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• Friday, May 1, 2009 02:54 PM

  A woman of today

  I would personally like to see a lesbian on the Supreme Court. Or a woman who is capable of considering the modern experience of the LGBT community, as well as other minorities. That is, the antithesis of Justice Thomas, whom some call the token judge. It is fairly obvious that his nomination (by Pres. Bush Sr.) was analogous to Sen. Palin's selection for candidacy (by Sen. McCain) in 2008. During his tenure, Thomas has not, in my opinion, fully upheld the motto of "Equal justice under law." He is socially and politically conservative. Furthermore, he is constitutionally conservative. Some praise him, taking into consideration, for example, his dissent in Gonzales v. Reich, but, in actuality, his opinion in that case clearly illustrates his regressive views (what he might consider his "historical" or "academic" interpretation) of the Constitution. He wrote:

  ... in the early days of the Republic, it would have been unthinkable that Congress could prohibit the local cultivation, possession and consumption of marijuana.

  to which I respond that in the "early days" of the Republic, Mr. Thomas, it would have been unthinkable that Congress could confirm your nomination to the Supreme Court, let alone free you from the bonds of slavery. His efforts to assert the "historicity" of the Constitution render him the more ridiculous. And his apparent condonation of the free use of cannabis comes off as "token."

  The Court desperately needs a woman, a modern woman, who does not read the Constitution as a fundamentalist zealot reads the Bible. The year is 2009, not 1809. The Constitution was intended to expand liberties, not contract them. And by liberties, I mean not legal superfluities, as mentioned above, but true liberties, such as civil rights. I would bet my bottom dollar that, if an issue like gay marriage were to reach the Court tomorrow, Thomas would dissent.

  So, President Obama, nominate a woman, and let her be a woman of today.

  —Hippocampe Read Hippocampe's other letters
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