Customer Reviews

Contempt: How the Right Is Wronging American Justice

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

In the few chapters of this book that I've read since purchasing it, Catherine Crier has done a superb job of explaining what any clear thinking, intelligent person already knows-that the religious right is attempting to thwart democracy by perverting the judicial branch of government. Although Crier seemingly comes across as a bit of an alarmist at times one cannot deny that she has researched the topic well and provided abundant source material.

What I find particularly noteworthy about "Contempt" is how Crier artfully points out the judicial activism that takes place on the far right, and how the term "judicial activism" has been co-opted by social conservatives to serve as a codeword for any sort of court decision that challenges their attempt to turn America into a religious theocracy.

As is the case anytime a book like this is published there will be the usual band of ignorant wingnuts (like Timothy Cornwell) slagging this book and questioning the credentials of the author. The intelligent, objective observer would do well to avoid paying attention to such blather. Crier is not a liberal; she's a moderate Republican with libertarian leanings. She is also a former attorney and judge so I think it's far to say that she has a pretty good idea of what she's talking about.

If you are sincerely concerned about the tone this country has taken under George W. Bush, the religious charlatans who have effectively taken control of the Republican Party, and the hypocritical, corrupt politicians who do their bidding then this book is for you.

This former, republican judge from Texas spells out her argument clearly and passionately how the religious right is attempting to change the US Constitution while claiming to support it. According to Crier the religious right takes a hypocritical stand on judicial issues. Any judge who makes a decision they do not like is legislating from the bench i.e. changing the law in their decision rather than interpreting it. She reveals this hypocrisy in the Terry Schiavo case where the evangelical Christian judge followed the law, and ordered life support removal. The Christian right vilified this judge because he failed to change the law in his decision! But, this is only one of many issues for which Crier provides convincing evidence.

The Christian right startegy for taking over our courts include: 1) (Very short) term limits, 2) jurisdictional stripping i.e. remove the courts from hearing challenges to religious-based decisions, 3) impeachment 4) congressional veto of supreme court decisions the congress doesn't like! 5) congressional funding or defunding of courts that are too liberal in their decisions, 6) abolition of courts whose decisions that congress does not like. These strategies are aimed at intimidating judicial decisions.

The Christian movement goes even further. Although fully 80% of the country, Christians are now claiming to be persecuted. They are attempting to revise history claiming that the founders intended the country to be Christian. Serious students of American history already know that Madison, Franklin, Jefferson and Adams and others were actually wary of religion dominating or being a part of politics.

According to Crier, the conressional right-wing and religious zealots are planning daily to bring Christian influence into our courts and our constitution on abortion, marriage, right-to-die, stem-cell research, intelligent design, gun control, statues of the Ten Commandments, etc.

This books present facts that may surprise you:

The republicans charge that their judicial candidates are not given a [fair] chance, yet of the 229 candidates President Bush nominated to the bench, only 10 were blocked, making Bush's approval rate for nominees the highest in years.

Under President Clinton, the republican-controlled senate denied "sixty-three nominees even a hearing, let alone a vote."

In the 20 years prior to 1997, it took 97 days from nomination to confirmation. By 1998, the republicans stretched the nomination to confirmation time to 232 days.

While some critics of this book make a point of her lack of footnotes, or that she described one zealot mistakenly as a psychiatrist rather than a psychologist, the evidence she presents is a matter of public record. This book is too well researched to simply be dismissed.

Only people on the extreme right will discount this book. No one likes their beliefs or opinions challenged by the facts, but this is one you may find yourself reading over and over again.

It also provides a powerful reminder that there is nothing more threatening or dangerous than the self-righteous.

CONTEMPT is an amazingly timely must-read primer for the Supreme Court confirmation hearings going on right now. It's a fresh, no-nonsense book chock full of really detailed and relevant information that, as ominous and frightening as it is, is told in a really entertaining way. Through well-defined arguments and fascinating examples, Crier details how Bush appointees and Republican lawmakers are handing over the keys to the Federal Judiciary to religious zealots and other right-wing whackos. Crier deftly and conclusively proves that the true "Activist Judges" are the one's being appointed to the federal bench by George Bush and his gang.

I loved the way Crier tells stories in some chapters - the one on The Good News Clubs, a religious cult group that used legal loopholes to recruit kids in public schools, was particularly good. Elsewhere she puts really vivid faces on the people behind the religious right's takeover of the courts using thumbnail descriptions. There's a great piece about the true origins of the Pledge of Allegiance that's worth the cover price alone.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who has stopped believing all the Bush hype, was appalled at the disgusting grandstanding that took place around the Terri Schiavo case, or who wonders why our God given and Constitutionally guaranteed rights to make up our own minds and out own personal choices, is something politicians and TV evangelists need to control.

Catherine Crier is, I think, justifiably horrified at a movement in this country that is trying to do away with the hard-core values of American democracy, values that make this -- the most long-lasting republic in the world -- what it truly is, and will hopefully remain as long as God so grants us the right to be: the greatest nation on earth.

It may come as a shock to some that those solid American values of which I speak are the values of Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and Lincoln. Jefferson was an agnostic. Lincoln once said, "I care not for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it." (Being a dog lover, I love this quote.) Lincoln, who was perhaps our greatest President, especially when it came to upholding the ideals of democracy in the most difficult of times, was actually not a great believer in religion, though he was a great believer in God, something the current crop of right-wing Republicans have forgotten. If Honest Abe were running for office today, given the power of certain parties in Washington and around the country, he would never be elected.

The abolition of school prayer by the Supreme Court? Terrible, right? Not unless you want to overturn the freedom of religion guaranteed by our Constitution. Some may feel that the U.S. government should uphold their own, specific religious values at all costs. That's fine, I suppose, unless you can envision a time when the majority shifts to Islam or Judaism or Mormonism, and the Baptists and Catholics and Buddhists have someone else's religious values being shoved down their throats by Washington. Then it wouldn't be so cool for the government to dictate what beliefs should be held by all Americans, whether they like it or not, would it?

Crier, like all good citizens of this democracy, thinks religion should be a private, not a public issue. Christ himself said, "Those who pray loudly and in a public place are an abomination before God." Let's follow Jesus' example and keep our relationships with God in private and let our government be a government of the people, by the people, and for the people - and I mean all the people, not just those who share your own specific religious beliefs.

This book is a necessary cry for American ideals in the face of those who, unfortunately, use their version of "one country under God" to foist a decidedly UN-American agenda (an agenda which Crier rightly describes as chillingly similar to some of the religiously-controlled governments in the Middle East) on this great country of ours.

Catherine Crier explains how the far right is attempting to distort the Judicial Branch (and alter the fate of this country) through court stacking.

She's refreshingly honest about the blatant hypocrisy exhibited by the right. They get up in hackles when a court ruling does not go their way, but conveniently do not see 'judicial activism' when one of their judges issues a ruling which they support. They just want to control America at all costs. She profiles some judges who typify this extremism, then contrasting them with the good judges who are actually following the rule of law. Oh, the good judges are out there, but it is very difficult to impossible for them to be considered for nomination when the far right exercises almost total control over the selection process.

Having grown up with a traditional reverence for the Constitution (including the separation of church and state) I admire Ms. Crier's analysis--ever more pertinent with today's headlines. Using razor-sharp intellect, she examines these cases and then demonstrates not only why the right is out of touch with America but how they are actually hurting the country.

Rather than issuing vapid and dewy-eyed propaganda about 'America's Christian history' she demonstrated that and why the Constitution was explicitly written to make religion a private and voluntary activity as opposed to a public and mandatory activity. So you want to celebrate your own religion, that's great but you also need to remember that other people have just as much right to celebrate their own perspectives (including the freedom to not believe in anything).

Crier's book makes me feel great about being an American in a time when many of the people running our government want to create our own Taliban. This book is a great read---particularly for the ever-growing numbers of wavering Republicans who really would like their party to return to the days of 'Honest Abe' Lincoln.

I really wish that she would consider getting back into public office because we need all of the 'good people' we can get.

Many of Catherine Crier's views, which she expresses as a Court TV anchor, outrage me. I am convinced that if it were left up to her, the families of the victim would try people accused of a crime and guilt or innocence wouldn't be the main idea but rather a catch phrase for press releases. I was expecting more of the same when I bought this title, but I was pleasantly surprised with the unbiased approach this work has taken to the issues. In fact, Crier even stood up for the rights of the accused a couple of times, something that I wasn't expecting at all.

Crier has done an excellent job of exposing the right wing's very calculated attempt to advance their agenda through the courts. Crier drives the point home with regard to the hypocrisy of the right when they cry "judicial activism". Crier really breaks down the very carefully choreographed sequence of spin-laden press leaks and sound bites that the right has used to rally others around the cause of removing, discrediting, slandering, libeling and/or defaming judges that make decisions contrary to their beliefs.

Overall, Crier has done a very good job with Contempt. I would recommend this title even to people who may not be a fan of Crier's Court TV positions. Everyone can find something they can agree with in here.

While I write this as a Canadian, I dread the possibility of arch-conservative, religious fundamentalist fanatics dictating public policy, and what happens in the United States often follows in Canada - maybe about 5-10 years later. Catherine Crier's book is a warning to fair-minded Americans of all stripes & religions. It tells explicitly how the conservative 'Christian' right, in the form of the Republican Party, the Federalist Society, the Family Research Council, Focus on the Family, etc., want to force-feed fundamentalist religious values down your throat using the power of the judiciary to do so. She also points out the galling hypocrisy of these organizations and the men at the head of them - when judges make rulings they disagree with they are called 'activists who should be removed', but if they make rulings favorable to these people's agenda, they 'deserve to be on the bench'. She reveals the sick methods advocated by certain Republican politicians & their supporters to get rid of judges who do not support their warped view of Christianity.

This book is a wake-up call to all fair-minded people - including religious folks who do not share the sickening views of these patriarchal men who want to take North America back to the 8th century!

Having been raised in a fundamentalist faith, but one that teaches a strict separation of church and state, I was curious about this book. I was very impressed with the research and the author's ability to make our history so obvious. As soon as I began reading it I started noticing various items in my local newspaper which confirmed that these actions are taking place... on a daily basis! People need to realize that it is wrong to legislate morality. Allowing seemingly harmless small matters to become laws could lead to a state religion and a complete reversal of what most of us believe it means to be American.

The reviews critical of Ms. Crier's "Contempt" play the ad hominem card early and often. Crier's willingness to do a little history--for example, tracing the Dominionist invasion of the federal judiciary back to the Reagan years--apparently hits a hot spot with those who seek still to remain under the radar. There's nothing more annoying than to try a scam, and the mark describes for you exactly how you're doing it! Ms. Crier is to be commended for popularizing some pretty complex jurisprudential ideas, and exposes the Religious Right's political gambits for what they are--a first-class con job. Ms. Crier has successfully applied the intellectual rigor of the child who finally spoke up about the Emperor's new clothes to the modern struggle to control the federal ourts' federal Constitutional interpretation. For this Ms. Crier deserves at least a sober reading. As for the ad hominem from RW reviewers herein: Grow up, boys!

After reading Catherine Crier's book "CONTEMPT", I'd have to say the woman has my utmost respect. Crier's input into this book and, to expose what's happening in America's judical system today, is to be greatly admired. I'm certain, if it's at all possible for them to do so, she will feel the full force of the angry wrath that would expected from the far-right conservatives. Although the Good Book tells us that, "Revenge is mine" saith the Lord, we all know The Lord has nothing to do with the dirty extremes our conservative administration often likes to take. If you believe that, just try reading "Fortunate Son" by J. H. Hatfield, published in 2001. Mr. Hatfield, the author, is no longer with us. And the foreward by Mark Crispin Miller pretty well sums up what happened to Mr. Hatfield. So yeah, if I was Catherine Crier, I'd be a tad bit concerned. Both books, Hatfield's "Fortunate Son" & Crier's "Contempt" will not only upset you, but break your heart. Crier, a Judge herself, has no qualms about telling it like it is as to what's happening to the judicial system today. Appointments made by this administration will have a major affect for many years to come. As an avid reader, a writer, and an American, I don't appreciate the idea of a "fixed" court system that bends the rules at the whim of major politicos and big business. Most Americans are agreeable to play by any set of given rules, as long as it's understood that EVERYBODY plays by the same set of rules. This is just not, nor has it ever been, the way things are. I once had a Judge tell me, and not too long ago, that he believed in the near future every American citizen would have to report to the authorities exactly what time they planned to leave the house, their destination, their business, and what time they planned to return. And if you want to drink a beer, go through the liquor store's drive-thru window, buy a six-pack, take it home, go in the bathroom and sit there and drink it. And don't come out until you've finished. Then go to bed. Unimaginable, isn't it? Read Crier's book and see if it doesn't scare the hell out you. It does me.
I give this woman a 5-star rating for her spirit and bravery. She deserves it. The book is excellent.