By Maui Curmudgeon

First in a four-part series on religion

A recent interview with Roland Emmerich got me to thinking about William O. Douglas.

The late, very great Supreme Court Justice Douglas served the Court from 1939 to 1975, the longest serving Justice in U.S. Supreme Court history. Unlike the incompetent hypocrites currently on the court (i.e. Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas), jackasses who pretend to read the Constitution, dowse the founding father’s “true intentions,” and rule accordingly, Douglas just read the damn thing.

During his 36 years, Douglas never once attended any presentation, oral argument or decision meeting regarding the First Amendment. Pathetically, most Americans don’t know the First Amendment, so we reprint it here:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Douglas voted against EVERY law which restricted in any way freedom of speech. Wingnuts long chided him for supporting the death of innocents, for example, being against a law which forbids yelling “Fire!” in a crowded theater. Of course, they missed Douglas’ point. He thought it wise to have a such a law, but knew it to be unconstitutional.

The amendment clearly states “Congress shall make no law…” It doesn’t say, “except for the following…” The word “no” is an absolute. Douglas’ point was, follow the Constitution and change it first before you write such a law. This was a wise, clear and honest approach to constitutional justice.

So how does that link to Emmerich, a middling director of rather bad cinema (Godzilla)?

In Emmerich’s new film, “2012,” everything gets blown up, and he does mean everything, the White House, the Pyramids, the Vatican. Everything that is except a ridiculous black structure known in the Muslim world as the Kaaba. The damn thing houses a stone, and Muslims make pilgrimages to it in Mecca and pray to it (in the 21st century no less, talk about stupid). Emmerich was afraid that Muslims would try to kill him if he blew it up, on film.

We’ve gone from ignoring the Constitution so we can censor people, to self-censorship in about 40 years, and in this case, we have the Muslims to thank.

These are the same criminals, by the way, who killed hundreds of other Muslims (many of the them children) when a Danish paper published cartoons of Mohamed, a historical person of questionable existence.

So, without condoning Emmerich’s cowardice, it is certainly true that his concern is founded in reality. There are Muslims who would indeed try to harm him.

But what Emmerich and those like him fail to acknowledge is that by self-censoring, evil wins.

So, just in case you missed them, we include two of Jyllands-Posten’s marvelous Danish cartoons, for your edification.

Dunce  Day Day 312 of 2009 53 days left in this year

HAWAIIAN WORD OF THE DAY — Olu‘olu: Kind
PIDGIN WORD OF THE DAY — Gut: Kind
HAWAIIAN PROVERB OF THE DAY — “Open out the chest that it may be spacious.”
HAOLE SAYING OF THE DAY — “Anything you want, you got it.” – Bonnie Raitt

Read the rest…