Justice Anthony Kennedy is a much greater threat to our republic than any other Kennedy I'm familiar with. His opinion handed down yesterday in Roper v. Simmons, abolishing the laws of twenty states that allowed capital punishment for juveniles, proves this. Whether you disapprove of capital punishment for teenage murderers isn't the issue. The two real issues concern a). whether you believe in the democratic process; b). whether you believe in federalism. Consider the following aspects of Kennedy's opinion:

1. In 1988's Stanford v. Kentucky, Justice Kennedy ruled with the majority of the court that the Constitution allows juvenile executions. In 2005's Roper v. Simmons, Justice Kennedy ruled with the majority of the court that the Constitution outlaws juvenile executions. Justice Kennedy overturned not only the laws of twenty states in Roper v. Simmons, but he overturned Justice Kennedy as well.

2. Kennedy opined as he did yesterday, he said, because "a national consensus has developed against execution of [juvenile] offenders since Stanford." First: No it hasn't. A few states have outlawed juvenile executions since 1988, but that hardly indicates a consensus. Second: Since when does the Supreme Court rule based on consensus, rather than law? Based on this "national consensus" test, will the court now rule that states can't allow gay marriage or partial-birth abortion? After all, recent legislation, referenda, and polls all indicate greater disapproval of partial-birth abortion and gay marriage than the death penalty for juvenile murderers. Third: A national consensus is irrelevant to overturning state law. Fourth: If a consensus against executing teenage murderers has indeed developed, why not allow that consensus to express itself through the democratic process? When a court usurps the democratic process to achieve certain ends on behalf of the "national consensus," this is a tacit admission that rhetoric about a "national consensus" is dishonest.

3. As discussed here yesterday, Justice Kennedy and his cohorts purport to understand the Constitution better than the people who wrote it. Before, during, and after ratification of the Constitution, various states--governed in part by the same delegates who drafted the document setting up the structure of the federal government--hung teenagers. If executing juveniles is an affront to the Constitution, why didn't any Founding Father decry the unconstitutionality of such actions?

4. Justice Kennedy's opinon cited the laws of other nations to bolster his case. "The overwhelming weight of international opinion against the juvenile death penalty is not controlling here, but provides respected and significant confirmation for the Court’s determination that the penalty is disproportionate punishment for offenders under 18," Kennedy wrote. "It does not lessen fidelity to the Constitution or pride in its origins to acknowledge that the express affirmation of certain fundamental rights by other nations and peoples underscores the centrality of those same rights within our own heritage of freedom." Kennedy uses international opinion as a euphemism for European opinion. European opinion, it's worth noting, also regards free speech as anathema to a tolerant society. More importantly, laws in other countries have absolutely no bearing on the constitutionality of laws in certain states within the U.S.

"Sean Hannity is a great American!" proclaims a deep-voiced, male voice-over on 640 AM WHLO for Sean Hannity’s daily radio program. Actually, the man doing the voice-over shouldn’t announce it with so much gusto. Instead he should speak the sentence in the form of a question: "Sean Hannity is a great American?" Unfortunately, that will never happen, at least not on WHLO, where almost the entire program schedule is completely comprised of staunch George "Stalin" Bush supporters. In fact, WHLO should change their call letters to WGOP.

Start your morning off with Quinn & Rose, Bush supporters from Pittsburg. They are followed by Laura Ingraham, another Bush apologist. Enjoy your lunch with the grand spin doctor himself, Rush Limbaugh. Rush is then followed by his protégé, Hannity, for your drive home. Please, try and eat your dinner with the mangy, rabid dog, Michael Savage, who comes on the air with more hate and propaganda. Finally, though, real radio programming starts at 10:00 p.m. with the Rollye James Show and then Coast to Coast AM.

How can anyone say that, "Sean Hannity is a great American!"? What has he done that is so great? Did he speak out against the Patriot Acts? Did he denounce the war of aggression against Iraq? The answer is a resounding no! In fact, not only did he toe the line with regards to the Patriot Act and the war in Iraq, he’s beating on the war drums for the military to take on Iran. Are these the virtues that embody a great American? Hardly!

When I think of great Americans I think of people such as Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Ludwig von Mises, Henry Hazlitt, Murray Rothbard and Lew Rockwell. These men are great Americans, greats among so many others. Sean Hannity is a terrible American! In fact, Sean Hannity is an American traitor. Not necessarily a traitor to the United States, but rather a traitor to the very ideas and principles he supposedly supports.

In order for Hannity to be a great American he would have to come on the air, on both his radio and television programs, and denounce everything that Genghis Bush represents. The opening of both programs would start something akin to this: "George Bush claims he embraces capitalism, freedom and liberty. Let’s look at his record folks. The federal deficit has never been larger, he signed into law more subsidies for farmers, he’s suspended habeas corpus by declaring people enemy combatants and leaving them in legal limbo, he continues to turn America into a police state with both of the oxymoronically named Patriot Acts, and lest we forget the war against Iraq. That my friends, is not a person who embodies the ideals of capitalism, freedom and liberty. Furthermore, President Bush says he is a man of unwavering Christian faith; however, I don’t see the murder of tens of thousands of Iraqis, Americans and people of other nationalities involved in the Iraqi debacle as Christian acts."

In actuality, Hannity and his other Bush apologist, talking-head colleagues are spoon-fed their information by Bush and his Legion of Doom cabinet members. They are Ministers of Propaganda, much like Joseph Gerbils. (I must give credit where credit is due; the last sentence comes from Triumph the Insult Comic Dog.) Hannity perverts the true meanings of the words capitalism, freedom and liberty in order for them to fit into Bush’s actions of socialism, incarceration and a perpetual police state. Another perversion is Hannity’s theme song for his radio program. The song attempts to connect the resurrection of Jesus Christ with the war in Iraq. I am not one of the 12 apostles, so I do not know first hand, yet I’m quite certain that Jesus Christ would not advocate mass murder in any way, no matter how one tries to explain the reasoning.

Everything Sean Hannity does is an apology for Bush’s actions. Suppose that next Tuesday Bush announces an economic stimulus plan where the entire population has to fork over 95% of their earnings to the federal government in order to jump-start the economy. Hannity would be on the air proclaiming that Bush is the greatest economic visionary in the history of man. People would question the logic of Bush’s decision, saying "It’s outrageous to pay 95% of your income to the federal government." Hannity’s retort would be that Bush is only beating the liberals at their own game: "Your money is safer with George Bush and the GOP, as opposed to letting the liberals have it. George Bush will spend it wisely; just imagine what the Democrats would do with your money. All of you out there have to recognize that the people against this economic stimulus plan are liberals plotting against the president to make him look bad. My friends don’t be duped by the liberal bias machine."

Hannity will immediately accuse you as either a liberal, or a traitor to the United States of America for speaking out against Bush. All of this is a smokescreen to hide that George Bush and his goons are complete hypocrites. How can Hannity claim that protectionist trade policies represent capitalism? How can he claim that being incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay forever without a trial represents freedom? How can he claim the Patriot Acts I and II and national identification cards are consistent with the principles of liberty?

The answer to all three questions is that Hannity cannot claim any of these actions are consistent with the principles of capitalism, freedom and liberty. They are the exact opposite! Hannity’s only desire is to see the size and scope of the government increase, as long as a Republican is responsible, of course. Thus, Sean Hannity is not a great American, he is a great Soviet!

Dan,
I agree with you. I would even go so far as to say the citing of international opinion betrays a defensiveness bred out of the weaknesses of Kennedy's arguments. However, there is room for Kennedy to say he has a different, and at times wiser, grasp of the principles underlying the Constitution than did the founders. Yes, many of the founders were slaveholders and overlooked this vicious business in applying the Constitution. So too may other aspects of the Constitution be ripe for change. Now I don't think hanging minors is one of those aspects, but others may legitimately differ.

Webster,

Yes, the Founders could have been and were wrong in certain things they proposed and ensconced in the Constitution, such as slavery. As such, they recognized the limits of their wisdom and allowed room for increased wisdom in succeeding ages to take root in the Constitution. But the key is HOW they allowed for that. I wrote about this in my essay, "George Washington on Constitutionalism."

This principal worked in relation to slavery with the passage of the 13th Amendment. When a later generation realized their naivity in passing Prohibition, they also did not ignore the Constitution by changing the meaning of words and reading others into the Constitution. Rather, they corrected their error by passing another Amendment, the 21st.

It is incumbant upon us to follow constitutional principal when seeking to change the framework of American goverment put in place by our Founders. The efforts of Justices Kennedy, Ginsburg, and Breyer to selectively read foreign laws and customs into the Constitution is a perfect example of the dangerous practices Washington warned about in his Farewell Address, using their ambition and "spirit of innovation" to "subvert the power of the people and usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion."

Sigh. Hannity gets on my nerves, to be sure, and I don't particularly care for his style. And I love to hear Savage call people narcissitic while all the while telling everyone how he's the only one in the world that knows what's "really going on".

But PLEASE, just stfu. Or at least change your name (again). Anyone that has the arrogance to call himself "truth" (there is only One to my knowledge who can really do that) deserves to be ignored anyway. Don't you get air-america where ever you are? Just turn that on and listen to Al Franken laughing at how smart HE is instead of stewing over Hannity's silly radio show.

Also, I think that Ludwig von Mises is appropriately claimed by the Viennese, despite his US citizenship later on.

Truth: none of the things you are attacking are defended on this website, so why bother pretending to be so courageous? Try acting like a normal person and participate in a discussion.

Just a thought: Maybe your not a person, but a spam robot. The pornographers flood blogs with automated comments. Maybe AirAmerica is sending out Hannity attack ads. That would explain why you never say anything relevant.

Truth: "your" comment appears in total over at LewRockwell.com, only it's written by a guy name Paul Servodio. I can't believe this guy had the nerve to plagiarize Truth, and be so clever as to somehow post his purloined article a full twenty-four hours before Truth posted his comment on FlynnFiles.

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig6/servodio1.html

"Let us never tolerate outrageous conspiracy theories"- GWB. Hmmm I wonder who wrote this speech? Isn't it our constitutional right to believe anything we want??

Flyn, I was only posting (copy and pasting) that dude's article, not claiming any such responsibility. I thought that was automatically assumed as only very few people would actually type that much on a posting. Please concentrate on the content and subject matter and disregard the authors. Paul Servodio could have been just copy and pasting too?? anyway, have a look at www.911wasalie.com GREAT SITE!!! Especially the pentagon flash show. There was no plane there chief

"Truth",

First of all, I am originally from Pittsburgh, and I believe the FM station you are talking about actually carries Glenn Beck after Quinn and before Rush, so maybe you should get your facts straight before copying and pasting your propaganda from other websites.

Second of all, as i'm sure Flynn and others will agree, this blog is for the debate and free expression of political ideas. There are many liberals who blog here, and we respect and encourage their opposition, although we may respectfully disagree. I do not know who you are trying to intimidate here, but by posting your rude and disrespectful comments, you will gain nothing. Eventually people will stop responding to you.

As far as Sean Hannity (and Rush Limbaugh), I somewhat agree with you (although not completely). They too often are talking heads of this administration, and I sometimes get very angry because they never speak out against some of Bush's policies that I know, must conservatives would not agree with. I would have to say, that Michael Savage, although a bit insane, usually speaks his mind, and I tend to agree with him.

Finally, talk radio show hosts are known as a combination of entertainers and broadcast journalists. They are not held to the same standards as print and tv journalists. They livelihoods are dependent on their ratings, so they target an audience and speak the things that will get them ratings.

So was this all just a ploy for you to take attention off of Justice Kennedy's insane, unconstitutional opinions?

Truth,

Your extremely poor debate style of "throw out a bunch of random ad hominems and unsupported assertions in an extremely brass manner and hope people think your right." Will get you nowhere. Next time come back with a polite, structured set of points done in a professional manner. This way, it will seem like it is actually worth our time to attempt to engage you in an intelligent discourse.

Oh, and thanks for that clarification about what Hannity would have to do to be a great American. I didn't realize that to be a great American you had to share the same political views as Truth. Nor did I realize that you were the judge of what makes a great American.

Hannity has shown himself time and time again to be a self-indulgent, self-absorbed twit. However right now, you seem to be doing the same.

Ben,

You're actually only a Great American if you agree with Paul Servodio. He's been assigned Great American Inspector General. You can bet I'll have my app. in pretty soon.

Geez "Truth" you are just as bad as Jerry the hyperactive nutcase cab driver in the movie "Conspiracy Theory".I suppose you believe the Moon landing was a fake too. Sounds to me like you need to go see a doctor about those fever spells your having.

Hey now Mulder, don't liken Truth to Gibson's character in "Conspiracy Theory." That is a big mistake b/c if you remember the film Jerry was proven *right* about all of his conspiratorial claims. Truth hasn't come close to even hitting the side of the barn let alone the door.

Truth is a troll. Anyway, this post was Excellent!

I find it remarkable that the guy not only hijacked the topic, but did it with an entirely plagiarized and unattributed essay! (We won't even cover it's lack of veracity for now.)

Don't Feed the Troll, kids.

www.911wasalie.com

www.truthisamoron.com

Those who legislate from the bench pose the greatest threat to the democratic process. This is the single most important issue we currently face. Thank you for highlighting it, Mr. Flynn.

www.911wasaterroristact.com