Friday night, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg passed away from cancer, which she had battled for several years. She was age 87, and her passing was no great surprise, as humans can only battle the ravages of cancer for so long before the remorseless disease has its way. Ginsburg was a Justice who's judicial decisions were rarely agreeable. But, she reserved a degree of mutual respect for others on the court of a Constitutionalist viewpoint that earns her respect, and should serve as a valuable example for how one can disagree without being disagreeable.
In this age we live in, such a hope is doomed.
The epitaphs for Ginsberg were not even written before the same mob that's spent the last half year trying to burn down American cities was at it again, with their public threats of sedition. Worse, some people who should hold far more perspective and morality revealed the depth of evil in their souls. Media television host, and former CNN anchor, Reza Aslan, waited not even a few hours after Ginsberg's death was announced, before he publicly posted this to his social media account, "If they even TRY to replace RBG we burn the entire f---g thing down." The "thing" he was talking about was the US Congressional building. That's the definition of sedition, especially when at the time he wrote it, there really were people being arrested by Capitol Hill Police for trying to burn and destroy federal buildings in Washington DC.
The hateful rhetoric didn't end there. When Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pledged the Senate would hold a vote prior to the election to confirm Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Azlan added, "Over our dead bodies. Literally."
Wonder how many actual wars that Azlan has fought in, how many firefights he's been in, and how many times he's dodged mortar shells, rockets, bullets, and bombs during raging ground battles? Truth is, he's never fought a single military battle in his life. He's another worthless keyboard warrior, and it's awfully easy to play the he-man while sitting in an air conditioned room typing away on one's keyboard.
You can tell the people who've fought in such battles and survived. They're the ones who avoid speaking with such false bravado when it comes to mass casualty battles. That's a truth Azlan would do well to consider. The Marines look for men who run toward the sound of battle, vice away from it. One strongly suspects that Azlan isn't the sort of person the Marines are looking for.
Noted author Aaron Gouvela reacted to McConnell's statement by adding, "F--k no. Burn it all down."
Canadian political science professor, Emmett MacFarlane, of Waterloo University, actually wrote, "Burn Congress down before letting Trump try to appoint anyone to SCOTUS." At least one Canadian, Ezra Levant, had the courage to write this in reply, "MacFarlane is a professor at Waterloo University, promoting violence against his political enemies. If you were a young woman in his class who was a Trump supporter, would you risk being a target of his violent rage if he found out about you? Should you transfer to a different class?"
How about transferring to a different university, that doesn't think it acceptable to hire violent sociopaths to teach political science.
Political commentators, and even some elected representatives, felt compelled to raise their hatred to the same vitriolic level. Beau Willimon wrote, "We're shutting this country down if Trump and McConnell try to ram through an appointment before the election." Would that be something different from what we've seen the Democrats do since March, in shutting down the economy and subjecting our cities to over six months of mayhem, rioting, arson, and looting?
A Wisconsin Democrat operative, Scott Ross, actually was unhinged enough to issue a written demand to Democrat Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts writing, "F---g A, Ed, if you can't shut it down, burn it down."
Media members piled on in kind, with GQ writer Laura Bassett, writing, "If McConnell jams someone through, which he will, there will be riots." Really? Where has she been the last six months?
Despite the anger, the United States is a nation of law, not cults of personality. Regardless of who holds what elected office, the Constitution specifies who is authorized to do what, and no one is given power without codified checks and balances. Article II, Section 2 makes it very clear precisely what Donald Trump as President is authorized to do, and it states, "He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, (to) nominate Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States." There is nothing whatsoever in the Constitution that applies some calendar limit to that authority. That authority exists in full for the entire term that a President holds.
If the Senate chooses by majority will to sit on a Supreme Court nominee, like was done in Barack Obama's final year in office, then that's in accordance with the Constitution. If the Senate in fall of 2020, decides to hold a vote on a new Justice, then that's likewise in accordance with the Constitution.
The capricious and vengeful will of the mob has nothing to say on it. Making threats of societal violence does not rational policy make, nor does it constitute anything that should sway the work of the duly elected government of the United States. If members of the US Senate choose to decline to vote for a new Supreme Court Justice, then that is also in accordance with the Constitution, but one does sincerely hope that threats of mob violence isn't part of those considerations. Regardless, to threaten to destroy property, attack people, and engage in mass violence, is sedition, and it should be treated as such.
A lot of people posting words to social media need serious criminal investigation, and given the several months of mass violence already unleashed by the mad left, such threats must be taken seriously. It's no longer just empty rhetoric. It's criminality, with plenty of hard actions carried out for an intolerably long time.
-- Ken Stallings
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