The American Spectator

Reader Mail

(Page 3 of 16)

, where she points out the current efforts to regulate Internet speech.) /p>

"The authority of Supreme Court justices derives from the authority of the Constitution: once they deny its authority, they deny their own."

Thank you for showing the courage to expose the naked emperors. I have long received blank stares when I pointed this out; I think conservatives have avoided this obvious conclusion for fear of legitimizing civil disobedience.

p>But as your article clearly shows, it is the justices, and their supporters, who are delegitimizing themselves. It is simply willful ignorance to suggest otherwise. br> -- Edward A. Ipser, Jr. /p>

Your excellent article defines the theory and it's spot on. But now, there is a tragic practical result of this ruling as well. Gang members aren't dumb. So all those 19, 20, and 21 year old gang leaders will recruit 14-17 year olds to be on hit squads. They can go out and kill someone with impunity knowing full well they cannot get the death penalty even for an execution-style killing.

p>And where is the liberalistic compassion in such outcomes? The areas most impacted by such a ruling will be the very same areas that a lot of these destructive gangs inhabit -- low income urban centers. So the Gang in Black has just ratcheted up the violence on the group least likely to be able to resist its effects. Very compassionate indeed. br> -- John McGinnis br> Arlington, Texas /p>

I know George Neumayr is your executive editor and all, but his logic is starting to slip. I agreed with most of his article, but by the end he was falling into the same trap that discredits the originalist interpretation of the Constitution. In his last paragraph, Mr. Neumayr reminds us that in the Founding Father's day, 17 years old was middle age and they had no problem executing criminals of this age. But guess what, 17 is no longer middle age! Believe it or not, the world has changed since the late 18th century, and some of the values and worldview that even modern conservatives hold would be foreign to our forefathers. They thought that blacks should be slaves and that women weren't fit to vote.

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