FEMA To Restart Katrina Housing Program

by Matt Apuzzo - Decmber 18th, 2006 - Yahoo News (Associated Press)

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled last month that the Federal Emergency Management Agency violated the Constitution when it eliminated short-term housing assistance and provided victims only confusing computer-generated codes to explain its decision.

The Constitution of the United States appears to have even more really really small fine print if this ruling is to be believed. One of the unelected tyrants of our federal courts found rights to government handouts defined as not being terminable unless the correct words are used in the letter in which they are terminated. This is not an issue of whether they deserve the money under the law, but whether they were told by the right words. And the judge did not decide this on technical grounds but instead found that it was a "constitutional" right, so he could order the goverment to fix the problem.

This is one more example of the trampling of democracy by our courts. At earlier times in our system it was assumed that egregious abuse of power would be rectified by the elective process. Our government officials are managed by elected officials and it used to be considered probable that they would respond to the people. However this judge (unelected and unaccountable) has decided that he alone can trump the democratic process and by the power of "the rule of judges", tell government how it must operate. He can over rule any decision of other officials and call it a Constitutional right.