In one of the most ostrich-in-the-sand dissent in American history, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer articulates how liberals live in their own fantasy world. The case decided today by a 6-3 majority (thank God!) “upheld the constitutionality of a federal law that makes it illegal to teach members of a foreign terrorist group how to use peaceful means to pursue political goals.” This was part of the USA Patriot Act.
Here is what Justice Breyer said in his from-the-bench-audible dissent (via SCOTUSblog):
Breyer’s opinion argued that the majority’s requirement for “coordination” of speech activity with a terrorist group was not a limitation in any real sense. “There is no practical way,” he wrote, “to organize classes for a group (say, wishing to learn about human rights law) without ‘coordination.’ “ Moreover, the dissent said, the Court had accepted the government argument that even support for a group’s peaceful aims could help “legitimate” that group, and thus further its violent acts, too. “Once one accepts this argument, there is no natural stopping place,” Breyer concluded.
Breyer was joined in the dissent by (not surprisingly) Justices Ginsberg and Sotomayor.
Breyer said that the majority’s broad reading of the statute raises “grave” doubt about its constitutionality.
“… I would read the statute as criminalizing First-Amendment-protected pure speech and association only when the defendant knows or intends that those activities will assist the organization’s unlawful terrorist actions,” Justice Breyer wrote.
Now these three are insane because they trust that a terrorist organization will separate funds, advice and other material goods from their advocacy arm. WTF? This on the face of it is sheer madness. If an organization is deemed a terror group by The State Department — the quickest way to receive humanitarian aid is to STOP and RENOUNCE TERROR ACTIVITIES. Then the US will take you off the list, and the bleeding heart liberals can give you all the damn advocacy support you want.
So the three dissenters either think coordination is okay for the safety of We, The People… or they think that terror groups will put up firewalls in their Terror, Inc. operations. Either conclusion is completely devoid from reality.
Luckily, Chief Justice Roberts brings sanity (and the majority vote) with his opinion:
Roberts quoted a congressional finding in support of his broad reading of the statute: “[F]oreign organizations that engage in terrorist activity are so tainted by their criminal conduct that any contribution to such an organization facilitates that conduct.”
DUH.
I am finding it increasingly hard to debate and discuss with Progressive Liberals who live in a world that solely exists in their mind and Starbuck-dotted neighborhoods.
Unicorns are not an effective anti-terror strategy. What is truly frightening is that three members of SCOTUS, the President and the Congressional leadership all are Unicornists.
-Bruce (GayPatriot)
The Liberalist/Radical Islamist alliance is getting more strong each day.
Bruce..I couldn’t agree with you more……. The far left of the democrat party has gone unchallenged for so long they now believe themselves to possess omnipotent powers. However, what they didn’t count on, was this time around conservatives would awaken and confront the stupidity that’s permeated our political system for too damn long.
The Three Stooges of the Supreme Court are mirroring the far left’s opinion and it’s frightening… to think they are that clueless of the ways of life should make any sane person pause and wonder. One has to ask, exactly how clueless are those 3 judges that they would trust a terrorist to not respond like a terrorist? Sotomayor is emblematic of Obama and his ideology;she think’s just as he does… and he saw that in her. Now you know what to expect when Eleana Kagan takes her seat on the court….. Hell, every day on the court is sure to be like a Sunday matinee featuring the McGuire Sister’s.
Progressives were beaten back in to obscurity 100 years ago, left to creep around in the shadows until the recent turn of the century… It’s time the right picks up our standard once more and knocks the silly bastards on their keisters one more time.
I await with baited breath ALL the RICO funds confiscated since the acts inception. All those POOR mob folk sitting in the Welfare lines. Or at least Justice Breyer’s thinking would have you believe….
Gotta love Breyer’s apparent belief that terrorists only engage in terrorism because they haven’t been taught by nice liberals how to conduct sit-ins or file petitions with the UN.
Please tell me it’s really April 1st
You say “insane,” they say “progressive”, po-TAY-to, po-TAH-to, let’s call the whole thing off.
Oh, good. Now all the government needs to do to shut down free speech is to claim that it is in support of a terrorist organization.
This is an excellent step on the way of getting rid of that pesky 1st Amendment once and for all.
Amiable Dorsai,
Six (and somehow only six) justices understood that protests like what happen in Dearbournistan, while tasteless, are legal. Dearbournistan Hezbolla supporters who raise money for Hezbolla’s ‘humanitarian efforts’ however, are aiding and abetting a terrorist organization, no matter how they slice it.
That is the difference. Will the current Administration try to lock down the Tea Parties? Maybe, but I’d not put it past them to try.
Which would be ironic, given this President’s past association with terrorists.
Let me quote from Andrew McCarthy:
I suspect that the dissenting three are mostly animated by protecting the ACLU which has gone to extreme lengths to give terrorist groups legal cover. The military tribunals are largely out of the reach of the ACLU and their bag of “due process” and Constitutional “guarantees” maneuvers.
Why anyone wants to drag terrorists bent on destroying the nation into protracted open court room dramas is beyond me. The Times Square failed bomber is now going to try to use the jihad defense. He will say that his religious duty was his guiding authority and he will drag Islam and religious freedom into the case as the fundamental issue to be resolved. Check mate.
The Islamic radicals are chomping at the bit to have their Sharia showdown in a major Western court of law. The dissenting three apparently favor having it happen.
It is time for many to reread Gulliver’s Travels. We are at the crossroads of having to decide which end of the egg is the only allowable end for opening the egg.
The_Livewire: “Will the current Administration try to lock down the Tea Parties?”
They should, dissent should not be tolerated. All civil rights should be contingent on whether or not they conform to a faceless bureaucrat’s notion of the government’s agenda.
No need to think about where Sotomayor will come down on future decisions. With kagan coming on Board, it’s going to be too close for comfort. Ginsberg will retire soon. Hard to believe Zero is going to get three picks or more.
Notice who are the dissenter, Breyer and Ginsberg, (Clinton appointees) and Sotomayor (an Obama appointee). My primary reason for voting for McCain was his promise to appoint strict constructionist judges to SCOTUS. My hope is that the Republicans in the Senate will be unified and put up enough roadblocks to delay the vote on Kagen until the New Year.