U.S. Supreme Court: Post-Ginsburg Edition

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Have at it.

TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 25 September 2020 15:08 (three years ago) link

I nominate AOC

LaRusso Auto (Neanderthal), Friday, 25 September 2020 15:09 (three years ago) link

i nominate tom cotton, a good guy with a gun

Karl Malone, Friday, 25 September 2020 15:12 (three years ago) link

get in here, goons

Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 25 September 2020 15:13 (three years ago) link

Can Trump nominate himself?

Josh in Chicago, Friday, 25 September 2020 15:15 (three years ago) link

and continuing the SCOTUS term limit discussion, reposting the explainer
https://fixthecourt.com/2019/11/myth-facts-scotus-term-limits/

longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Friday, 25 September 2020 15:19 (three years ago) link

No idea if these proposed changes are ideal or if they could ever plausibly come to pass, but I like that they are being put out there. It's a good step to start getting people used to the idea of major changes to the court.

Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Friday, 25 September 2020 15:24 (three years ago) link

Bryant Johnson, Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s personal trainer, does push-ups as Justice Ginsburg lies in state in the U.S. Capitol.

Full video: https://t.co/vri1sJcUV6 pic.twitter.com/C11uVFeQlQ

— CSPAN (@cspan) September 25, 2020

you are like a scampicane, there's calm in your fries (bizarro gazzara), Friday, 25 September 2020 15:58 (three years ago) link

He isn’t stupid so wtf is he thinking https://t.co/uyEcGDZRIy

— Doug Henwood (@DougHenwood) September 25, 2020

brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Friday, 25 September 2020 20:13 (three years ago) link

I'm very sorry but if the pushup video is real it's extremely funny

get a mop and a bucket for this Well Argued Prose (Simon H.), Friday, 25 September 2020 20:17 (three years ago) link

CNN reporting that it's Barrett:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/25/politics/donald-trump-amy-coney-barrett-supreme-court/index.html

jaymc, Friday, 25 September 2020 20:27 (three years ago) link

South Bend is really knocking it out of the park this year.

get a mop and a bucket for this Well Argued Prose (Simon H.), Friday, 25 September 2020 20:34 (three years ago) link

Whoever Trump was going to pick was going to be a horror story, so I expect soon to be reading about the many horrors of Ms. Barrett, which no doubt will be many and hair-raising. Lindsey Graham will love her.

the unappreciated charisma of cows (Aimless), Friday, 25 September 2020 20:37 (three years ago) link

democrats will have grave concerns and strongly worded appeals to decency

Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Friday, 25 September 2020 20:39 (three years ago) link

democratic fundraising will go through the roof, blood will boil, the election will be won (eventually) by democrats. and at the end, it'll be a 6-3 conservative court for the forseeable future, and possible a 5-4 majority for another 20-30 years, unless the golden boy or gorsuch unexpectedly croak, which would be a tragedy

Karl Malone, Friday, 25 September 2020 21:53 (three years ago) link

those are impressive lifespans you're projecting for thomas and alito imo

Doctor Casino, Friday, 25 September 2020 22:39 (three years ago) link

They get magic life drugs injected in their butts

LaRusso Auto (Neanderthal), Friday, 25 September 2020 23:10 (three years ago) link

haha, well it also builds in known unknowns, like republicans preserving a seat in a future GOP presidency. let's role play it

2020 (the present. you are in hell)
barrett is confirmed before election. fuck you liberals
6-3 conservative majority

roberts is 65
thomas is 72
alito is 70
gorsuch is 53
the golden boy is 55
barrett is 48

breyer is 82
sotomayor is 66
kagan is 60

2021 (biden is elected. you are in tartarus)
biden wins. breyer tags out for a younger replacement. i will create SC justice names using this thread Fighting Baseball for Super Famicom: A League of Fake Americans POLL
6-3 conservative majority

roberts is 66
thomas is 73
alito is 71
gorsuch is 54
the golden boy is 56
barrett is 49

sotomayor is 67
kagan is 61
willie dustice is 50

EVENT
2024 election. The democrat has a 70% chance of victory (same as clinton v trump), due to me running this simulation. RNG: no joke, i rolled a random number from 1 to 10, with 1-7 being democratic victory and 8-10 being republican, and i rolled an 8. REPUBLICANS WIN

2025 (tom cotton is the president of the united states. you have killed 2 people now and haven't talked in weeks.)
tom cotton casts Executive Righteousness on thomas, 77 years old, who is replaced by Sleve McDichael
6-3 conservative majority

roberts is 70
alito is 75
the golden boy is 60
barrett is 53
sleve mcdichael is 50

sotomayor is 71
kagan is 65
gorsuch is 58
willie dustice is 54

EVENT
World War III, totally started by tom cotton. 2028 election. The democrat has a 80% chance of victory, due to me running this simulation. RNG: 3, democratic victory

2029 (first influencers on mars)
AOC is the president of the united states of america, fuck yeah. sotomayor, the second oldest justice at 75, taps out. bobsun dugnutt is the new junior united states supreme court justice.
6-3 conservative majority

roberts is 74
alito is 79
gorsuch is 62
the golden boy is 64
barrett is 57
sleve mcdichael is 54

kagan is 69
willie dustice is 58
bobsun dognutt is 50

EVENT
in 2031, the golden boy brett kavanaugh, just 66 years old, FUCKING DIES OUT OF NOWHERE and it's REALLY EMBARRASSING FOR HIM

2031 (VR sex surpasses videogames in revenue generation)
brett kavanaugh fucking dies out of nowhere, best thing that's happened in a generation. president AOC appoints a justice so left-leaning that she's impeached by sergeant ivanka trump, leader of the paramilitary republican subcommittee known as Gold Team. Onson Sweemey, the first justice with a normal name in 11 years, takes the golden boy's spot and shifts the balance toward a near-balance.

5-4 conservative majority

roberts is 76
alito is 81
gorsuch is 64
barrett is 59
sleve mcdichael is 56

kagan is 71
willie dustice is 60
bobsun dognutt is 52
onson sweemey is 50

EVENT
2032 Election. there's no more random numbers, it's just me making it up. the democrats win again. AOC is on the wheaties box.

then, near the end of her second term, the unspeakable happens. Samuel Alito, at the age of 85, just fucking dies out of nowhere.
2035
some observers expect the krang-like brain of mitch mcconnell to somehow delay a democratic confirmation in his spot, but AOC casts total victory and again appoints an extremely-left greatest of time justice named Todd Bonzalez.
5-4 liberal majority

roberts is 80
gorsuch is 68
barrett is 63
sleve mcdichael is 60

kagan is 75
willie dustice is 64
bobsun dognutt is 56
onson sweemey is 54
todd bonzalez is 50

EVENT
2036 Election. it's been 8 years of supreme relaxation and greatness. even gum is genuinely _better_. everything's great. something has to change, so somehow it's time for PRESIDENT CHARLIE KIRK

2037
under PRESIDENT CHARLIE KIRK, roberts immediately resigns. the new chief justice of the united states is SCOTT DOURQUE, 50 years old, catholic conservative
5-4 liberal majority

chief justice scott dourque, 50
gorsuch is 70
barrett is 65
sleve mcdichael is 62

kagan is 77
willie dustice is 66
bobsun dognutt is 58
onson sweemey is 56
todd bonzalez is 52

Karl Malone, Friday, 25 September 2020 23:28 (three years ago) link

I actually think that’s not a terrible way of gaming things out. The arc of the moral universe is long. We fight the fights that we have today, and we train our young folks. Good post KM.

sound of scampo talk to me (El Tomboto), Friday, 25 September 2020 23:32 (three years ago) link

DOGNUTT

LaRusso Auto (Neanderthal), Friday, 25 September 2020 23:32 (three years ago) link

in 2031, the golden boy brett kavanaugh, just 66 years old, FUCKING DIES OUT OF NOWHERE and it's REALLY EMBARRASSING FOR HIM

whoa how did he die?!

superdeep borehole (harbl), Friday, 25 September 2020 23:44 (three years ago) link

Shot by one of Dick Cheney's grandkids

LaRusso Auto (Neanderthal), Friday, 25 September 2020 23:49 (three years ago) link

Karl, that was perfect (ly horrifying).

Josh in Chicago, Friday, 25 September 2020 23:50 (three years ago) link

Shot by one of Dick Cheney's grandkids

― LaRusso Auto (Neanderthal), Friday, September 25, 2020 6:49 PM (four minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

At a UB40 reunion concert

jaymc, Friday, 25 September 2020 23:55 (three years ago) link

in 2031, the golden boy brett kavanaugh, just 66 years old, FUCKING DIES OUT OF NOWHERE and it's REALLY EMBARRASSING FOR HIM

whoa how did he die?!

he dies of doing a kegstand in the kitchen of amy klobuchar's wake

Karl Malone, Friday, 25 September 2020 23:57 (three years ago) link

karl this is some excellent scenario running and first rate use of the Fighting Baseball thread and i applaud it

i have a rejoinder percolating but it may take a while to get around to crunching the hard numbers so i just wanted to say that for now

Doctor Casino, Saturday, 26 September 2020 00:00 (three years ago) link

_in 2031, the golden boy brett kavanaugh, just 66 years old, FUCKING DIES OUT OF NOWHERE and it's REALLY EMBARRASSING FOR HIM_

whoa how did he die?!


Under a pile of thousands of baseball tickets.

Boring, Maryland, Saturday, 26 September 2020 00:04 (three years ago) link

xp thanks doctor c! your questioning of that was really valid, and i don't think my answer is any sort of proof of anything. i got lazy and didn't project it out to 2045 (my original goal), but even though i ended with a slim 5-4 liberal majority by 2037, i don't think it takes much to keep it at a 5-4 conservative majority either. then again, maybe the republicans will truly never win again (lol) and it will be 6-3 liberal by 2040, who knows

Karl Malone, Saturday, 26 September 2020 00:08 (three years ago) link

So we get 40 some years of this...from an article Barrett co-wrote as quoted by SCOTUS blog

The article also noted that, when the late Justice William Brennan was asked about potential conflict between his Catholic faith and his duties as a justice, he responded that he would be governed by “the oath I took to support the Constitution and laws of the United States”; Barrett and Garvey observed that they did not “defend this position as the proper response for a Catholic judge to take with respect to abortion or the death penalty.”

https://www.scotusblog.com/2018/07/potential-nominee-profile-amy-coney-barrett/

curmudgeon, Saturday, 26 September 2020 00:53 (three years ago) link

Can't wait for her book, "Jesus is the Speaker of MY House"

LaRusso Auto (Neanderthal), Saturday, 26 September 2020 00:59 (three years ago) link

@ Karl - okay! you've already gotten there, but yeah basically my rejoinder would be that you didn't actually end up showing "a 6-3 conservative court for the forseeable future, and possible a 5-4 majority for another 20-30 years." but the scenario was worth it anyway. a quibble: you don't game out the Senate, which i respect because that would be even more absurd fanfic work, but it's worth allowing at least dice-roll possibilities that the Dems control the Senate during your Republican admins, AND that they stand firm against prematurely ghoulish ideologues like Sleve McDichael, whose pasty-faced appearance and hot-mic comments during the nominations process turn the public against him. i would not put money on that chance myself, but it's at least possible.

also though, a fair bit hinges on that first d10 roll and some choices about the EVENTS - suppose Biden rolls a 6 in 2024, and is re-elected to a foggy but popular second term, his "Reagan in the late 80s" zone, AND ALSO that during that term, Thomas has a health scare and decides to retire. i don't know that the odds are so heavily stacked against something like that.

obviously in that event, Biden's replacement pick would be the mushy, not-all-that liberal Rey McSriff (48), a former bank-industry lobbyist, seen as a move back in the direction of racial and gender diversity on the court who will at least be a reliable liberal vote in civil-rights and abortion cases.

so in january 2029, we've got:

roberts is 74
alito is 79
gorsuch is 62
the golden boy is 64
barrett is 57

kagan is 69
willie dustice is 58
bobsun dognutt is 50
rey mcsriff is 50

eight years of the biden administration have left many festering wounds unaddressed, but thankfully the republican "gold team" have been mostly braying in the margins without control of either congress or the executive to formally empower them. on the other hand, in the absence of the Cotton presidency, World War III has not happened, but let's say AOC wins in 2028 anyway. why not?!

thus, following B.K.'s horrible death in 2031, AOC's super left-wing appointee is able to remain in office. you didn't name them but it's pretty obvious you had Shown Furcotte in mind. maybe kagan is worried enough about the next election, and spooked by what is by then a Sunday-morning-show conventional wisdom about "the Tragedy of Ginsburg," that she retires too. by this point AOC is not fucking around at all and appoints millennial twitter SJW Raul Chamgerlain, 44. if AOC goes on to win a second term and also grabs the Alito seat, then in 2035 we have:

roberts is 80
gorsuch is 68
barrett is 63

raul chamgerlain is 49
willie dustice is 64
bobsun dognutt is 56
rey mcscriff is 56
shown furcotte is 53
todd bonzalez is 50

... and our biggest problem is that sometimes McSriff aligns with the conservatives to dissent in 5-4 corporate-law decisions, and we see a lot of online left grousing about how Biden wasted a pick on her.

now yes, i admit........... this depends on the democrats winning four straight national elections. IMPOSSIBLE you say? or merely... improbable???! depends how much faith you put in changing demographics etc. but if none of the Dem-appointed justices die in office, they can also afford to lose one of those elections! because it might be that the Republicans can only replace Thomas or Alito with McDichael or Dorque, giving them an edge in age but not a leg up in the balance of the court.

Doctor Casino, Saturday, 26 September 2020 15:08 (three years ago) link

todd bonzalez makes history as the first male latino justice

superdeep borehole (harbl), Saturday, 26 September 2020 15:15 (three years ago) link

is there a relevant quote linking Barrett's sect to The Handmaid's Tale?

brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 26 September 2020 15:40 (three years ago) link

there must be. ominous lord, truth is stranger than fiction

Karl Malone, Saturday, 26 September 2020 15:48 (three years ago) link

xp

doc casino, first of all, obviously i had Shown Furcotte in mind. but secondly, the rest of your scenario seems plausible!

obviously gaming it out like that is a goof, but i did actually learn a few things. or maybe not. i feel like just laying out their ages, combined with the fact that they have lifetime appointments, explains 99% of the game:


christmas near-future:

roberts is 65
thomas is 72
alito is 70
gorsuch is 53
the golden boy is 55
barrett is 48

breyer is 82
sotomayor is 66
kagan is 60

that there is a stacked deck, combined with republican weakness (in terms of what we might expect, possibly overoptimistically, from their presidential chances for the next few decades after elevating a white supremacist fascist to the presidency and then ripping the country to shreds in an attempt to keep him there). even with a couple 2-term democratic administrations in a row, through 2036, there is still a decent chance that at least 5 or even all 6 of the conservative majority stays right where they are, their ass-molds worn deep

Karl Malone, Saturday, 26 September 2020 16:00 (three years ago) link

in unrelated news, just before i fell asleep face down on the couch last night, i ran across a disturbing headline about increasing the maximum human lifespans beyond its current soft limit of 125. apparently the consensus is that it will soon (10 years?) be possible to extend human lifespans using genetic modifiers, physical devices, and secret codes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_extension jfc

Karl Malone, Saturday, 26 September 2020 16:07 (three years ago) link

agreed, it's a useful exercise to grasp exactly how much the age advantage of the GWB and DJT appointees presses on into the future. but also, focusing too much on that just takes us into a zone of gloom, so unless it's directly useful for motivating present-day action and the long-term fight, i think it's also useful to bear in mind all the ways that the scenario could suddenly break down. nobody saw Scalia's death coming, for example, even though he was 79. that ended up working out horribly for the cause of justice and freedom, but it could have gone differently. so long as our rights are subject to these bizarre matters of fate and circumstance, we may as well remind ourselves that there are ways the probabilistic parts could break our way.

and the stacked deck there does look better the moment Biden can replace Breyer, which i think we all do need to be praying for (or whatever equivalent practice).

and... all these scenarios also presume a successful barrett confirmation. tbh, i'm pretty doom-and-gloom about that, seems like there's no reason to think it won't happen. but it's still probably not good for my head to already accept her as a solid number until 2049 or w/e. like if i'm driving myself crazy with all the bad things that have already happened, and the ones that could probably happen, and the ones that are near-certainties, that's a lot to do to my head, if i'm not also considering the good equivalents of all of those things.

Doctor Casino, Saturday, 26 September 2020 16:27 (three years ago) link

there's also some non-zero chance that, in the event that a Democrat wins the presidential race four times in a row and this permanent 5-4 Court keeps shutting down every exciting thing the people are turning out to vote for, then a mandate for court-packing develops much much more quickly than we might expect right now.

Doctor Casino, Saturday, 26 September 2020 16:30 (three years ago) link

so long as our rights are subject to these bizarre matters of fate and circumstance, we may as well remind ourselves that there are ways the probabilistic parts could break our way.

otm

i know that's not a convincing or comforting thought for everyone, but to me that really is what gives me hope

Karl Malone, Saturday, 26 September 2020 16:44 (three years ago) link

NEW: Senate Democrats say they will press President Trump’s SCOTUS nominee to commit to recuse herself if the justices hear a case that could impact the outcome of the fall elections, @mkraju reports.

— Ana Cabrera (@AnaCabrera) September 25, 2020

xyzzzz__, Saturday, 26 September 2020 16:44 (three years ago) link

That seems a little dumb

Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Saturday, 26 September 2020 16:46 (three years ago) link

I mean it makes sense but they'd still have a 5-3 advantage anyway

LaRusso Auto (Neanderthal), Saturday, 26 September 2020 16:49 (three years ago) link

"Will you commit to not doing the exact thing you were hired for" is a dumb question

Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Saturday, 26 September 2020 16:52 (three years ago) link

and... all these scenarios also presume a successful barrett confirmation. tbh, i'm pretty doom-and-gloom about that, seems like there's no reason to think it won't happen

i will continue to return to my dumb "we simulate the future and then experience it in real time, somehow diminished, as something that was already familiar" theory, until someone or something convinces me that it's not accurate. in that line of thinking, you can already see the barrett confirmation and how it happens. i already saw a headline, last night, talking about how barrett was confirmed in October. i looked at the calendar and it was september 25th, then re-read the headline and it still said that she was confirmed in October, past tense. i can't remember where i saw it, and i had a socially distanced hangout with a friend last night and got way too drunk. but still, it was there all the same.

that was just a drunken horror, but i woke up today and it's still there. the republicans have the votes. 2 have been allowed to deviate (murkowski and collins), which just so happens to allow exactly enough remaining republicans to unilaterally install barrett. what a coincidence. this outcome has already been focus-grouped on a national scale - it turns out that most republicans think it's a great idea, most democrats think it's a bad idea, and the majority of "independents" think it's a bad idea. it sounds like most ideas these days. so they'll do it, because they can.

we're currently simulating the outraged response, right now. at least, i am. and then, when it happens, it won't be the first time.

---

^i think all of that is a very bad way to go about thinking about life, believe it or not. but that's what i see happening over and over, lately.

Karl Malone, Saturday, 26 September 2020 16:55 (three years ago) link

xpost they're not asking her to not be a justice, they're saying 'Hey, you were literally just nominated by one of the President candidates in this election 5 minutes before the election, maybe it's a conflict of interest for you ruling on a case challenging his results".

LaRusso Auto (Neanderthal), Saturday, 26 September 2020 16:56 (three years ago) link

But this is the primary reason they are in such a rush. If she can't guarantee to hand over the election, it's pointless for Trump. Surely he already told her she needs to deliver that vote, or there would be a different pick.

Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Saturday, 26 September 2020 16:59 (three years ago) link

lol of course it's not going to actually happen but would you rather the Democrats not try it first so that they can frame it as "Justice Coney Barrett refused to recuse, she and Trump win, while Americans lose!"

LaRusso Auto (Neanderthal), Saturday, 26 September 2020 17:03 (three years ago) link

I mean, compared to other things they should be trying, this is VERY low on my list of importance and I wouldn't want it to take the place of promising to pack the fuck out of courts, but we're kinda fucked unless someone has a McCain surprise during the vote.

LaRusso Auto (Neanderthal), Saturday, 26 September 2020 17:04 (three years ago) link

playing right to the base. they love that shit.

Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Monday, 1 July 2024 16:57 (three weeks ago) link

Kevin Kruse says congrats Roberts Court, you're the literal worst ever

https://substack.com/home/post/p-146170415

The advisors part of that ruling is freaking insane. The rationale for that is presumably a form of the attorney-client privilege, which under normal circumstances has an exception for crime/fraud.

il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Monday, 1 July 2024 17:55 (three weeks ago) link

On the bright side, I think the head of the Biden crime family is going to skate

A So-Called Pulitzer price winner (President Keyes), Monday, 1 July 2024 18:01 (three weeks ago) link

Morbid, from Jackson, but I laughed out loud. pic.twitter.com/FqYT9insge

— emptywheel (chicklet) (@emptywheel) July 1, 2024

the talented mr pimply (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 1 July 2024 18:04 (three weeks ago) link

Honestly, I think most blue states will just outright ignore the Supreme Court, as they well should. Pack the court and have term limits, you fucking cowards

beamish13, Monday, 1 July 2024 18:34 (three weeks ago) link

Constitutional crisis is probably inevitable, with like CA saying, "We're banning assault weapons. You guys are nuts."

A So-Called Pulitzer price winner (President Keyes), Monday, 1 July 2024 18:37 (three weeks ago) link

i'm guessing if trump wins people will just start civil suits against him while he's in office for anything that they think is illegal or not an official act, no? which could be a lot of things knowing him...

scott seward, Monday, 1 July 2024 18:43 (three weeks ago) link

Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in September 2018:

“Under the Constitution, the president is not above the law. No one is above the law…The president remains subject to the law.” pic.twitter.com/wx6VcHr4VV

— Republican Voters Against Trump (@AccountableGOP) July 1, 2024

well geez, good thing they nailed him down on that, he's gonna be so embarrassed when they play the footage for him

frogbs, Monday, 1 July 2024 18:49 (three weeks ago) link

"Hypocrisy!" I cry

A So-Called Pulitzer price winner (President Keyes), Monday, 1 July 2024 18:51 (three weeks ago) link

That fucking rapist needs a pineapple up his ass in hell

beamish13, Monday, 1 July 2024 18:51 (three weeks ago) link

No Democratic president is above the law.

the talented mr pimply (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 1 July 2024 18:53 (three weeks ago) link

Honestly, I think most blue states will just outright ignore the Supreme Court, as they well should. Pack the court and have term limits, you fucking cowards



This is something I’ve thought about too. Judicial review is not in the constitution. It was made up in Marbury versus Madison. People only obey the rulings of the Supreme Court because of tradition and “norms”. In return we expect them to observe certain norms themselves: stare decisis, respect for precedent, not wildly oscillating between allowing something one decade then next decade revoking it. It’s basically a social contract. If the Court breaks the contract, why are we bound by it?

Trump’s favorite President, the genocidal Andrew Jackson knew the Supreme Court had no ability to enforce its own decisions. Evil as Jackson was, it’s a question to ask: You and whose army is going to defend your decision?

Gigi Allen (Boring, Maryland), Monday, 1 July 2024 20:02 (three weeks ago) link

Doesn't matter if blue states disobey when the inevitable lawsuits go to red federal courts and law enforcement is largely red everywhere

perpetually awkward, perennially unhappy (Neanderthal), Monday, 1 July 2024 20:04 (three weeks ago) link

idk if you can just keep such a blatantly unconstitutional policy on the books like this

frogbs, Monday, 1 July 2024 20:16 (three weeks ago) link

The Supreme Court’s immunity decision directed the trial court to hold hearings on what portions of the indictment can survive — a possible chance for prosecutors to set out their case in public before Election Day.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/01/us/politics/supreme-court-immunity-trump-jan-6.html

scott seward, Monday, 1 July 2024 20:29 (three weeks ago) link

I have to keep reminding myself today that not all is lost.

Gigi Allen (Boring, Maryland), Monday, 1 July 2024 20:38 (three weeks ago) link

they're saving that decision for tuesday

A So-Called Pulitzer price winner (President Keyes), Monday, 1 July 2024 20:58 (three weeks ago) link

lol, i had forgotten that at trump's second impeachment trial, part of his team's defense was that he shouldn't be impeached because he could already be subject to criminal prosecution.

z_tbd, Monday, 1 July 2024 22:53 (three weeks ago) link

At least they shot down that particular absurdity, in the course of committing much great absurdities.

(I mean the idea that he couldn't be prosecuted unless he'd been impeached and convicted.)

But because Roberts did not send the case back to lower courts “forthwith,” as the special counsel had asked, Chutkan will have to wait until early August to begin those determinations.

A weird and frustrating detail from the decision that I just read in the Washington Post

curmudgeon, Tuesday, 2 July 2024 01:43 (three weeks ago) link

i learned earlier today that even if chutkan rules that all the "unofficial" stuff trump did should actually be "official", trump can appeal that decision...back to the supreme court

z_tbd, Tuesday, 2 July 2024 01:55 (three weeks ago) link

i heard they're good up there on the supreme court

z_tbd, Tuesday, 2 July 2024 01:55 (three weeks ago) link

The thing I just still have so much trouble wrapping my brain around is the idea that so many people are willing to blow up American democracy for a two bit shill like Donald fucking Trump. Like, really? THIS is the guy you want to risk it all over?

Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 2 July 2024 02:24 (three weeks ago) link

I think it's only about Trump himself for a minority, the hardcore MAGAs. For a lot of people like Bannon or Alito, he's just a vehicle — it's the blowing up the democracy part that really gets them hard.

i learned earlier today that even if chutkan rules that all the "unofficial" stuff trump did should actually be "official", trump can appeal that decision...back to the supreme court

― z_tbd, Tuesday, 2 July 2024 01:55 (forty-five minutes ago) link

Well, he can petition them to hear it. They don't have to. TBH, while I'm not saying they won't, it would seem kind of weird to punt back to the lower court on those issues only to then accept an appeal on the same issues.

longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Tuesday, 2 July 2024 02:43 (three weeks ago) link

i might just be on a different wavelength but i think they're corrupt, i think it's very clear that they would delay things as long as possible to give trump every advantage, regardless of the merit. who are they accountable to?

stepping back, do you think they're corrupt or that they're still acting in a disinterested way?

z_tbd, Tuesday, 2 July 2024 02:51 (three weeks ago) link

Well the decision says the court isn't ruling on the exact parameters of the immunity right now, but clearly leaves it open for them to consider later. Maybe they're anticipating several years of the appeals courts sending up rulings in this case that they send back saying, "not quite, try again."

Also they are obviously corrupt, in the literal financial and also intellectual senses.

One of the things that really gets my goat in all of this is that these same pigfucking assholes will talk endlessly about lawlessness on our nation’s streets or whatever, when they are the ones setting the example. It’s breathtakingly hypocritical, and they all deserve the rack.

butt dumb tight my boners got boners (the table is the table), Tuesday, 2 July 2024 11:07 (three weeks ago) link

The conservatives both sides and twist things to try to make their hypocrisy seem less bad. They are in the fantasy world Trump espoused in the debate where Portland was was burned down and destroyed in 2020 but the J6 folks didn’t obstruct the constitutional election process , didn’t cause police to die, and caused no damage. In their world getting rid of Chevron is just getting rid of the opinions of pointy head elitist woke geeks at agencies and democratizing the process. Plus much of the Supreme Court majority worked for Presidents like the Bushes and therefore they see what they’re doing as just restoring the imperial rule sought by those who worked in the executive branch then.

curmudgeon, Wednesday, 3 July 2024 19:26 (three weeks ago) link

I don't think its hypocrisy exactly. Conservatives are perceived as pro "Law and Order' but I don't think this is true at all, they are explicitly pro-Order but anti-Law.

Order is hierarchical and top-down whereas law is bi-directional, or at least has the potential to be. Laws and regulations must be swept away as they get in the way of order and in the way of the big man who will impose order. Power must exist in the man not the office and rules should not be written down or codified where people might use them and access them. It is better for the rules to be hidden from view

anvil, Wednesday, 3 July 2024 20:02 (three weeks ago) link

I realize the terms are used interchangeably and conflated, but I don't see these as synonymous at all, I think they're opposites

anvil, Wednesday, 3 July 2024 20:05 (three weeks ago) link

https://www.thedailybeast.com/clarence-thomas-accepted-yacht-trip-to-russia-chopper-flight-to-putins-hometown-democrats

Thomas trip to Russia included in list by Dem Senators Whitehouse and Wyden referral to Attorney General requesting appointment of a Special Counsel to investigate Thomas .

Also , AOC has introduced articles of impeachment against Thomas and Alito . With Republicans controlling House this won’t go anywhere for now , but along with the steps taken by the Dem senators it may get some attention

curmudgeon, Wednesday, 10 July 2024 21:03 (two weeks ago) link

Thomas had to visit Putin for some advice on getting the country in line.

Muad'Doob (Moodles), Wednesday, 10 July 2024 22:45 (two weeks ago) link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KZy3NSqnkg

scott seward, Thursday, 11 July 2024 02:43 (two weeks ago) link

go Wyden go

I painted my teeth (sleeve), Thursday, 11 July 2024 02:52 (two weeks ago) link

AOC's speech upon her introduction of articles of impeachment for Thomas and Alito is straight fire.

more difficult than I look (Aimless), Thursday, 11 July 2024 04:18 (two weeks ago) link

Of course, Dem Judiciary Committee chair Durbin would not sign on to the Dems on his committee referral to the Justice Deportment re Thomas . Durbin is probably still convinced that if he is nice to everyone, he can magically get Republicans to sign off on approving Biden nominated judges in the last few months of the session.

curmudgeon, Thursday, 11 July 2024 15:47 (two weeks ago) link

Justice Thomas's "Cannon-currence" worked.

(In the Trump immunity case, Justice Thomas wrote separately to suggest the special counsel was unlawfully appointed; the reasoning laid out the roadmap for this (wrong) result/decision.) https://t.co/r58hw7DK7K

— Leah Litman (@LeahLitman) July 15, 2024

curmudgeon, Monday, 15 July 2024 14:27 (one week ago) link

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/07/16/biden-supreme-court-reforms/

Now Biden who had previously opposed Supreme Court proposed changes ideas, is supporting some historian Lawrence Tribe proposed ones including term limits for Supreme Court justices, and an enforceable ethics code . But he’s not proposing to enlarge the court. Also , none of this can happen unless Dems hold the presidency, the House, and get a filibuster proof majority in the Senate ( or somehow get rid of filibuster)

curmudgeon, Wednesday, 17 July 2024 15:00 (one week ago) link

It came up on the politics thread last night.

the talented mr pimply (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 17 July 2024 15:02 (one week ago) link

It's not that hard to get rid of the filibuster...as we'll learn when Trump and the GOP Senate do it next year

Jersey Devil Vance (President Keyes), Wednesday, 17 July 2024 15:03 (one week ago) link

https://wapo.st/3Slzp1n

30 million donation from a private equity rich guy to the Brennan Center to "launch a first-of-its-kind center pushing to overhaul the Supreme Court, after a series of ethics controversies and conservative rulings prompted rising scrutiny of the justices."

curmudgeon, Wednesday, 24 July 2024 01:33 (three days ago) link

i think the private equity guy is the son of one of the KKR guys

, Wednesday, 24 July 2024 01:49 (three days ago) link

Interesting.

But here's the real dream situation- A Dem majority in Senate with no fibuster, Dems in House and Presidency and a President willing to do this:

While justices are no longer required to travel to hear cases within their given territory, they are responsible for handling things like emergency requests and other administrative matters for appeals that come up from their circuits. That’s why you see, for example, Alito’s name on orders to allow an execution to go through in Louisiana.

It is therefore entirely reasonable to argue that given the number of issues that certain members of the court must bear, it would be much more equitable to increase the number of justices to share that load. It would just so happen that in doing so, Democrats would be able to rebalance the court after its steady swing to the right over the last several decades. Doing so would shift the court from a 6-3 conservative supermajority to one that has seven liberals and six Republican-appointed justices.

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/supreme-court-reforms-more-seats-rcna162326

curmudgeon, Thursday, 25 July 2024 12:53 (two days ago) link

100 liberals, 6 conservatives pls

the glenn branca approach to court appointment

big baby billy bass (m bison), Thursday, 25 July 2024 16:49 (two days ago) link


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