In the classic work of fiction “1984” by George Orwell one way the rulers kept the masses under control was by redefining words to have meanings totally at odds with what those word really meant; “war is peace” and “freedom is slavery,” for example.

Today the Supreme Court ruled that the phrase " exchanges established by the States" means "exchanges established by the States or any other organization, group, or individual including aliens and the Federal Government".

Justice Scalia nailed it when he wrote in the dissenting opinion: 

"Words no longer have meaning if an Exchange that is not established by a State is ‘established by a State’"

But the most Orwellian aspect of this ruling by the Supreme Court is not that it redefines words but that it redefines America as being a country of men, not of law where what matters is not the law but what certain powerful individuals say the law should be.

Conservatives now have to face the reality that a coup has occurred in America. A coup not led by gun waving soldiers but by briefcase toting lawyers.

By rejecting the idea that the role of the Supreme Court is to figure out what the wording of a law means and pushing the view that the role of the Supreme Court is to do what's "right" -- as defined by liberal lawyers of course -- the system of checks and balances established in the Constitution has been weakened.

You can read more of Tom’s rants at his blog, Conversations about the obvious and feel free to follow him on Twitter