Behind the Badge - A Supreme Case of Partisanship

By Stan L. Hall, Voice 4 Victims

I cannot recall how many times I have referred to myself as a Republican or Conservative. Whether you agree with my political philosophy or not, you know where I stand. And the same holds true with me for those who, as baffled as I am by their proclamation, refer to themselves as a Democrat or Liberal. I don’t have a clue as to how they ended up in that particular grouping, but I do respect them for having the courage to call themselves what they are. Identify your principles, stand by them, and then try to convince everyone you encounter why you are right and why they are wrong. That’s the way it works. We all have partisan beliefs and opinions whether we care to admit it or not.

That is why I find it so amusing as we go about the business of appointing a new Justice to our Supreme Court that we still refer to them as non-partisan. Are you kidding me? For many years now, the nominations for the Supreme Court are nothing more than a mirror image of whatever party happens to call the White House home. They might as well have the party du jour stamped on their forehead. I am not saying that they are not capable. I am not saying that they are not qualified and I am not saying that they would not make a good Supreme Court Justice. I am just saying that they are not non-partisan.

They do as they have been coached to do so in the Senate and Congressional hearings as they seek approval. Is it just me or is it alarming that a potential Justice of the Supreme Court of our Country has to be coached as to what he or she should or should not say? But, it is done for good reason. If they were able to speak their conscience and answer the questions asked of them, it would be clear that they have partisan beliefs just like the rest of us. Of all the gall! If they did this, we would actually know how a Justice might rule, based on their opinion and beliefs before they took the bench. What a novel, but apparently unacceptable idea. Of course, all of this could be avoided if we could ever get back on track with the duties of not only the Supreme Court, but of any judge. Some judges, obviously not all but some, believe that their view on a particular topic is more important than the actual law as it was originally written. If they would simply rule based on the laws as they are written and not based on how they think that the law should have been written, we would not have this problem. If the law is unconstitutional, it should be clear to anyone who has read the Constitution that it is so. Their interpreting it for us is where all the trouble starts.

But, the interpreting part of it is much more important, at least for the politicos, than the law itself. Therefore, we have created a system whereby nominees and eventual appointees must pass the smell test from the party in charge to ensure that these interpretations go their way. I am certainly not an expert on the original premise of the Supreme Court and what our forefathers had in mind. But, I do believe that if any of them sat through one nomination hearing, they would rip off their talcum coated wigs and run out screaming. Of course, the same could probably be said of almost everything that was written in our infancy. We have strolled so far from the original intent of our forefather’s documents that we barely recognize the original written word anymore. The words look good in museums and history books, but have little practical purpose anymore. It simply gets in the way of politics. Not to mention that they are just not politically correct. Huh?

I truly fear that the role of the Supreme Court has or will become less important than the ingredients that the political cooks are adding to the mix. Instead of knowing that justice, in its final form, will be a balanced meal well served, we are only worried that “our” ingredient will have the most prominent taste. And, if that recipe policy continues, we will have one meal after another, in the form of Supreme Court decisions that have a smell that is truly unappetizing to our society and is certainly not fitting to eat. True justice can only be prepared from the original recipe that was created long ago and has no room for additional spices to be added.

Partisan behavior and, therefore ultimately, partisan policies and politics are now the fuel that runs this country. The Supreme Court is no exception. Nothing is simply black or white anymore. Now everything has a visible tint of red or blue spray painted all over it. That may be fine for homecoming banners, but it does not bode well for a country’s judicial system. It’s sort of like seeing a lemon on the fruit stand and having the storekeeper tell us it taste like a cherry. We may look at it and believe it for a moment. We might even try to convince some other shoppers that this lemon is not like all the rest. But, when we bite down into it we are reminded of its true intent and flavor. It may look like a cherry, it may smell like a cherry but it will always be a lemon. We may wish that life was a bowl of cherries, but a lemon will always taste sour; even if you wrap it up in a non-partisan black robe.

Stan L. Hall

If you would like to have Stan speak at your next group event, please send your requests to shallbadgenotes@aol.com

Follow Stan on Twitter at twitter.com/stanlhall

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In This Edition of Regional Planning

Chairman Lee Represents Cobb County on ARC Board

Tim Lee, newly-elected Chairman of the Cobb County Commission, was sworn in as a member of the ARC Board of Directors at the meeting on July 28. Chairman Lee replaces interim chairman Woody Thompson in the seat previously held by Sam Olens. Chairman Lee had served as Cobb's District 3 commissioner since November 2002, before being elected chairman.

Survey Shows Region's Economy Depends on Transit

ARC recently conducted a survey of 50,000 transit riders from around the region (10 percent of total ridership), and learned that the current system of bus and rail is helping to keep support metro Atlanta's economy, while preparing the workforce of the future. The survey showed that:

45 percent of trips are between home and work
73 percent of these could drive to work, but choose to ride transit
More than 40,000 school-related trips are made each day
64 percent of those riding to work have limited or no access to a car
31 percent of riders are students
10 percent of riders have incomes higher than $75,000

ARC's Regional Resource Plan Targets Assets to be Protected

As part of its ongoing PLAN 2040 efforts, ARC recently completed its first Regional Resource Plan. The Plan will help coordinate the efforts of local governments, state agencies and nonprofit groups in the identification, protection and management of important natural and cultural resources in the Atlanta region. The plan includes a map of Regionally Important Resources (nominated by local governments and citizens), Guidance for Appropriate Development Practices and General Policies and Protection Measures. ARC adopted the plan at its July meeting and will submit it to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.

National Organizations Honor ARC Programs

The Atlanta Regional Commission's Lifelong Communities initiative was honored recently with an Aging Achievement Award from the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a). n4aawardsrecognize aging services programs across the country that provide successful, cost-effective approaches that help older adults live independently in their homes and communities and provide needed support to caregivers of older adults. At its upcoming conference, the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) will present an Innovation Award to ARC for its Green Communities Certification Program. NADO Innovation Awards recognize regional development organizations for improving the economic and community competitiveness of the nation's regions and local communities.

Community Health Is Focus of Latest ARC TV Show

More and more, residents of the Atlanta region want neighborhoods where they can walk to retail services, grow their own food and develop relationships with their neighbors. This desire for healthy communities is the subject of the next episode of ARC's "The Shape of Things to Come," a quarterly public service television show. The show will air on PBA Channel 30 at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, August 29. Tune in and find out how to make your community a healthier one.

Mark Your Calendar - State of the Region Breakfast, November 5

Mark your calendar now for ARC's annual State of the Region Breakfast to be held on Friday, November 5, at the downtown Hyatt Regency. This year's program will provide a snapshot of the state of the Atlanta region today, as well as a look at innovative actions that can lead our region to new levels of success in the future.

ARC Meetings

Transportation Coordinating Committee
August 6, 9:30 a.m.
August 20, 9:30 a.m.

Transportation & Air Quality Committee
August 12, 10 a.m.

Aging Services Committee
August 12, 11:30 a.m.

Environment & Land Use Committee
August 12, noon

Communications and Public Involvement Committee
August 12, 1:30 p.m.

Regional Transit Committee
August 12, 1:30 p.m.

Executive Committee
August 25, noon

ARC Board
August 25, 1 p.m.

Land Use Coordinating Committee
August 26, 9:30 a.m

Meetings held at the ARC offices

Traffic Congestion by the Numbers

These statistics provide a sample of the July edition of ARC's Regional Snapshot newsletter.

11 - Atlanta region's congestion ranking in top 20 U.S. metro areas

10.6 - Percentage of additional time needed to reach destination during rush hour in 2009

18.7 - Same travel time measure experienced in 2006

34.7 - Same travel time measure for Los Angeles in 2009

43.7 - Same travel time measure for Los Angeles in 2006

15.6 - Average speed at merge of I-75 SB and I-85, region's worst bottleneck

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Atlanta Regional Commission . 40 Courtland Street . Atlanta, Georgia 30303 . www.atlantaregional.com

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