My two cents

On Harriet Miers.

I guess since everybody else has covered whether or not she's qualified, I don't need to bore anyone else with my opinion on that subject. However, on the whole issue I can say that I'm disappointed. I can think of several people who are more qualified to sit on the Supreme Court, and I'm hardly an expert on legal matters. So if I can think of a few better examples, I know that actual lawyers and legal experts must be jumping up and down.

On the other hand, my wife holds the opinion that perhaps having someone on the Supreme Court who hasn't been detached from everyday life for years and years is a good thing. In her opinion, too many of the hoi palloi have been so detached from real life for so long that they no longer have much in common with the people they're supposed to legislate or sit on a bench for.

I guess the whole reason I haven't gotten too upset about the whole thing is because for me, the Supreme Court really doesn't have much legitimacy left. Kelo vs. New London, half the court using international law as a basis for ruling on US laws, and the acceptance of McCain-Feingold as constitutional has made me realize that the Supreme Court is by and large nothing more than another political entity, and deserves no more respect than your average junior grade politicians. Perhaps in time that will change, but I don't see it happening in my lifetime. In fact, in my lifetime, I see the general population of the USA ignoring the Supreme Court and it's decisions as much as they possibly can. With all due respect to Scalia, Thomas and Kennedy, I don't hold any of the other justices with much respect at all, and see no reason why I should live by the arbitrary rulings that I see coming out of the court at this time. Short of doing what I must to avoid being locked up, I plan on treating the SCOTUS rulings like I would the rulings of a local town councilman. So the addition of Harriet Miers does nothing more than raise my interest level a notch or two. Sort of like "Let's shake this bottle up and see what floats to the top" interest.

Anyways, that's my two cents.