It looks like James Dobson (of “Spongebob is gay” fame) has joined his fellow wingnuts in taking aim at the judicial branch¹. Since Dobson is also one of those guys who seems to find homosexuality where it doesn’t exist, I wonder what he’d make of this startling revelation about the Chief Justice?

Can you explain the 4 gold stripes on the sleeves of Chief Justice Rehnquist’s judicial robe?

In a bit of acknowledged whimsy, Chief Justice William Rehnquist decided to personalize his judicial robe with 4 gold braid stripes on each sleeve about 5 years ago. All the other Supreme Court justices wear the traditional unadorned black judicial robes. The inspiration for the gold stripes came from the costume worn by a character in the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, “Iolanthe,” first staged in London in 1882.

The costume which inspired Chief Justice Rehnquist is worn by the Lord Chancellor, a character called upon to settle a dispute among a colony of fairies. Ironically, the story line has the Queen of the Fairies taking revenge by casting a spell on the hero, Strephon, which turns him into a Member of Parliament, and grants him the magical power to have any bill passed without opposition. This allows the fairies to take over Parliament.

In another bit of irony, given the subject matter of the impeachment trial now before the senate, the Lord Chancellor sings a song which include these lyrics:

The Law is the true embodiment Of everything that’s excellent. It has no kind of fault or flaw, And I, my Lords, embody the Law.

That’s right, Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who once favorably compared a college’s ban on clubs for gay students with “a state law providing that measle sufferers be quarantined”, fancies himself a despotic fairy judge?! Okay Tinkerbell, I think it’s time to retire…

^{1: The criticism goes something like this “the KKK wears robes, judges wear robes, therefore judges are as evil as the KKK”. Seriously. I wonder what Dobson thinks of all those robe-wearing members of the church choir? There’s a fine line between exalting the cross and burning it.}