Legislating from the bench

It's no secret that when White Christian Republicans (led by Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter and James Dobson) disagree with the ruling of a court - any court - they scoff and pound their fists, saying that the court is "legislating from the bench". This is obvious code for "voted the other way".

That said, I have to wonder how each side feels, given that the Supreme Court [SCOTUS] voted twice (already) today .. one liberal verdict and the other conservative. I'm sure opponents will accuse the other of "legislating from the bench".

The first ruling cut the damages from the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska to 20% of what a jury awarded as punishment. Environmentalists will say that the R-SCOTUS (Republic Party Supreme Court) caved (5-3) to the interests of Exxon Mobil and sent a clear signal that it's okay for other companies to spill oil and pay a fine, then go about their merry way.

The second ruling outlawed (5-4) the execution of men convicted of raping a child. This case was set in Louisiana, but Texas and three other states (Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina) allow an execution when the defendant is convicted of raping a child - presumably any such verdicts will be commuted. The majority from the D-SCOTUS [Democratic Party Supreme Court] apparently feel that death is not a proportional punishment for this crime.

Regardless of which side of either issue you're on, odds are you think the SCOTUS overstepped its boundaries and is guilty of legislating from the bench. Welcome to The New World Order.

Voluntary Simplicity

A few weeks ago, I participated in an eight (8) week discussion group: "Voluntary Simplicity". This is the one created by the Northwest Earth Institute. While there was certainly too much information to cover in a single blog entry, suffice it to say that it reinforced many of the things I've taken to heart in the past several years: reduction of clutter; efficient time planning; being green; and the Evils of American Society.

Okay, so I made up that last one .. at least, renamed it. That's because the terms used in the reading material sugar-coated the phenomenon: egregious American consumerism, where we're trained to be lifetime gluttons about most everything. So many people fall into the lifetime trap of buying/buying/buying stuff they don't need to impress people they barely know. And guess what - many of us that are the potential impressees come away with the opposite impression: that you're an IDIOT when you live above your means and buy Stuff just to have More Stuff.

I've seen truly amazing (read: disgusting) examples. One friend-of-a-friend lived in a ~5000 square foot house which was not only packed wall-to-wall with Stuff but also floor-to-ceiling. There were precarious paths leading from room to room, and I felt as if I was in an Antique Mall that was designed to pack items so close together that the patrons couldn't avoid breaking something (ca-ching!).

Some families have 5+ children (gag) and need an SUV to transport them, but many don't .. and have large, wasteful vehicles that are used for everything. Those families each need a Smart car, or a Honda Fit, or something equally gas-friendly for 98% of their trips. I've never bought the argument that Big Vehicles Make You Safe, since my theory is that they make you into a Sloppy driver who takes excessive risks because You're The Big Dog and who cares if I crush The Little Dog?

Noteworthy-but-unrelated: as I've driven around the past few weeks, I notice that few drivers are bothering to slow down to conserve fuel. Many of them are either incapable of changing their leadfoot habits, or have the same moronic attitude I saw with snow/ice drivers here - the idea that if you drive faster, you'll get through the ordeal faster. As a rule, the larger the vehicle, the more likely it is to be going 20+ miles over the limit. Dallas remains The Place To Be if you want to speed anytime and never be pulled over - enforcement here is a joke.

To be sure, even I (gasp!) have room to improve, but I'm trying. Example: my CD rack hasn't been touched in a couple years, ever since I dumped everything to the iPod. My book collection's still massive and I'm coming to grips with the concept of giving away books (to a charity such as a local Veterans Administration hospital) rather than let them languish on the shelf, never to be re-read. I no longer buy trinkets of any sort, since those are destined to be dust collectors. Yes, I take lots of photos, but carefully organize them on my home network -- without taking up more physical space (I almost never get prints - aside from samples I printed years ago so my walls wouldn't be blank).

Via the local Freecycle group, I've given away some specific things but surely need to advertise Stuff I'm no longer using. The alternative is a Garage Sale, but I don't need the hassle involved with that, since my goal is merely to get rid of excess Stuff. You know, to Simplify.

BANNED: The Christian Discount

Despite my NO SOLICITORS sign, somebody left a copy of a telephone directory (you remember, those quaint paper books of a bygone era -- before the Internet). This one - "The Shepherd's Guide" - is a bit different as it proclaims that the bulk (all?) of the advertisers are guaranteed to be Christian. Advertisers must affirm that they are "born again" and clients must be treated with respect and integrity. Translation: hold onto your wallet.

If you go to their website, you'll find the publisher has been at this since 1980, although the Dallas version is only vintage 1992. The local edition has a Roanoke, Texas return address - about 30 miles west of me.

Before I pitched it in the recycle container, I thumbed through it (for amusement sake). On page 11 of the Greater Dallas County edition, there's a full page which warns against asking for The Christian Discount:

The reason that The Shepherd's Guide has worked so well is because it has provided a means for honest and reputable business and professional Christians to advertise their services to other Christians. Please do not expect any of them to provide their service free or at a reduced rate unless they feel led by God to do so, and not because you have pressured them for the discount.

Stop and think about it this way — Would you want to pay a business more because they felt that you, as a Christian customer, should feel compelled to help other Christians by paying them more for their services?

We feel that God wants us to treat each other in love and esteem. The advertiser's purpose in this guide is to do their best at a fair price. They deserve the opportunity to serve you and to be paid for their services.

Metrics:

• 115 pages
• Approximately 6x9 inches
• non-revenue pages: a LOT (including about 30 White pages for churches; ministries; Christian schools)
• most amusing concepts: Christian lawyers; Christian plumbers; Christian pest control

At least it didn't contain any toxic chemicals - my recycler will like that.

Deep thought: I wonder if there are directories for other religions: Jewish; Muslim; Catholic (as John Hagee reminds us: Catholics ain't Christian). Me, I'll probably stick to my favorite secular online directory: superpages.com.