It really was quite the lovely thing for Tom Delay to come out and say the following after Terri Schiavo passed away:

quote:

Mrs. Schiavo’s death is a moral poverty and a legal tragedy. This loss happened because our legal system did not protect the people who need protection most, and that will change. The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior, but not today. Today we grieve, we pray, and we hope to God this fate never befalls another. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Schindlers and with Terri Schiavo’s friends in this time of deep sorrow. http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=45102

Emphasis mine.

This statement of his really doesn't help his case because of the following:

1. Federal Judge Joan H. Lefkow of Illinois was recently murdered in his home.

2. Georgia State Judge Rowland W. Barnes was gunned down in his court room.

3. Florida Pinellas County Circuit Court Judge George Greer has been “under 24-hour protection by two U.S. marshals as a result of a daily multitude of death threats:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/03/25/schiavo/

As well as a bounty on his head:

http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/p...1/50326014/1001

4. Is he honestly referring to all judges involved, including the Federal court of Appeals and the Supreme Court? Would anyone truly believe these courts are filled with activist judges who must answer to their behavior over this case, especially since most judges involved here were actually appointed by Republican presidents?

Not only was this behavior by Delay extremely unwarranted, uncalled for, and erroneous, but it is potentially life threatening. This may, in fact, be against Federal criminal statutes, which reads:

quote:

“Whoever threatens to assault…. or murder, a United States judge… with intent to retaliate against such… judge…. on account of the performance of official duties, shall be punished [by up to six years in prison]” 18 U.S.C. §115 (a)(1)(B).

Threats made against a judge is a pretty serious crime as it stands, but for a Congressmen to make such statements is nothing shy of fucking scary. What's worse, he refused to clarify his statement. From the NYTimes, Delay's spokesman:

quote:

Objective observers know that Majority Leader DeLay was once again expressing his disappointment in how the courts clearly ignored the intent of the legislation that was passed. To suggest otherwise is simply obscene. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/02/n...02schiavo.html?

And what's worse, VP Cheney just came out and rebuked Delay's statement:

quote:

Cheney said he backed efforts to help save Terri Schiavo’s life, but strongly disagreed with House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas), who wants retribution against judges who blocked restoration of her feeding tube. “I don’t think that’s appropriate . . . There’s a reason why judges get lifetime appointments.” http://www.nypost.com/news/nationalnews/43722.htm

Wow. That can't be good if the VP knocks you down.

But it doesn't stop there! No way, these fundie fucks who are running our Congress just don't know when to say "when" on condoning domestic terrorism. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) on the Senate Floor today:

quote:

I don’t know if there is a cause-and-effect connection but we have seen some recent episodes of courthouse violence in this country. Certainly nothing new, but we seem to have run through a spate of courthouse violence recently that’s been on the news and I wonder whether there may be some connection between the perception in some quarters on some occasions where judges are making political decisions yet are unaccountable to the public, that it builds up and builds up and builds up to the point where some people engage in - engage in violence.

You can download the video of her statements here:

http://www.americanprogressaction.org/atf/cf/{65464111-BB20-4C7D-B1C9-0B033DD31B63}/CORNYNJUDGESQUOTE.WMV

So basically, any violence acted upon judges is actually understandable because of their judicial activism. It's the victims of domestic terrorism that are to blame, certainly not the crazy fucks killing judges. The judges and the victims are bringing it on themselves.

Nice buddy, very nice. So glad you sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee too.

Why am I not surprised this ****** is also from Texas where Delay resides? And I thought my Senators from Kansas were severely and mentally disabled.

Well Rep. Conyers (D-MI) has rightfully come out and stated how irresponsible this behavior is by these Republicans:

quote:

During the protracted coverage and debate of the Schiavo matter, I was struck by the disrespectful and reckless language being used against judges. One by one, my Republican colleagues took the House floor to attack judges as "unconscionable," lacking "human compassion," needing to be held in "contempt," and having "answering to do." I remember thinking that such dehumanizing rhetoric is especially dangerous in these times towards anyone, let alone judges. Outside the halls of Congress, words flew even more recklessly and the House Majority Leader Tom DeLay called the removal of Schiavo's feeding tube an "act of medical terrorism." The Reverend Pat Robertson called it "judicial murder." I remember thinking about Judge Rowland Barnes of Georgia, who less than a month ago, was shot to death by an angry litigant in his courtroom, along with two other court employees. I remember thinking that irresponsible words can lead to tragic results. I thought of Judge Joan Lefkow, whose husband and mother are thought to have been murdered by an aggrieved litigant. Since then, I have been trying to think of the most appropriate forum to gently call this to my colleagues' attention, and to remind them that -- no matter how strong our feelings about individual decisions and cases, we need to be cognizant of the influence we may have -- especially on those that may be disturbed, and we always need to know that -- as elected officials -- our words have consequences. That was to be a subtle message. It is unfortunate that today my message must be less subtle because things are very quickly spinning out of control.... This apparent effort [by Senator Cornyn] to rationalize violence against judges is deplorable. On its face, while it contains doubletalk that simultaneously offers a justification for such violence and then claims not to, the fundamental core of the statement seems to be that judges have somehow brought this violence on themselves. This also carries an implicit threat: that if judges do not do what the far right wants them to do (thus becoming the "judicial activists" the far right claims to deplore), the violence may well continue. If this is what Senator Cornyn meant to say, it is outrageous, irresponsible and unbecoming of our leaders. To be sure, I have disagreed with many, many court rulings. (For example, Bush v. Gore may well be the single greatest example of judicial activism we have seen in our lifetime.) But there is no excuse, no excuse, for a Member of Congress to take our discourse to this ugly and dangerous extreme. My message is not subtle today. It is simple. To my Republican colleagues: you are playing with fire, you are playing with lives, and you must stop. Senator Cornyn and Congressman DeLay should immediately retract these ill considered statements. http://www.conyersblog.us/archives/00000046.htm

So how do you Republicans feel about such behavior? If the VP comes out and strikes down such behavior, fucking Cheney of all people, you know this can't be good.

And now we have Frist coming out to distance himself from these fundie fucks too:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/04...nate.judges.ap/

So is this further evidence on the power of these fundies running our country? I think most people saw this coming - that ethically challenged folks like Delay will attempt to use this Schiavo case not just to cover his own ass in which he's up to his neck in shit, but that they are using this family as a political means to push their case to put in more of Bush's far-right fanatical judges that are not anywhere near the mainstream viewpoint on issues that have been successfully and constitutionally filibustered thus far.

We'll just all have to go down the memory hole with these Republicans and simply forget about the fact that these judges, including the Federal COA and SC judges are anything but "activist" judges.

___________________
Whence September dusk grows crisper still,
with leaves all crimson conquered,
I yearn to shout,
and dance about,
and stick pickles in my honker...