Constitutional lawyer Rips lays out a legal case for not admitting Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
The author, who served as a clerk for Supreme Court Justice William Brennan, advances a technical argument that he asserts disqualifies Barrett from being named an associate justice: Her nomination is a violation of the religious test clause of the Constitution, the only clause, he adds, that by design cannot be amended. The violation lies less in Barrett’s belonging to an “insular, predominantly Catholic covenant community”—the tenets of which include overturning Roe v. Wade and infringing on LGBTQ+ rights, including the right of marriage—than it does in Trump’s turning the selection and vetting of the nominee over to a group of evangelicals. He did so, Rips asserts, to cement their support in the presidential election, since he had been losing support among fundamentalists, a strong component of his base. The religious test clause, controversial when added at the insistence of the Federalists, is specific. “The violation comes from allowing a particular religious group a dominant influence in determining who takes public office—it is the poisoned process, not its result, which constitutes the constitutional violation,” writes the author. Naturally enough, he suggests, Barrett does not accept the clause as written, though she has claimed to be guided by it and other precedents—though not the “superprecedent” of Roe. Rips calls for a lawsuit to be filed to enjoin Barrett from taking the bench until the religious test issue is resolved, adding that if the Republicans railroad her to the position, then she can be removed. “In that filing,” he holds, “it needs to be made evident that the courts will be defending the religion clauses of the Constitution but ultimately this democracy, this nation, from the interventions of a minority sect.”
A narrowly focused but eminently timely reproach to yet another Trumpian threat to the republic.Pub Date: Oct. 29, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68219-405-8
Page Count: 104
Publisher: OR Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
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A top-notch political memoir and serious exercise in practical politics for every reader.
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In the first volume of his presidential memoir, Obama recounts the hard path to the White House.
In this long, often surprisingly candid narrative, Obama depicts a callow youth spent playing basketball and “getting loaded,” his early reading of difficult authors serving as a way to impress coed classmates. (“As a strategy for picking up girls, my pseudo-intellectualism proved mostly worthless,” he admits.) Yet seriousness did come to him in time and, with it, the conviction that America could live up to its stated aspirations. His early political role as an Illinois state senator, itself an unlikely victory, was not big enough to contain Obama’s early ambition, nor was his term as U.S. Senator. Only the presidency would do, a path he painstakingly carved out, vote by vote and speech by careful speech. As he writes, “By nature I’m a deliberate speaker, which, by the standards of presidential candidates, helped keep my gaffe quotient relatively low.” The author speaks freely about the many obstacles of the race—not just the question of race and racism itself, but also the rise, with “potent disruptor” Sarah Palin, of a know-nothingism that would manifest itself in an obdurate, ideologically driven Republican legislature. Not to mention the meddlings of Donald Trump, who turns up in this volume for his idiotic “birther” campaign while simultaneously fishing for a contract to build “a beautiful ballroom” on the White House lawn. A born moderate, Obama allows that he might not have been ideological enough in the face of Mitch McConnell, whose primary concern was then “clawing [his] way back to power.” Indeed, one of the most compelling aspects of the book, as smoothly written as his previous books, is Obama’s cleareyed scene-setting for how the political landscape would become so fractured—surely a topic he’ll expand on in the next volume.
A top-notch political memoir and serious exercise in practical politics for every reader.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5247-6316-9
Page Count: 768
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 16, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
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BOOK REVIEW
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A former NFL player casts his gimlet eye on American race relations.
In his first book, Acho, an analyst for Fox Sports who grew up in Dallas as the son of Nigerian immigrants, addresses White readers who have sent him questions about Black history and culture. “My childhood,” he writes, “was one big study abroad in white culture—followed by studying abroad in black culture during college and then during my years in the NFL, which I spent on teams with 80-90 percent black players, each of whom had his own experience of being a person of color in America. Now, I’m fluent in both cultures: black and white.” While the author avoids condescending to readers who already acknowledge their White privilege or understand why it’s unacceptable to use the N-word, he’s also attuned to the sensitive nature of the topic. As such, he has created “a place where questions you may have been afraid to ask get answered.” Acho has a deft touch and a historian’s knack for marshaling facts. He packs a lot into his concise narrative, from an incisive historical breakdown of American racial unrest and violence to the ways of cultural appropriation: Your friend respecting and appreciating Black arts and culture? OK. Kim Kardashian showing off her braids and attributing her sense of style to Bo Derek? Not so much. Within larger chapters, the text, which originated with the author’s online video series with the same title, is neatly organized under helpful headings: “Let’s rewind,” “Let’s get uncomfortable,” “Talk it, walk it.” Acho can be funny, but that’s not his goal—nor is he pedaling gotcha zingers or pleas for headlines. The author delivers exactly what he promises in the title, tackling difficult topics with the depth of an engaged cultural thinker and the style of an experienced wordsmith. Throughout, Acho is a friendly guide, seeking to sow understanding even if it means risking just a little discord.
This guide to Black culture for White people is accessible but rarely easy.Pub Date: Nov. 10, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-80046-6
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2020
Categories: EDUCATION | CURRENT EVENTS & SOCIAL ISSUES | FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS | ETHNICITY & RACE | POLITICS
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