tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95738970217731354.post5670946964453056658..comments2023-12-28T02:52:31.067-08:00Comments on Went 2 the Bridge: Nine Months In Solitary. You Try It. #FreeBradLisa Savagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06319699936783253064noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95738970217731354.post-55366089759744727452012-11-28T10:35:32.850-08:002012-11-28T10:35:32.850-08:00Those "legal scholars" who dismiss the n...Those "legal scholars" who dismiss the notion of justice as a self-evident quality, and who must therefore base their theory of law on the concept of sovereignty, that is, some dude has the arbitrary power and judges have to bow and serve, which is the only theory being taught in law schools as far as I know, cannot explain how we are to figure out how to read the minds of these judges as they read the mind of this sovereign dude: so as to know "what the law is". It might be a dame, not a dude. Let me tell you, the Socratic method as practiced at Maine's law school around the turn of the century was pure show-biz. Professor walks in, says to the class, "I'm thinking of three words," and the students jump up and down, having read the model exam answers in the library and consulted past years' classnotes, but careful, if called upon to balance a beachball on the tip of their noses, not to advance an argument that stands on its own four legs, since that would be an offense against the professor's sovereignty, dignity, autonomy, and authority.<br />So our law frequently trips over self-contradictions, like Manning's disclosing a small chapter in a huge book of violations of the law of war as that concept is taking shape over the past hundred or so years. But judges are not merely suck-ups who cheerfully implement absurdities. They also are entrepreneurs. They don't just read the society pages to see who the sovereign is today. They also look out the window to see if the sovereign-of-the-day's house is being burned down by a mob while the police stand around and recite Bob Dylan lyrics.<br />Israel is coming apart. Today in Haaretz the headline proclaims as a fact what is at best a prediction: Netanyahu will not carry through on his threat to punish "the Palestinians" when Abbas brings his suit for observer status for a Palestinian entity to the UN tomorrow. The headline says, "Talk loudly but carry a small stick." The body of the article refers to this "humiliation" of Israel. In a nutshell, racism ends when its officers can't stop laughing at themselves at the absurdity of it.<br />So the judges facing Manning now and in prospect are looking out the window. It may not be so hard to read their minds. Stand tall, Coombs and Manning.chrisrushlauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11432949074147807503noreply@blogger.com