Tuesday, May 26, 2009

If you don't believe that chutzpah has no limits, read the editorial by Bernie Marcus, founder of Home Depot, in the WSJ today.

Among other gems, Marcus writes:

Will President Barack Obama and the Senate show a strong commitment to the rule of law in selecting and confirming a Supreme Court Justice? On multiple occasions -- from his floor statement on his vote against Chief Justice John Roberts to his announcement of Justice Souter's retirement -- the president has reiterated that it is appropriate to select judges who will decide cases based on "empathy" -- that is to say, personal experiences, feelings and political views.

Such a standard ignores a judge's legitimate role as neutral umpire who rules on the basis of what the law is rather than what he thinks it should be....

The Senate must have a full and fair hearing of the president's nominee as a first step toward ensuring our legal system continues to support a key pillar of the free market -- the fair administration of justice for all.


Sounds sensible, right? Here's the catch. As readers of this blog well know, the "legitimate role" of which Marcus speaks is exactly the one that the Israeli Supreme Court systematically oversteps. And the "full and fair hearings" which Marcus calls for are non-existent in Israel. And the greatest champion of this corrupt system is the Israel Democracy Institute, which has run a multi-million dollar campaign to enshrine the current situation in an essentially irrevocable constitution.

And this campaign has been funded by (drum roll)... Bernie Marcus.

Apparently, you don't need a conscience to move hardware.