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The Red and Black. Wednesday, October 22, I MO
Pages
Supreme Court Justice’s book a disjointed recollection
By JUSTIN GILLIS
Staff writer
An interesting trend of recent American history has been
the growth in the power of courts and the growing tendency
of interest groups to rely on the law to achieve their ends
A storm has raged in the legal world since the late 1930s
and often as not that storm has centered on the actions of
the U S Supreme Court.
For 36 of those years, one man played a very large role
in shaping the court's decisions and in effecting changes
which altered the nature and the ends of American law
With the publication this month of "The Court Years
1939-1975: The Autobiography of William O Douglas " that
man has told his story It is, I am sad to report, told
poorly The book is moderately successful in giving’ us a
look at Douglas' character, but as an analysis of the
problems in law and society over the past four decades,
and as a reappraisal of Douglas' answers to those
problems, it falls short.
That Douglas was trying for someting more than what he
‘Nixon was an amoral man. Deceit,
simulations, telling lies marked the character
of the man. . . .
He was actually envious of Soviet
ruthlessness and helped design the American
counterpart. He was interested not in the clash
of ideas, but in the clash of power.
Nixon did not invent the politics of
destruction but he used them to the limit. His
technique was to destroy those who crossed
him, those who criticized him, the dissenters;
and I, as one of his targets, can say that the
power of the federal government leveled
against the lone individual is ominous and
forbidding, though I loomed very small in his
plan of conquesf”
actually wrote is evident. “One theme of this book (is) to
show why it was that my generation became politically
bankrupt," he says near the end This is the first and last
time we hear of such a theme. Like many others, this line
of thought is toyed with for a sentence or two, then buried
in an avalanche of trivia and disjointed recollection
It is disturbing to find William O. Douglas writing a book
with no point. He sat on the court longer than any man in
history He knew six presidents intimately. His
convictions were a beacon for those engaged in the struggle
for civil rights and civil liberties He was a dissenter, a
Catchy melodies, lackluster lyrics
By JAY WATSON
Staff writer
My girlfriend was listen
ing to the new John Cougar
album with me, and about
halfway through the first
side she remarked, Sounds
good." Little did she
realize how handily her
statement summed up
everything about the re
cord
John Cougar is a rocker,
of more than modest talent,
without a doubt. His voice
compromises pleasingly be
tween rough and silky,
reminding the listener of
Bob Seger, Van Morrison,
Eddie Money, Bruce Spring
steen, or John Fogerty at
different points on his latest
release He is equally at
home in ballads or scream
ers.
Cougar’s song structures
are tight, never excessive
be denied ‘Cheap Shot’’ is
just that: a series of slaps
at the record industry, disc
jockeys, punk rock, and
“Rolling Stone magazine;"
but it rocks with the
urgency of “Peppermint
Twist,” a twenty-eight sec
ond '50s rocker preceding
"Cheapshot." Michael
Wanchick and Larry
Crane’s guitars grind away
over the one-two punch of
the drums, a good-natured
“na-na-na” chorus, and the
kind of piano pounding that
keeps Steinway and Sons in
business.
“Wild Angel” sports an a
cappella introduction full of
double entendres that aren’t
that cute. The lyrical piano
figures are beautifully done.
and Cougar's vocal is much
more sensitive than the
actual words he sings
Steve Cropper (key figure
in the M.G.’s and Blues
It’s a shame John "Cou
gar" Mellencamp can’t
have his cake and eat it too.
He has a good ear for
catchy melodies within a
solid song structure alter
nating between pop and
rock. What he lacks is the
lyrical ability of a Neil
Young or a Jackson
Browne: the mysterious
capacity to take a situation
or emotion experienced by
everyone and describe it
with some new combination
of words that is inexplicably
accurate.
home-spun philosopher and one of the original
environmentalists Has this man nothing to say?
The great flaw in “The Court Years’’ is the absolute lack
of an integrative theme Douglas' apparent purpose was
merely to write another book That he has done, but little
more.
Historians and court-watchers will no doubt find
information of interest here; I doubt they will find much
A lot of the territory was pre-empted by the publication of
last year’s “The Brethren. ' a sometimesdubious inside
account of the Court
Even the general reader will find some things to attract
him in this book Douglas' anecdotes are often funny,
engaging or even chilling.
He tells of the day a new Chief Justice ordered up the
non-existent "court car,” only to be met at the door by a
pick-up truck
He tells of the trick he played on a fellow justice, who
had authored the decision in a case involving prostitution
Douglas happened to pass through the town where the case
originated, so he procured a sheet of stationery from the
Chamber of Commerce and dashed off a note thanking the
justice for helping to preserve the town's most important
industry.
And Douglas tells in detail of the two attempts in
Congress to have him impeached. His discussion of the
latter attempt, an ill-conceived vendetta by Richard Nixon
through his lackey Gerald Ford, is one of the few bits of
genuine analysis in the book
Douglas does spring a few surprises He is often viewed as
friendly to the press, but his chapter on it in this book is
an unremitting 'and richly deserved) attack He accuses
the press of arrogance, ignorance and shoddiness, and he
urges it to reform He also attacks the money grubbing
legal establishment for its obsequious service to “the
monied interests "
Still, these bits of Douglas wisdom are merely oases in a
very long desert “The Court Years," which is actually
volume two of his autobiography, should have been
Douglas' crowning achievement as an author Few people
have the opportunity to look back over their lives and
reassess their premises and philosophies Those of us who
read the first volume of the autobiography. "Go East,Young
Man," were waiting for that reassessment “The Court
Years" just does not fill the bill
Perhaps there is an explanation Imagine it as a Grim
Fairy Tale 'pun intended) Once upon a time, a little boy
grew up and became a Supreme Court justice Then he
just stopped growing
I don’t know if this fairy tale is true or not—the latter, !
hope But the evidence of that cannot be found in this
book
There is about Justice Douglas something of a True
Believer, and this is what we see in “The Court Years.”
He was. to be sure, always honorable, never mean or
base like his detractors Bui he died a Believer, a man
with a cloistered mind He is the author of his own
indictment.
The Court Years," his last chance for a badly needed
public reappraisal, is nothing of the sort.
/t®gfe?
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Trouble is, John Cougar
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Though he is capable of
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the words are for the most
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“Hot Night in a Cold
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PICSKINS
HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW
COLLEGE FOOTBALL?
LAST WEEK’S WINNER- FERRIS McDANIEL
ONLY ONE ENTRY PER PERSON
The Red and Black Picskins college football contest will appear in every Wednesday’s edition
of The Red and Black. Fourteen games plus a tiebreaker will be given each week. All you need
to do is check the box beside the team you think will win. The contestant with the highest number
of correct picks will receive a prize worth at least $20 supplied by a local merchant. If
contestants tie in accuracy for the 14 games, the tiebreaker will decide the winner. In the event
the tiebreaker fails to produce a winner, a drawing will he held.
THIS WEEK'S GAMES
GEORGIA
TULANE
SO. MISS
AUBURN
CLEMSON
PITTSBURG.
ARKANSAS
AT KENTUCKY
\ i (■ \ TECH
\i ALABAMA
\ l Miss STAre.
\l \< STATE
AT TENNESSEE.
AT HOUSTON
SO. METHODIST.
MISSISSIPPI
VIRGINIA
UCLA
STANFORD
RICE
LOUISVILLE
Tiebreaker (total points scored between both teams):
GEORGIA .
_AT TEXAS
AT VANDERBILT
AT W AKE FOREST
AT CALIFORNIA
AT W ASHINGTON STATE.
\i rEXAS A A M
AT FLORIDA
-AT KENTUCKY
Deadline is Friday, 2:00 pm. Mail or bring your entry to The Red and Black
Picskins Contest 123 N. Jackson St. Downtown Athens, or put your entry in
the R&B Classified drop boxes on campus.
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