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February 10, 2012
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David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
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Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
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Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
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February 6, 2012
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Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
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Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Feb. 12, 2007
/ 24 Shevat, 5767
The no longer mysterious Supreme Court
By
Nat Hentoff
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Fred Friendly, Edward R. Murrow's longtime producer, used to remind me that television, at its beginning, was intended to educate as well as entertain. In the historic, unprecedented four-part PBS series "The Supreme Court," the tumultuous history and the most influential, clashing personalities of our "court of last resort" have been made available to the many Americans for whom the High Court seems very distant, though its rulings have affected millions of us for generations.
This illuminating, often dramatic series recently aired on PBS stations around the country, but you can still see it, because a DVD of the series can be purchased on www.pbs.org/supremecourt. And there is a companion book written in clear, narrative, nonacademic prose by constitutional expert Jeffrey Rosen, who's in the series "The Supreme Court: The Personalities and Rivalries that Defined America".
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at a discount by clicking HERE.
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At the end of the series, Chief Justice John Roberts, a participant in this landmark TV achievement, says: "The legitimacy and the acceptance of what the Court does depend upon how people view the institution. The Court is always vulnerable and has been throughout its history... (because it) has the ability to reach unpopular decisions that will nonetheless be followed."
But too few Americans school children and adults know of how the Supreme Court has continually been at the core of protecting our essential liberties and rights against fear-ridden majorities of citizens and Congress in times of national danger, as well as presidents who sweepingly ignore the separation of powers. The Supreme Court itself as this series demonstrates vividly has also rolled over the Constitution in times of crisis, as in its approval of the internment camps of Japanese-Americans during World War II. But this republic resiliently comes back to its roots of liberty, in part because of the Supreme Court redeeming its mistakes.
But as many surveys have shown as well as Jay Leno's impromptu quizzes of college students on the "Tonight Show" many Americans are educationally disadvantaged in their knowledge of this history of who we are and who those black-robed justices are who have the power to make decisions not only on national security, but also concerning, at times, intimate details of our personal lives.
How many of us know what in the life and temperament of Chief Justice John Marshall gave him the daring to find in a Congressional act setting up the federal court system the power of the Supreme Court, and other federal courts, to declare acts of Congress unconstitutional? The 1803 decision Marbury v. Madison changed the course of this country.
How many of us know anything about former slave owner Justice John Marshall Harlan, whose lonely dissents tried to awaken the Court that for years stopped the "equal protection of the laws" guarantee in the Fourteenth Amendment from applying to black Americans?
These and other "personalities and rivalries that defined America" are brought back to life in this invaluable TV series a true reality show that both entertains and educates.
This series also has a long-range component a national educational outreach campaign to reach community groups, libraries and of special importance, schools. Because of the No Child Left Behind Law, so much time is being spent on preparing students to pass reading and math tests that hardly any time is left for the already diminishing classes in what used to be called civics. We are not educating a new generation to become citizens actively informed in keeping us both safe and free.
Among the companions to this TV series is a wide-ranging Web site that will be live online for four years (www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt) that contains all the resources for educators.
The press reviews for the four-part "Supreme Court" TV series have been very favorable except for one. I feel sorry for New York Times readers who were put off from watching by a stunningly supercilious and ignorant review (Jan. 21) by Virginia Heffernan, who found it "boring."
The New York Times has superbly knowledgeable Supreme Court reporters Linda Greenhouse and Adam Liptak but chose to assign the review to a writer who is very badly educationally disadvantaged.
But none of the rest of us need be in that sad state thanks to Thirteen/WNET and PBS. There's more to television than Donald Trump and Rosie O'Donnell.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Nat Hentoff is a nationally renowned authority on the First Amendment and the Bill of Rights and author of several books, including his current work, "The War on the Bill of Rights and the Gathering Resistance". Comment by clicking here.
Nat Hentoff Archives
© 2006, NEA
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