Sometimes when you read what passes for thought at a major newspaper, you kind of wish that things could be resolved the way they were on the playground, with two guys wrestling each other to the ground and punching away. Because, let's face it, sometimes what you see on the editorial pages of the New York Times is so totally inane, so full of knee-jerk verbiage not even beginning to resemble argumentation, that any response in words would merely dignify it.
Case in point: Today's editorial by Adam Cohen about why Justice Thomas is a very bad man, because he isn't using his position on the court to enshrine liberal policies in the Constitution or federal statutes: "The Next Big Thing in Law? The Harsh Jurisprudence of Justice Thomas."
If you don't feel like reading it, read Matthew J. Franck's synopsis at Bench Memos instead.
And if you'd prefer the really short version, try the really short version by David Bernstein at The Volokh Conspiracy:
Liberals are good people. Conservatives are bad people. Clarence Thomas, who is black and grew up under modest circumstances, and once was liberal himself, should be the first one to realize this. Instead, not only is he conservative, but he hangs around with bad people like Rush Limbaugh. This is an enigma, and an especially troubling one now that the Court is moving in Thomas's direction.Now, go and consider whether a careful, intellectual response is better than an old-fashioned response to a playground taunt.
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