4625 Mr. Chief Justice

The Chief Justice of the United States appears to be more concerned about his legacy than his or his court’s decisions.  More on this in a moment.  But first, can you identify this man?

Bet you can’t.  But even if you could, you probably couldn’t have much to say about him.  For the record, he is Edward Douglass White of Louisiana. And a century ago, he was Chief Justice of the United States.  He was a member of the Democratic Party and nominated by President William Howard Taft, a Republican. 

Who cares, right?  Right.  But he did some pretty heavy lifting. In one case his court upheld the constitutionality of the military draft.  In another, he ruled against the laws of some southern states that blocked people of color from voting.

These are important decisions. At the time, they were critical. And still, chances are you never heard of them or him unless you’re a historian. 

Recently, Vice President Pence called the current Chief Justice, John Roberts a “disappointment to conservatives.” Okay, people, show of hands. How many of you think Pence is right?  (Mail-in ballots accepted.)

On the other hand, many liberals and even some (gulp!) progressives were praising Roberts for some of his recent rulings.  Chances are you may have heard about Roberts’ votes.  They were, after all, announced on Facebook and Twitter.  Oh, and also in newspapers and on TV.  Roberts says he’s not trying to please or displease anyone on any side of any thing. He’s just doing his job, following the law.

But here’s the main point: 100 years from now, there’s little chance anyone will remember John Roberts.  Mr. Chief Justice, if you want people to know who you were there’s a better way to do it. Have someone name an important building or a highway or a city after you.  

Robertsville.  Robertsburg. The John Roberts Bridge over the Colorado River. Or the Missouri. Or the Hudson.  It was good enough for Robert Kennedy and Ed Koch and George Washington.  It’s good enough for you.

NOTES FROM ALL OVER

(JERSEY CITY NJ) -- From the “What’s Wrong with You” Dept: Forbes Magazine reports that people are killing or blinding themselves by drinking hand sanitizer. The CDC says four people have died and many others have suffered from the consequences.  

(GOOGLE, CA) -- The search engine giant has revamped and “improved” its blog hosting site.  It gives much more detail on how many are reading -- or at least clicking on it -- and from where. So, Welcome to our clickership, to the good people of Italy and Turkmenistan.  No more readers in South Korea?  Maybe they moved to… um… Italy and Turkmenistan.

(NEW YORK) -- We’ve renamed and expanded some of our dateline cities.  Google, California is the chunk of 48 counties in the northern part of the state.  Microsoft, Washington is the entire state except for Seattle. Pyramid, Utah is the entire state except for Salt Lake City.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “She wanted to bounce her last check.” -- Warren Buffett speaking of his sister Doris who died this week at age 92 and who gave away millions of dollars of her millions-more dollars. That last check didn’t bounce.

I’m Wes Richards. My opinions are my own but you’re welcome to them. ® 

Any Questions? wesrichards@gmail.com

© WJR 2020