judicial elections even retention elections like the ones for appellate justices here in California are an abomination and are inconsistent with judicial independence. They need to be abolished.
What a;ways astounds me, and I say this as a graduate of Baylor U., is that people like him consider themselves to be devout Christians, even as they judge like a tyrant — and so many of the public agree with him.
Then this guy got back on the bench too: omg
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2229077/Judge-William-Adams-suspended-beating-cerebral-palsy-daughter-returns-bench.html
nick:
“He also understood that in a capitalist society social justice and equality is determined by wealth, not just laws.”
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Funny that’s not what he said publicly to thousands:
“You show me a capitalist, and I’ll show you a bloodsucker.”
nick:
“Mespo, I challenge you to name a state w/o a healthy dose of “dumb and ignorant” people.”
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I find people on the West Coast more fun, more educated, and more tolerant. So, while they may have a healthy dose of dumb and dumber, they tend to keep that crowd out of the public eye and away from sharp objects or electrical outlets. It’s not about “all or nothing” as you postulate, but more about the general “feel.” In ‘Bama the general “feel” is redneck, real big SUVs,ramshackle residences, and most important if you’re not “one um ’em,” run for your life … except that is in Birmingham.
ID, Free enterprise was @ the core of Malcolm X philosophy. He knew that through education and building ones own wealth through creating their own businesses in their own neighborhoods is the way ALL immigrant Americans have gained economic freedom. He also understood that in a capitalist society social justice and equality is determined by wealth, not just laws. If he had not been killed I believe black folks would be MUCH better off than they are now.