2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #245 "INDEPENDENCE OF THE JUDICIARY"

     My great friend Judge Andy Guilford recently called my attention to an insight that I will pass along to you: the Judiciary is probably the most important of our three branches of government.  Why?  Because the Executive is dependent upon the majority to stay in office, and so is the Legislature.  So it is only the Judiciary that truly upholds and enforces minority rights.  And that is what makes America what it is.  In other words, the very soul of our great country is our freedoms and our liberties.  And that soul is continually under attack, if only in the name of “keeping us safe.”  Wiretapping, surveillance cameras, unnecessary pre-trial confinement, license plate and facial recognition cameras, reduced rights under our search and seizure laws cloaked under the guise of the so-called War on Drugs, and on and on.  And it is really only the Judicial Branch of Government that stands in the way of even more erosion of our precious liberties.  I have said it many times in these columns, and it bears repeating: the Delegates at our Constitutional Convention in 1787 fought, debated and bickered over numbers of things, but literally each delegate agreed that the most important function of government is to protect our Liberties from the encroachment of government.  (The second most important was our security.)

      So what can we do to protect our Judicial Branch of Government?  Primarily we must protect its independence!  In the past few years we as a society have allowed our judiciary to become more politicized, even to the extent that several states have allowed judicial candidates to be endorsed by political parties.  In addition, many judicial branches, including California, have been intentionally underfunded by the legislatures in response to judicial decisions that the legislatures did not agree with.  These are dangerous precedents, because all of us are in the minority in some regards and, “There but for the Grace of God,” each of us could in fact be overly or even wrongly prosecuted by the government for just about anything.  We simply must have an independent judicial system to protect us from all of these potential abuses.  So everyone please be aware of this continuing threat, and lend a hand to protect us all against it.  We simply must keep our Judicial branch of government independent!

Story for the week: A Doctor gave a man six months to live.  But the man couldn’t pay his bills, so the Doctor gave him another six months.

Please listen to our weekly radio show entitled “All Rise! The Libertarian Way with Judge Jim Gray” as we discuss timely issues, and show how they will be addressed more beneficially by employing Libertarian values and approaches.  You can hear it every Friday morning at 7 Pacific/10 Eastern by going to www.VoiceAmerica.com, clicking on the Variety Channel and then upon the word “live.”  You can also hear past shows on demand as well.  And, by the way, these 2 Paragraph columns are now on my website at www.JudgeJImGray.com, Facebook and LinkedIn at judgejimgray, Twitter at judgejamesgray, and wordpress at judgejimgray.wordpress.com.  Please visit these sites for past editions, and do your part to spread the word about the importance of Liberty.  In addition, my new book entitled “2 Paragraphs 4 Liberty: Solutions that are Practical, Effective, Responsible, Libertarian, is now available at Amazon.com.   Please read and discuss it with friends, and send in a review.

2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #243 "LET'S LEARN TO EMBRACE EACH OTHER"

      My great friend Dean Tom Campbell recently published in the Orange County Register the following quote that I pass along to you: “Most offenses taken are not intended.”  This hit me hard because I have always somehow inferred this, but had never seen it put into words.  And what a thought that will help us to live our lives more fully.  Then the next day, Christmas, the Register also published the following in an editorial: “The truly valuable things of this life are not found in power and riches but in our relationships – in our capacity to cherish our families, love our neighbors, stretch out a helping hand to those less fortunate and seek reconciliation with those who would be our enemies.” 

     Following up on both of those quotes, with the fall of the former Soviet Union, it was fully documented that the great composer Peter Tchaikovsky actually committed suicide at the age of 53 to avoid publicizing that he was gay.  And this act wasn’t done to protect his good name, it was instead to protect the “good name” of his former university.  Can you simply imagine how deprived the world has been by not embracing him even for his perceived frailties (that all of us share in some form)?  Look at what society lost not only in unnecessarily shortening his life, but also in the additional brilliant compositions that he would have created for us!  Pope Francis preached this past Christmas Day that “God does not love you because you think and act the right way.  You may have mistaken ideas, you may have made a complete mess of things, but the Lord continues to love you.”  Just like with the commonalities of the world’s religions and philosophies that are highlighted at www.Pro-JectUnderstanding.com, we human beings have so much in common that we should embrace each other more.  So as we are now beginning a New Year, let us all strive to exercise our Liberty and learn both not to take offense so quickly at things that other people say and do, but also to embrace each other more fully.  That is – or should be – what life is about.  Happy New Year!

Judge Jim Gray (Ret.)

2012 Libertarian candidate for Vice President, along with

Governor Gary Johnson as the candidate for President

Please listen to our weekly radio show entitled “All Rise! The Libertarian Way with Judge Jim Gray” as we discuss timely issues, and show how they will be addressed more beneficially by employing Libertarian values and approaches.  You can hear it every Friday morning at 7 Pacific/10 Eastern by going to www.VoiceAmerica.com, clicking on the Variety Channel and then upon the word “live.”  You can also hear past shows on demand as well.  And, by the way, these 2 Paragraph columns are now on my website at www.JudgeJImGray.com, Facebook and LinkedIn at judgejimgray, Twitter at judgejamesgray, and wordpress at judgejimgray.wordpress.com  Please visit these sites for past editions, and do your part to spread the word about the importance of Liberty.  In addition, my new book entitled “2 Paragraphs 4 Liberty: Solutions that are Practical, Effective, Responsible, Libertarian, is now available at Amazon.com.   Please read and discuss it with friends, and send in a review.

“JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY” by Judge Jim Gray

“JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY” by Judge Jim Gray 09/07/08

When I completed a draft of this column I forwarded it to several people for their comments, including a local rabbi friend of mine. I want to share his response with you. He said: “I would really like you to talk about the essence of what it is to be a Jew. In ‘Jew,’ J stands for Justice, e for education, and w for worship. Judaism is based on this life and its focus is helping his fellow man. Christianity’s focus is more on the self and of getting to Heaven. They are like two different sports: baseball and football. Jews often get upset when Christians see (Christianity) as the fulfillment of Judaism. Most Jews feel that the two religions emphasize different things. Like Jews have no concept of salvation or grace and emphasize obedience to Jewish law. There are many other differences too, like God has no body in Judaism and there is no concept of hell or the devil. I would like to discuss more about this with you in person.”


I am fully going to accept the rabbi’s invitation, and plan to meet with him for a discussion in about two weeks. I have also invited several classes at Vanguard University to join us. If you would like to meet with us as well, please contact me by e-mail message and I will give you the time and place.


Otherwise, I have learned that a Jew is not a race of people, because race is determined by genetics and cannot be changed. Instead it is defined as either a person whose mother was a Jew, or someone who has gone through the formal process of conversion to the religion of Judaism. But Jews do see themselves as a “family,” and trace their descent from the Israelites of the Bible, or from others who were exiled from Babylon in the 6th Century, BC.


There is no specific dogma or formal set of beliefs that a person must have to be a Jew. To the contrary, it is mostly a religion of “good acts,” where a person must earn God’s forgiveness and favor. Nevertheless, Jews have and treat as holy the teachings of the Torah, which is a divinely-inspired and hand-written parchment scroll that is so sacred that it is only kept in a synagogue, which is the Jewish house of worship.  


To Orthodox Jews the Torah consists of only the first 5 books of the Old Testament. This is “the Law,” and it must be strictly followed in every respect. Conservative Jews generally believe that the laws and traditions must be interpreted based upon the times, except that most observe some form of dietary rules (kosher) and other traditional practices. Jews who are a part of the Reform / Liberal / Progressive Movements generally believe that people can choose which particular traditions to follow. And many non-orthodox Jews believe that the Torah consists of the first 5 books of the Old Testament, which is “the Law,” as well as the next 8 books, which constitute “the Prophets,” as well as the last books, which constitute “the Writings.”  


To this many Jews add the oral teachings of the Torah, which is the Talmud and other collections of writings about Jewish law and traditions. The Talmud contains the arguments, debates, agreements and disagreements of literally tens of thousands of Jewish scholars, who, over thousands of years, have studied each and every aspect of the biblical text in an attempt to distill the wisdom contained therein. One of the best known of these scholars is a 12th Century scholar named Rambam, who wrote the “13 Principles of Faith.”  


This widely accepted document basically teaches that there is only one God, who is unique, eternal and incorporeal, which is to say that He is not a physical being; that prayer is to be directed to God alone and no other; that the words of the prophets are true, and Moses is the greatest of the prophets; that the Torah was given to Moses directly by God; that God knows the deeds as well as thoughts of human beings, and will reward the good and punish the wicked; and that the Messiah will come.


Of course in many significant ways the religion of Christianity evolved from Judaism, since Jesus Christ was a Jew. But Christians believe that Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God was sent down to earth by God to die for the sins of mankind. By this act, Christians would be forgiven, and could obtain everlasting life by giving themselves to Jesus.


Like Jews, Christians believe in only one God, but they describe God as “Three persons in One.” Therefore God is the Father and Creator; God also is Jesus; and God is also the Holy Spirit, whose being is present as guide, comforter, wisdom and sustainer.


Jesus on the cross unconditionally reaches out to everyone in an attempt to reconcile each person to God as well as to one another. The central theme that makes reconciliation possible is forgiveness. And when forgiveness is put into practice, it is life changing, and even world changing. Why? Because it can break the cycle of violence. At the same time, the contrary life of unforgiveness is a curse.


The three major historic divisions of Christianity are Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant, and those have many, many subdivisions. The beliefs and practices of Christians come from the Holy Bible, which is a divinely-inspired combination of the Hebrew Scriptures (or Old Testament), and Christian writings (or New Testament).  


But Jesus as revealed in the Bible is understood by most Christians as fully divine, and also fully human. His divinity means that He is understood to part of “the Godhead,” which means that God is fully present. His humanity means that He was an historical figure who felt pain and joy. His teachings are given power by His willing death and His resurrection, which is a clear sign of God’s doing something new in the world. In fact, Jesus is often called “The New Adam” as a way of emphasizing the new beginning He signaled.


Most Christians believe that even though theirs is not a religion of “good acts,” “being Christian” also means that their faith should make a difference in their private as well as public lives. Some denominations go so far as to have lists of “dos and don’ts.” Others avoid lists, except for the Ten Commandments, and instead say to use the reason and intellect that God gave them to “be a little Christ” or to “follow the example of Christ.” Therefore, most Christians believe that their experience of God’s love means they should reflect that love to others through forgiveness and acts of charity and mercy - both individually and for society. This explains the many hospitals, orphanages and educational institutions that Christians have established.

James P. Gray is a Judge of the Superior Court in California, the author of Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed and What We Can Do About It - A Judicial Indictment of the War on Drugs (Temple University Press, 2001) and Wearing The Robe - The Art And Responsibilities of Judging In Today's Courts, has a blog at http://judgejamesgray.blogspot.com/. http://www.judgejimgray.com, and can be contacted at www.judgejimgray.com.