Anti-conservative blogger Oliver Willis: "America likes judges." "America is a pro-judge country."

If it pleases the court, we'd like to present some evidence to refresh his recollection:

1. Judge "Turn 'Em Loose" Bruce Wright.

2. U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin.

3. Judge Lance Ito.

4. Justice Roy Moore.

5. The Massachussetts Supreme Court.

Willis is best described as "anti-conservative," rather than "liberal" or "leftist" or ''Democratic," because the best tradition of liberal gadfly-ism has never shied away from pointing out the failings of the judiciary. One need look no further than the late, great Jack Newfield. A one-time close friend (and later biographer of) Robert Kennedy, Newfield broke impressive ground in New York City journalism with his occasional reporting on the Big Apple's 10 Worst Judges.

Strip away the political heat of the Schiavo case, and the idea of of taking a hard, critical look at America's judiciary is part of a long, watchdog history in this country. It's not a conservative or a liberal idea. And just dismissing, out of hand, the idea that it might be good to fully, publicly examine the weaknesses of the U.S. court system is something that just ends up protecting bad judges. And, as the list above indicates, we do get some judges who could use a critical look.