Coming to Order: How the Court Really Works

John O. McGinnis (Northwestern's School of Law) reviews two books about the Supreme Court in today's Wall Street Journal.

Jan Crawford Greenburg gives a balanced and insightful account of the court's working, reasoning, and dynamics. According to Professor McGinnis, Greenberg's "Supreme Conflict is by far the most fair-minded portrait of the Supreme Court in a long time." Justice Thomas emerges as much more independent than his legion of critics can imagine.

From Greenberg's narrative, a justice's political skills, the art of persuading colleagues and building intellectual coalitions, emerges as crucially important. Justice Brennan was far more dangerous than Earl Warren for his legendary skill in crafting majorities for his agenda. In picking John Roberts and Samuel Alito, "George W. Bush may have reason, in future years, to say something famously about his two court triumphs."

Benjamin Wittes's Confirmation Wars examines the way judges are nominated and how the confirmation process has become an arena sport.

I was shocked to discover that the elder Bush wanted to nominate Kenneth Starr, but Richard Thornburg killed the proposal.

Two books for spring break!

Motu proprio watch & Sacramentum Charitatis

Rumors have been rife since last summer that this pope will issue a document that frees priests to offer the holy sacrament of the mass according to the mass of John XXXII, variously known as the Tridentine mass, the mass according to the missal of 1962, or the Latin mass. This last name is unfortunate (see my previous clarification) since the current mass may be offered in Latin and the documents of the Council and from Rome indicate that Latin should be the normal language of the mass.

This rumored document is typically characterized as a motu proprio (Latin for "on my initiative.")

Benedict issued his Apostolic Exhortion, Sacramentum Charitatis on Tuesday. The Latin tittle translates as "Sacrament of Love." Scott Hahn's students might make a case for "Covenant of Love."

Some were disappointed the motu proprio was not issued. None of us should be disappointed in the new Exhortation.

Benedict on Ignatius

Benedict continued with his second general address on the Apostolic Fathers. AsiaNews.it headlines "Pope: Ignatius of Antioch, the irrepressible desire of Christians for Unity." You can read the full text in english on the Vatican website.

The Case Against Global Warming

Has global warming become more polemical politics than science? That is the case made by filmaker, Michael Durkin. I am not a good judge of how accurate his argument is, but his review of recent paleoclimatic ages is great.

The video is supplied by Google.

The Great Global Warming Swindle

1 hr 15 min 56 sec - Mar 9, 2007
Average rating: (3171 ratings)
Description: Are you green? How many flights have you taken in the last year? Feeling guilty about all those unnecessary car journeys? Well, maybe there's no need to feel bad. According to a group of scientists brought together by documentary-maker Martin Durkin, if the planet is heating up, it isn't your fault and there's nothing you can do about it. We've almost begun to take it for granted that climate change is a man-made phenomenon. But just as the environmental lobby think they've got our attention, a group of naysayers have emerged to slay the whole premise of global warming.

Grandma and Censorship

Peggy Noonan gets to the heart of the issue when she argues that "Our political discourse needs less censorship and more self-discipline. " Today's column addresses the week's two flaps: Ann Coulter's suggesting John Edwards is a "faggot" and Bill Maher's saying we would have been better off with Dick Cheney dead.

Wielding her usual scalpels, words of pith and clarity, she cuts through the hypocrisy of political polemics. Specifically, she uses grandma's "That's not nice" to cut to the heart of the issue.

"We should forbid less and demand more." Read on.