Book Review: Men in Black: How the Supreme Court is Destroying America, by Mark R. Levin

By Rich Kozlovich

If there ever was a book that confirms the Constitution needs amended to create age and term limits for the federal judiciary - this is it.  The author goes back showing just how many absolute loons have been appointed to the Supreme Court including John Rutledge in 1795 and Henry Baldwin in 1830, both of  whom were thought to be insane, and Robert C. Grier in 1867 who was considered a "babbling idiot", something modern court watchers can relate to.  And these aren't the only issues surrounding these "judicial gods".  But they're not gods, they're men, and too seriously flawed to have stolen the power they now have.  However, this  clearly demonstrates this issue with the federal judiciary isn't just a 20th/21st century problem.

As you go through the book you begin to see these people have been corrupted by their own arrogance and the unwillingness of the Congress to snap them back.  As a result they've become "radicals in robes', constantly twisting the simple words and meanings of the Constitution to fit their own concept of the "rights" they claim exist in the "penumbra" of Constitutional law.  Penumbra meaning these are "rights" not specifically stated in the Constitution but are implied, and should be recognized, according to their liking, their interpretion, their personal preferences and their deliberate misreading of the Constitution in order to "fix" some issue with a desired outcome - an outcome they desire. 

Often these rulings result in contradictory reasoning to explain and justify previous contradictory and unusual reasoning to get to those conclusions.  And that's the crux of the matter - they believe it's their duty and not the legislature's duty to provide justice by substituting their will for the will of the people and decisions of elected deliberative bodies, and no one can do anything about it - at least until the Congress gets the courage to stand up on it's hind legs and exert the power given to them by the Constitution to determine the court's jurisdiction. 

Levin clearly demonstrates the federal judiciary, especially the Supreme Court, is out of control and is the "greatest threat to representative government we face today."  If you have any doubt this is true - you need to read  Men in Black: How the Supreme Court Is Destroying America, By Mark R. Levin.