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Monday, April 11, 2005

Dear Tom Delay, Please Commit Suicide

CR Goodwin of Ye Olde Christopher Goodwin Art Shoppe decided to pull his shirt that had this to say:

Dear Tom Delay,

Please commit suicide.

Sincerely,
Everyone


tomdelaysuicideshirt


Mr. Goodwin has a quote on his site from Oscar Wilde that says, "We are all in the gutter, but some of us look to the stars."

"In the gutter" indeed.

(hat tip to Drudge Report)

Michael

Update by Rob:

More here.

Comments

Rob
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One day maybe the ‘tards who do this sort of thing will realize that this sort of thing does more harm to their political movement than good.


When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.

-- Thomas Jefferson

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Rob on April 11, 2005 at 03:04 pm
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One day maybe the ‘tards who do this sort of thing will realize that this sort of thing does more harm to their political movement than good.

But, not before the day the Republicans realize that protecting Tom DeLay is doing more harm to the Conservative movement.

After Terri Schiavo dies, DeLay says ‘...the men who did this will answer for their behavior’, and Texas Senator Cornyn says it’s not surprising there has been recent violence against judges. When are you going to condemn those statements Rob?

You don’t want to discuss DeLay, but Drudge will go digging through an online flea market site to try and accuse the Left, as a whole.

thatcoloredfella on April 11, 2005 at 04:04 pm
Avatar for Aaron

After Terri Schiavo dies, DeLay says ‘…the men who did this will answer for their behavior’, and Texas Senator Cornyn says it’s not surprising there has been recent violence against judges.

What’s wrong with what DeLay said?  When judges make such erroneous decisions, what is wrong with asking if they are worthy of being removed from office in one way or another?

And Cornyn was simply raising a question, asking if there might be a link between unaccountable judges forcing their worldview on America and the recent violence against judges.  He obviously wasn’t endorsing it, rather asking if there could be a corrolation worthy of discussing…

Aaron on April 11, 2005 at 05:04 pm
Avatar for likwidshoe

thatcoloredfella spits out, “But, not before the day the Republicans realize that protecting Tom DeLay is doing more harm to the Conservative movement.”

And once again you veer off topic to present an irrelevant point. You often do this thatcoloredfella. It would behoove you to not comment at all.

likwidshoe on April 11, 2005 at 05:04 pm
Avatar for thatcoloredfella

What’s wrong with what DeLay said? When judges make such erroneous decisions, what is wrong with asking if they are worthy of being removed from office in one way or another?

Aaron,

Is it an ‘erroneous decision’ simply because DeLay (and you?) disagree with it? Is it a bad decision still even if 76% percent of Americans disagree with DeLay?

You may be too young to understand, but the same kind of rhetoric has led to killings of doctors who perform abortions, bombings of clinics and gay bars and racist killing sprees. That is why there has been so much outrage over these statements.

He obviously wasn’t endorsing it, rather asking if there could be a corrolation worthy of discussing...

I’m very disappointed that you will actually defend such dangerous and opportunistic statements! If you don’t comprehend the recent murders of two judges have nothing to do with the veracity of their opinions, you’re not deserving of respect.

Lastly, the Florida judge under attack is actually a Conservative appointment of Reagan.

thatcoloredfella on April 11, 2005 at 06:04 pm
Avatar for likwidshoe

thatcoloredfella says, “Is it a bad decision still even if 76% percent of Americans disagree with DeLay?”

Where did you get that figure at?

You may be too young to understand, but the same kind of rhetoric has led to killings of doctors who perform abortions, bombings of clinics and gay bars and racist killing sprees. That is why there has been so much outrage over these statements.

To which I say: bullshit.  Saying “…the men who did this will answer for their behavior” is no excuse, nor is it an endorsement, for the actions you described.  You’re grasping at illogical prepositions to suggest otherwise.

I’m very disappointed that you will actually defend such dangerous and opportunistic statements!

Drama queen.

If you don’t comprehend the recent murders of two judges have nothing to do with the veracity of their opinions, you’re not deserving of respect.

If you don’t comprehend that people are responsible for their own actions, and that the statement you posted is mild in the context of which is was given, then YOU are not deserving of respect.

Now,..are you here to actually discuss something in the spirit of honest debate or are you here to simply to demonize and bring in irrelevant comments to the posts?

likwidshoe on April 11, 2005 at 06:04 pm
Avatar for Aaron

::sigh:: Did it again… That last post was me again…

Aaron on April 11, 2005 at 06:05 pm
Avatar for Aaron

TCF-

You’re assuming too much.  I do not agree with Cornyn in his statement about violence about judges, but it’s not wrong what he said.  You also assume that 3/4 of American’s are at odd with DeLay over Schiavo, but as we all know the polls that were taken while she was being starved were very slanted in their presentation and were in no way an accurate representation of the public opinion.  And no, the erroneous decision was to defy the Congress when they took deliberate action to save Terri’s life.  That judge in Florida should be held in contemp of Congress for ordering Terri’s feeding tube removed after Congressmen took deliberate action (supeanoing her) to buy time.

Btw, it doesn’t matter who he was appointed by.  The only federal judge to read the intent of congress correctly, that I heard of, was a Clinton appointee.  What matters is if they have regard for the law of the land, the basic rights of the poeple, and if they can restrain themselves…

Aaron on April 11, 2005 at 06:05 pm
Avatar for thatcoloredfella

but as we all know the polls that were taken while she was being starved were very slanted in their presentation and were in no way an accurate representation of the public opinion. And no, the erroneous decision was to defy the Congress when they took deliberate action to save Terri’s life. That judge in Florida should be held in contemp of Congress for ordering Terri’s feeding tube removed after Congressmen took deliberate action (supeanoing her) to buy time.

Unbelievable! Such a willful ignorance of the rule of law and a distorted view of reality, a product of only accepting a censored and partisan account of news and information.

thatcoloredfella on April 11, 2005 at 07:04 pm
Avatar for likwidshoe

Such a willful ignorance of the rule of law and a distorted view of reality, a product of only accepting a censored and partisan account of news and information.

Aaron: have you been hanging out over at thatcoloredfella’s blog?  wink

likwidshoe on April 11, 2005 at 07:04 pm
Avatar for Aaron

HA! Yes actaully…

And thanks, TCF, for setting me straight.  You really made a strong arguemnt there…

(/sarcams)

Aaron on April 12, 2005 at 04:04 am
Avatar for Hus

Its funny.

Hus on April 12, 2005 at 05:04 am
Avatar for Don Myers

Ya gots no problem with Senators hinting that judges should be murdered, but THIS gets your panties in a bunch. Typical rightwing drama queen wussies---you can dish it out but you can’t take it.

Besides...at least we’re polite enough to say “please.”

Don Myers on April 12, 2005 at 06:04 am
Avatar for Hus

Don Meyers,

Well, Cornyn was especially dumb in what he said because the judge in question was dealing with an arraignment of a man charged with rape.

Hus on April 12, 2005 at 08:04 am
Avatar for Michael

I’m having a hard time following you Don.

Can you tell us what Senator HINTED that judges should be murdered?

Proof that they used the word “murdered” or “killed” or “please committ suicide” would be helpful.

Michael on April 12, 2005 at 10:05 am
Avatar for Aaron

Don is speaking of Senator Cornyn who said:

“I don’t know if there is a cause-and-effect connection but we have seen some recent episodes of courthouse violence in this country. Certainly nothing new, but we seem to have run through a spate of courthouse violence recently that’s been on the news and I wonder whether there may be some connection between the perception in some quarters on some occasions where judges are making political decisions yet are unaccountable to the public, that it builds up and builds up and builds up to the point where some people engage in - engage in violence.”

Is that detestable? No.  Is advocating the suicide of the Majority leader of the House of Representitives detestable? Yes

Btw, Cornyn wasn’t reffering to the rapist who killed the judge and cops and such.  I think he was reffering more to the example of the guy who killed the husband and mother, I think that’s correct, of a judge who ruled against him in Detroit.  (Not quite sure if those details are exactly correct, but you remember that story)

Aaron on April 12, 2005 at 12:04 pm
Rob
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Ya gots no problem with Senators hinting that judges should be murdered

Who said I didn’t have a problem with that sort of thing?  Because I do have a problem with it.

But, of course, Cornyn hinted at no such thing as Aaron’s quote shows.


When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.

-- Thomas Jefferson

Rob’s recently listened-to songs:

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Rob on April 12, 2005 at 02:04 pm
Avatar for likwidshoe

Don Myers said, “Ya gots no problem with Senators hinting that judges should be murdered, but THIS gets your panties in a bunch. Typical rightwing drama queen wussies—you can dish it out but you can’t take it.”

Another case of diarrhea of the mouth Don? Do try to make sense in your future posts.

likwidshoe on April 12, 2005 at 02:04 pm
Avatar for Jadegold

Cornyn excused such behavior in his comments.

From Cornyn’s home state:

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/opinion/11353511.htm

Cornyn’s remarks about courts? Objection!

By Linda P. Campbell

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

Sen. John Cornyn’s ridiculous remarks on Monday linking recent courthouse violence to judges’ supposedly “political” decisions drew such flak that Texas’ junior senator felt compelled Tuesday to explain, in essence, “I didn’t mean what you heard me say.”

Nevertheless, Jon Stewart on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show mocked Cornyn on Wednesday night, exclaiming perplexedly: “What an absolutely handsome crazy person!”

If only it were that simple—that he could be dismissed as a crank.

Most of the news clips focused on a short passage in Cornyn’s lengthy Monday rant against the federal judiciary:

“I believe the increasing politicization of the judicial decision-making process at the highest levels of our judiciary has bred a lack of respect for some of the people who wear the robe. That is a national tragedy,” he said, according to the Congressional Record.

“Finally, I don’t know if there is a cause-and-effect connection, but we have seen some recent episodes of courthouse violence in this country—certainly nothing new; we seem to have run through a spate of courthouse violence recently that has been on the news.

“I wonder whether there may be some connection between the perception in some quarters on some occasions where judges are making political decisions yet are unaccountable to the public, that it builds up and builds up to the point where some people engage in violence, certainly without any justification, but that is a concern I have that I wanted to share.”

It doesn’t take a legal scholar to point out that the Tyler courthouse gunman who killed his wife and a bystander and wounded his son was incensed about a custody dispute.

Or that it was a rape defendant being escorted to trial in Atlanta who used a deputy’s gun to slay several people, including the judge.

Or that the mentally unstable man who butchered the husband and mother of U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow in Chicago was outraged about his medical malpractice case.

Or that white supremacist Matthew Hale, recently sentenced to 40 years in prison for plotting to have Lefkow exterminated, hated her ruling in a trademark feud.

Frustrated with judicial activism, were they? Any such notion is absurd at worst, unjustified at best.

Maybe Cornyn really meant his non-apology “never mind” on Tuesday when he said (again, thanks to the Congressional Record), “I am outraged by recent acts of courthouse violence” and “there is no possible justification for courthouse violence” and “I am not aware of any evidence whatsoever linking recent acts of courthouse violence to the various controversial rulings that have captured the Nation’s attention in recent years.”

But he didn’t take back or clarify or amend the rest of his Monday criticisms. Those comments were even more insidious because they weren’t merely reckless—they were deliberate.

And they thoroughly tortured the reasoning behind a handful of Supreme Court rulings.

Cornyn was promoting a resolution that he introduced essentially chastising the citation of foreign law in high court decisions. But his arguments are so flawed that they collapse under their own inaccuracy.

And they aren’t made stronger by this kind of insult to judges’ integrity: “I worry that some judges become more and more interested in impressing their peers in foreign judiciaries and foreign governments and less interested in simply following the U.S. Constitution and American laws.”

Not every Supreme Court ruling is beyond dispute. None of the justices is infallible. It’s legitimate to disagree on a philosophical basis with the Supreme Court’s conclusions about what the Constitution means in difficult cases.

But it is dishonest and a disservice to public understanding to blithely distort what the court has done.

Let’s truth-test some of Cornyn’s assertions.

* * *

He took issue with Roper vs. Simmons, a 5-4 ruling on March 1 holding that the Constitution’s Eighth Amendment ban on “cruel and unusual punishments” prevents states from imposing the death penalty on killers younger than 18 when they committed their crimes.

• “This ought to give you some indication of the problems we have with the Supreme Court as a policy-maker with no fixed standards or objective standards by which to determine its decisions to make its judgments,” Cornyn said. “The Court embraced a test that it had adopted earlier referring to the ‘evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society.’

… “I think people would be justified in asking: Isn’t that fancy window dressing for a preordained conclusion?”

The practice of considering criminal penalties under “evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society” dates to the 1958 case of Trop vs. Dulles, in which the court said it was unconstitutional to strip U.S. citizenship from an Army private who briefly deserted in 1944, was convicted at court-martial and given a dishonorable discharge.

The court has since used that standard repeatedly to weigh whether American society, through enactments of its state legislatures, has changed consensus about the bounds of decency in administering punishment, particularly the death penalty.

It was the justices’ determination that such a consensus had developed against executing convicted killers for crimes committed at age 17 that primarily drove the Roper decision.

Although it might be reasonable to question whether such a consensus actually has developed, Cornyn wrongly suggested at other points in his speech that the court was motivated by disregard for state law and a desire to cozy up to foreign governments.

Jadegold on April 12, 2005 at 02:04 pm
Rob
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I’m not reading anywhere in that where Cornyn excused killing judges.


When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.

-- Thomas Jefferson

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Rob on April 12, 2005 at 03:04 pm
Avatar for 2Hotel9

I just read the whole thing, he did not advocate the killing of judges. His point was that people have lost respect for the judiciary, as evidenced by the trend of violence AGAINST judges. Not all that long ago, people would never have even thought of doing these things. With the drop in respect for the legal system and its practitioners at all levels, violence against judges and cops and lawyers is on the rise. Did he do a good job conveying this, No, but then again what would you expect from a lawyer. As the man said before going over top,"Free your mind, your ass will follow!”

2Hotel9 on April 12, 2005 at 03:04 pm
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pff, rightwingers, will they ever learn?

Rick on July 31, 2005 at 06:07 am
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hm?

Sphagnum on July 31, 2005 at 10:07 am
Avatar for Cao’s Blog » 2005 » July

[...] Or how about this one: Dear Tom Delay, please commit suicide. [...]

Cao’s Blog » 2005 » July on November 23, 2005 at 02:11 pm
Avatar for Don Singleton: 2005-04-10

[...] Insane Left Michelle Malkin blogged There are plenty of other hate-filled, liberal knick-knacks and apparel items still on sale. Like this “Kill Bush” magnet depicting the president holding a gun to his head with the caption “End Terrorism Now” Or this bright yellow “Kill Bush” t-shirt splattered with blood. Or this handy “Kill Bush” messenger bag with a macho pic of John Kerry. And before the “everybody does it” apologists pooh-pooh this lunatic anti-Bush merchandise: There’s tasteless political paraphernalia on both sides of the aisle, but I’ve already searched and there are currently no “Kill Kerry” products, blood-spattered or otherwise, being sold at Cafe Press.That is true, but they do have a Kill Everybody shirt, but I don’t recommend it."Where’s your sense of humor?” the libs will ask. Where’s their decency? Their sanity? Welcome to the sick world of the pro-assassination Left.They lost the election, and they just can’t get over that factScared Monkeys blogged Its just another example of that liberal tolerance. Its probably also another example why the Democrats will not win another election any time soon. Or possibly the reason why hate acts have become a common occurrence on college campuses?ance commented They’ve come undone the frightening leftMark blogged Back in during the Clinton administration, supporters of President Clinton would call anybody who disagreed with their hero a “Hater."Typically they would chant the word like a mantra, getting louder and louder, in order to drown out the sound of anybody who would disagree with them. I was certainly not a Clinton fan (although I’d take Bill any day of the week over HRC), and saw some pretty nasty stuff said about former President Clinton. None of it was of the level of raw hatred that democrats routinely sink to whenever they reference President Bush.Pageman blogged take note of the Pro-Assasination Left’s dreams of Killing Bill. If they find that FUNNY, then they should find this VERY VERY FUNNY! I wonder if they will blog about the FBI’s visit to their houses?Nathan blogged So why isn’t the Secret Service investigating this, and jailing the people responsible for it? My understanding has always been that even joking about assassinating a sitting president is grounds to be invited to the local cop shop for a sit-down. I’m all for free speech, but not irresponsible, childish, and dangerous speech. I don’t think that’s what the Founders had in mind. Rob commented One day maybe the ‘tards who do this sort of thing will realize that this sort of thing does more harm to their political movement than good.Linda blogged Just how disgusting can they get? I have no words that would be sufficient to express my disgust with how anti-democratic (small d) this is. In a democracy, we don’t threaten to kill our political enemies. Or, I should say, we dare not. To encourage violence against political opponents is to move a giant step closer to anarchy. There’s a reason that our government imprisoned anarchists - no democracy can survive violent assaults by immoral lunatics. Michelle failed to show some of the more disgusting items for sale, includingJason blogged Democrats are the “party of peace” like radical Islam is the “religion of peace"Brian blogged The liberal left is hawking all sort of anti-Bush junk, but I’m left to ponder, where is the Secret Service on this? It’s illegal to make threats against a President (current or former). I would sincerely hope there is at least an investigation going on here...BlogCarnival blogged Unhinged Liberal Products For SaleLockjaw blogged Hate is a Liberal Value?Jeff blogged It seems to me that the hard-core Left is so despairing of ever seeing their socialist, anti-democratic beliefs ever enacted that they have just gone insane. [...]

Don Singleton: 2005-04-10 on December 15, 2005 at 08:13 am
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