Alito's politically charged address draws heat

[JoeOtterbein]

Politico

The Supreme Court justice warned that not only is freedom of belief under threat, but freedom of expression is as well.

By JOSH GERSTEIN

11/13/2020 12:29 AM EST

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito delivered an unusually inflammatory public speech Thursday night, starkly warning about the threats he contends religious believers face from advocates for gay and abortion rights, as well as public officials responding to the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking to a virtual conference of conservative lawyers, the George W. Bush appointee made no direct comment on the recent election, the political crisis relating to President Donald Trump’s refusal to acknowledge his defeat or litigation on the issue pending at the Supreme Court.

However, Alito didn’t hold back on other controversial subjects, even suggesting that the pressure Christians face surrounding their religious beliefs is akin to the strictures the U.S. placed on Germany and Japan after World War II.

“Is our country going to follow that course?” Alito asked. “For many today, religious liberty is not a cherished freedom. It’s often just an excuse for bigotry and can’t be tolerated, even when there is no evidence that anybody has been harmed. ... The question we face is whether our society will be inclusive enough to tolerate people with unpopular religious beliefs.”

snip

more insanity at link

[BootinUp]

1. hes as radical as they come. nt

[Crunchy Frog]

4. Yes. I wish they'd stop calling him "conservative".

[elleng]

7. Yes, that word's been misused for YEARS;

RADICAL more appropriate.

[brush]

20. And dumb. What the hell is he talking about. Most Americans don't...

give a sh_t what Christians do, or how they worship. He's imagining perceived slights towards Christians that don't exist. Christianity is the one religion in America that has a privileged position. And with all due respect, Justice Alito, ask the Muslims and Jews about religious persecution. They'll give you an ear full.

I'm really disappointed with these winger judges. Alito spouting this outrageous claptrap; Barrett, a woman, who declares herself an originalist, a Constitutional philosophy that consigns women's lot in life to that as property of their husbands; and of course there's the speak nothing-see nothing-hear nothing Clarence Thomas; and then we have the beer-chugging, partier/sexual assaulter Kavanaugh.

God! What has happened to us?

I thought Supreme Court justices were supposed to represent the cream of the crop, the pinnacle of judgement, reasoning and jurisprudence. But no, we have, at least in this current crop, a few black-robed yahoos of middling intellect who are perched atop the very summit of their profession and who we'll be burdened with for decades as they are ensconced among the actual, legal lights on the SCOTUS bench.

Sigh. I miss the principled brilliance of RBG, but at least we got rid of trump.

[Caliman73]

12. Disagree. He fits perfectly with Conservatism.

Think about what the original conservatives were arguing for. By original conservatives I mean Burke, de Maistre, and their predecessor Thomas Hobbes. They were defenders of monarchy and anti-democracy. As you know historically, most monarchists believed that their right to rule was derived divinely by the Christian god.

Alito is very much a conservative. We give conservatives way too much credit thinking that they are just different in terms of fiscal responsibility, anti-choice, and "personal responsibility". Conservatives are the direct descendants of Royalist thought, they just substituted the Nobility for Wealthy Capitalists.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

2. Fuck him. There's a church on every just about corner in this city

The only “liberty” being infringed is his desire to persecute gay people and women.

[Crunchy Frog]

3. If he ends up being party to a coup against our new President...

I can't post what I'd like to.

[Moostache]

6. It's all good...

I'm picking up what you're laying down and I agree with the sentiments...

[Moostache]

5. Hey Sammie...

They can BELIEVE whatever the fuck they want - IN PRIVATE and IN THEIR HEARTS.....BUT:

Their 'rights to religious freedom' (sincerely held, or made up from whole cloth beliefs btw...) end at making me or the rest of society abide by their fantasy, full fucking stop. To more easily illustrate this point for thick shitheads like Alito or Thomas - try THIS on for size:

EVERYONE shall now be REQUIRED to 'respect' the beliefs that require bowing to Mecca every day - WITHOUT exception, because to do otherwise is to trample on the rights of Muslim-Americans...

Now, kindly go fuck yourself Sammie.

[dchill]

8. The persecution complex is strong in this one, Obi Wan.

[Caliman73]

9. Wow. That was stupid!

He's a Supreme Court Justice and he is saying shit THAT stupid. Christians are the majority of people in the United States and have almost complete control over the social landscape. There are 6 Catholics on the Supreme Court and that dick is talking about religious liberty being lost? How many Muslims have there EVER been on the Court, on any court. How many Atheists?

To dipshits like Alito, the fact that religious bigotry is being questioned for the harm it is causing to marginalized minorities AND women, who are actually a majority in our society, is akin to oppression. Just because you have to check your most overt bigotry and actually live by some Christian values of tolerance, this asshole thinks that Christians are about to be rounded up.

Here is the difference. No LGBTQ folks will EVER advocate for Christians to forced into the closet like Christians have done to them. Marginalized people JUST WANT TO BE ABLE TO LIVE FREELY AS THEMSELVES. Religious bigots want to be able to hate and discriminate freely. That is not how society works. You can believe in fairy tales and be cannibals all you want. Just don't try to force your customs into our laws and social policies.

[melman]

10. Steve Schmidt: I ran the Roberts and Alito confirmations

Link to tweet

Imagine bragging about that. And this wasn't a long time ago. It was last month!

[diva77]

13. just what we need to save us

[diva77]

11. sounds like he must watch a lotta Fux & listen to Rush Gasbag; he's off the rails

[Solly Mack]

14. Bother

Shut up, Alito.

[unblock]

15. yeah, and the 13th amendment is a restriction on the religious right to own slaves.

that may have once been hyperbolic, and even now it might be shocking.

but the fact is that people argued back then that slavery was in the bible and a religious right, and of course, the "natural order of things".

but the arguments they're using now to persecute gay people and others are of exactly the same form as the arguments they used to persecute blacks, keep them enslaved, keep them from marrying white people, keep them from drinking at the same fountains as white people, etc.


here's a fair and reasonable degree of tolerance for those who believe that gay sex is against their religious views:

*** you are completely free to not have gay sex ***

there. full exercise of your religious liberty right there.
i'm not being snarky, that's exactly what religious tolerance means. *you* are free to live *your* life according to *your* religious views. you are *not* free to limit the freedom of other people's lives based on *your* religious view.

nowhere in the bible does it say don't bake a cake for gay people.
nowhere in the bible does it say don't hire gay people
nowhere in the bible does it say don't officiate weddings for gay people
nowhere in the bible does it say do any of the rotten crap they want to do to gay people.

and even if the bible did say those things, it still wouldn't be appropriate in a secular society to force others to constrain their lives to your views or to pay a price for living their lives according to views other than your.

let other people who don't share your views live their own lives.

[MyMission]

16. Happy holidays, I'm not christian

And I try to be inclusive and considerate.

But some might say "Merry Christmas, because that's what I celebrate and even if you don't celebrate it I have the right to wish you a merry Christmas (and not consider you, or that my wish has no real meaning to you, or that I want to delude myself that everyone celebrates Christmas, and if you don't you should) so I'm going to say it, and if you encourage me say happy holidays instead you are discouraging religious liberty." They are christan martyr wanna be's.

Wonder how he'd feel about getting a merry f***in' christmas card?!? Or a happy Kwanza or Chanukah or solstice card from people who celebrate those holidays. I assume he'd feel persecuted, or perhaps threatened. Insanity for sure.

[TeamPooka]

17. we can tolerate them as long as they are not forced on others.

[abqtommy]

21. I gotta agree with you. There are many facets to the exercise of freedom and one of them is

to know when to sit down and STFU!

[BigmanPigman]

18. What a fucking hack!

His opinion is meaningless to anyone with a double digit IQ.

[regnaD kciN]

19. He didn't mean it this way, but he's right on one point...

“For many today, religious freedom is not a cherished liberty. It’s often just an excuse for bigotry...”

I couldn’t agree more!