It’s July 4th week! Sure, do a few 12-ounce elbow bends and set off some sparklers in celebration of our people’s democratic values. But wait – why are we celebrating the Spirit of ‘76, but meekly accepting the recent tsunami of autocratic, plutocratic dictates from a sextet of extremist, right-wing, partisan lawyers?
Unsure who may have said this before but, 'when Democrats vote- Democrats win'!. And of course the opposite is like true... 'when Democrats don't vote- Republicans win!'. I suggest we put our donations toward getting out the vote as opposed or in addition to, supporting an individual candidate. Thanks for the suggestions Jim, I will follow up on your ideas and double down where I can.
I would be much more enthused if and when I see strongly organized cadres are assigned to polling places, where we have had ample warnings that right-wing thugs will be waiting for us to show up and vote. Haven't seen a single reference to this point. Crucially, the most effective soldiers at these front lines would be lawyers. During large protests during the sixties, lawyers were thick in the crowds, with very helpful back-up, with the most effective assistance--legal assistence. They were most notably effective against the lax latitudes of look-the-other-way cops, who were and ARE against any protestors. Another missing school of debate is the polemics of all police forces and military personnel. Two peas in the same pod, we may find out they will serve with gusto on that very first "day of revenge".
There are a fair number of military retirees that do not buy into looking the other way when the shit hits the fan. The people's rights should not be walked on. We need to stand up to the oligarchy.
I weep for the direction this country is going. I am a 72 year old woman. I did not take advantage of Roe v Wade in 1970 but the choice was there and I made mine. The thought that we now have a Supreme Court that has taken away that choice and at the same time forgiven our former president of his corruption and forgiven themselves of corruption. Not to mention Republicans who blocked an appointment that should have been Obama's. I weep.
Today the U S Supreme Court overturned the centuries long conviction of Pontius Pilate, absolving him of any responsibility for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
In a 6-3 decision along party lines, Chief Justice John Roberts found in error the long standing verdict of history that the Governor of Judea had acted out of personal motivation. Quite the contrary, Roberts wrote, it was strictly within Pilate’s official capacity that he ordered the crucifixion.
In support of his conclusion that Pilate was not acting out of personal motives, Roberts noted a heretofore unrecognized fact. Pilate actually admired Christ and had for a time considered making him court jester after being told of Christ’s whimsical parables. However, after Christ fed the multitude on three fishes and five loaves, Pilate sought to have him elevated to high priest, a plan denounced by Joseph ben Caiaphas, the incumbent. To mollify Caiaphas, but primarily to remove a threat to his regime, Pilate reluctantly ordered the crucifixion, an act well within the governor’s official duties, The first duty of every official, Roberts wrote, is to preserve and perpetuate his rule, be he governor, satrap or inspector of hides and brands.
In his concurring opinion, Justice Kavanaugh noted that crucifixion was not a death sentence, merely a punishment. Unfortunately, he wrote, some individuals perversely elected to die on the cross just to embarrass a government toward which they were ill disposed. Likewise in the case of time honored punishments such as keel-hauling and flogging there were the occasional fatalities, regrettable but hardly of consequence.
Justice Gorsuch noted in his concurrence that in olden times, measures which today are deemed cruel and unusual were in fact a necessity. Trial by water and trial by fire, he observed, were the only ways to get at the facts before the advent of the polygraph and Fox News.
Remarking the perspective she had gained occupying the Tomas de Torquemada Chair of Jurisprudence at Notre Dame, Justice Barrett stated with apodictic certainty that had prosecutors been deprived of the rack, the thumbscrew and the iron maiden, many great truths would have gone unrevealed.
Despite having been challenged to recuse himself when it was learned that Harlan Crow had given him Pilate’s solid gold death mask, Justice Thomas wrote a concurring opinion, the gist being: redemption. Romans, he observed, had long since become good Catholics and were thereby redeemed by Christ himself; they had hardly bothered anyone since their conversion, with the exception of Al Capone in Chicago, Lucky Luciano in New York, and Sam Alito in Washington, DC.
Justice Alito declared that no way could Pilate have gotten a fair trial, with the populace spreading the word that Christ was the only begotten son of God. The scriptures, Alito emphatically stated, say that we all are the children of God, and scriptures take precedence over man’s laws. “We here in this very court,” he continued, “we six justices are a testament to that divinity. If we don’t sitteth at the right hand of God, I don’t know who does.”
Justices Kagan, Sotomayor and Jackson, knowing their six confreres better than anyone, dissented.
Let's take them at their word. Given the recent SC rulings, I think that the best option is for Biden to order the exxecution(sic) of rump, Aalito (sic) and Thhomas(sic).
Once they see that happen, the other justices should revert back to ruling as the constitution says.
(misspelling in case rump's justice department starts reading this blog)
A very good idea, except for two pesky details: 1) Biden is too nice and 2) Trump would just fundraise more than ever, with his worshippers bringing bags of cash to the jail and Melania baking cookies for him every day. Oh how we wish it could be that easy to get rid of the orange clown!
Nice I think yes but he said last night he is not ever going to be above the law- even though now he could. We have to trust a president by his character since the rails are off- undoing the constitution....vote blue!
There are lots of vacancies at gitmo. He has done far more damage to this country than Osama Bin ever dreamed of doing, facilitated by the less than supremes ideologues; there plenty of cell space for those constitutional rapists, a little enhanced technique informational retrieval implemented, they’ve said it’s legal.
With Biden’s new found immunity until January, now he can use it against trump and scotus! Dismantle scotus! Overturn their rulings! Order the trials go forward!
Let the trials proceed!
We don’t need Navy Seals to take trump and his cult! They gave Joe the power!
Neither Democrats nor Republicans are good for the USA ! We need parties like Greens and others that protect de environment, elect good judges and stop helping genocide countries like Israel!
The reality is that the Democrats have done a lot of good things for the United States, while the Republicans have had very destructive and fascist policies. Just look at recent history for blatant and obvious examples. While Democrats are perfect, their policies are far, far better than Republican policies. Right now, anyone not voting for Biden is voting for trump. And Jill Stein is a Putin stooge.
That is a lot of good advice, regarding the Danger that a Trump presidency poses,
HOWEVER
TheDems need to put a fire under their butts. They've been MUCH too polite for MUCH too long
They need to give BETTER than they are getting. And someone needs to tell the President that he needs to start putting his foot down, maybe angrily, often loudly, and ALWAYS consistently. Nice
just doesn't get it done. Not at this point. I know he can do that. He's done it. Now ALL THE TIME
A first year law student has a better understanding of English language syntax than SCOTUS judges who are simply legal hacks with political connections. Lawyers in general deal in two issues and two issue only: (1) semantics and (2) rhetoric. In fact I knew a UCB prof. of philosophy whose main teaching duty was to teach lawyers rhetoric.
*SCOTUS judges are appointed on "good Behavior"[US Constitution, Art. III, Sect. 1]. What is "good Behavior"? A semantics issue. We all know what good behavior is don't we? Some law professors (the political right-wingers) maintain that being appointed on "good behavior" means essentially "appointment for life". No. The inference is that SCOTUS judges will never be guilty of "bad behavior". Another semantics issue.
*Is receiving "Emolument(s)" [US Const., Art. I, Sect. 9] part of "good behavior"? Well, what is an "emolument"--another semantic argument. Is bribery an "emolument? Is receiving vacations, etc. at the expense of some private corporation with an axe to grind an "emolument"? The Federalist Society (founded 1982 by a billionaire of course) lawyers and the Heritage Foundation (1973, also by a billionaire) would say no. Neither one of them--and for that matter most of the other right-wing think-tanks--even existed prior to the 1970s. Like toadstools they all sprang up after the downfall of the Nixon era and the ascendancy of the Reagan era and culminated with the Trump presidency--but by comparison Nixon and Reagan (especially Nixon) were flaming liberals by today's Republican Party "conservative" standards. The GOP has become nothing but a politico-religious Cult-of-Personality--like the Branch Davidians or the Jim Jones suicide cult of the 60s
* Is insurrection a treasonous act. Does what occurred on 6 Jan. 2021 considered treasonous behavior? Another semantic argument which our SCOTUS majority would hate to say yes to because it would undermine everything the GOP has been dedicated to ever since FDR--and its fondest dream finally came to pass with the appointments of Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett: The total control of SCOTUS and the total destruction of the New Deal
*Impeachment for "high Crimes and Misdemeanors" [US Const. Art. III, Sect. 1] is the only way to get rid of malevolent or corrupt or simply incompetent federal elected or appointed officials. What is a "high Crime"? Treason? Is insurrection a "high Crime"? Apparently not. Do "Emoluments" constitute high "Misdemeanors". Article II, Sect. 4 specifically mentions "Bribery" ; is "Bribery" a form of "Emolument". A semantics issue. We've already been there. And so it goes.
*And finally: As Pontias Pilate said a couple thousand years ago; What is truth? Ask the GOP.
The ridiculous thing is that Trump's followers and the GOP figure that if Trump doesn't perform according to the new GOP spirit they will simply vote him out in the next election. They don't seem to realize that Presidents-for-Life don't get voted out of office. It took WW2 to vote out a few fairly recent examples of authoritarian regimes.
And what did ex-President Trump ever do for his most fervent followers?--tax cuts for billionaires and corporations?--a world-wide Covid epidemic?--not to mention his friends--like Rudy Giuliani, Mike Pence or Michael Cohen. Being a friend of Trump is as dangerous as being an enemy. What is Trump's "revenge" and "payback" political platform (also the current GOP political platform) going to do for his followers' problems and grievances? Anything?-- like his previous term?
We now have six of our very own black robed Khomeinis, America's ultimate political and religious authority. They are bent on destroying our democracy.
The Supreme Court has become the ENEMY of American Democracy. Their only loyalty is to a radical right agenda and the big dark money interests that own them. They do NOT represent "justice" in any form but their own twisted anti-Democracy FASCIST ways. They have gone out of their way to hear and rule in favor of any and all radical right wing issues that their owners call on them to bring before themselves. They are basically giving America the finger and telling us all to go to hell - we 6 are going to do whatever the hell we want and you can't do a damn thing about it. They refuse to reign themselves in, yet have NO trouble telling the rest of us, corrupt rulings after corrupt ruling, what we are supposed to do. It is time for ALL Americans that care about the future of our democracy to go on the attack against this CORRUPT court (Roberts, Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett). Write to the court via contact the Supreme Court, click on Public Information Office. Call the Supreme Court at 202-479-3000. If you see or know where a Supreme Court justice is or will be go and let your voice be heard. Confront them in public. They hide in the court and then go to speak to groups like the Federalist Society which shields them from the public. Do NOT let them get away with hiding from the public. They make rulings that affect EVERY American. They MUST face Americans and be held to account! Call, Write, and meet with your members of Congress and ask/demand they take action to rein in this CORRUPT court. Write letters to the editor expressing your outrage at how this court has turned it's back on our democracy. Join any and all groups calling on reform of the court. Another option is to refuse to abide by any Supreme Court ruling. They have no power to enforce any of their rulings. And vote and support Democratic candidates all across America. If Democrats take the House and Senate then action can be taken against this corrupt court and begin to dismantle this corrupt institution and make it work the way it is supposed to work.
In the following sentence, the link from Demand Justice does not to go Demand Justice. It goes to a 2018 ABA Journal article. See: "Demand Justice has been advocating for the Judiciary Act, which would expand the court by four seats. They’re asking people to call their representatives, and to join their rapid response team."
I think that we should have a big open stage in the Jefferson National Forest where the SCOTUS over ruled the USSupreme Court over the Fourth District Courts ruling on the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
Ahhh ... the Jim Hightower we love! You rock, Hightower!
Unsure who may have said this before but, 'when Democrats vote- Democrats win'!. And of course the opposite is like true... 'when Democrats don't vote- Republicans win!'. I suggest we put our donations toward getting out the vote as opposed or in addition to, supporting an individual candidate. Thanks for the suggestions Jim, I will follow up on your ideas and double down where I can.
I would be much more enthused if and when I see strongly organized cadres are assigned to polling places, where we have had ample warnings that right-wing thugs will be waiting for us to show up and vote. Haven't seen a single reference to this point. Crucially, the most effective soldiers at these front lines would be lawyers. During large protests during the sixties, lawyers were thick in the crowds, with very helpful back-up, with the most effective assistance--legal assistence. They were most notably effective against the lax latitudes of look-the-other-way cops, who were and ARE against any protestors. Another missing school of debate is the polemics of all police forces and military personnel. Two peas in the same pod, we may find out they will serve with gusto on that very first "day of revenge".
There are a fair number of military retirees that do not buy into looking the other way when the shit hits the fan. The people's rights should not be walked on. We need to stand up to the oligarchy.
The oligarchs have far more money to throw at elections. We have an election system serving the wealthy. Citizens United must go!!!
Time for a peaceful March. A Democracy March. All over the US on the same day. A crowd 100x greater than the Woman’s March.
I am so with you!
Thanks for your great idea! I am joining you on the Democracy March!
YES!
I weep for the direction this country is going. I am a 72 year old woman. I did not take advantage of Roe v Wade in 1970 but the choice was there and I made mine. The thought that we now have a Supreme Court that has taken away that choice and at the same time forgiven our former president of his corruption and forgiven themselves of corruption. Not to mention Republicans who blocked an appointment that should have been Obama's. I weep.
Today the U S Supreme Court overturned the centuries long conviction of Pontius Pilate, absolving him of any responsibility for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
In a 6-3 decision along party lines, Chief Justice John Roberts found in error the long standing verdict of history that the Governor of Judea had acted out of personal motivation. Quite the contrary, Roberts wrote, it was strictly within Pilate’s official capacity that he ordered the crucifixion.
In support of his conclusion that Pilate was not acting out of personal motives, Roberts noted a heretofore unrecognized fact. Pilate actually admired Christ and had for a time considered making him court jester after being told of Christ’s whimsical parables. However, after Christ fed the multitude on three fishes and five loaves, Pilate sought to have him elevated to high priest, a plan denounced by Joseph ben Caiaphas, the incumbent. To mollify Caiaphas, but primarily to remove a threat to his regime, Pilate reluctantly ordered the crucifixion, an act well within the governor’s official duties, The first duty of every official, Roberts wrote, is to preserve and perpetuate his rule, be he governor, satrap or inspector of hides and brands.
In his concurring opinion, Justice Kavanaugh noted that crucifixion was not a death sentence, merely a punishment. Unfortunately, he wrote, some individuals perversely elected to die on the cross just to embarrass a government toward which they were ill disposed. Likewise in the case of time honored punishments such as keel-hauling and flogging there were the occasional fatalities, regrettable but hardly of consequence.
Justice Gorsuch noted in his concurrence that in olden times, measures which today are deemed cruel and unusual were in fact a necessity. Trial by water and trial by fire, he observed, were the only ways to get at the facts before the advent of the polygraph and Fox News.
Remarking the perspective she had gained occupying the Tomas de Torquemada Chair of Jurisprudence at Notre Dame, Justice Barrett stated with apodictic certainty that had prosecutors been deprived of the rack, the thumbscrew and the iron maiden, many great truths would have gone unrevealed.
Despite having been challenged to recuse himself when it was learned that Harlan Crow had given him Pilate’s solid gold death mask, Justice Thomas wrote a concurring opinion, the gist being: redemption. Romans, he observed, had long since become good Catholics and were thereby redeemed by Christ himself; they had hardly bothered anyone since their conversion, with the exception of Al Capone in Chicago, Lucky Luciano in New York, and Sam Alito in Washington, DC.
Justice Alito declared that no way could Pilate have gotten a fair trial, with the populace spreading the word that Christ was the only begotten son of God. The scriptures, Alito emphatically stated, say that we all are the children of God, and scriptures take precedence over man’s laws. “We here in this very court,” he continued, “we six justices are a testament to that divinity. If we don’t sitteth at the right hand of God, I don’t know who does.”
Justices Kagan, Sotomayor and Jackson, knowing their six confreres better than anyone, dissented.
What can Joe Biden do with his new SCOTUS-given powers to save democracy?
Let's take them at their word. Given the recent SC rulings, I think that the best option is for Biden to order the exxecution(sic) of rump, Aalito (sic) and Thhomas(sic).
Once they see that happen, the other justices should revert back to ruling as the constitution says.
(misspelling in case rump's justice department starts reading this blog)
If the President now has complete immunity then why doesn’t Biden just lockup Trump
A very good idea, except for two pesky details: 1) Biden is too nice and 2) Trump would just fundraise more than ever, with his worshippers bringing bags of cash to the jail and Melania baking cookies for him every day. Oh how we wish it could be that easy to get rid of the orange clown!
Nice I think yes but he said last night he is not ever going to be above the law- even though now he could. We have to trust a president by his character since the rails are off- undoing the constitution....vote blue!
Pray for a miracle.
Nothing against prayers, but if they were reliable, there’d be no more school shootings.
There are lots of vacancies at gitmo. He has done far more damage to this country than Osama Bin ever dreamed of doing, facilitated by the less than supremes ideologues; there plenty of cell space for those constitutional rapists, a little enhanced technique informational retrieval implemented, they’ve said it’s legal.
Good idea
If Biden has immunity he can just shoot trump.
And you don't need immunity to lock up a convicted criminal
With Biden’s new found immunity until January, now he can use it against trump and scotus! Dismantle scotus! Overturn their rulings! Order the trials go forward!
Let the trials proceed!
We don’t need Navy Seals to take trump and his cult! They gave Joe the power!
Love this idea. However it would work both ways)
Neither Democrats nor Republicans are good for the USA ! We need parties like Greens and others that protect de environment, elect good judges and stop helping genocide countries like Israel!
The reality is that the Democrats have done a lot of good things for the United States, while the Republicans have had very destructive and fascist policies. Just look at recent history for blatant and obvious examples. While Democrats are perfect, their policies are far, far better than Republican policies. Right now, anyone not voting for Biden is voting for trump. And Jill Stein is a Putin stooge.
Should be “Democrats aren’t perfect.”
Has been for a long time.
That is a lot of good advice, regarding the Danger that a Trump presidency poses,
HOWEVER
TheDems need to put a fire under their butts. They've been MUCH too polite for MUCH too long
They need to give BETTER than they are getting. And someone needs to tell the President that he needs to start putting his foot down, maybe angrily, often loudly, and ALWAYS consistently. Nice
just doesn't get it done. Not at this point. I know he can do that. He's done it. Now ALL THE TIME
A first year law student has a better understanding of English language syntax than SCOTUS judges who are simply legal hacks with political connections. Lawyers in general deal in two issues and two issue only: (1) semantics and (2) rhetoric. In fact I knew a UCB prof. of philosophy whose main teaching duty was to teach lawyers rhetoric.
*SCOTUS judges are appointed on "good Behavior"[US Constitution, Art. III, Sect. 1]. What is "good Behavior"? A semantics issue. We all know what good behavior is don't we? Some law professors (the political right-wingers) maintain that being appointed on "good behavior" means essentially "appointment for life". No. The inference is that SCOTUS judges will never be guilty of "bad behavior". Another semantics issue.
*Is receiving "Emolument(s)" [US Const., Art. I, Sect. 9] part of "good behavior"? Well, what is an "emolument"--another semantic argument. Is bribery an "emolument? Is receiving vacations, etc. at the expense of some private corporation with an axe to grind an "emolument"? The Federalist Society (founded 1982 by a billionaire of course) lawyers and the Heritage Foundation (1973, also by a billionaire) would say no. Neither one of them--and for that matter most of the other right-wing think-tanks--even existed prior to the 1970s. Like toadstools they all sprang up after the downfall of the Nixon era and the ascendancy of the Reagan era and culminated with the Trump presidency--but by comparison Nixon and Reagan (especially Nixon) were flaming liberals by today's Republican Party "conservative" standards. The GOP has become nothing but a politico-religious Cult-of-Personality--like the Branch Davidians or the Jim Jones suicide cult of the 60s
* Is insurrection a treasonous act. Does what occurred on 6 Jan. 2021 considered treasonous behavior? Another semantic argument which our SCOTUS majority would hate to say yes to because it would undermine everything the GOP has been dedicated to ever since FDR--and its fondest dream finally came to pass with the appointments of Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett: The total control of SCOTUS and the total destruction of the New Deal
*Impeachment for "high Crimes and Misdemeanors" [US Const. Art. III, Sect. 1] is the only way to get rid of malevolent or corrupt or simply incompetent federal elected or appointed officials. What is a "high Crime"? Treason? Is insurrection a "high Crime"? Apparently not. Do "Emoluments" constitute high "Misdemeanors". Article II, Sect. 4 specifically mentions "Bribery" ; is "Bribery" a form of "Emolument". A semantics issue. We've already been there. And so it goes.
*And finally: As Pontias Pilate said a couple thousand years ago; What is truth? Ask the GOP.
The ridiculous thing is that Trump's followers and the GOP figure that if Trump doesn't perform according to the new GOP spirit they will simply vote him out in the next election. They don't seem to realize that Presidents-for-Life don't get voted out of office. It took WW2 to vote out a few fairly recent examples of authoritarian regimes.
And what did ex-President Trump ever do for his most fervent followers?--tax cuts for billionaires and corporations?--a world-wide Covid epidemic?--not to mention his friends--like Rudy Giuliani, Mike Pence or Michael Cohen. Being a friend of Trump is as dangerous as being an enemy. What is Trump's "revenge" and "payback" political platform (also the current GOP political platform) going to do for his followers' problems and grievances? Anything?-- like his previous term?
We now have six of our very own black robed Khomeinis, America's ultimate political and religious authority. They are bent on destroying our democracy.
The Supreme Court has become the ENEMY of American Democracy. Their only loyalty is to a radical right agenda and the big dark money interests that own them. They do NOT represent "justice" in any form but their own twisted anti-Democracy FASCIST ways. They have gone out of their way to hear and rule in favor of any and all radical right wing issues that their owners call on them to bring before themselves. They are basically giving America the finger and telling us all to go to hell - we 6 are going to do whatever the hell we want and you can't do a damn thing about it. They refuse to reign themselves in, yet have NO trouble telling the rest of us, corrupt rulings after corrupt ruling, what we are supposed to do. It is time for ALL Americans that care about the future of our democracy to go on the attack against this CORRUPT court (Roberts, Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett). Write to the court via contact the Supreme Court, click on Public Information Office. Call the Supreme Court at 202-479-3000. If you see or know where a Supreme Court justice is or will be go and let your voice be heard. Confront them in public. They hide in the court and then go to speak to groups like the Federalist Society which shields them from the public. Do NOT let them get away with hiding from the public. They make rulings that affect EVERY American. They MUST face Americans and be held to account! Call, Write, and meet with your members of Congress and ask/demand they take action to rein in this CORRUPT court. Write letters to the editor expressing your outrage at how this court has turned it's back on our democracy. Join any and all groups calling on reform of the court. Another option is to refuse to abide by any Supreme Court ruling. They have no power to enforce any of their rulings. And vote and support Democratic candidates all across America. If Democrats take the House and Senate then action can be taken against this corrupt court and begin to dismantle this corrupt institution and make it work the way it is supposed to work.
We need to rename the court..how about
SUPREME COURT REPUBLICANS OF THE UNITED STATES
AKA SCROTUS
In the following sentence, the link from Demand Justice does not to go Demand Justice. It goes to a 2018 ABA Journal article. See: "Demand Justice has been advocating for the Judiciary Act, which would expand the court by four seats. They’re asking people to call their representatives, and to join their rapid response team."
I think that we should have a big open stage in the Jefferson National Forest where the SCOTUS over ruled the USSupreme Court over the Fourth District Courts ruling on the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
Maybe some big name bands, food truck festival to get out the vote.But here in WV there are not many Democratic candidates to vote for