The February issue of The Reader’s Digest has an article entitled “America’s Worst Judges”.

     It begins, as many regressivist commentaries on a variety of subjects do, by asking you to imagine that you’re the victim of a crime.  Because we all know how much that sort of imagery contributes to rational thought.

     Then it goes for the real chestnut of the article:  official incompetence and corruption….and goes on to “expose” three of the “worst judges in America”.

     To be sure, these judges are bad… one is a lying, apparent anit-Semite with rage disorder, and obsession with clearing her bench as quickly as possible...she is an elected  criminal court judge in Columbus Ohio.  She has been suspended from the bench for one year due to her misconduct.

     Another is a Kentucky circuit-court judge who is habitually late or absent, can’t keep track of drugs that come into his courtroom as evidence, and has a habit of hiring relatives and friends as substitute court reporters…requiring  no actual work from them for their $75/day.

     And finally, we have a New York State Supreme Court judge that has been accused of letting a suspect escape a “courthouse arrest” from her courtroom, and using taxpayers money to tastelessly redecorate her office, throw lavish parties and take trips.  Geeze…who the hell does she think she is…the head of Homeland Security?

     After describing the undeniably shocking and outrageous litany of offenses of these judges, the article abruptly ends.  What?  Why the hell did you tell me this?  What am I supposed to do about it?  What am I supposed to think?  Is there some point you were trying to make?

     After all, there must be SOME reason you went to all the trouble to hunt up these stories and share them with me…there must be a point…what is it?

     Well, the conclusion we are supposed to draw, I suppose, is that we have in this country, a wildly out-of-control judiciary who does more than just interpret the law as being subject to the constitution, and in ways that protect people’s rights…despite the fact that the law clearly states that it’s taking away those rights and there’s nothing we can do about it.  It’s worse than just making decisions that are inconvenient for the government and wealthy industrialists and the cops.  It’s beyond making decisions that are offensive to “Christians”.

     These people are corrupt, wild, out-of-control law-breaking hedonists, and we’d better do something about it darned quick.

     Hmmm…if only someone would open up a national dialogue about how bad judges are undermining America and propose that we bring legislation to “fix” the “problem”.

     Wait!  Look!  It’s George W. Bush!  Striding to the podium to tell us about the “state of the Union”  He’s talking about all sorts of things, including calling for a solution for “activist judges”!!  God! It’s like he read our minds!  How alert and timely he is!  How does he know what we’re worried about?  It’s amazing how this president has his finger on the pulse of America!

Pffffft!