Republican calls against activist judges spurring dangerous activists

Check out this story from the AP about Supreme Court Justices receiving death threats from people that think they are activist judges.

The fringe element is taking its cues from Republican Members of Congress.

Ginsburg said the Web threat was apparently prompted by legislation in Congress, filed by Republicans, that would bar judges from relying on foreign laws or court decisions.

"It is disquieting that they have attracted sizable support. And one not-so-small concern - they fuel the irrational fringe," she said in a speech posted online by the court earlier this month and first reported Wednesday by LegalTimes.com.

According to Ginsburg, someone in a Web site chat room wrote: Okay commandoes, here is your first patriotic assignment ... an easy one. Supreme Court Justices Ginsburg and O'Connor have publicly stated that they use (foreign) laws and rulings to decide how to rule on American cases. This is a huge threat to our Republic and constitutional freedom. ... If you are what you say you are, and NOT armchair patriots, then those two justices will not live another week."

Rep. Tom Feeney, R-Fla., a sponsor of one of the congressional proposals, wrote about the legislation on his Web site and in bold letters featured a quote from O'Connor predicting the Supreme Court would probably increasingly rely on foreign courts.

Is Rep. Feeney responsible for some lunatics words? No, but election year politics shouldn't try to stop Supreme Court Justices from reading things and he should think twice before trying to fan the flames with his actions. Clearly, he was trying to get people fired up with his bold letters jnto thinking that the foreign courts are taking over our Supreme Court, something that couldn't be farther from the truth.

It's not just the supremes either.

Worry is not limited to the Supreme Court. Three quarters of the nation's 2,200 federal judges have asked for government-paid home security systems, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said this week.