A shocking end to an intense political drama at Brett Kavanaugh’s swearing-in ceremony.
Within moments of taking his constitutional oath, Trump Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh spontaneously self-destructed.
“It appears we just got Banksy-ed,” said Chief Justice John Roberts to astonished lookers-on.
sweat and sprezzatura 
Hi, sad saga. Whaever happened to the USA?
Dunno, but I’m still hopeful. I hope all is well in your corner of the world!
Jenny, I love the way your brain works!!!
You have to laugh, right?
Please tell me this actually happened…
Where’s Banksy when you need him? Hi, Nikki!
Amidst all the hilarity, may I strike a serious note?
Judges should be above politics. Only then can they be seen to be impartial and concerned only to interpret the law. Am I right in supposing there is a systemic flaw in the US constitution which lent itself to this Kavanagh circus, partly to do with the virtual supremacy of the Supreme Court and partly to do with the inflexibility of the Constitution itself?
I do not say the US Constitution should self-shred, since I there is so much to admire, but in the UK Parliament is supreme and the constitution can be changed by simple majority. Thus there is no apparent motivation for politicians to see their cronies appointed. When judges are raised to the bench there is hardly any public interest at all. Those responsible for recommending appointments can therefore get on and do the job of weeding out unsuitable candidates. Not so long ago senior appointments were actually made by the Lord Chancellor, whose office flagrantly breached the separation of powers; he chaired the highest court in the land, he voted on legislation in the House of Lords, he was the Speaker of the House of Lords and as a Cabinet minister he was a member of the executive. But it worked well in judicial appointments because of the duty of impartiality in such matters.
This is not to say that the political leanings of judges have not and do not influence their judgments, it would not be natural if they didn’t, but those views are subordinate. Senior judges (High Court and above) can only be removed by a resolution of both houses. The power has never been used in England and Wales and only once overall – in Ireland in the 19th century. Yet the power emphasises the supremacy of the legislature.
Hi Richard. Judges should be above politics. Agreed. We will hope that Justice Kavanaugh will now be lifted above politics by his position on the Court. Perhaps he will. It has happened to many. I’m sorry we will still have the memory of his not-at-all-judge-like performance before the whole nation. And we will wonder. I hope all is well with you.
I’m fine thanks, though my eyes are playing up (but I can’t make that the excuse for missing the ‘u’!).
How are you?
I have, of course to eat my words in view of our Supreme Court and its decision to change its constitutional status.
Now the parliamant then having sovereign power is now dissolved, will a new parliament, by simple majority, change it back?