'no hereditary kings in america'

One wonders at the Oregonian headline yesterday for a Cox News Service story:

'There are no hereditary kings in America and no powers not created by the Constitution.'

This was from Judge Anna Diggs Taylor's ruling on the NSA program to track terrorists via international telephone calls and e-mails.

Has anyone ever heard of a case in American jurisprudence where the central issue was "kingship" (not to mention "hereditary kingship")?

Whatever else the ruling shows, that one phrase indicates how unbalanced Judge Taylor's thinking is. That's political boilerplate not judicial reasoning.

One wonders if when Judge Taylor's decision is struck down, Cox News and the Oregonian will run a front page headline saying something like:

"There is no rule by judicial fiat in America and no powers not created by the Constitution."

Don't hold your breath.