Something is rotten in the state of American democracy: the one above the fray as the "umpire," as Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. defined his duty.

But Roberts is no man of the people, unless you're a corporation — for as the Roberts Supreme Court enshrined in the Citizens United case, corporations are people, too.

The chief justice and four angry men who pass for justices are dismantling our democracy. In robes and chambers, they do this while most Americans blame Congress for what ails us. Congress is not the villain, for even the wildest freshmen are elected. You can hear the noise of democracy across the street in the Capitol, but the Supreme Court is as quiet as a tomb.

The latest outrage is gutting the groundbreaking Voting Rights Act of 1965. Pain was etched on the faces of veteran civil rights champions in Congress, John Lewis, D-Ga., and John Conyers, D-Mich., upon hearing the news. Roberts authored the 5-4 Supreme Court opinion that struck at the heart of the landmark law. The act upheld the legal architecture for racial justice in federal elections in several Southern states. It was won with a lot of work: nonviolent marches that turned to tears and blood.

But Roberts has ole Roger Taney's spirit on his side. As chief justice, Taney wrote the infamous Dred Scott decision in 1857, declaring that blacks, free or enslaved, could never become citizens. A Southern slaveholder, Taney also opened the gates to slavery in future states. Abraham Lincoln detested the ancient man who swore him in.

Curiously, the Roberts court also struck down a barrier to marriage equality as if to cover its tracks. But the civil rights movement is the granddaddy of all human rights movements. The blow dealt to freedom fighters can't get lost in the cheering throng for gay marriage. One Maryland state delegate, Keiffer J. Mitchell, whose grandfather Clarence Mitchell helped shepherd the Voting Rights Act, marveled that the court got gay rights "fantastically right."

Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito are the rest of the gang. None should be trusted with the fate of the republic. It's worth noting a gender divide; three of the four justices doing the right thing are women.

And it gets worse: the divided Supreme Court decision in 2000, throwing the election to George W. Bush, created the current court. Two members were appointed by the younger Bush: Roberts and the rude Alito, who rolls his eyes, sighs and shakes his head at the older, wiser Ruth Bader Ginsburg, as reported in The Washington Post.

Two men were appointed by Ronald Reagan, the intemperate Scalia ("Get over it!") and Kennedy. They voted for Bush in the sharply partisan 2000 ruling that cost us dearly — two wars and a recession.

Remember Thomas was appointed by George H.W. Bush in 1991. He fled from a scorching hearing that explored whether he was a sexual predator. He later cast the deciding vote for Bush's son in 2000. The play gave new meaning to one man, one vote.

Here's the insidious way of the world: Arch-conservative Chief Justice William Rehnquist groomed his Harvard Law clerk John Roberts to be extreme like him, yet more polished.

The Roberts court is in shambles — literally — as June ends, when the damage is done for the term. The exterior tells the story.

A tarp covers up the marble pediment and columns. Long fences and bollards segregate the public from the sparkling steps and the (locked) courthouse door. As if the scene was a Hollywood set, the famous words etched on the pediment, "Equal Justice Under Law," are obscured to all.

Let's face it, Equal Justice doesn't live here at 1 First St., Northeast, anymore. It's long gone, with no forwarding address.

To find out more about Jamie Stiehm, and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators.com.