The skeletons of Roberts’ closet ‘being dragged out for all to see fun’ never ends. Apparently when you’re a young attorney working for the Reagan Administration, years upon years later, you scare the hell out of people with all of the crazy memos and letters you wrote in that time. First it was your past extreme anti-Roe legal work, now its where you stand (or stood) on prayer in public school issues and economic based gender discrimination. (via The New York Times)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court nominee John Roberts showed sympathy for the idea of permitting prayer in public schools in 1985, according to a memo released on Monday, writing that a ruling to the contrary ”seems indefensible” under the Constitution.
As a young lawyer working in the Reagan administration, Roberts wrote he would have no objection if the Justice Department wanted to express support for a constitutional amendment permitting prayer.
Referring to a Supreme Court ruling issued earlier that year that struck down an Alabama school prayer law, he said, ”The conclusion … that the Constitution prohibits such a moment of silent reflection — or even silent `prayer’ — seems indefensible.”
The Alabama law, ruled unconstitutional by a divided court, mandated a one-minute period of silence for meditation or prayer.
Yep. No insidious, subliminal message of pro-religious indoctrination in public schools there. Nope, nope. Also in more disturbing ‘blasts-from-the-past’ with Roberts as a young attorney, as already mentioned his [then] views on gender discrimination and pay equity. Or are they still just ‘then’ opinions as a young attorney?
[…]Serving in a conservative administration, Roberts strongly opposed a district court ruling that had upheld a claim of ”comparable worth.” The suit was filed by women arguing they were victims of discrimination because they were paid less than men working in other jobs that the state had decided were worth the same.
”It is difficult to exaggerate the perniciousness of the `comparable worth’ theory,” Roberts wrote. ”It mandates nothing less than central planning of the economy by judges.”
Or the restriction and perhaps ending of economic based gender discrimination? A subterfuge for excusing economic based gender discrimination, anyone? Nevermind, this was “young attorney Roberts” we’re dealing with here, right?
Comparable worth has faded as an issue in the intervening two decades, but not so school prayer. It remains a perennial issue in which judges — and justices — are occasionally asked to determine where to draw the line between church and state.[…]
What else could be lying around in Roberts’ closet? Oh Roberts and you’re a disturbing young attorney working for the Reagan Administration self. How will you disturb us next?!
I think you are grasping at straws here. Roberts’ comment on wages is something a centrist Democrat could say with little fear for his political career. And the moment of silence thing is nothing. The silence bit means that no one can hear anyone else’s prayers. How is anyone going to be marginalized or oppressed -or even challenged- by other people thinking about Jesus or Shiva or Quetzalcoatl? Or the nothingness that awaits them when they die, in the case of atheists?
I gotta tell ya.
Every time I come onto Alas these days, I end up blanching. Because there’s always some comment on the sidebar:
“Robert’s Evil Past” or “Roberts Killed Puppies”,
or whatever, and my reading brain, which is a little quicker than my thinking brain, has a little mini-freakout. “OMG, they found out about the incident in Omaha!”
Either he has to change his name, or everyone here has to start referring to me as Bob. One or the other. :)
Oh, get over it. I’m the one who has to share a surname with Glenn Sacks. Who cares about your pitiful problems ?
And the moment of silence thing is nothing. The silence bit means that no one can hear anyone else’s prayers.
Because everybody prays silently, right?
In a time interval designated for silence, yes, everyone prays quietly. Or meditates. Or picks their nose. Or twiddles their thumbs. Or stares at an attractive member of the opposite sex that they were too shy to look at when they might notice.