spoke again this morning with attorney general eric holder and janet napolitano and my advisor john brennan. i asked them to keep and continue monitoring the situation and to keep the american people and members of congress informed. here is what we know so far. on christmas day, northwest airlines flight 253 was on route from amsterdam to detroit. as the plane made its final approach to detroit, a passenger allegedly tried to ignite an explosive device on his body, setting off a fire. thanks to the quick and heroic actions of passengers and crew, the suspect was immediately subdued and the fire was put out in the plane landed safely. the suspect is in custody and has been charged with attempting to destroy an aircraft. a full investigation has been launched into this attempted act of terrorism and we will not rest until we find all who were involved and hold them accountable. this was a serious reminder of the dangers we face and the nature of those who threaten our homeland. the suspect succeeded in bringing down that plane. it could have killed -- if the suspect succeeded it could have k

to do that, do you have to have a complete success with the counterinsurgency, so that there are no brennans left of taliban? >> i will let the president go through some of that. >> two congressmaen put in a bil calling for a surtax in 2011. i understand you have not heard any discussion on it, but when the president meets with centrist tomorrow, will he give them any guidance on that? >> [inaudible] >> will they try again to engage iran, continued a process that started a few months ago, or should we be at a turning point with the announcement from iran yesterday? >> that is a question for the iranians. the iranians should quite clearly understand their responsibilities and obligations under international treaty that they signed, okay? the iranians have been rebuked for their actions with a single -- by a single international voice through a strong vote in the iaea board of governors. if they make the decision to fulfill their responsibilities and obligations, then the international community would welcome back. if they decide not to fulfil those responsibilities and obligations, then all i

guest: i think the problem is larger than that are there was a speech given by john brennan, who is a home security adviser and said that jihad does not mean holy war but it means peace and love. that was a carryover from the michael chertoff memorandum from 2007 that said they would not use the word jihad. i think that is a tremendous mistake. if we cannot define the enemy as to who he is, we can never expect to defeat them. the reality is that the apologists for jihad want to define it in terms of spiritual good struggle. it can mean that but for the holy warriors, and they know who they are, jihad means a holy war or struggle to impose islam. host: next up is our line for independence from springfield, virginia. caller: i want to ask about the right wing politicians like dick arfmemey and bill like -- and te like -- are they considered homegrown terrorism? i'm talking about undermining the president of the united states. they undermine him with their rhetoric they accuse him of being a socialist and accuse him of not being born in the united states. they are undermining the preside

in his early years, there was no justice with him he disagree more often than justice brennan. justice scalia considered justice brennan his best friend on the court. >> this is a tradition that was nearly pushed by justice o'connor when she is on the court. it stuck. >> justice o'connor insisted that we have lunch everyday when we were sitting. now clarence, you should come to lunch. she was really sweet. i came to lunch. it is one of the best things i did. it is hard to be angry or bitter at someone and break bread and look them in the eye. it is a fun lunch. very little work is done there. it dishes nine people or eight people having -- it is just nine people or eight people having lunch. >> i try not to miss the post argument lunch. you never know what my colleagues will be talking about. let's it is the role that we do not talk abut the cases. >> we will talk about the offer. some of us will talk about the baseball game or the golf tournament. some will talk about the good movie they had seen. it is the kind of things that everybody would talk to their colleagues about at

and that's why i sent this letter to john brennan to find out what happened. i want the results of the investigation ordered by the president. several of us were briefed yesterday morning, senator feinstein, senator sessions, myself and others, on what is happening. i think -- in fact, i know that you want to find out everything that happened. not only what happened there, but what may have gone right, what may have gone wrong prior to that. we're both former prosecutors. we don't want to compromise a prosecution. what resources is your department using to learn whether steps were missed that could have been taken to avert this tragedy? >> the fbi is certainly intimately involved in the investigation in working with the military investigators, the military prosecutors, who ultimately try the case. all of the resources of the justice department that have been requested have been made available and will be made available in order to determine exactly what happened at ft. hood and also to try to deemergency rod determine how we can prevent future events like this

also with us christine brennan, sports columnist usa today, best in the business. elizabeth lambert really went for it. are young ladies becoming more violent? let's start with this soccer case here. what are you seeing? >> what i'm seeing is violence in sports, which has also been there. what i'm seeing is more women are playing sports and more girls are playing sports. so girls and women are starting to display the same kinds of aggression in sports boys and men already have. they do it for the same reason. they do it, one, because they think they will get away with it. and two, because they somehow think it will help them win. in other words, they will be rewarded for it. if it goes unwshd and they are rewarded you'll see more people and violence in sport. >> you're saying they are emulating the guys. this is a societal message we're giving girls the green light to become more violent, it's a strakt sports thing. >> i don't know if it's a strict sports things. in many sports you see lots of aggression and foul play. if it's caught it goes punished, if it's not i

and yet, he considered justice brennan his best friend on the court at that time. he got the feeling was reciprocated. the public would not know that from reading an opinion or dissent. these were two men who genuinely like each other and enjoy each other's company. >> hear from other justices during supreme court week. we look at the home to america's highest court. that is starting october 4th. >> van jones, the adviser for green jobs, resigned yesterday. one issue was at his admission last week to shining a petition calling for congressional official is let the 9/11 attack to occur. this lasts about one hour. we are very proud and excited to be here this morning. we have a combination of mr. ackerman's classes. i would like to call once did it up to introduce our special guest. -- one student up to introduce our guest. >> welcome. it is my honor to welcome van jones to our history class. he is the visionary, a civil rights activist, and is the current special advisor for green jobs, enterprise, and innovation. mr. jones was born in west tennessee and attended ja

yet he considered justice brennan and his best friend on the court at that time. he thought that the feeling was reciprocated. the public would not know that from reading an opinion by brennan with a dissent by scalia or the other way around. these were two men that genuinely liked each other and enjoy each other. >> hear from other justices during supreme court week, as c- span looked at the home of america's highest court october 4. >> robert winton discusses his switch to conservatism and why he thinks other african americans should join him. he spoke at this conference by the steamboat institute for just over 40 minutes. >> after that introduction, i wanted to ask if there were any questions. [laughter] board, give me the strength to tell and pursue the truth. especially when it is not convenient to me. if you would like to go someplace you have not been, you have got to do something you have not done. i am just pleased that the steamboat institute and its freedom conference represents a breath of fresh air on the action front. we need a way that is willing to

, yet justice scalia considered justice brennan his best friend on the court at that time. he got the feeling was reciprocated. the public would not know that from reading an opinion by justice brennan, or a dissent by justice scalia, or the other way around, but these were two men who genuinely liked each other, it enjoyed each other's company. >> hear from other justices during supreme court week as c- span looks at the home to america's highest court starting october 4. "washington journal" continues. host: in this morning's "the washington times" -- obama announces retirement savings plan for america, announcing changes to the 401k. we will talk about that for the next half-hour, but first we want to listen to what the president had to say regarding retirement plans during his weekly radio address. >> first we will make it easier for small businesses to do as large businesses, allow workers to automatically enrolled in an 401k, or retirement become. it has made a big difference in participation rates by making it simpler to save. that is why we will expand to more. seco

i want to thank john brennan, our c.d.c. deprector john free dan, and secretaries sew se bealeus, in a poll tan yow and others for all the work they've been doing to get us raddy. as i said when we saw the first cases in the spring, i don't want anyone to be alarmed, but i want everybody to be prepared. we know we get a second, larger wave of flu viruses in the fall so response plans have been put in place across the government. our plans are based on the best scientific information available and as the situation changes, we'll continue to update the public. we're also making steady progress on developing a safe and effective h1n1 flu vaccine. we expect a flu shot program will begin soon. this program will be completely voluntary but it will be strongly recommended. for all that we do in the federal government, however, every american has a role to play in responding to this virus. we need state and local governments on the front lines to make anti-viral medications and vaccines available and be ready to take whatever steps

i want to thank john brennan, are cdc director and secretary sebelius and the polish town on and others for all -- all the good work that they have been doing to get ready. when we fall -- when we saw the first cases of this fire is back in spring, i want everybody to be prepared. we know that we usually get a second, larger wave of these filoviruses in the fall, as a response plans had been put into -- as a fluke of viruses -- flu viruses in the fall, so response plans had been put into place. we're looking for a safe and effective h1n1 flu vaccine. we expected to begin soon, and it will be completely voluntary but strongly recommended. for all that we do in the ad federal government however, every american has a part to play in responding to this virus. we need state and local governments to make antiviral medications and vaccines available and be ready to take whatever steps are necessary to support the health care system. we need hospitals and health care providers to continue preparing for an increase patient lead in to take steps to protect health-care workers. many families and b

>> the president has received regular updates from john brennan throughout the week on the progress of the hurricane across the caribbean. he has great confidence in the personnel that he has put in positions, whether it is in charge of the department of homeland security or in fema to deal with, whether it is a hurricane like a train that could come ashore or any other natural disaster that the government and the american people could face. it is our hope that the storm will avoid reaching the united states and turn back out into the atlantic. there will be a busy hurricane season. we will continue to monitor it throughout that time. that is all the time may have. have a good week. >> as the healthcare conversation continues, c-span's healthcare hub is a key resource. go on line and follow the latest tweets, video ads, and links. keep up-to-date with healthcare events like senate debates and even upload your opinion on health care with a citizen video. the c-span healthcare hub at c- span.org/healthcare. >> members of congress are holding town hall meetings across the country while th

>> the nfc and john brennan. >> there are a couple of reports about xm bank for offshore drilling. can you give us an ministration take on exploration in brazil is a good idea and good for the u.s. economy? >> i have not seen that story. >> and the stern told abc, talking about how the health care that he thinks we're talking losing control of congress if health care fails. it would totally empower republicans to kill all chain. it is hard to believe that the democrats could convince the american public that the republicans are to blame. is there anything the white house disagrees in that sentiment? >> i have not seen the comments. i do not know if the president has. we're not making decisions about health care, the economy, cash for clunkers, banks, anything based on polling, or congressional elections. our focus is on reminding people what is at stake in health care reform, reminding millions of americans that we cannot afford to wait, dealing with misimpressions and fled out lies about what is involved in this bill, and that is what his job will continue to be. i will let intere

there's no marshall, there's no goldberg, there's no brennan or black or douglas. you don't have that kind of leadership on the court today. you have moderates, and you have three or four, depending on whether or not you count justice thomas, movement conservatives who are really right-wing corporatists. and you have holding the swing vote justice kennedy who although far more conservative than the previous swing vote, justice o'connor, very conservative but not quite in lockstep with the other four. and these four are fairly young. they are going to be with us for a long time. the conservatives have made this effort. they have done several things. they have had a chain of promotions from the solicitor general to appellate courts and to the supreme court. and they have a whole chain of candidates.@@@@@@@@@ @ @ @ @ @ r v this is the most activist court in the history of our court by far. this is extraordinary. it is also an activist court by overturning previous law. although roberts doesn't want to overturn this law, so he carves it out and leaves you with a shell

justice william brennan said that in order to ensure rights for all citizens, they must be attentive to all concrete realities at stake. they must understand the pulse of life that meets the official version of events. the justice understands those realities, because she has witnessed them firsthand. as a prosecutor, a litigator, and a judge, working to uphold our laws, keep our communities safe, and give people a chance to live out their dreams, work she has done with devotion, a distinction, and an unyielding commitment to give back to this country that has given her so much. she understands these things because she has lived these things, because her life is an only-in-america story. raised in the south bronx by a woman determined to give her every opportunity to succeed, putting in the hard work that would give her scholarships to the best schools in the country, driven always by the belief that it does not matter where you come from, no dream is beyond reach. with her extraordinary breadth and depth of experience, just as sotomayor brings both a mastery of the letter of the law

there's no marshall, there's no goldberg, there's no brennan or black or douglas. you don't have that kind of leadership on the court today. you have moderates, and you have three or four, depending on whether or not you count justice thomas, movement conservatives who are really right-wing corporatists. and you have holding the swing vote justice kennedy who although far more conservative than the previous swing vote, justice o'connor, very conservative but not quite in lockstep with the other four. and these four are fairly young. they are going to be with us for a long time. the conservatives have made this effort. they have done several things. they have had a chain of promotions from the solicitor general to appellate courts and to the supreme court. and they have a whole chain of candidates. they are still in the wings, god forbid, should we have another republican president. and they have also done something else -- they have developed two doctrines over and over again. liberals are activists. they are going to overrule the democratic branch of the governmen

justice william brennan said in order for government to ensure those rights, government officials must be attentive to the realities at stake in the decisions they make. they must understand the pulse of life beneath the official version of events. justice so tommyre or understands those realities because she has witnessed them firsthand. sonia sotomayor understands these realities. we give people a chance to live out their dreams come out work that she has done with devotion and with an unyielding commitment to give back to this country that has given her so much. she understands these things because she has lived these things, because her life is one of those only in america stories, raised by a single mother in the south bronx determined to give her every opportunity to succeed, propelled by the talent and hard work that would earn her scholarships by the best schools in the country, driven by the belief that it does not matter where you come from or what challenges life throws your way, no dream is beyond reach in the united states of america. with the depth and experience, justice

justice william brennan said that in order to ensure all these rights for all sentence, we must be attentive to the concrete reality is at stake in the decision before then. they must understand the pulse of life beneath the official version of events. justice sotomayor understands those realities because she has witnessed them firsthand. as a prosecutor, a litigator, and the judge, to keep our communities safe and yet people the chance to live out their dreams. work that she has done with the motion, with distinction, and with an unyielding commitment to getting back to this country that has given her so much. and she understands these things because she has lived these things. her life is one of those only in america stories. raised by a single mom in the south bronx, determined to give her every opportunity to succeed, propelled by the talent and hard work that would earn her scholarships and honors at the best schools in the country, and driven always by a belief that it does not matter where you come from or what you look like or what challenges like frozen your way, no dream is beyond

now, justice william brennan once said that in order for government to ensure those rights for all its citizens, government officials must be attentive to the concrete human realities at stake in the decisions they make. they must understand, as justice brennan put it, "the pulse of life beneath the official version of events." "the pulse of life beneath the official version of events." justice sotomayor understands those realities because she's witnessed them firsthand. as a prosecutor, a litigator, and a judge, working to uphold our laws, keep our communities safe, and give people the chance to live out their dreams. work that she she has done with devotion, with distinction and with an unyielding commitment to giving back to this country that has given her so much. and she understands these things because she's lived these thin things, because her life is one of those only-in-america stories. raised by a single mom in the south bronx determined to give her every opportunity to succeed, propelled by the talent and hard work that would earn her scholarships and honors at the best scho

justice william brennan said in order to -- in order for government to ensure those rights, government officials must be attentive to the realities at stake in the decisions they make. they must understand the pulse of life beneath the official version of events. justice so tommyre or understands those realities because she has witnessed them firsthand. sonia sotomayor understands these realities. we give people a chance to live out their dreams come out work that she has done with devotion and with an unyielding commitment to give back to this country that has given her so much. she understands these things because she has lived these things, because her life is one of those only in america stories, raised by a single mother in the south bronx determined to give her every opportunity to succeed, propelled by the talent and hard work that would earn her scholarships by the best schools in the country, driven by the belief that it does not matter where you come from or what challenges life throws your way, no dream is beyond reach in the united states of america. with the depth and expe

about the story that you just told me is that once it was determined that, in fact, you needed the brennan, you were able to get it. -- brand name, you were able to get there will be instances where, if there is strong scientific evidence that the generic and brand-name work just as well, and the brand name cost twice as much, that the taxpayer should try to get the best deal possible as long as if it turns out that the generic does not work as well, you are able to get the brand name. the basic principle that we want to set up here is that if you are in private insurance, your private insurance can do whatever it wants. if you're under a government program, then it makes sense for us to make sure we're getting the best deal possible and not just giving drug makers or insurers more money than they should be getting but ultimately, you get the best care based on what the doctor says. it sounds like that is essentially what happened. it may be that it was not as efficient or a smooth as it should then but that result is actually good one. you think about all the situations where a generic ac

about the story that you just told me is that once it was determined that, in fact, you needed the brennan, you were able to get it. -- brand name, you were able to get there will be instances where, if there is strong scientific evidence that the generic and brand-name work just as well, and the brand name cost twice as much, that the taxpayer should try to get the best deal possible as long as if it turns out that the generic does not work as well, you are able to get the brand name. the basic principle that we want to set up here is that if you are in private insurance, your private insurance can do whatever it wants. if you're under a government program, then it makes sense for us to make sure we're getting the best deal possible and not just giving drug makers or insurers more money than they should be getting but ultimately, you get the best care based on what the doctor says. it sounds like that is essentially what happened. it may be that it was not as efficient or a smooth as it should then but that result is actually good one. you think about all the situations where a generic ac

brennan said, the administration will not use the phrase because terrorism is but a tactic. a means to an end which, in al qaeda's case, is global domination by a islamic caliphate. he also dismissed global war as a term that feed al qaeda's vision of itself as a highly organized global entity capable of replacing sovereign nations with a global caliphate." we want to get your reaction to the white house dropping some of this language, "war on terrorism." we welcome your calls, and "the financial times" writes on all this as well. there headline says, " development put at core of obama's anti-terrorist dreaded g." "the obama administration set out its approach to violent extremism yesterday, dropping the bush administration rhetoric." our first call on all this is from southampton new york. caller: i am a professor on vacation for the summer. professors do not make that much money, but it is great to have the summer off, so that is the one consolation. host: what are you teaching? caller: i teach business in boston, so, you know, i work on a few papers. i was listening to do

in an analysis of her record done by the brennan center for justice, the numbers overwhelmingly indicate that judge sotomayor is solidly in the mainstream of the second circuit. judge sotomayor has been in agreement with her colleagues more than 94% of the constitutional decisions have been unanimous. she has voted with the majority over 98% of constitutional cases. when judge sotomayor was voted to hold a challenged governmental action unconstitutional, her decisions have been unanimous over 90% of the time. republican appointees have agreed with her decision to hold a challenged governmental action unconstitutional nearly 90% of the cases. when she has voted to overrule lower court agency, her decisions -- or lower court or agency, her decisions have been unanimous over 93% of the time. republican appointees have agreed with judge sotomayor's decisions to overrule a lower court decision in over 94% of the cases. judge sotomayor's record is a testament to her strict adherence to precedent, her unyielding belief in the rule of law, and our constitution. i strongly support the nomination

i did not even have health care coverage brennan because i have my last kid in college. -- because i have one last getting college i could not even afford health care coverage right now. last thursday night, neither one of the speakers should people in washington, d.c. although suspended, who were marching for health care reform. chris matthews asked where the other side was -- he missed it. i'm fascinated with what the mainstream media does and does not cover. the covered everyone protesting against health care last night, which is interesting. host: would you like to respond to her earlier point? guest: this program began historic week in europe. some of our lawmakers watched and studied how it worked over there and sort of translated it into our own environment. host: this paper reports this morning -- spurring sales, the car rebate plan is left. up in the left dealers estimated that they sold about a quarter million cars in rebate money. on a typical week, how many cars would you sell? guest: it depends which viewership and which franchise, but if you take in two days alone last

the nonpartisan brennan center for justice reviewed all of judge sotomayor's constitutional law decisions and said, "based on this exhaustive review, the conclusion is unmistakable in constitutional law cases that judge sotomayor is solidly in the mainstream of the second circuit." judge sotomayor's former law clerks wrote a letter endorsing her nomination in which they said, "as former law clerks to judge sotomayor, each of us can attest to her intellectual prowess, extraordinary work ethic and commitment to the rule of law. working for judge sotomayor is an awe-inspiring experience. we each have the privilege of working closely with her as she confronted and resolved incredibly complex and intellectually demanding legal challenges. judge sotomayor approaches each case with an open mind and arrives at her decision only after carefully considering all of the pertinent facts and applicable rules of law. the law clerk said that they agree with mr. of judge many ofe sotomayor's other colleagues who he say they respect her collegiality and balanced and fair jurisprudence. mr. president, i wou

are regular meetings here at the white house hosted by senior white house officials, including john brennan and others, to continue planning for what the president and his administration talked about earlier this year. what we saw building up and what affected communities throughout the company and affected countries throughout the world hit in many ways at the back end of our own flu season. that very likely give us a preview of the severity that we will face come the fall. we are taking steps by working with state and local officials, working with communities, working with school districts, to ensure that they have the best information and what steps can and need to be taken to get ready for what we know is coming. obviously, many countries around the world -- we have seen a preview of the attacks in nature that this is going to provide, the ability of which this is going to affect our infrastructure. i know the team is working through the decision making on the development of antiviral and production of anti barrels and production for the texting -- anti-virals and production of that vac

peck already with the president and we'll see fit caps on much as the concept dignity did when justice brennan and chief justify underlying principal that the constitution protected. everyone think, we're giving a trial run this time. host: lorraine joins us. good morning. chris: good morning. i have comment. and the comment i have, and then i will follow with a question, is all i have heard is political divisions. in our country, that is promoting racism. i've heard from viewers, nothing but angry, racist big two-fisted comments. whites, blacks, hispanics and everyone in between are pitting against one another. and this is bringing about a destruction of our country. host: certainly the debate this morning people had been bringing up race quite a bit. are you hearing that discussion on the hill right now? is race really a factor? >> well, i think it's been said racism is the original sin of the united states. the country's founding and incorporating slavery was an issue that has continued to haunt the unite ever the way that society has developed. but i think more specifically there's a parti

william brennan, who was quite liberal, was a catholic also. often, catholicism will be associated with more conservative members, but through history, it has not been that way. caller: good morning. thank you for c-span. my question is for joan. i'm calling on the independent line, but i am leaning more toward democratic. my question for you is -- host: i have never used empathy to administer election law. she would not qualify to be an election judge. guest: what she is taking off on is the statement that president obama had used prior to nominating judge sotomayor, that he was looking for someone with empathy. that has been quite a controversial word. some of your viewers will hear that word uttered several times by republicans as these hearings unfold because it suggests to some people, to critics especially, that president was looking for someone who might not merely interpret the law based on what is in cases in what is in the facts of a dispute, but might bring personal sentiment to the matter. what the president has said and what the pr

or you can think about it in terms of bill brennan, cobbling together majorities of people for positions that don't -- that aren't always intuitively obvious as a legal matter. but in some sense, have this real underbelly of pragmatism and politics in the best sense of the word, in terms of making people of all sides and all persuasions come together and celebrate the decision. and there are some costs to that, of course. a cost in terms of fidelity to the statutory text and a precedent as well, but there's a multimember of court. maybe a real strong case to be made for it. on the other hand, you could say, well, there's the view of the true intellectual, the frankfurter, or the then judge rehnquist -- justice rehnquist, writing these lone decents in the 1970's, which ultimately become in many cases the law of the land. there justice thomas i think is really staking out a bit of that territory and not being afraid to be the lone decenter in the voting rights act case or in the trip search case. it's unclear to me which is the right way to be. but i do think that that is a really powerful

up women was william brennan from eisenhower. -- presidents pick members from their own party is certainly for the supreme court, by and large for what the constitution calls the inferior of federal judiciary. how the answers -- how do any of you answer that riders saying, look, what you believe this one to do is substitute an opaque form of politics for a transparent form of politics. >> that is so wrong. under a system that i helped design for arizona, we set up a bipartisan commission of citizens to consider applications of people who want to be a judge. when there is a vacancy, they let anybody apply. this application and those records are open to the public. anybody can find out who has applied. when they interview these people, they are open to the public. they asked that the person wants to be considered file forms and answer questions. that is also open to the public. the commission is not dominated by lawyers. there are a handful of lawyers on the commission paid by and large, it is citizens and they have to be of both political parties. i do not see how you could be more open tha

the terrorist czar is john brennan, the regulatory czar, there's an interesting one, cass, the drug czar is gil kerilowski. the guantanamo closure czar, the af/pak czar, the mideast peace czar, the persian gulf/southwest asia czar, dennis ross, the sudan czar, j. scott, climate czar, todd stern, car czar, steve rad in her -- rat in her. he's been all over the place -- ratner, he's been all over the place. economic czar, the executive pay czar, that's one of my favorites right there. the executive pay czar is kenneth feinburg and then the cyber security czar, position to be announced, but they're going to have one. now, right off i wondered about the cyber security czar because we've got an infotech czar up here which is sort of both in the same -- both first cousins, anyway. and i don't know whether they'll be working together or what. but they're going to have absolute power in their field, whatever that means. i think this is something we ought to be curious about. that's so many czars, you know what's interesting, the russians gave nicknames to some of their czars based on their behav

although we sometimes take our heritage of neutral an independent judiciary for brennan, the truth is, this great tradition is under attack. the american people are rightly concerned. i am troubled by president obama's use of the empathy standard when selecting federal judges. with this view, a judge should use his or her personal feelings about a particular group or issue to decide a case. it stands in stark contrast to the impartiality that we expect in the american courtroom. if the judge is allowed to let his or her feelings for one party in the case this way his decision, has and that judge then demonstrated a bias against the other party? if a judge is allowed to inject his personal views into his interpretation of the law, does he not then have a license to rewrite the laws to suit his own preferences? i fear that this into the standard is another step down the path to a cynical, results oriented world where words and laws have no fixed meaning, where unelected judges set policy, and were constitutional limits on government power are ignored when they are inconvenient to the po