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Friday, June 26, 2015

Recommended Reading: The Roberts Doctrine And ObamaCare

See On Obamacare, John Roberts helps overthrow the Constitution by George F. Will.

Brief excerpt:
While purporting to not apply Chevron [explanation], Roberts expands it to empower all of the executive branch to ignore or rewrite congressional language that is not at all ambiguous but is inconvenient for the smooth operation of something Congress created. Exercising judicial discretion in the name of deference, Roberts enlarges executive discretion.

[...]

The Roberts Doctrine facilitates what has been for a century progressivism’s central objective, the overthrow of the Constitution’s architecture. The separation of powers impedes progressivism by preventing government from wielding uninhibited power.
Read the rest HERE.

Stick a fork in our republic. She's done.

50 comments:

  1. Yep. Our Republic has been effectively finished for some time now.....not least of why, the recently invented purpose of the SCOTUS to interpret the "intent" of a law, rather than it's Constitutionality.

    ReplyDelete
  2. OT but VITALLY IMPORTANT:

    Late Breaking News!

    Grim beheading in France as two attackers storm factory (Wires)
    Second attack: At least 27 people have been killed in an attack on a beachfront hotel on the Tunisian coast, Tunisia's interior minister says, according to the state-run TAP news agency. At least one attacker has been killed in an ongoing security operation, TAP reports.


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. FT,
      Grim beheading in France as two attackers storm factory (Wires)

      I saw! There was a chopped off head placed on the gate, and the head had Arabic writing on the face. There were also two ISIS flags raised. The factory was American owned.

      Until now, I was unaware of the attack on the hotel in Tunisia, "the birthplace" of the Arab Spring and supposedly immune from encroachments by ISIS, Al Qaeda, and the like. Too busy here with scheduling and rescheduling doctors' appointments -- and dealing with insect pests, either carpenter ants or termites -- to watch every breaking news story.. Awaiting the arrival of the pest control experts.

      Delete
    2. Well, FT, I will continue to maintain that our progress is going to lie in whether or not we can "expand the tribe".
      It's time to ditch the Old Testament mentality that what you do to those outside the tribe is irrelevant.

      Radical Islam is vile and might be infected beyond redemption but there is little we can do directly.

      We can do something about what happened in Charleston. We can recognize the Confederate flag for what it is.
      We can extend the marriage contract to all citizens.
      We can move to provide everyone with health insurance.
      We can expand the tribe in America and that is our hope. That is what is directly in our path.

      Delete
  3. Concise analysis of Scalia's dissent

    The ruling clearly upheld the intent of the law.

    I enjoyed the fact that Scalia's rulings have been all over the map.
    He and his lap dogs Thomas and Alito are simply determined to overturn the law regardless. Scalia, Thomas and Alito are the activists.

    Don't know why you'd support them.

    As for constitutionality. It's been ruled constitutional.
    End of story until the next challenge. Pitch till you win, children.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Duck,
      The ruling clearly upheld the intent of the law.

      Simplistic response from you. I don't understand why you can't see how dangerous this SCOTUS decision is -- and I'm not referring to ObamaCare per se.

      Too much "discretion" on the part of federal agencies is the road to serfdom.

      Delete
    2. The dubious Constitutionality of the ACA is not in question here, but rather the mandate for the government to actually follow the verbiage of the laws it passes...as well as the latitude of SCOTUS to interpret the "intent" of a law.

      But I suppose the ends always justify the means, eh? Precedent usually bites back eventually.....

      Delete
    3. CI,
      The SCOTUS just enshrined sloppily written legislation.

      And let us not forget the the bill was passed and signed into law without many charged with doing so never doing so.

      Get ready for more unwieldy and convoluted and contradictory legislation from the federal level. It's coming. Big time!

      Delete
    4. The law is whatever the Kalif and his mullahs in black robes say it is!

      That is what Ducky and his progressive ilk support.

      Delete
    5. No matter how frequently, stridently, forcefully or obnoxiously you repeat a LIE, Canardo, it will NEVER become true.

      "... God is not mocked for whatsoever a man soweth that also shall he reap.

      Your rude, witless, indefatigable, copious, ever-taunting dissemination of perverted, demented, moronic, sarcastic, viciously iconoclastic rhetoric is beyond tiresome. Your aim, of course, as it has always been with all your nettlesome ilk, has been to wage a WAR of ATTRITION against REASON, and DECENCY.

      You may think you have "won," but because your beliefs, aims and intentions are evil –– the worst kind of evil, because it cloaks itself obscenely in the garb of aggressive, self-righteous, hypocritical, specious humanitarianism –– you and your rotten kind will eventually "thaw, melt and resolve yourselves into a dew," but only after you've inflicted great suffering and prolonged deprivation on our once prosperous, brilliantly functioning land.

      My contempt for you, though originally based on Principle, has long been deeply personal. I DESPISE YOU and am not ashamed to say so out loud.

      It irritates me no end that AOW, a good woman, puts up with you. It irritates me even more that Z and SilverFiddle, both decent human beings, WASTE THEIR PRECIOUS TIME bothering to engage you in extended, always fruitless dialogue.

      It bugs the you-know-what out of me that you and all your odious kind are still permitted to take in oxygen.

      I'm sure my ill opinion will give you and all your cohorts and fellow travelers a great deal of satisfaction, for truly –– sick, twisted souls that all of you are –– you THRIVE on the anger and unhappiness you cause on others.

      Ultimately, you WILL fail. The one ambition I have left left is to live long enough to witness your downfall.

      Delete
    6. FT,
      Now tell us how you really feel. **wink**

      Delete
  4. Our Laputian Astronomical Navigators must have discovered a New Star by which to steer our island of adamant by. Huzzah! Huzzah!

    By this oblique motion, the island is conveyed to different parts of the monarch’s dominions. To explain the manner of its progress, let A B represent a line drawn across the dominions of Balnibarbi, let the line c d represent the loadstone, of which let d be the repelling end, and c the attracting end, the island being over C: let the stone be placed in position c d, with its repelling end downwards; then the island will be driven upwards obliquely towards D. When it is arrived at D, let the stone be turned upon its axle, till its attracting end points towards E, and then the island will be carried obliquely towards E; where, if the stone be again turned upon its axle till it stands in the position E F, with its repelling point downwards, the island will rise obliquely towards F, where, by directing the attracting end towards G, the island may be carried to G, and from G to H, by turning the stone, so as to make its repelling extremity to point directly downward. And thus, by changing the situation of the stone, as often as there is occasion, the island is made to rise and fall by turns in an oblique direction, and by those alternate risings and fallings (the obliquity being not considerable) is conveyed from one part of the dominions to the other.

    But it must be observed, that this island cannot move beyond the extent of the dominions below, nor can it rise above the height of four miles. For which the astronomers (who have written large systems concerning the stone) assign the following reason: that the magnetic virtue does not extend beyond the distance of four miles, and that the mineral, which acts upon the stone in the bowels of the earth, and in the sea about six leagues distant from the shore, is not diffused through the whole globe, but terminated with the limits of the king’s dominions; and it was easy, from the great advantage of such a superior situation, for a prince to bring under his obedience whatever country lay within the attraction of that magnet.
    - Jonathan Swift, "Gulliver's Travels"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. FJ.
      Jonathan Swift! When satire was satire -- and not the rule of the day in the real world.

      Delete
  5. I see that my dear friend Mustang has made this comment elsewhere in the blogosphere today. Read it:

    This government intends to do as it damn well pleases no matter how much its opposition pushes back. It is certainly true that the much of the media remains in the pocket of Obama, it is true that the Supreme Court has abandoned its traditional role, and I think it is also true that the statistics we keep hearing are skewed. Why does Obama Care remain popular among 43% of the American people (or those polled in downtown Boston), when only 10 million of the stated 50 million Americans are presently covered (according to PP&ACA administrators).

    Let me also add that I do not understand how this system works to the benefit of the American people. I found an article in The Atlantic (dated 2013) that discusses the plight of married couples vis-à-vis Obama Care. The article reads as follows:

    “Any married couple that earns more than 400 percent of the federal poverty level—that is $62,040—for a family of two earns too much for subsidies under Obamacare. If you’re over 400 percent of poverty, you’re never eligible for premium support.”

    “But if that same couple lived together unmarried, they could earn up to $45,960 each —$91,920 total— and still be eligible for subsidies through the exchanges in New York state, where insurance is comparatively expensive and the state exchange was set up in such a way as to not provide lower rates for younger people.”

    So once again the federal government rewards people for NOT getting married. What kind of government is this?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You just lost on gay marriage also.

      Delete
    2. And lost in the furor over the ACA ruling yesterday was the court's upholding "disparate impact".

      Been a tough couple days for conservatives.

      Delete
    3. Duck,
      You just lost on gay marriage also.

      Not a surprise. I've said so all along.

      Delete
    4. FROM FREETHINKE'S BLOG:

      Jersey McJones June 26, 2015 at 2:09 PM

      FT, what exactly about this decision bothers you?

      JMJ


      FreeThinke June 26, 2015 at 2:58 PM

      I can't believe you don't know the answer to that, Jersey, but just in case you're in earnest, here it is in a nutshell:

      It is not only unconstitutional it is morally wrong –– especially in a country that still pretends to be a representative republic –– for 5 or 6 unelected individuals to be able to thwart the will of the majority arbitrarily by using rationalization, specious logic and wishful thinking as the bases for the decisions they make that affect the future quality of more than three-hundred million lives.

      This is not "democratic," Jersey, this is OLIGARCHIC, and when the Judicial oligarchy –– for whatever reasons –– supports the whims and caprices of an arrogant, conceited, willful, spoiled brat of an incompetent president with a barely hidden, anti-American agenda who was elected under false pretenses, OLIGARCHY degenerates further and slides into out-and-out DICTATORSHIP.

      Though I despise Obamacare, and wish with all my heart it had never been foisted on us by main force, my objection to the Supreme Court decision on Obamacare AND the Gay Marriage issue has more to do with the high court's violation of proper legal procedure than personal sentiment.

      I don't expect you to understand, but I felt duty bound to TRY to answer your question as honestly and as clearly as I knew how.

      [ADDENDUM: Once we abandon PRINCIPLE, we abandon the Rule of Law and by extension CIVILIZATION, itself.]

      The Roberts Court is ruling by WHIM supported by the feeblest form of RATIONALIZATION and logical inconsistency..

      Delete
    5. AOW, in the response from Mustang you posted, and others I've seen elsewhere, one of the reasons posited for anger is similar to what Mustang wrote... "This government intends to do as it damn well pleases no matter how much its opposition pushes back."

      How much opposition can there be if the majority of people approve of the decision on marriage? I agree that there is indeed a very vocal opposition, but data seems to show it is not even near a majority.

      Delete
    6. Dave,
      Mustang's comment was in reference to ObamaCare. The gay marriage decision has not yet been rendered at that point.

      As for polls, I have little faith in them.

      Delete
  6. Let's think about this a minute....

    Yesterday, I just drafted a new last will and testament. So, let's say that I die. My wishes don't have to be followed because some judge says, "Oh, well. That's not what she meant. This was her intent, so we'll have the estate settled in this manner instead."

    Think about any contract in that way. It's a worthless piece of paper if one follows the Roberts Doctrine all the way down the line.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That happens in probate court all the time.

      Nothing new.

      Delete
    2. Duck,
      Not to the extent that this philosophy of John Roberts will lead to if followed to its logical conclusion.

      I know about probate court. It can be tough, but nothing like ignoring the wishes of the deceased as logically determined. Now probate judges can use their "discretion." Pfffft.

      Delete
    3. As I understand it the ruling says that because interpreting the clause literally would effectively cripple the legislation logic hold for the more general interpretation.
      The drafters of the legislation did not intend to cripple the legislation.

      Seems straightforward.

      Delete
    4. No Ducky...it's not. Either we hold the government to abiding by the letter of the law [that they passed] as we would be held to.....or we accept a court that can now interpret the intent of a law, instead of what it actually says.

      Delete
    5. Or we could use reason and common sense.

      Maybe you can tell me why they are inferior to holding the legislation hostage to an obvious misstatement.

      And wasn't "Tough Tony" Scalia the originator of the idea of "original intent"?

      But back to your thesis. If there is an obvious logical misstatement that invalidates the intent of the legislation we must accept the error rather than trust to rational interpretation?

      Delete
    6. Well-Argued, Ducky.

      The defense of Pandora's Box rests.

      Delete
    7. If there is an obvious logical misstatement that invalidates the intent of the legislation we must accept the error rather than trust to rational interpretation?

      No...we take the obvious, rational, and Constitutional action required of a lawful Republic....we amend the law.

      Delete
  7. Gay marriage today, Polygamy tomorrow. What could possibly go wrong.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bunkerville,
      Excellent!

      As soon as my sore and exhausted body recovers from today's "termites assault" and get Mr. AOW's recent health problems, I will be back to making regular blog rounds.

      Delete
  8. TERMITES!

    What a scramble now here in the AOW household!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Go ahead and gloat. Shows what a small person you really are.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I posted this at FreeThinke's, but please allow me a repost, since it is germane:

    Roberts is an odd duck.

    On the Gay Marriage ruling, he said it had "nothing to do with the constitution."

    What the hell does he know about the constitution?

    The gay marriage ruling harms us not one whit, but ObamaCare is a metastasizing cloud of liberty-devouring termites.

    I said it a few years back, and now I repeat:

    We are a progressive nation. Those longing for the good old days will be longing for a long time.

    There is no going back. Better to concentrate on forging a new path forward in the new, ever-evolving environment.

    The "conservative" movement, such as it is, is "led" by fools, clowns, self-important pompous asses, weasels, liars, bastards, firebugs, turncoats, progressives, and dimwits who couldn't pour piss out of a boot if the instructions were printed on the heel in pictograph.

    Hayek repeated the very old truism that if an idea is to take hold with a new generation, it must be framed in that generations way of thinking and stated in that generation's language. Conservatism has failed, profoundly and completely, to do that.

    We are a progressive nation, and will continue down that path until new people with new ways to state eternal truths come along. The old order is dead: Ann Coulter, Limbaugh, Palin, Krisol, the whole stinking pile of them should pile their useless asses onto a cruise ship into the sunset. Retire. After all the ha ha hee hees, millions of words of inflammatory rhetoric, pontification, excoriation, they've gotten the cause of conservatism... Nowhere.

    I would even argue that they've done it grave damage.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Was it a 5 to 4 ruling today at the SCOTUS?

      Delete
    2. SF,
      We are a progressive nation. Those longing for the good old days will be longing for a long time.

      There is no going back.


      I agree.

      It is what it is.

      Delete
    3. "The old order is dead: Ann Coulter, Limbaugh, Palin, Krisol, the whole stinking pile of them should pile their useless asses onto a cruise ship into the sunset. Retire. After all the ha ha hee hees, millions of words of inflammatory rhetoric, pontification, excoriation, they've gotten the cause of conservatism... Nowhere.

      I would even argue that they've done it grave damage"

      ^^^ this is one reason I hung up my gas mask, and stopped blogging. ;)

      Delete
    4. It's why I swore off blogging years ago also, but I'm too dumb to quit.

      Delete
  11. The weight of this sad time we must obey;
    Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say.
    The oldest hath borne most: [they] that are young
    Shall never see so much, nor live so long.


    Exeunt, with a funeral march

    _____________ FINIS ____________


    ~ Shakespeare - King Lear, final speech

    ReplyDelete
  12. Yes, AOW, the Republic is dead. Time to start a new one, through secession of like-minded states. Let it come, the sooner the better.

    ReplyDelete
  13. The Republic is far from dead, my friends. But, the experiment the founders spoke of has failed. The DemonCrap-GOOP government blew up the chemistry set.

    We tried, we really did, and we had something special for awhile, but we're Germany now without the efficiency and thrift; Britain, Italy and France without the long, glorious past.

    We can go on a long time like this: Just look at Argentina, or for a longer example, Greece.

    People here will learn how to hide their wealth from the government, trade labor to avoid taxation, and an underground economy will thrive. Corruption will flourish, and people will find a thousand ways to quietly thumb their noses at government and throw the sabot into the machinery when they get the chance.

    Also, if the leftward trend continues, at some point the insurrectionists will turn on one another; they always do.

    I'm playing my banjo with friends and going to some good concerts this weekend.

    God bless America, and I wish you all a great weekend as well.

    Goodnight Mrs.Calabash, wherever you are.

    ReplyDelete
  14. According to King v. Burwell, the Federal Communications Act gives tax credits to lynch mobs and it's now legal to rob banks on Tuesdays because of the way the Social Security Act was not written. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oh wow I remembered my password... I faked my death, now I'm faking my resurrection... Or something.... Just wanted to see the reactions to the latest outrages.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Beamish! How are you?

      Blogging has been a real slog the past 6-7 years.

      I'm sure that your life is less stressful now that you've hung up your gas mask.

      I've seen you on Facebook. Not that I do much political there. A bit, but not much. It's mostly for former students and family members. As in most family, I have one hardcore Leftist, but she doesn't post to my wall very often.

      If you wish, you can email me via the email addy provided toward the top of my right sidebar here at Always On Watch. I typically check my email in that account once a day.

      Delete
    2. Life took a turn for the extreme worse, but has bounced back. Revisiting out of curiosity. I started lurking again around the time of the Ferguson crap, and could have spoken on that from a local angle, but, meh. The cop involved is a cold blooded murderer.... A view that wouldn't shine in rightblogland...

      In happier news, prayers answered, my sister has made a prodigal return from Islam and eats more bacon than I do. :) Getting a divorce from an ISIS sleeper, for really reals. Inyersting times we live in, eh?

      Delete
    3. I don't have a email address... Off the grid, mostly. ;)

      Delete

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