3rd of July Roundup

I know I haven't been as regular with the Noahpinions as I should be; this state of affairs will probably be permanent, since I'll soon be entering my first year of Purg...er...grad school. But don't stop stopping by, my dear fans (all 7 of you), because I haven't forgotten the world, even if it never knew me at all.

Some thoughts for the 3rd of July (or, as I like to call it, Dependence Day):

1. Excellent post by Nathan Newman over at TPMCafe. Barack Obama has been urging the Democrats to get back in touch with religious Americans; many liberals, inherently distrusting religiosity in all its forms, are frightened of that approach. I'm going to have to break with the blog community here and support Obama, mainly because I read this excerpt from his speech:

After all, the problems of poverty and racism, the uninsured and the unemployed, are not simply technical problems in search of the perfect ten point plan. They are rooted in both societal indifference and individual callousness - in the imperfections of man.
Pastors like Rick Warren and T.D. Jakes are wielding their enormous influences to confront AIDS, Third World debt relief, and the genocide in Darfur. Religious thinkers and activists like my friend Jim Wallis and Tony Campolo are lifting up the Biblical injunction to help the poor as a means of mobilizing Christians against budget cuts to social programs and growing inequality. National denominations have shown themselves as a force on Capitol Hill, on issues such as immigration and the federal budget...[C]onservative leaders of the Religious Right...need to understand the critical role that the separation of church and state has played in preserving not only our democracy, but the robustness of our religious practice.

Compare that to the responses from a couple bloggers:

"Chris Bowers - 'So thanks Senator Obama, for reifying this Republican-driven talking point about Democrats.'
Pachacutec- 'But this bullshit from Barak Obama is Bill Clinton’s fault.' "

Well, you can guess which one persuaded me.

I'm sorry, but I don't divide the world into teams of "us" and "them," wherein everyone who has a religion is on the "them" team. And I'm watching Obama for '08.


2. According to this TNR article, the Hamdan v. Rumsfeld case, in which the Supreme Court ruled that the President can't hold military tribunals for captured enemy combatants without Congressional approval, shows that "checks on executive power are alive and well" in this country.
Sorry, I just don't see it that way.
First of all, 3 of the 8 justices who ruled on the case dissented (guess which three). This is becoming a recurring pattern, as anyone who's been reading the news in the last 15 years well knows. Supreme Court justices behaving as if they are members of political parties does not bode well for our system of checks and balances.
Second, as the writer of the TNR article admits:

The Court so ruled without resolving the largest constitutional questions and hence without forbidding Congress and the president, acting together, to use military tribunals as they see fit.

So, basically, the president himself is not able to establish a new military judicial system, but with the help of Congress it's no problem. Remind me of the last time this congress stood up to this president?
The conservative movement, I should add, is well aware that this "victory" is no victory for checks on executive power. Until the American people make it clear that we value our Constitutional system above all other concerns, this kind of "victory" will keep pushing us closer and closer toward a serious Constitutional crisis.


3. A good post by Bruce Reed over at Slate about the sad state of the House of Representatives. I'm not sure I agree with his proposed solution to the problems caused by gerrymandering and pork (have half of the House be elected by statewide elections). But I definitely think it's time for America to focus on reinvigorating our democratic system.

Our current democracy deficiencies - excessive gerrymandering, suspect voting machines, and vicious partisanship - couldn't come at a worse time. Our top priority should be making sure that our democracy is robust. I suggest: establishing clear rules for redistricting; making election day a national holiday; requiring voting machines to leave a paper record; and putting fundraising power back in the hands of individual candidates (since the current system requires them to depend on their party for funds).

4. If you have a few extra minutes, read this article by Jimmy Carter in the Washington Post. the title: "We Need Fewer Secrets."

All right, that's it for the 3rd! Maybe on the 4th, America's patriotic spirit will sweep away the excessive partisanship of the modern age. But even if not, I'm still planning a barbecue.