In an unsurprising move, President Bush has nominated Judge John Roberts for chief justice of the Supreme Court.
The move is logical given:
- he’s qualified for the job from a professional perspective
- he has been able to withstand media scrutiny over the last few weeks
- he’s still not the subject of intense opposition in the Senate
- he originally was looked at as a replacement for Rehnquist, before O’Connor retired
- at the time Roberts was nominated, many thought he was only going on the Court to get experience as an associate before being elevated to chief
- he’s acceptable to the conservative base
- he could be confirmed by the time the Court’s new term opens on October 3rd (less than a month from now)
- without a new chief justice on October 3rd the senior associate justice (Darth Stephens) would be acting chief justice and there could be 4-4 deadlocks
- Darth O’Connor’s resignation isn’t effective until her replacement is confirmed, so Bush has a bit of room to look for a new replacement for her
- it prevents the President from having to take significant time away from the Hurricane Katrina situation at a moment when he needs to show that he’s on top of that
I’m supposed to be fasting from the internet, but what the heck. Chief justices only get replaced once every few decades…
It’s clear that President Bush *really* likes this Roberts guy. I pray that’s a good sign. I was kind of hoping for Thomas, but if Roberts is a good judge, this will also be a great pick.
Reports are that Thomas told Bush some time ago that he wasn’t interested in the job, presumably due to the confirmation fight it would involve.
I would have loved to see Thomas get the chief seat, though.
Rehnquist shaped high court conservatism
William Rehnquist, the chief justice of the Supreme Court who died on Saturday evening at the age of
Ah, but now there will be pressure once again for Bush to replace O’Connor with another O’Connor…
Discussion point:
I am a frequent reader of the eschatological conspiracy theories of spiritdaily.com (ie everything that happens pushes us closer to the end of the world or “the chastisement” as it is known.) It seems that W was elected in 2000 and in Sept. America was attacked and “chastised.” W was re-elected in 2004 and in late August America was again “chastised.” (This is for discussion, I don’t necessarily support these views, or do I?) I remember before Sept. 11, that Bush ok’d the use of Embryonic Stem Cells for experimentation. Could the appointment of Roberts be the reason for the second disaster? Will he really stand up for Life?
Dr. Eric
^ Does this guy sound suspiciously like regular Eric or is it just me? Anywhom, I don’t know that this is such a great idea. We still are not sure if this guy is an originalist.
Or is Roberts the long awaited AntiChrist himself? Does anyone know if he is in the skull and cross bones society? I have done the math with Roman numerals on his name and there are about ten different ways I can make them add up to 666 (dropping letters when needed etc). And based on recent scholarship that 666 should be 616, I made those work out too (just to be safe).
This could be it. I predict rapture by December.
Regarding his merits to be Cheif Justice, I sure hope Bush doesnt blow this one. If he turns out to be pro-choice, I am never voting Republican again (but thats not a vow per se).
Rapture by December?!?
Sweet!
I’ll do all my Christmas shopping in late November. By the time the credit card companies mail me the bills, it’ll be too late!
HA! HA! The world’s ended! Sorry, suckers!
I think Robert’s nomination is a good thing as my dear father says “To be a leader, you have to lead and be followed.” I think Roberts will do this. He is a good, fair, decent human being who won’t legislate from the bench.
Golly, my first choice for Chief Justice was Scalia. (sigh) As long as Roberts doesn’t turn out to be a Souter this could be good. Though, my husband observed that Souter is getting more conservative by the day, as eminent domain claims are made on his property in NH.
Yeah, I was looking for Scalia as chief, also.
Dr. Eric-
I have a theory that Satan has seeded society with bogus conspiracy theories to distract us all from dealing with sin in our lives, which (of course) is the real problem.
Tim J,
I’m not sure how to take that one. I just posted the comment for feedback. I hear all kinds of stuff ESPECIALLY from the “Medjugorie” crowd. We have our own Marian Apparition every 13th of the month here in Perryville, MO (home of the National Shrine of the Miraculous Medal.) Supposedly she comes to the outdoor grotto and gives a message to a farmer whom is well known. (Not hard, there are only 8000 people in town!)
Also, the only accessable orthodox priest (besides the scores of good ones in the retirement home) sees a Chastisement or The End coming SOON. So, I wanted to hear the opinions of other Catholics as to what’s going on.
Lastly, who is regular Eric?
Dr. Eric
Dr. Eric:
“Regular Eric” is apparantly a reference to this troll or something who made some hay on this blog over the summer or something.
It’s of no real importance.
Anyway, Dr. Eric, if you want to hear “the opinions of other Catholics (in regards to a Chastisement or The End coming SOON) as to what’s going on.”
Well, Dr. Eric, some are in favor of it, and others are against it. In Catholic circles, you will probably not find much difference with Protestants who are similarly divided over the issue of whether the End Times are At Hand, and others who say that “no one, not even the Son of Man, knows the day nor the hour.”
There can be selfish reasons for being both “pro” End Times and “against”:
PRO: The world is not the way I want it to be. Jesus’ Return would fix that. (Assuming that Jesus’ intentions for the way the world is supposed to be EXACTLY coincides with my own.)
AGAINST: I want to see my grandchildren born, my career take off, my labors come to fruition, etc. End Times puts an unwelcome crimp in my plans.
Personally, I endeavor to make no thought of it (though, I admit, with limited success). Whether I live to see Christ’s return or not is God’s business and no one else’s, certainly not mine. I may die in the cataclysmic Battle of Armageddon, or I may die because the doctors “missed something” in my last checkup. Whichever the case, the fact that I am going to die is something I knew already.
Dr. Eric-
My conspiracy remark was not meant as a criticism of your comment. I guess, properly speaking, end-times speculation can’t be lumped with run-of-the-mill conspiracy theories, except for the tendency for some people to see things that are not there.
I first became aware of what they call “newspaper exegetes” when I was a Protestant, but I suppose the Catholic Church has them, too; people who seem to be able to fit every newspaper headline or event into some kind of grand prophecy scheme.
Not that I don’t believe in prophecy or private revelation, I just think there sometimes exists an unhealthy fascination with such things.
Ry and Tim J,
Thanks for your input on such a timely topic. There are some who are blaming this hurricane on our foreign policy, ie the Gaza relocations and the Anti-American Muslims. I also liked the use of the term “newspaper exegetes.”
I too try to stay clear from “reading the signs of the times” so to speak. But when something like this hits in such a place as NO and with 2 seats open on the SCOTUS it sometimes makes one wonder what’s going on.
Actually, “regular Eric” spelled his name Erik. Doesn’t mean that Dr. Eric isn’t him (though I very much doubt he is), just saying…
^ I agree and take back the accusation. At first I thought his original comment sounded a bit argumentative but upon further examination it really doesn’t seem to be.