RE: SCI MAG Editorial: An Epidemic of Politics

From: Lee Corbin (lcorbin@tsoft.com)
Date: Wed Feb 19 2003 - 03:13:54 MST

  • Next message: Amara Graps: "LANL Preprint: One ring to encompass them all"

    Brett writes

    > Interesting the stuff that the editors of the leading science journals
    > deem worthy of discussion sometimes.
    > http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/299/5607/625
    >
    > An Epidemic of Politics
    > Donald Kennedy
    >
    > "Americans have come to accept the role of politics in the
    > appointment of certain kinds of public officials. Few of us
    > are surprised, though some may be disappointed, when a
    > federal judgeship is awarded because the candidate passes
    > a litmus test of loyalty to some principle important to the
    > president's party.

    Well, just what do you expect when law is no longer
    regarded as objective, and instead intrudes into
    every aspect of our daily lives. Everything from
    whether we will or will not have abortion to drug
    laws is no longer done by Congress---why should
    they risk public displeasure?---but is done from
    the bench.

    The ultimate cause of the problem is that government
    is too big and too influential. Few in 1835 really
    cared that much what a Supreme Court justices politics
    were; he was there to judge the law.

    Lee



    This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Wed Feb 19 2003 - 03:10:21 MST