The article says "The Times notes that pair arrived Jan. 5 on Gulfstream jets and were guests of Wallace Carline, the owner of Diamond Services Corp., an oil services company in Amelia, La." It also says "Vice President Dick Cheney and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia spent part of last week duck hunting together at a private camp in southern Louisiana...". It does not say who owned the jets - Gulfstreams are used by the government as well as private owners. While you may reasonably infer that they were private jets, you could just as easily be mistaken and there is no explicit statement of ownership in that article.tirolerpeter wrote:Bubba. Here is the link to the news story and Scalia's use of a corporate jet.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/12/ ... 8582.shtml
Look in paragraph 12.
That issue aside, the article also notes that there are two sides to this type of socializing and that Supreme Court justices often socialize with senior government officials even when those officials may have business before the court. Unless you want justices to be cloistered, and are interested in appearances over substance, this type of gathering will have to be allowed to continue.
As for freedom from religion, as an atheist you're surrounded by religious people. As a Jew, I'm surrounded by Christians and others. As a kid, my parents had to explain that Christmas was not my holiday even though it was all over TV and everywhere else, including "holiday" decorations at school and other government facilities. I survived...in fact, it was educational. I may or may not be a "believer" but I am a Jew. I am not offended by Christian symbols, although I do not believe that government facilities should show overt Christian symbols such as a cross or Jewish symbols such as a Star of David. I do not have a problem with the Supreme Court having the Ten Commandments carved on the building but I do have a problem with an Alabama judge wheeling the tablets into his building. One is an historical artifact; the other is an "in your face" statement. I look at the motivation as well as the facts. Hypocritical? Probably. We all have our own little hypocricies.
As an atheist, you are surrounded by a culture of religion. Do you turn off your television at Christmas time? Neither do I. Do I enjoy Christmas decorations even though it is not my holiday? Absolutely. Do you? Probably. Give up the "I'm offended" act and enjoy everything that's around you. Use it educationally. And defend your atheist beliefs religiously!