supreme prediction

I mentioned in a previous blog the family story about an acquaintance who announced that he "had a prediction to make" about a new television set. He told us who were trying to fix his set--in the days before cable--that the set would turn out to be "a helluva set."

I have a prediction to make about the Supreme Court decision that is to be announced in about two hours from this writing. It is NOT going to be a helluva decision.  I think it is going to embarrass the Supreme Court and the country.

My belief in the integrity of the Supreme Court was first jostled during the shenanigans surrounding the 2000 Gore-Bush election.  If you recall, the Florida supreme court--with a democratic majority--found in favor of what the Gore team desired.  The US supreme court--with a republican majority--found in favor of what the Bush team desired.  It was about this time when I started reconsidering the supreme court decisions in the past.  With the exception of Brown vs. Board of Ed--and I am sure many others with which I am not familiar--it seemed to me that the Supreme Court has not been the dispassionate arbiters envisioned by a literal interpretation of the country's founding documents. Instead they like so many of us seem to have been motivated by personal agendas as opposed to even handed review of issues in the case.

I hope I am wrong, but I believe what we hear later today will reflect the politically fueled debate about health care, not the inherent merits of introducing "affordable health care."  An irony, of course, is that even if the Supreme Court strikes down the obligation of citizens to purchase health care, my state will retain that requirement--a requirement that was put into effect and supported by the Republican candidate for president, then the governor of Massachusetts, who is currently riding the waves of his supporters who wish for the law to be eliminated.

My predictions are often wrong which, in this instance, will be a good thing.